Muscle groups / Forearms
Forearms: exercises and weekly sets
Forearms landmark: 6 working sets a week on the Zyra Workouts dashboard — 2 exercises train it as the primary muscle and 15 credit it at half weight. The full lists, the counting rule and the related groups are below.
Also searched as: grip, wrist flexors.
Landmark and half-weight rule: Zyra Workouts dashboard defaults. Typical rest = the most common default rest among the primary exercises above (the catalog's per-exercise value; the app lets you override it).
Exercises that train forearms
Primary exercises credit forearms with a full set each; secondary exercises credit it with half a set. Open any exercise for its rep targets, progression step and alternatives.
Primary (2)
- Wrist CurlDumbbell · ×1
- Farmers CarryDumbbell · ×1
Secondary (15)
- Conventional DeadliftBarbell · ×0.5
- Romanian Deadlift (Barbell)Barbell · ×0.5
- Bent-Over Row (Barbell)Barbell · ×0.5
- Single-Arm Row (Dumbbell)Dumbbell · ×0.5
- T-Bar RowMachine · ×0.5
- Lat PulldownCable · ×0.5
- Seated Cable RowCable · ×0.5
- Pull-UpBodyweight · ×0.5
- Chin-UpBodyweight · ×0.5
- Barbell CurlBarbell · ×0.5
- Dumbbell CurlDumbbell · ×0.5
- Hammer CurlDumbbell · ×0.5
- Preacher CurlBarbell · ×0.5
- Incline Dumbbell CurlDumbbell · ×0.5
- Hanging Leg RaiseBodyweight · ×0.5
How secondary work is counted
The app credits every working set to the exercise's primary muscle in full and to each secondary muscle at 0.5. So a week's forearms total is primary sets × 1 + secondary sets × 0.5, and its coverage bar is min(total ÷ 6, 1). Warm-up sets are excluded before anything is counted. In the 4-day upper/lower template that comes to 0 + 9 = 9 for forearms, at or above the landmark.
In plain terms: a set of a big compound movement that merely involves forearms is worth half a set of an exercise built around it. This is the app's bookkeeping rule, not a measurement of anything — a way to make one number comparable across muscles. Check a planned week with the weekly sets calculator.
Frequently asked
How many sets a week for forearms?
The Zyra Workouts dashboard uses 6 working sets a week as the forearms landmark — the target its coverage bar for forearms fills toward (coverage = sets ÷ 6, capped at 100%). It is the app's default for reading a week, not a prescription; a coach or your own log can set a different target.
Which exercises train forearms?
2 exercises in the catalog train forearms as the primary muscle — Wrist Curl, Farmers Carry. 15 more list it as a secondary muscle (Conventional Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift (Barbell), Bent-Over Row (Barbell), Single-Arm Row (Dumbbell), T-Bar Row, Lat Pulldown, Seated Cable Row, Pull-Up, Chin-Up, Barbell Curl, Dumbbell Curl, Hammer Curl, Preacher Curl, Incline Dumbbell Curl, Hanging Leg Raise); each of their sets counts half toward the forearms total.
Do secondary exercises count toward forearms sets?
Yes, at half weight: every working set of an exercise that lists forearms as a secondary muscle adds 0.5 to the weekly forearms count, against 1 for a primary exercise. Reaching the 6-set landmark from secondary work alone would take 12 such sets. Warm-up sets never count.
Related muscle groups
Other groups in the upper body — pull region:
Compare all 11 muscle groups →
Guides for forearms
Track forearms sets automatically
Zyra Workouts counts every logged working set toward its primary muscle and half toward each secondary one, and shows this week's forearms coverage against the 6-set landmark on its dashboard. It is in development and not yet on the App Store.
Zyra is a training and nutrition tracking tool. Nothing on this page is medical advice, a diagnosis, or an individual prescription. The numbers are estimates from published formulas and the apps' own rules — consult a qualified professional for decisions about your health, and a coach for your training.