My tiny wrists are holding me back

[motezuma]

Hi,

My wrists are constantly holding me back in a few exercises. Mostly biceps curls, skullcrushers or similar. Especially if I use straight bar, but even with EZ bar my wrist hurts when I put too much weight but my biceps can take more. Few weeks ago after a bicep curl my left wrist started hurting and it still does. Also my grip is too weak as well which is mostly relevant when I do pull-ups and deadlift. I have to use straps for anything over 150lbs and I could deadlift more than 250. I did a test in the beginning of the workout and I could hold 176lbs barbell for about 30 secs. Not sure how good/bad is that but I certainly expected worse.

[plugeye]

do bodyweight movements to naturally strengthen wrists & grip.
by using straps your wrists and grip will never get stronger.

[Wolf]

I've always had smaller wrists too. It can affect you and cause injuries (for example ganglion cysts) if you start out too heavy without letting your wrist area become conditioned slowly. I can safely bench 270x6 with my wrists, but it didn't happen overnight.
Also, be careful doing exercises such as preacher curls,etc. Try not to flex wrists too much. Time and perseverance go a long way...