Fore-Arm Yourself

Skip the old-school wrist curls and use these two moves for bigger lifts and a more balanced physique.

- Erin Calderone, MS, NASM-CPT

FORM: ZOTTMAN BICEPS CURL

Training forearms is a hard sell for women on the whole, but when it comes to aesthetics and physique-driven competitions, it’s all about balance. However, if you’ve ever played a sport, driven a car or used a computer mouse in the last few decades, your dominant side is probably more developed. While you probably don’t need to add much mass to your forearms, you’ll want them to look — and be — balanced because your stronger side will tend to take over on many lifts, leading to further physical and strength imbalances in the long term.

Since your forearms are synergists and stabilizers for many upper- and lower-body lifts, simply changing your grip on exercises you already perform will do the trick. For example, the Zottman biceps curl. Named after George Zottman, a strongman from the 1880s renowned for his massive forearms and grip strength, this biceps curl variation involves both pronation and supination of wrists, placing more emphasis on the forearm muscles like the brachioradialis, pronators and supinators, and even the wrist extensors for stability, giving your forearms a 360-degree workout.

Hold two dumbbells just in front of your thighs with your palms facing forward, and pin your elbows to your sides. Don’t draw your elbows back or drag the dumbbells upward, which gives your biceps a mechanical advantage and detracts from the forearm stimulation.