Pushups are Impossible !

[shellies78]

I know that pushups are great for strengthening your upper body BUT I have very weak wrists and they hurt and shake when I try them. I think it's because I type a lot at work and have to wear a wrist brace to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome. (I get tendonitis quite often.)

Is it possible that I just need to keep practicing and wrists will also begin to strenghten as well? For now I'm sticking to handweight exercises.

[seawolf]

Try getting pushup bars or pushup stands. They allow you to do pushups without having to bend your wrists. They are fairly cheap and you can get them from Target or Walmart. I use them all the time when I do pushups.

[PandorasVise]

Hexagon shaped barbells work too. Also you could tape up your wrists. Don't do them if you still feel weak though. Try different chest exercises until your wrists feel stronger.

[TeenBodyBuilder]

I do pushups on knuckles, as they increase muscle build.

[shellies78]

Thanks for the great advice! I started using knuckles, as well as doing some modified push ups with knees bent and this has helped tremendously. I feel like wrists feel better each time.

[jlepore]

You can try doing pushups against the wall or other stationary objects till you can build up some wrist strength. Just stand out about two to three feet and find someting like a couch or counter about waist to chest high. It will put less bodyweight on your arms and hands.