Well, I was deadlifting yesterday and hit a new PR 375lb. As I locked out I felt my grip give a little but nothing too bad I still held on to it. So after putting the weight down and resting a few minutes I noticed my hands started hurting. So I looked down and saw that they were bleeding pretty good and that I had ripped off the callouses on my palm (right under my ring fingers). What do you guys do to prevent this from happening? Obviously I need to get a little more serious about my grip training, but is there anything else I can do?
Are you using chalk?
Ripping a callus sucks because, although it seems minor, it can really hurt like a bitch and makes it very difficult to grasp anything of consequence until it heals. The fact that such a seemingly small thing can interfere with training adds insult to injury. Chalk seems to accelerate their growth, and when then they get bigger, they rip more easily.
Fortunately, calluses are easy to prevent. What you do is soak your hands in water for five to ten minutes. Then take a regular, single-edge disposable razor blade and gently scrape away at the built-up excess skin, which is now waterlogged, soft, and easy to remove.
You will be left with a flat callus that will still protect your hand but will not rip.
Do this whenever you notice the calluses getting too big.
Ajax
I pick mine off every couple of weeks.
Gloves? Or is that too obvious…
Real lifters don’t wear gloves. Oh, I get it. Haha. It was a joke.
Sad thing is I dont think it was a joke… maybe it was… im going to go eat my steak:P
Yea, I tried gloves once…then I grew a pair. But seriously, with gloves you don’t get that ‘oneness’ with the bar and they tend to make the bar slip a lot more on exercises where your grip is challeneged e.g. Deadlifts and Pullups
[quote]Ajax wrote:
Ripping a callus sucks because, although it seems minor, it can really hurt like a bitch and makes it very difficult to grasp anything of consequence until it heals. The fact that such a seemingly small thing can interfere with training adds insult to injury. Chalk seems to accelerate their growth, and when then they get bigger, they rip more easily.
Fortunately, calluses are easy to prevent. What you do is soak your hands in water for five to ten minutes. Then take a regular, single-edge disposable razor blade and gently scrape away at the built-up excess skin, which is now waterlogged, soft, and easy to remove.
You will be left with a flat callus that will still protect your hand but will not rip.
Do this whenever you notice the calluses getting too big.
Ajax[/quote]
So am I actually supposed to cut the calluses off or is this more of a scraping motion?
There are other things you can do to reduce calluses. Use lava soap, or any kind of exfoliating scrub, on a daily basis. Better than using a razor?
Go to the foot care section of any drug store and buy a pumice stone. It’s the whole version of the stuff they put in LAVA soap. Use it to rub the calluse the day after training. Works everytime, all the time.
-flab
My advice is a combo of a couple of the above. My calluses had gotten so big that they were splitting every time I deadlifted. I got a pumice stone(available at any gorcery store or walgreens) and and scraped/rubbed the calluses with the stone while showering. After a couple days there was already a huge difference. After a week or so I had gotten them completely under control and I only do it once a week now to maintain. It’s worked for over six months now. Hope it works as well for you if you try it.
[quote]Fnord92323 wrote:
There are other things you can do to reduce calluses. Use lava soap, or any kind of exfoliating scrub, on a daily basis. Better than using a razor?[/quote]
If you get the exofoliating scrub, make sure you purchase a pink loofa and some sort of strawberry/melon shampoo too.
In seriousness, has anyone experienced bruising on their palms(where the ring finger touches if you make a fist, see pic) from real heavy dl/shrugs/lockouts. For me its always on the over hand (if you use a reverse grip), and eventually a lump (calcium buildup?) forms and its incredibly painful, even to the touch.
(pic)
On what Hatebreeder wrote:
It’s more of a scraping motion. What you do is use the blade of the razor to soften up the callus by making a bunch of micro-scores in the water-soaked tissue. You then use the side of the razor to just scrape away the detritus. Its really a very simple and easy procedure; probably not all that different from using a pumice stone, except maybe a bit more thorough, allowing you to do it less often.
Exactly. I use the razor after the shower…had my callouses rip once in high school and that will never happen again lol.
[quote]Ajax wrote:
Ripping a callus sucks because, although it seems minor, it can really hurt like a bitch and makes it very difficult to grasp anything of consequence until it heals. The fact that such a seemingly small thing can interfere with training adds insult to injury. Chalk seems to accelerate their growth, and when then they get bigger, they rip more easily.
Fortunately, calluses are easy to prevent. What you do is soak your hands in water for five to ten minutes. Then take a regular, single-edge disposable razor blade and gently scrape away at the built-up excess skin, which is now waterlogged, soft, and easy to remove.
You will be left with a flat callus that will still protect your hand but will not rip.
Do this whenever you notice the calluses getting too big.
Ajax[/quote]
I don’t know about you guys, but who gives a sh*t about trying to be a hard ass and not wearing gloves? If you are ripping calluses off your hands, and having other issues, get some gloves.
If it improves your lifting, why not?
The reason gloves are a detriment is because they aide in the buildup of moisture(sweat), caulsing the callous to soften and making it easier to rip off under heavy stress.
It’s not just a big grunting guy thing.The callouses actualy do serve a purpose.
For one they don’t improve your lifting.
But the feel of steel and heavy weight in your hands is a great feeling.
My point about the real lifters don’t wear gloves is, the people that do wear gloves just don’t want to get their soft hands messed up.
This is just my opinion based on when I tell people they really are better off not wearing gloves they say, “I don’t want to mess up my hands.”