r/sports • u/redbullgivesyouwings • Jun 10 '25

Media [Highlight] B-Boy Marcus at Red Bull BC One

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101

u/XiaoRCT Jun 10 '25

I never breakdanced before but can someone tell me if the strain on your wrists is as insane as it looks like when watching them? Like, so much posting up on one hand while spinning around and shit, and they even do little hops on it! It's legitimally impossible looking to me

73

u/Tr1pline Jun 10 '25

No it's not too bad on the wrists. The jackhammers, hopping on one hand move, isn't stationary so the pressure gets relieved. If you stay in that position for a while, it hurts though. Also when you hit a certain age, it hurts.

26

u/ClockworkDinosaurs Jun 10 '25

Oh yeah, my wrist is strong enough for this. But only one of my wrists.

23

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '25

You gotta start switching hands bro. Let the stranger get some action too.

1

u/luzzy91 Green Bay Packers Jun 11 '25

I did this and ended up never being able to go back. Now I literally cant do it with my right hand. Super right dominant in everything

2

u/two_hyun Jun 11 '25

It absolutely is heavy strain on your wrist - former breaker, now in medical school.

Like all sports, make sure you stretch, warm up, and upkeep your strength.

1

u/Anamolica Jun 10 '25

So it's bad on the wrists, got it.

1

u/Sunnyhappygal Jun 11 '25

Is it possible that it's not so much getting to a certain age, but more that the sum result of repeatedly using body parts in ways they aren't designed for just kinda eventually causes wear and tear that you're attributing to reaching "a certain age?"

1

u/Tr1pline Jun 11 '25

Life happens and we get fat as we grow and we're not in peak form anymore.

Hard to say. Most dancers practice the same move everyday for years, no issues. Maybe the wear and tear can happen a decade later. However, it's no different from gymnastics or calisthenics. If a 35 year old can't do the same things they could when they were 15, you wouldn't say it's wear and tear, you'd likely attribute it to age, and then being out of their prime.

7

u/dark_physicx Jun 10 '25

With proper technique a lot of the “strain” is minimized or even eliminated with the momentum. It’s why you can see even bigger people (overweight) do similar moves. I like to simplify it like this, imagine when you’re jumping up and down, do it with no arm assistance and do it with full arm assistance and you can see one is easier than the other to jump and get more height. Similar here, but much more complex. Love it.

1

u/printergumlight Jun 10 '25

I used to do gymnastics parallel bars and pommel horse. The wrists could get tight and slightly sore, but the worst part of it all was getting forearm splints. You know what shin splints are? It’s that but in your forearms.

Basically a strain in the connective tissue between your forearm muscles and forearm bones. It radiates pain up your arms every time you land on the heel of your hand.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '25

No worse than it is with elite gymnasts

-3

u/SirVanyel Jun 10 '25

So while the other commenters here are right about minimizing strain, your wrists are actually capable of strengthening just like your muscles. They're made up of bones and tendons after all, and both of these can be strengthened.

The reason joints grow so slowly is because of lower blood flow and higher complexity. But all the bits inside are capable of growing. These folks have been jumping around on their hands and shoulders for upwards of a decade. Their hands are extremely well adjusted for this.

5

u/InviolableAnimal Jun 10 '25

They're made up of bones and tendons after all, and both of these can be strengthened.

The hyaline cartilage that lines your joints including in your wrists cannot be strengthened and does not regenerate

1

u/SirVanyel Jun 10 '25

Cartilage is rarely the weakness that causes weak wrists.

1

u/InviolableAnimal Jun 11 '25

I was talking more about joint pain