Strength Training the Extensor Muscles

In an quest to increase your forearm strength you need to remember to exercise the extensor muscles.
The extensor muscles are those that are used in opening the hand, you must train these muscles to keep your overall hand and forearm strength in balance. You should not only train the muscles that involve closing the hand.

A basic exercise to strengthen the extensors would be to place a rubber band around the fingertips and attempt to open the fingers. If one band is too easy, you can add more. You can do this for static holds and reps. Also place the band around just the thumb and one finger, alternating each finger.

Try doing fingertip push-ups or just support yourself up on your fingertips for a few seconds. This will actually involve the muscles that open and close the hand at the same time. If this is painful for your hands do not continue doing this until your hands get stronger.

Fill up a bucket or some other container with sand or gravel. Push your hands into the sand and try spreading your fingers. This may be a little rough on the skin but it is a great workout.

Take a wide mouth bottle that you can fit your fingers into. Fill it with sand, place your fingers in opening, spread them and lift, holding the bottle with your fingers. You can adjust the amount of sand in the bottle to adjust the weight. If you want something with a wider opening try a coffee can.

Exercise your hands and forearms no more than four times a week and you will see a difference in strength. Stronger hands will benefit you not only for sports but also for your daily activities.

Go to Grip Strength for more info on improving your grip strength. Tim Archbold’s interests are Fitness Training and Health.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/martial-arts-articles/strength-training-the-extensor-muscles-962919.html

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