The first organized arm wrestling competition began in 1952, according to the United States ArmSports website, and the sport has grown in popularity since. To excel in arm wrestling, you need to spend hours practicing against different opponents to refine your technique. Knowing which muscles are being strained during a match allows you to implement appropriate exercises into your training routine. Consult your doctor before making any drastic changes to your fitness regimen.
Forearms
To overpower your opponent, you need to have an exceptionally strong grip and well-developed forearm muscles. The harder you squeeze your opponent's hand, the more you can take control of the contest; your forearms need to work hard to prevent your wrist from being forced back. Strength and conditioning specialist Jedd Johnson recommends doing some grip work at the end of your upper-body workouts, concentrating on exercises like club swings, forearm rotations, and kettlebell flips.
Chest
After the initial grip and wrist movement, more of your upper-body muscles start to come into play during arm wrestling. Adduction of your shoulder joint is one of the main movements at this point; the muscle group responsible for this is your chest. To build your chest, focus on weighted exercises like bench presses, dumbbell presses and flies, along with body-weight exercises such as pushups and dips.
Teres Major
Another key arm-wrestling movement is the internal rotation of your shoulder; this is mainly performed by the teres major muscle. This can be quite a risky part of arm wrestling -- the teres major is a relatively small muscle, and can easily get injured if it's not strong enough for the demands placed upon it. Most back exercises, such as pullups, rows and face pulls, will involve the teres major, so aim to do at least one upper-back training session focusing on those exercises every week, personal David Robson recommends.
Core
You might not realize it, but your core also aids in arm wrestling. Your lower body should remain tight and still while wrestling, and your midsection and upper body need to be tensed. All this tension is generated by your core, whose main job is to prevent you from moving. To train these functions of the core, focus on stability and anti movement exercises like planks, rollouts, landmines and Pallof presses; do two short core-training sessions every week.
