If you've been lifting iron and swinging on the rack for any length of time, you’re already well aware of the CrossFitter's battle injury: getting a callus on your hand. This is the most common injury in the box, but it can be avoided if you know how to take care of your CrossFitter hands. In this first part, we want to explain the basic care to prevent corns, calluses, and cuts.
How can you prevent calluses on your hands if you do CrossFit?
It all depends on your grip on the bar, on the rack, and on the kettlebell.
Calluses are hard areas that appear on the skin of the hands and feet due to continuous rubbing or pressure against an object.
In the case of CrossFit, they arise due to the friction of the bar when performing gymnastic movements such as pull-ups, toes-to-bar, or muscle-ups – especially with kipping or swinging.
The successive repetitions of these swinging movements cause your hands to rub against the bar, wearing away at the skin. The same applies to the Olympic barbell, dumbbells, and kettlebells. Their use creates a pressure on the skin, which reacts by creating a hard layer to protect the epidermis.
So, unless they wear gloves or grips, a CrossFitter's hands will always have calluses.
However, these injuries can be prevented if you change your grip. Instead of holding the bar with the palm of your hand, try to grip the bar from the base of your fingers.
How can you avoid hand injuries if you do CrossFit?
As we have seen, calluses are a fact of life in the box, but you can prevent them by following these tips.
- Go easy on the magnesium: it improves your grip but dries out your hands and helps form calluses and corns.
- Moisturize your hands daily: use a hand cream with a very high fat content, such as shea butter, to moisturize your hands after training. This also helps to relieve the tightness and dryness you feel after doing so many pull-ups.
- File off corns and calluses: after showering and before applying cream, use a pumice stone or nail file to help remove the calluses on your hands.
- Once a week, scrape and shave calluses: if you train a lot or feel that filing is no longer enough, spend one day a week to thoroughly scrape calluses and even use a shaver to remove calluses and dead skin from your hands. And don't forget to moisturize afterwards.
What products do I need to take care of my hands?
In terms of corns and calluses, we recommend using the same products that you would use for your feet.
After all, calluses are calluses.
- Manual or electric pumice stones
- Hard files
- Callus shavers
- Scissors (to remove dry skin or if you are very careful with calluses)
- Moisturizing cream for corns and calluses
In addition to these products, there are specialized creams on the market to care of CrossFitter hands.
How to care for open wounds on a CrossFitter's hands?
If after a WOD you end up with a raised callus or bloody hands, here's what to do:
- Wash the wound with soap and water to remove the magnesium and other impurities (this will really sting).
- Remove excess skin using scissors from the first aid kit in the box.
- Disinfect the wound.
- Cover the wound with bandages or dressings.
Wounds on a CrossFitter's hands typically take 7 to 10 days to heal. So, it is better to set the pull-ups aside for a while in order to fully recover. You can always train a weakness or two during this recovery time.
Why is moisturizing your CrossFitter hands essential?
We have already explained this before, but we want to emphasize how important it is to take care of your hands on a daily basis. Good moisturizing with a cream high in lipid content such as shea helps you to avoid:
- surface calluses becoming deep calluses that turn into cysts on your palms when you grab the bar.
- your hands hurting during the WOD.
- your calluses becoming raised because they are too dry and hard.
What if I get a serious hand injury?
Whether it is a very deep skin wound or several skin lesions, it is best to see a health professional.
Whether at your local pharmacy, in the emergency room, or at the nurses' office of your health center, a professional can help you take better care of these serious wounds.
And how do you usually take care of your sore CrossFitter hands?
