Rice bucket? If you were to ask any Major League baseball player what a rice bucket is, they would all be able to answer you. And that is because they have all used a rice bucket in their baseball careers to strengthen their hands, wrists, and forearms.
The rice bucket is very common in the world of baseball. This is a piece of equipment which is not exclusive to professional baseball facilities and can be made quite easily and used in your own home. All you need is a 10 gallon bucket and lots and lots of rice! I suggest you fill the bucket 2/3 of the way up.
Forearm strengthening is sometimes overlooked in exercise programs for various sports such as baseball. However, your forearms play a very integral part of the bio mechanical chain in sports movements such as throwing and hitting. There are 6 wrist movements described below that are commonly used in the rice bucket.
1) Place the rice bucket on a chair and put both hands deep into the bucket. (Fig. 1) The following pictures show your hands and wrists outside of the bucket so that you may see the movements clearly.
2) Your first two movements is forward and back. Move both wrists forward and backward deep in the rice bucket 10 times.(Fig. 2-3)
3) Without resting, you will move into the next movement which is circles in and circles out. Perform 10 circles outward and 10 circles inward. (this is similar to the wax on/wax off motion ) (Fig.4)
4) Finally, you will move immediately into the last 2 movements. You will do 10 finger grabs and 10 finger extension flickers. (Fig. 5-6)
As with any new exercise, if you experience pain stop immediately and consult your physician. When beginning a new exercise program, always consult your physician.
