With low mobility of the wrists, at some point in the training you will encounter pain. Learn how to make flexible hands and prevent injury. If you feel pain in your wrists when performing kettlebell swings or bench presses, then it is likely that their mobility is low. It is for this reason that the representatives of power sports disciplines use bandages. Heavy loads are applied to the wrist when working with large weights, and the lack of flexibility in the wrist joint exacerbates the situation. It is also quite important in everyday life, especially for people who spend a lot of time at the computer. Today we are going to show you how to train your wrist mobility.
Causes of wrist pain
The wrist has a complex structure. It consists of bones, ligaments, connective tissues, muscles and nerves. Also, the wrist has several degrees of freedom:
- Flexion;
- Extension;
- Abduction;
- Adduction.
If you compare the wrist with any other joint, then the complexity of its structure will become clear to you. At the same time, the wrist is the transition zone between the hand and the forearm. For this reason, the health of this part of the body significantly affects the results of your training.
Simply put, with poor mobility of the wrist, you will have to compensate for this deficiency with movements of the shoulder and elbow joints. This suggests that the mobility of the shoulder (as well as the elbow) joint must be given increased attention due to their relationship.
As an example, consider the stage of taking the barbell to the chest. In this movement, you need to have high mobility of the wrist, pronation of the forearm, and rotation of the shoulder joint. Otherwise, you will not be able to receive a sports equipment with high quality.
An ideally flexible joint should allow you to hold the projectile with a narrow grip with raised elbow joints, while the barbell should be located on the shoulders. But when performing the movement of taking the shell to the chest, many athletes have problems. This is very clearly seen during weightlifting competitions, when the athlete begins to push the projectile upward from the shoulder and intercepts it for the jerk movement.
With weak and sedentary wrists, the load on the joint increases significantly, which is then transferred to the forearm. All of this suggests that a lot of attention needs to be paid to improving wrist mobility and flexibility.
How to train wrist mobility?
To keep your wrists healthy, you need to be responsible in learning movement techniques. You must learn to hold the bar correctly, as well as take the right position. Even if you are in great physical shape, pay attention to maintaining joint mobility. Of course, you should not spend a lot of time on this, but you also cannot ignore the mobility of the joints.
If the athlete does not focus on these things, then he may soon be faced with arthritis and tunnel syndrome. This short introduction should have shown you how important it is to maintain joint flexibility. Now let's move on to those exercises that will allow you to increase the flexibility of your wrist. Clench your hand into a fist, and begin to rotate it in all directions. If at some point you feel uncomfortable. Then you should stay in this position for a few seconds. This is the main and most effective exercise and must be repeated several times a day.
Fold your palms together in a traditional Chinese greeting. Maintain contact between your palms and start lowering them as low as possible. The more time the palms are closed, the more the wrist will stretch. Having reached the bottom point of the trajectory, turn your hands so that their fingers are pointing down. In this case, it is necessary to maintain contact between the palms.
Take up the support while lying, while your elbow joints should be straightened. Turn your palms inward so your toes are facing your feet. Without bending your body, begin to shift your body weight forward so that your wrists are at an angle to your shoulder joints. In this position, you need to stay for 30 seconds. Repeat this exercise several times. At first, it may be difficult for you, and in this case you can additionally rely on the knee joints.
The palms are on the wall, while the fingers are directed to the ceiling. Keeping contact with the wall, begin to move your hands down it. Contact with the wall should be maintained for as long as possible. When you reach a point where the movement can no longer continue, turn your palms 180 degrees and move upward.
How to train your wrists and forearms at home, learn from this video:
