The Forearm Bar, an innovative piece of equipment from the Monster Barbell
Company, has taken
a very unique approach to forearm training: use leverage
to maximize the tension on the forearms. Is this approach effective?
Read
on...
In the words of the maker of the Forearm Bar:
"The Forearm Bar off-sets the weight at 35 degrees and sets the hands
at a seven degree angle. This allows you to stand and directly flex the weight for optimal range of motion resulting in substantially
increased muscle concentration and forearm/wrist strength development. If you are currently using the barbell method, rolling
up a weighted rope, using a tension controlled device or dumbbells to develop your forearms and wrist strength you're working with
50-60% efficiency."
So does the Forearm Bar live up to its claims?
Here are my experiences with
the bar:
1. The leverage
mechanics of the bar definitely make the bar more effective
in placing tension directly on the muscles of the forearms, even when
in a
standing position. With the unique design of the bar, the weight is located
a few inches in front of the bar itself, allowing
for a direct line of pull
while in a standing position.
The benefit of this is dramatically increased forearm muscle activation
without
having to use as much weight, which means more muscle building for
the effort you put in with less chance of injury!
2. The 7
degree angle of the handles is a more natural position for the
wrists than a simple straight bar. One of the main problems with
doing
straight-bar barbell wrist curls too much is in the forced supination (the
position where your palms are facing up), which places
stress on the wrist
joints. Over time, this can lead to injury. The Forearm Bar, by angling
the handles, makes the wrist
curl, reverse wrist curl and extensor wrist curl
movements much more natural, giving you better results without wrist pain.
3.
The high-density foam padding on the bar handles allows you to really dig in to activate
the muscles of the forearms and wrist flexors.
The position of the
weight out in front of the bar helps to put more tension on the these targeted muscles.
You're fighting not
only the weight itself but the pull of the weights trying to rotate down.
The benefit of this tension and gripping requirement is more
focused forearms and wrist
flexor muscle activation, increasing the efficiency of your workout.
4. The construction
is commercial-grade...very high quality and able to
take the toughest abuse. This bar will last a lifetime. The weight
post on
the bar sometimes did not rotate around to be directly in line with how I
was holding the bar but I didn't find it affected
the quality of the
exercise at all. It was more of a visual thing than anything that actually
affected the movements.
5.
This bar allows for one of the best pre-exhaust supersets for forearms
that I've come across, allowing a person to really push the
forearms hard
for faster results in forearm strength and muscle-building.
First, you do the standing wrist curl until you can't do
anymore wrist
curls. Then you immediately switch to reverse forearm wrist curls.
The forearms are worked extremely hard as they are already fatigued from the wrist curls!
While this superset works okay with a regular barbell, it really shines with the Forearm Bar
because of the unique demands placed on the forearms.
