Ever had to go onto your forearms or fists during a side plank because your wrists are in so much pain? How about needing to shake them off after a downward dog or deadlift? Wrists are tricky things; we need them to do so many exercises yet even after you’ve been lifting a long time, they can feel weak and achy. So, how can we strengthen such a bony part of the body and are they really as weak as we think?

THE 411 ON WRISTS

You may think that the wrists are just the joint that attaches hands to forearms but they’re actually really complex. They’re made up of multiple joints and bones, including five carpal bones and the parts of five metacarpal bones and, yes, they can feel really sore when you’re strength training or doing yoga because they’re often weak and undertrained. Emily Harding, 365hrs E-RYT and founder of the Yeh Yoga Co, says that most of us have an imbalance between the strength and flexibility of our forearms: “The tops tend to be a lot stronger and less flexible, as so many activities involve extending the hands back towards us, while the underside of our arms tends to be a lot weaker.” If we don’t do anything to correct those imbalances, that’s where the aches creep in. 

Emily flags that wrists can become sore if we’re not spreading our weight properly through the hands in “very common (but not very beginner-friendly) poses like downward dog and chaturanga dandasana (low plank). I consider both of these fairly advanced poses, however, because the shapes seem simple enough, they are included widely within most classes.”