In addition, the time we spend in the gym sometimes means real cuts in the end of the day. If you train ambitiously and still have three sets of front squats on the plan, then the end of the day on the couch is pushed further and further back. Your priorities are then set in a healthy way, but you don't have time elsewhere for sports.
However, what keeps coming up as a problem and what makes athletes and weekend warriors alike grit their teeth are skin problems. Skin problems caused by open spots, calluses and irritated finger joints. Have you ever done a pull-up and kettlebell workout? Yes? Surely your hands have ripped open in the middle of class, right?
In this blog post we will show you which mistakes your grip technique could have, how you can optimize your pacing for healthy palms and how you can finally say goodbye to the calluses!
How is the cornea formed?
You will also find calluses under the synonym calluses. But when was the last time you heard of calluses? Surely that was quite a while ago. But at that time the worked palms must have been spoken of when the work of your grandparents in the factory or in the field was mentioned. Therein lies the origin of calluses! The cracks in the palms and the dry epidermis are not only caused by a lack of care and a dry environment. They are caused by moving your palms, creating friction from the surface that your hands and fingers slide on. So, in a sense, you are scraping the surface, which roughens and dries out the layers of skin underneath. We know this topic is grossly unsavory, but we need to talk about the uncomfortable stuff too!
Are calluses a grip problem in athletes?
Calluses are formed by friction, by pressure, by movement against a second surface. We have already established that much. But how does your athletic career in boxing and the gym fit blisters and tears? Finally, you pay attention to execution and mobility. Your grip strength isn't bad either - so what makes your skin defensive?
Broken hands: Our top 3!
From our point of view, the formation of calluses and calluses depends on three different factors. They might sound familiar when you think of progressive increases in training. Similarly, it doesn't matter whether you train with kettlebells, barbells or ropes: the problem areas remain the same. On the one hand they are in the weight, on the other hand in the number of repetitions and thirdly in the technique, i.e. your execution of the weight in the gym.The more weight you lift, the more stress your skin feels. Your forearms are under more tension when you're snatching a seventy-pound kettlebell than when you're doing the same amount of work with a twenty-pound ball. More load, more stimulus, more friction.
Weight and movement: one complements the other!
The same applies to the number of repetitions. If you only move a weight a few times, the mass in your grip will not move as much as in a long AMRAP with the same movement patterns over and over again. The result: friction is created, which is exacerbated by sweat on your palms.
Where really "damage is done" is in the type of grip you have, though. This is easy to explain using a kettlebell or barbell as an example: You often have the feeling that you have to reach far around the bar. This develops more grip power and you have a "more direct connection". However, as Johannes Kwella has already explained here with the help of a video, this method is not beneficial for dynamic movements. The ball, but also the barbell, may need space to move freely. Otherwise, she will encounter resistance through skin folds in your hands, which in turn will attack your hands themselves.
So you should make sure that your grip strength is sufficient. But you shouldn't cramp at the same time, even if you're lifting heavy weights.
Torn hand, cornea formed: what helps now?
Sometimes, for example at competitions or throwdowns in the box, you simply have to bite. It doesn't help to pay so much attention to technique and posture. All that matters is the end of the workout in sight and a timer running without interruptions. But we have two tools at hand to care for your abused hands: Kletterretter is high-quality liquid chalk mixed with rosemary alcohol, which serves as a balm for your joints and at the same time stops sweating! At the same time, you can declare war on the cornea by planing against it with Velites . The callus remover files away calluses and dry skin, leaving the top layer of skin smooth and strengthened but not porous.We at wodstore wish you every success in the next grip test! Mind over matter!
