If
you've ever wanted to build large, strong forearms
but have found that standard wrist curls just
didn't get the job done, "The Formulator"
has come to your rescue!
"The
Formulator" is a unique piece of training
equipment that is designed to take you beyond
the anatomical limitations of the standard barbell
wrist curl, allowing you to maximize the tension
placed on the muscles of the forearms themselves.
The
thoery behind "The Formulator" is
simple: when you do the standard wrist curl,
your forearm muscle workload is limited by the
amount of weight that your wrists and hands
can handle (as well as their endurance). With
its unique design, "The Formulator"
eliminates those weak points from the exercise,
allowing you to use maximum resistance for the
forearms, helping you to target them far more
effectively.
Does
"The Formulator" live up to this promise?
You'll find out now.
How It Works:
"The
Formulator" is a simple but very elegant
piece of equipment. It basically consists of
a steel grip that you place your fingers around,
a high-density foam pad that you can adjust
into position on top of your hands (your hands
are basically sandwiched inbetween), and a post
to put the weight plates on in the front.
"The
Formulator" wrist curl is exactly the same
in execution as the standard wrist curl with
one very important difference: rather than holding
the bar in your hands, the steel grip and foam
pad work together to change how the resistance
is applied in the exercise.
Instead
of relying on the fingers and hands to grip
the bar, the position of the foam pad (sandwiching
your hand in) basically attaches the weight
to your hands so that the machine itself becomes
like a part of your hand. It's a much more natural
movement and EXTREMELY effective for both regular
wrist curls and reverse wrist curls.
The
next plus is the position of the weight post.
By placing the resistance out in front and at
an angle instead of holding it with your hand,
you will be better able to keep tension on the
forearms through the entire range of the movement,
from bottom to top. Even at the top of the wrist
curl, the resistance is still at an angle, keeping
tension on the muscles.
This
is different than the barbell wrist curl. Because
you're holding the weight in your hands, when
you get to the top of the movement, the resistance
actually decreases and, if you go far enough,
practically disappears. NOT what we're looking
for in an effective forearm movement.
My Experience With It:
I've
been incorporating work with "The Formulator"
into the end of my workouts (and sometimes in
between sets of lower body work) with great
success.
I've
found it gives me a much better forearm workout
then regular barbell wrist curls due to the
unique mechanism of resistance. The way the
hand is "sandwiched" into the machine
allows me to not only pull with the forearm
muscles, it also allows me to push against the
pad/steel (depending on which variation of wrist
curl I'm doing) while I'm doing it. I've found
it to be a more "complete" contraction.
For
example, when doing reverse wrist curls with
"The Formulator," I am able to push
against the top foam pad with my knuckles (in
addition to actually pulling the resistance
up) as I curl up. This seems to add an extra
element of muscle contraction to the exercise.
When doing barbell reverse curls, I've ALWAYS
found my grip on the bar to give out before
my forearms have been fully worked with the
movement. "The Formulator" very effectively
removed my grip from the equation and allowed
me to push the forearms to full failure WITHOUT
being held back by grip or hand strength.
When
using "The Formulator" for regular
wrist curls, I found the tension of the movement
went straight to the meaty belly of the forearm
muscles, right where I wanted it. When doing
barbell wrist curls, I've often found the tension
to end up in and around the wrist area, not
the belly of the muscle. "The Formulator"
hits the forearms EXACTLY where you want to
hit them for greatest effect.
In
addition, "The Formulator" can also
be used to work the forearms in supination and
pronation (the act of rotating the forearm around
to the left or the right) and radial and ulnar
abduction and deviation (to demonstrate these
movements, hold your arm straight down at your
side with your palm facing your body - now tilt
your hand so that your thumb comes up, then
tilt the hand so that the pinky comes up). This
provides a very complete, total-forearm workout,
targeting every aspect of forearm action.
"The
Formulator" is available in a number of
different styles and can accomodate either Standard
or Olympic weight plates, depending on the particular
unit that you get. The version I used was the
Olympic plate version, but any version will
give you the same effect and resistance.
"The
Formulator" is VERY solidly put together
and able to take any form of abuse you'd care
to put it through. Solid-steel construction
and high-density commercial-grade foam padding
mean this piece is going to last pretty much
forever. From the moment you pick it up, you'll
know this is a serious piece of equipment.
Drawbacks:
In
terms of the function and effectiveness of the
machine itself, there are no major flaws to
be found. It's a very well-designed piece of
equipment that performs exactly the function
it was designed to perform and succeeds quite
well at it!
It
works the forearms strongly while minimizing
and almost eliminating the potential weak points
of the wrist curl movements. The padding is
completely and easily adjustable to ANY size
of hand, making it effective for everyone.
That
being said, while being a very portable piece
of equipment, it's probably not the kind of
equipment you'll easily be able to stuff in
a small gym bag and bring along with you to
the gym. If you've got a home gym, it's a perfect
fit. If you've got a locker or place to store
"The Formulator" at the gym you go
to, you're all set. If you're a gym owner and
you want to purchase one or more for your gym,
even better - this piece is commercial quality
and your gym members will love it.
If
you don't fit into any of the above categories,
however, I would recommend simply going to a
sporting goods store and picking up a few weight
plates to use with "The Formulator"
and the problem is solved. You don't need many
plates to get an extremely effective forearm
workout (in fact, you need a LOT less weight
than with regular barbell curls due to the position
of the resistance).
Cost
will also be a factor when you're making your
decision about "The Formulator." While
being an extremely effective piece of equipment,
the makers definitely DIDN'T cut any corners
when it came to putting this piece together.
Though "The Formulator" is not inexpensive,
it is not overpriced for the quality and effectiveness
of work you'll get with it.
CONCLUSION:
If
you want to build larger, stronger forearms,
I would highly recommend giving "The Formulator"
a try. It provides an extremely effective forearm
workout, minimizing weak points and allowing
you to focus specifically on building the forearms.
For
pictures of "The Formulator" in action,
to learn more about "The Formulator"
from the manufacturer or to get one for yourself,
please click the following link:
http://www.fitstep.com/goto/formulator.htm
