The tennis ball squeeze exercise appears in hand and arm rehab, hand and arm strengthening and grip improvement workout programs. Your wrist flexors, finger flexors and thumb flexors are all muscles the tennis ball squeeze targets. These muscles work synergistically to perform a maximal squeeze of the tennis ball. This type of training is important for overall wrist strength and health but can benefit athletes as well.
Operation
You perform the tennis ball squeeze exercise from a seated position with your palm facing upward. Your forearm should be on a table or bench so that bicep and shoulder muscles are relaxed. Place the tennis ball in your open hand and trap it in place by closing your fingers around the ball in a "C" style or cupping grip.
Your thumb should also wrap across the ball. Now, squeeze the tennis ball as hard as you can for a total of ten seconds. Make sure to continue inhaling and exhaling while you squeeze the ball. After holding the ball tightly for ten seconds, relax your grip. Repeat at least ten squeezes for one hand and then repeat on your other hand.
Muscle Actions
Your finger and thumb flexors are the two primary groups of muscles to activate during the tennis ball squeeze exercise. These muscles are located between your wrist and elbow, on the palm side, of your forearm. Your wrist flexors also activate during the tennis ball squeeze. To get the best grip, your body will naturally tilt or flex your wrists toward your body. This requires your wrist flexors to activate to reach this position and puts your finger and thumb flexors in a more mechanically advantageous position to get a strong and more forceful contraction.
Repeaters
There are several variations to the tennis ball squeeze exercise. "Repeaters" is a name for the tennis ball exercise when you perform a sequence of short, rapid succession squeezes on the ball. Each squeeze is as hard as possible for no more than one second and continually repeated a total of 20 times. This particular variation trains the muscles to contract quickly and is useful for sports tasks that require a quick grip on a circular object, like catching a football or baseball.
Standing Movement
The tennis ball squeeze can also be from a standing position with arm motion. This variation stands with your arms to the side of your body. You then squeeze the ball tightly and rotate your arms counterclockwise until your hands and arms are above your head. Your arms should remain straight throughout the movement. Once above your head, your arms then rotate back to the initial position while maintaining the tight squeeze. This particular variation trains the muscles you are working to perform the squeeze from various arm positions. This is crucial for sports such as mountain climbing where the arms are in various positions and require solid gripping action.
References
- ExRx: Wrist Flexors
- Apec-s.com; The Importance of Grip Strength; Jason Shea
- Eastern Illinois University: Muscles of the Wrist and Hand
- "NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training"; Roger Earle and Thomas Baechle; 2003
- "ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer"; American College of Sports Medicine; 2007
- "NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training"; April 2007
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