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Hand Health
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Hand health is promoted by performing activities that encourage recovery of the hands and increase resistance to injury. This can shorten time needed between workouts, increase strength gained from training, and reduce down time as a result of injury. There are four key components to hand health:
Double the recovery rate of the hands with these simple tools.
- Train Complementary Exercises - When working the grip, train opposing or supporting functions with equal intensity as your primary exercise. This will prevent injuries due to muscular imbalance. Complement crush or pinch training with finger extensions, wrist flexion with wrist extension, and overall hand strengthening with wrist work. Failure to attend to this need may result in pain in the knuckles, wrists, or elbows.
- Perform Active Recovery - Promote blood flow to the hands to remove waste products and ensure adequate resources are available for recovery. After a workout, do contrast baths. During idle times, keep the hands warm by playing with dexterity balls or a stress ball. When sleeping at night, put a pair of mittens on the hands to keep them warm. Active recovery is especially beneficial to the tendons and knuckles.
- Eat for Performance - Choose foods that will fuel the body's recovery needs. Aim for 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day to ensure an adequate supply of vitamins and minerals. Eat a cereal that contains flax or take some fish oil to keep essential fatty acids in balance. Promote digestion by eating beans or legumes and cultured milk products like yogurt or cottage cheese. Supplement the diet with glucosamine. Limit intake of processed foods and alcohol. Providing good fuel will have an immediate impact on recovery ability.
- Strength Train - Perform a full strength training routine twice a week. The body's reaction to hard work with weights will dramatically improve the recovery rate of the hands.
