Wrist Rotations – Excellent For Injury Prevention And Stronger Grip
Wrist rotations are great for improving your wrist’s mobility and strength. You will rotate your wrists in a circular motion. You will do forward or backward circles.
Wrist rotations will help you build on your wrist function. It will reduce the risk of injury and boost your grip strength.
Wrist circles are mostly a part of a warm up routine.
What is the best time to do wrist rotations?
In most cases, you will use wrist rotations to prepare your wrists for the main workout. It will boost the blood flow in your wrists. This will make your wrists more mobile and ready for the heavier load.
So, the best time to do it will be before your main workout. This is why it’s mostly used in your warm ups.
If you are spending most of your time working in the office, you may sometimes feel your wrists are stiff. In this case, it may be a good idea to do a few wrist circles. This will help loosen your wrists and make it easier to work.
Main benefits
The main benefits of this exercise include:
- Improved wrist mobility: By doing it you make your wrists move in various directions. This helps loosen your wrists. After a few circles, you will feel you can do them wider and wider. So, you just made your wrists more mobile.
- Better circulation: After a few circles you will feel your blood flows more through your forearms and your hands. This feeling is because your circulation is now better. Blood flow will help flush waste from your organism. It will also supply your muscles with the oxygen needed to move.
- Reduced risk of wrist injury: A good warm up will help you reduce the risk of injury. Wrist circles will help you avoid wrist injury. Or, at least you will have less risk of getting injured.
- Improved grip strength: Better blood flow will supply more oxygen to your forearms and your hands. This will help you grab onto something with more force. So, your grip strength will be better as a result of wrist circles.
Wrist rotations muscles worked
Wrist circles will work your forearm muscles. Those muscles are moving your wrists.
Wrist circles muscles worked:
Flexors
- Flexor carpi radialis
- Flexor carpi ulnaris
- Palmaris longus
Extensors
- Extensor carpi radialis longus
- Extensor carpis radialis brevis
- Extensor carpi ulnaris
Who should avoid doing wrist rotations?
If you struggle with wrist injury you should avoid doing wrist circles. Wrist injuries like sprains, fractures, tendonitis, or arthritis are just some of the problems that will prevent you from doing wrist circles.
Any other issue that causes wrist pain or instability is a sign you should avoid this exercise.
In any case, ask your doctor or physical therapist if you can do it safely.
Equipment
If you are using wrist circles as a part of a warm up routine, you don’t need any equipment. If you want to do this exercise with more load, you may want to use a light weight. This added weight can be something like dumbbells.
How to perform wrist rotations
Positioning:
Wrist circles can be done standing or seating. Your arms may be placed in front of you, or to your sides. You can even interlock your fingers in front of you and do wrist circles like that. You can circle your wrists with your palms closed or opened.
Here is how to do a standing version with your arms spread wide.
You will stand with your legs placed a bit wider than your hip width. The position should be stable. This will insure you will not tip over.
Your arms will be spread wide. Your body will form the letter T.
Performing:
Circle your wrists by doing a circular motion forward. Repeat 10-30 times.
Stop. Switch the direction of rotation and start circling backward. Repeat 10-30 times.
Make sure you are doing this slowly without sharp sudden moves.
Key takeaways
Wrist rotations are an easy exercise mostly used as a part of a warm up. In most cases, you will do it before the main workout.
It will help you increase the blood flow to your muscles. When you do it, your forearm muscles will be able to endure a heavier load.
It will improve your wrist mobility and prevent injury.
