/fit/ - Fitness, Health, and Feels

It's because you aren't exercising all the muscles of the forearm. [1] You can't do only the big compound lifts and expect complete forearm development. You'll get a strong grip and some wrist flexor development from the popular lifts, but if you aren't already doing a varied forearm routine or doing something creative or esoteric, you should probably do reverse curls, preferably with a curl bar, at a minimum. [2] If you want to be Popeye or go beyond the bare minimum, you probably need to do around 2-4 additional types of forearm exercises or more to round everything out. [3] Forearms aren't free.

I suspect the reasons that there isn't much discussion about this sort of thing are that in depth forearm training is barely useful to most athletes and a lot of body builders buy into the idea that it subtracts from their visual appeal by making the upper arms look smaller by comparison.

[1] http://www.exrx.net/Muscles/WristExtensors.html

http://www.exrx.net/Muscles/WristFlexors.html

http://www.exrx.net/Muscles/Brachioradialis.html

http://www.exrx.net/Articulations/Forearm.html

[2] http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Brachioradialis/BBReversePreacherCurl.html

[3] http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ForeArmWt.html

>>128254

>it subtracts from their visual appeal by making the upper arms look smaller by comparison

How? I'd think having popeye arms would look great in and of itself.

Also, how big are "average" forearms in terms of circumference? Mine are 12" cold and unflexed (I measured on an off day, so they weren't pumped).

>>128256

>How? I'd think having popeye arms would look great in and of itself.

I'm not saying I agree with extremely minimal forearm training aesthetically, but bodybuilders are concerned with proportions, illusions of good proportions, and judging criteria. Some want to create a visual illusion of bigger upper arms by avoiding overly developed forearms. If I recall correctly, I believe it was around the 1950s that they would go out of their way to avoid glute development because of the specifics of judging criteria in competitions. Obviously having anything out of proportion looks weird in everyday life, but bodybuilders have less real life concerns than average joes and athletes will subscribe only to the most useful exercises.

>>128254

Also, do you have any suggestions for exercises for the upper arms?