JJ Virgin4x NYTimes Best Selling Author, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Fitness Hall of Famer

Can't Lift Because of Wrist Pain? Watch This

29 Aug 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:55

In this short YouTube segment, fitness coach JJ Virgin responds to a 66‑year‑old viewer named Holly who is experiencing acute wrist and hand joint pain that makes lifting difficult. Virgin expresses empathy, then outlines a set of machine‑based exercises that avoid gripping, such as leg press, leg curl, back extension, rear‑deltoid press using elbows, chest press, and shoulder‑raise machines. He emphasizes the strategy of “working around” the painful joints to maintain full‑body training while minimizing hand involvement. Finally, he advises Holly to investigate the root cause of her joint pain and consult a regenerative‑medicine doctor for targeted treatment, linking symptom management with underlying health resolution.

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Holly, 66 years old, acute joint pain at the moment, wrists and hands. It's very hard to lift while in pain. Any recommendations? Yes. So I love that you're looking for ways to do this while you've got the pain in your wrists and hands. I'm sorry you have the pain in your wrists and hands, Holly. Here's what you can do. You can still do a leg press machine. You can do a leg curl machine. You could do a back extension machine. You can do like a rear delt machine, pushing things on your elbows, and a front chest press machine. Shoulder raise machine. So what you want to do is look for ways to work around it and work as much of your body as possible that's not involving your hands and wrists. So that's what I would say is work on that. And then we got to work on why do you have acute joint pain in your wrists and hands and how can you work with a good regenerative doc who can help you get out of that gene as well.