Push-ups suddenly sting, planks make your wrist ache and gripping the bar feels uncomfortable. When your wrists are sore, it can feel like half your training is off the table. Most of it does not have to be, and a few simple swaps can keep you going while your wrist settles.

Why wrists get sore with training

Wrist pain in active people often comes from load going up faster than the wrist can adapt. Lots of push-ups, planks, burpees or yoga, a new lifting programme or simply more sessions than usual can all add up. Positions where your wrist is bent back under weight, like the bottom of a push-up, ask the most of it. Yoga and Pilates can be a hidden source too, with lots of downward dogs and planks in a single class.

In most cases, the wrist is irritated rather than damaged. It needs a little time with less load in the positions that bother it.

Which positions tend to bother it

A sore wrist often dislikes:

• Being bent back fully under body weight, like push-ups and planks on your hands.
• The front rack position cleans and front squats.
• Twisting under load, like turning a heavy dumbbell.
• Gripping tightly for long periods.

Noticing which movements bring on your pain helps you know what to change.

Adapting push-ups and planks

You can usually keep these exercises by changing your hand position so the wrist stays straighter:

• Do push-ups holding dumbbells or push-up handles, so your wrists stay in line with your forearms.
• Try push-ups on your fists on a soft mat, if this feels comfortable.
• Swap high planks for forearm planks.
• Raise your hands on a bench or worktop, which reduces the load through your wrists.

Worktop press-ups are a good way to keep pressing while your wrist settles. If you would like to follow along, VIDA has a short video you can use at your own pace.

Adapting lifts

Some changes can help with weights too:

• Keep your wrist straight, in line with your forearm, rather than letting it bend back under the bar.
• Try a neutral grip, with palms facing each other, using dumbbells or a neutral-grip bar.
• Use lifting straps for pulling exercises to reduce how hard you need to grip.
• Lower the weight a little and focus on control.
• For front squats, try a cross-arm grip or swap to goblet squats for a while.

Leg exercises that do not load your wrists, like lunges, step-ups and bridges, can carry on as usual.

Keeping the wrist moving

Gentle movement helps a sore wrist settle more than keeping it still. Something to try a few times a day, with your forearm resting on a table:

• Slowly bend your wrist up and down within a comfortable range.
• Turn your palm up, then down.
• Make a gentle fist, then spread your fingers wide.

If something sharpens your pain, make the movement smaller. Warm water or a wrapped heat pack before training can help a stiff wrist loosen.

Returning step by step

When everyday tasks feel comfortable and your wrist is not sore the morning after training, you could start bringing back what you changed. Something to try:

• Start with incline push-ups on a bench before moving to the floor.
• Return to planks on your hands for short holds first.
• Add weight back gradually on lifts that load the wrist.
• Change one thing at a time, a few days apart.

A mild ache that settles by the next day is usually fine. If your wrist is sore the following morning, go back a step.

When to get it checked

If you fell onto an outstretched hand and the pain is in the hollow at the base of your thumb, it is worth getting it checked by a doctor, even if it seems minor. Otherwise, your VIDA pain check-in is a good way to keep track of how your wrist responds as you return.

What to take away

• Keep your wrist straight under load where you can.
• Use push-up handles, dumbbells or forearm planks for a while.
• Try straps and neutral grips for lifts.
• Keep your wrist gently moving every day.
• Bring exercises back one at a time.

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