CF Ventura owner Colin Jenkins, CF stud and all around nice guy, was in town and trained at CF West over the weekend. Check out the squat clean sequence below.
The human hand. Wow!
Stop reading for a moment and take a look at yours. Wiggle your fingers a little. Watch the muscles contract in your forearms as you do this. It’s pretty cool, huh. Yep, our hands are a marvelous thing. How much time do you spend taking care of them?
Probably not a lot. Sure, you foam roll your glutes and legs. You carefully stretch your shoulders in various planes everyday. I know people that never walk outside the box while wearing their fancy lifting shoes. But how much respect do you give your hands?
CrossFit doesn’t have many downsides, but sore hands and wrists are one of them. We subject our handses to a lot, a seriously large amount of stress. O-lifts, kettlebell work, muscle ups, overhead squats, and, of course, the kipping pullup, all combine to tear the hell out of our hands. So how can we take better care of them?
First off, there is the callus. A callused palm is the sign of a CrossFitter, but a big thick callus will tear and a torn or blistered palm is nothing but a pain in the ass. If you can pinch a callus it is too big. There are a couple of tools out there that will help you care for your calluses, and I will talk about them, but the key to callus care is a little bit all the time. You need to be like a little monkey, constantly grooming your calluses. If you wait and do it only periodically, not only do you risk a tear, but you also risk making them too sensitive. A little bit constantly will keep your calluses flat and hard.
There are a bunch of ways to trim calluses, but none of them are overly dignified. You can use regular nail clippers or small cuticle scissors. A butter knife (I would dedicate one for the task that will stay out of the silverware drawer) can be used to scrape down the callus after a hot shower. A dull razor blade is another option and I even know of affiliates that have a Dremel tool at the box that is used to grind them little buggers down. A fancier approach is a corn shaver from a beauty supply store. These things look like little cheese graters and are sharp so use with caution.
Lotion. Get a big bottle and lather up your hands every night. Nothing dries out hands like lifting chalk and, trust me, your significant other will thank you. Be sure to stretch your wrists in flexion, extension, and any way they move. Fingers as well. This will not only cushion your wrists against poor racking on a clean, but will strengthen them too. And finally, massage your hands. A little massaging will go a long way towards keeping them healthy. It will encourage blood flow, loosen little knots, and it just plain feels good. Actually, it feels even better if you can get someone else to massage them for you.
Go ahead, give your hands a little loving. They certainly deserve it.
How do you care for your hands? Got a tip? Please post to Comments.
CF West members were especially active this weekend. Leah ran the Firecracker 5K on Saturday and took an astounding 6 minutes off her previous 5K time, set just a month ago. In that month, she did only CrossFit, with 2 half mile runs and a couple hikes while on vacation. Anna also ran the 5K and was 6th overall, 3rd in her bracket. She had her fastest mile time ever in a race as well. Selene T garnered 1st place while playing 13 games! in the EVP beach volleyball tourney. Vero and Kirsten placed 3rd and Wesley 4th. Congratulations ladies. Way to represent CFWSC.
Workout:
5 Rounds
5 Squat Cleans 155/100#
5 Handstand Pushups
10 Pullups (C2B, duh)
Post WOD and score to Comments.
Congratulations to everyone! Leah, 6 minutes off a 5 K time, that’s awesome! And Anna, wish I could’ve seen you run-you must’ve been flyin’! I still have to get to the beach to watch all the CF West ladies dominate. Sam, I love these sort of updates, such great motivation to keep me training and on track. Cf West has such a good group of strong, fit women, I love it!
Hi Sam and all the Crossfit athletes,
It’s Debbie from your beloved Gold’s… I ran into somebody today that is a hard-core Crossfit dude and a pretty good ballplayer too, and he asked me to post on your board on this topic because he knows I’m the queen of callus (um, he also asked to be deemed nameless and was not working out, just checking out the chicks I guess?) Actually he works out at Crossfit up in Scotts Valley but reads your blog religously for motivation (I see why, great inspiration here Sam.) But coincidently he asked me a while ago about calluses because I’ve been known to have some, and his were a mess from practicing the kipping pullups. Anyway, please be careful with any blades and such on your callus. If you are diabetic or have any circulatory conditions at all, don’t do it. Get care from your doc just as you would for your foot care. But otherwise, when your calluses are super soft and all smooshy-like from a really good soaking, use a dedicated blade like Sam mentioned, a lady’s shaver works well, or a pumice stone. But here is my BIG tip and what I came over here to tell you all about that will change your lives. Tea bags. If you have a ripped callus or a potential rip put a tea bag on it (black tea or a plain old Liptons is better than herbal). Wet the bag and lay it on your callus – ahhh, that will feel so good already – and wrap it with plastic wrap and go to bed. It stains though, so be prepared for stained hands and be careful with your sheets.
This is not an old wives tale… and I’m not an old wife…. this really works. I’ve done it for years and years. The tannic acid has medicinal and antibacterial properties – google it for tons of cool info. I’ve actually wrapped my really badly torn hand in the tea bag/plastic wrap get-up during a tournament and played with it in my batting glove. I’ve lifted with that thing too, kind of Michael Jackson style (RIP King of Pop). The tea streaking down your arm kind of negates any wussiness you feel from using a glove. Also, if you have a callus that is going to rip, or it has ripped wide-gaping open like a big bloody mouth hollering OWIE on your palm, and the timing just sucks… you have a game or a competition or a big lift coming up NOW… in a pinch use Superglue, which will also help stop the bleeding. Google that one too, for you folks into trivia like me. The FDA has an approved skin sealant called Dermabond, if you are the fancy type with different special shoes and socks and maybe even undies for every sport you do, well go get that and keep it in your bag, but us hard-core old-school girls have been using Superglue forever. It is in my bag right now…probably stuck to something, but there and ready for use nonetheless.
Just be careful about lining the edges of skin up together, keep the chalk out, and a little goes a long way. And don’t do it if the thing looks infected already. Get thee to a doctor… a Staph infection would really really suck and knock you out of training for a long time, and that is if you are lucky. Google “necrotizing fasciitis and gyms” to really get grossed out. Fitness facilities and boxes and all manner of places where bodily fluids are flying around are where most people get MRSA and the like, and nothing to mess with.
Last hint is this – to keep the hands uber-moisturized, use Udder Cream, which I think is available at Longs or whatever that place is called now, also Trader Joes. Also Bag Balm is great too, and I’ve actually used that on my dog’s elbows that got all callused. He didn’t understand I was trying to help and he ate the balm, but oh well. Anyway, I do prefer to use something different on the rest of my own body that does not smell like it should be used on a cow, but this stuff is the bomb for your hands. When you are not working your ass off you may need to trade massages with someone and although I personally think bad-ass calloused hands are kinda sexy when you are holding hands, we ladies prefer not to have our bods all scratched up at the very beginning of our evening, all right?
Keep up the hard work, Crossfitters, keep pushing toward your goals and always having fun. If you would like to know about other uses for Preparation H and coffeegrounds, give me a holler.
Best, Debbie
P.S. Shout out to Miss Jocelyn – Good luck girl at your Games. Own it like I know you will and have the time of your life. We are all so proud of you already.
thanks for the shout-out Sam! thanks for letting me train with you guys…you guys have an amazing box! And good luck this weekend Jocelyn!
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