You’ve asked for more desk jockey exercises, and we’re here to deliver.
This time we’re going deeper into the wrists and forearms with a couple closed chain exercises I developed in my ninjutsu days. I even filmed the clip in black and white, just for the sake of nostalgia…
We did a lot of wrist locks back then, and so we spent an awful lot of time stretching and mobilizing those specific ranges. It made our training sessions safer of course, but that mobility also gave me a bit of extra room when I wanted to slip out of a hold.
How did I open those ranges?
By wrist locking myself. We first started limbering up the area by applying wrist locks to our own joints in gradually increasing ranges of motion. And then I closed the chain, using a coffee table or desk to go deeper.
Your goal is to plant your hand on the desk and walk around your arm until you build enough tension that you’re reaching the edge of your comfort zone. Exhale, relax into it, and wait for that tension to melt away. Keep your palm flat and your shoulder packed. And remember: don’t jam into it. Just go to your edge.
This is a great pair of drills that you can use to release the soft tissue of your forearms when you’ve been spending too much time at your desk. It’s also really good for people like tool and die makers, pipe fitters, or folks who do heavy work that requires a lot of grip strength. We hope you find it helpful.
Good luck, and let us know how you did in the comment section below.
Hey Ryan,
Smooshed my radius a couple years ago so the ROM isn’t great. During the first exercise with elbow pits out I find I can’t get my hand flat on the table unless I let my fingers come over the edge. Also it’s doable with my fingers flat on the table if I lifted my wrist up about 1/2 an inch or lean forward a bit. Is one way or the other a better choice without losing the essence of the exercise?
Thanks! <3
Deborah,
It’s better to let your fingers curl over the edge of the table. You’ll still get deep into the soft tissues of the forearm that way.
Nice ones, Coach. Thanks.
Looking forward for more of your ninjutsu secrets. 😉
Glad you liked it. I’ve got all kinds of cool exercises in my old ninjutsu archives. I hadn’t looked through that stuff in years, forgot just how much great stuff we did back then.
This is just what I needed. A lot of keyboard and VDU operators like me get RSI in wrists and hands. My hands feel better already from just one round after a morning of inputting.
thanks for this.
Cool, glad it helped 🙂
Good stuff, Ryan. I do these by spinning my office chair to rotate my arm. I’ve also done something similar for the ankle on the floor – flat-footed, feet gripping the ground while externally and interally rotating the leg with the ankle planted in place.
Great variations John, good thinking. Jeez, I never had a rotating office chair back then. I did all my work at a little table while sitting on this house my cat played in.
That’s a shame – spinning does wonders for writers block 😉
Very nice, Ryan. Inventive, practical, straightforward and eminently do-able…and yet most people would never think of something like this. I was a bodyworker for 5 years, and I can say that drills like this are vital for career longevity for anyone who uses their hands in that way.
Keep up the great work.
And when, oh when, is “Greatest Hits 2010” going to ship? I ordered it as my Christmas present to myself…
Thanks James, glad ya liked it. My Greatest Hits package arrived in just under two weeks. Same for Adam. Might be faster for those in the US as ours had to come over the border.
Thanks for showing this video and it helps. I just wondering do you have any idea how to deal with Tennis elbow?
When he is speaking it sounds like he has his head in a bucket of water. I can’t understand a word he is saying. Also R2 D2 is talking in the back ground.