9 Wrist Mobility & Strength Exercises for Pain-Free Hands & Wrists

Are your wrists bugging you? Maybe you’re recovering from a sprain. Or your wrists give out during push-ups. Or they’re just stiff and sore from hours at the computer.

Whatever the cause, these wrist exercises will help.

Why This Matters

• You use your wrists for everything
  • Typing, lifting, gripping, training. Weak, stiff wrists make daily life harder.
• A strong upper body depends on them
  • Push-ups, planks, handstands—all rely on your wrists to support your weight.

You don’t have to just “wait it out.”

• If your wrists hurt, you might think you need to rest or see a specialist (which you should if the issue doesn’t improve see a professional).

I’ve used these exercises with hundreds of physical therapy patients over the years. And even sports orthopedic surgeons use them with their own patients:

Many people with wrist trouble think they only have two options: wait it out or see a professional (and you should see a professional if your problem doesn’t improve).

But there’s a third option: fix your wrists yourself with just a few minutes of smart training each day.

I’ve used these exercises with hundreds of physical therapy patients over the years. And recently one client of ours, a sports orthopedic surgeon, let us know that he’s been using them with his patients, too:

First, we’ll go over 5 wrist stretches that will ease pain and give you better range of motion. Then we’ll go over 4 wrist strengthening exercises that protect your wrists over the long term.

But first let’s take a quick look at what’s happening inside your wrist and why these exercises are important…

A Very Brief Overview of How the Wrist Works

Here’s a little primer on wrist anatomy to help you understand what’s going wrong and how to fix it.

Your wrist is a highly complex joint with ten bones and multiple ligaments holding it together.

• Your radius and ulna (forearm bones) connect to eight small carpal bones in your wrist.
• Ligaments keep everything stable but need to be gradually strengthened to handle load.
• Your forearm muscles control wrist movement—flexion, extension, and side-to-side motion.

Most people never fully strengthen or mobilize their wrists, which makes them prone to sprains, strains, and stiffness.

The good news? Just a few minutes a day of targeted work can build serious resilience.

Improving the capacity of our wrist bones and ligaments takes consistent, progressive, and patient work. And if you want to reduce your risk of injuries, the patience part is key.

The muscles of our forearms and wrists create the movements of flexion, extension, and radial/ulnar deviation. Hand rotations (supination and pronation) actually come from the elbow joints. So wrist “circle” exercises are a combination of elbow and wrist movements.

Our forearm and hand muscles actually have a great potential for strength improvement, as again most of us tend not to use them to their full capability.

5 Wrist Mobility Stretches For More Range Of Motion

If your wrists feel tight or restricted, random stretching won’t help much. This routine isn’t random.

These five exercises come from decades of experience working with clients. They actually work to improve range of motion without making things worse.

🎥 Follow along with this video:

Instead of pushing into discomfort, relax into the holds. It helps train your nervous system that this is a safe position for you.

Now let’s look at each exercise in detail…

1. Wrist Circles To Increase Range Of Motion

• Bring your hands up with your elbows close to your body, making fists.
• Rotate your wrists in a circular motion.
• Try to keep your palms facing downward to maximize range of motion.
• Do 15-20 circles in each direction.

2. Backward Facing Wrist Stretch

• Place your hands out in front of you, rotating your wrists around so that your fingers are facing your knees.
• Start with your fingers closer to your knees (this is easier than further away).
• Keeping your palms flat on the ground, shift your body back toward your heels, then forward toward your hands.
• Do 5 repetitions and hold for 5-10 seconds on the 5th rep, and repeat again for one more round..

3. Forward Facing Wrist Stretch

• Start with your hands flat on the floor in front of you with fingers facing forward.
• Make sure your elbow pits are facing forward and pulse forward for 5 reps, holding for 5-10 seconds on the 5th rep.
• Do one more round of pulses with a hold at the end.

4. Palm Heel Up Side-To-Side Stretch

• Make sure your hands are flat on the ground with fingers spread out.
• Lift the heel of your hands up off the ground. Then push your hands into the ground while focusing on the knuckles, and go side to side.
• If this position is tough, bring your hands closer to your body.
• Do this for about 15 seconds going side to side.

5. Wrists Shakes

• Simply shake your wrists out for 10-15 seconds (just like Andre 3000 so eloquently said in Hey Ya).

Practicing these exercises will help you improve your range of motion in your wrists, which can help you access more movements with less restriction and pain. Which makes them a great starting place for improving your wrist health.

But for your wrists to function at their best they also need to be strong. So this next sequence focuses on wrist strength.

4 Wrist Exercises For More Strength And Stability

Again, don’t push into any painful positions. If something hurts back off and try and easier version of it.

Building strong wrists is a process. But if you practice these moves regularly at your own level you’ll be well on your way to healthy, resilient wrists.

✅ Strong wrists handle more stress and resist injury.
✅ These exercises build the kind of strength that lasts.

🎥 Follow along with this video:

Here are the 4 exercises broken down:

1. Palm Pulses

• Put your hands flat on the ground, splaying your fingers as wide as you can.
• Pull your palms off the ground, keeping the top part of your hand and your fingers pressed into the ground.
• Pulse in and out of this position 10-30 times.

2. Back of the Hand Wrist Extension

• Start with your knuckles on the floor with your arms straight.
• Adjust your weight by sitting back or leaning forward.
• Open your palms, and roll the back of your hands to be flat on the ground.
• Do 2 sets of 8-10 reps.

3. Seal Walk

• Start with your palms on the ground, with fingers facing your knees.
• Shoulders over your hands.
• Walk forward, crawling on your hands and knees, trying to keep your chest up.
• Do 2 sets of 10-12 reps per hand.

4. Rear Facing Wrist Holds

• Start with the back of your hands on the floor, fingers pointing toward your knees.
• Hold the position for 3-10 seconds and aim to work toward a full 30 second hold.

How Your Stiff, Weak Wrists are Holding You Back

Wrist pain isn’t just annoying—it can stop you from training altogether. Strains, sprains, tendonitis, bursitis, TFCC tears, stress fractures… these injuries are frustrating, but they’re not inevitable. The right approach to wrist conditioning can help you prevent and even improve them.

Mobility

Before you start loading your wrists with bodyweight exercises, they need to move well. You should be able to flex and extend your wrists without strain. If you can’t, it’s like trying to force open a rusty hinge—instead of loosening it up, you’re just cranking on it until something breaks.

Strength-Endurance

 Your wrists need to handle sustained pressure—especially in hand-balancing or push-up variations. But jumping straight into heavy wrist-loading (like spending hours on your hands) is a recipe for pain, not progress.

That’s why we include proper progressive warm-ups and exercise protocols in every program we have.

“What if these exercises are too uncomfortable for me?”

If your wrists are so restricted that you can’t perform the exercises as shown in the videos, don’t worry about it. You just have to adjust to your own level.

A good option is to do the exercises on a table or other elevated surface to take some of the pressure off.

And if even that is too uncomfortable, feel free to do them on a wall.

The important thing is to move within the range you can, and not to move into pain. Stop just short of where you feel pain and spend time working on the range you’ve got.

Over time, that range will increase and you’ll be doing more and feeling better.

You can also make your wrists robust using animal movements. Once you have the strength a mobility in your wrists to support your body weight, we recommend getting familiar with animal movements, specifically the Bear, Monkey, and Frogger.

Get Past Restrictions and Get Back to Doing the Things You Love

Feeling restricted from activities you want to do is a terrible feeling. You want to feel in control of your body, and to be confident that it can handle whatever you need it to do for you.

When your body is unencumbered by restrictions, you can feel truly free to pursue any activities you want.

Maybe you’ve wanted to take up climbing, or you’ve been hesitant to try something like grappling because you know it will put strain on your wrists. Once you free up that restriction with diligent practice, you’ll be free to take up any sport or activity. And that freedom is a beautiful thing.

Would the rest of your body benefit from improved flexibility and strength? Elements can help you get strong and mobile from head to toe.

Elements

Practice essential movements for practical physical fitness