DIY Barbell Forearm Roller
No Forearm Roller at Your Gym? TRY THIS.
Most gyms don't have a forearm roller.
You don't need it. There's a barbell sleeve sitting in every rack in the building, and for grip development it's arguably the better implement — because it's 50mm thick. Double the diameter means a lot when it comes to developing the muscles of the hands and forearms
The setup
Rack a bar in a squat rack at roughly shoulder height. The rack holds the bar, so your delts aren't holding a loaded roller out in front of you for 45 seconds — this variation takes most of the shoulder fatigue out of the movement and leaves the work where you want it.
Counterbalance the opposite sleeve with whatever load matches what you're hanging. Don't skip this.
Loop a thick band through a kettlebell or a plate. A kettlebell is far easier to manage — the handle gives the band somewhere to sit and the whole setup takes seconds. If your gym only stocks light kettlebells, or your grip is already better than most, you may need to stack plates instead. Just make sure the band can handle what you're hanging on it.
Hang the band off the sleeve, then loop that side around again. The second wrap is what keeps it from sliding on a smooth sleeve.
Grip the sleeve and roll.
The work
3–4 sets of 3–5 full rolls and unrolls, controlled. Same speed down as up. There’s significant value in the unroll, so if the weight drops back down uncontrolled, you didn’t maximize
Experiment with directions and grip placements across your sets. Over-the-top and underhand, rolling towards you versus away from you. Mixing up the variations will have different affects.
When 3–5 rolls stops being a fight, add load incrementally.
Now - go get a grip!
Coach Ben