Awesome video. I followed Mike from the magazines when I was 15. I’m 58 now, my forearms have always symmetrically balanced my arms from these same exercise’s. Thank you for the video.
Bruce Lee would be proud of Mike's forearms. Though Mike's forearms grow indirectly from the heavy weight he lifts to grow in other body parts While Bruce didn't want to gain a lot of muscle so that he wouldn't become slow he needed to put in work to get his forearms. I wonder if Mike ever played with Isometric exercises like Bruce did to strengthen his tendons and ligaments. Mike does it somewhat when he speaks about doing negatives and during the negative try to do a positive lift and notice you cannot. In a way that is a short isometric workout. I am a huge follower of Bruce's fighting method and I believe a lot of people don't see what he was really saying or else UFC would be a lot better than it is. No one parries or traps while hitting at the same time (like water) instead they move out the way or block something and reset to wait for their chance or for another attack by the opponent. Got off topic but yeah, Bruce would love Mike's forearms.
Some friends and I ran into Ray Mentzer at a convention in Anaheim Ca 40+ years ago. Ray wasn’t a tall guy but his forearms reminded me of bowling pins. I never met Mike but I’ll bet his were the same.
My forearms always go to absolute failure when I do the back exercises with HIT. Training them separately would lead to overtraining them, smth which Mike would advise us to avoid at all costs.
Not using wrist wraps helps the forearms both is strength and size. But to develop every part of the forearms including strength some direct work helps. There are so many exercises that can be done for the forearms but i would start with strengthening the forearms and hands so that grip doesn't become a hindrance to other exercises where grip is needed
So is it better to wait until your forearms catch up and never use wrists wraps? Or is it better to use wrist wraps when the forearms are limiting an exercise, and then train the forearms specifically in a separate exercise?
@@Dserbs I don't know the scientific answer, but I can 100% assure you that, without straps, my deadlift & barbell rows will find failure in my grip way before that back muscles do. Nevertheless, I only use them for the very heavy sets, when it's really needed to push beyond, and nothing else.
@@masii22 I understand that but it might be best to have the forearms catch up to the load. Might have to be a 1 step back 2 forward period. I had a friend back in the day who used straps regularly for heavy deadlifts and rows and got severe arthritis in his wrists at 24yrs old and his right wrist was out of commission for almost half a year. He is now a PhD chrio and has fully denounced strap usage for anyone.
My view is to use straps only on the last and heaviest set, also it would depend on fatigue. If your grip is fine completing rows but then later doing chin-ups they now fatiguing that's when you use the straps. In my training when my grip becomes and issue is when I need to use a lot of gripping in a workout or when the forearms becomes too pumped. Most workouts and exercises I don't really have too much issue with grip. But I don't have straps for those days where I my grips becomes an issue. What I see as a problem is people using straps all the time. Even seen people using straps and wrist wraps for exercises where grip isn't an issue
Hah! The original Muscle Builder article is in here Vintage Forearm Routines Dave Draper Frank Zane Mike Mentzer ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WWAdAra-oeE.html
@@HEAVYDUTYCOLLEGE the forearm article you showed, I don't recall that layout. Heavy Duty? Or a later publication? Again, your command of the esoterica humbles me. (Not really but I felt obligated;)
It was a reprint of his article for Muscle Builder, which was published in the series of books Weider put his name to in the early 1980s. This particular one was entitled “The Best of Joe Weider’s Muscle & Fitness: Training Tips and Routines” and was published by Contemporary Books (Chicago) in 1981.
I had the privilege of training with Scott Wilson for a few years. His forearms were insane, and he never trained them. After we finished arms, I would start to set up for forearm work. As he slung his gym bag over his shoulder and exited the gym, he would instruct me to "work those buggy whips."
I was all this time thinking like why the hell do I not train any forearms with heavy duty, even though I did notice how every pull day my forearms were kinda dying from fetige, so I geuss now I understand Mike's perspective on this
Yeah him and Mike were AWESOME. Solid mesomorphs. If I could snap my fingers and be anyone it would be Mike Mentzer 1978. Best physique of alltime right there as far as im concerned.
Hey John Little, is it okay to add Wrist Curls and Wrist Extensions in the third day of the Ideal Routine after all of the other exercises? Or is there a better way to do it? Should I use straps on the deadlift or will my forearms catch up? Thanks
@HEAVYDUTYCOLLEGE I have been researching for a few days, and I am thinking of adding these exercises to Day 3 of the Ideal Routine (after all of the other exercises): -Wrist Curls -Wrist Extensions -Hammer Curls Are they too much? I want to fully stimulate the forearms.
nope, mine didn't start growing at all, despite gaining a lot of size on my upper arms, until I did a ton of direct work. Some people just have good genetics for them, you are likely one of those people.
@@anab0lic22" is performance enhanced for sure. I built 18" arms naturally with no forearm work. My forearms were admitted small and people would comment on the disproportionate size compared to my upper arm. I did almost exclusively concentration curls with a supinated grip for biceps and angle bar cable pushdowns for triceps.
This is exactly what happened to me with my forearms they got bigger without me even doing a direct forearm exercise I guess the chin ups and the bicep curls did the job because every time I do those exercise my forearms also seems to get sored, especially with thick grips..
I never saw mike work his forearms yet they absolutely were massive. Of course i am little bias, however i thought he had the best triceps and forearms in the world in those days..
Hello John, I remember Mike would often emphasize to avoid EZ cu bar’s as they would target the forearms more. Thus, Should an EZ bar be used as opposed to a straight bar when performing the reverse curls?
Straight bar for direct bicep work. EZ curl for forearm AND bicep, though not full bicep, it incorporates the smaller bicep muscle, the name escapes me. So using a EZ curl will not hit your full bicep, but a combination of muscles. Probably still good if you wanna use it though.
@fender1000100 it works. It is great to build strength, which helps in all other weights work. Size will come. It's all about time under tension. With the reverse curls, you want to not rest the bar on your thighs in the down position. Wrist curls: curl as hard as you can, and I'd suggest holding it there for a second in the contracted position. And in the down position, I open my hand to extend the fingers and then curl back up. Puts extra tension through the whole range.
John! Thank you for what you do for us! How do people in prison get in shape with bodyweight exercises only and people who do calisthenics? Makeshift weights and extra rest days or smuggled gear?
Mr John, ive seen posts of mike mentzer saying that the bicep workout is only a barbell curl, straight bar, but ive also seen him say that the close grip pulldown is the best bicep excersise, which one should i do ? straight bar or pull down or super set both. and if super set, then which one should i start with first
You could use one for a while and then substitute the other. Just remember to keep accurate workout records so that you know that you are progressing in repetitions and weight. There was a point in time, during the late 1970s, when Mike would recommend supersetting barbell curls with close grip pull downs or close grip pull-ups. However, as you get stronger, you don’t need and cannot tolerate the overlapping of different muscle groups quite so regularly.
@@HEAVYDUTYCOLLEGE i tried the close grip pull down yesterday till failure like 65kg and its a massive game changer, ill probably just do this because its controls the whole bicep instead of the short head only
I do notice it's easier to grow my forearms and calves than other muscles. I don't have to put nearly as much work into my forearms as the rest of my body to get them to grow very quickly
I am currently doing three sets when I train my back. They are: Overhead Cable Pullovers supersetted immediately afterward with Close Grip Palms Up Pulldowns which are then followed by Yates Rows with a regular grip from a barbell rack. I have been finding that these movements have been sufficient stimulation to affect both forearm strength and muscle growth.
I also did this but not doing deadlifts caused me to lose hamstring size. There's no hamstring work if you take out deadlifts so I'd recommend adding hamstring curls in
This applies to abs as well. We all have seen or known guys that don't really diet, eat whatever the hell they want to, train whenever, do a few sets of crunches when they feel like it.......AND????....Permanent 6 pack all year long!!!...It's not fair, but it happens.....I have seen legit 20 inch calves walking around in summer on guys that look like they USED TO Lift ...about 20 years ago. When asked they just shrug and say......they were always big... Same applies to some guys and Chest. All they do is bench and maybe a couple of other exercises. Nothing really fancy, not even to failure. Not that impressive of a bench weight...but....MASSIVE Pec's. I worked with a guy that was very jacked. He claimed all he ever did for chest were pushups as he trained at home....You would never guess that looking at him. Same goes for arms, Quads, whatever...........So Mike had good genetics for calves and forearms? Trained Heavy, was on Steroids (his own admission).....and his genetic strong points grew??? That is not really that surprising.
Please for the love of god somebody ... what is 1 set of 6- 10 reps until failure? Does that mean if you cant do 6 reps decrease lbs? & or if 25 reps is failure increase lbs? I mean i understand until failure or 6 reps or until failure but good god
Perform one set in which you are unable to complete another repetition in strict form (failure) within a range of six to ten repetitions. When you can perform 10 repetitions, increase the weight until you are back to six or seven repetitions, and then work your way back up to ten repetitions again. Yes, if you can't do six repetitions, you may have to decrease the weight, and if you can do 25 repetitions, you may have to increase the weight.
Because this article was written by Mike in 1978, when he was still using 2 to 4 sets total per muscle group. His one set per exercise philosophy did not evolve until the 1990s when he was training clients who were for the most part natural and did not share his genetic tolerance for exercise. It’s pretty easy to make modifications to the forearm workout. The video was produced simply because it is the only record we have of Mike speaking about forearm training.
Calves grows without my doing shit. You train them when doing, RDL, seated hamstrings curls often gets a pump from that. Forearms never grow no matters what I do.
It's never too late. While you may not achieve the physique of a younger person, you can still make significant improvements and become better than last time with every workout. Mike Mentzer's approach is particularly effective for older individuals because it allows ample time for recovery between workouts, enabling joints to heal and the body to adapt. Focus on perfecting your technique; the better your form, the more effectively you stimulate your muscles while minimizing stress on tendons and joints. On rest days, prioritize genuine rest, and consider incorporating low-intensity cardio to promote cardiovascular health without risking overexertion (or no Cardio at all, if you want to focus on building muscle). Remember, progress is achievable at any age.
direct work does nothing for my forearms. holding heavy weitghs like in shrugs ans rows are the best for my forearms. same thing with calves, superheavy weitghs in isometry effort and negatives..
