One of the more common reasons for dropping items is a lack of reaction time. Strength, endurance, and other concerns contribute, but decreased reflexive movement can also lead to drops. Ironically, I’ve had many patients come to rehabilitation having experienced a fall while trying to catch or clean up something they dropped, so having “good hands” can be very good indeed.
Let’s start with a reaction-time test to identify your baseline.
Reaction Time Test
You’ll need a ruler with centimeter measurements and a willing assistant for this test.
Method
- Test subject: You can sit or stand for this test.
- Assistant: Hold the ruler vertically with the lower numbers toward the floor and the higher numbers toward the ceiling. Bracket the ruler with your thumb and index finger in a pinching position.
- Assistant: Drop the ruler straight down between the test subject’s fingers without warning.
- Test subject: Your job is to pinch-catch the ruler as fast as you can. You can practice the movement a couple of times to get the hang of it before the actual test.
- Results: Once you catch the ruler, take note of where the top of your grip lands on the ruler and jot the number down.
Reflex norms vary with age, but here’s a general guide to determine where you score. If your scores are low—don’t worry—see it as your baseline challenge from which to increase your reflex speeds.
- Under 7.5 centimeters: Excellent
- 7.5 to 15.9 centimeters: Above average
- 15.9 to 20.4 centimeters: Average
- 20.4 to 28 centimeters: Below average
- Greater than 28 centimeters, or the ruler drops to the floor: Poor
Now that you have a general idea of where you score, let’s try some functional speed-based exercises that can help increase your safety and function.
My patients tolerate these exercises well, but I recommend consulting with your medical provider to ensure they are right for you.
5 Quick Move Exercises to Improve or Maintain Reflex Health
Sometimes, it’s all about the speed, and I intend to work with you fast today. You'll need an assistant for a few of these.
1. Pick Up/Put Down
In the 1970s television series “Kung Fu,” Master Kan encouraged his young student to “snatch the pebble from his hand.” The goal was to quickly grab the pebble from the master’s hand before the master could close it into a fist.
For this exercise, we'll practice the same type of speed by quickly retrieving items from a table and then placing them back in the same spot.
Set up: Place a piece of tape on a table or counter as a marker. Find a small, easy-to-grab item and place it atop the tape.
Practice tip: To prevent you from anticipating when to move, have your partner vary the timing of their “Go!” commands so you have to react instead of predict.
Step 1: When your assistant says “Go!” quickly pick the item up with your right hand, bring it up close to your cheek, then accurately place it back on the tape. Once you perform the action with your right hand, perform it with your left at your assistant’s command.
Step 2: Picking the item up and then placing it down counts as one repetition. Try to perform three sets of 12 repetitions with each hand.
Increase the challenge: When your partner says “Go!” you can quickly perform the exercise first with the right hand and then with the left, before the next command. You can also place multiple targets in front of you and have your partner call out a sequence before giving the command to go.
Why I like it: Most things we do with our arms are oriented in front of us. Focusing on quick item retrieval and placement can help make you more sure-handed.
2. Hands Side-to-Side
The last exercise used a strong grasp and release item retrieval-placement and anterior reaching components. The hands side-to-side exercise focuses on fast but accurate lateral hand movements while your arms are loaded in support of the weight of your trunk.
Set up:
Stand in front of a counter with plenty of empty space to your left and right.
Reach straight out to both sides and place a tape marker where your fingers land. Place several other tape markers around those markers.
Practice tips: Wear nonskid shoes, sticky yoga socks, or go barefoot to avoid sliding. Keep your core strength active throughout the exercise.
Step 1: Place both hands on the edge of the counter, straight out in front of your shoulders. Step back approximately 3 to 4 feet from the counter while bearing weight on both hands—like a narrow-grip countertop push-up position.
Step 2: In the push-up position, bearing weight on your hands, reach out and touch a random tape marker when your assistant says, “Go!” You can either touch the targets in order or randomly—your choice. Touch a target on the right with your right hand, and then on the left with your left hand—touch in both directions as fast as you can before returning your hands to the starting position.
Step 3: Try to touch 12 targets per side, one target at a time, in a hold-touch-hold pattern.
Increase the challenge: Want to make it harder and get a laugh? Speed the exercise up. You can touch targets first on the right and then on the left when your assistant gives the “Go!” This can be surprisingly challenging due to the distance between targets and your need to change hands.
Why I like it: Though much of what we do with our hands occurs in front of us, we also do plenty to the sides without rotating our trunks. This exercise works on laterality and takes it up a notch by having you bear weight through the limbs at the same time, forcing you to compensate for the related weight shifts.
3. Fast Touch Drill
Now that we’ve covered front and side movements, we’ll focus on a clockwork pattern of targets that forces your body to accommodate different angles and distances while performing the touches.
Set up: Place 12 tape markers in a clock shape on a table or counter to make a circle approximately 3 feet in diameter.
Practice tip: Keep your spine straight as you tilt forward to reach. Doing so will integrate core strength and good posture into the exercise.
Step 1: When your partner says “Go!” touch your right hand to your sternum, and then, starting at the 12 o'clock position, move clockwise through accurate touches of each point as fast as you can, quickly touching your sternum between each point.
Step 2: After a full revolution, perform the exercise using your left hand.
Step 3: Moving around the dial counts as one set. Try to perform three sets per side.
Increase the challenge: Try to go even faster. Also, try this: For every number you touch as you traverse around the dial, quickly touch the number on the opposite side before returning your hand to your sternum. This can also be good for laughs.
Why I like it: This exercise is great for teaching your brain and arms to coordinate fast, accurate movements across different angles.
4. Fast Placement Drill
Up to this point, we’ve been focusing on moving and touching. Now, let’s try a placement exercise.
Set up: Place tape markers on a table or counter—as many markers as items you plan to use. Collect a few items small enough to hold in your palm. Dice, dominos, or flat-sided glass beads work well, as they don’t tend to roll around after placement.
Step 1: Hold a handful of about 12 of the small items in your left hand, palm up.
Step 3: When your assistant says “Go!” use your right hand to quickly pluck one of the items from your palm and place it on one of the tape markers.
Step 4: Continue this exercise until all items are placed, then repeat with the other hand.
Step 5: Placing all of the items counts as one set. Try to perform three sets per side.
Why I like it: This exercise focuses on fast hand movements and requires successfully placing small objects on tape targets. Do it right and the objects will land directly on their targets—do it wrong and you’ll miss.
Increase the challenge: Add more objects, and make them smaller. You can also try placing objects on both the left and the right of midline, forcing you to reach across your body for some of the movements.
5. Body Part Tap
Seeing is believing, except when you have to perform this exercise. Because you’re tapping many different body parts, you won’t be able to see all of them, and that’s what makes this a challenging and rewarding exercise.
Step 1: You can stand or sit for this exercise, but standing makes it more dynamic.
Step 2: Your assistant will call out specific random body parts, such as “right elbow,” “nose,” “left ear,” “right knee,” etc. When they do, quickly tap the part with your right hand as fast as you can. Try tapping about 12 body parts before repeating the exercise on the left side, but not necessarily in the same order of parts you tapped on the right side. Keep it random to keep it challenging.
Practice note: The nature of this exercise prevents it from being as naturally accurate as the others, so don’t be surprised that it’s harder to quickly pinpoint and tap these areas.
Increase the challenge: Have your assistant quickly call out body parts farther apart, also randomizing the left and right aspects of the targets. If you do this outside, your neighbors might think you’re getting attacked by bees or mosquitoes, but you’ll be getting a heck of a workout.
Why I like it: This is a great accuracy drill for when you can’t directly see the targets you’re trying to tap, forcing you to use other body systems to make the exercise successful.
These exercises, performed at least three times per week, can help keep your hands and arms fast, agile, and functional. I hope you find them beneficial.
About the fitness model: Aerowenn Hunter is a health editor and fitness model for The Epoch Times. Vibrant in her 60s, she’s an accredited yoga therapist who has dedicated three decades to teaching yoga.
