Austin Texas fitness trainer, Christi Lane, invented a simple apparatus to relieve the common and annoying wrist discomfort in plank or push-up position exercises.
Rise in popularity of bodyweight exercises such as yoga, suspension training (TRX) and Pilates has led to a problem. Many of these exercise systems call for placing your hands on the ground with the wrists bent at a 90 degree angle often supporting partial if not all of your bodyweight. It is a misconception that strengthening the wrists will remedy the pain from stacking the bones. The issue is not lack of strength, but the alignment of the bones of the forearm and hand. We can look at knuckle-walking in our fellow primates to illustrate a straight line from hand to forearm; the functional alignment of the wrist for bearing weight. PUSHRS assists this functional alignment.
While training her clients, Christi noticed that more clients were likely to resort to an easier exercise regardless of their actual strength to avoid pressure in the wrists. In some instances clients would quit an activity altogether without trying to supplement with an easier exercise. A desire to keep people working out to their optimal potential inspired Christi Lane to create PUSHRS.
The ergonomic design aligns the wrist by lifting the area where the wrist meets the hand and stabilizes an open hand position creating a straighter line between the bones in the forearm, wrist and hand. There is a comfortable spring-like top surface to absorb shock and deliver feedback to the hands during movement.
Christi invented the device for Pilates and traditional plank and push-up exercises but once she handed PUSHRS to other exercise professionals, physical therapists and workout enthusiasts, the applications for use grew with the creativity of each individual. Yoga professionals have used them as a more organic yoga block and for handstands. For balance exercises, even for those not suffering from wrist pain, PUSHRS change the proprioception and leverage from the hands and force the core to work harder. TRX trainers use them for a combination of suspended abdominal and arm exercises to ease wrist pain and keep the flow and challenge of the class. Pilates instructors use them in classes to avoid drastic modifications in form and as a physical therapy tool.