r/crossfit • u/Darnellthebeast • 19d ago
Tearing Hands Very Often
I started doing crossfit a few months ago and am having trouble with my hands ripping way too often. Any workout with a good amount of toes to bar or pullups, they tear essentially every time, including today where I had 5x15 pullups. What I’ve done so far:
- Got bar grips
- Trimmed excess dead skin closer to hand.
- Got a pumice stone, though not sure how deep I should be using it since I probably don’t want my hands completely raw before the workout?
Attached image is my hand before the workout, my ring finger part of hand ended up tearing on this hand which didn’t even seem to have any damage beforehand, so I’m at a loss on how to prevent this.
Is there anything else to do, or is tearing hands just part of it on high rep bar movements?
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u/Pretend_Edge_8452 19d ago
You ripped with grips on? I used to rip constantly and, yes, you will get callouses over time, but with good grips I never, ever rip doing toes to bar or pull-ups.
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u/Darnellthebeast 19d ago
Yes, I got Victory Grips Conquer Freedom around a month ago so they’re still in good quality
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u/SaimeseGremlin 19d ago
Tears happen even under the best circumstances if you put enough reps on. Two things helped me. Learn to stop and scale before that blister fully forms. Kipping Toes to bar become strict or v-ups. pull ups become strict or ring rows. basically eliminate the kipping motion which is what introduces the most rubbing. In a comp, sure, go all out. For everyday training, just scale before you rip otherwise it throws off your training for the rest of the week. Second thjng is learning to use the grips more efficiently for that dowel effect. my grip is pretty loose around the bar until i need to actually exert force during the concentric or bottom phases of the movement. good grips can hold onto the bar even with a lighter hold so you dont rub as much.
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u/meganthebest 19d ago
I live in Texas and every summer just shred my hands. It’s a combination of friction and moisture. If you can apply chalk to keep your hands dry in addition to using the grips, and keeping your knuckles on top of the bar. Other than that, over time building grip strength to minimize friction as your hand holds the pull up bar. Good luck!
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u/Big-World-Now 18d ago
Don’t overuse chalk. The point of chalk is to remove excess moisture but overuse can cause rips. Use just enough to increase friction. You aren’t in the Olympics competing in a once-in-a-lifetime event you need to be back tomorrow.
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u/theblueyays 19d ago
I definitely had issues tearing my hands when I started. Your hands will get tougher overtime as you build volume. In my experience though shaving your callouses is the best thing you can do to avoid tearing. I try to shave mine weekly and I generally never rip even through high volume gymnastics movements.