Get a grip! (part 1 of 2)

About a year ago, I wrote an article named "To strap or not to strap", and was mainly a pro/con-thing for the use of wrist straps. My personal opinion is that the use of straps is Ok - as it allows you to be non-compromising with your back training - but that you should limit the use of straps for when it's really necessary. AND... Very importantly: If you choose to use straps, you must remember to train your forearms separately! Else you end up with poor grip-strength, underdeveloped forearms, and will surely not train very well the one day that you forget to bring the straps to the gym. It happens, sooner or later.

In fact, I would like to expand that as far as saying that everyone should include a forearm-specific exercise or two on their bicep-days. Why? To make sure that your forearms stay up to par with the rest of you, of course! Besides, anyone who is the least conscious about their looks knows that forearms are one of two features that are often on display, indicating physical power (the other one is the neck, which is virtually ALWAYS visible - which will be dealt with separately in the future). Whenever you wear a T-shirt, tank top, or a shirt with rolled-up sleeves, you convey a clear message of physical power, which is usually to an advantage - even in your professional career! It's psychology - a physically strong person has an easier time getting the attention, and gets a natural respect by his peers.

There's no need to overdo it, but adding 2-3 forearm-exercises after biceps can do miracles if done continuously. Make sure that these are divided so BOTH sides gets their share of the action. Doing forearm-rolls with barbell behind the back is excellent to combine with reverse forearm-curl on a Scott-board, for example - and surely enough to stimulate growth, if taken to exhaustion for 2-3 sets. So, without further babbling: The essentials of my favorite forearm-blasters!

Forearm-rolls with barbell behind the back
Use a power-cage and set the bars so that your barbell will only be inches beneath your fists as you stand straight (but not so high that the barbell actually touches the bars at the lowest point when you roll it out to your fingertips). Stand with a shoulder-wide stance, knees slightly bent, abs tense. Grip the bar behind your back, making sure to keep your shoulders in a natural and relaxed position. Let the bar roll down as far towards your fingertips as possible, without losing the grip. At the bottom, make a distinct turn and roll back up until your fists are entirely clenched around the bar again. In a fluent motion, continue the exercise by flexing your wrists back and up as far as you can, focusing on squeezing the bottom-side of your forearms. When you reach fatigue, do partials as far as you can to wring the last ounces of energy out.