What's up guys this is Michael Kamalu aka Dr. Gaines and, in this video, we're going to go
over the next most requested item from those of you who have filled out my content request form
and that is the forearms. There's just something about the forearms that conveys strength and
having well-built or defined forums can often make up for lack of build elsewhere, like upper
arms for example. After all, it's often the only part of the body that you can see beside someone's
head. However, the group of muscles that we call the forearms is arguably the most complex group
of muscles in the human body. There are no less than 20 muscles that are packed into that area
between the elbow and the wrist. All of them have their own unique roles with a plethora of
different origination and insertion points and with good reason just think of all the different
intricate movements that we need to be able to do with our arms and hands. However, because of that,
very few people know how to actually work your forearms in a way that will hit all the muscles
that you want to in the ways that you should. Luckily, you watch Dr. Gaines videos so you
will soon be one of them. However, because the forearms are so complex, I'm going to
divide this video up into a three-part series. In this and the second video, I will cover the
Posterior compartment of the forearm which are collectively called the Extensors and I'll give
you science-based techniques in each for how to work them. The Posterior compartment is separated
from the Anterior compartment by a structure called the Interosseous Membrane which crosses
between the Ulna and the Radius. In the third video, we will go over the muscles in the Anterior
compartment which are collectively called the Forearm Flexors. I will give you the science-based
technique I've developed to work those in that. So before jumping into today's workout technique,
let's do a brief overview of the anatomy of the forearm extensors. There are 12 different muscles
in the posterior compartment of the forearm. Those can be thought of as in two different categories.
The superficial Extensors and the deep extensors aka the ones on top and the ones on the bottom.
On top, we have the Brachioradialis, the Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus,
the Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis, the Extensor Digitorum, the Extensor Carpi Ulnaris,
the Anconeus and the Extensor Digiti Minimi.
Then underneath those we have the Supinator,
the Abductor Pollicis Longus, the Extensor Pollicis Longus, the Extensor Pollicis Brevis,
and the Extensor Indices. So we haven't even touched the Anterior compartment yet,
much less the various origination and insertion points of each muscle but already you start to
get a feel for just how complex and multifaceted the forearm muscles are. So it follows that it
takes a complex and multifaceted approach to working them and building them properly. I'll
often get people commenting and trying to tell me that your exercises are too complex, that none of
it really makes a difference. A contraction is a contraction and you should stick to the
same core, simple lifts, and apply progressive overloading and that's all you need. Each time,
I just want to go on a seven-day rant, explaining all the different scientific principles behind why
that is not correct, it's inefficient and, even unhealthy and you can get just some of that
on my video on non-homogenous Hypertrophy which I will link here. But for now just,
as we go over the forearms, keep them in mind as a perfect example of why variety
and complexity in your workouts are essential if you want to maximize the effectiveness of your
muscle building and your health, your overall health. You'll see that very subtle changes
in wrist position and finger position, in the relative degrees of supination versus pronation,
all of it makes a significant difference in which muscles are being targeted the most and
how they're being targeted. But, in this video, we are going to hone in on just one of those forearm
extensor muscles. That is the Brachioradialis. So why does the Brachioradialis, of all the forearm
muscles, get its own video? Well, if you want to build well-defined forearms and, for some reason,
you had to pick a single muscle to work, it would be the Brachioradialis. It is by far the largest
muscle of all the forearms in both the Anterior and Posterior compartments and, on top of that, is
superficial. It sits right there on the top and sticks out, in fact, if you hold out your arm
to your side and you grab the area just right above the elbow, what you're grabbing,
that is the Brachioradialis. You can feel it from both sides of the forearm. When people
fold their arms, it's that muscle that bulges out on the top but, for weight lifters, there are two
really unique and important aspects of the anatomy and biomechanics of the Brachioradialis for you to
understand and apply in your workouts. First, I'm going to show you a technique, a pretty
simple one at that, that will apply and take advantage of those two principles in targeting
the Brachial Radialis, and then afterward, we will use the anatomy to explain what those two
key principles are and how they're applied in this exercise. Let's go to the gym. The exercise you'll
be performing is a variation on the reverse curl. You'll stand to where the cable is coming from
one side of you and you will be working the side that is furthest away from the cable. You will
place your hand down towards the middle of your body in an overhand grip so that your forearm is
pronated and then you will flex your elbow up in a curl motion. However, instead of curling straight
up, you will bring the weight up and out at an angle away from your body, and while doing this,
you'll slightly supinate your forearm. Then you'll bring it back down at the same angle and repeat.
All right, now to understand why this is an excellent technique for working the
Brachioradialis. Let's take a look at those two aspects of its anatomy that I mentioned. First,
notice that the Brachioradialis is one of the only forearm extensors that does not
cross the wrist. You'll notice that you can see the tendons of virtually all the other muscles
crossing the wrists and then insert somewhere on the hand. However, the Brachioradialis,
it inserts right before the wrist, right at the end of the Radius on the Lateral edge.
That's really important to understand because, unlike almost all the other forearm extensors,
the Brachioradialis does not actually extend the wrist or hyperextend it. In fact, it doesn't
influence wrist movement at all. So, if the only workouts you're doing to work the Extensors,
the Posterior compartment of your forearm, deal with extension and hyperextension of the wrist,
you are not even going to be putting load on the largest of the muscles in that compartment,
the Brachial Radialis. The joint that it does cross is the elbow joint. You'll see that the
origination point of the Brachioradialis is just across the elbow, just superior to it,
on what's called the Lateral Supracondylar Ridge of the Humerus. So, when it contracts,
it's bringing its insertion point on the edge of the Radius, closer to the origination point
on the Lateral edge of the Humerus thus flexing the elbow. By the way, that's how it gets its name
Brachium. The word "brachium" is used to refer to the upper arm and "radialis" obviously refers
to Radius. So, Brachio-Brachioradialis. However, this brings us to the second most important aspect
of the Brachioradialis to understand for weight lifters. It's that the Brachioradialis does not
flex the elbow straight up evenly. Take a closer look at how the Brachioradialis lies on the body
because it originates out on the Lateral edge of the Humerus. When your
forearm is supinated, it crosses the back of your forearm, that posterior compartment,
to insert on the edge of the Radius, that is medial, right? It's in the middle of your body.
In that animation, the model is actually standing with his arm supinated so when your forearm is
pronated that angle is even more pronounced. So, by starting this exercise with a pronated arm,
you're actually getting some extra extension in the muscle. You're taking the insertion point and
making it further away from the urination point. Both with the supination and with the deviation to
the middle of your body. Then, when you start the contraction, that Brachioradialis is going to pull
on its insertion point and that is going to bring it up, but it's also going to bring it laterally.
And because that insertion point is really right on the edge of the Radius, it's also going to pull
your hand over. It's going to externally rotate that forearm in, what we call, supination and it
will supinate your forearm until it's at a neutral position. So, with this exercise, you are taking
max extension with the pronation and internal deviation of the arm and then bringing it
into max contraction which is supination and the flexed elbow. Not all machines will allow you to
rotate and slide that handle on the webbing underneath it, so you may not be able to get it, I
guess you notice it's not full supination to a neutral position. But, even if you're using a
machine that doesn't allow that full supination, just the act of laterally displacing your arm of
bringing it up at an angle that will result in a natural supination of the arm so you will still
get much of the benefit. Now, there is kind of a second-tier to this technique that I'll have
to show you in a future video, but it has to do with the fact that, if you were to supinate
your arm past that neutral position, then, because again that insertion point is right on the edge,
you're going to start extending the muscle again. So if your forearm was
more lateral than your upper arm, and supinated then you would work the Brachioradialis
by flexing the arm while pronating and pronating up until, again, that neutral point would be
activating and working the Brachioradialis. So, this is one of those really key examples,
depending on the starting position of your arm, the Brachioradialis, the same muscle contracting,
can perform two completely opposite motions. One, if your forearm is starting out pronated,
then it's going to be performing supination. But, if your form is starting out supinated, it will
perform pronation. Looks like little things can make a big difference and not all contractions
are the same. Guys, if you thought this video was valuable I'd really appreciate you hitting
that like button, share with your lifting buddies and leave me a comment. And all those things will
help others to find my channel. Remember that I'll be doing part two and three of these series
within the next few weeks so make sure you're subscribed and turn on those post notifications
because you will not want to miss those. If you haven't caught on yet, I am in the process of
developing comprehensive science-based online programs for every distinct muscle group in the
body. That way, you can focus specifically on what you want and need without paying for and wasting
time with all the rest that you don't. One of those in development is the Maximum Gains Online
Forearm program so if you're serious about wanting to build, develop and strengthen your forearms,
then you can add your name to the Beta tester waitlist for that program and you'll be able to
try it out weeks ahead of the rest and get 50% off the program when you do. I will leave that
link in the top right of your screen and in the video description below. If you do have any other
specific content requests you have any feedback you'd like to give me, I always leave the content
request and feedback form in the video description below and if you do take the time to fill that
out, you might just get a little gift from me for doing so. Mahalo my friends, until next time!