Wrist Wraps = Healthy, Happy, Wrists And Elbows
Elbows
Yes, elbows.
Wrist Wraps do Two Obvious Things:
1: “Cast” your wrist in place so the hand and forearm stay aligned.
This ABSOLUTELY helps you LIFT MORE WEIGHT.
2: Keeping the wrist aligned also keeps a LOT of stress off the wrist joint and helps keep the wrists happy and healthy.
Already covered #2 in this article: Bent Wrists, Loose Grips = Fire Elbow and it Sucks
But the less obvious benefit is:
Wrist Wraps Protect You From FIRE ELBOW
Wait But What:
It’s all connected, nothing functions in isolation and:
What Happens at One Joint Affects ALL Other Joints
Maybe the effect is small, but there is an effect.
But when the joints are directly upstream or downstream from the affected joint the effect is probably going to be LARGE and immediate.
Joint By Joint Approach:
About 10 years ago Mike Boyle and Gray Cook started preaching the “Joint By Joint Approach” and it simplifies what a joint “needs”.
From this book: Advances in Functional Training
See a Pattern?
What one joint “needs” is the opposite of the joints above and below the affected joint.
From this approach it pretty obvious that everything affects everything.
That’s Why Wrist Wraps Affect Elbows:
What happens at the wrist goes “downstream” and affects the elbow.
Especially the muscles that cross or attach at both the wrist and elbow.
Bent Wrists and Fire Elbow:
I’m gonna sum this up really quickly:
Keep Your Wrists Straight and You’ll Be Ok.
But that’s not what often happens in real life.
It’s incredibly common to BEND THE WRIST (you thought I was gonna say knee, didn’t you?)
Even if its slight.
Infrequent.
Occasional,
And now your elbow is killing you.
Its death by a thousand paper cuts.
We’re gonna bend or have to resist bending the writs back, while gripping the bar as hard as hell. <—-at least you should be.
There are hella high loads on the muscles and then bending of the wrist puts a MASSIVE ECCENTRIC stress on the forearm flexors, especially at the point of attachment (medial epicondyle)
You’ve Got Golfers Elbow….But Don’t Play Golf.
Medial Epicondylitis:
Medial epicondylitis or ‘golfer’s elbow’ is mostly a tendinous overload injury leading to microtearing. Thereby tendon degeneration appears instead of repair. [1] The most sensitive region is located near the origin of the wrist flexors on the medial epicondyle of the humerus. Sometimes the patient also experiences pain on the ulnar side of the forearm, the wrist and occasionally in the fingers.- physiopedia
In non-nerd speak:
Its inflammation of the tendons on the inside of the elbow.
And is SUPER COMMON if you lift the weights.
Especially the barbell.
How Wrist Wraps Work:
Wrist wraps keep the wrist straight….
Really, that’s it.
Straight wrist = forearm flexors NO NOT get overstretched at the elbow.
There is enough “slack” in the forearm flexors that the stretch and tension on them stays “in the muscles” and doesn’t have to move into the tendons because of the stretch.
How to Put Wrist Wraps On:
Checklist:
- Line the seam of the wrap up with the middle of your hand <–you don’t have to, but I do this and think its the most comfortable.
- Make a fist and keep it while wrapping
- Wrap TOWARDS the pinky/ outside of the hand.
- Wrap the wrist up…
- You’ll want to try several different styles/ patterns of wrapping and see what works best for you.
- Personally, I like to get some wrap up on the forearm, where some folks have all the wrap on/ crossing the wrist joint.
Brotips:
- The wraps do NOT need to be maximally tight all the time. Just as much as you need to resist bending back.
- NO, you don’t need to use wraps all the time. It’s good to do some heavy training without them occasionally. But probably not max weight or max reps.
Remember:
Tools or Crutch
3. Some folks use wrist wraps for squatting. A straight wrist = more grip on the bar = more tightness and strength. I don’t, and don’t know how they can stand it.
4. Don’t use maximal wrap tension for sets with reps of greater than 5. Once you do this and your hands go numb on the bar, you’ll understand why. Just back the tension down to 80% and you’ll get more than enough support.
5. When/ if your elbows flare up, use wrist wraps on ALL your pressing until it subsides. Still do treatment on the injury, but if you use wraps here you can still train pretty hard.
6. If you compete…make sure you KNOW and USE approved wraps. This can not be overstated. Don’t get used to equipment that you wont be able to compete in.
7. Longer wraps doesn’t always mean better. Eventually you’ve got enough coverage and support and you’re just wrapping to wrap.
8. Shitty “Golds Gym”/ Walmart wraps are too short to provide almost any support, don’t waste your money. Virtually any wrist wrap from EliteFTS, Rogue or any “real” weight training company will be fine.
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