When you’ve been working out as long as I have, you’re bound to come across an exercise or two that just isn’t as good as some people try to tell you. Case in point: the dumbbell forearm rotation. It’s often lumped in with other dumbbell forearm exercises, and billed as a way to build up the often neglected pronator and supinator muscles. Back as a humble teen with nothing but a pair of cheap dumbbells, I didn’t know any better! So I tried it and, turns out, it was a complete waste of time.
I’m not alone in this experience either, many other people have a similar story with this exercise. However, loading the rotational movements of your forearms isn’t an inherently bad idea. Luckily, it’s really quite simple to transform this exercise from an underwhelming newbie trap into a legit forearm builder!
In the above video I go over exactly why the dumbbell forearm rotation is ineffective, and a few different ways you can make it WAY better!