Skip to content
Training 2 min read

How to Add Abs and Forearm Training to Your Routine

Build core strength and grip power without adding crunches or wrist curls by using bracing, heavy pulls, carries, and thicker grips.

Elena Voss Strength editor·
Athlete braces their core and grips a barbell during a controlled squat in a gym.
On this page · 3 sections
  1. Use Bracing to Train Your Abs
  2. Build Forearm Strength Through Heavy Grips
  3. Focus on How the Lift Feels

You do not need a separate ab workout if your training already includes full-body lifting. Strong bracing can engage your abs during squats, presses, deadlifts, and other standing movements, while heavy pulls and carries can challenge your forearms. Small technique and equipment changes can make both muscle groups part of lifts you already enjoy.

Use Bracing to Train Your Abs

Bracing helps your core support heavy lifts safely and efficiently. Take a deep breath into your stomach, tighten your abdomen around it, and hold that position through the repetition. Release the breath after the rep, then repeat with a fresh breath on the next one.

Side view of an athlete maintaining a braced, stable torso while squatting.

Brace During Compound Lifts

Add deliberate bracing to squats, military presses, deadlifts, and similar exercises. The goal is not to crunch through the movement, but to keep your torso firm while controlling the weight. This approach works your abs as part of the lift rather than isolating them in a separate session.

Build Forearm Strength Through Heavy Grips

Your forearms work whenever you hold a weight and resist releasing it. Deadlifts, rows, and similar pulling movements place substantial demand on your grip. Even carrying dumbbells from the rack to the bench gives your forearms a brief farmer's walk challenge.

Close-up of an athlete gripping a thick dumbbell during a controlled carry.

Make Carries and Thicker Grips Count

Farmer's walks directly train the forearms while also requiring core bracing. If your normal dumbbells are heavy enough, each trip between the rack and bench already provides useful grip work. Thick bar grips add another option because they make a barbell or dumbbell harder to hold, increasing the forearm challenge during familiar exercises.

  • Use deliberate bracing on standing and compound lifts.
  • Choose heavy pulls that make you work to maintain your grip.
  • Turn short dumbbell carries into forearm training.
  • Try thick grips for lifts where grip is not the main focus.

Focus on How the Lift Feels

Neither muscle group requires complicated programming. Pay attention to how your body stays positioned and how the load feels throughout each repetition. If your abs remain braced and your grip stays engaged, ordinary exercises can support both core strength and forearm development.

All field notes