There’s nothing like dropping off the bar when the clock stops and the WOD ends, and the evidence of all that hard work is smeared all over your equipment. And then – there’s that twinkling feeling of pride as you walk around comparing war wounds with your box mates. Who hasn’t seen the countless athletes that like to show off their injuries and hand rips on social media? But is this really a “Red Badge of Honour,” or is it just harming your progress?
Many in our community would argue that in order to accomplish our fitness goals, there has to be some suffering along the way. While that “no pain, no gain” mentality has some unavoidable truth to it, the fact of the matter is some of those pains are completely unnecessary, and actually detrimental to our development.
HAND RIPS HOLD YOU BACK
Ripping our hands to shreds is a perfect example of this and one could even argue that it’s inherently bad for business for box owners as well.
CrossFit is an expensive sport. Membership fees are on average 2-4 times the price of a normal gym membership. Injuries like these not only hurt like hell, but they discourage people from coming back until their hands have healed.
Typically, it can take 4 days before these sores are comfortable enough for someone to be able to attack the WOD again at full force. This absolutely kills an athlete’s momentum and increases the chances that athletes are going to start “cherry picking” certain workouts to avoid these setbacks.
Confidence is key when training at these levels, and pain, or even the idea of pain, could cause one to proceed with caution and hesitation. Also, every day an athlete skips training or needs time to heal costs them cash. Cherry picking workouts can cause a drop in moral, less class participation, and could potentially affect membership levels as newer athletes may be discouraged by the discomfort. You need to protect your hands.
PREVENTION IS THE BEST CURE
Injuries can happen, that’s life, but doing everything you can to prevent them is a sign of a mature and switched on athlete. Don’t let hindsight be your guide, be intelligent enough to prevent problems like hand rips before they even happen.
RAISE THE BAR: TRAIN HARD AND SMART
The Box can be many different things to many different people, all united through the shared experience of the 5 minute AMRAP or 20-minute Chipper that makes up the workout that day. Whether you train as a way to get fitter, lose weight, improve for a competition, release stress or just because you enjoy it, you should be using your brains as well as your brawn.
Knowing that your hands are safe from rips and cuts allows you to focus on the task at hand. Want to go unbroken on every set of toes-to-bar during the WOD? Still fighting your way towards your first bar muscle up? Whatever your goal, protecting your hands will help you to stop worrying about them, so you can focus yourself 100% on the task at hand.
YOUR HANDS ARE IMPORTANT
For many athletes with specific types of jobs, torn hands are simply not an option. Doctors, massage therapists and construction workers are just a few examples of people with occupations where their hands are extremely important to their daily livelihood.
STAY CLEAN AND HEALTHY
The elephant in the room that no one seems to talk about is sanitation. With easy to spread diseases, why would anyone knowingly and readily want to jump up on a blood splattered bar that someone just left their DNA all over? We may never know the true extent of the spread of infection in our boxes but if it could be prevented, why would anyone want to expose themselves to that extra risk?
WRIST SUPPORT
Just like with using proper form, you can reduce the chances of pulling a muscle or straining your back, hand and wrist injuries can be avoided simply by wearing the proper protection. Whether it’s a long high rep chipper or a short and intense Fran workout, adding extra support and strength to your wrists can help to improve your performances and help prevent strains and injuries.
FRICTION
Friction is the culprit with tearing. Callus care and adding a layer of protection such as grips between your bare hands and the bar is a great way to help prevent those pesky hand rips, while at the same time reducing the spread of illness and infection. Combine that with proper wrist support and you can greatly reduce any potential time away from training due to injury.
Let’s leave our egos out the door, this isn’t a contest, there’s no medal for bleeding and feeling unnecessary pain that does nothing but stunt our fitness growth. We need to accept that hand rips really are just a nuisance, completely unsanitary, and absolutely preventable.
Athletes, coaches, and box owners alike should encourage safety, the prevention of injuries, and spread of disease. This will keep classes full, memberships strong, and our community even stronger!
Protect your hands and concentrate on your performance © JerkFit
Protect your hands: Train hard and train smart © JerkFit
Prevention is the best cure © RepFit
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