Forearms, Farmer’s Walks & Wrist Extensor TrainingHere’s a fitness story of my life about forearm training.I train my forearms for the endurance and stamina I need to minimize the common plague of golfer’s elbow, aka medial epicondylitis, and tennis elbow, aka lateral epicondylitis.If you’ve been training to build muscle, you’ve probably experienced the burning feeling of gripping a barbell.My biceps training would have been gone from my life a long time ago if I didn’t dedicate my time to real good forearm training.Now, how come I do not train my wrist flexors with the same commitment? They’re already dominant in my training from the work they do in back rows, pull-ups and gripping work.I always see gym people do a lot of wrist curls for the wrist flexor muscles, but they rarely train the wrist extensors without turning it into the “thumb-up hammer grip.”I can only talk for myself, and the story of my fitness life is:Pauline, do those isometric reps. Do the push-away wrist extension sets. Do the thumb-OVER-bar reverse wrist curls. And keep it up.It works for me.When I feel the elbow pains coming, I work around it. My routine is training, spending time on mobility and doing stretches for my hands and wrists.And then I also do the body work.I use a foam roller to roll out my arms, including my biceps.I use a massage stick made with stainless steel that is just fabulous.I use cold laser therapy as part of what I do for my tendons and joints.I also do my own personal muscle massage therapy with wooden tools I’ve bought online that are used for Thai massage and trigger point therapy.So what do I not do to stay ahead of pains and aches?I don’t automatically pop an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen every time something hurts. I don’t want my first response to training pain to always be shutting down the symptoms.I don’t get cortisone shots just to get rid of the pain so I can go straight back to training too soon. I know myself. If there is no pain, why not train to gain?I do not do all the wellness work for my body with expectations that it will take away all pains forever. It does not.I do not expect a “that thing cured me!” after a self-massage routine I just performed where my body is giving me a high and I feel no pain for the moment.All this works just like training.It takes dedication. It takes patience. It takes consistent upkeep.And that is my strength as a fitness practitioner.I do not STOP doing what keeps my body strong for training. I do not give up when what I really want to be “the thing” does not last.I also keep a real-life perspective on my fitness world.I am not going to be 20 again, when I could train for hours and really tear down the muscle house just to come back in two days.I would not want to if I had the choice!I really love my older self for the way I train, how I train and how I spend more time on recovery than ever, gaining muscle better and getting stronger than in my youth.I’ve always been lazy! So doing less hard work and getting more out of the work I do is quite the rush for me.Why?I never let myself do less. Just more!My young Pauline was a drill sergeant who blamed my lack of dietary discipline on my body!Ha!Anyway, I have the programs for strong forearms if you actually want to train and check if you just need stronger muscles—and if that training might help you feel much better.For me, I want to train without pain. I want to feel great.So I do what it takes, and I do it consistently.Just like I do with the rest of my training and my diet.