Pushups With a Bad Wrist

Pushups are a fundamental calisthenic exercise utilized to build upper body strength, endurance and stability. During pushups, a tremendous amount of your body's weight is placed on your wrist while it's bent to 90 degrees. A wrist injury increases the challenge of performing pushups properly. You can modify your pushup technique to reduce the pressure you place on your wrists. Experiment with different hand and body positions to find one that works for you.

Pushups

Pushups are a basic body-weight exercise that strengthens the chest, shoulders and triceps. They are a vital part of military, sports and exercise class training. One major negative to pushups is the amount of weight that is placed on the wrists and hands. Having a bad wrist makes pushups uncomfortable, but modifying your hand and body positioning may help.

Body Positioning

If you experience pain in the wrist while performing pushups, you may be leaning too far forward. In a proper pushup position, the wrist is extended and the body's weight is placed on the hands. When you get into the starting position, attempt to push your body toward your feet by placing your heels directly above or slightly behind your toes. This position places less body weight on your hands and more on the feet. You may feel a slight stretch in your Achilles tendon in this position.

Elevated Pushups

Place your hands on a raised platform to decrease the pressure on your wrists. This makes the exercise easier but also places less stress on the wrist joint. Most athletes with an injured wrist find this technique an acceptable substitute. The raised hand position places more of your body's weight on your feet and less on your wrists. In this position, you may be able to place your hands close to the edge of the platform, which may reduce the amount of wrist extension, thus further decreasing the amount of wrist stress.

Fist Pushups

This pushup variation builds grip strength and was a favorite of martial arts icon Bruce Lee. You may want to use carpet or a mat for your hand placement to reduce the pressure on your knuckles. Make a tight fist and place your knuckles on the floor. Maintain your wrists in a neutral position throughout the entire exercise. This technique may take time to adjust to, but the neutral wrist position is an effective way to limit wrist pressure.

Hand Positioning

In the standard pushup position, the hands are placed at shoulder width. Modifying the width of your hand placement changes the weight distribution on your wrists. A wider or narrower than standard hand placement may make pushups less painful on your wrists. Positioning the wrists so more weight is distributed on the outer aspect of the wrist may ease wrist strain during pushups.