Can anyone recommend a good substitute for rice used in the bucket for forearm training, other than sand? Seems like such a waste of rice, plus I'd feel guilty as hell. Thanks.

pea gravel would probably work. what sort of training are you doing? rehab?

Either sand or pea gravel is going to have a greater density than rice, which will change the character of the exercises. I doubt you'd be able to push your hand into either as easily as you can with rice. The resistance you'll have when you try to spread your fingers or move your hand side to side from the wrist will be greater. I use oiled sand to store my garden hand tools in (keeps 'em from rusting) and no way could I do rice exercises in that bucket.

How about quinoa or spelt berries? Just kidding.

Sew the rice into long and narrow cotton bags and send it to your girlfriends in the cold north, as a microwaveable bed warmer. Women love that kind of stuff. Then you can think about all the energy they're using instead of wasted food.

Or compost it.

Sweet thanks for the suggestions. Wasn't sure what pea gravel was exactly, but it led me to aquarium gravel, which I think would have the same density as rice so it might work better than pea gravel.

is aquarium gravel made out of rock of some sort? if so, it will probably have basically the same density as pea gravel (maybe more actually). you might be able to find some sort of plastic beads that are used for filling little bead pillows at an art store or something.

What about buckwheat hulls? They're a waste product already, so no guilt.

Density???.... what's really important here are the surface properties (friction, particle shape, angularity). Even if pea gravel or aquarium gravel has the same density, no way it's gonna have the same surface properties and no way will you be able to push your hand into it as if it were rice (which is rounded and often polished). Plastic beads better (surface properties more like rice).

Don't feel bad about "wasting" a couple pounds of rice. Very little nutritional value anyway. And if you compost it you're not "wasting" it.

WTF? You're going to boil (aka sterlilize) the stuff to eat it anyway, just use it for your exercises, then cook it up with curry afterwards. Wash your hands before the exercise if you're super concerned about it.