Why Are My Wrists So Small? A Guide to Dealing with Skinny Wrists

Once you notice something about yourself that’s different, it can bother you. Even if it’s something small like a mole here, a bump there…once you see it, you can’t unsee it. You might start seeing it in other people, or not seeing it and wondering why.

Skinny wrists are one of these things. If you have skinny wrists, you’ve probably thought to yourself “why are my wrists so small?” before.

Sure, they’re not a big deal and won’t have any negative or positive impact on your life. But if it’s something you want to change, then understanding skinny wrists is the first step to solving them.

This guide will help you to do just that. We’ll discuss how skinny wrists develop, how you can increase your wrist size, and exercises for increasing wrist size.

 

Why Are My Wrists So Small? A Complete Guide

Having small wrists is usually something that will be obvious to you. If you’re a naturally lean person and have an ectomorph body type, then you’ll naturally have thin wrists. Thin wrists can also be due to low body fat percentage.

However, where small wrists can become especially noticeable is when the rest of your body is built. Skinny wrists compared to large biceps or triceps can look unnatural. You might worry that they’re a symptom of a deeper issue with your body.

To tell if you have skinny wrists, you need to pay attention to things you do every day. Even things that you usually wouldn’t think twice about.

If you wear a watch, take note of how tight you make the strap for it to stay on comfortably. Have you ever had to replace a watch strap because it’s too big, even at its tightest point? Do you struggle to buy bracelets and wrist jewellery because you fear it will be too big?

Small wrists usually don’t cause any physical symptoms or problems. Pain in your wrists is a sign of a more serious issue such as carpal tunnel syndrome or a repetitive strain injury. These can lead to skinny wrists, as they make it more difficult to build muscle in the wrist.

Another way to determine if you have skinny wrists is to measure your wrists. For this, you’ll need to know the average wrist circumference for your gender. For men, the average wrist circumference is 7.25 inches. For women, it’s 6.5 inches.

Here is a step-by-step guide to measuring the circumference of your wrist. You’ll need a measuring tool that you can wrap around your wrist:

1. Hold the measuring tool and find the 0 points. Place this in the middle of your wrist.
2. Wrap the measuring tool around your wrist until it meets the 0 point
3. Take note this measurement
4. Do the same for your other wrist if you want to see if there’s a difference

The circumference of your wrist is most commonly measured in inches.

Understanding Skinny Wrists

As mentioned, skinny wrists aren’t an issue by their nature. They’re only a problem if you perceive them as a problem. If you do then, great – you can take the first steps to understanding skinny wrists and changing how they look.

Your wrist is a complex area of your body in that it doesn’t have any muscles of its own. Instead, tendons from your forearm pass through the wrist and connect to the bones of your hand. When you move your wrist, you’re actually moving these tendons.

This is why injuries such as wrist sprains are so common. Tendons are the ends of muscles that are thinner than the muscle itself. You also can’t build muscle in a tendon since there’s no muscle to be built.

This makes tendons and areas of the body that have tendons more susceptible to injury. A condition called tendonitis is a common chronic wrist problem. The symptoms of tendonitis include a dull ache when moving the wrist, swelling, and redness.

Reasons for Thin Wrists

If you want to understand thin wrists, you might be curious about some reasons for thin wrists. As with any question to do with the body, there isn’t a one size fits all answer.

Thin wrists could be due to a lower-body fat percentage. Usually, this is seen as a good thing, but it can cause some undesirable features such as skinny wrists and skinny forearms or ankles.

Out of the three body types, the ectomorph is the most likely to have skinny wrists due to their lean frame and low body fat. If you try to build muscle with this body type, you might find that your wrists look unnaturally thin compared to the rest of your body.

One of the most common reasons for skinny wrists is your bone structure. This just means that your bones have fused together during their formative stages in a way that makes wrists appear thinner. Your bones might be closer together than normal, or they might be smaller.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to fix skinny wrists that exist due to bone structure. The only viable strategies include mitigating this by building fat.

Best Exercise to Increase Wrist Size

If you want to not have skinny wrists anymore, then we’d recommend looking for the best exercise to increase wrist size. Thankfully you have a lot of options.

The best exercises for skinny wrists are those that use dumbbells. Dumbbells are the easiest way to add weight to an exercise, and because this weight is concentrated in your hands, your wrists will see the biggest benefit.

An exercise called the wrist flexion dumbbell lift is specifically designed to build strength in your wrists. It will improve wrist grip. It can also improve wrist strength and wrist flexibility. These factors combined will lead to, over time, building thicker wrists.

 

Small Wrists – Closing Thoughts

Small wrists can harm your self-esteem and can de-motivate you to continue building muscle. If this sounds like you, it’s important to find what you can do about your small wrists to improve these problems.

Building self-esteem should be taken seriously. Take a look at our personalized workout plans, which are tailored to you, and will help you feel confident in your body and reach your fitness goals.