Bear Blocks
Bear Blocks are a revolutionary body weight fitness device that protect your wrists and maximize the focus on your muscles. When not in use, the blocks slide together to create a cube that is 3.5 inches deep and 4.5 inches wide. This makes for easy storage, easy packing and a super cool look!
When you slide the cube apart you have two incredibly strong and comfortable blocks to support your wrists and hands for the ultimate workout.
Bear Blocks can be used to perform all kinds of body weight routines. The list is practically endless, but here are a few ideas to get you started: push ups, planks, mountain climbers, burpees, bear crawls, handstands, downward dog, chaturanga dandasana, and on, and on, and on..
The Science Behind Bear Blocks
The Bones
There are 8 small bones and 5 complex ligament structures in the wrist. A traditional push up position compresses the wrist bones and strains the ligaments because of the acute angle the position requires. Doing ten push ups in this position might be okay, but trying to do, for example, a 6 minute body weight routine from this position will lead to wrist pain, fatigue, and possibly injuries.
Of course, the stress on the bones and ligaments is intensified by the weight of the athlete. In addition, the motion of pushing up and down during exercise can actually add to the strain.
The Angle
Bear Blocks solve this problem by “forcing” the hand to angle downward by 20 degrees which places the wrist in a more comfortable position.
By gripping the underside of the blocks the palm is guided into a downward angle even if the heal of your hand is on the flat base at the back of the block.
Whether you’re doing flat push ups, decline push ups, planks, mountain climbers or burpees, your wrist will remain protected by the unique, patent-pending design of Bear Blocks!
The Palm
One method of protecting the wrist is to use dumbbells or push up stands. This might work well for a short routine, but spending more than a few minutes with push up bars will lead to intense pressure on the palmar nerve and the soft tissue of the palm.
Most people will shift their hand position when they begin to feel pressure in the palms. This will then cause the wrist bones to become compressed again so the athlete is constantly balancing between pain in the palm and pain in the wrist.
The Surface
Bear Blocks distribute the athlete’s weight across a hand surface that is 4.5 inches wide and 4 inches long.
The large surface area eliminates the pressure on the palmar nerve and the soft tissue between the thumb and index finger.
This creates an extremely comfortable and stable position for performing many different types of routines.