Bodybuilding the a sport in which we work to develop the muscles of our body, along with the removal of body fat, to present the most massive, muscular, and symmetrical package possible. We lift weights to add mass. We use a lot of sets and repetitions to add the muscularity. And we adjust our caloric intake through dieting practices to reduce body fat. These goals reflect directly upon the muscle groups and body fat percent visible on our bodies, but they don’t always take into consideration the joints of the body, which cannot grow like muscle nor shrink like fat. They just have to try to withstand the pounding we give them in the weight room and hope they don’t fail on us.

One area where the joints seem to take an incredible pounding at time is the wrists. We use the hands to grip the barbell in most exercises we do, and the wrist must adjust to an ever-growing workload. Unlike the muscles, which can grow to meet such a demand, the joints and tendons of the wrist can do nothing. We just have to hope they don’t fail on us, or slowly develop into long-term painful maladies such as tendonitis. Here are some factors to consider when training, in terms of wrist soreness and pain.

Discover the cause

If you’ve suddenly developed a painful wrist condition, it’s probably due to some new change that you recently implemented in the gym. Did you start using heavier dumbbells? Did you discover a new bar for biceps curls? There had to have been some change in your recent activity which would warrant a sudden wrist failure after years of training without pain in that area. If you are able to locate the problem, adjust your traning accordingly to lessen or eliminate this pain.

Lower the weight

Many bodybuilders develop some sort of tendonitis in the wrist immediately after they bump up the weights they are using in the gym. If you find this to be the case, your wrists may not be able to withstand the heavier dumbbells you’re suddenly using. If your muscles have grown but your wrists have not, combine the use of wrist wraps and lighter weights, and see if that makes a difference.

Take some time away from the gym

If you believe your soreness is simply a result of training too long and too hard, change things up by taking a week away from the gym. During that time, do everything possible to keep the forearms and wrists stationary so that they really get a rest. If you must train legs or continue cardiovascular training during this week, then do so with a special focus on letting the wrist rest.

Cut out the extracurricular

If you play piano or guitar, you could be making your weightlifting wrist injuries worse. If you play 6 hours per day of X-box, you may be making your wrist injuries worse. Any job or other activity – including holding that mouse as you surf online for endless hours each evening – can have a profound effect upon your wrist muscles. Part of rest isn’t just giving them time off in the weight room – it also involves giving them a break from other activities which stress the wrist.

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