The main question I receive from athletes or friends who "Crossfit" is: How could I prevent myself from getting rips?
This goes out to all you gymnasts and Crossfit fanatics (maybe even a number of weightlifters) read this carefully because I'm going to reveal to you what I've learned the previous 17 years as a gymnastics coach about proper hand care. The thing i have to share is quite simple and to the point. So I ask of you, when you hear most of the crazy measures people will go to know it's not needed.
Step 1: Why do athletes rip? Simple fact is either their hands are too soft or too callused. Ideally, an athlete will have tough not rough hands. Prevention and proper maintenance is crucial for minimizing if not eliminating how susceptible your hands are to ripping. Everyone thinks a rip is just the price to pay for a rigorous bar workout, but that's not the case.
If you've got starter hands that are soft and have never seen a callus be sure to slowly develop your calluses and definitely not overdo the following regiment. You don't want to prevent your hands from having the chance to develop healthy protective calluses.
Tip 1: Get a hand salve
It's very easy to start off at a loss when all that goes into a bar workout naturally leads to severely dry and cracked hands. Find yourself a reliable hand moisturizer - I recommend something heavy-duty like a salve. A good salve will be made of natural moisturizers and essential oils and aide in replenishing and disinfecting the skin.
Start using your hand salve every night before bed in addition to immediately after workouts. Prior to applying the salve wash your hands in warm water to soften the skin and make sure you're not using a soap that's too harsh since it could escalate the severity of dry/cracked hands. Once your hands are warm and the skin softened, rub a good amount of salve onto your hands. Know it'll take several minutes for the salve to soak in so don't go around touching everything in the house - bad news.
If you can begin this regiment early on you'll reap the benefits from now till the end of time.
Tip 2: Trim it down
When is comes to good vs. bad calluses you're looking to maintain smooth calluses that help salvage the hand and not raised calluses that create friction between the bar and hand leading to a rip.
Calluses become thicker on particular areas of your hand and not others, which creates the urgency to carefully trim down those uneven areas. The thickness of the skin should be the same all over your palm and as smooth as possible.
The optimal time to trim your calluses would be after a shower when they're soft and swollen. I recommend using a pumice stone or razor to carefully smooth down calluses. Note: you're simply trying to smooth down bumpy calluses, if you go too deep and thin down the skin you're putting yourself at risk of ripping.
Upkeep calluses along with a good hand salve is a simple yet effective one-two-knockout for rip prevention.
Tip 3: Remove the extra skin
If you do happen to rip be sure to immediately wash your hands and trim off any excess skin with scissors. For a few that are badasses - pull it off, just be careful not to cause additional ripping to the injured area. It's going to sting, but you've got to clean the injured hand to prevent any possible infection.
I often hear of people trying to cover the raw skin back up by somehow securing blistered skin back to the hand. DON'T DO IT. Go ahead and let your injury begin to heal and keep it exposed to the air. The ripped skin will quickly harden over the next couple of days and only cause additional ripping to the hand if not removed.
Tip 4: Disinfect and keep moist (ewww moist)
Once you've removed any access skin and washed the rip you'll want to treat with an antibacterial ointment to help speed up the healing process. Moving forward you'll want to apply an antibacterial ointment to the rip on a regular basis until properly healed.
You'll also want to be sure and continue to apply that awesome hand salve multiple times a day to prevent the rip from drying out and cracking. This can lead to a whole new type of injury that you'll want to avoid.
Tip 5: Let it heal stupid!
It's easy to not think of a rip as an injury, but it is. Play it smart and heal. I've heard several ideas or tactics people use to keep the rip covered in order to continue working out, but the only one I subscribe to is the true-and-tried tape grip. Learn it... get it... do it.
This goes out to all you gymnasts and Crossfit fanatics (maybe even a number of weightlifters) read this carefully because I'm going to reveal to you what I've learned the previous 17 years as a gymnastics coach about proper hand care. The thing i have to share is quite simple and to the point. So I ask of you, when you hear most of the crazy measures people will go to know it's not needed.
Step 1: Why do athletes rip? Simple fact is either their hands are too soft or too callused. Ideally, an athlete will have tough not rough hands. Prevention and proper maintenance is crucial for minimizing if not eliminating how susceptible your hands are to ripping. Everyone thinks a rip is just the price to pay for a rigorous bar workout, but that's not the case.
If you've got starter hands that are soft and have never seen a callus be sure to slowly develop your calluses and definitely not overdo the following regiment. You don't want to prevent your hands from having the chance to develop healthy protective calluses.
Tip 1: Get a hand salve
It's very easy to start off at a loss when all that goes into a bar workout naturally leads to severely dry and cracked hands. Find yourself a reliable hand moisturizer - I recommend something heavy-duty like a salve. A good salve will be made of natural moisturizers and essential oils and aide in replenishing and disinfecting the skin.
Start using your hand salve every night before bed in addition to immediately after workouts. Prior to applying the salve wash your hands in warm water to soften the skin and make sure you're not using a soap that's too harsh since it could escalate the severity of dry/cracked hands. Once your hands are warm and the skin softened, rub a good amount of salve onto your hands. Know it'll take several minutes for the salve to soak in so don't go around touching everything in the house - bad news.
If you can begin this regiment early on you'll reap the benefits from now till the end of time.
Tip 2: Trim it down
When is comes to good vs. bad calluses you're looking to maintain smooth calluses that help salvage the hand and not raised calluses that create friction between the bar and hand leading to a rip.
Calluses become thicker on particular areas of your hand and not others, which creates the urgency to carefully trim down those uneven areas. The thickness of the skin should be the same all over your palm and as smooth as possible.
The optimal time to trim your calluses would be after a shower when they're soft and swollen. I recommend using a pumice stone or razor to carefully smooth down calluses. Note: you're simply trying to smooth down bumpy calluses, if you go too deep and thin down the skin you're putting yourself at risk of ripping.
Upkeep calluses along with a good hand salve is a simple yet effective one-two-knockout for rip prevention.
Tip 3: Remove the extra skin
If you do happen to rip be sure to immediately wash your hands and trim off any excess skin with scissors. For a few that are badasses - pull it off, just be careful not to cause additional ripping to the injured area. It's going to sting, but you've got to clean the injured hand to prevent any possible infection.
I often hear of people trying to cover the raw skin back up by somehow securing blistered skin back to the hand. DON'T DO IT. Go ahead and let your injury begin to heal and keep it exposed to the air. The ripped skin will quickly harden over the next couple of days and only cause additional ripping to the hand if not removed.
Tip 4: Disinfect and keep moist (ewww moist)
Once you've removed any access skin and washed the rip you'll want to treat with an antibacterial ointment to help speed up the healing process. Moving forward you'll want to apply an antibacterial ointment to the rip on a regular basis until properly healed.
You'll also want to be sure and continue to apply that awesome hand salve multiple times a day to prevent the rip from drying out and cracking. This can lead to a whole new type of injury that you'll want to avoid.
Tip 5: Let it heal stupid!
It's easy to not think of a rip as an injury, but it is. Play it smart and heal. I've heard several ideas or tactics people use to keep the rip covered in order to continue working out, but the only one I subscribe to is the true-and-tried tape grip. Learn it... get it... do it.
About the Author:
If you want to learn more on how to prevent hand rips or how to care for your hands you should should check out How to Prevent and Treat Hand Rips.
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