The forearm is a muscle that many athletes forget to strengthen, but there are several benefits from having strong symmetric forearms. In order to become a World Class Athlete we must train parts of the body that the average Joe over looks. We are not building monster forearms for looks. We are developing this muscle so that our performance on the field/court improves.
Playing in the NFL took a beating on my wrist, and half way through my career I found myself wearing a wrist brace, and I hated it. Not only did it look stupid, I was also convinced it was doing long term damage to my wrist.
The conclusion I came up with was that strengthening my forearms would be more beneficial to protect my wrist then any brace or wrist tapping. The more we build muscle and flexibility in our forearm, the more we create durability in the muscles and joints around the forearm such as the wrist and elbow.
After training my forearms for injury prevention I noticed my game getting better. I had more control of the offensive lineman, and I was making more arm tackles ( which has a lower conversion rate due to the fact that it's easier to run through someones arm as opposed to their body). I thought I was just healing and my game was picking up where it left off, but my run defense got significantly better. And part of that was because I improved my forearm/grip strength.
Now, forearm/grip strength is not just for Offensive lineman and Defensive Lineman, every athlete can benefit from a stronger grip. QB with a stronger grip can throw a better spiral which leads to accuracy and more powerful throws, RB can reduce his chances of fumbling with stronger forearms, WR can catch and secure tougher passes with a better grip, baseball players can have better bat control, basketball players can improve their handle, and a better grip actually makes dunking the ball a bit easier, and the list goes on.
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