Build Otherworldly Forearm Strength With This Towel Move
Sure, you want big, powerful biceps, the kinds of guns that can curl plenty of weight and deliver serious strength on other lifts, too. But if you pair those biceps with weak forearms, you won't gain the physique you're looking for, or improve your performance in other key exercises, either.
That's why you need to sprinkle forearm-focused moves into your workouts. Sometimes, that may mean doing exercises that isolate your grip strength. Or you can just add in this curl from Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., the half-full towel hammer curl, which will rock forearms, biceps, and brachialis (the ball-like muscle that lies between biceps and triceps and helps add a 3D effect to your arms) all at once.
"This move attacks both key drivers of elbow flexion (biceps and brachialis), and then it adds a persistent grip challenge because of the nature of the towel," says Samuel. "And through all of this, you're loading up on growth-driving time-under-tension."
Towel hammer curls are a solid way to attack brachialis and forearms in general, says Samuel, but the half-full element adds a unique wrinkle. By pausing with your forearms parallel to the ground, you force yourself to think about your form. "That's true on any curl, but especially on this version," says Samuel. "The towel introduces a level of instability. If you're swinging the weight up with your whole body instead of curling it with control with your biceps and forearms, the instability will expose that. And you'll have to get control."
The result: You'll focus on controlled contractions with biceps, brachialis and forearm muscles, growing targeted muscles instead of rushing reps. You'll need a kettlebell and a towel to pull this move off. Don't have a kettlebell? Consider this one from Yes4All.
Grab a medium-weight kettlebell. Wrap a towel around its handle, then grasp the ends of the towel, using a neutral grip. Stand with the load, core tight, glutes squeezed, and shoulder blades tight.
Keeping your upper arms as still as possible, bend at the elbows, curling the weight up until your forearms are parallel with the ground. Pause.
Lower until your arms are nearly straight, then curl the weight as high as possible without lifting your elbows. Squeeze your biceps and forearms at the top. Lower back to the start.
That's 1 rep. Do 3 sets of 8 to 10.
The towel half-full hammer curl is perfect as a finisher on a pull day, says Samuel, or as a second or third exercise in a biceps blast. "I love this as a biceps day finisher," says Samuel. "I've already crushed my biceps themselves in a biceps workout, but this is hitting everything else, smashing brachialis and a host of forearm and grip muscles."
For more tips and routines from Samuel, check out our full slate of Eb and Swole workouts. If you want to try an even more dedicated routine, consider Eb's New Rules of Muscle program.
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