Every crossfitter, at a certain stage in his development, goes on to serious workout movements, whether it be pull-ups with weights or pulling up by force. All these complexes put a huge load on the hands and, in particular, rub the palms, because of which calluses from the horizontal bar can form. How bad is it and what does it affect? Should they be treated or left as they are? You will receive answers to these questions in the article.
General information
Calluses on the hands from the horizontal bar is a normal phenomenon, which cannot be completely eliminated. They result from friction of the skin against the metal surface of the projectile.
Rubbed leather goes through three stages:
- Painful detachment. Occurs immediately after the end of the approach. In fact, you rub the skin and peel it away from the blood vessels, thereby damaging it.
- Primary crust formation. In the process of regeneration, the body seeks to restore the integrity of the skin, rightly considering the exfoliation of the upper layer as an injury. It directs lymphocytes to the damaged and inflamed area. At this stage, the damaged area often causes severe soreness, which prevents full training.
- Secondary crust formation. In fact, this is already a completed corn. In the process of regeneration under the damaged area, the body builds up normal skin. The upper layer undergoes keratinization.
During training, the stratum corneum becomes thicker, and the normal skin underneath partially loses its sensitivity. However, calluses are an unsightly cosmetic defect, and with excessive force they can rupture, resulting in serious hand injuries.
© Artemida-psy - stock.adobe.com. Stages of formation and healing of corns
How to avoid?
Is there a universal way to avoid horizontal bar calluses? Alas, there is no such way! Sooner or later, calluses will appear, no matter how hard you try. However, if you follow expert recommendations, you can slow down their formation and reduce the likelihood of serious damage.
These tips are:
- Use a technique in which the effect of friction will be reduced to zero.
- Use gloves or pads.
- Tape tapes.
Changing technique
Changing your technique can help reduce callus formation. In the case of pull-ups, you need:
- Change the position of the brush. The grip should be carried out with all 4 fingers. Try not to use a reverse grip.
- Rigid hand fixation. Do not rotate it, do not jump on the projectile. The less you rotate the brush, the less calluses you will have.
- Strengthening the pressure on the horizontal bar. Try to squeeze it as if you were working with a rigid expander. This will reduce the friction effect but make the pull-up harder.
Of course, these tips won't help you with kipping or butterfly pull-ups.
Use of gloves
The best way to remove calluses from the horizontal bar is with gloves. Of course, if there are calluses, then gloves will not help get rid of them forever. In addition, it is not recommended to practice with gloves with already plucked calluses. However, the right motorcycle or sports gloves will grip your palm well — this will reduce friction and therefore prevent calluses on your hands.
Gloves are best used not only for the horizontal bar, but also for free weights, in which the friction against the bar is not less than when pulling up.
© Impact Photography - stock.adobe.com
Horizontal bar and magnesia
There is a popular myth that the use of magnesium reduces the likelihood of calluses. This is fundamentally wrong. Magnesia is only needed to increase the coefficient of friction between surfaces.
This allows:
- Do not drop the barbell during the approach.
- Do not fall off the horizontal bar.
- Decrease brush rotation.
© Victority - stock.adobe.com
However, due to an increase in the coefficient of friction, any turn of the hand on the projectile will be accompanied by the formation of corns and a worsening of their condition. Therefore, magnesia is not used during exercises such as:
- exit by force;
- push-ups on the rings;
- rotation of the "sun".
Callus care
If you are very worried about calluses on your hands, you can try to get rid of calluses from the horizontal bar using folk remedies. As practice shows, they are more effective than pancreatin and other healing drugs from the pharmacy.
| Method | How to cook | How does |
| Aloe juice | Squeeze the juice out of the aloe. Wrap the rest of the gruel with gauze. Apply the resulting product to the damaged area and fix it with a bandage or adhesive plaster. | Has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect, which helps to reduce the intensity of keratinization of the upper layer of the skin. |
| Decoction of oak bark | Boil oak bark over high heat for at least 60 minutes. Then let the resulting broth cool. In the resulting liquid, moisten the gauze, and rewind the hand with gauze. | It has a regenerative and anti-inflammatory effect. |
| Potatoes | Finely chop the raw potatoes to a gruel state (a garlic press is perfect), apply the resulting mixture to your hand and fix with a bandage or plaster. | An effective healing agent. |
| Onion gruel | Similar to potatoes. | Allows you to deal with already keratinized skin and painlessly peel off calluses. |
| Garlic | Similar to potatoes. | Similar to a bow. |
| Propolis | Apply a thin layer of pharmacy propolis to the damaged area, then fix it with a gauze bandage. In the morning, gently scrape off the exfoliated skin. | Softens the stratum corneum, has an anti-inflammatory effect. Helps to reduce the sensitivity of damaged areas. |
What if the corn has already been peeled off?
If you are faced with a situation where a large corn has already been peeled off, you need to:
- Stop training immediately.
- Treat the damaged area with an antiseptic.
- Apply adhesive plaster to the damaged area
- Treat at home with peroxide.
In addition, you will have to give up training for a while, even with gloves. Because even in defense, the hand will still sweat, and sweat, getting on the damaged area, will corrode it and interfere with further healing. If you continue to exercise, a real scar can form at the site of the callus.
Outcome
If you do not know how to do it correctly, so as not to rub calluses on the horizontal bar, just use gloves. It is important to be able to choose the right CrossFit gloves, with special thickening pads. They not only reduce the likelihood of calluses on your hands, but also strengthen your grip.
Remember, calluses are a necessary evil for any exerciser. Your task is to make them as less noticeable as possible and not to rip them off during training and competition.
