I think that a neutral wrist means different things to different people. I'm asking because it seems my tennis elbow is aggravated by my wrist placement during lifting. I was always afraid of curling my wrist "in" towards the inner forearm and tend to hold it "back" more. Let's see - if I hold a dumbbell parallel to the floor, as in bicep curls, what should I see? How do I gauge my wrist placement? Thanks, Cheryl
Help with neutral wrist
- Thread starter Alexis52
- Start date
Connie1
Cathlete
Place your wrist exactly as it would be if you were hanging from the monkey bars. Neutral means straight, so that the opening inside, where the tendons that control your fingers go through, is as wide open as possible.
The stronger your stabilizing muscles are, the ones that can hold your wrist straight under pressure, the healthier you will keep the internal structures and the more long-term use you will get from your upper extremities.
One way to avoid strain on biceps when lifting a straight bar, is to separate your grip a little more than shoulder width. When you lift it, the wrists go into a more natural position.
Try it with a heavier bar, and experiment really separating your hands from each another- can you see what I mean?
To assure a neutral position, I still prefer using dumbbells, at least half the time.
-Connie
The stronger your stabilizing muscles are, the ones that can hold your wrist straight under pressure, the healthier you will keep the internal structures and the more long-term use you will get from your upper extremities.
One way to avoid strain on biceps when lifting a straight bar, is to separate your grip a little more than shoulder width. When you lift it, the wrists go into a more natural position.
Try it with a heavier bar, and experiment really separating your hands from each another- can you see what I mean?
To assure a neutral position, I still prefer using dumbbells, at least half the time.
-Connie
Thanks a million, Connie! That is a great visualization! Yes, I'm holding my wrists a little "back". I don't have monkeybars at home but I do at school, so I'll definitely check it out tomorrow. But I did hold my arms up like I was "hanging" and wiggled my fingers to see where they had the most movement without strain and was amazed to feel the difference. Course, I looked like a dork and got a critique from my 17 yr old. To me, it's a fine point because the misplacement of the wrist by only 1/2 inch or so can make a huge difference. Thanks again, Cheryl