The Program
Follow these farmer tried and tested techniques to have bigger gains on your forearms:
Milking the cow:
Milking cows, although a funny thought, takes a lot of work on the part of a farm
er. To get a gallon of milk, a farmer may have to squeeze a teat up to 2000 times (if there is that much milk on the cow). Not many people have ready access to a cow that they can milk, so here is an alternative in the office or classroom.
Equivalent Exercise:
Stress relievers, such as foam stress balls, offer a simple and convenient way of simulating this exercise. This exercise requires a high repitition/low energy output solution. For instant, massive forearm gains, this exercise is limited, but will certainly help in maintaining flexibility and dexterity in the lower arm.
Lifting bales of hay:
This exercise is the sole reason my old man had forearms that were an inch bigger than his biceps (which were also massive). Averaging between 80 and 140 pounds each, lifting bales of hay bound with wire or string can give your forearms a burn that they have never felt before. There is a weight room equivalent that hits the forearms this hard, as well as every other muscle in the body.
Equivalent Exercise:
It's the most important lift
that can be done, yet no one ever does it (that I've seen) because quite honestly, it hurts. But the DEAD LIFT, has no competition when it comes to the sheer pain that it causes forearms. For links on how to perform a proper dead lift without injury, go here.
Swinging the scythe:
Going far back into the agriculture timeline, but still used today in many parts of the world is the scythe. Harvesting grain using this tool takes a huge energy output for the flexors in the forearm. Compare this activity to swinging a baseball bat underwater.
Equivalent Exercise:
Though there is no direct exercise equivalent in the weightroom, but forearm curls give the same burn to the forearms as swinging a scythe. Use forearm curls to gain that "knot" in the forearm that everyone strives for.