How to Get Bulletproof Wrists in 15 Minutes

Written By Jason Hooper

Hooper’s Beta Ep. 159

Introduction

The wrists tend to get neglected by climbers since our fingers get all the love, but we should fix that. Today’s training routine focuses on increasing wrist strength so we can dominate slopers, reduce injuries, and get the gnarliest forearm pump of our lives. This is probably a terrible business decision because we’re not going to sell as many TFCC recovery programs if everyone has bulletproof wrists, but… what are you gonna do?

Superset 1

There’s going to be 4 supersets. We’ll start simple, focusing just on the muscles that control the wrists, but we’ll get progressively more diverse, focusing on not just the wrists but key muscles nearby. Let’s go over the exercises first, then we’ll talk about some of the nitty gritty programming stuff at the end.

  1. Wrist Supination

    1. Purpose:

      1. Supination strength helps keep your wrist stable during underclings, avoiding excess mobility of the joints. 

      2. Allows you to better “wrap” your hand around holds and adjust force direction.

      3. Helps stabilize wrist to prevent TFCC injuries and “strength leaks”

    2. Variations: Lever bar, strap tied to weight, Torque Pro

    3. General Tips:

  2. Wrist Flexion

    1. Purpose: Wrist flexion is utilized in all grip types on the wall and is paramount to gripping, especially on slopers. 

    2. Variations: Dumbbell, loading plate, Torque Pro

    3. General Tips:

      1. Place your thumb on the same side as the other fingers to create a more even force loading profile across the wrist. 

      2. Perform this with your forearm stabilized. An adjustable bench is great since it is available in many gyms, is padded, and can be adjusted to your height. 

Superset 2

  1. Wrist Extension

    1. Purpose: Wrist extension is like the jelly to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It plays a key role in overall wrist stability. It enhances joint positioning during crimp grips and supplies critical counterbalance to flexion during demanding holds like underclings and slopers. 

    2. Variations: Dumbbell, loading plate, Torque Pro

    3. General Tips

      1. Place your thumb on the same side as the other fingers to create a more even force loading profile across the wrist. 

        1. You can use an inexpensive lifting strap to help with this if you feel like your grip is failing with this modification. 

  2. Wrist Pronation

    1. Purpose:

      1. Pronators share load with elbow flexors, aiding performance and endurance

      2. They add stability between the radius and ulnar, which will ultimately decrease unwanted rotational stress on the wrist. 

      3. We are constantly pronating and pulling on the wall, so increasing strength here will increase performance and activity tolerance. 

      4. Can improve performance in specific circumstances that rely on some amount of pronation strength, like certain gastons

    2. Variations: Dumbbell, strap tied to weight, Torque pro

    3. General Tips

      1. If you notice that your wrist is flexing significantly with every rep, lower the weight. If this just happens towards the end of your reps or is a small amount of flexion, that is fine. 

Torque Pro

By the way, if you’re wondering what this device I’ve been using is, it’s one of three brand new products we just came out with specifically for wrist training. The Torque Pro allows you to perform all the important aspects of wrist strengthening with a single device and virtually any form of resistance. The best part is the design creates a much more even force curve during all of these exercises, rather than more traditional methods that create zero stimulus in certain zones. You can switch between each type of exercise in seconds by unlatching a single carabiner. We’re shipping worldwide, so check the link in the description if you’re interested and let’s get back to sufferi– I mean having fun!

Superset 3

Okay, if you’ve made it this far your wrists are way ahead of 90% of climbers. But now we’re branching out from the super wrist-specific exercises into some more diverse ones. This way we get a more holistic approach to wrist-related strength. Of course, if you find these exercises overlap too much with your other training, you can skip them or modify as you see fit.

  1. Hammer Curl

    1. Purpose: Hammer curls enhance radial deviation strength and stability between the two forearm bones, the radius and ulna. 

    2. Variations: Dumbbell, resistance band, Torque Pro

    3. General Tips


  2. Tricep Extension

    1. Purpose: Tricep extension promotes ulnar deviation strength while also combining tricep strength which is useful for climbing moves such as mantles and stemming.

    2. Variations: cable machine, Torque Pro

    3. General Tips

Superset 4

Now we’re really diversifying into functional climbing strength training. Nice!

  1. Pinch Block Lift

    1. Purpose: This focuses on activation of the thumb which greatly contributes to overall wrist stability. 

    2. Variations: Pinch block, dumbbell

    3. General Tips

      1. If you have a history of thumb issues or have hypermobility in your thumb joint, consider using an ergonomic grip device such as the BPL by tension or the ____ by Hooper’s Beta. These devices allow you to train while stabilizing the thumb joint.

  2. Reverse Curl

    1. Purpose: This exercise creates co-contraction of the wrist flexors and extensors throughout a controlled range of motion, promoting dynamic stability of the wrist. .

    2. Variations: Dumbbells, easy bar

    3. General Tips

      1. While a flat bar is ideal, often a 45 pound olympic bar is simply too much weight. See if your gym has a lighter bar, or consider the alternative exercises. 

      2. Grip width will vary greatly depending on individuals and their anatomy so use whatever width feels the most comfortable to you. 

  3. Kettlebell Overhead Press

    1. Purpose: This exercise targets joint proprioception and promotes co-activation of the wrist stabilizers. By holding the kettlebell upside down, the shifting center of mass forces the wrist and forearm muscles to remain active throughout the movement to maintain balance—something that cannot be replicated with a dumbbell. While the primary focus of this exercise is the wrists, it also provides a valuable shoulder training stimulus, especially for climbers who often neglect overhead work. However, if you have a history of shoulder issues, you should avoid this exercise unless cleared by a medical professional.

    2. Variations: Dumbbells, easy bar

    3. General Tips

      1. One limitation of this exercise is the size of the kettlebell. Not all handles are the same size or the same grip texture, which can make the same weight feel different between kettlebells. BUT, If you have a Kettlebar Grip device, you can turn any dumbbell into a Kettlebell while keeping the grip size the same throughout your progressions. 

Programming Recs

  1. Superset order: The order of the supersets we presented provides a nice logical flow from specific to more general, but you can reorder them if you prefer. And remember, you don’t have to do all the supersets – 3 and 4 are optional.

  2. Sets, reps, and relative effort: Unless you know you have a good reason to do it differently, aim for moderate volume and intensity – that is: 2 sets of 8-12 reps for each exercise, with 2-3 reps in reserve (2-3 RIR). (For pinch block lifts it’s a bit more convenient to do slightly fewer reps, like 5-8.) This is a good general approach to develop strength and resilience without adding a ton of new load all at once. Once you get accustomed to the load and know you can tolerate it, you can increase to 3 sets per exercise if you want. Of course, as mentioned, if you’re more experienced and you know that a different volume or intensity would suit you better, then go for it.

  3. Frequency: Start with 1-2x/week to see how you respond. You can then increase to 2-3x/week as tolerated.

  4. Timing: If possible, perform this routine on the same day as your climbing sessions *after* climbing (not before). If you have to perform this routine on a non-climbing day, just make sure you don’t go so hard that you start compromising your rest days and negatively affecting your climbing.

Conclusion

Check out the useful links in the pinned comment, including that new wrist bulletproofing Blueprint, and until next time: train, climb, send, repeat!

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Jason Hooper
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Shoulder Orientation: Climbing Technique #2 － Coaching w/ Dan