You might’ve seen people at the gym sticking their hands in buckets of rice and wiggling them around. What’s the big idea? Well, that’s rice bucket training (RBT)! It’s a low-impact exercise that helps bolster your grip strength and rehabilitate to prevent injuries in your hands and wrists. We’ll tell you more about it and how it can help you, give you a full rice bucket workout regimen, and offer plenty of other ways to train your grip strength.
Rice Bucket Training Overview
Rice bucket training is a form of physical therapy and exercise that strengthens the muscles in your fingers, hands, wrists, forearms, and elbows. It’s a common workout for athletes (like climbers and baseball players), and it can help prevent repetitive motion injuries.
Steps
Rice Bucket Exercises
-
1Open & close Sit in a chair or kneel on the floor with the rice bucket on the floor in front of you. Place the fingers of both hands into the rice up to your last knuckle. Then, slowly open and close your hands, from a closed fist to splayed fingers. Repeat this 50 times per workout. [3] X Research source
- Benefits: This exercise is foundational for basic grip and forearm strength.
- As with every exercise on this wrist, the deeper your hands go into the rice, the more resistance they’ll meet, and the more intense the workout will be.
-
2Splayed fingers Stick your hands into the rice up to your wrists and hold them parallel to the floor. Then, spread your fingers as far apart as you can, and slowly bring them back together. Repeat this 50 times per workout. [4] X Research source
- Benefits: This helps target the finer flexors in your hands, which are often difficult to condition.
- You can also perform this exercise while sitting in a chair or kneeling on the floor with the rice bucket in front of you. The same is true for every other workout on this list, too.
-
3Scoop ‘n’ drop Dig both hands into the rice up to your wrists and grab fistfuls of rice. Then, lift your hands out of the rice and open them, dropping the rice back into the bucket. Do this 50 times per workout. [5] X Research source
- Benefits: This is a more basic and less strenuous version of the Open and Close, and is great for physical therapy patients.
-
4Buried treasure Submerge marbles, buttons, or other small toys or objects into the rice at different depths. Then, using only your hands, root around in the rice to find them, grabbing them only with the tips of your fingers as you pull them out. Find 20 different objects per workout. [6] X Research source
- Benefits: This helps with your grip precision and accuracy, which is great for climbers or people who rely on smaller motor functions.
- This workout can also be done using your feet!
-
5Talons Bring the fingers on each hand together in a cone, then quickly stab them point-down into the rice. Once your wrist is submerged, splay your fingers wide and bring your hands back out, keeping your palms down. Repeat 50 times per workout. [7] X Research source
- Benefits: This helps work your elbows while you build up finger and forearms strength.
-
6Pancakes Hold your hands flat with your fingers together, then plunge them straight down into the rice up to your wrists. Still keeping your wrists straight, spread your fingers as much as you can, then bring them straight back up and out of the rice. With your fingers still splayed, dunk your hands straight back in, then pull your fingers together and lift your hands out again. [8] X Research source
- Repeat this entire exercise 50 times per workout.
- Benefits: This works the finer tensor muscles in your hands and fingers, and is great for people who want to avoid repetitive use injuries from manual labor.
-
7Wrist swivels Make your hands into fists and plunge them into the bucket so that your wrists are covered by 2–3 in (5.1–7.6 cm) of rice. Then, slowly swivel your wrist 1 full rotation clockwise, then 1 full rotation counterclockwise. Repeat this for 30 seconds on each arm per workout. [9] X Research source
- Benefits: This promotes flexibility and strength in your wrists, which are particularly prone to injury from repetitive use.
-
8Elbow pivots Plunge your open hand into the rice up to the wrist so that your palm is facing toward you. Grab a fistful of rice, and swivel your entire arm clockwise so that your palm faces away from you, then relax your grip and withdraw your hand from the rice. Keeping your arm in that position, plunge your hand back into the rice, grab and pivot your arm back counterclockwise, and then retract. [10] X Research source
- Repeat this process 20 times per arm.
- Benefits: This exercise works out your entire arm, even up to your shoulders and scapular.
-
9Paint the fence Make your hands into fists and submerge them into the rice. Slowly move your hands up and down, pivoting them at the wrists like you were revving a motorcycle engine. Continue doing this for about 30-60 seconds. [11] X Research source
- Benefits: This works out your wrists and forearms.
-
10Potato masher Plunge your fists into the rice up to your wrists. Move your hands from side to side, pivoting them at the wrists and trying for a full range of motion. Continue doing this for 30-60 seconds. [12] X Research source
- Benefits: This also works out your wrists and forearms.
-
11Crab claws Make your hands into crab claws, with the 4 fingers opposite your thumbs together, and plunge them into the rice up to your wrists. Then, open and close your claws, keeping your fingers together, and continue doing this for 60 seconds. [13] X Research source
- Benefits: This exercise focuses on your basic grip strength.
-
12Thumb gouge Dig your hands into the rice so that your fingers are bent, like you’re grabbing a pole, with your thumbs spread apart from your other fingers. Then, dig only your thumbs through the rice and toward your palms, keeping the rest of your fingers stationary. Continue doing this for 60 seconds. [14] X Research source
- Benefits: This focuses on your thumbs, which are a primary player when it comes to grip strength.
-
13Doggy Paddle Make your hands into scoops, with all your fingers together and bent slightly. Then, dig rapidly into the rice, like you’re a dog digging a hole in the dirt. Focus on keeping the motion primarily in your wrists. Be sure not to fling rice out of the bucket while you continue this exercise for 60 seconds. [15] X Research source
- Benefits: This exercise helps strengthen the flexors in your wrist and forearms.
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
- As with any sort of exercise, only do what’s comfortable, and what feels natural but challenging. If you experience any sort of discomfort or pain, stop immediately and talk to a doctor or physical trainer.Thanks
References
- ↑ https://www.dignityhealth.org/articles/the-rice-bucket-workout-can-build-your-power-at-the-plate
- ↑ https://www.dignityhealth.org/articles/the-rice-bucket-workout-can-build-your-power-at-the-plate
- ↑ https://www.military.com/military-fitness/ask-stew/operator-grip
- ↑ https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/5-moves-better-grip-strength/
- ↑ https://upswinghealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TFCC-Tear.pdf
- ↑ https://advance.muschealth.org/library/2023/july/understanding-ankle-injuries
- ↑ https://www.versatilearts.net/2012/09/11/rice-bucket/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdlJHaImdtU&t=133s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdlJHaImdtU&t=193s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdlJHaImdtU&t=226s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtzkD7k6_QU&t=247s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtzkD7k6_QU&t=281s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtzkD7k6_QU&t=312s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtzkD7k6_QU&t=465s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtzkD7k6_QU&t=553s
- ↑ https://www.dignityhealth.org/articles/the-rice-bucket-workout-can-build-your-power-at-the-plate
- ↑ https://www.dignityhealth.org/articles/the-rice-bucket-workout-can-build-your-power-at-the-plate
- ↑ https://health.clevelandclinic.org/grip-strength
- ↑ https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/5-moves-better-grip-strength/
- ↑ https://barbend.com/best-grip-exercises/
- ↑ https://barbend.com/best-grip-exercises/
- ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6211307/