Wrist Exercises - 7 Great Exercises To Build Powerful Wrists And Forearms

Welcome to my blog about wrist exercises. Here I wish to share with you my own experiences in wrist exercises and wrist training and give you some examples of exercises you might want to try out for yourselves.

The reason I have such an interest in wrist exercises is because I have noticed a massive increase in my performance in relation to other sports I enjoy. These being weight lifting and grappling.

Since implementing these exercises I have been able to increase my wrist stability during heavy lifts, such as deadlifts during weight training and my grip strength has also skyrocketed during grappling sessions.

These benefits are obviously transferable, so if for instance you play baseball, tennis, golf or any other sport for that matter you may want to use these wrist exercises to improve your grip strength and wrist stability.

Now because of the fact that many of the muscles that move your fingers also cross your wrists, I have included some finger exercises for good measure.

Please Note - You should always consult you doctor before beginning any new training program. If any exercises you do perform causes you pain, you should stop immediately and seek medical advice.

Great, now I have that out of the way lets get onto the fun part. The methods I will discuss below are exercises to build wrist & forearm strength as well as wrist stability & endurance and I have personally used them myself with great success.

OK so here are some of my favorite wrist exercises.

1. Gripstik Counter Twists
2. Hammer Raises
3. Static Crate Holds
4. Elastic Band Extensions
5. Tennis Ball Squeeze
6. Isometric Jar Holds
7. Kettlebell Swings

Now for the breakdown.

1. Gripstik Counter Twists - This exercise involves using a Gripstik to provide resistance whilst you continuously rotating either handle in opposite directions. This wrist exerciser not only helps to build strength, but more importantly it helps build endurance in the forearms as you become more accustomed to the lactic acid effect of high repetition sets. One of my favorites!

2. Hammer Raises - For this exercise I will hold a hammer in my hand with the head hanging alongside my leg and attempt to lift the hammer head to point straight ahead of me by bending my wrist upwards. (This may be a little difficult at first so you may want to start by holding the hammer closer to the head). This exercise is great for building forearm and grip strength.

3. Static Crate Holds - This is a military favourite and helps build endurance. This wrist exercises involves holding an old crate by both handles in front of yourself, resting against your thighs. The object is to lift the create to a 90 degree angle and hold it there for a count of 1 minute. As this exercise is intended to build forearm and wrist endurance, I prefer to increase the time of the lift to 2 minutes and so on, rather than increasing the weight lifted.

4. Elastic Band Finger Extensions - In this exercise you wrap an elastic band around the outside of all you finger nails including your thumb (leaving the elastic band in a circular shape). You will then spread all your fingers appart as wide as possible againgst the restistance of the band, whilst returning to the starting position and repeating the process for 1 minute. This exercise is great for building grip endurance and also helps stabalize your wrists as a secondary benefit.

5. Tennis Ball Squeeze - This one is an easy one but still important one nonetheless. As the name suggest, all that you are required to do here is take a tennis ball and squeeze it repetitively for a minute. This will help strengthen your hands as well as your forearms. This exercise is quite popular amongst individuals rehabilitating after injury as it is a relatively gentle exercises.

6. Isometric Jar Holds - This exercises is similar to the elastic band finger extension except in this exercise you are to place your fingers inside a small jar and opening your fingers to put pressure on the inside of the jar, lift it an inch or so of the table to support it purely by using your finger strength. Hold this position for a minute, then rest for a few seconds and repeat as required.

7. Kettlebell Swings - Finally during this last exercise I will hold a kettlebell alongside my hip and then curl it upward toward the side of my chest and hold it there for a count of 5. Then carefully lower the kettlebell to its original position and repeat for a total of 15 reps. Obviously use a weight your comfortable with and use a spotter if you’re not experienced with kettlebells. This exercise is difficult to perform but the benefits in terms of grip strength are definitely worth the effort.

So there you have it, some of my favorite wrist exercises that I use to build strong wrists and forearms. I hope you can benefit from this information and wish you all the best in your sporting efforts.

If you want to know more about wrist exercises click the link.

Enjoy!