How to build up forearms with the Andrieu coil?

Are you looking for a forearm strength training ? I've got just what you need! The Andrieu coil is an ideal accessory to obtain muscular and powerful forearms. Find out how to use this equipment, which is still unknown to practitioners.

What is the Andrieu coil?

The Andrieu coil is a bodybuilding accessory relatively simple. In its most classic version, it consists of a handle and a string to which a weight is attached.

The exercise consists in holding the handle with the arms outstretched to wind and unwind the weight suspended from the rope. I let you already imagine the sensations that this can provide.

Also known as wrist rollerThe Andrieu wrist ripper or wrist roller was invented in 1867 by Richard Andrieu, a lawyer living in Toulon and passionate about gymnastics. Its creation was very quickly adopted by health professionals, especially physiotherapists.

The Andrieu coil is part of the bodybuilding exercises for develop the forearms.

However, it is rare to find such equipment in a gym. If you wish to buy an Andrieu coilIt is possible to find them on the Internet or in some specialized stores selling fitness and bodybuilding items. Depending on the quality of the materials, the price generally varies between 15 and 40 € (without weights).

You will be able to take it with you for your training sessions at the weight roomor use it during your home training sessions. At the gym, you can also reproduce an Andrieu coil using a weight bar on a rack, to which you attach a rubber band and a disk.

Because of its simplicity, you also have the possibility to make your own Andrieu coil. You will need a piece of wood or a broom handle strong enough for the grip, to which you will attach a cord. All you have to do is attach a weight disc, or any other object heavy enough at the end to maximize the muscle strengthening of your arms.

The muscles worked by this exercise

As you can see, the Andrieu reel helps to achieve muscular arms. It is a perfect complement to the movements usually practiced to develop the biceps and triceps.

This isolation exercise mainly involves the extensor muscles of the wrists:

• the extensor carpi radialis longus,
• the extensor carpi radialis brevis,
• the ulnar extensor of the carpus.

The exercise must be performed with the arms stretched forward, the Andrieu coil also allows to work the shoulders in isometry.

Easy to integrate into a weight-training programThe Andrieu reel exercise offers excellent sensations. It is an effective variation to the wrist extensions with bar.

The wrist roller is also very appreciated by the practitioners of fighting sports (wrestling, judo, MMA, ju-jitsu, etc.) and climbing, because it improves the grip. This ability to firmly grasp an opponent or a hold is essential for these athletes.

How to do the Andrieu coil exercise?

The wrist roller exercise does not present any particular difficulty.

In initial positionStand with your feet about shoulder width apart. Grasp the ends of the handle with each hand in pronation grip (palms down).

While keeping the straight back and while sheathing your abdominal muscles, stretch your arms forward so that they are parallel to the ground.

Using a rotating motion of your hands, your goal is to wrap the wire around the grip to bring the weight up, then unwrap it to bring it down.

You can do sets between 45 and 90 seconds. Use low costs or moderate (from 1 to 5 kilos to begin with) in order to focus the work on your forearms. You will find that this is more than enough to feel the burning sensation. By working with weights that are too heavy, you risk compensating the movement with other muscles and losing effectiveness.

As part of an intensification technique, it can be interesting to perform the wrist coil exercise in superset with a pronated curl (or reverse curl) for example.

Conclusion

In summary, the Andrieu coil is a good isolation exercise to develop your forearms. But at the moment, few gyms have this accessory. This explains why this exercise is so little known, even by the sports coaches and advanced athletes. Fortunately, you can easily find them on sports equipment websites. And if you're a bit of a handyman, you can even make your own Andrieu coil.