Grip strength correlates with mortality risk, but forearm training methods show inconsistent biomechanical support.
Original: 3 Guys Train Forearms Everyday - Only 1 Was Worth It
TL;DR
Evidence supports a link between weak grip and mortality, but biomechanical claims about forearm exercises are conflicting.
Overview
Should You Watch This?
Claims (10)
1. People who can't hold things tightly tend to live shorter lives.
2. People with weak hand strength are more likely to die sooner than people with strong hand strength.
3. Even if you train a muscle every day, it can still get stronger — as long as you do it right.
4. When you curl with your arms stretched out on a bench, your forearm muscle has t...
5. To make your forearm muscle bigger, you need to curl with your palm facing inwar...
6. Using straps when lifting lets you lift heavier weights because your hands don't...
7. There are three different kinds of hand strength: squeezing, pinching, and holdi...
8. People today have weaker hands than people did 20 years ago.
9. Your hands get tired before your arms or back when you lift heavy things.
10. Stronger hands can help you lift heavier weights in other exercises like curls.
Key Takeaways
- •Problem: Most people ignore their forearms, leading to weak grip, poor lifting performance, and underdeveloped arms despite regular weight training.
- •Core methods: Gym-based forearm training (wrist curls, wrist extensions, reverse curls), rice bucket training (grab, twist, squeeze, rotate), and hand gripper training (100 daily reps).
- •How methods work: Gym exercises directly contract forearm muscles with weights; rice bucket training builds endurance through repetitive gripping and wrist motion; hand grippers isolate pinch and crush grip by squeezing a spring-loaded device.
- •Expected outcomes: Gym training led to noticeable forearm growth and improved crush grip; rice training improved grip endurance and hanging time; gripper training boosted pinch grip and lower forearm size but failed endurance tests.
- •Implementation timeframe: Results were measured after 30 days of daily training, with noticeable changes appearing within 1–2 weeks.
Overview
Forearms are often undertrained despite their critical role in grip strength, functional performance, and aesthetic physique. Jeremy Ethier, noticing his own underdeveloped forearms and their impact on lifting performance, designed a 30-day experiment to test three popular online methods: a gym-based protocol targeting flexors, extensors, and brachioradialis; a rice bucket routine; and a daily hand gripper regimen. The goal was to determine which method delivered the most effective combination of muscle growth and functional strength gains. The solution involved daily, low-volume training of each method while measuring changes in circumference, grip strength, and lifting performance.
Key Terms
How to Apply
- 1.Perform 3 sets of dumbbell wrist curls to failure, palm up, targeting forearm flexors.
- 2.Perform 3 sets of sideways dumbbell wrist extensions to failure, arm extended to the side, targeting forearm extensors.
- 3.Perform 3 sets of cable reverse curls to failure, palm facing down, targeting the brachioradialis (use cables instead of dumbbells to reduce joint strain).
- 4.Perform a rice bucket routine daily: 20–30 grabs, 20–30 wrist extensions, 20–25 grab-and-twists, 20–25 squeezes, and 15-second wrist rotations per side using a bucket of rice.
- 5.Perform 100 daily reps with a hand gripper, progressively increasing resistance as strength improves.
- 6.Train all three methods on separate days or combine them into a single daily 10-minute session, 5–7 days per week.
- 7.Test grip strength weekly using a hand dynamometer (crush grip), a dead hang (support grip), and a 10-lb plate pinch test (pinch grip).
- 8.Track biceps curl strength on the trained arm vs. untrained arm to measure cross-transfer benefits.
- 9.After 30 days, reduce frequency to 2x/week using only the gym protocol (wrist curls, wrist extensions, cable reverse curls) for maintenance.
After 30 days of consistent training, users can expect noticeable forearm growth (especially upper/middle regions with gym training), improved crush grip strength (130+ lbs), enhanced grip endurance (10+ second dead hang), and better pinch grip (15+ seconds). Biceps curl strength on the trained arm may increase due to improved grip stability.
Claims (10)
1. People who can't hold things tightly tend to live shorter lives.
2. People with weak hand strength are more likely to die sooner than people with strong hand strength.
3. Even if you train a muscle every day, it can still get stronger — as long as you do it right.
4. When you curl with your arms stretched out on a bench, your forearm muscle has t...
5. To make your forearm muscle bigger, you need to curl with your palm facing inwar...
6. Using straps when lifting lets you lift heavier weights because your hands don't...
7. There are three different kinds of hand strength: squeezing, pinching, and holdi...
8. People today have weaker hands than people did 20 years ago.
9. Your hands get tired before your arms or back when you lift heavy things.
10. Stronger hands can help you lift heavier weights in other exercises like curls.
Claims (10)
1. People who can't hold things tightly tend to live shorter lives.
2. People with weak hand strength are more likely to die sooner than people with strong hand strength.
3. Even if you train a muscle every day, it can still get stronger — as long as you do it right.
4. When you curl with your arms stretched out on a bench, your forearm muscle has t...
5. To make your forearm muscle bigger, you need to curl with your palm facing inwar...
6. Using straps when lifting lets you lift heavier weights because your hands don't...
7. There are three different kinds of hand strength: squeezing, pinching, and holdi...
8. People today have weaker hands than people did 20 years ago.
9. Your hands get tired before your arms or back when you lift heavy things.
10. Stronger hands can help you lift heavier weights in other exercises like curls.
Related Content
Claims (10)
Reduced muscular strength in the upper extremities is a biomarker for systemic physiological decline and increased all-cause mortality risk.
Low grip strength is strongly correlated with increased risk of premature mortality.
The use of lifting straps significantly increases maximal lifting capacity by reducing grip fatigue as a limiting factor.
High-frequency, low-volume daily training can induce significant strength gains in well-trained individuals without inducing overtraining.
The brachioradialis is preferentially activated during elbow flexion when the forearm is in a neutral (hammer) grip position compared to supinated (palms-up) grip.