How to Improve Wrist Health

Possessing strong wrists is a great advantage in manual work, sports and daily life. Regardless of whether you have carpal tunnel syndrome or another common wrist injury, mild wrist exercises can eliminate some of the symptoms associated with those injuries. Wrist health is also important for many sports, including tennis, hockey, baseball, and basketball. You can develop wrist strength with wrist-focused exercises at the gym or at home, or advanced hand exercises and grips.

Table of Contents

Develop wrist health at the gym

Roll the wrist, this is an “indispensable” exercise. Wrist curls are one of the most important exercises for the wrist and forearm. To do wrist curls, you need a dumbbell (you can use barbells to train both arms at the same time). ^{[1] X Research Source}

Sit on a bench or biceps curler. Hold the dumbbell so that the palm of your hand is facing up. Using only the forearm muscles, curl the dumbbell toward the wrist as far as possible without bending the elbow. Lower the weight back down and repeat the roll. Repeat for both hands.
Do three reps, 15 reps each, or until you feel tired enough. Unless otherwise directed, this workout count is considered correct for all exercises in this article .
You can also do this exercise at home with a bucket of water or a bottle of milk instead of dumbbells.

Roll the wrist upside down to exercise the other side of the wrist. The reverse wrist curl is done as the name suggests — doing the reverse of the usual wrist curl. This move is great to do after you’ve done a few regular wrist curls, to make sure all the wrist muscles are working.

Sit on the couch. Place one forearm on your thigh so that the hand is extended away from the knee. Grasp the dumbbell so that the palm is facing down. Let the dumbbell hang down in your hand, then use only your wrists to pull it up to about the same height as the rest of your arm. Lower the weight back down and repeat the lift. Repeat for both hands.

Practice twisting your wrists. This exercise may seem new, but if you put in the effort, it is very effective in strengthening wrists. To do this, you’ll need a sturdy stick (like a broomstick or a dumbbell without a barbell). Tie a moderate weight (2-5kg) dumbbell to one end of a sturdy rope, and tie the other end to the midpoint of the log.

Grasp the log in front of you and let the dumbbell hang freely at the end of the rope. Two palms facing down. Start swinging the log with your hands — the rope also begins to wind up and the dumbbell is pulled toward the log. Pause when the dumbbell hits the log, then carefully rotate the tree back to bring the dumbbell down. Do not stop midway or let your arms hang down throughout the exercise.
Repeat 3-5 times or until you are tired enough.

Practice gripping with two hands. This difficult exercise uses barbell bars, so it’s a good choice for people who are already strong and want to take their wrist and forearm strength to the next level. Since dumbbells can cause serious injury if dropped, you should only perform the exercises above if you don’t have much training experience.

Place two equally sized barbell bars in front of you, so that you are facing the large side of the dumbbell and the barbells are close together. Also grip the tops of the two dumbbells — fingers will be on one side of the dumbbells and thumbs on the other. Lift the barbell off the ground and hold it in front of your hips like you’re lifting a traditional weight. Clamp the two dumbbells together so they don’t slip. Hold the dumbbell for 30 seconds (or depending on your strength), then lower the weight back down.
Repeat 3-5 times or until you are tired enough.
Do this exercise while sitting on a bench and holding weights away from your feet. If you must stand, keep your feet wide open . If you stand with your feet closed, the dumbbells can fall on your legs if you slip your arms.

Do grip-based exercises to indirectly improve wrist health. At the gym, there are many exercises that do not directly target the wrist but still depend on grip strength, so they will indirectly train the forearm and wrist muscles. If you’re serious about developing wrist strength, add these exercises to your workout routine to give your wrists more room to move throughout the week. Here’s a brief list of exercises that use forearm/wrist grip — and many more (you’ll find all exercises require gripping the bar or grip to move the weights) .

Hand pull up bar
Pull up the hand bar
Biceps curls
Traditional weightlifting
Sitting rowing weights
Pull the cable to exercise bucket
Chest push
Chest compressions
Push weights overhead.

Don’t forget to stretch your wrists to improve flexibility. Just like any other muscle you’re working on, your wrist needs to be stretched to maintain flexibility and long-term health. Additionally, regular wrist stretching is a way to prevent painful conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome that can develop over time as the body ages. Here are some wrist stretches: ^{[2] X Research Source}

Clap your wrists: Start with your palms together in front of your chest. Slowly lower your hands (always joined) until your forearms form a straight line. This pose is like you are praying, and will create a slight pull in the forearm. Hold the pose for 30 seconds and repeat several times for best results.
Wrist flexor stretch: Straighten one arm in front, palm facing up. Point your hands to the floor by flexing your wrists — don’t rotate your arms. Use your other hand to apply light pressure until you feel just the right amount of pull. Hold for about 30 seconds and then switch hands.
Wrist stretch: Straighten one arm in front, palm facing down . Point your hand toward the floor by flexing your wrist. Use your other hand to apply light pressure until you feel just the right amount of pull. Hold for about 30 seconds and then switch hands.

Develop wrist health at home

Use both hands for one-handed work. For most people, the dominant wrist is significantly stronger than the non-dominant wrist. If you try to use your non-dominant hand for everyday tasks, you may be surprised at how difficult it is to complete the task. Try to use that hand — over time, a weak wrist will get stronger and make the job easier. Here is a list of tasks that you can do with your “non-dominant” hand.

Brush one’s teeth
Write
Using a computer mouse/trackpad
Eat and drink
Stirred

Squeeze the ball by hand or use a palm exerciser. You’ve probably seen these portable trainers in the gym, high-pressure places (like home offices) and so on. Although they come in a variety of shapes and sizes, they all come in all shapes and sizes. They all share the same basic idea — hold the device in your hand, squeeze firmly but firmly, release the grip, and repeat. All of that only!

They are very beneficial when you have one hand free. For example, you can exercise one wrist while talking on the phone or reading a book.

Exercise your wrist with a gpf stick. Are you thinking of playing gpf someday? Get your gpf club ready for this exercise, great for improving wrist health across its entire range of motion. You can also use a stiff object that is long but light enough to be manipulated with one hand (like a broom handle). ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Stand with your arms at your sides and hold the gpf shaft end. Using only your wrists, slowly point the club toward the sky, then point it back down. Repeat until you feel “tired” in your forearm.
To increase the difficulty of the exercise, you start with a light club, then gradually increase the weight of the club.

Practice wrist rotation. These low-resistance exercises are great for short breaks at the office, or in situations where you can’t do more complex exercises (like on an airplane). They are sometimes used in physical therapy, but don’t let that discourage you if you’re perfectly healthy, as wrist rotations can be very relaxing if you’re anxious.

Stand or sit with your hands outstretched in front of you, palms facing down. Move your wrist in a circular motion to the left, then to the right. You should grasp and then open your hands while performing to increase the range of motion for the exercise. After your mind is relaxed, you raise your palms and start over.

Exercises using elastic bands. Elastic bands are wide-gauge rubber bands that are commonly used in physical therapy but are also great for strength training if the goal isn’t to recover from an injury. You need a strong elastic band — these are often sold at sports stores, but you can also buy elastic bands at physical therapy facilities. Here are two elastic band exercises that you should try:

Wrist flexion: Wrap the elastic band around the fingers of one hand, then stand with your arms at your sides, elbows bent at 90 degrees, and palms up in front of you. Clip the other end of the elastic under the foot, or attach it to the floor. Bend your wrist up as much as you can, then relax your hand back down and repeat. Hold your forearm firmly while performing the exercise. Note that this exercise is very similar to the wrist roll exercise shown above.
Wrist stretch: Very similar to wrist flexion, but palm facing down. This exercise is very similar to standing with wrists.

Exercises with a bucket of rice. This creative exercise doesn’t have much in common with the other exercises on this list, but the equipment and technique are simple, plus it’s very effective at developing wrist and forearm strength. In fact, some baseball teams also recommend this exercise to their members to strengthen their wrists. ^{[4] X Research Source} All you need is a barrel that is wide and deep enough for you to put your hands in easily without touching, and enough rice to bury your hands in it .

Start pouring the rice into the bucket. Dip your hands in the rice until the rice is up to your wrists. Next, perform the following movement with your hands and repeat until you feel tired — the resistance of rice to the hands will make the wrist workout significantly heavier.
Grasp your hands and rotate them back and forth in a circle.
Open your hands and rotate them back and forth in a circle.
Open and hold hands while dipping in rice.
Move your hand up and down.
Perform a wrist roll with your palm facing you.
Perform a reverse wrist roll with your palm facing out.

Perform exercises & advanced grips

Alter your grip when pulling the bar by placing your thumb under the bar, and the inside of your wrist facing forward. Basically, you have to put the palm of your hand directly under the bar. This pose makes pulling the bar much harder, but the wrists will work more.

You have to have very strong forearms to pull up — this is an advanced exercise, not for beginners. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Pull the barbell with your hand cupped over the larger diameter bar, touching only the tips of your fingers and heels to the bar. This pull-up variation is difficult but worth doing, you’ll have to cup your hands over the bar or beam so that your whole body is stabilized by your wrists. Start with 1-2 reps, and keep working until you can do 8-10 reps in a row.

Build strength by staying in a pull-up position instead of moving up and down. Get into position and hold still, trying to hold for about 45 seconds to a minute at a time. Rest a little longer (for example, if you hold for 45 seconds, rest for a minute), then repeat two more times. Any exercise that requires you to hold your wrist still while resisting a pull will help develop wrist strength. To make the exercise more difficult:

Pull the lower half of the upper body up so that it is parallel to the ground.
Use the handshake mentioned above. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Consider using a fist ball when pulling the bar. They will move the wrist in different ways, to avoid the situation where only a few muscles are exercised. Two balls will be suspended from the bar to create a rounded (harder to grip) grip, and greatly develop forearm, finger, and wrist strength.

You can also use the “climbing hook” used for climbing training. They are sold at many gyms even though they don’t have any walls. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Practice push-ups against the wall with your forearms. Stand about 1.5-1.8m away from the wall, put your hands on the wall to support your body. You will stand at an oblique angle to the wall. Support your fingers so that the heel of your hand is away from the wall. Then slowly lower your fingers and repeat. Practice 15-20 beats.

Move further and further away from the wall to increase the difficulty of the exercise.

Wrist push-ups. This exercise will cause injury if you haven’t practiced it a lot, so start in the crawl position before moving into the plank position. Instead of doing push-ups with your palms flat on the floor, roll your hands back toward your feet and rest on the backs of your hands. Perform push-ups as usual.

Try push-ups with the outside edge of your hand. Can you “step” forward on the foot and the outer edge of the hand? ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Push-ups on the knuckles. Begin to hold hands and prop yourself on knuckles. This is a moderate exercise to develop wrist strength, although you need to callus your knuckles first, or you’ll end up in pain. Initially, you should practice on a soft surface such as a carpeted floor or foam floor of the gym.

Plant bananas on hard ground or on double beams. This move will put the pressure of the whole body on the wrist, and if you can’t keep your wrist steady, you won’t be able to maintain the pose. Don’t worry if you can’t do the full banana right now — you can rest your feet against the wall for balance without significantly reducing the effect on your wrists. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Are you ready to give it a try? Practice push-ups in the banana position. Simply bend your elbows outward to lower yourself slightly to the ground, then push back into the banana position. This exercise is much easier with a support wall.

Advice

Drummers usually have strong wrists and hands. You don’t need to buy a drum to hit, just tap a pencil or stick on a surface.
Start each exercise with light weights to avoid injury.
Practice punching lightly into the holster, but punch many times.
Hire a personal trainer to help you develop the strength of your wrist or any other part of your body. They can give you tips on how to get well quickly.
Use two dumbbells or barbells at the same time to increase the intensity of the workout.
Push-ups will work the entire upper body, including the wrists.

Warning

As with any exercise, you run the risk of wrist injury if you overdo it. Do not do more than three exercises mentioned in this article per day.
If you feel pain, don’t try to force yourself .
Don’t add weight too quickly! You may be injured.

Steps

Develop wrist health at the gym

Develop wrist health at home

Perform exercises & advanced grips

Advice

Warning

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