Whether you want to know if 6″ wrists are good for your particular height or if you wish to build bigger wrists, I got you covered. Today I will explain if 6 inch wrists are big, small, or just plain average.
On average, the 6 inch wrist circumference for men is considered small, and 6 inch wrist circumference for women is considered average, according to experts. The size of your wrists is determined by your bone structure, physical activity during a younger age, and genetics.
What Does 6 Inch Wrists Mean?
In general, depending on your age and whether you’re male or female, a 6-inch wrist can give you some useful information.
Normally, wrists and other bony materials in the body grow during childhood and adolescence until you’re 17 to 25 years old.
Adolescents
For adolescents, having 6-inch wrists is perfectly normal because, at that time, your body still hasn’t fully developed.
However, before you start searching the web on how to get bigger wrists, please keep in mind that having a 6-inch wrist has some advantages.
Adults
For adults, guys who have a 6-inch wrist are usually skinny and tall with a tiny bone structure.
After you’re 25 or older, the only way to increase wrist size is by weight-bearing exercises and diet.
Unline BMI or waist-to-hip ratio, wrist size does not have a universal range. Wrist sizes vary from person to person and are mainly influenced by bone mass and bone mineral density.
Bone structure is dictated by the genes that come from your partners and grandparents.
How can you tell if you have a 6-inch wrist?
The easiest way to know if you have a 6-inch wrist is by measuring your wrist with a measuring tape.
Start with measuring tape
Take a measuring tape and wrap it around your hand in the place where you normally wear a watch (try to keep the tape as close to the palm as possible).
Keep it close to your wrist
Keep the measuring tape close to the skin and ideally in a straight line (going sideways will add unnecessary distance between the tape and give you higher results than normal).
Wrap the measuring tape until the shorter tip meets the rest of the line and matches with the number.
Here’s a photo of my wife’s wrist using her pink measuring tape.
She has an 8.5-inch wrist. For context, my wife’s height is 5′ 5″ which means she has a large frame and large wrist size.
Are 6-inch wrists small, average, or large?
The only way to know if a 6-inch wrist size is considered large, average, or small is to measure the body frame size.
The body frame index is similar to body composition and is used to interpret body mass and evaluate nutritional status.
The body frame size is also a useful metric to establish a person’s bone structure. This is similar to three somatotypes:
- ectomorph
- mesomorph
- endomorph
Are 6 inch wrists small?
The wrist size is objective, just like the body weight.
It is hard to determine whether a 6-inch wrist size is small or big, without knowing your height.
In general, men who have a 6-inch wrist circumference and a height over 5′ 7″ are considered as having small wrists and small body frames.
Women who are 5′ 3″ or taller and have a wrist size of 6 inches are considered to have a small wrist and small body frame.
People who are tall and have small wrists are typically lean and thin (you won’t see many tall bodybuilders with 6-inch wrists).
You can think of these guys and gals as ectomorphs. Ectomorphs are typically lean and tall and have a little body fat percentage (these are the guys who can eat anything they want and still keep their weight on.
Are 6 Inch Wrists Normal?
Men who are between 5′ 1″ and 5′ 6″ and have 6-inch wrists are considered to have an average wrist size and a medium body frame.
Women who have 6 inch wrist circumference and a height between 4′ 2″ and 5′ 2″ are considered as having an average size of wrist and a medium body frame.
People who have average height, medium body frame, and average wrists are similar to mesomorphs. They tend to have more muscle than fat on their body, even without lifting weights.
Are 6 Inch Wrists Big?
Overall, men who have 6 inch wrist circumference and are short (under 5′ 0″ height) between 4′ 2″ are considered as having a large wrist and a large body frame.
For women, ladies who have 6 inch wrists and are under 4′ 9″ tall are considered as having large frames and large wrists.
You can think of these people as endomorphs. Endomorphs have large frames and heavy bones (they usually have higher body weight and fat percentage).
6 Inch Wrists For Females
Below you can see the table with the body frame index for females.
| Body frame index | Wrist size |
|---|---|
| 11 or more | Small |
| 10.1 – 11 | Average |
| 10 or less | Large |
You can calculate your body frame index by dividing your height and wrist size. Based on the number you will know if your wrist and body frame are small, average, or large.
For example, a woman who is 4′ 10″ and has a 6 inch wrist will have a body frame index of 9.7. This is the equivalent of an average body frame and medium wrist size.
Fortunately for you, I already put some numbers together from the National Library of Medicine and put them into the table below.
| Height | Body Frame Index | Wrist size |
|---|---|---|
| 4′ 6″ | 9 | Large |
| 4′ 7″ | 9.2 | Large |
| 4′ 8″ | 9.3 | Large |
| 4′ 9″ | 9.5 | Large |
| 4′ 10″ | 9.7 | Average |
| 4′ 11″ | 9.8 | Average |
| 5′ 0″ | 10 | Average |
| 5′ 1″ | 10.2 | Average |
| 5′ 2″ | 10.3 | Average |
| 5′ 3″ | 10.5 | Small |
| 5′ 4″ | 10.7 | Small |
| 5′ 5″ | 10.8 | Small |
| 5′ 6″ | 11 | Small |
| 5′ 7″ | 11.2 | Small |
| 5′ 8″ | 11.3 | Small |
| 5′ 9″ | 11.5 | Small |
6 Inch Wrists For Males
Below you can see the table with the body frame index for males.
| Body frame index | Wrist size |
|---|---|
| 10.4 or more | Small |
| 9.6 – 10.4 | Average |
| 9.6 or less | Large |
As you can see, the body frame index for males is different than for females. Men who have the same 6-inch wrist and the same height will have completely different body frames and wrist sizes.
For example, a male who is 5′ 3″ tall and has a 6-inch wrist will be classified as a person with an average frame and an average wrist size.
On the other hand, a woman who is 5′ 3″ and has a 6-inch wrist will have a body frame index of 10.5, which is the equivalent of a small body frame and small wrist size.
See the table below.
| Height | Body Frame Index | Wrist size |
|---|---|---|
| 5′ 0″ | 10 | Large |
| 5′ 1″ | 10.2 | Average |
| 5′ 2″ | 10.3 | Average |
| 5′ 3″ | 10.5 | Average |
| 5′ 4″ | 10.7 | Average |
| 5′ 5″ | 10.8 | Average |
| 5′ 6″ | 11 | Average |
| 5′ 7″ | 11.2 | Small |
| 5′ 8″ | 11.3 | Small |
| 5′ 9″ | 11.5 | Small |
| 5′ 10″ | 11.7 | Small |
| 5′ 11″ | 11.8 | Small |
| 6′ 0″ | 12 | Small |
| 6′ 1″ | 12.2 | Small |
| 6′ 2″ | 12.3 | Small |
Are 6-Inch Wrists Good For Bodybuilding?
Overall, people who have 6 inch wrists shouldn’t worry about their wrist size. Many bodybuilders do not care about their wrists circumference. Some people prefer having smaller wrists and large forearms because it provides a good contrast.
It makes their masculine arms pop out.
However, people with 6 inches wrists may not be genetically blessed with a lot of strength. Smaller frames and smaller wrists are due to genetic makeup which can is already determined before we were born.
A smaller frame can also be a sign of low testosterone levels like testosterone and other anabolic hormones do play a role in bone modeling.
Testosterone declines with age and one study has shown that older people are more prone to decreased bone mineral density.
On the other hand, people with high testosterone levels have noticeably higher bone mass, bigger frames, larger arms, and bigger wrists.
Is It Bad To Have 6 Inch Wrists?
In general, it is not bad to have a 6-inch wrist because it does not affect people’s quality of life. However, in the modern world, some people may feel uncomfortable with having a smaller wrist circumference.
It is not a secret that women prefer men who are strong and masculine. Guys who have 6-inch wrists may feel slightly uncomfortable, even insecure about their hands.
Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about our wrist size. The main factors that affect how big or small will be your wrists are your genes, bone mass, and physical activity during your childhood and adolescence.
Here you can see all the details about how attractive are small wrists (which I recommend you read.)
Conclusion
In general, knowing if 6-inch wrist is small, average, or big will depend on the body frame size. However, I would not worry about that.
It is not bad to have 6 inch wrists because a small wrist circumference is an indicator of lower body fat percentage. Usually, this is seen as a good thing.