02/08/2026
A common complaint among clients during all-fours exercises: wrist pain. 😣 We've all experienced it before to some extent, and depending on many factors such as age, bone density, core strength & positioning it can actually be reduced. And while it takes time, wrist strength is certainly something we want to improve upon through form refinement and increased frequency. We don't want to avoid positions that cause wrist pain...we want to improve our form to strengthen the muscles that should be carrying the weight in the first place.
When starting out, many people unknowingly put more unnecessary pressure on their wrists than they realize during positions like planking, kneeling abs, bird-dogs, etc. The trick in strengthening the wrists and reducing wrist pain isn't necessarily about the wrists themselves, but about tapping into the supporting muscles that should be taking most of the workload.
When on our hands (in a plank for example), we want to distribute the weight--Spread your fingers wider and think of actively pressing through all points of the fingers & fingertips, creating a hollow space under the palm to reduce pressure on the wrist.
Check in with your positioning. Are your wrists directly under your shoulders? Are your elbows hyperextending & relaxing or are they actively holding? Once our hand & arm positioning are in check, we can ensure we're recruiting our abs and shoulders properly to carry the majority of the load.
Now, check in with those abs and shoulders. It should feel like you're pushing the floor (or carriage, foot bar , etc.) away with your shoulders and arms, like you're trying to create space between your chest and the ground to prevent any sagging of the shoulders which puts extra weight on the hands & wrists. Your upper back should feel like you're pushing it up to the ceiling while your shoulders protract to push the ground away.
Now here comes the abs...Brace for a punch in the gut! Tense those babies like you're about to take a baseball bat to the stomach, and envision the floor is lava and your ribs & belly button are trying to get as far away as possible. Hollow out the space between your torso & the floor.
When all is positioned properly, you should feel your upper back and core taking the weight away from the wrists and you should feel the muscles underneath your armpits + over your side ribs helping hold you in place. And, with more frequent practice you can build up your strength and drastically reduce wrist discomfort! 👏
And of course, modifications are always there, but that's a post for a different day 😉
