Get Back In the Game
During a multi-hour gaming marathon, every gamer has experienced that moment when their wrist and hands seize up thanks to our Darth Vader like grip around our controller. If you want to prevent this from happening and game” like a pro, you need to train your body for optimal gaming performance.
Wrist injuries took me out of the game in the past, that’s why in a previous post I gave you a few stretches you can perform during your gaming marathons to keep your wrists and hands from stiffening up.
To truly propel your gaming abilities to a new level, you need to combine those wrist stretches with the four wrist curl variations below. Only then can you take your gaming skills go from Joe-Schmo to Gaming Pro.
Wrist Curls for Gaming Pros
**Note** Keep the weight light for these curls, 5-10 pounds is all you need. If you prefer to stay out of a gym, you can 5-10 pound weights cheap on Amazon or at Wal-Mart.
Pronated Wrist Curls
For the pronated wrist curl, let your wrist hang off the edge of your knee. Hold the dumbbell with your palm facing the floor, this is your starting position.
In a controlled motion, lower the weight as if your knuckles are trying to touch the floor. Do not let your forearm come off your thigh. Then slowly raise the weight back to the starting point. Continue to move your wrist up and down repeating for 8-12 repetitions. Complete anywhere from 3-5 sets of these.
Supinated Wrist Curls
This time, flip your wrist over and hold the dumbbell with your palms facing the sky, resting your forearm on your knee. Again, in a controlled motion, lift the weight towards you as far as possible. Then slowly lower the weight back down to the starting point. 8-12 repetitions for 3-5 sets of these is ideal.
Pronated to Supinated wrist rotation
The third exercise, will actually it a bit more of your forearms and even part of your bicep. Starting in the pronated position as mentioned above, rotate your wrist to a supinated position, then rotate back to the pronated position.
Hammer Grip Wrist Curls
As with the two previous versions of wrist curls, you will be moving your wrist up and down. The only difference now is in how you hold the weight. Hold the weight like as if you are holding the mighty hammer of Thor and move your wrist up and down just as with the previous exercises.
*Note* let your wrist hang further off your knee as you do not want your knee preventing the full range of motion due to the way you’re holding the dumbbell*
You can perform the pronated and supinated wrist curls with a barbell as well. Trust me, for pronated barbell wrist curls, use an EZ curl bar. Or don’t and let your ego learn the hard way, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Check out the video below to see how to perform all of these exercises.
If you are not a gym rat or relish the thought of spending money on cool stuff like weights, there are a couple ways you can tackle these exercises from the comfort of your home.
Head to your kitchen, and grab a few spoons (or all the spoons), hold them in your hand like a dumbbell, and perform the wrist curls I explained above.
No More Wet Noodle
My personal favorite will ignite a fire in your wrists, forearms, hands and fingers hotter than the fires of Mordor. Your equipment for this exercise can be obtained at your local grocery store.
Go to the section where are all the tasty green vegetables are located. Grab a head of broccoli, and take notice of the rubber band that holds the broccoli heads together. This is your torture device equipment.
Buy the broccoli, go home, remove the rubber band from the broccoli heads, then chop, steam and eat the broccoli. Boom! Healthy diet level 1 achieved!
Once you have enjoyed your nutritious fibrous greens, place the rubber band around your fingers and flex/extend your fingers back and forth. If you suffer from, “Wet Noodle Grip Syndrom,” implementing this exercise can cure you of this in a matter of weeks.
There is one final exercise that you can do that will strengthen not only your hands, grip, and forearms but will challenge everything from your core to your shoulders, arms, and back.
Build a Grip of Steel
Loaded carries (farmers carries or suitcase carries) can be done with dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, trap bars, or barbells in the gym. You don’t need to be a gym rat to load up weight and carry it either. Loaded carries at home can be done with something we probably all have, a suitcase.
A suitcase carry, is a loaded carry with one arm, though if you had two suitcases of the same size you could also perform the standard farmer’s carry. Dig out your suitcase, stuff it with dirty or old clothes for added weight and carry it up and down stairs and around your home.
No luggage?
No problem, you can use old bookbags, nap sacks, or fill plastic grocery bags with a few books, towels, or shoes; anything that adds some sort of weight is perfect.
Loaded carries, specifically heavy loaded carries, while attempting to perform them with perfect posture forces us to keep a tight rigid core, engages our shoulders, upper portion of our back, arms and forearms, and can turn your wet noodle grip into solid steel.
Wrap It Up
Combine the stretches from my previous post and add a few of these strength based exercises for your wrists, forearms, and fingers to propel your gaming abilities to the next level.
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