Forearm

[jallis]

Haha, I know this might be a bit random but I am wondering: will typing a lot make your forearms bigger and stronger? Also, will having stronger forearms make typing fast easier? You know, since forearms control your fingers...

[Impermanence]

Haha, I know this might be a bit random but I am wondering: will typing a lot make your forearms bigger and stronger? Also, will having stronger forearms make typing fast easier? You know, since forearms control your fingers...

Bigger/stronger forearms from typing? No.
Think of it like lifting a water bottle everyday and expecting your biceps to get bigger/stronger.
You'll have to do weight training for bigger and stronger muscles.

I'm waiting for ChimChim to chime in on how he got his forearms so big.
Even though I train mine, they have pretty much stayed the same size.

[chimchim]

Haha, I know this might be a bit random but I am wondering: will typing a lot make your forearms bigger and stronger? Also, will having stronger forearms make typing fast easier? You know, since forearms control your fingers...

Bigger/stronger forearms from typing? No.
Think of it like lifting a water bottle everyday and expecting your biceps to get bigger/stronger.
You'll have to do weight training for bigger and stronger muscles.

I'm waiting for ChimChim to chime in on how he got his forearms so big.
Even though I train mine, they have pretty much stayed the same size.

Just saw this post now... and I didn't realize my forearms were "big"! My 2 cents is that the fastest legitimate typist that I know of, Sean Wrona, doesn't appear to have large forearms. Not sure if that means he doesn't type "enough" to actually exercise his forearms, or if his fast-twitch muscle-memory is just superior(obviously), but this kind of blows away any correlation of repetitive typing resulting in massive muscles.

Regarding forearm strength; I do believe that strong forearms helps for preventing carpal tunnel. I used to "suffer" from carpal tunnel, absolutely from typing, before mechanical keyboards and ergonomics became mainstream. I specifically started exercising my forearms/wrists with a Dynaball. Note my forearms were already strong from a lot of powerlifting, but the Dynaball seemed to work out the smaller muscles around the wrist that weights did not seem to touch. My carpal tunnel was more in my right hand and I actually had trouble using my pinky. Fast forward years later with a good workout routine(including wrists/forearms), and a DAS mechanical keyboard, and I have ZERO carpal tunnel.

And regarding "big" forearms; my arm workout includes sets with a wrist roller and forearm curls. Considering how I am far from the fastest typist in the world, and I possibly have much stronger wrists and forearms than anyone who types faster than me, I can't conclude that the working out makes me a faster typist. But I can say that working out makes the physical stress of typing(pronounced "carpal tunnel") much less of an issue. Hope that helps, and happy typing!

..ChimChim

[jallis]

Thanks for the great answer Chimchim. One of the main reasons I asked was that I myself train at a gym, and I was wondering if the typing would help my muscle growth in any way. I might look into getting one of those balls that will train your wrist because I believe I might be developing carpal tunnel syndrome. I'm not sure, but sometimes when I workout (especially on bicep/back day) my wrists feel very locked and swollen. So does my hands. This does not happen when I type though, which is what makes me so unsure. I have never experienced the swollen-ness before very recently.

Sorry for all the training talk on these forums, haha.

[chimchim]

Thanks for the great answer Chimchim. One of the main reasons I asked was that I myself train at a gym, and I was wondering if the typing would help my muscle growth in any way. I might look into getting one of those balls that will train your wrist because I believe I might be developing carpal tunnel syndrome. I'm not sure, but sometimes when I workout (especially on bicep/back day) my wrists feel very locked and swollen. So does my hands. This does not happen when I type though, which is what makes me so unsure. I have never experienced the swollen-ness before very recently.

Sorry for all the training talk on these forums, haha.

VERY HIGHLY recommend the Dyna-Flex ball. It's a cool gyroscopic gadget that is analogous to twisting your wrists anyways, with the added bonus of the gyroscope-ness adding a LOT of extra resistance, so it literally is a workout with the exact motion of the stretching to prevent/relieve carpal tunnel. Not sure as if anyone has ever thought about it's usage for aiding in repetitive typing, as it is marketed for general grip(baseball/tennis/hockey/etc), but I'd swear by it's usage in preventing/curing(!!!) carpal tunnel.

And and FYI. I work out with weights 4-5 days a week, and depending on what I did the previous night, it can greatly effect my typing speed, or the duration of comfortable fast typing! If there's a hint of my forearms being sore/fatigued from the weights, it slows me down. Not because of injury, but the muscles in my forearms and hands require extra "work" from my brain to get them to press the correct buttons... particularly as I tend to hit the weights pretty hard(I do my sets until failure). Not uncommon for me to get forearm cramps or tightness. Again.. not to be confused with any type of injury. Just normal muscle fatigue. I did chest/back yesternight, and the lat pulldowns use a LOT of forearm. Thus, my typing is suckful at the moment.

Anyways, keep up the working out.. I mean TYPING Because of course this is a typing forum, and any talk of working out is only applicable if related to clicking keys, beer, and hot chicks!

..ChimChim

[EshaysNAdlayz]

Yes, If you have bigger forearms you will have the ability to type faster. Atm my arms are massive as fuark and like i type 160 WPM brother haha train hard, type fast!