Overdeveloped Forearms?

[joeybec007]

Hey all,
So i've been lifting (consistantly) for about a year and a half now and have made noticeable gains. However, one area which I find myself overdeveloping in comparison to the rest of my muscle groups is my forearms, which I find to be interesting because I don't do any forearm specific workouts at all. Any suggestions to find exercises which minimize forearm use (especially bicep workouts and shoulder workouts) and would bring the rest of my upper body back into proportion? Thanks!

[RedHerring]

Deadlifts are fairly hard on your forearms, and so are the mentioned curls.

I guess you could use straps for your deadlifts if you really wanted...

other than that generally working out your arms uses your forearms.

[LiL USMC BBer]

Pics of said overdeveloped forearms.

[joeybec007]

here's what i've got, i might be over exaggerating a bit but people have told me that my forearms are quite big for my overall size, thanks

[mrwonderful56]

Your forearms look pretty average to me.

[rocketman44]

Preacher curls, on a machine, with your palms pretty much open on the handles. That grip, or lack thereof, transfers most of the effort to the biceps, which is what most people want from a curl anyway.

Other than that, unless you use straps, you might be out of luck. Pretty much any kind of heavy free weight training is going to demand use of the forearms. You may be able to do some machine stuff and just avoid a white-knuckle grip when possible.

[kenwa]

I would love this problem

You have nice forearms. As you fill out, you'll be very thankful they grow easy.

I have to bust my forearms to look half that good.

[FAO]

Your forearms look pretty average to me.

Yeah, no offense, I dont see a Frank McGrath comparison. I would just be happy, most guys dont have this kinda problem, its kinda funny. Oh, and the trash in your bathroom needs emptied...

[joeybec007]

ya tell me about it... no one wants to empty it, me especially. well i guess it is a bonus though i would have rather had the bulk go to my bi-s and not the forearms. they look kinda ridiculous after a work out, all veiny and such.

[Poppy83]

^That is a problem? Big biceps look nice, but well-developed forearms look more powerful to me. It looks as though the person could rip your arm off. Wussy forearms with big biceps just screams, "I'm a **** and curl myself to death but I could not hold onto a closed umbrella in a windstorm!"

[rocco421]

no such thing as overdeveloped anything, besides maybe obliques

[Nauxz]

first pic looks pretty swole

[MIMdrummer]

Wow dude, that's awesome. I can understand on being aggervated on unproportioned but if it helps, i've been working my forearms for like a year trying to get mine back the way they used to be, and just yesterday i stopped working them directly and i saw gains in them for the first time in like 100000 years....wtf? They're worse than twigs.....but...things to help take concentration off of them is (like everyone else said) straps, and most importantly, mind to muslce concentration. I don't even feel a burn in my forearms anymore when i work my biceps, yet i can't get my bench press grip right lol.

[Joe Go]

Nothing wrong with big forearms. If you don't like the proportion you will have to put more time into your shoulder and bicep training. Once you bring up your biceps and shoulders your forearms will look more balanced to the rest of your body.

[matt1001]

big forearms are good, mine are thin and while im starting put on mass around my body i already had resonably wide shoulders and now that i'm getting even wider and it looks wierd because i look bigger when wearing a shirt then i am but my forearms are thin

[-Lucifer]

You've got good forearms man.

[Lowerthefever]

I was expecting you to look like popeye.

[vegasdsm]

12.75" forearms and 17.8" arms....... (me)

keep lifting hard and dont worry about it...

maybe quit fappin...... (no homo)

[stealth_swimmer]

no such thing as overdeveloped forearms IMO.

Same goes for lats, and delts. You can never have overdeveloped forearms, lats, or delts. Only chest and arms that are too small to match.

[BigJonMud]

I've got the same problem. My biceps are only millimetres bigger than my forearms. Particualrly the flexors relating to the 4th and 5th fingers.

Wrist alignment and mobilty plays a ig role in the wrist flexor/extensor relationship. Many movements compact the wrist, while others demand some certain compensation for the natrual ROM simply becuase of the exercise.

I have remedied the inbalance that my friends call 'popeye syndrome' with assisted wrist rotations and extensive finger and joint exercises. Focusing on lengthening the and lubriucating the wrists, and recruiting more balanced movement pathways.

[Mr.Maska]

popeye is that u?

[microrahsheen]

I'm upset the pics didn't look like Popeye's arms.

I'm looking at the way you were flexing in the second pic (no homo) and if you curl like that, you are probably accelerating your forearm development.

Stop grabbing everything so hard. You need to concentrate on moving the weight with your target muscles (bi's, back, whatever) and NOT gripping too hard.

[iladelph]

John Cena = huge forearms

[wimp2pimp]

here's what i've got, i might be over exaggerating a bit but people have told me that my forearms are quite big for my overall size, thanks

second pic, based on your right hand (on left side of picture), you have a pretty big frame (big wrists), so I'm sure it's not overdeveloping. It's probably normal size for your frame. I'm sure your biceps and triceps will grow fast as you start benching and rowing more weight.

[ATownDRock]

Maybe it's a tumor?

John Kimble: It's not a TUMOR!!

[BigJonMud]

Damn its hard to photgraph your own forearms..

Same thing- overdeveloped medial flexors- you can see it better in the mirror reflection of the second photo (only just). Very common, leading to many problems- although you can seesome bulge starting to come in on the right side- its also amazing how 'stuck' the thumb can get.. esp if youve broken them as many times as me. The 'parts' will always affect the 'whole'.


By bigjonmud, shot with Canon PowerShot A610 at 2008-05-10

Go back and check out joeybec007's wrist alignment again! Do you think the muslce flexes and pulls the wrist over that side? Or the the wrist needs to move there in order to flex the muscle?
I'l say, "neither".


This photo angle shows the most 'depth'. However the forearms develops most, close to the elbow and wraps around the arm- you cant see it all at once. My flexors actually pull my ulna and radius out of the socket..



Now, see if you can find a spot on the bottom of my wrist, just below where my hand meets my arm.. you'l notice what looks like an indent, or a bit of a gap. Also, that my arm looks even smaller form this angle. Thats wehre the muscle couldnt grow, cos the joint was too tight.

That is where I added 3/4 inches to the length of my wrist, by doing full assited joint articulations and rotations. Pavel Tstatsouline style. I wish I had a before photo- the diffrence is actually shocking, but so is the new muscle I can use and grow. If you maximise the pic, you'l also be able to see where the new recruited muscle is going to fill out.



I hope this helps.
Exercising my fingers, and wrists.. toes and ankles is amongst the most effective bodysculpting training i've ever done. Its finally allowing me to build my physique, my way.