PLANCHE

WRIST
CONDITIONING

GUIDE
NO MORE PAIN.
“YOU’RE ONLY AS
STRONG
AS YOUR WEAKEST
LINK.”
 MEET YOUR
COACH
About me
Hi there gang, I’m Jake also known
as The Jacked Vegan online.

I’ve been coaching calisthenics for

over 2 years after starting myself in
2018.

I specialise in coaching the static

skill called the ‘planche’.

About E-book

THIS EBOOK IS ALL ABOUT WRIST AND FOREARM CONDITIONING FOR

CALISTHENICS ENTHUSIASTS THAT WANT LESS PAIN WHEN LEARNING THE
HANDSTAND AND PLANCHE. THIS PAIN CAN SOMETIMES GET SO BAD AND
INTENSE PEOPLE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO QUIT THE SPORT. THIS IS
UNFORTUNATE WHEN WITH SOME EASY CHANGES AND EXERCISES THEY
COULD BE PAIN-FREE AND CONTINUING ON THEIR CALISTHENICS JOURNEY.
I HOPE THIS EBOOK ACTS AS A GREAT START TO YOUR OWN PAIN-FREE
PLANCHE JOURNEY.

JOIN.JACKEDCALISTHENICS.COM
JAKE
THEJACKEDVEGAN_
 ANATOMY OF THE
WRIST & FOREARMS
Radius - The shorter of two
forearm bones, located on the
thumb side of the arm
Ulna - The longer of two forearm
bones, located on the pinky side
of the arm
Carpals - a collection of 8 small
bones within the wrist.
Movements of the wrist involve
flexion, extension, abduction &
adduction.

Adduction (Bringing
fingers/thumb towards midline)

Abduction (Bringing
fingers/thumb away from the
midline) - You should be
performing this movement
when planching on parallettes
and dip bars.
 ANATOMY OF THE
WRIST & FOREARMS
Extension - Movement of the
hand and fingers that increases
the angle between the palm of
the hand and the inner-side of
the forearm
Flexion - Movement of the hand
and fingers that decreases the
angle between the palm of the
hand and the-inner side of the
forearm.

Tendons - strong, fibrous connective

tissues that connect muscles to
bones enabling the conversion of
force generated by muscle during
contractions resulting in movement
of the body-part.
 ANATOMY OF THE
WRIST & FOREARMS
The forearm is extremely important to
mention when discussion
conditioning for the planche and
reducing pain. Many muscles help
provide the intricate movements
available to the hand by a
combination of tendons, muscles,
nerve innervations and bones.

On the left you can see a depiction of

the Extensors responsible for wrist
extension.

And here you can see a depiction of

the Flexors responsible for wrist
flexion.

These muscles are very active in

planche and are fundamental to
stable, long and strong planche
hold.
 WHAT IS WHY YOU SHOULD
CONDITIONING? WORK ON
CONDITIONING
Wrist conditioning in this context refers
to the process of improving flexibility Ignore your conditioning for skills and
and enhancing overall function of the you increase your injury risk
wrist flexors AND extensors, tendons, significantly.
ligaments and joints.
Think of conditoning are your body’s
Strength:
‘preparedness’ for a skill or element.
You can’t necessarily strengthen
your wrist (the same way you do
The more prepared the body is, the
with muscle) as its a collection of
more likely you’ll have success in your
bones, ligaments, tendons, nerves
training for the skill or element.
and blood vessels but you can
strengthen the extensors and
By ignoring conditioning expect to:
flexors responsible for the main
movements carried out in
Experience wrist, thumb and finger
planche while increasing
injuries.
mobility of the joint.
Experience forearm pain
Also strengthening the
consistently.
connective tissue to resist the
strength put on the wrist and
Unable to protract efficiently.
forearm in planche holds.
Feel incredibly heavy/unstable
Flexibility:
Conditioning also involves
Only hold planche for 3-5sec of time
increasing the range you can
even when you have more energy.
comfortably move your
wrist/hand into.
Experience greater discomfort in
dynamic planche movements like
This is important in planche
the press and deep pushups.
where your hand can enter
extremely compressed wrist
Experience wrist strength
positioning.
degradation and potential nerve
damage.
Endurance:
The longer the muscles of the Experience hand going
wrist and forearm can withstand numb/pinching in planche holds.
prolonged periods of stress or
repetitive motions (such as in
long combos) the more
conditioned the wrist and
forearm are.
 THE MOST
COMMON
PLANCHE
INJURY
FOREARM SPLINTS - Periostitis
(Ulnar Forearm Pain when Exiting the Planche Hold)

This is one of the most common

planche conditioning-related
injuries I see.

I believe it is usually due to

inflammation of the Flexor carpi
ulnaris tendon and its supporting
tissue or strain to the muscle itself
due to overuse, overtraining,
muscular imbalance or weakness
but your case is specific and may
likely be different.

The other common injury I see is of

course tendinopathy. This is a
general terms referring to disorders
affecting the tendons that may
result in pain, swelling or inpaired
function of that tendon.

This can occur at either the wrist or

elbow.
COMMON
WRIST &
FOREARM
INJURIES
Wrist Sprains - Overstretching or tearing ligaments.
Can occur when attempting planche without
proper wrist conditioning and warm up.

Tendonitis - Inflammation of the tendons in the

wrist. Can occur due to repetitive stress (trying hard
elements you’re not conditioned for repetitively).

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - Compression of the

median nerve in the carpal tunnel. Can occure from
excessive pressure on the wrist causing tingling,
numbness and weakness in the hand.

TFCC (Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex) Injuries -

The TFCC is a cartilage structure that stabilises the
wrist. Improper conditioning can lead to TFCC
injuries.

Stress Fractures - Overtraining or progressing too

quickly without appropriate conditioning can lead
to fractures in the small bones or wrists.
COMMON
WRIST &
FOREARM
INJURIES
Impingement Syndromes - Compression of
structures within the wrist can result in
impingement syndrome cause reduced function of
the wrist.

De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis - Inflammation of the

thumb-side tendons due to repetitive movements
or excessive pressure. This leads can lead to pain
and swelling specifically during movement of the
wrist and thumb.

Hyperextension Injuries - Can involve ligament and

joint instability due to hyperextending the wrist for
example over-leaning in floor planches or when in a
dead planche position.

Nerve Compression - The wrists position of planche

can sometimes cause nerve compression when the
wrong grip in taken. This may lead to numbness
and tingling when in the position.
PREHAB FOREARM
STRENGTHENING EXERCISES
EX. 1 Kettle Bell Hammer Grip Pulses

A light kettle bell (2-6kg) can be used to to perform hammer grip pulses off
the edge of a box or standing. You most likely will be stronger in Ex. 2 than
Ex. 1. Work on reducing this gap in strength. The more well-rounded your
forearm strength is, the better. Perform under control for 10-20 reps or
isometric holds. Perform as a warmup before you planche workout and
strengthening at the end of session. Isometrics and Heavy Eccentrics have
been proven to increase tendon strength by increasing its stiffness.

EX. 2
PREHAB FOREARM
STRENGTHENING EXERCISES
EX. 3 Dumbbell Hammer Grip Pulses

This is exercise I’ve found to be the best at targetting the weak muscles of
the forearms used when pressing on parallettes. Here I’m using a dumbbell
with one side of the weights removed. Perform this action with the weight
behind you (as shown) and then also MAKE SURE you perform the
movement with the weight in front of you as this orientation is specific to
planche.
MOBILITY EXERCISES
EX. 1 Wrist Compression Forearm Stretch

EX. 2 Wrist Compression Forearm Stretch

Use Ex. 1 to improve your wrist mobility in planche. Work slowly and
overtime improve your ability to compress the wrist. This will help reduce
injury risk especially when fatigue in the final stages of planche holds.

Use Ex.2 to stretch the posterior side of the forearm. By training planche
you build a lot of tension in this area. Stretching, strengthening and
Protein
working Carbs
within your means Fats
will help reduce Alcohol
the pain felt in this area.
SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIONS

APPLY ICE TO AFFECTED AREA

This will reduce the inflammation, minimize
swelling and reduce soreness.

MAKE IT A HABIT

Make the stretching, warm up, and conditioning

strength work a habit. Most people will wait
until they feel pain before they take action.
Prevent it instead!
 HOW TO PROPERLY USE WRISTS WRAPS &
FOREARM COMPRESSION SLEEVES

I’d suggest using wrist wraps and compression sleeves on days where you
are attempting skills that put more stress on the joints than usual, such as
particularly heavy sets. Or days where you are attempting to beat a previous
best or days where it may be difficult to stay warm.

On other regular training days, don’t use wrist wraps or compression

sleeves as you don’t want false confidence from the wrist wraps or elbow
sleeves,

COLLAGEN
If you are struggling with tendon pain, due to tendinopathy increasing
your protein intake or alternatively if you can’t accomplish this, taking a
collagen supplement (or just increasing your protein intake) can help the
repair of your connective tissues while your reduce the intensity of your
training.

MASSAGING
This is something I don’t see or hear many people do. Massaging areas
such as your biceps and forearms can enhance blood circulation to
increase recovery, reduce tension which will increase the performance of
the tissues.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES AND COOLING GELS

For days such as competition days, where you have prepped for a big max
attempt, it can be beneficial to use products such as cooling gels & balms,
anti-inflammatory gels etc.

Try not to rely on these in your training as, like wrist wraps, they may give
you a false sense of confidence leading to worse outcomes in the long run.
 LOOKING FOR MORE?
If you’re looking for more information on how to train for planche for more
progress and less pain - click the link below. Here you can sign up for
calisthenics coaching with me and if accepted you’ll receive a free
consultation call where we can discuss your skills and get get you started,

CLICK HERE
20% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH OF CALITHENICS
COACHING WITH ME: ‘WRIST20’