Question about WRIST PAIN (incl. Wrist Pushups pt 2)

[StevenL]

My wrist pain is extremely bad. I've had it on and off ever since I began exercising 2 years ago and the only things any doctor or "specialist" has ever done is give me a brace. It is on my left wrist at the joint on the pinky side. And it hurts!!!

Coach, could you please post a video of your athletes' wrist conditioning? I'm sure there are several of us here who would appreciate it.

[StevenL]

forgot to mention: I have rheumatoid arthritis.

[Coach Sommer]

I will post a video clip of one of our wrist exercises, along with an accompanying essay, later this morning.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[StevenL]

YES!!! Thank you very much, Coach.

[Bonneau]

thanks coach !!!

[Blairbob]

Looking forward to it. I have thought about filming my current wrist routine for some time.

[StevenL]

Please, by all means, do it!

[sghetti]

Thanks!

[Blairbob]

Didn't see this. Guess I know what to do today, then. I'll see about getting it before night fall.

This video pretty much covers it.

Just about the only thing I do besides that is to do wrist circles/rotations with a small weight to warm them up and at the end of workouts.

[Rod Abbott]

Thanks Blairbob,

Are these wrist and ankle stretches preceded by any other warm up or calisthenic?

Rod

[Blairbob]

No idea in that vid, they are probably towards the end of the warmup there since it's part of the boy's future star's program warmup.

I tend to do my wrists toward the end of my warmup before bridges.

[Rod Abbott]

Blairbob,

Sorry for being ambiguous. My question did not specifically mean this video but the nature of warming up in general. If I was at the park doing my GPP (or static holds for that matter) and wanted to warm up my wrists, could I do the type of warm up on the video as a warm up, or should some other general warm up be done (e.g. jogging, rope jumping, or a specific gymnastic exercise) to warm up the joints and tendons first?

I want to exclude any and all movements that are counterproductive.

It might be a good for me to watch a gymnastics class to see how the parts make a whole.

Thanks again,

Rod

[Blairbob]

Yeah, in general for GPP, you'll want to do squats, lunges, hangs, leg swings, arm circles ( or stick dislocates ). I'm thinking if you were going to tumble or do GPP, you'd want to cover that. If you were going to do rings, you wouldn't need much except shoulders drills and some hanging.

You can do some basic rolling or running to get warmed up for the first few minutes. Squats and lunges could be used instead as well as basic rolls and cartwheels.

[Guest Brusi]

Didn't see this. Guess I know what to do today, then. I'll see about getting it before night fall.

This video pretty much covers it.

Just about the only thing I do besides that is to do wrist circles/rotations with a small weight to warm them up and at the end of workouts.

terrible form

[Blairbob]

They are young american boys. Most seem unfamiliar to the movements. Some of these movements are not full ROM and they should be on their knees rather than a regular pushup position. Some of the wrist stuf can be damaging if it's beyond their level, especially back of wrist pushups.

I think this was some sort of training camp for the US Future Stars or it could have just been the Future Stars WU at a gym.

[Edward Smith]

Coach, not trying sound desperate or ungrateful but, how's it coming along with the video?

Thanks,

Ed

[Guest Brusi]

Coach, not trying sound desperate or ungrateful but, how's it coming along with the video?

Thanks,

Ed

Me too javascript:emoticon(':?') :?

[Coach Sommer]

The video of the wrist series that Blairbob filmed at a Future Stars Clinic is actually my own wrist series; or at least the floor work portion of it. I guess that I should not find this surprising as I have been involved with the Future Stars program for over ten years and have introduced the series to a great many people. That being said, and as others have already observed, there are a number of issues present with the performance of the movements as shown by those inexperienced athletes.

For the gymnastics strength trainee the wrist series, and in particular the wrist pushups, are essential elements that must be included in their training on a nearly daily basis. My own athletes perform the entire series every day in warm-up (10 strict reps per variation) and then once again at half volume on pommel horse days upon the completion of that event.

The video clip above is a demonstration of correctly performed wrist pushups.

Initially most people will find full wrist pushups too difficult to perform. I highly recommend that beginners to this movement begin from their knees. If this fails to sufficiently scale back the movement, then add additional piking in the hips until you reach a comfortable level of intensity during the wrist pushups.

As you become more proficient, intensity may be increased in several ways:
1) Decrease the speed of both the flexion and straightening of the wrist. Many people will confuse slowing down the speed of bending the elbow with that of the wrist; this is incorrect. It is the bending of the wrist itself that concerns us here.

2) Reduce the degree of elbow bend used during the wrist pushups. This gradual reduction can continue until the elbows are completely straight.

3) Elevate the body by placing the feet on the wall. A note of caution is however due here; do not attempt to continue to increase your height on the wall at every workout. Rather pick an acceptable height that is initially challenging and then remain there for at least six weeks prior to once again increasing the height. The body must have time to progress through the adaptive phases of over-load, load and under-load to avoid potential overuse injuries.

4) Supremely gifted athletes may also perform this series while being spotted in a handstand.

Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer

[gymrob]

Coach many thanks for posting this.

The athlete in the video has his hands pointing out (sideways). I was wondering would doing these pushups with the hands facing other directions for example forward provide any addition benefit? Also do you have your athletes perform multiple sets or each exercise and if so how much rest would you recommend between sets?

Thankyou

[Coach Sommer]

Dorsal Pushups

The movement which he is attempting is called Dorsal Pushups. To perform them picture yourself in a standard pushup position. Now begin to rotate your hands inward as far as possible given your current ROM. With perfect flexibility this rotation would eventually end with your little fingers pointing directly toward your feet and your thumbs pointing outward. Obviously very few people possess the flexibility to attain this extreme position; simply come as close as you can.

There are several guidelines which must be adhered to to successfully perform Dorsal Pushups:

1) If the hands are correctly rotated, the elbows should point at least partially forward when bending during this movement. Elbows that are pointing out to the sides as in the video are indicative of insufficient rotation.

2) The weight of the body should be born on the outside edges of the rotated palm, in particular the spot on the palm just above the wrist and in line with the little finger.

3) Maintain a flat back and hollow chest at all times when performing Dorsal Pushups; do not allow either the ribs to arch or the hips to drop.

4) The head should remain neutral during the repetitions. The bobbing head routine will result in little to no strength gains and is best left to chickens in the barnyard.

Performing these on the edge of a mat, or on a single bar or even on the edge of a stair will help to keep the hands in the proper rotated position.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Blairbob]

Nice Coach Sommer. I will have to add that I did not film those boy's during those series. It was posted off a user on youtube that chronicles the gymnastics of a young boy named Vadim by a user named Ivanovjet.

[Coach Sommer]

Thank you for clarifying that. Yes, I am familiar with both that athlete and the coach who is also an acquaintance of mine.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Blairbob]

Any possibility about filming dorsal pushups, Coach Sommer?

I think I understand what you are doing, but I'm unsure. I might try filming these tonight once my roomate awakens so I can use his camera.

[Grissim Connery]

i've always had a bit of trouble with the wrist pushups and i finally found out an aid. in the video, the athlete has his thumbs extended out. i feel that my particular lack of strength in my wrist does not allow me to complete comfortable wrist pushups even on the knees with the thumbs extended out. recently i found that if i keep my thumb curled into my hand as if to resemble the "hook grip" used by olympic lifters, i can complete wrist pushups and they feel very good. at the top of the rep, my fingers are curled around my thumb. at the bottom of the rep where the fingers are in extension, my thumb points at first knuckle of my middle finger. i can now complete many decent repetitions from the knees, and my wrists feel great subsequently. i'm going to wait a week or 2 before i take these to a full plank pose, once i can complete these well from the plank, i will come back to my knees but begin working on extending my thumbs out like the video depicts.

[Bob Sanders]

Dorsal Pushups

The movement which he is attempting is called Dorsal Pushups. To perform them picture yourself in a standard pushup position. Now begin to rotate your hands inward as far as possible given your current ROM. With perfect flexibility this rotation would eventually end with your little fingers pointing directly toward your feet and your thumbs pointing outward. Obviously very few people possess the flexibility to attain this extreme position; simply come as close as you can.

There are several guidelines which must be adhered to to successfully perform Dorsal Pushups:

1) If the hands are correctly rotated, the elbows should point at least partially forward when bending during this movement. Elbows that are pointing out to the sides as in the video are indicative of insufficient rotation.

2) The weight of the body should be born on the outside edges of the rotated palm, in particular the spot on the palm just above the wrist and in line with the little finger.

3) Maintain a flat back and hollow chest at all times when performing Dorsal Pushups; do not allow either the ribs to arch or the hips to drop.

4) The head should remain neutral during the repetitions. The bobbing head routine will result in little to no strength gains and is best left to chickens in the barnyard.

Performing these on the edge of a mat, or on a single bar or even on the edge of a stair will help to keep the hands in the proper rotated position.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer, do you still have a video for this? I can visually see how to have your hand pointed back (thumbs out, pinky towards the feet) and your elbows pointed back and then it's point forward.