You can exercise the muscles in your fingers in a couple of different ways depending on your preferences. Exercise muscles in your fingers with help from a personal trainer and group exercise instructor in this free video clip.
Extrinsic stretching exercises are a great way to give the muscles in your fingers and hands a good workout. Learn about extrinsic stretching exercises for the fingers and hands with help from a personal fitness professional in this free video clip.
If you get numbness in your fingers at night, a few important exercises are going to help correct your problem. Learn about exercises for numbness in the fingers at night with help from a certified yoga teacher and healer in this free video clip.
Learning the saxophone requires dedication and practice. As you move into the high register (generally starting at high F), certain exercises can increase your ability to reach keys that you don't use as often. These will also help you get used to the fingering and improve your tone and speed at a high register.
The movie "Bring It On" chronicles a high school cheerleading team as they try to make it to the national cheer competition. They call in a coach, Sparky, to teach them a routine. He famously teaches them how to do "spirit fingers" to bring out the energy. The move is similar to jazz hands. Spirit fingers can be done by cheerleading or dance teams, or by individuals as they dance.
Hand grippers help to strengthen your hands, wrists and the forearms. This exercise equipment is used for strength training in sports and physical therapy. You can purchase this equipment at sports stores at a reasonable price ranging from $5 to $20, as of April 2011. To get the full benefit of the exercise, you must know how to properly position your hands on the grippers. Perform this exercise three days a week on non-consecutive days.
Your ring or index finger can lose range of motion because of injuries, arm fractures, nerve impingement, or overuse of hands and fingers. The ability to bend or flex parts of the body, such as a finger, is called flexion. When impairment occurs finger flexion may be difficult. Sometimes a finger needs to remain extended or immobilized until swelling goes down or the finger joint is healed. Check with your doctor before attempting to do index finger exercises to restore flexion.
Typing requires finger dexterity and practice. Incorrect placement of fingers on the keyboard and weak finger muscles can lead to repetitive use injuries. Twenty-nine bones, 29 joints, 123 ligaments and 34 muscles are used every time you type a sentence, according to the website for the Electronic Textbook of Hand Surgery. Finger exercises for typing can strengthen muscles and prevent injuries.
Having finger dexterity helps in things like playing musical instruments, but it also helps in everyday activities. Having dexterous fingers means having hands that are strong and limber. It also means you have complete control over your fingers. For example, if you bend your pinky finger and your ring finger bends with it, your dexterity can use some work.
When performing upper-body strength exercises, it is important to include small-muscle groups, such as those of your hands and fingers, as well as arms. Without strong wrists, opening jars is difficult. To play guitar or sew by hand, you need strong fingers. To rehabilitate after an arm injury, strengthen the entire extremity. It is also important to work opposing muscles, such as the the biceps (front of the arm) and triceps (back of the arm) to avoid imbalances.
Fine motor functions involve the use of the small muscles of the hand and fingers to manipulate objects and perform hand-eye-coordinated tasks. Many illnesses and disorders, including stroke, injury, nervous disorders and fatigue, can lead to loss or decreased development of fine motor function. Physicians often refer patients to occupational therapists, who use simple finger exercises to improve motor function and enhance hand-eye coordination.
Alternative finger exercises help eliminate the need for surgery by strengthening weak muscles and adding flexibility. They are also beneficial when recovering from an injury or for increasing the range of movement in arthritis sufferers. The Mayo Clinic lists finger exercises as a non-surgical option for ailments like "trigger finger" (a form of tendonitis) where stiffness, pain and swelling inhibit movement. The New York Times exercise guide tells us, "Flexibility exercises promote healthy muscle growth and help reduce the stiffness and loss of balance that accompanies aging."
When rock climbers encounter the dreaded climbing plateau where improvement slows down or stops, insufficient finger strength and stamina often emerge as the culprit. All of the upper-body strength in the world will not enable a rock climber to ascend a difficult rock climb if he does not possess the finger strength to hold onto the handholds. Consider adding appropriate finger-strengthening exercises to a climbing training program to address this concern.
If you have a sedentary job, you have probably experience mild finger cramping brought on by excessive use of the keyboard and mouse during the workday. Fortunately, however, you can avoid this problem with judicious practice of finger exercises to increase the muscular strength and flexibility of your fingers. Performing simple finger exercises several times throughout the day can help protect your hands, and especially your mouse finger, against unwanted strain.
Not many people even know they can exercise their hands, but finger fitness can help with many things in life. People wanting to learn how to play guitar or piano greatly benefit from doing finger independence exercises, and those with injured fingers can get them back to normal shape with a few such exercises. If you have never done finger exercises, they will be really hard to do when you first begin. The trick is to start off slowly and do each exercise correctly. You'll become a master of the exercises in no time; just be patient.
Hand and finger strength can be an important attribute in sports that require grasping and holding opponents such as wrestling and can also be useful to perform every day activities like opening jars. The fingers are moved by muscles in the forearm, so working out the forearm muscles will improve hand and finger strength.
Finger extension is the process of opening your hand and stretching your fingers. Closing your hand is called finger flexion. Finger extension is something we do without thinking. Extension exercises help strengthen the muscles that pull the fingers straight. Finger extension exercises will prevent the permanent contraction of muscles in the fingers after a stroke. After hand surgery, finger extension exercises help rebuild the strength in your hand.
Hand and forearm strength are important in a variety of sports and daily activities. Using hand grippers is an effective method of building strength in these areas.
In Nia, the front side back fire fingers exercise is great for increasing flexibility of the ankles, knees and hips. Learn more about Nia and the front side back fire fingers exercise from a professional Nia instructor in this free fitness video.
In Nia, relax the hips and support the legs using the tail bone when executing the twelve o'clock six o'clock finger flick exercise. Learn more about Nia and the twelve o'clock six o'clock finger flick workout from a professional Nia instructor in this free fitness video.
Kantate Osa Undo, an Aikido exercise, stretches your fingers and wrists to prepare for Aikido techniques. Learn how to do Kantate Osa Undo to stretch your fingers and wrists in this free Aikido training video featuring a 4th degree black belt.
If you spend a lot of time working at a computer, you've probably experienced strain and stiffness in your fingers at the end of a long day. This is a result of repetitive motion, and it can grow more painful as time goes by. A few minutes each day spent doing ergonomic finger exercises can ease the stiffness and pain, and can often prevent more serious injury.
Get a grip! Few people likely ever think about exercising their fingers. Rock-hard abs, bulging biceps and a powerful chest are what most bodybuilders work toward. But improving your grip by exercising your fingers can have many benefits. Here are some ways you can exercise your fingers.