When my wrists are feeling funky I use this modified version of my routine because it allows me to stay active but avoid using my wrists. That way I will respect and not interrupt the healing process. So don’t feel too down that your wrists need to recover, you could still do plenty of cool stuff! Also, if your wrist is just a sprain and nothing worse, you could also check out my article on how to deal with wrist sprains.
Last updated Nov 3, 2022
Bodyline Drills (60sec hold each)
I typically alternate between the forearm and straight arm variants every week, but this time since I don’t want the wrists involved, it’s all forearm, baby!
In between all the bodyline drills below, if I wanted a break, I would go into childs pose as a resting position.
- Forearm Plank
- Forearm Side Plank
- One Armed Forearm Plank
- Forearm Bird Dog (Pictured is with straight arms, but do it on forearms)
- Forearm Bird Dog from Plank (prerequisite: Bird Dog for 60+sec)
- Hollow Hold
- Hollow Rocks (prerequisite: HH for 60+sec)
- Superman Hold
- Superman Rocks (prerequisite: Superman for 60+sec)
Skill Work
No support holds, L-sits, or handstand practice as they’re hard on the wrists.
- Forearm Stand!
- With the palms flat on the floor, this may be okay for your wrists!
- Roll to Candlestick and Rolling Pistol Squat Progressions
- Jumping Lunge Progressions
Pushing / Pulling
- Pushing exercises generally tax the wrists.
- Pulling exercises are often a bit more manageable but if hanging for pullups or rows still hurts the wrists, attach these ab straps to your pull up bar and do these “No Arm” Pull Ups.
Legs (3×8-12)
- Single Leg Calf Raises (don’t bounce)
- Bodyweight Squat
- Basic Shrimp Squat
More options:
- Squat Tucked Jumps
- Deep Step Up Lunges
- Overhead Cross Reverse Lunges
- Sprinting
- For max speed: Sprint 20-60yds giving 90%+ effort, repeat 5-10 times max, rest completely between runs.
- For fat loss/conditioning: Sprint 10-100yds, 5-20 max repeats, with incomplete resting periods.
- For hypertrophy: Sprint up hills.
- Excellent Form Drills for Sprinting
Core (3×8-12)
Choose one:
- Hollow Hold -> Hollow Rocks (do not do this until your HH is rock solid!)
- Tuck Ups -> Pike Ups -> Saddle-Ups
- Lemon Squeezers (Alternate Tuck/V-Ups)
- Dragon Flags (only if using your arms doesn’t bother your wrists, it didn’t for me.)
More options (though they are inferior):
- Russian Twists
- Falling Tower (raise arms for greater difficulty)
It’s not an extremely long workout and obviously not a full body workout, but it still gets you sweating, pumped up and feeling good. If you enjoyed that, click here to see my full body-weight routine. If your wrist is just a sprain and nothing worse, you could also check out my article on how to deal with wrist sprains. And how to avoid wrist pain with bodyweight exercises in the future!
