Few months ago, I have felt a pain at my right wrist while I was doing bench press. When it happened the first time, the pain went away within a day. I tightened the wrist strap attached with my glove thinking that the problem would be solved. Sadly, the pain came back a week after, but again, things were back to normal the next day.
The third time, the pain was still there even after 3 days. Something was not right. I felt the pain whenever I twisted in circular using my right wrist, even without holding anything in my hand.
It was quite frustrating. I had to stop training with free weights and opt for machines.
Spoke to a seasoned gym goer and he told me that my wrist was hurt because of the wrong technique holding the bar or dumbbell when lifting weight.
To illustrate his points, using bench press as the example:
- We should put the bar over the palm and not at the fingers. (Using marker pen as straight bar for illustration purpose in the below photos.)
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- Hold the bar tight enough so that it will not move in your hands. Squeeze it hard. Make sure the thumb presses against other fingers hard enough.
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- Not to roll your wrist backward when you do bench press. Once the wrist is rolled backward, the weight will hurt it. The wrist has to be aligned with the forearm.
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- Glove with wrist straps may make thing worse. Relying too much on the strap may have made my wrist weaker in long term.
I hope the right wrist pain is not caused by my Counter Strike games. Damn.
Thanks to my buddy for showing his hand in the above photos. So, the next time you do bench press, pull up, or other weight lifting exercise, especially with free weight, make sure you do it correctly to protect your wrists from injury.
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sylvesteR // Nov 6, 2007 at 2:34 am
Don’t know why but I experienced it and I saw a lot people bending their wrist as well, maybe the weight’s too heavy or something, but it feels better bending your wrist though you know it’s wrong, I think. Humans go for the easier way, don’t they? Well, of course some believed in the hard way for it shall benefit more.
Angie Tan // Nov 6, 2007 at 10:35 am
I’m still new to free weights training and I still need my trainer to spot for me just in case my grip isn’t right.
Thanks for the tips. I used to play tennis and I know the importance of getting the right grip or else you’ll get either tennis elbow or a very bad wrist pain.
Take care! Hope your wrist gets better! ;-)
Mun // Nov 6, 2007 at 10:48 am
Hi sylvesteR - Most people may have twisted their wrists without knowing it, especially during the last few reps in the workout. In this case, if we hold the bar tight enough, we will not have to “cheat”.
Hi Angie - Thanks. My right wrist has not fully recovered yet, but I have started hitting the iron again since last week after training with machines for couple of weeks. It is totally a new experience by holding the bar correctly and I love it!
Elvina // Nov 6, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Hi Mun,
Hope you are doing ok. Thanks for the tips. Now I’ll be more careful when doin this exercise as I realised I tend to roll my wrist backward at times. Will perfect my technique in my next body pump class… Cheers!
trey // Nov 6, 2007 at 2:18 pm
i have experienced (still am, actually) wrist pain starting from a couple months ago. Its not due to poor form on benches etc, but i had an incident which requires me to dump a massive weight from the overhead position (from the top of a Clean & Jerk). since i dont have access to olympic style/rubber plates.. i was hesitant of dumping the massive steel plates directly to the floor, so i absorbed most of the impact/momentum of releasing the weight on my wrists, i had a sprained left wrist because of that.
training had been slow for the next few weeks after that, BUT i realized something good that’s coming out of the whole scenario. since the wrist is hurt.. I had to pay more and more attention of my grip placement and correct techniques on lifts like the Bench Press, Shoulder Press, etc… i noticed that with correct form, the wrist doesnt even hurt even on max lifts.
One Big Health Nut // Nov 6, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Correct grip is important and many people have hurt themselves by doing it wrongly (including me) before. Sometimes we even get the right grip at the first time but as we become more tired (or we are in the last rep), unconsciously our grip slipped and we ‘cheat’. the most common form of ‘cheat’ that I’ve done is the one illustrated in the third point.
Jarret // Nov 7, 2007 at 4:24 am
Hi Mun,
I like your fitness blog! Your article describes exactly the same thing that happened to me recently as well as the reason why. As my strength bench pressing started to increase, I started to notice the same type of pain that you described. It usually lasted about a day, then simply went away. However, the most recent time that it happened–about six weeks ago, the pain just got worse. I haven’t been able to lift weights at all since then. When my sprained wrist finally heals, I will try the new technique that you suggest.
thanks,
chickens // Mar 19, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Hi,
I just read from somewhere that people uses those white cellophane tape n stick straight on the hand. When you turn your hand to wrong positions, the tape will wrinkle…… seems to be a good indicator.