How to strengthen your wrists

The wrist, which takes the body’s weight in something as simple as the first pushup, is not just important in the gym, but is one of the most functional joints for most daily activities like bearing the brunt of using the phone, or even picking things up. It is less durable than the complex ball-socket system of the shoulder for example, and doesn’t have enough protection from muscles, which makes it tough to isolate. Most of the wrist’s support comes from forearms but that doesn’t mean there aren’t specific ways to make sure the wrist is protected from injury. There’s more reason to do so because reduced blood flow to the wrist means a longer recovery if you injure them.

It’s true that joints can’t be strengthened, muscles can. Which makes the wrist all about control, and a wobbly one will limit how much you can pull and push. Here are the best exercises to make sure that you have strong wrists.

Wrist curls

These are the easiest to do and don’t need a lot of weights. In fact, start with as little weight as possible so that you can gauge your wrist strength. The exercise needs a bench or any padded surface on which the forearms can rest and the wrists can be suspended. Some people prefer to use their thighs to support the forearm, with the knee working as a great feedback loop for the wrist curl. Now let the weight slowly drop with the fingers rolling out as much as possible which is as long as your wrists and forearms can take the load.

There’s a few hacks for this exercise in case you don’t have access to weights. A light backpack comes in handy where you can use the loop meant to hang the bag as a grip. Rest it off the knees and the thinner cloth grip could be perfect if the wrists were quite weak.

Prone wrist curls

It’s important to work both the extensors and the flexors in the arm. Prone wrist curls are basically reverse wrist curls where the grip is palms-down, targeting the extensors, and making sure any wrist work you do is balanced. Since it’s difficult to create this position with basic weights, it is smart to use the cable with the single-arm handle attachment. You can use a resistance band as well. Position yourself with the resistance coming from behind the arm at shoulder height while you keep the elbow in contact with the body to support the arm and push the weight away from the rest of the hand using a palms-down grip.

“For the starting position, grab a cable handle attachment at shoulder height using an overhand grip, palms facing away. This setup ensures you hit the wrist extensor muscles hard. Bend your elbow slightly to keep your biceps out of the movement. Focus on flexing your wrist forward, then return to the neutral position in a controlled manner. The key is to make sure the contraction happens in the forearm, not the upper arm,” says an Athlean-X piece titled, How to do wrist curls.

Wrist rollers

Wrist rollers are rare these days, with gyms choosing the wrist curl machine which seems to be a smarter investment, given how much it’s used for that post workout aesthetic forearm pump. But wrist rollers can be bought and there are still places which have one. The wrist roller is just a handle with a suspended cable on which you can attach weights. Hold the handle in front of you in a front-raise grip and roll the wrist inwards until the cable pulls the weight up, then outwards one at a time to lower it. This is a unique way of pulling up weights using only your wrist strength and is surely one of the best ways to strengthen it.