Overview
If you are recovering from a wrist injury or just looking to strengthen the muscles around the writs, then there are some specific exercises you can do to help. You can easily do these at home with some dumbbells, or you can use cables that are found in most gyms and health clubs. As with any strength-training exercise, do these movements slowly and with control. You should aim for three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each of the following exercises. Use weight that is heavy enough that you fatigue on the tenth to twelfth repetition.
Step 1
Warm up your joints properly before doing any exercise with weights. Make fists and circle your wrists in both directions about 12 times each way. Then place your open palm on a table or the floor with the arms rotated out so that your fingers point toward you. Gently rock your weight back and forth a few times to stretch the wrists.
Step 2
Sit and hold a dumbbell in each hand with the palms facing up for a wrist flexion exercise. If you are using cables, sit facing the cables. Rest your elbows and forearms on your thighs so that just your wrists extend past your knees. You can also rest your forearms on a bench as shown here. Bend your wrist down and let the dumbbells or cable bar roll down to the tips of your fingers. Then roll the bar or dumbbell back up and flex your wrist up. Just move the wrist, and do not lift your forearms off your thighs.
Step 3
Sit the same way as above except this time with your palms facing the floor for a wrist extension exercise. Repeat the same motion as above, remembering to keep your forearm in contact with your thighs. This works the back of the wrists.
Step 4
Use dumbbells instead of a cable bar for this wrist sideways extension and flexion exercise. Sit the same way as above, except now have your palms face each other. Repeat the same bending motion, dropping the hands down and then bending the wrist up. As before, do not let the forearms come up off the thighs. This exercise strengthens the sides of the wrist.
If you are recovering from a wrist injury or just looking to strengthen the muscles around the writs, then there are some specific exercises you can do to help. You can easily do these at home with some dumbbells, or you can use cables that are found in most gyms and health clubs. As with any strength-training exercise, do these movements slowly and with control. You should aim for three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each of the following exercises. Use weight that is heavy enough that you fatigue on the tenth to twelfth repetition.
Step 1
Warm up your joints properly before doing any exercise with weights. Make fists and circle your wrists in both directions about 12 times each way. Then place your open palm on a table or the floor with the arms rotated out so that your fingers point toward you. Gently rock your weight back and forth a few times to stretch the wrists.
Step 2
Sit and hold a dumbbell in each hand with the palms facing up for a wrist flexion exercise. If you are using cables, sit facing the cables. Rest your elbows and forearms on your thighs so that just your wrists extend past your knees. You can also rest your forearms on a bench as shown here. Bend your wrist down and let the dumbbells or cable bar roll down to the tips of your fingers. Then roll the bar or dumbbell back up and flex your wrist up. Just move the wrist, and do not lift your forearms off your thighs.
Step 3
Sit the same way as above except this time with your palms facing the floor for a wrist extension exercise. Repeat the same motion as above, remembering to keep your forearm in contact with your thighs. This works the back of the wrists.
Step 4
Use dumbbells instead of a cable bar for this wrist sideways extension and flexion exercise. Sit the same way as above, except now have your palms face each other. Repeat the same bending motion, dropping the hands down and then bending the wrist up. As before, do not let the forearms come up off the thighs. This exercise strengthens the sides of the wrist.
