Question 1

Should you be able to bench your body weight?

Accepted Answer

Being able to bench press your body weight depends on several factors, including your gender, training experience, physical abilities and limitations, genetics, and age. Completing a bench press that is equivalent to your body weight will be attainable for some and very challenging or impossible for others.

Typically, untrained individuals of any age or gender will have a difficult time bench pressing their body weight. However, many men with at least intermediate training experience, which is typically classified as an individual with two to five years of consistent weight training experience, will be able to bench press their own body weight or more. Advanced and elite women trainees are also often able to bench press their own body weight, but untrained, novice, and intermediate women typically cannot (7).

These estimates are just based on averages using relatively small sample sizes of healthy individuals though, so you shouldn’t consider yourself abnormal if you can’t bench press your body weight despite significant training experience.

Question 2

Are forearms difficult to grow?

Accepted Answer

Many people find it challenging to grow the forearm muscles. Much like the calves, these muscles are built for more consistent, smaller contractions, and may be less prone to muscle hypertrophy than larger, higher force-producing muscle groups(8).

Question 3

Do grippers build forearms?

Accepted Answer

If you use grippers consistently, they can be an effective tool for building your forearms and increasing grip strength. They primarily target the flexor muscles, also engaging wrist stabilizing muscles to maintain control during the exercise, and they come in various resistance levels, so you can increase the difficulty to speed up development(9).

Question 4

Can skinny forearms get bigger?

Accepted Answer

While it can take time, it’s possible to make skinny forearms larger. In most cases, targeted forearm exercises aren’t necessary in a strength training program as these muscles will be highly active during almost all of your other exercises. For example, a deadlift is one of the most effective grip-strengthening exercises, despite grip strength not being the primary focus of the exercise. The same can be said for pull-ups, chin-ups, lat pulldowns, and any type of row. If you choose to add targeted forearm strengthening exercises, save them for the end of your workout as they shouldn’t be prioritized over compound exercises for the vast majority of people(4).

Question 5

Do bicep curls work the forearms?

Accepted Answer

Yes, bicep curls work the forearms. Obviously, the biceps are the primary mover during a bicep curl, but the forearm muscles will be highly active as well to maintain grip. In addition, the positioning of your hands will dictate which forearm muscles are most active. A supinated (palms up) grip will activate the supinator and wrist flexor muscles, while a pronated grip will target the opposite. A neutral grip, which is often referred to as a hammer curl, will target the brachioradialis, which runs through the forearm(10).

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