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Forearm rotations with a hammer

3 sets of 15 slow rotations each way per arm with a hammer, 1 min rest.

Slot
Strength
Focus
Stability
Time
6 min
Intensity
Low
Injury risk
Low
Intervals
3 rounds, 1:00 rest
Equipment
Hammer

How to do it

Sit with your forearm resting on your thigh, hand just past your knee, holding a hammer by the handle with the head pointing up. Slowly rotate your palm down until the hammer is flat, back to upright, then palm up until it's flat on the other side. That's one rep. Do 15 reps per arm, 3 sets, with 1 minute rest. Hold the handle further from the head to make it harder. Helps protect your elbows from all the pulling.

Who it’s for

Elbows. Rotating the forearm under a light load is standard elbow-health work, and a hammer is the cheapest tool for it.

Common mistakes

  • Too much lever. Hold near the head at first. Sliding your hand down the handle is how you add difficulty, and it adds it fast.
  • Moving the shoulder. Forearm rests on the thigh, only the forearm rotates.
  • Rushing. Slow both ways. Fifteen reps should take a while.
  • Only doing it when the elbow hurts. Prevention is much cheaper than treatment here.

How to progress

Slide your hand a centimetre further from the head when three sets feel easy. Keep the reps in the teens and the tempo slow: heavier and faster isn’t better for tendons.

When it fits

The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.

  • Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
  • Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
  • Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
  • Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
  • Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
  • Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
  • Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.

Start with a ready-made block

A six-week strength plan with a deload, as a file for the app, and seven short emails on how to run it.