AbcBodybuilding

Editors Note: Let me fill you in on something right now. You are in the presence of a genius! Old School uses combinations that I have never heard of, and I live this sport! He literally has an uncanny ability to combine, criss cross and manipulate techniques like I have never seen before. If you are truly serious about this sport, and about getting freaky forearms, you will embrace this workout. It is literally that good! Adam has put together an absolute masterpiece!

Complete the first four routines, and then repeat all of them again, making a total of an eight-week cycle. I recommend resting five to seven days before performing the next routine. I also recommend that beginners only perform the first two exercises of each routine. Intermediates and advanced bodybuilders are to complete the whole routine, and adjust to their personal fitness levels. With all that in mind, lets tear up the forearms!

Week 1 � Phase I
Week 2 � Phase 2
Week 3 � Phase 3
Week 4 � Phase 4
Week 5 � Phase I
Week 6 � Phase 2
Week 7 � Phase 3
Week 8 � Phase 4
Week 9 � Roll up your sleeves and show off your new mass!

Part 1: Reverse Preacher Curls, 4 sets With a Static Wrist Curl!

Reverse Preacher Curls

These are performed just like a regular preacher curl, except for the reverse grip (I advice using the EZ curl bar for these). This is one of the best forearm exercises ever invented. I personally recommend going for a rep range of 10-12 for this exercise. Remember correct form is essential (again, try to touch your knuckles to your wrists) to hit the forearms, and just like regular preacher curls go all the way down to emphasize the stretch.

Immediately after failure, pull the bar up and rest your wrists on the edge of the padding, where your armpits rested for the curls. Now, perform one reverse wrist curl, and hold it in the maximum contracted position for a range of 30-45 seconds (If you can�t hold it that long that�s fine, just think of that time as a goal to reach for).

The pump from this is insane! After the first two sets, you may not have the strength to even do the one reverse wrist curl necessary to get the benefit of the static contraction. If this is the case, simply step off the preacher bench after you have hit failure from the curls. Now perform one reverse EZ-bar curl, and immediately rest your wrists on the padding and hold for the allotted time.

Set an incline bench up between 30 and 45 degrees for these. Personally, I adjust the bench after each set at all of these different degrees (and everything in between), to hit the forearms from as many angles as possible. After initial failure, aim for 3 alternating reps per arm, or 6 total extra reps altogether. Get those extra reps out no matter what, even if you have to rest-pause or cheat a little to get the extra reps out. I don�t care. Do whatever it takes to get those reps out! Again, perform your normal set to failure, and then continue the set by using an alternating approach. By doing this, you will have more momentum and strength and that is why you will be able to continue the set past failure.

Part 3: Giant set consisting of Barbell wrist curls supersetted with Behind-the-back wrist curls supersetted with Cliff Hanger�s hold, 3 sets

Barbell Wrist Curls Behind The Back Wrist Curls Cliff Hangers

By this point your probably thinking, �This guy is INSANE!!!� well you�re right�Insane about getting huge forearms! And you�ll get insane too, if you want something bad enough!

Editors note: That's what I was thinking when I came to this point! But the pump is all worth it!

Go heavier on the barbell wrist curls (go for failure at about 8-12 reps), and squeeze hard at the top after each rep. immediately after failure, grab a light bar and perform behind-the-back wrist curls. I usually just use a barbell with no weight. The idea here is to go until the pain becomes unbearable! I mean UNBEARABLE! Keep curling until you can�t even move the bar a fraction of a millimeter! Then after utter failure, hold the barbell in a contracted position to engorge the forearms with blood!

By now you�re thinking your forearms have nothing left in them, but now you have to reach deep inside�Grab onto a pull-up bar and pull yourself up only half way. Hold yourself in this position until your grip totally gives out.

If you are really advanced you�ll do these a different way. As you are dangling shift all your weight from one arm to the other. Once you can�t hold yourself up with one arm shift to the other. Then finally hold yourself there with both arms until failure (props to Pit Bull for that little trick�thanks bro!)

Here we are going to use the partial reps technique to hammer the forearms hard! Perform the reps by doing one full rep, followed by one partial rep. The partial rep should go from half way through the range of motion to the top of the range of motion. That is one complete rep. This exercise will hit the forearms hard and will provide a massive pump in your forearm extensors.

Now we are getting serious. These aren�t for the faint of heart. Adjust your body, so that your armpits are locked into place over the pad. Curl the dumbbells up and down in a hammer curl fashion. Continue in this manner until failure. Right after failure, grab two lighter dumbbells and go again.

Get ready for the forearm pump of a lifetime! This is where your pain threshold is really tested. So, prepare yourself mentally, before tackling these four sets!

Begin with the regular dumbbell wrist curls and go to failure. Flip your wrists over and go straight to the reverse dumbbell wrist curls. Keep this set going to UTTER failure! I know you�re probably tired of hearing me say that, but it will make the difference between ordinary forearms and huge forearms! Go until you can�t go anymore, then keep on going anyway!

Once you hit failure using both arms simultaneously, I want you to do alternating reverse dumbbell wrist curls. Continue alternating for 30-60 seconds. Then after you can�t stand the pain of that, emphasize static contraction until failure. By now your forearms will feel like they are going to explode! Remember when your brain wants you to fail, squeeze with an even tighter grip and block out the pain (or embrace it like some of us psychos!)

For set two, repeat the same technique but start with the reverse dumbbell wrist curls and finish with the regular wrist curls.

This phase is going to start with a total forearm pump-up! Begin with reverse cable wrist curls and superset those with regular cable wrist curls.

Use your stop watch and select a weight that will allow you to come to failure within 60 seconds for each type of wrist curl (to understand more about this technique click here, and grow, man grow!). So you�ll be going for a total of 120 seconds per set. I like to find a weight that allows me to fail at about 45 seconds with complete reps, and do partial reps for the last 15 or 20 seconds.

It sounds like a long exercise, but you�ll love it, due to the fact that it will tear your forearms to shreds!

Before doing any of the crazy stuff, do one set of just regular machine reverse curls for 12 repetitions. By machine reverse curls, I mean one that allows you to perform a regular bicep curl, just take a reverse grip on it. Two of my favorites to use are the Hammer Strength preacher curl machine, and the Cybex bicep curl machine. Go really slow on these, especially on the negative. You�re going to need the warm-up for the next three sets.

Now for the last three sets, perform 21�s with the machine reverse curls. Do the first 14 half-reps the regular way. (7 partial reps at the bottom of the range of motion, followed by 7 partial reps at the top of the range of motion) For the last 7 reps perform double negatives. Go for a 5-10 second decent with these. I actually go for 8 double negative reps, that way each arm gets 4 negative reps a piece. Making them 22�s instead of 21�s!! ( If you are not familiar with double negatives, click here.

For the Behind-the-back wrist curls go heavy. I also want you to do a drop set here. Curl the first bar to failure between 10-12 reps. Set it down, and have another empty barbell right there ready to go. Continue the set, until UTTER failure (there�s that damn word again!).

Get ready because your grip will be getting taxed to the max with the barbell hold!

Have a barbell loaded up with heavy weight. Find a weight in which you can hold onto for at least 15 seconds and no more than 60. I like to do this one on a rack that you can adjust the safety bar on. Set the safety bars so that they will only be about 1� under the bar after you fully pick it up. By doing this you don�t have to strain any other part of your body, and you can literally just drop the bar after failure.

You�ll be doing 3 rest-pauses here. The first time you grab the bar do it with a thumb less grip. Set the bar down, slowly count to 10 and pick the bar up again (This time with a complete grip). After failure, wait 20 seconds and pick the bar up one final time.

After those 3 sets, your forearms will look twice as big! And in case I didn�t mention it�NO STRAPS!!!

This superset will start the training session off in a brutal way! Do the reverse incline dumbbell curls in a strict fashion. Keep the form tight and really emphasize the negative. At failure stand up, and perform regular standing hammer curls. What that�s it! Not that easy, after the hammer curls, set the dumbbells down and go again with a lighter pair! Making it a double drop set!! Aim for 8-12 reps on each set.

Using a low pulley, attach the rope to the hook, and firmly grasp both sides of the rope. Curl the rope up in the same fashion as you would for a hammer curl. Once you reach failure, pull the pin, and reduce the weight by 40-60% and continue the set again. The initial set should cause you to reach failure between 8-12 repetitions.

Perform very strict sets of Reverse barbell wrist curls until failure( 15-20 reps ). Once failure hits hold the last rep in a state of static contraction for 15-30 seconds. After the static contraction, perform regular wrist curls until the pain numbs your brain with the same amount of weight! Just when you think you can�t take any more, grab two light dumbbells and perform reverse dumbbell wrist curls to total failure( 15-20 reps)!!

The astatically eye pleasing forearm extensors are stubborn muscles, but when developed make your forearm look twice as big!

I wish you all the best of luck with these programs! Remember the more pain you can take the meatier your forearms will be!! Keep that in mind as you are doing these routines, and I guarantee huge results will come your way!!

8 Weeks to Bigger Forearms, Part II - The Workout

WARNING: You are now entering the 9th level of the Pain Zone!