Set Muscle

Lately my wrists have been barking on bench and overhead presses. Wraps help a bit, but it feels like a band-aid instead of solving the root issue. Curious what actually helped you guys long term technique changes, mobility work or exercise swaps?

First thing I’d look at is wrist position. A lot of people let the bar sit too far back in the hand, which loads the wrist instead of stacking it over the forearm.

I had the same issue and narrowing my grip a bit helped a ton. Wide grip bench was killing my wrists and elbows without me realizing it.

Warm-ups mattered more than I expected. Light band work and wrist circles before pressing made a noticeable difference after a couple weeks.

Good call on bar position. I think I might be letting it roll back when the weight gets heavier.

Also don’t ignore volume. My wrists started feeling way better once I cut back junk sets and focused on fewer, higher-quality working sets.

Switching some barbell work to dumbbells helped me clean things up. Dumbbells let your wrists find a more natural angle instead of forcing one position.

Wraps are fine, but you’re right they shouldn’t be the solution. Fixing technique plus strengthening forearms and grip long-term is what finally solved it for me.