Hand tears during CrossFit workouts, especially on pull-up bars and barbell exercises, do happen but should be avoided. Tearing your hands is an injury that affects both your gym performance and daily life. It’s essential to take proactive measures to protect your hands and keep them healthy.

First, recognize that tearing your hands is not a sign of toughness—it’s an indication that something went wrong. By following proper care and technique, you can prevent tears and keep progressing in your fitness journey.

Why Tearing Your Hands Happens

Hand tears occur when calluses on your palms soften due to sweat, particularly in humid conditions. When you grip a pull-up bar or barbell with soft calluses, the friction can cause the skin to tear, leading to painful injuries.

In CrossFit, hand tears often occur during high-repetition exercises like pull-ups, toes-to-bar, or deadlifts, where gripping the bar plays a crucial role. You need to protect your hands while also ensuring you maintain proper technique to avoid injury.

Six Key Tips to Prevent Hand Tears

1. Use the Right Grip: Avoid the “suicide grip” that allows for too much hand movement and friction. Opt for a gymnastic hook grip that minimizes movement and reduces friction on calluses.

2. Train Barehanded: While hand guards are helpful, relying on them all the time can prevent you from developing proper calluses. Build up your grip strength by training barehanded when possible.

3. Monitor Your Hands During Workouts: Pay attention to how your hands feel during a workout. If you notice irritation or sweat buildup, take breaks to dry your hands and apply chalk if necessary. Change the style of your grip or the style of the movement. example kipping to strict or full palm grip to fingertip grip.

4. Use a Callus Shaver: Keep your calluses in check by regularly shaving them down. Excessively thick calluses are more likely to tear during workouts.

5. Hydrate Your Hands: Apply a high-quality lotion to your hands every night to keep your skin moisturized. This prevents dryness and cracking, which can lead to tears when combined with chalk and sweat.

6. Use Guards When Needed: While training barehanded is important, there are times when using hand guards is necessary—especially during high-volume workouts or when your hands are already fatigued.

Bonus Tip: Pumice Stone for Smooth Hands

If you prefer smoother hands or want to avoid rough calluses, use a pumice stone regularly to smooth out your skin. This is more about aesthetics and personal preference but can also help maintain healthy hands.

Cheers,
Berek