Stretching is an important part of exercise that can protect you from injury and improve your flexibility. However, sometimes people focus on stretching certain parts of their bodies, like their backs and legs, and end up neglecting others, like their wrists.
Between working out and typing on a laptop for an extended period of time, the activities you may engage in on a daily basis can leave your wrists feeling super sore. If that sounds familiar, there’s no need to worry. Arianna Elizabeth, a fitness influencer and certified yoga instructor, has a wrist-stretching warmup that might help.
The stretching sequence in the 10-minute YouTube video is meant to be used as a warmup before a yoga session. “It is super important to definitely stretch your wrists out before you start,” Elizabeth explains in the video. “Especially if you’re not super familiar with Down Dog, sometimes it can feel like there’s a lot of pressure on your wrists.”
For people with weaker wrists in particular, which Elizabeth stresses is totally normal, warming up with some stretches is a key step in strengthening them.
Elizabeth talks viewers through exercises such as wrist circles, flexing your wrists, and rolling your wrists out with your fingers interlaced. She then transitions into a tabletop position on her hands and knees, and eventually into Downward Facing Dog. The Downward Facing Dog portion of the stretch is optional, though she gives helpful tips on how to make the position more comfortable.
Check out the video to try the stretches for yourself, and remember to take rest breaks or make modifications whenever you need them.
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