According to experts, you can integrate forearm exercises into your upper body strength routine and perform them a few times a week.
Best Timing for Forearm Workouts
Based on expert advice, the ideal timing for your forearm exercises is typically alongside your existing upper body training days. This approach allows you to efficiently incorporate forearm work into your overall workout schedule.
- Frequency: Aim to train your forearms a few times a week.
- Integration: Forearm exercises can be added to your upper body strength training sessions.
- Rest: Ensure your body has adequate time to recover by staggering your upper body (and thus forearm) training days, rather than doing them consecutively.
Integrating Forearms into Your Routine
Adding forearm work to your existing upper body routine is a practical way to ensure these often-neglected muscles get attention.
Here are a few ways to integrate forearm exercises:
- At the end of an upper body workout: Finish your chest, back, or arm day with a few sets of forearm exercises.
- Supersetted with other exercises: Pair forearm exercises with unrelated upper body movements (e.g., superset bicep curls with wrist curls).
- Dedicated forearm focus within an upper body day: Dedicate a specific block of time during your upper body workout to hitting forearms.
Example Weekly Schedule Snippet
To illustrate how you might structure your week, here's a simple example focusing on upper body days:
| Day | Workout Focus | Forearm Integration? |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Upper Body (Push) | Yes |
| Tuesday | Lower Body / Rest | No |
| Wednesday | Rest | No |
| Thursday | Upper Body (Pull) | Yes |
| Friday | Lower Body / Rest | No |
| Saturday | Optional Full Body / Rest | Optional |
| Sunday | Rest | No |
This schedule incorporates forearm training a few times a week while ensuring rest days between upper body sessions. Remember to adjust frequency based on your recovery and overall training volume.
By strategically timing your forearm workouts, you can effectively build strength and size in this important muscle group without overtraining.
