Hand/lower arm recovery / pressure release

[Geralt]

I know this topic has been covered a lot already regarding what works best for everyone in terms of recovery after griptraining. I have tried a lot, from self massage, to contrast baths. Problem for me with last one is, I can keep this on for a short while but it is a lot of work, filling up the buckets, etc, and since I have pretty long arms, it is hard to cover them completely into a bucket without creating a water ballet. 

Like the rest of my body, I found that deep pressure massage works very well, specially on the thick dense muscle area in the upper part of my lower arms. I have no big arms at all, but specially my lowerarms are quite hard. I see a therapist every month for my back or legs, so that area is covered. I ask my wife sometimes to put some much needed pressure on my lower arms, only problem is she can't squeeze hard enough to give me that release of tension, or she gets sore thumbs. I tried a tennisball for self release and all, but the pressure just isn't the same and it's hard to get the right pressure, without the tennisball being rocketed through the livingroom. Being into grip, it's a hard knock life.

Now this tip sounds a bit strange perhaps, but I found a way that gives a very good pressure and release on the lowerarms. So I was talking to my kids recently while they were upstairs and I was standing on top of the stairs, with my arms on the floor. My youngest was fooling around and tried to stand on my lowerarm. I turned my lowerarm and asked her to lean against the wall and to stand on my lower arms, with her heels on the brachioradialis, and flexor area, so basically the thick part directly under the elbow. This give a very good pressure in the place I had never could produce myself, or my wife with her hands. My both kids are around 66lbs/30kg. I asked her to shift pressure from one leg to the other and this had a very good result, besides having a lot of fun. 

Long story short, I constantly felt heavy in my lowerarms, constantly pumped a bit, and self massage and contrastbaths didn't do much for me. I have the feeling now I lost a LOT of tension in that area and it feels so much better now. The kids also had good laugh lol. Now I know this works, I can ask my wife to put some pressure on my lowerarms the same way, and it's more easy to direct her to where the triggerpoints are. So basically, for this method you need to have someone around who is willing to do this, but I can tell this gives the best pressure release on the muscles which you won't get with this self massaging stuff. Now, in a relaxed position, I can clearly see my fingers aren't as curled up as how they were before. 

a bit unconventional perhaps, but so is this whole gripscene for outsiders so people standing on lowerarms shouldn't be that more strange, right? 

Edited April 25, 2016 by Geralt

[Grind]

If you have fat gripz you can roll your arms standing against a wall. You can lean into the fat gripz to add more pressure on your arms. This is a stable way to massage your arms, the gripz won't rocket through the air.
The armaid is also a perfect tool. All the money we spent on grip stuff but aren't willing to spent a buck on just keeping our arms healthy. 

[Geralt]

True, only both devices are - for me - hard to get pressure on the right spot. When I put the fatgripz on the table and roll my lower arm over the gripz, I have some problem with keeping pressure when rotating the arm inwards. I use the fatgripz Extreme for putting pressure on my hamstrings that way btw. And the Armaid same story a bit, tried Roy's one, but I just found it a bit awkward and it is a quite hefty pricetag. But if it works and you already own it, don't change it by all means. Btw, this is another way in addition to my story above. Works better then whatever I tried in the past. 

 

 

[Anthony C.]

Nice, man.

I use a golf ball or "footrubz" (search it on Amazon) with good results. The Armaid is great with the extreme attachment as well. The basic attachment didn't really do much for me either.

[Grind]

2 hours ago, Geralt said:

 And the Armaid same story a bit, tried Roy's one, but I just found it a bit awkward and it is a quite hefty pricetag. 

 

2 hours ago, Grind said:

All the money we spent on grip stuff but aren't willing to spent a buck on just keeping our arms healthy. 

You call the armaid awkward and post a picture of you smashing your arm between a table and your knee. lol
I can reach each muscle in every angle with the armaid and add just the right pressure I need just by sitting in my comfortable chair. :p

Edited April 25, 2016 by Grind

[Geralt]

Well, I tried it and with that strapped on to my leg, and the handles and all I just couldn't see myself working with it. The orange ball looks like a better attachment btw. But I feel best in laying my arm down, completely relaxed, and then pushing al the crap inside, out of my arms. It looks awkward perhaps but this pressure I don't see made with a device I need to squeeze together. Same with the Fatgrip against my hamstring, when my therapist puts his handpalm under knee against the hammies and pushes in with his bodyweight, that feels so much better. Or I have a high paintolerance  

[Alawadhi]

Anyone trained too much grip and got extreme tension in their lower forearms and then when sitting in a weird position gets a little numb in the hands itself? I had this happened and now I didn't train for 5 days I am in China and all is good. The tension release posted above might be very good idea

[Geralt]

It is pretty easy in griptraining to get nerves trapped. Although I think this risk is bigger when you are doing dynamic movements, such as curls, pullups etc. as opposed to more static armposition lifts as thickbar DL etc. With grippers, setting is a big culprit I think also. You done such exercises? So it could be that something is trapped, but one should think it would be felt all the time. I am no doctor however. 

I also have this sometimes, but mostly, as with all people, when sleeping with an arm under my pillow, or sitting to long with my lower arm in a smaller angle then 90 degrees. Like I said above, I have no big arms, but they are pretty hard. I remember going to a therapist and she really had trouble feeling my tendons etc. She called it me having a very high 'tonus', muscle tension. That's why I like to lay my arm down for massage completely relaxed, instead of holding it in a certain angle, because tension stays in the tendons. 

 

[Alawadhi]

I rarely train grippers because I want to avoid inflammation in my middle knuckle of the right hand. So you can say I don't set much. Even when I set the grippers its very little. I train wide sets mostly. But same as you sometimes I get stiffness maybe thats why. And it's not always but as you mentioned when sleeping or sitting in a weird position. I think these massages which you explained are good. Because if I felt numbness I just shake my hands and it goes. But since 5 days I didn't train and I feel much better even when i sit or sleep weirdly. 

[Jörg Keilbach]

Geralt you could do it yourselfe with a Kettlebell.

[wobbler]

I roll a highlighter (3/4" diameter or so) on my desk and put pressure with the other hand, works for me.

[Geralt]

On 25-4-2016 at 5:22 PM, Jörg Keilbach said:

Geralt you could do it yourselfe with a Kettlebell.

Never tried that, my friend, will try this for fun today. 

On 25-4-2016 at 6:12 PM, wobbler said:

I roll a highlighter (3/4" diameter or so) on my desk and put pressure with the other hand, works for me.

I tried that in the past, also with a rolling pin (for rolling dough) but it depends very much on the surface below how the rolling goes. But that also can work indeed, although I like putting on a lot of pressure, hence the knees. 

 

Thnx for the input guys. 

On 25-4-2016 at 5:20 PM, Alawadhi said:

I rarely train grippers because I want to avoid inflammation in my middle knuckle of the right hand. So you can say I don't set much. Even when I set the grippers its very little. I train wide sets mostly. But same as you sometimes I get stiffness maybe thats why. And it's not always but as you mentioned when sleeping or sitting in a weird position. I think these massages which you explained are good. Because if I felt numbness I just shake my hands and it goes. But since 5 days I didn't train and I feel much better even when i sit or sleep weirdly. 

Have you tried it already and did it work? 

[Alawadhi]

Still in China mate I don't have anyone small to stand on my forearms lol all my team are 85kg to 125 kg people.  When I am back in my country I will try it for sure.

[Geralt]

On 29 april 2016 at 7:10 PM, Alawadhi said:

Still in China mate I don't have anyone small to stand on my forearms lol all my team are 85kg to 125 kg people.  When I am back in my country I will try it for sure.

Got it. You could try the knee method in advance, shown on the photo though, halfway this topic. 

Gives equel as much pressure. Also good for flexibility lol

 

[canthar]

Look into cupping. You can do self cupping easy enough. It's heavily used in China at least with the weightlifters and is slowly starting to be used by other high level athletes for recovery. 

Edited May 2, 2016 by canthar