TABLEOFCONTENTS

KEY TERMS 4

FAQS 5

FOREARM HYPERTROPHY PROGRAM 6

WARM UP 14

PROGRAM VARIABLES 15

EXERCISE SELECTION 18

SAMPLETRAININGSPLIT
SAMPLETRAININGSPLI TS 21

REFERENCES 24

DISCLAIMER 25

JEFFNIPPARD FOREARMHYPERTROPHY PROGRAM 2

 BLOCK
FOREARMHYPERTROPHY
1 PROGRAM:WEEK1

STRENGTHFOCUS

DAY 1 SETS REPS HOLD RPE REST

RE 1 2 3 4 NOTES
HEAV
HEAVY
Y BAR
BARBE
BELL
LL HOLDS 2 HOLD 20 SEC 8 40 SEC CHOOSE HE
HEA
AVY WE
WEIG
IGHT
HT THA
HAT
T NEA
NEARL
RLY FA
FAIL
ILS
S AT T IM
IM E GI
GIVE
VEN,
N, USE
CHALKIFNEEDED

DUMBB
DUMBBELL
ELL BENC
BENCH-BR
H-BRACED
ACED WR
WRIS
IST
T CURL 2 10-12 - 8 30 SEC USE TH
THUMB
UMBLE
LESS
SS GR
GRIP
IP, ALL
ALLOW
OW DU
DUMBB
MBBELL
ELL TO "R
"ROLL
OLL" OUT INTO
FINGERSANDCURLITBACK

STAND
STANDING
ING DU
DUMBB
MBBEL
ELL
L WR
WRIS
IST
T EXTENSION 2 10-12 - 8 30 SEC HOLD DUMB
DUMBBELL
BELLS
S AT SI
SIDE
DES,
S, AND ROTAT
ATE
E TH E WR
WRIST
ISTS
S "OUT",
AVOIDMOMENTUM

REVE
REVERS
RSE
E G RI
RI P BA
BARB
RBEL
ELL
L CURL* 2 10+5 - 9 1 MIN USE THU
THUMBL
MBLESS
ESS GR
GRIP
IP, DO 10 F UL
ULL ROM , 5 TOP HALF ROM TO
FINISHEACHSET

*NOTE:RESTTIMESAREGIVENINMINUTES.
TOTALTRAININGTIME:

HYPERTROPHYFOCUS

DAY 2 SETS REPS HOLD RPE REST

RE 1 2 3 4 NOTES

BEHIND-THE-BACKDUMBBELLW RIS
RISTT 2 10-12 - 8 1 m in PLACE BA
BARB
RBEL
ELL
L BEHI
BEHIND
ND YOUR BACK AND PE
PERF
RFOR
ORM
M CU
CUR
RLS WITH
CURL THEPALMSFACINGBEHINDYOU

DUMBBELLBENCH-BRACEDWRIST 2 12-15 - 8 1 m in USE THU

THUMBL
MBLESS
ESS GR
GRIP
IP, SH
SHOR
ORT
T RA NG
NGE OF MO
MOTI
TION
ON,, MIND MUSCLE
EXTENSION CONNECTIONWITHPOSTERIORFOREARM

PLATE PINCH 2 HOLD MAX 10 1 min PINCH 1 -2

-2 10 LB PLA
PLATE
TES
S F OR
OR AS LONG AS POS
POSSIB
SIBLE
LE FOR A MAX
HOLD HOLDOFUPTO1MINUTE,ADDA3RDPLATEONCE1MINUTEIS
REACHEDWITH2

*NOTE:RESTTIMESAREGIVENINMINUTES.
TOTALTRAININGTIME:

METABOLICFOCUS

DAY 3 SETS REPS HOLD RPE REST

RE 1 2 3 4 NOTES

FARM
FARMER
ER'S
'S WALKS 2 HOLD MAX 10 1.5 HOLD1HEAVYDUMBBELLINEACHHANDANDPERFORMSTRIDES
STRIDES MIN UNTILGRIPFAILS(INCREASEWEIGHTBY40-50TOTALSTRIDES)

DUMBB
DUMBBELL
ELL BENC
BENCH-BR
H-BRACED
ACED WR
WRIS
IST
T CURL 2 15-20 - 8 1 M IN USE THU
THUMBL
MBLESS
ESS GR
GRIP
IP, AL
ALLO
LOW
W DU
DUMBB
MBBEL
ELLL TO "RO
"ROLL
LL"" OU T INTO
FINGERSANDCURLITBACK

REVER
REVERSE
SE GRI
RIP
P PE
PEAC
ACHE
HER
R EZ BAR CURL 2 15-20 - 8 1 MIN USE TH
THUMB
UMBLE
LESS
SS GR
GRIP
IP, RES T B AC
ACK OF A RM
RM S ON PREACHER
MACHINE

*NOTE:RESTTIMESAREGIVENINMINUTES.
TOTALTRAININGTIME:

WEEKLY VOLUME 20

JEFFNIPPARD FOREARMHYPERTROPH
FOREARMHYPERTROPHYPROGRAM
YPROGRAM 6
 BLOCK
FOREARMHYPERTROPHY
1 PROGRAM:WEEK4

STRENGTHFOCUS

DAY 1 SETS REPS HOLD RPE REST

RE 1 2 3 4 NOTES

HEAV
HEAVY
Y BAR
BARBE
BELL
LL HOLDS 2 HOLD 20 SEC 8 40 SEC CHOOSE HE
HEA
AVY WE
WEIG
IGHT
HT THA
HAT
T NEA
NEARL
RLY FA
FAIL
ILS
S AT TI
TIME
ME GI
GIVE
VEN,
N, USE
CHALKIFNEEDED

DUMBB
DUMBBELL
ELL BENCH-
BENCH-BRA
BRACED
CED WR
WRIS
IST
T CURL 3 10-12 - 8 30 SEC USE TH
THUMB
UMBLES
LESS
S GR
GRIP
IP, AL
ALLO
LOW
W DU
DUMBB
MBBEL
ELL
L TO "RO
"ROLL
LL"" OUT INTO

FINGERSANDCURLITBACK
STAND
STANDING
ING DU
DUMBB
MBBEL
ELL
L WR
WRIS
IST
T EXTENSION 3 10-12 - 8 30 SEC HOLD DUMB
DUMBBELL
BELLS
S AT SI
SIDE
DES,
S, AND RO
ROTA
TATE THE WR
WRIST
ISTS
S "OUT",
AVOIDMOMENTUM

REVE
REVERS
RSE
E GRIP BAR
BARBE
BELL
LL CURL* 3 10+5 - 9 1 MIN USE TH
THUMB
UMBLE
LESS
SS GR
GRIP
IP, DO 10 F UL
ULL ROM , 5 TOP HALF ROM TO
FINISHEACHSET

*NOTE:RESTTIMESAREGIVENINMINUTES.
TOTALTRAININGTIME:

HYPERTROPHYFOCUS

DAY 2 SETS REPS HOLD RPE REST

RE 1 2 3 4 NOTES

BEHIND-THE-BACKDUMBBELLW RIS
RIST
T 2 10-12 - 8 1 M IN PLACE BA
BARB
RBEL
ELL
L BEHI
BEHIND
ND YOUR BACK AND PE
PERF
RFOR
ORM
M CU
CUR
RLS WITH
CURL THEPALMSFACINGBEHINDYOU

DUMBBELLBENCH-BRACEDWRIST 2 12-15 - 8 1 M IN USE THU

THUMBL
MBLESS
ESS GR
GRIP
IP, SH
SHOR
ORT
T RAN GE
GE OF MO
MOTI
TION
ON,, M IN
IND MUSCLE
EXTENSION CONNECTIONWITHPOSTERIORFOREARM

PLATE PINCH 2 HOLD MAX 10 1 MIN PINCH 1 -2

-2 10 LB PLA
PLATE
TES
S FOR AS LONG AS POS
POSSIB
SIBLE
LE FOR A MAX
HOLD HOLDOFUPTO1MINUTE,ADDA3RDPLATEONCE1MINUTEIS
REACHEDWITH2

*NOTE:RESTTIMESAREGIVENINMINUTES.
TOTALTRAININGTIME:

METABOLICFOCUS

DAY 3 SETS REPS HOLD RPE REST

RE 1 2 3 4 NOTES

FARM
FARMER
ER'S
'S WALKS 2 HOLD MAX 10 1.5 HOLD1HEAVYDUMBBELLINEACHHANDANDPERFORMSTRIDES
STRIDES MIN UNTILGRIPFAILS(INCREASEWEIGHTBY40-50TOTALSTRIDES)

DUMBB
DUMBBELL
ELL BENCH-
BENCH-BRA
BRACED
CED WR
WRIS
IST
T CURL 2 15-20 - 8 1 MIN USE THU
THUMBL
MBLESS
ESS GR
GRIP
IP, AL
ALLO
LOW
W DU
DUMBB
MBBEL
ELLL TO "R
"ROL
OLL
L" OU T INTO
FINGERSANDCURLITBACK

REVER
REVERSE
SE GRIP PE
PEAC
ACHE
HER
R EZ BAR CURL 2 15-20 - 8 1 MIN USE THU
THUMBL
MBLESS
ESS GR
GRIP
IP, RES
EST
T B AC
AC K OF A RM
RM S ON PREACHER
MACHINE

*NOTE:RESTTIMESAREGIVENINMINUTES.
TOTALTRAININGTIME:

WEEKLY VOLUME 23

JEFFNIPPARD FOREARM HYPERTROPHYPROGRAM 9

 BLOCK
FOREARMHYPERTROPHY
2 PROGRAM:WEEK6

STRENGTHFOCUS

DAY 1 SETS REPS HOLD RPE REST

RE 1 2 3 4 NOTES

HEA
HEAVY BAR
BARBE
BELL
LL HOLDS 2 HOLD 30 SEC 9 30 SEC CHOOSE HE
HEA
AVY WE
WEIG
IGHT
HT THA
HAT
T NEA
NEARL
RLY FA
FAIL
ILS
S AT TIM E GI
GIVE
VEN,
N, USE
CHALKIFNEEDED

DUMBB
DUMBBELL
ELL BENC
BENCH-BR
H-BRACED
ACED WR
WRIS
IST
T CURL 3 10-12 - 8 30 SEC USE THU
THUMBL
MBLESS
ESS GR
GRIP
IP, ALL
ALLOW
OW DU
DUMBB
MBBEL
ELLL TO "RO
"ROLL
LL"" OUT INTO
FINGERSANDCURLITBACK

STAND
STANDING
ING DU
DUMBB
MBBEL
ELL
L WR
WRIS
IST
T EXTENSION 3 10-12 - 8 30 SEC HOLD DUMBB
DUMBBELL
ELLS
S AT SI
SIDE
DES,
S, AN D ROTAT
ATE
E THE WR
WRIS
ISTS
TS "OUT",
AVOIDMOMENTUM

REVE
REVERS
RSE
E GRI P BA
BARB
RBEL
ELL
L CURL* 3 10+5 - 9 1 M IN USE THU
THUMBL
MBLESS
ESS GR
GRIP
IP, DO 10 F UL
ULL ROM , 5 TOP HALF ROM TO
FINISHEACHSET

*NOTE:RESTTIMESAREGIVENINMINUTES.
TOTALTRAININGTIME:

HYPERTROPHYFOCUS

DAY 2 SETS REPS HOLD RPE REST

RE 1 2 3 4 NOTES

PLATE PINCH 3 HOLD MAX 10 1 MIN PINCH 1 -2

-2 10 LB PLA
PLATE
TES
S FOR AS LON
ONG
G AS POS
POSSIB
SIBLE
LE F OR
OR A MAX
HOLD
HOLD HOLDOFUPTO1MINUTE,ADDA3RDPLATEONCE1MINUTEIS
REACHEDWITH2

BEHIND-THE-BACKDUMBBELLWRIST 2 10-12 - 8 1 MIN PLACE BA

BARB
RBEL
ELL
L BEHI
BEHIND
ND YO UR
UR BACK AND PE
PERF
RFOR
ORM
M CU
CUR
RLS WITH
CURL THEPALMSFACINGBEHINDYOU

DUMBBELLBENCH-BRACEDWRIST 2 12-15 - 8 1 MIN USE THU

THUMBL
MBLES
ESS
S GR
GRIP
IP, S HO
HO RT
RT RAN
ANGE
GE OF MO
MOTI
TION
ON,, MIN D MUSCLE
EXTENSION CONNECTIONWITHPOSTERIORFOREARM

*NOTE:RESTTIMESAREGIVENINMINUTES.
TOTALTRAININGTIME:

METABOLICFOCUS

DAY 3 SETS REPS HOLD RPE REST

RE 1 2 3 4 NOTES

FARM
FARMER
ER'S
'S WALKS 2 HOLD MAX 10 1.5 HOLD1HEAVYDUMBBELLINEACHHANDANDPERFORMSTRIDES
STRIDES MIN UNTILGRIPFAILS(INCREASEWEIGHTBY40-50TOTALSTRIDES)

DUMBB
DUMBBELL
ELL BENC
BENCH-BR
H-BRACED
ACED WR
WRIS
IST
T CURL 2 15-20 - 8 1 MIN USE TH
THUMB
UMBLE
LESS
SS GR
GRIP
IP, AL
ALLO
LOW
W DU
DUMBB
MBBEL
ELLL TO "R
"ROLL
OLL" OUT INTO
FINGERSANDCURLITBACK

HAMM
HAMMER
ER DU
DUMB
MBBE
BELL
LL CURL 2 15-20 - 8 1 M IN USE TH
THUM
UMBL
BLES
ESS
S GR
GRIP
IP, PE
PER
RFO
FORM
RM BOTH ARMS AT ONCE

*NOTE:RESTTIMESAREGIVENINMINUTES.
TOTALTRAININGTIME:

WEEKLY VOLUME 24

JEFFNIPPARD FOREARM HYPERTROPHYPR OGRAM 11

PROGRAMVARIABLES
INTENSITY
Howhardshouldyoutrain?
Howhardshouldyoutrain?Howheavyshou
Howheavyshouldyougo?
ldyougo?
TheanswerstothesequestionsaredeterminedbytheRPEgivenforeachexercise.KeepinmindthatRPE’sare
meanttobeforworking
meanttobeforworkingsets
setsonly.
only. AnRPE
AnRPEof10indicates
of10indicatestheset
thesetshouldbeta
shouldbetakentofailu
kentofailure.Inthe
re.Inthecase
caseofgrip
ofgrip
training,thiswouldmeantogotothepointwhereyourgripfails.AnRPEof9meansyoushouldstoponerepshy
offailure.AnRPEof8meansyoushouldstoptworepsshyoffailureandsoon.RPE’sprovidedareintendedto
beappliedtoallworkingsetsexceptforwhenthetrainingdayisannotatedwithanoteindicatingthatthefinal
setofeachexercisesistobetakentofailure.

VOLUME
Howmuchvolumeyouneedtoprogresswilldependonyourlevelofadvancement.Themoreadvancedyouare
andthemorevolumeyouwillneed.Thisprogrambeginswith20totalweeklysetsinWeek1andfinisheswith26
totalweeklysetsinWe
totalweeklysetsin Week
ek8.
8.

Bewareofthefactthatthereisastrongoverlapbetweenanyheavyrowinganddeadliftingandtheforearm
movementsincludedinthisprogram.Soifthecurrentprogramyou’rerunninghasahighvolumeofthese
movementsalreadyincluded,itmaybewisetoadjustthevolumedownby1setperexercise,dependingon
yourownassessmentofyourrecovery.Consistentandrecurringsoreness,achyjointsandfatigueisgenerallya
reliableindicationthatyoumaybeperformingtoomuchvolumeandmaywanttoadjusttheroutineaccordingly.
Furthermore,ifyou’rearelativelynewlifter,youmaywanttostartwithonelesssetpermovementforthefirst
weekortwo.Fromthere,youcanassessyourtolerancetothatweeklyvolumeandthenbeginaddingsetsonce
you’reconfidentyou’rerecoveringadequately.

FREQUENCY
A2017studyshowedthatwhenvolumeequated,trainingtheforearms10xperweekdidn’tleadtobetter
strengthorsizegainsthantrainingthem3xperweek,somorefrequencyisn’tnecessarilybetter. 1Furthermore,
themostrecentandcomprehensivemetaanalysisontrainingfrequencyconcludedthat2x/weekisbetterthan
1x/weekformaximizinggrowthwhilefrequenciesof3ormoremayormaynotbebetter 2.However,becausethe
musclesoftheforearmaresmallermuscleswitharguablyfasterrecoveryrates,a3dayperweekfrequency

JEFFNIPPARD FOREARM HYPERTROPHY PROGRAM 15

FOREARMS

FIGURE2: MUSCLESOFTHEPOSTERIORFOREARM
(Image:https:/
(Image:http s://commons.wikime
/commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F
dia.org/wiki/File:11
ile:1120_Musc
20_Muscles_that_Move_th
les_that_Move_the_Forearm_Ant
e_Forearm_Antebrach._Sup._Fl
ebrach._Sup._Flex._Sin
ex._Sin.png#/media/F
.png#/media/File:11
ile:1120_Muscles_that_
20_Muscles_that_Move_the_Fore
Move_the_Forearm_
arm_
Antebrach._Sup._Flex._Sin.png

About5ofthe20musclesperformelbow
About5ofthe20 musclesperformelbowflexion(like
flexion(likeabicepcurl)andpronationo
abicepcurl)andpronationofthef
ftheforearm(like
orearm(liketurningyourpalm
turningyourpalm
up).Ofthese,we’ll
up).Ofthese,we’lljustfocuson
justfocusonthemostprominent
themostprominentbrachioradialismusclewhich,
brachioradialismusclewhich,unlikeotherprominent
unlikeotherprominentforearmmuscles
forearmmuscles
suchastheFlexorDigitorum
suchastheFlexorDigitorumSuperficialis,doesn’tc
Superficialis,doesn’tcrossthewrist
rossthewristjoint,meaningit
joint,meaningitcan’tbetrainedthrough
can’tbetrainedthroughwristflexiono
wristflexionorr
extension.

Accordingtoapapertitled“TheFunction
Accordingtoapapert itled“TheFunctionofBrachioradialis”,
ofBrachioradialis”,it’sequallyactive
it’sequallyactiveinaneutral,
inaneutral,supinated,andpronated
supinated,andpronated
4
position.Andsince
.Andsincethebicepsare
thebicepsarestrongestwhen
strongestwhentheforearm
theforearmissupinated,orwhenthe
issupinated,orwhenthepalmsare
palmsarefacingup,it’s
facingup,it’sbestto
bestto
performcurlswithapronated
performcurlsw ithapronatedor“reverse”g
or“reverse”gripforthebrachioradialis.Another
ripforthebrachioradialis.AnotherpaperfromMurray
paperfromMurrayandcolleagues
andcolleaguespublished
published
intheJournalofBiomechanics
intheJournal ofBiomechanicsfoundthatpeak
foundthatpeaktorquefo
torqueforthebrachioradialis
rthebrachioradialisoccurredbetween
occurredbetween100°and120°ofelbow
100°and120°ofelbow
5
flexion,whilepeaktorque
flexion,while peaktorqueforthe
forthebicepswasclose
bicepswascloserto80°
rto80°.Soperforming
.Soperformingpartialrepsin
partialrepsinthetop-endrangeofmot
thetop-endrangeofmotionmight
ionmight
helptargetthebracioradialiso
helptarget thebracioradialisoverthebiceps.
verthebiceps.Mypreferrede
Mypreferredexerciseforbrac
xerciseforbrachioradialisisolationis
hioradialisisolationisthereverseg
thereversegripbarbell
ripbarbell
curlfinishingwithpartialrepsin
curlfinishingwith partialrepsinthetophalfoft
thetophalfoftherange.H
herange.Hammercurlsare
ammercurlsarealsoago
alsoagoodexercise,but
odexercise,butlikemostcurls,will
likemostcurls,will
targetthebicepstoa
targetthe bicepstoalargedegree
largedegreeandaren’tas
andaren’tasgreatfor
greatforisolatingthe
isolatingthebrachioradialisbutareveryeffective
brachioradialisbutareveryeffectiveforoverloa
foroverloading.
ding.

JEFFNIPPARD FOREARM HYPERTROPHYPR OGRAM 19

SAMPLETRAININGSPLITS
3.PUSH/PULL/LEGSSPLIT(8-9DAYSPLIT)

Day1:Push+ Day1
Day2:Pull
Day3:Legs+ Day2

Day4:(Optionalrest)
Day5:Push
Day6:Pull+ Day3
Day7:Legs
Day8:Rest

Iwouldpersonallyrecommend
Iwouldpersonallyrecommendrunningsplit
runningsplit#1or2onthisprogramfor
#1or2onthisprogramforthesake
thesakeof
ofoptimizingfrequency
optimizingfrequencyand
and
theconvenienceoffittingyourfullsplitwithinasinglecalendarweek.Theextratrainingdaysinsplit#3allowfor
adequaterecoverybet
adequaterecoveryb etwe
ween
ense
sess
ssion
ions,
s,ho
however,theweeklyfrequencymaybeslightlysub-optimal.Giventhis,if
wever,theweeklyfrequencymaybeslightlysub-optimal.Giventhis,if
thissplitallowsyoutotrainwitheithermoreintensity(effort)orwithbetteradherencethantheothers,thenyou
shouldgowithit.Rememberthatregardlessofthesplityouchoose,themostimportantthingisaccomplishing
theweeklyforearmtrainingvolumewiththeappropriateintensity(RPE).

Animportantconsiderationinthetrainingsplitiswherethebrachioradialiswork(reversegripcurlsandhammer
curls)shouldbeplacedinrelation
curls)shouldbeplacedinrelationtootherbicepexercise
tootherbicepexercisesin
sinyourprogram.
yourprogram.Iwould
Iwouldrecommenddoing
recommenddoingthese
these
movementsonthesamedayyouhitbiceps.Otherwise,trytospaceitoutsuchthatthereisatleastonedayof
restbetweenothercurlingmovementsyoudo,andthecurlingmovementsintheforearmprogram.

JEFFNIPPARD FOREARM HYPERTROPHYPR OGRAM 22

DISCLAIMER
JeffNippardisnotadoctororregistereddietitian.Thecontentsofthisdocumentshouldnotbe
takenasmedicaladvice.Itisnotintendedtodiagnose,treat,cure,orpreventanyhealthproblem
-norisitintendedto
-norisitintendedtoreplacethea
replacetheadviceofaphysician.Alway
dviceofaphysician.Alwaysconsultyour
sconsultyourphysicianor
physicianorqualified
qualified
healthprofessionalonanymattersregardingyourhealth.Theexercisescontainedhereinare
performedattheownriskoftheTrainee.AlldocumentsincludedorexchangedbetweenJeff
NippardandtheTraineearetheintellectualpropertyofSTRCNGIncorporatedandarenottobe
copied,soldorredistributedwithoutwrittenconsent.

JEFFNIPPARD FOREARM HYPERTROPHY PROGRAM 25