Salt water soaking?

[ruffhans]

awhile ago i was soakingmy hands in salt water three times a week, i heard it would toughen the skin on my hands and make them like leather. i was told 3 parts water one part salt. i did this for about a moth, but not weekly.  h any f you done this?, does it help?, and is it worth it?  i think the grippers toughen up my hands enough, but if it works i will do it again :p

[Drassk]

I've heard of everything from salt-water to mild acids (vinegar aka:acetic acid/ethanoic acid) being used to toughen the hands.  What will toughen your hands is some sort of abrasive (if all you care about is skin toughness).  A good way to toughen the skin is to do exercises that abrade the skin (make it pink) such as speed-squeezes in a bucket of sand or small rocks and then do the 'harsh soak' treatment with boiled vinegar or salt water.  Note that the soaking will take some of the sensitivity out of your skin.  I would recommend doing more of the abrasive stuff and then putting something on your skin to -heal- it faster then you can re-abrade it more often thus naturally thickening the skin without putting anything harsh on it.  If you want to toughen the whole hand (not just the skin) then things get more complicated.  Send me a private message for some info on that.

[ruffhans]

thanks alot for the advice!  so far the grippers are doing the job, but i want sure if the soakin would help.

[Jonathan McMillan]

Kindof on the same subject:

After reading this and other postings on the subject I asked my girlfriend's father about it.  He was a bricklayer in his younger days and during the winter his hands would split open due to the cold and the harshness of the concrete, etc.  He told me he's tried it all and the best thing was taking a spoonful of sugar in your hands and adding a drop of dish soap.  work it into your hands until it's gone.  He said it was the only thing that ever helped.

Jon@han

[ruffhans]

wow! it sounds like it woukd soften the hands, but if it works, it works! basicly i want my hands to be somewhat leathery

[Big Steve]

I've ran marathons and runners use to put honey on their feet to make their heels harder.

[Guest Jeff0]

Bender:

http://www.sportsci.org/jour/0103/mw.htm

I haven't run in shoes in 6 months, and I never will again.

[Big Steve]

cool, thanks 0!

[Tom of Iowa2]

Some ancient history but Former Heavyweight champion Joe Frazier supposedly soaked his FACE in brine to prepare for a fight.