Wrist Extensor Eccentric — end-range hold
The wrist and forearm loaded eccentrically — the only thing shown to fix a stubborn tennis elbow, and the joint every hand-plant and stick sport punishes
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Sit with the forearm resting on your thigh or a bench, palm down, with the wrist and hand off the edge. Hold a light dumbbell.
The rep
Use the other hand to lift the dumbbell up, bending the wrist back. Let go, then lower it with the working wrist over five seconds, all the way to the bottom of the range. Hold there for twenty seconds, then help it back up with the other hand. Swap sides.
On the exercise card
- Forearm supported, wrist off the edge
- Lift with the other hand, lower with this one
- Hold at the bottom of the range
- Tempo
- 5s to lower
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Lifting with the working wrist | The other hand lifts and the working wrist only lowers. That is what makes it eccentric. |
| The forearm lifting off the support | Keep it flat so the work stays at the wrist. |
| Going too heavy | Keep it light. The slow lowering does the work. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- A lighter dumbbell, or a shorter range.
- Harder
- A slightly heavier dumbbell, or a slower lowering.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
Hand plants in gymnastics, a stick in hockey, gloves in boxing and grips in MMA all load the wrist and forearm hard. Five programs put this in the prehab block: hockey, boxing, MMA, gymnastics and bodybuilding. It is the same slow lowering used for tennis elbow.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey | Power + Trunk | 2 × 20s/side | Light DB |
| Boxing | Pull, Trunk + Neck | 2 × 20s/side | Light DB |
| MMA | Grip, Pull + Trunk | 2 × 20s/side | Light DB |
| Gymnastics | Power-to-Weight Strength | 2 × 20s/side | Light DB |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Muscles worked
- Forearms
- Region
- Full body
- Classified as
- Mobility
- Prescribed in
- hockey · boxing · MMA · gymnastics · bodybuilding
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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