Quick Fit with Cassy

Relieve Hand Pain and Tone Your Arms

“Relieve Hand Pain and Tone Your Arms” Transcript

Welcome to Quick Fit! In today’s class, we will be working on our hands and arms to work out all the pain and inflammation that is all too common as we age. These new exercises are easy and effective. So, let’s get moving.

[gentle music]

The hands are one of the most overlooked body parts when it comes to exercise, but with all the joints and muscles in our hands, it really is no wonder that by the time we’re in our sixties we’re starting to get signs of weakness and arthritis, but the truth is the problems are creeping in much sooner. Our muscles are getting tight. They’re getting weak. And then, it’s only after a while of this neglect that they finally start giving us aches and pains, so let’s give ourselves a little daily maintenance with the hands right now.

So, some nice squeezes and openings. And as you extend your hands, completely extend them. Don’t stop here when you can completely lengthen through the fingers, and I’d like you to open them as wide as possible, as well. Let’s add some wrists. Good. Go ahead and add your breathing because your hands can use some nice extra oxygen too as you work through these tight muscles. And then, I’d like you to press forward, bending through the wrists. Good. And let’s rotate up. Good. All right. Let’s add the thumb circles. Nice and slow, and big circles as you can do. I’d like to extend the arms one more time, good. Nice press, bending of the wrists.

So often, I notice that people don’t fully open up the arm. Okay, now let’s bring the hands back and just continue circling with those thumbs. I know these all seem like really basic things, but, I mean, our hands are small so it’s not like we’re gonna be out there doing hand burpees. So, it might seem kind of boring, but I promise you, at the end of the day, you’re going to feel much better, or at the end of the workout. So let’s squeeze. Hold it there for three seconds, open, squeeze, squeeze. [inhales and exhales]

I can’t tell you how many times I teach these classes, and just at the end of one class, people tell me how much better they feel. All right, now we’re gonna hold it open, hold it open, open, open. Squeeze, open, open, open, open. I have musicians and carpenters, and people that work on computers all day that really love these exercises. They’re not difficult to do. You can do them sitting in your car, or before you fall asleep, and I think just by trying to do these things, you’ll probably discover some joint that burns, or some weakness, or some lack of mobility that you’ve lost and you’ll be kind of shocked, even though you’re only like 35. So, let’s extend one hand and reach under. All right? And what I’d like you to do is grab this meaty part of your thumb and you’re gonna pull it down. Good. And the top hand is resisting, and what we’re trying to do is open the palm.

Okay, now from this side of the palm, we’re gonna put our thumb at the base of that pinky and pull that side of the palm open. Your top hand is resisting so it’s trying to open that way. Nice breath in and out. Good. Before we move on to the other hand, let’s just do a nice reach across with that thumb, reaching across as if you could get past the pinky. Right there, open and across. And I know as you hold it here and you keep stretching, that you’re feeling it all the way up your forearm because these are the muscles that control your fingers. Good, one more, open and cross. Good job. All right, other hand, so nice wide open palm. We’ll reach under with the other hand to grab this meaty part. You can pull down on the thumb, and then, the top hand’s resisting. okay. And, of course, you’re opening those fingers as much as you can. All right. And now we’ll open from the other side. So, grab your hand, pull down with the thumb, and the top hand is resisting. Getting a little leverage from the way you’re squeezing your hand. And open. All right.

Reaching up. Now we’re going to just close the finger joints. Now, notice, we’re not making complete fists. We’re just pulling the tips of your fingers down to the base or the inside of your knuckles, and if you need help from one hand to get the other hand to do it properly, there’s no shame. Just reach across and work it. If you do this often, especially if you’re struggling, you’re going to want to do these exercises more often, and you’ll find you’ll regain your mobility quicker than you think. All right, keep pulling them down. Don’t forget the thumbs. All right.

And then, now let’s try to open one finger at a time. Well, I’m gonna open the thumb. Keep them all down. Try to open that first finger, [breathing deeply] and then the second one. Oh, I can’t hardly do it, so I’m gonna use my other hand. Hold these down, and pull up with the other hand. All right, ring finger. All right, the pinky. Let’s do the other hand. So, they’re all closed. Then I open the thumb, first finger. Oh, I did it. Ring finger, almost.

All right, now we’ll just close one finger at a time and try to keep the other fingers up. Almost. Good. Oh, and try not to grimace like I am. And pull it down, real good. All right, now let’s make a fist and just bend the wrists. Now, if your elbows are like this– see, I can see right through the TV screen– bring your elbows down and bend. Good, a few circles. All right. And bend at the wrists. Nice. I’m gonna just stick my thumb under and press, a little extra help. Rotate the hand over, thumb under, and press. Let’s do the other hand, reach under, one hand to push the wrist. Don’t forget to straighten your elbow all the way. And up, and you can push your fingers against your hand. Once again, straightening through that elbow. All right. Now, let’s work on those arms, so just some nice big stretches back. Two arms, nice and big. Good. And up, all right. And nice big arms. We’ll wiggle those fingers, sort of like you’re playing the piano with straight fingers. Don’t forget your thumbs. Inhale, exhale.

And now, we’re going to bend just the finger joints. Okay, this one is not easy, but don’t forget your thumbs. Wiggle every finger while they’re bent, and you should really definitely be feeling that in your forearms. All right, so let’s release that. Shake it off, and then do a few big movements again. Arms out at your sides, bend those wrists, and little circles. Good, and reverse. Do a few triceps before we finish here. I’m gonna turn to the side, and what I’ll have you do is get comfortable with your legs, bring your elbows back, and extend.

Let’s just do a whole bunch of these nice intense little contractions of that upper arm, okay? Hold it here, nice and long, and then just a little flick of the wrist to get deep up high on that tricep, up behind your armpit. Okay. Inhale, exhale, lift, lift, lift. Pull your stomach in to support your spine in this slightly forward position. All right. A couple more flicks of the wrist. Feel this upper part of your arm. You probably can feel kind of like a knot up there. So, let’s just relax, extend right up over your head, and then just let that hand fall back behind your neck. That’s a good stretch there, just like that. But if you like a deeper stretch, reach up, inhale, exhale. Shake that off and do the other arm. Big up, drop it behind the head, reach up.

Isn’t that great? I know those few simple hand moves we did today are going to make a big difference for you. You can do them anytime. And find more simple and effective stretches that will help you live better longer online at pbswisconsin.org/quickfit. See you next time.