Skinny wrists - will this change as the rest of me does?

Question

I know it's vain - but I'm not blessed in this department. As I progress down the road towards the body I want instead of the current body I have can I expect my wrists to gain in proportion also?

I know that the bones won't grow - but will muscle form in this area or am I limited to only seeing gains in my forearms?

Answer 1

Here's a link to Ross Training for excellent hand/wrist/forearm exercises: http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/trainingthehands.html. The wrist is mostly bone, but by building up the hands/forearm, the wrist will get stronger (and look more proportionate). Go for strength and functionality and don't focus on any one body part, this is the road that will drive you crazy...

Answer 2

Your wrists could conceivably get fatter, but no, they won't grow due to muscle, it's tendons there.

Answer 3

"can I expect my wrists to gain in proportion" - from a body building perspective small wrists can make your forearm muscles look huge - you don't want proportion. Small hips and ankles (and wide shoulders) are great for body builders. Do hammer curls to build big forearms leading into small wrists. My small wrists took quite a beating in sumo, but wrist curls and heavy deadlifts put an end to wrist strains. I no longer needed to tape up, but my wrists didn't grow. Top competitive judo players develop 'fat' hands and wrists from constant gripping and sumo wrestlers develop 'fat' insteps from gripping the earthen floor with their toes. It's tendon development, but these people are gripping for hours a day, 5-6 days a week for years. My strength coach was a tall guy with big joints who lifted awesome poundages and never looked very muscular. Lots of long muscle spread over a big frame.

Answer 4

Here's a barbell exercise that specifically works hypertrophy in your finger muscles, which are the only muscles in the wrist / lower forearm region of your arms:

http://www.nicros.com/training/articles/eastern-bloc-training-heavy-finger-rolls/

I did them for sport specific purposes, and saw some improvement in my wrist thickness (as side effect). That being said, your wrists are like your calves from a body building standpoint - some people just won't be able to add much size. I went from finger curling 100lbs to 165lbs, and only had to wear my Timex maybe 1/4" wider, nothing crazy. But this is an exercise you can eventually go heavy at - finger curling your bodyweight for reps isnt an unreasonable goal.