Strengthen Your Hands With These 5 Exercises

The extremities fulfill an important function in our body. The feet are responsible for supporting the body weight and the hands help us to manipulate or hold objects. The upper extremities are the ones we use the most on a daily basis, so they need care. Strengthen your hands with 5 simple exercises to take care of them and prevent them from being injured.

Maybe when you exercise you do activities like jumping rope, lifting weights or sit-ups, but do you exercise your hands frequently? They are responsible for the fulfillment of other exercises. Without them you would not be able to perform many tasks. You use them for push-ups, lifting weights, and for simple tasks like holding a silverware while eating.

Strengthen your hands with these exercises

Being subjected to so much work and bearing so much weight, your hands can be injured. For this reason, it is important that you perform exercises that favor the muscle tone of these extremities and avoid injuries.

1. Stretch your fingers

The muscle stretching is essential to prepare your body for more demanding tasks or to release tension at the end them . Hence the importance of doing stretching exercises prior to your physical training or at the end of it. In this case, take special care of your hands.

• Stretch your fingers back. First take with one of your hands 4 fingers of the opposite hand (excluding the thumb) and stretch them back.
• Hold the position for 10 seconds and then do the same with your thumb. Repeat the exercise with your other hand.

You can also do the reverse process to stretch your fingers forward, although in this case it will be your wrist that receives the greatest elongation.

2. Opposition of the thumb

This exercise strengthens your hands, especially the fingers, due to the effort they make.

• To start, put your thumb together with the index finger of either of your hands. Squeeze them as hard as you can, but without causing pain.
• Hold the position for 5 seconds and then proceed to do the same with the rest of the fingers.
• 3 repetitions of this exercise are recommended on each finger.

3. Raise your fingers with your palm resting on a surface

This is a basic but very effective exercise for finger motor skills. It also promotes flexibility, control and strengthening of the wrist joint.

• Place your hand on a table resting your palm against it. Press well so that your entire hand is in contact with the surface.
• Make controlled movements with each of your fingers.
• First raise the pinky while the others continue glued to the table.
• Perform 10 reps and then proceed to do the same with each of your fingers.

4. Squeeze soft balls or play dough

Squeezing soft balls is not only good for the hands, but also to decrease the load of stress. By doing this exercise you help your hands and your mind at the same time. Performing it frequently will increase your grip strength.

The ball should be slightly smaller than the palm of your hand, so you have a comfortable grip. You can try with a plasticine in case you don’t have a ball.

• Take the chosen spherical object in your hand, squeeze as hard as you can and relax your fingers intermittently for 10 seconds.
• Perform 3 sets for each hand.

5. Do strength exercise with hand and forearm grippers

Forceps for hand and forearm exercises generally have a plastic grip and are attached at the top by a metal ring. There are several types of forceps that vary in the pressure or force that the person must exert when performing the exercise.

If you are just starting to use this instrument, it is recommended that it be of low intensity or softer so that you do not overload the tendons. This exercise strengthens your hands and, in turn, your forearm.

• Take the clamp and squeeze it as hard as you can without causing pain.
• Hold it down for 5 seconds and release the pressure gently until your hand is relaxed.
• Perform 3 sets of 15 reps for each hand.

All these exercises will help you to strengthen the muscles and joints of your hands. You will have more flexibility and grip strength. You can also prevent ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and injuries caused by muscle overload.

When you train, don’t forget your hands: they also need to be strengthened.