Speed is worth nothing if your hands can't keep going. Plenty of people practise hard, get faster for a fortnight, then quietly stop because their wrists ache — and they never come back. That's a shame, and it's avoidable. The trick is to practise in a way your hands can sustain for years, not just for a week.
None of what follows is complicated. It's mostly about being gentler than you think you need to be.
Little and often wins
Ten focused minutes a day beats a two-hour session at the weekend — for your speed and for your hands. Short, frequent practice builds muscle memory steadily and never gives strain a chance to set in. Long, occasional grinds do the opposite: they tire your hands, teach you less per minute, and leave you sore enough to skip the next few days. Keep the sessions small and keep them regular. That's the whole rhythm.
Relax your hands
Watch a fast typist and you'll notice something: they look calm. Light fingers, loose wrists, no pounding. Tension is the enemy — it slows your fingers down andwears your joints out. Let your hands float; press the keys, don't hammer them. And keep your wrists in line with your forearms rather than cocked up towards the screen.
That bend on the right is where a lot of aching wrists come from. Keep the line straight, drop your shoulders, and let the effort come from light, quick fingers rather than tense arms.
Sit so it doesn't cost you
A few small things about your setup pay off over the years. Feet flat on the floor. Screen roughly at eye height so you're not craning. Elbows relaxed at your sides, forearms roughly level. A chair and desk that let your wrists stay neutral rather than reaching up or down. You don't need special equipment — just a setup that lets your hands sit in a comfortable, natural position instead of fighting one the whole time.
Stop before it hurts
This is the one people ignore, so it's worth saying plainly: ache and fatigue are signals, not challenges. The moment your hands start to tire or twinge, stop. Pushing through builds strain, not speed — and a sore break of a few days costs you far more progress than the few minutes you'd have squeezed out. Rest is part of the practice, not a failure of it. Treat your hands well and they'll keep improving for as long as you like.
When you're ready, the open practice arenais a calm place to put all this into practice — real text, instant feedback, and no timer breathing down your neck, so you can keep it light and steady. It's free, with no card and nothing to buy. Little and often, relaxed and comfortable, and you'll still be getting faster long after the hammer-and-grind crowd have given up.