You come off the bar, excited for the toes-to-bar or pull-up reps you’ve just accomplished.⠀
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But then you look down at your hands, and your fingers and palms are not so happy. The dreaded ripped hands.⠀
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This can be a badge of honor for the younger CrossFitter, but what it truly becomes is annoying and painful!
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It also can hinder our overall training if we have to modify things the rest of the week to work around our poor hands.⠀
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❓So, what are our options?
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Let’s break it down into two parts: how to AVOID the rips in the first place and WHAT TO DO if you’ve ripped your hands and still want to work out.⠀
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💥The friction created between our hands and the bar when moving through kipping reps is what is causing the skin to get rubbed and pulled in different directions. This can eventually lead to big rips.⠀
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⭐How to Avoid⭐
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🤸🏻♂️Keep your skin soft and “movable”- use lotion on your hands to keep them soft
🤸🏻♂️Trim down callused parts – use a nail clipper to trim the raised surfaces on your hands = less skin to get pulled⠀
🤸🏻♂️Use protection – gymnastics grips are super helpful but take some getting used to. We love the @bearkomplex 3-hole carbon fiber grips.⠀
🤸🏻♂️Smaller sets – as our pulling muscles fatigue, our grip is going to take more of a beating. Think about coming off the bar sooner and breaking things up.⠀
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⭐What do I do if my hands are ripped?⭐
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❌Sit at home on the couch⠀
✅Trim off the ripped skin with nail clippers to help healing time⠀
✅Tape the ripped areas (fingers) to protect them⠀
✅Super glue – secret weapon – glue the rips! Creates a barrier that will help greatly. Allow for 20-30min drying time before working out.⠀
✅Stay strict – avoid kipping movements with ripped hands and work on strict strength.⠀
✅Modify movements to avoid further irritating the hands. Our coaches can change any workout and create the proper stimulus regardless of our poor hands!⠀
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If you’re struggling with the rips, start taking care of your hands on the front end with lotion and clipping, buy a good pair of grips and let’s keep those hands looking pretty 💁🏻♂️
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Still struggling with the pull-ups and toes-to-bar? Schedule a one-on-one coaching session with one of our Unified coaches – the quickest way to progress!
