Any advice on the best way to avoid wrist compression or strain? I feel like my wrists always hurt the next day or is that something that goes away as they get stronger?

Hi Cynthia,

It could be that your wrists need to get stronger, but it could also be that you may need to work on wrist alignment.

Here are some tips:

1. Make sure that your wrists don't "break", meaning when we're doing moves with the straps like rotator cuff pulls, draw a sword, serve the platter, pulling straps (lying on belly) make sure that you keep your wrists straight, keeping your hand aligned with your arm.

2. For moves where you're holding on to the bar (swan, planks, elephant) make sure you have a strong grip on the bar, and that your knuckles are pulling forwards a bit, away from you, to help lengthen the wrist.

3. For moves with the bar, you can also try placing a thin pad on the bar and see if that feels better.

4. And if your wrists need a break, take it 🙂 For moves like planks, you could always modify by going down on forearms (if move allows it).

Here is an "easy on the wrists" workout for days where you need a wrist break: https://saranpilates.vhx.tv/videos/508-43-min-full-body-easy-on-the-wrists-hot2

I hope this helps, please keep me posted!

Thanks for these instructions. I feel like that part about pulling the knuckles forward has helped a lot and I'm more conscious about not letting the wrists break. I also tried the "easy on the wrists" workout and really appreciate the forearms plank. I kept coming back to your videos on YouTube because I liked how precisely you cued about body position and modifications. I've really been enjoying the variety on the paid training and the fact that you provide personal feedback like this is just awesome.

Glad that helped!!
For workouts that dive deep into alignment and cues, I suggest the Level 1 Program :)
Please let me know if you have any other questions, love to help!