Many of the actions we perform are carried out by our hands and fingers, yet few are aware of the importance of performing exercises to strengthen them. Among the many benefits of introducing this type of exercise into your everyday routine are improving the duration of grip when carrying heavy loads, increasing the range of finger movements, avoiding arthritis and tendonitis, and even maintaining the strength and vital function of the hands, which tend to weaken as we age.
Don’t wait until the last minute and put these next 8 short, effective exercises on your agenda right now to make sure your hands stay strong for years to come.
1. Basic finger lift
Although it is a basic and fairly simple exercise, stretching the fingers has many health benefits that result from the fact that we don’t regularly stretch our hands. With a short and effective exercise, you can help increase your range of finger movements, improve the flexibility of your wrist joint and ease the pain that results, among other, from prolonged office work.
How to do the exercise:
Place your palm on a table or on another flat surface with it released in a natural bent position.
Now, gently straighten your fingers without holding them so that the palm will completely flatten and you can feel at its center the surface on which it rests.
old the palm against the surface for 30-60 seconds and release.
Repeat this exercise 4 times for each hand, with a rest of 20-30 seconds between each time.
2. Reinforcing your grip with a ball
While a grip training exercise should be carried out with a flexible silicone ball, there is nothing preventing objects around the house from being used, such as a tennis ball, a soft toy or a cushion. The fruits of perseverance in this exercise can be harvested in a short period of time, such as when carrying shopping bags, squeezing fruit, using a peeler, and more.
How to do the exercise:
Put the object in the middle of your palm and squeeze it as hard as possible for 5 seconds until you feel a tremor in your fingers.
Release the grip, wait another 5 seconds, and repeat the action.
Repeat this exercise about 15 times for each hand.
3. Finger -Lift
Over the years, the palm loses its flexibility, which is reflected, among other things, in reducing the range of movement of the fingers and weakening them. With the simple application of the finger-lift exercise, you will soon experience a significant improvement in movement, an easier ability to stretch the fingers of your hand and an increase in the strength of your hand’s overall grip.
How to do the exercise:
Place the palm on a flat surface with the back of your hand facing up.
Gently lift one finger at a time, wait about 2-3 seconds and place it back on the surface.
You can switch it up from time to time by lifting all your fingers, including your thumb, at once
Repeat this exercise 8-12 times for each hand.
4. Bending the thumb
When focusing on improving the range of finger movements, it is important to focus also on the thumb, which gains relative independence in the range of its movements from the other fingers and takes a significant part in performing a wide range of tasks. With the following exercise, you can flex the base of the thumb and reduce the time in which it tires during exertion.
How to do the exercise:
Spread your fingers to the sides, until you feel a stretch while creating a long imaginary line from the tip of your thumb to your pinky.
Now, bend your thumb and move it to the base of the pinky, making sure to feel the stretch at its base.
Hold your thumb in this position for 30-60 seconds.
Repeat between 4-5 times for each hand, with a 30-second pause between each exercise.
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