Build your grip and forearms with just a kettlebell and a towel – Muscle & Fitness

Daniel Strauss knows a thing or two about the importance of strong forearms and an iron grip, because the popular wrestling coach and jiu-jitsu black belt was taught by 10-time world champion Roger Gracie. Now the student is passing on the wisdom with his own training academy and an informative Instagram account that has amassed more than half a million followers. In a recent post, the man they call the “Raspberry Ape” shared a message from his home gym showing how to make big gains in grip strength while building those hard-to-reach forearms. It’s a fun, but very difficult wrist roll challenge. Try it for yourself.

“You don’t need fancy equipment,” Strauss explained. “Here’s a makeshift wrist roller with just a weight and a towel, and it absolutely fries the forearms.” While the coach used a kettlebell, you could replace it with any load that can move up and down in a straight line and has an anchor for the towel, such as a barbell. To start, Strauss inserts the towel into the hole of the kettle bell until it is halfway up. He then takes the two ends and joins them together, holding them at the top. To begin his first rep, Strauss rolls the top ends of the towel while keeping his hands level so that the weight begins to rise as he rolls the towel toward him with his wrists. When you can no longer roll the towel toward you, go in the opposite direction and lower the weight back to the floor to complete the rep.

Why does wrist rolling improve grip strength and forearm muscle mass?

Wrist rolling is a very effective exercise because it activates the grip and forearm muscles in seconds, making you feel the burn and challenging your will to continue. Forearm muscles such as the brachioradialis (the muscle we want to ‘bulge’ at the front of the forearm) can be difficult to reach because the shoulders, biceps and triceps often play a role in moving a load. However, working with the wrist flexors is a safe way to stimulate forearm growth and grip strength.

Dumbbells are often used for wrist flexion exercises, as are farmer’s walks and dead hangs, but this towel-based grip and forearm exerciser is slightly different and creates an “additional challenge,” the coach explained, because the grip must expand to accommodate the growing towel roll. “The ‘handle’ gets bigger the higher you go!”

In a follow-up post, Strauss said he also started performing wrist curls with the same setup, simply doing half twists and returns instead of full rolls. “So simple, but so effective,” concluded the game grappler. To make this work for you, experiment with a weight that challenges you. “Like any exercise, it’s a personal preference and goal,” Strauss said of the repetition schedule. “Somewhere between five and thirty reps.”

To follow Daniel Strauss on Instagram, click here.