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Forearm Training with a Wrist Roller

Weight Training For Calves, Neck, And Forearms - Bodybuilding's Most Neglected Body Parts

Weight Training For Calves, Neck, And Forearms - Bodybuilding's Most Neglected Body Parts
By Dane C. Fletcher

Many bodybuilders train religiously, 4 to 6 days a week. They plan every meal, and measure every gram of protein, carbohydrate, and fat. They set their alarm clock and never miss a minute of sleep. They take their supplement like clockwork. They stay on top of every new bodybuilding innovation. Yet despite this meticulous planning, research, and hard work, they often overlook the third-tier body parts.

Calves

Anytime you wear shorts, your calves are on display. They are the failure point in squats, without argument the most important movement in bodybuilding. Yet many trainers completely ignore calf training, or relegate it to 2-3 sets of seated raises at the end of leg day. This is unacceptable. Calves are a showpiece muscle group, viewable clearly in every bodybuilding pose. They aren't fun to train - but they are definitely required. Train your claves twice a week with 6 to 9 sets.

Neck

Many bodybuilders do no neck training at all. This is a mistake. They put their bodies at increased risk for strains and other injuries due to strength imbalances. You cannot train your shoulder, chest, and traps hard, then neglect the muscle group which holds them all together! Use 4-6 sets of neck crunches or neck bridges, twice a week.

Forearms

In most social, work, gym, or any other situations, your forearms are on display. They are the primary grip on 90% of movements you use in the gym. Yet for some reason, many bodybuilders neglect their forearm work - opting to do a few sets of wrist curls now and then, or not training them at all, figuring their forearms get plenty of work from other movements. While it is true they do get some work with most movements, and there are some genetic freaks who never need forearms training, most of us would benefit tremendously from hitting them hard at least twice a week for 6 sets.

Nobody forgets to train chest, back or quads. Rarely do you miss an arm or shoulder day. But calf, neck, and forearm training often go neglected, resulting in poor stage placings, unbalance physiques, and injuries. Be sure to hit your third tier body parts every week!

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

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    Now you have made yourself your very own wrist roller exercise device!  To perform the exercise, hold the dowel straight
    out in front of you with both hands and start to roll it either way, moving only at the wrist until the rope is wrapped
    completely around the dowel and the weight has been lifted all the way up until it stops.  Now slowly roll the dowel the
    opposite way to lower the weight.  It is very important that you keep the weight under control, and do it relatively slowly. Do
    not move your arms, only your wrist for maximum effect. When the weight is lowered all the way down to the bottom, keep
    turning the dowel in the same direction, and it will start to roll back up. Keep rolling it in that direction until the weight
    comes up to the top once again.  Now reverse the direction and lower it to the bottom. This completes one rep.

    There are several variations in the way you can perform this exercise.  The method outlined above is my preferred
    technique.  It can also be performed while resting your elbows on something to support your arms so that you can focus
    more on your forearms and leave your deltoids out of it.  Another method is to stand on a chair or bench, and instead of
    extending your arms out in front of you just allow your arms to hang down in front of you and roll the weight up and down in
    that manner.  If you follow the rolling technique I have outlined above, you'll get a thorough workout of both the back and
    front of your forearms. If you do it correctly, you will quickly start to feel the pump and the burn that is so effective in building
    forearm strength using this device.

    Unless you already have incredible forearm strength and endurance, you will notice that it doesn't take much weight to fry
    your forearm muscles!  I would recommend performing three or four complete reps of this exercise at least three times a
    week at the end of your workouts.  Always do this workout last because you will greatly diminish your ability to lift weights
    for any other exercise! Or if you don't have a workout that day, just do it before you go to bed.  Just make sure you don't do
    it right before you're going to need your hands for something like typing!

    I also recommend that you do not use this exercise as your entire forearm workout.  I only suggest that this is an excellent
    additional movement that will really add mass and strength to your forearms if that is a problem area for you or if you
    really need to increase your forearm strength for some kind of sports activity.

    A good complete forearm workout should include standard wrist curls and reverse wrist curls for three sets of 12-15 reps
    for each of the two exercises. Finish the workout with wrist rollers and you will experience a most incredible pump that will
    trigger new muscle growth!

    I  personally have noticed greater endurance, strength and size in my forearms in just a few short weeks of performing
    this exercise. Try it for a month and see if you experience similar results. You won't be disappointed!

    If you want a simple, yet extremely effective way to strengthen
    your wrists and forearms, read this article!  This device gives
    you a great golf, baseball, tennis, hockey or football forearm
    strengthening exercise, or for almost any sport!

    I am a bodybuilder and have always struggled with developing
    my forearms to match my upper arms.  I have recently started to
    use one of the oldest forearm development tools, called the
    wrist roller.  This is a simple device that can be made with
    things that most people can find around the house, and yet in
    my opinion is one of most effective forearm developers ever
    devised.  As you'll soon see, the reason a lot of people don't use
    this exercise is because it is quite painful to perform as it
    develops a deep burn in the forearm muscles very quickly!

    This simple device can be made with a broom handle and a 5
    foot length of rope.  You can also go to Home Depot or your
    nearest home center and buy and 18 inch long wooden dowel
    that is between one and 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Drill a hole
    through the center of the dowel about 1/4" in diameter. Now take
    one end of a 5 foot piece of rope and feed it through the hole in
    the dowel and tie in a nice big knot on the other and so it can't
    be pulled back through.  The next thing you're going to do is to
    tie either a small dumbbell or a 5 - 10 pound barbell plate to the
    other end of the rope.  Adjust the length of the rope so that when
    you hold the dowel in your hands and extend your hands
    straight out in front of your body, the dumbbell or barbell plate is
    just barely touching the floor.

Use the Wrist Roller Exercise Technique for Arm Wrestling, Golf, Tennis, etc.