An Armwrestling Training Regimen: A Template To Follow

Feel Free To Modulate This Exercise Routine As Much As You Like

Chain 1: The Hands And Wrists

The hands begin the match, and strengthening the beginning of your chain is integral for armwrestling strength.

Pinch Grip Plates: You can start with lighter 10 lb or 25 lb plates, or go to 45 lb plates.

For 4-6 sets, hold the weights at your side while standing upright firmly, hold them for 30-90 seconds, and rest for two minutes. I recommend resting for longer to build power in your hands and wrists, or reducing rest periods between sets to build muscular endurance for armwrestling.

Wrist Curls With Dumbbells: You can use lighter or heavier dumbbells, but I do recommend working your way up to heavier dumbbells.

For 4-6 sets, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Either rest them on your knees with the palms facing up or upside down with the palms facing the floor. Do them until you feel a bit of a burn, or 8-12 reps. Try to become in tune with the “burn” to know your limits and your rest periods. Try to rest a minimum of 90 seconds between sets.

Accessory Exercises: Hand grippers are an exceptional tool for continuously strengthening your muscle fibers and tendon connections in your fingers.

Chain 2: Your Forearms

While the exercises above will undoubtedly strengthen your forearms, you should make a dedicated effort to train them.

Farmer Carries: Other than an armwrestling bout itself, farmer carries are one of my favorite forearm exercises that have ever existed.

For 4-6 sets, stand with your feet shoulder with the part, and hold 45 lb plates for 1-3 minutes. Vary the intensity by increasing the time you hold the weights or limiting the amount of rest.

Deadarm Hangs: This is just an upside-down farmer carry! You know that carnival trick where people hand from a rotating pullup bar? It burns the hell out of your forearms!

For 4-6 sets, hang with your arms mostly lengthened for as long as you can until you fall off the bar. Make sure you are only a foot or two off the ground. These sets should ideally go to failure (30 seconds to 2 minutes), and you should wait 4-5 minutes between sets.

Chain 3: Your Back And Biceps

While these *could* be two separate chains, the back and biceps work so closely in armwrestling, you must train them both.

Pull-ups: As many as you can do.

4-6 sets, 10-20 reps, rest for 90 seconds. Becoming a master of your pullup game will help you immensely with armwrestling.

Chin-ups: My second most favorite variation of the pullup.

4-6 sets, 10-20 reps, rest for 90 seconds. Building supinated strength is critical for your hooking and high hooking technique!

Hammer Curls: Bring out the baddest in your brachioradialis.

Neutral grip curls, aka hammer curls, 4-6 reps for 10-20 reps, with 90 seconds in between. Vary the weight, the time for rest, and the amount of reps to boost the training potential.

Static Holds Over A Bench: Getting closer to the real thing.

For 4-6 sets, put a dumbbell in your arm, and over a preacher bench, hold your arm in either a neutral or supinated position with a heavy weight. Hold your arm at an 80-degree angle for as long as you can! Rest for 2 minutes.

Chain 4: Developing Movements

As you begin to strengthen the critical links in your kinetic chain, it becomes time to put them into practice. This means acquiring unique armwrestling tools and an armwrestling table. This is where you will need a budget, but it is worth it to get better.

Tools needed:

Free weights

Belts/heavy rope

Armwrestling table

Armwrestling pulley

Multi-spinner

Grip attachments for the pulley system

Practice your hook: With the armwrestling pulley now attached to your armwrestling table, attach free weights to the opposite side of your table pulley system and practice holding your arm in a high hook while pulling the weights off the floor. You can hold this position or pull in close to you for reps—just make sure to vary it and do both.

Practice your toproll: With the armwrestling pulley now attached to your armwrestling table, shift your fist to a pronated position, load up the pulley with a lot of weight (probably a weight you can only move for 1-3 reps), and practice pulling this weight by rolling your arm and fist in an outside toproll. Please ensure to warm up, as you are using heavy weights.

Practice back pressure: Load up the system with the armwrestling pulley attachment secured to the table. You are going to want to focus on pulling the weight in a static position while leaning your body back—like you are about to sit in a chair.

You can vary the intensity and the movements with different attachments. A multi-spinner can really help you develop your cupping strength for an armwrestling match.

Chain 5: Put It All Together

With all these reps, systems, and training, the final link for improving your kinetic chain for armwrestling is to practice with a friend and compete. Nothing will ever beat the real thing! Devon Larratt loves to go out there and armwrestle randoms and fellow athletes to get a good session in. Real-life practices make for exceptional results.

Copy And Paste This Free Armwrestling Template And Edit It However You Want

Chain	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest	Description
Chain 1: The Hands And Wrists	Pinch Grip Plates	4-6	30-90 seconds hold	2 minutes	Hold weights at your side, either 10 lb, 25 lb, or 45 lb plates. Vary rest periods for power or endurance.
	Wrist Curls With Dumbbells	4-6	8-12 reps	90 seconds	Use lighter or heavier dumbbells. Perform until you feel a burn, resting on knees with palms up or down.
	Accessory Exercises	Your choice	Your choice	Your choice	Hand grippers for continuous finger strengthening.
Chain 2: Your Forearms	Farmer Carries	4-6	1-3 minutes hold	Varies	Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hold 45 lb plates. Vary intensity by time or rest.
	Deadarm Hangs	4-6	30 seconds to 2 minutes	4-5 minutes	Hang with arms lengthened until failure. Ensure you are only a foot or two off the ground.
Chain 3: Your Back And Biceps	Pull-ups	4-6	10-20 reps	90 seconds	As many as you can do. Mastering pull-ups is key for armwrestling strength.
	Chin-ups	4-6	10-20 reps	90 seconds	Supinated grip for building strength critical for hooking technique.
	Hammer Curls	4-6	10-20 reps	90 seconds	Neutral grip curls for brachioradialis. Vary weight, rest, and reps for better training.
	Static Holds Over A Bench	4-6	Hold at 80-degree angle	2 minutes	Hold dumbbell in neutral or supinated position over a preacher bench.
Chain 4: Developing Movements	Practice your hook	Your choice	Your choice	Your choice	With armwrestling pulley, practice holding and pulling in a high hook position.
	Practice your toproll	Your choice	1-3 reps	Your choice	With armwrestling pulley, practice pulling weights in an outside toproll position.
	Practice back pressure	Your choice	Your choice	Your choice	Focus on pulling weight in a static position while leaning back.
	Multi-spinner	Your choice	Your choice	Your choice	Use a multi-spinner to develop cupping strength.
Chain 5: Put It All Together	Armwrestling Practice	Your choice	Your choice	Your choice	Practice with a friend or in competition to solidify training.