Hands, Wrists and Forearms

There’s a part of your body that gets constant abuse and none of us think about it until a problem arises. It’s your hands, wrist, forearms and elbows. The joints and tissues that make up the arm are constantly on. We’re typing, gripping barbells, chopping onions, washing dishes, texting, holding our phones, driving, doing pull ups and farmer’s carries.

There’s no shortage of work for those muscles, yet, we never stretch, roll or massage them. You can start right now. Stretch each of your fingers back with the opposite hand, then, pull them all back together to stretch your wrist. After that, stretch the wrist the other way by pushing your palm towards your forearm. From there, do 10 wrist circles in each direction, be slow and deliberate.

What’s nice about stretching your hands and wrists is that you don’t need to change into gym clothes. You’re not going to get sweaty and it counteracts things we do everyday. Build in some time to move your hands and give them some love by stretching them a couple times a week.

Next time you’re in the gym, ask us how to use a ball to massage the forearm muscles. It’s an area that you don’t know needs attention until you try. After I do it, I always feel like my hand opens bigger.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach