Once you start working out, we can tell you it is possible to develop rips and tears as your hands are pressed against the various machines and movements. However, there are ways you can prevent this mishap from happening as well as ways to care for if should it occur. We will take you through many steps in which you can use to treat rips on your hands when you practice gymnastics.
What is a Rip?
No matter how you workout, whether, through Gymnastics, variable training, weightlifting, or other forms of exercise, your hands go through a lot and take a lot of pressure. As you use your hands over time, it may become sensitive and can rip or tear. Rips are openings in the palm of your hands or around your wrist that occur due to your skin becoming too tender and still undergoing immense pressure.
Rips can be painful, unsightly, and cause you to give up working out for a while. But, before rips can occur, your hands generally develop calluses, which are hardened areas on the skin that form where a lot of friction is. Once these calluses are untreated, they can lead to rips and can be a dangerous thing if left unattended.
Causes of Rips in gymnastic hands
Many different factors cause rips, and at times, without knowing, the most common Gymnastics practices are the leading causes. These include:
1. Friction
When there is too much friction with your hands against the bars, it will eventually lead to rips over time if you do not pay much attention. Keep in mind, when you spend a lot of time on the bars, there is continued pressure and tension on the hands, and this will lead to your hands developing calluses. Failure to treat this appropriately will lead them to rip. On the flip side, if your hands are too soft against the bars with no protection (callus), it can also lead to rips. So, in essence, calluses are great to prevent rips as well as if they are too large on your hands; they can also lead to tears.
2. Dry skin
Dry skin is a recipe for rips as they tend to crack easily as they undergo pressure. Once your hands start to crack, it will eventually lead to ripping as the friction it forms between your hands and the bars is rough. But, what is the real deal behind hands becoming so dry? A lot of people have blamed the chalk. There are both advantages and disadvantages to using chalk as if your hands become too moist. It will not allow you to work out as efficiently as the grips would not be made possible; thus, you will have to apply chalk. However, when chalking, ensure you do not add too much.
Best ways to prevent Rips in gymnastic hands
Preventing rips as a gymnast does not have to be a complicated task as there are several steps you can implement in your workout routine to help you...
1. Smoothing and shaping calluses using a callus remover
As noted earlier, calluses are good to have on the hands as an athlete or for those who work out as it forms a protective barrier between your hands and the bars. After developing calluses, you must focus on treating and maintaining them at an average/ even level. Doing this will help you to keep your hands intact when working out. Smoothing your calluses can be done using our callus performance callus remover tool. It is an efficient tool that effectively shaves the calluses to a safe/even level and will not result in any form of rip or tears.
2. Moisturizing
Ensure you keep your hands moisturized but not too much because it could affect your grip and your hands could slip from the bar and/ or barbell. You can opt for a moisturizing balm that you apply to your hands up to an hour before working out, so as you add the chalk, it will not be too dry. Also, right after working out, you must add it to your hands when cleaned to keep thands hydrated. This moisture will help to keep the calluses at a safe form that will not result in rip as your work out. Take, for instance, a moisturizer made with essential oils like coconut oil or beeswax, is the right choice as it also has healing elements to help reduce tension your hands have gone through.
Tips for treating Rips in gymnastic hands
After working out for a while, you may realize your hands have a lot of rips because of the pressure faced or probably because of untreated calluses. However, there are numerous ways in which you can treat rips in a gymnast's hands and help repair within a suitable time. Here are a few measures to implement.
1. Clean the wound
The first step to treating your gymnastic rips and tears is by cleaning and sterilizing your hands after working out. This process is critical to remove any form of dirt or bacteria which may have settled under the cracks. Failure to do this can lead to infections and further health issues with your hands. As you carefully clean your hands, you need to note any large flaps of skin on or around the area. If there is, you can carefully remove it to reduce the chances of bacteria being trapped in any potential bruise or blister which may have developed.
2. Apply callus healing slave
After cleaning your hands, apply our callus healing salve to your hands, as this serves as a quick repair option for these tears and rips. The healing balm is made of many essential oils that have healing properties such as shea butter, coconut oil, tea tree oil, beeswax, and much more. These natural ingredients have been proven to contain anti-microbial properties, which will soothe, treat, heal, and repair the rips. It also forms as a protective barrier needed to help the skin repair and re-grow.
3. Let the new layer of skin grow
Before the wound can be declared fully healed, it has to grow a new layer of skin. However, you have to be patient in the process, as to get a full recovery, you have to ensure the new layer of skin is not cracked or ripped. To avoid this, you have to cease working out for a while and continue to apply the Callus Performance healing salve or other moisturizing healing balms to the area. Reduce the risk of the area becoming too dry as this will take a longer time for the wound to be repaired.
Conclusion
Your hands do so much for you, and as such, it is crucial to take care of them. Working out can cause a lot of rips and tears, but you can prevent this from happening, or in the case, it has already happened, there are ways to treat and repair. These tips are simple and can be applied daily, whether is by shaving and trimming your calluses or by using the healing salve to help restore your hands to normal. Working out does not have to end on bad terms once you apply these efficient Gymnastics rips prevention and caring tips.