What is rice bucket training?
Rice bucket training is a grip strength and hand rehab exercise. It’s pretty simple: fill a large bucket with uncooked rice, stick your hands in, and start moving them around. The resistance of the rice provides a great, low-impact workout that many physical trainers use to test or build grip strength, forearm strength, and prevent elbow injuries. Some say rice bucket training dates back to Shaolin monks. It’s possible, but hard to verify. Mostly, it’s used by physical therapists and athletes, though not many studies have been done to pinpoint how effective it is, exactly.
Benefits & Muscles Targeted
Rice bucket training strengthens your fingers, forearms, and elbows. If you vary your rice bucket workout and perform several techniques, this exercise can target your entire forearm, from your elbow to your individual fingers. This makes you less prone to injury, and gives you a much better grip on things like balls, bats, sticks, and climbing grips. Rice bucket training is primarily used for people in physical rehab, helping them regain motor function and ability in their hands and arms. In terms of grip training and strength exercises, there are more effective alternatives. That said, many athletes, like baseball and football players, or climbers, use regular rice bucket training to improve their grip and forearm strength.
Rice Bucket Exercises
Open & 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. 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.
Splayed 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. Benefits: This helps target the finer flexors in your hands, which are often difficult to condition. Also perform this exercise while sitting in a chair or kneeling on the floor with the rice bucket on the floor in front of you. This goes for every other workout on this list, too.
Scoop ‘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. Benefits: This is a more basic and less strenuous version of the Open and Close, and is great for physical therapy patients.
Buried 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. 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!
Talons Bring the fingers on each hand together in a cone, then stab them quickly, 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. Benefits: This helps work your elbows while you build up finger finger and forearms strength.
Pancakes 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 life your hands out again. 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.
Wrist 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. Benefits: This promotes flexibility and strength in your wrists, which are particularly prone to injury from repetitive use.
Elbow 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, then retract. Repeat this process 20 times per arm. Benefits: This exercise works out your entire arm, even up to your shoulders and scapular.
Paint 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. Benefits: This works out your wrists and forearms.
Potato 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. Benefits: This also works out your wrists and forearms.
Crab 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. Benefits: This exercise focuses on your basic grip strength.
Thumb 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. Benefits: This focuses on your thumbs, which are a primary player when it comes to grip strength.
Doggy 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 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. Benefits: This exercise helps strengthen the flexors in your wrist and forearms.
Rice Bucket Training FAQs
How often should I do RBT, and which exercises should I perform? Do rice bucket training at least once a week for at least 5 minutes. Rice bucket training is easy to work into your exercise routine, and it’s also super flexible. As a general rule, aim to do it at least once a week, and for a total of at least 5 minutes, as part of your arms day. Feel free to do it more often, or for longer, as your grip strength increases and the exercises become easier. Mix and match the exercises above to create your own routine. As a basic routine, though, cycle through Open & Closes, Splayed Fingers, and Scoop ‘n’ Drops.
Who can benefit from rice bucket training? Practically everyone, really! Rice bucket training conditions your hands, arms, and elbows, which helps make them less prone to injuries. This means that even someone who sits at a computer all day could use it to avoid things like carpal tunnel. Of course, athletes who need a strong and reliable grip can also benefit. Rice bucket training is also ideal for people in physical therapy, since it targets and challenges delicate muscles without straining them too much. This also means that rice bucket training is suitable for all skill levels, even advanced athletes, as it helps to maintain grip strength and fend off injury.
Other Grip Strength Workouts
Use a squeezy grip ball or spring-loaded grip trainer. Some products are made exclusively to help you train your grip strength, including your hand and forearm muscles. A basic stress ball is a great way to get a low-impact grip workout in throughout your day. A spring-loaded grip trainer is similar, but offers added resistance for an even more intense workout. Both these products often come in varying levels of resistance, so start at a low level and move up to the next once it feels too easy. These are both techniques you can do on the go, but try to get 30-60 minutes of training in each day.
Do farmer’s carries for grip and arm strength. Use kettlebells, dumbbells, or any other heavy object. Stand with 2 kettlebells on either side of you, then squat, grip them in either hand, and straighten. Keep your back straight but relaxed and your core tight while you let your arms hang loose but engaged at your sides for 60 seconds, then return the bells to the floor. Repeat this 5-6 times. Start with a low, comfortable weight, and gradually increase it as that weight becomes too easy to lift and hold. This is a fabulous grip strength exercise, but also works out your arms, legs, and core.
Perform reverse curls to strengthen your fingers and arms. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in your hand, with your palm facing down toward the floor and your arm bent at a 90-degree angle. Slowly bend your elbow, curling the bell up near your shoulder, then lower it back down. Repeat this 5-10 times. This is similar to a standard curl, but the reversed grip is a real test of your finger and wrist strength.
Perform chin-ups or pull-ups for more intense training. Doing bodyweight lifting exercises like pull-ups not only improves your grip, but gives an intense workout to other muscles, like your biceps, triceps, chest, and back. They’re a great all-around upper-body exercise to incorporate into your strength training. To do a chin-up or pull-up, grip an overhead bar and slowly lift your chin to the level of the bar while inhaling, then exhale and lower yourself. Do as many reps as you can.
Stretch your fingers, hands, and wrist to maintain flexibility. Flexibility is just as important to strength when it comes to your grip. As you age, you may lose flexibility in your hands, which can limit your grip. In your downtime, take some moments to stretch your hands, fingers, and wrists: Open and close your hands, from spread fingers to closed fists, for 60 seconds at a time. Gently use one hand to twist, rotate, and stretch back the fingers of your other hand for 60 seconds at a time. Rotate your wrist clockwise for 30 seconds, then counterclockwise for 30 seconds. Hold your hands and wrists limp, then shake them vigorously for 30 seconds.
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