Pride Goeth...

Okay... we all know the proverb "pride goeth before a fall".  Well.  I am here to be the walking, limping example of that.  

Last week, I fell and fell HARD off of a pull-up bar doing kipping pull-ups during a warm-up.  The warm-up people, the WARM-UP.  I can't even claim that I was in the throes of a hard workout - nope.  I was just making sure that I had my kip down.  Turns out - I didn't.  

Pride wasn't really my whole issue - although it was definitely a part of it.  My biggest problem was lack of focus. I figured that I knew what I was doing enough to not need to give it my full focus.  As I was staring up at the ceiling from the flat of my back - I realized that I should have been giving 100%.  Instead of thinking about what I was doing - I was three steps ahead instead of being in the here and now.  

I am currently paying for my lack of focus.  I slipped off the pull-up bar on while kipping and landed right on my back.  According to my chiropractor and PT, I've got a deep bruise, some sprained ligaments and jarred my hip pretty darn hard.  Sitting, laying down, standing - it's all some level of uncomfortable.  But... it is getting better.  I'm optimistic that in a few days, it will be fine (keep your fingers crossed for me anyways because this walking like an old person is just not cutting it!).  

An additional downside of maiming myself?  I missed the Mustache Dache.  I went and cheered the team on but I was obviously not running it (my chiropractor actually told me that I wasn't even allowed to think about it).  But here's a picture of the amazing team from Sound CrossFit:

Great job Team Snatch 'n Dache!!!! Next year, I am totally running this with you guys!

You Know What Happens When You Brag?

You get smacked down with some wicked hand tears.  Yowza.  I make this whole post about 'look at me and my fancy hand care regiment' and then I go and do Fran and BUTCHER THE EVER-LOVING HELL out of my hands. I definitely cried (and swore) a little (okay... a lot) when I washed my hands.  Shit, shit, shit.  Hand tears blow.  I'm not sure what the difference was today... maybe my grip was slightly off, maybe its because I did the whole thing Rx (yup - you got that right - no assistance bands on the pullups.  I am a rockstar.).  Who knows.  Regardless.  Me+hand tears=grumpy pain face.  However, wine+trashy tv=slightly less grumpy (still pain) face.  

Anyways. I'll be totally honest.  My time wasn't fantastic.  9:16.  That's definitely not a stellar Fran time by any stretch (games athletes are sub 4 minutes) but it's the first time that I've done it with no assistance bands for the pull ups. By the way... for those of you who don't speak CrossFit... Fran is reps of 21-15-9 thrusters (65lbs) and pull ups.  And yes... during my set of 9 - I'm pretty much did the pull ups one at a time.  But I did them.  And I did them Rx.  And that for me is HUGE, considering that pull ups have been my major weakness since CrossFit Day 1. 

Yup.

 

The Crossfit Girl's Guide to Hand Care

At my gym, we've recently started a pull-up strength segment - so basically every day, we are working pull-ups, negatives and assistance lifts.  The result?  Stronger strict pull-ups, working our way up to strong and healthy kipping pull ups, AND sore hands.  I have strong hands and mine feel totally thrashed. My forearms are killing.  My calluses are feeling extra special.  So... let's take a second to talk hand care shall we?  

Do not roll your eyes.  We watch what we put into our bodies, we spend ridiculous money on shoes and clothes (or maybe that's just me...hmmm), we get up at the crack of dawn to beat ourselves up - but we can't take a few minutes to make sure that we don't look like this? 

This isn't a good look for anyone.  Exactly how much fun do you think this makes doing anything at the gym?  Or for life in general?  Ouch.  No thank you. 

Yeah... that's what I thought.  Read on people.  

There are a ton of great articles and blogs out there that will go into great detail of what you should/shouldn't do to keep your hands in shape.  I've read a bunch of them - some I agree with, some I think are over the top.  Listen... most of us are doing CrossFit recreationally.  It's our fitness regiment - not our life.  We aren't the Rich Fronings and Annie Thorisdottirs of the world.  We come into the gym for an hour or two at a time, get our butts kicked and leave feeling fantastic.  Don't get me wrong - I am in no way trying to diminish what we do - it's freaking awesome! But a lot of the hand care stuff that you read is WAY over the top for the average athlete.  

I do a lot of CrossFit.  I spend a lot of time hanging from the bar just trying to build up my strength.  Every day when I come into the gym - I try to spend a minute or two either hanging, working on my kipping pullups, or just staring at the bar willing it to come down to my level as my arms can't quite pull me up like they are supposed to.  Since I've been doing CrossFit - I've never had a big callus tear.  I may just be lucky, but I like to think that I actually take pretty good care of my hands.  Here's what works for me: 

1. A pumice stone. Seriously.  Best $1.99 I've ever spent. I keep it in my shower and hit my hands every day.  It takes less than 30 seconds to go over my hands and work down the calluses.  Don't do it too hard - you don't want to take off all your skin (that defeats the purpose). 
2. Lotion.  Between the chalk and the hand washing to get the chalk off and probably all the sweat - my hands get really dry.  Invest in good lotion.  Like the really rich and intensive moisturizing kind.  I have two different kinds that I use: Vitamin E Lotion and Hemp Hand Protector.  Both are from The Body Shop.  Vitamin E lotion is super light but moisturizing (wow, I sound like a commercial).  The Hemp Hand Protector is more oily - so I usually only use it at night or when I'm going to be sitting for a while.  Good lotion will save your hands.  When your hands are super dry, it's much easier to crack the calluses.  Ouch. 
3. A reasonable amount of chalk.  If you need chalk, use it.  But there is no reason to have chalk from your wrist to the tips of your fingers.  Rub it in across the parts of your hand that actually grip the bar.  If you use too much chalk, it's possible that your hands will move too much on the bar - therefore causing more friction and therefore more blisters/rips.  Plus, do you really need to be THAT guy who rechalks every set and literally has white hands?  No.  That's excessive.  No one needs that.  Not even Rich Froning.  

   

   You're welcome. (See... he's totally using an appropriate amount of chalk and he's the fittest man alive. No excuses.)

Before you start investing your money into lifting gloves, Body Glide, and other fancy fixes - give these things a shot.  It could be an easy fix that saves your hands (and your wallet).  By all means, if you are still having problems - there are tons of resources out there for more advanced hand care - and as a coach, I'm always down to help you with whatever you think needs to be taped, chalked, Body Glided, gloved, etc.  

Just make sure you are taking care of yourself.  We need our hands for almost everything - we can't really do anything at the gym if our hands are destroyed.  And on a personal level, who wants to hold hands with someone who has open wounds all over?  No one.  That's who.