Wrist sprains are a common injury in the world of fitness. Luckily, the wrist is a resilient joint. The anatomy of the wrist is composed of many tiny muscles, tendons, and bones and has the ability to move in all types of directions as well as take on a great deal of stress.  I understand that sometimes when doing heavy lifts at BFP the wrists can be achy or uncomfortable during the lift. This is completely normal, even for someone who may have strong and mobile wrists already. My mind goes to the bench press, hang cleans, front squats and overhead presses.  These are lifts that require a great deal of stabilization, strength, and mobility from the wrist. There are times when our wrists could use some support and that is where wrist wraps can help out. I don’t want to give you the idea that wrist wraps are going to fix everything, but they do have some benefits that I wanted to share with you.  

BENEFITS OF WRIST WRAPS

1. They will help stabilize the wrist under heavy loads.  Keyword heavy! You probably don’t need to rely on them when doing warm-ups or lighter lifts.  The wrist joint, just like any muscle or bone in your body will strengthen over time. It’s when under heavy loads that your body is most vulnerable to an injury, so feel free to use wrist wraps for some extra support.   

2. They will add support for high volume movements that are taxing on the wrists.  If pushups or certain barbell movements are apart of a workout and you have to do a lot of reps, then wrist wraps will help add some support and keep your wrists feeling strong and stable.    

3. They will help you recover faster from an injury by putting your wrists into a stable position when lifting.  Now let’s say you injured your wrists while doing some barbell cleans, you may take a little time off to let them heal, but when you’re ready to get back at it, wrist wraps can be used to improve stability and take some strain off your wrist joint while they are still recovering.          

Overall, the primary benefit of wrist wraps is to help stabilize the wrist to prevent hyperextending and promote proper wrist placement when using a barbell.  Think of the wraps as a “little hug” around your wrists when performing lifts. I personally use them often and feel more confident when the weight is getting heavier, especially on cleans and presses.  

I hope this information helps and as always, let us coaches at BFP know if you have any questions about wrist wraps!

Coach Silas