chalean extreme and hand/finger pain

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J3n85
J3n85 Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello,

I'm currently doing Chalean Extreme and struggling with pain in my hands, fingers and wrists from using the dumbells, particularly on Burn Circuit 2 and the angle the weights are used for the exercises. I'm not sure if it's the way I'm holding them or that my hands are too small, it's like they are about to just fall out of my hands all the time though I use gloves to help with grip I can't seem to get my fingers round far enough to hold comfortably which just seems silly and leads to my hands fatiguing before the muscle I'm supposed to be working which is really frustrating because I feel I'm not doing the exercise to the best of my ability! Apart from that I'm really enjoying the programme, but I don't understand the hand pain! Has anyone experienced similar or any ideas what's up? Thanks

Replies

  • rscooper2
    rscooper2 Posts: 1
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    I'm having the same problem with wrist pain as well! I'd love to hear some suggestions.
  • LavenderBouquet
    LavenderBouquet Posts: 736 Member
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    Do you have carpal tunnel? If you have tension bands or ankle weights you could try those instead. The tension band would wedge itself between your thumb and fore finger and you could strap the ankle weights to your hands so you don't really have to hold on.
  • ashiggins
    ashiggins Posts: 144 Member
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    I'm still in Phase 1 and I found that my wrists are pretty weak. My wrists/hands were hurting during the first 2 weeks. Sometimes I actually had to stop the exercises early because my wrists hurt and not the muscle I was supposed to be training. It has gotten better since then. I have been focusing on trying not to grip the weights tightly if possible (depending on the angle of the lift). I use weights ranging from 15-30 lbs right now. For some of the lower body exercise I would like to use heavier dumbbells, but my wrists aren't quite strong enough yet. My husband gave me a grip trainer to sqeeze during the day--maybe that has helped me as well. Would like to hear from other people with the same problem----
  • ashiggins
    ashiggins Posts: 144 Member
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    Do you have carpal tunnel? If you have tension bands or ankle weights you could try those instead. The tension band would wedge itself between your thumb and fore finger and you could strap the ankle weights to your hands so you don't really have to hold on.

    Although this could be true for the OP, I know that I have the same wrist fatigue/pain and I do not have carpal tunnel (23 yo). But going from lifting nothing to lifting 15 to 30 pound dumbbells for a straight half hour or more multiple times a week is a lot for wrists to adjust to!
  • LavenderBouquet
    LavenderBouquet Posts: 736 Member
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    Do you have carpal tunnel? If you have tension bands or ankle weights you could try those instead. The tension band would wedge itself between your thumb and fore finger and you could strap the ankle weights to your hands so you don't really have to hold on.

    Although this could be true for the OP, I know that I have the same wrist fatigue/pain and I do not have carpal tunnel (23 yo). But going from lifting nothing to lifting 15 to 30 pound dumbbells for a straight half hour or more multiple times a week is a lot for wrists to adjust to!

    Oh, I completely agree :) Just thought I'd mention it as it could be an issue.
  • mmtiernan
    mmtiernan Posts: 702 Member
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    Likely it is your wrist/forearm area is weak. You might try incorporating some dumbell wrist curls into your routine to help build up that strength. Likely, you'll only start with 2 to 5 lb. on the wrist curl exercise, since you seem to be pretty weak in that area. You can just googe dumbell wrist curls for directions on how to perform the exercise or check YouTube for video instruction. I wouldn't do tons of reps - just similar to what Chalene instructs: 10 to 12 reps or until you fail, which ever comes first. Good luck! :)

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