Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Is this normal? I've been doing push ups just about every day for the last 6 weeks. My number has increased, and lately, so has the wrist pain. The pain usually subsides after 30 mins or so, but the next day when I drop down, the soreness is there starting with the first set.

I would imagine a few of you have encountered this. Is this just the side effect of my wrists "bulking up" to keep up with my body, or might there be something not quite right?

I haven't had wrists this sore since puberty. BA-DOOM-CHA! :D

try doing them on ur knuckles

Maybe your stance needs some work. Are you sure you are doing them with good form? I had this problem at first, but it went away after I got used to doing them. You can try doing them on your knuckles too, but I don't think that is probably allowed for the test.

You are probably using the incorrect technique when doing the pushups, either that or your wrists are extremely weak.

If I were in your situation, I would do two things:

More diamond pushups (index fingers and thumbs together in a diamond shape), because they take a lot of the force that is on your wrists and applies it to your triceps. In my opinion diamond pushups, while tougher to excute, are a better overall way to do pushups, because instead of just working (mainly) your chest, you are working your tricepts and chest without the un-needed stress on your wrists.

and secondly, do some wrist curling exercises. Grab a broom or a mop and curl it...or grab a LIGHT free weight and do the same thing. That will also strengthen your forearm which will provide better overall support.

And I don't think switching from your hands to your knuckles will alleviate any of the problems you're having...but you will have tougher knuckles..and sore knuckles.

Just my two cents!

-jsk02a

"Improvise, Adapt, Overcome"

Is this normal? I've been doing push ups just about every day for the last 6 weeks. My number has increased, and lately, so has the wrist pain. The pain usually subsides after 30 mins or so, but the next day when I drop down, the soreness is there starting with the first set.

I would imagine a few of you have encountered this. Is this just the side effect of my wrists "bulking up" to keep up with my body, or might there be something not quite right?

I haven't had wrists this sore since puberty. BA-DOOM-CHA! :DImprove your technique and ice your wrist after work outs. Celtic Lover lololololo !

In my opinion, knuckle pushups are a bad thing, when I was still active in Martial Arts my sensei made us do knuckle pushups, I now have athritis in both hands, not horrible, but I still have it. People in my family haveit as well but they didn't get it until late age. I'm not even 30 yet. I found a connection. Again this is just my opinion, maybe wrist wraps would be in order?

I would try wrist wraps, but I don't think they would be allowed at the academy. So, I don't want my wrists to become "dependent" on the support and then have to go through 6 months of 200-300 push ups a day. They seem to be fine for now, although I haven't added much weight (I do push ups with a 25 lb plate on my back). We'll see...I think this and my sore knees are just attributable to an abrupt change in physical fitness at 33.

Try alternating, use wraps one day, knuckles one day and normal one day. That will allow your wrists to develop what they need to make it through the academy, while at the same time getting the needed rest to recover and improve. The main point is to be able to do 200-300 push-ups per day, so as long as you are doing at least that amount, take care of the rest of the links in the exercise.

You see the same thing with the run. People go out and run many miles and injure themselves before going to the academy. If they had alternated between cardio exercises it allows their bodies to heal and improve while at the same time increasing their cardio. The goal is to improve to the point that you will pass the academy and not get injured in the process, or if injury does occur at the academy it is manageable enough to allow you to graduate. If you go injured odds are you won't make it to graduation.

Honestly, I'm still only in the 15-20 pushups at a time range, so I don't know how useful my comments are going to be, but I started taking a stress ball to work with me to strengthen my grip in general (which was suggested to me for making it easier to train with a gun). I noticed that after doing that for a few days and then doing pushups after not having done them in awhile it was much easier than it had been before...whether that was directly related to the stress ball or just me being stronger in general than I was before, I'm not sure, but I know it couldn't have hurt.

I have tendonitis in my wrists from many years of softball (the impact of catching fast pitches wears down the wrist).

I've just found that keeping it supported until the pain subsides is the best for me. My pain comes and goes, so I don't like to do push-ups unless I have to do a PT test. I keep the muscles in shape by bench presses (I'm fine as long as I don't have to bend the wrists).

I don't think pushups on your knuckle will necessarily give you arthritis. Aching body parts occur for many different reasons. My opinion, just do the exercise in such a way that it's comfortable for you. You shouldn't be getting pain while you exercise, but aches afterward can dissipate over time as your body gets used to it. 15 - 20 pushups isn't much really, so I'm thinking you need to adjust still. Wait until you're doing an easy 100 and you'll see the difference. Me, I prefer doing pushups on my knuckle. Fingertips are good too, but a little harder of course.