You might be able to hold your hand out flat and not see any trembling whatsoever when you’re completely calm and at rest. Put in any strenuous work with your arms, though, and you may start to feel that trembling set in quickly. A steady hand is incredibly useful for a wide variety of tasks, whether they’re work-related or not. We’ll give you a few exercises to improve your hand steadiness so that the shakes don’t take over your body and reduce your dexterity.
Rubber Band Exercises
Most hand exercises are very simple and only require some basic equipment. For example, a rubber band can be quite helpful. If you get a rubber band that has substantial tensile strength, you can use it to practice certain exercises. Everyone from a machinist looking to safely use their tools to a cake decorator wanting to pipe cleaner lines can benefit from these exercises.
Finger Workout
To begin, wrap the rubber band around your four outstretched fingers, leaving your thumb free. Slowly spread apart your fingers from one another, focusing on the sensations you feel in the connective part between each finger, then relax. Do this 10 to 20 times or until you can’t comfortably do it anymore. This will help develop steadiness in your fingers over time.
Thumb Workout
This time, you’ll put the pads of your fingers and thumb together, wrapping the rubber band around all of them near your fingertips. Move your thumb downwards, away from the rest of your fingers, until you make a C shape with your hand. Again, try for 10 to 20 reps once or twice a day. This exercise will develop the muscles in the part of your hand that connects to your thumb.
Isometric Hook Exercise
Another great exercise to improve hand steadiness involves locking the fingers of both your hands together, with one hand palm facing up and the other facing down. Create a hook shape with the four fingers on each hand and interlock your hands together. Maintain the lock between your fingers and slowly pull your arms away from each other. Hold the tension for a few seconds before releasing; repeat as many times as you can. This develops finger, wrist, and forearm strength and improves hand steadiness.
Putty Squeeze and Pinch
You can also use some general use putty to work your hands out. Put a large amount of putty in your hand and squeeze it, trying to close your fingers as much as possible. Repeat by manipulating the putty into a new position with the same hand and trying again. You can also improve finger strength by rolling the putty into a log and pinching it as hard as you can between each finger and your thumb.
Using these techniques diligently each day will slowly begin to develop a stronger grip and a steadier hand. Avoid tiring your hands out completely when you first start. Take it slowly, and you’ll see results sooner than you think!
