How to Strengthen Wrists: 14 Best Ways to Strengthen Your Wrists

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Are you worried about how to strengthen Wrists? You need a good exercise program if you want to strengthen your wrists or keep them that way.

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Say you got hurt and need physical therapy to help you get back to the level of function you had before. In that case, your physical therapist may give you wrist-strengthening exercises to help you get your wrist and arm back to how they should work.

Your wrists will stay flexible and strong if you stretch and work out the muscles around them. This will also help you avoid injuries from repetitive motion and stress. If you hurt your wrist, these stretches and exercises can help you get it back to how it was before. This step-by-step guide shows you how to Strengthen your wrists through simple exercises at home.

What Are Strengthen Wrists Exercises?

You only need a few things to do wrist exercises:

Small weight (or a can of soup or water bottle)
Table for resting your forearm
A resistance band (as an alternative to weights)

Wrist exercises help tighten the muscles around your wrists so that you can move them in all directions. You need to have strong wrists to avoid repetitive motion injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Physical therapists often give wrist exercises to help people injured or who had surgery regain mobility. If your wrist hurts, see a doctor before doing exercises to strengthen it.

How to Strengthen Wrists and What to Do?

The bones in your wrist connect your hand to your arm. The muscles in the forearm control how the wrist moves. How to Strengthen wrists, you’ll use a group of 18 muscles in your forearms, each of which has a specific job.

We’ll start with some easy stretches you can do anywhere without extra tools. Then we’ll talk about simple exercises ranging from easy to hard.

How to support Healthy Strengthen Wrists?

Strength can help your wrists, but it isn’t the whole story. Light stretches can keep these joints flexible and relieve the stress of typing all day. You can do these easy stretches at your desk, in bed, while waiting at a red light, or whenever you want to move your wrists more.

When people do the same things all day, their forearm muscles can tighten. Simple stretches help ease the pain and keep the damage from getting worse. Here are some ways how to Strengthen wrists:

Wrist Extension

Hold your right arm straight before you with your hand up as if to say, “Stop! “For love.” Pull your right hand back with your left hand until you feel a stretch in your right forearm.

Hold for 15 seconds, and then switch arms. Do the same thing 5 times. Be gentle! You don’t want to pull anything, so move slowly, and don’t try to move anything against your will.

Wrist Flexion

The last stretch was the opposite of this one.

Keep your right hand down and bend your wrist to a 90-degree angle. Press your right hand back toward your body gently with your left hand until you feel a stretch along the back of your right hand and wrist.

Hold for 15 seconds, and then switch arms. Do the same thing 5 times.

Namaste Stretch

With your elbows out to the sides, press your palms together in the Namaste pose right under your chin. Bring your hands down to your belly button while keeping your palms together.

Hold it there for 30 seconds when you feel a stretch. Repeat two to four more times or as many as feels good.

Different Ways How to Strengthen Wrists

Here we are discussing different ways of strengthening your wrists.

1. Range of Motion

This is a warm-up for stretching or a break from repeatedly doing the same thing with your hands.

Sit comfortably and bend your arm at the elbow. Rest your upper arm on your leg or a table, or hold it with your other hand.
Make a fist, and bend your hand at the wrist as far up as you can and as far down as you can comfortably go.
Keep the movement smooth and steady, and move your wrist back and forth 10 times. Don’t move your arm, just your wrist.
With your hand still, in the same place, move your wrist to the left and then as far to the right as you can.
Move your wrist, not your arm, once more.
Keep the movement smooth and steady, and do it 10 times.
Do it again with the other hand.

You can also do this by holding your hand up and not putting anything under your arm.

2. Loosen-up Stretch

This is a simple stretch for your fingers and hands to loosen them up before you start working out. It’s also an excellent way to give your wrists and hands a break if you’re doing the same thing repeatedly.

Relax and bend your arm at the elbow to form a right angle.
Make a fist, and then slowly open it up by spreading and stretching your fingers apart.
Do it several times.
Do it again with the other hand.

3. Prayer Stretch

Stand with your elbows bent and your palms together. Your fingers should point up just below your chin.
Bring your hands to your waist, keep them close to your stomach, and press together.
Hold the pose for 30 seconds when you feel a moderate stretch on the underside of your forearms.
Do this two to four times.

Keeping your fingers together will make you feel this stretch more. As you move your hands down, your fingers will likely start to bend.

4. Prayer Stretch With the Steeple

Stand with your elbows bent and your palms together, just like in stretch number 3.
As far as you can, spread your fingers and thumbs apart. Then move your palms apart and back together while keeping your fingers and thumbs touching. Several times throughout the day.

You can find different ways to do this stretch and other stretches here.

5. Wrist Supination With Dumbbell

Sit in a chair and put your forearm on a table to do this exercise. Ensure that your hand and wrist are hanging off the table’s edge.
Hold the end of a small dumbbell that weighs between 1 and 3 pounds in your hand like you would a hammer.
Slowly turn your hand and wrist around so your palm faces the ceiling.
Hold the end position for a few seconds, then slowly rotate your hand back up so the dumbbell is again straight up.
Then you can slowly turn your hand and wrist so that your palm faces down (a position called pronation). Just stay here for a second or two. Then, slowly turn your hand back up so the weight points up.
You should do this exercise 10 to 15 times between two and three sets.

You can combine the supination exercise with the pronation exercise described in the next step.

6. Ball Squeeze Strengthener

Any ball about the size of a tennis ball will work for this exercise. You can also use exercise putty, which has three strengths: soft, medium, and hard. You can also squeeze with a rolled-up towel or a pool noodle.

Sit comfortably and take the ball or put it in your hand, wrapping your fingers and thumb around it.
Squeeze as hard as you can.
Hold the squeeze for 3 to 5 seconds.
Relax your grip slowly.
Repeat 5 to 10 times.

7. Rubberband Strengthener

This is a simple exercise that works the smaller muscles in your hands. You can also do it while sitting at a desk or anywhere else.

Stretch a regular rubber band over the tops of your fingers and thumb.
Open your hand slowly to stretch against the rubber band, and then close your hand slowly. Keep the movement under control.
Five to ten times.

8. Wrist Curls

This exercise can be done with a clenched fist or 1- to 5-pound weights. You can do one arm at a time or both simultaneously. It depends on how strong you are. A small food can or water bottle can also be used as a weight.

Rest your arm on your knees while you’re sitting. Hold a weight with your palms facing down and your wrists hanging over your knees.
Move your hand as far up as possible and then as far down as possible. Do this slowly and carefully.
Do 10 reps, then do it again.
Then do it again, but this time with your palms facing up.
You might want to add more weight once you can do 2 or 3 sets without much trouble.

You can also curl your wrists with your arm up.

9. Squeezing a Stress Ball or Palm Exercise Device

You may have seen these hand-held exercise tools in gyms, places with a lot of stress (like home offices), and other places. Even though they come in many different sizes and shapes, the basic idea behind all of them is the same: hold the device in your hand, squeeze it firmly but steadily, let go, and do it again. That’s the end of it.

When you only have one hand free, these are great. For example, working out your wrists while talking on the phone or reading a book is easy.

10. Resistance Band Exercise 1

Resistance bands are easy to use and can be used in many ways. They have different levels of strength. Start with a light resistance band if you’re hurt and trying to get better. But if you are training for a sport, choose a heavier band.

This works the muscles that bend and straighten your wrist.

Rest your arm on a table with your palm facing down and your hand hanging off the table’s edge.
Hold one end of the resistance band down with your foot and the other end in your hand. You might have to put some tension on it by wrapping it around your hand.
Pull up against the resistance as far as you can with your wrist. Keep the movement steady and smooth.
Slowly move back down to where you started.
10 times in a row.
Do it again with the other hand.

Do the same exercise, but start with your palms up.

11. Resistance Band Exercise 2

Sit comfortably with your arms bent at right angles and close to your body.
Hold a tight band in both hands with the palms facing down.
Turn your wrists slowly so that your palms face up. This will stretch the band.
Don’t move your arms or elbows.
Do it several times.

12. Wrist Walking

Stand beside a wall with your arms straight, your palms against the wall, and your fingers pointing up.
Walk your wrists down the wall as far as possible while keeping your palms against the wall.
Then turn your hands so that the tips of your fingers point down. Walk your wrists back as far as possible while keeping your palms against the wall.

13. Grip Strengthening

There are a lot of different kinds of handgrip strengtheners to choose from. The basic idea is to use a tool that gives you something to squeeze against that you can measure.

There are many different kinds of grippers. You can start with the one that isn’t too hard to shut. When that gets easy, you can tighten the gripper. Some grippers are light, and some need 365 pounds of force to close.

Online stores let you buy hand grippers and hand exercisers.

Sit comfortably with one hand on the gripper and the other arm bent at a right angle, palm facing in.
Slowly squeeze, then let go.
Do this 8–10 times.
Your hand should be the only thing moving, not your arm.
Switch hands, and do it again.
Try a gripper with more tension when you can easily do two to four sets.

14. Strengthen Wrists Circles

These exercises with the least resistance are great for quick breaks at the office or when you can’t do more complicated ones, like on an airplane. Wrist circles are sometimes used in physical therapy, but that shouldn’t stop you from doing them if you’re healthy. They’re a great way to calm down when you’re “all wound up.”

Put your palms down in front of you as you stand or sit. Slowly circle your wrists to the left and then back to the right. You might want to clench and unclench your fists as you do this to give the exercise more movement. Turn your palms over and start again after you’ve solved any problems.

Benefits of Doing Strengthen Wrists Exercises

Practicing wrist exercises can help in a number of important ways. Here are some important ways how to Strengthen wrists:

1. Wrist exercises increase flexibility. The wrist can do many things, such as pronating, supinating, and moving radially or laterally. Wrist exercises stretch the ligaments in the wrist, making it easier to move the wrist and making it more flexible.

2. Wrist exercises help prevent wrist pain and injury. When your wrists are weak, you are likelier to break or sprain them. Repetitive movements can cause wrist pain by putting too much pressure on the median nerve, which runs from your hand to your upper arm, and can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. Building strength in your wrist muscles takes the pressure off the median nerve and gives your wrists the strength they need to keep them from getting hurt.

3. Wrist exercises help build grip strength. When you do wrist exercises, the forearm muscles are used, which helps build your grip strength. You need to have a firm grip for many upper-body exercises, like pull-ups and barbell bench presses.

How to Work Out Safely and Avoid Injury?

If you already have a health problem, you should talk to your doctor before starting the How to Strengthen Wrists exercise program. Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure an exercise program is safe and effective, but you may need to change each exercise to get the best results based on your needs.

Always choose a weight that gives you full control over your body during the move. Pay close attention to your body when you work out, and stop immediately if you feel pain or discomfort.

To keep progressing and build up your body’s strength, ensure your exercise program includes the proper warm-ups, rest, and food. Ultimately, your results will depend on how well you recover from your workouts. Rest the same muscle groups for 24 to 48 hours before working them out again to give them enough time to recover.

Wrapping Up

For everyday tasks, you need wrists that are both strong and flexible. Whatever you do with your hands—drive a car, swing a golf club or tennis racquet, lift weights, type, cook, or do anything else—your wrists are involved.

Like with any other workout, you should warm up before you start.

Try light stretches, exercises without weights, and exercises with light exercise bands if you are starting out with an exercise routine. Use weights and bands that are right for your strength when you train for weightlifting or any other sport.

If your wrist hurts, talk to your doctor. Depending on what’s wrong, they may send you to a doctor or to a physical therapist.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Check some commonly asked questions on wrist strengthening.

Why are my wrists so weak?

Hand weakness can be caused by many things, like carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, peripheral neuropathy, and ganglion cysts. If your hand or grip is weak, doing everyday things can be much more complicated.

How to Strengthen Wrists?

Wrist curl:

Sit and hold your arm at 90 degrees, with your palm facing up. The arm can rest on your leg, a bench, or a table.
Curl your wrist up, like it’s doing a baby biceps curl.
Return wrist to the starting position.
Repeat 10 times, then switch sides.

How to Strengthen Wrists do push-ups?

For example, when you’re in a pushup position, these muscles help your wrist joints hold up a lot of your body weight. They can put too much stress on your wrist if they aren’t strong enough. “Structural causes usually cause different kinds of pain and discomfort in very specific places,” Occhipinti says.

How to Strengthen Wrists Hand Grips?

It’s good for your fingers, but it also helps your wrists and forearms get stronger.

Can push-ups hurt your Strengthen Wrists?

Wrist pain and soreness can happen with any exercise that requires your hands and wrists to be flexible or to push the weight. If you want to get strong enough to do an advanced move like a pushup, you might need to start with a modified version or a different exercise.

Why am I losing grip on my hand?

A weak grip can signal that the muscles are shrinking or wasting away. Most of the time, this is caused by not using the hands and fingers enough, but it can also be a sign of peripheral neuropathy, cervical compression, brachial plexus syndrome, MS, Parkinson’s, and arthritis.

What is carpal tunneling?

When the median nerve is squeezed as it goes through the carpal tunnel, this is called carpal tunnel syndrome. The carpal tunnel is an opening in your wrist that is made by the carpal bones on the bottom of the wrist and the transverse carpal ligament across the top of the wrist.

Are knuckle push-ups better?

When you do knuckle push-ups, you need a wider range of motion than regular push-ups. So, your muscles must work harder to keep up with them. Particularly your anterior deltoids. Knuckle push-ups could make you stronger than regular push-ups because they let you move in more ways.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This information is not comprehensive and should not be used to make health or well-being decisions. Consult a qualified healthcare professional with questions about a medical condition, treatment options, or health regimen. This website or the content should never replace professional medical advice.