Gloves or chalk for grippers?

[Sino_]

So after doing some heavy training sessions with negatives and isometric holds with the 3 and no 2 of the grippers I have gotten some sores/wounds in my hand.

I guess I could train with working gloves or soemthing like that. How do you guys do it? Gloves, chalk or nothing at all?

[Lennix]

8 minutes ago, Sino_ said:

So after doing some heavy training sessions with negatives and isometric holds with the 3 and no 2 of the grippers I have gotten some sores/wounds in my hand.

I guess I could train with working gloves or soemthing like that. How do you guys do it? Gloves, chalk or nothing at all?

let it heal, use chalk all the time and your skin will get used to it it 

[John Knowlton]

Chalk is the best

[Fist of Fury]

You can use gloves if it's really bad but want to keep training. But prepare to lower the resistance a lot since it will be much harder.

It's better to use athletic tape on the fingers and hands. Sometimes it doesn't help tho, so you just might have to take a break until the skin heals up.

[Blacksmith513]

Well David Horne recommends gloves with his beginner routine if needed. But that’s only temporary until your hands toughen up. I’ve never really had that issue too bad, if I do get bad cuts liquid bandage and band aid over that during workout. 

 

but yes use chalk. Your hands will toughen up fast.

[dubyagrip]

If its really bad, i'll use a bandage.  i'm not trying to be, "hardcore," but i just train and let it bleed and rip, eventually it heals and you don't have to worry about it anymore...unless you stop training.

i always use chalk, btw.

[Blacksmith513]

3 hours ago, dubyagrip said:

If its really bad, i'll use a bandage.  i'm not trying to be, "hardcore," but i just train and let it bleed and rip, eventually it heals and you don't have to worry about it anymore...unless you stop training.

i always use chalk, btw.

this is the way of a true grip athlete!

Except for when I started construction in my teens its never been a real issue. Just worked through the pain.  I did get a cut from bending on the webbing of my left hand a few months back. Eventually my body realized it needed to heal from the inside out and it did just that.

[dubyagrip]

11 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said:

this is the way of a true grip athlete!

Except for when I started construction in my teens its never been a real issue. Just worked through the pain.  I did get a cut from bending on the webbing of my left hand a few months back. Eventually my body realized it needed to heal from the inside out and it did just that.

There are limits to this, obviously. If I have some sort of injury or pain in my tendons or joints, or if it is a cut that needs sutures, I will give myself time to heal and get a diagnosis from a doctor.

Edited March 3, 2023 by dubyagrip

[Stephen Ruby]

I know bending can be brutal on the hands. This is a picture of Don Cummings hands after a volume bending session going through 576 60d nails. I think conditioning the hands is important for bending. I remember some benders back in the day would use things they use for dogs cracked paws to toughen up the skin. I would get similar tears in the middle of my palm but trained through it and eventually that part of my hand callused up and helped with pain management on tougher bends. I feel its ok to train through as long as your technique is fine and your hand is not damaged(tendons/ligaments). I would avoid the gloves though as I feel it would mess up your technique and not help with conditioning the hands which is an important aspect of grip. 

[Blacksmith513]

14 minutes ago, Stephen Ruby said:

I know bending can be brutal on the hands. This is a picture of Don Cummings hands after a volume bending session going through 576 60d nails. I think conditioning the hands is important for bending. I remember some benders back in the day would use things they use for dogs cracked paws to toughen up the skin. I would get similar tears in the middle of my palm but trained through it and eventually that part of my hand callused up and helped with pain management on tougher bends. I feel its ok to train through as long as your technique is fine and your hand is not damaged(tendons/ligaments). I would avoid the gloves though as I feel it would mess up your technique and not help with conditioning the hands which is an important aspect of grip. 

Don efffing Cummings is such a legend! I show people those pics all the time.

 

22 minutes ago, dubyagrip said:

There are limits to this, obviously. If I have some sort of injury or pain in my tendons or joints, or if it is a cut that needs sutures, I will give myself time to heal and get a diagnosis from a doctor.

yes, I baby my injuries maybe more than  I should. But you gotta be smart about it.

[dubyagrip]

It's all about determining how bad you want it.  Also, self-preservation has never really been my strong suit...

[Stephen Ruby]

6 minutes ago, dubyagrip said:

It's all about determining how bad you want it.  Also, self-preservation has never really been my strong suit...

I think the very best grip athletes definitely have a higher pain tolerance and know how to push through some pain to achieve higher results. I know you have to be smart though also in that we have lost some incredible grip talents due to injuries. One that comes to mind is Gabriel Sum who had a freakish crush strength especially left handed who pushed too far and never recovered. It's a fine balance but I think many can definitely train harder than they realize especially beginners. 

[dubyagrip]

18 minutes ago, Stephen Ruby said:

It's a fine balance but I think many can definitely train harder than they realize especially beginners. 

For sure, I also think many people mistake volume for intensity.  They aren't always the same.  For example, I see and hear from people who are repping something for 10+ and complaining about never getting stronger instead of never digging deep for triples or doubles with some serious resistance.  On the flip side, you can also try to just 1RM all the time, but that doesn't mean you trained with intensity.

[C8Myotome]

Which brand of grippers is messing your hands up? I always use chalk but for sharper brands I very slightly file the knurling to give them a more broken in feel. I can train a lot more if I actually have skin. Haven't ripped my hand open in a very long time. Some brands I don't adjust at all.

[matek]

If you've just started with grippers, I guess it's probably blisters. I would just let it heal. For the future, when your hand toughens up:
Not many men talk about it because it's not "cool" I guess, but: take care of your hands and moisturize it.  
What you want is thick skin with durable calluses, not dead-dry calluses which can tear easily and crack.
Edit: and yes use chalk of course

Edited March 4, 2023 by matek

[Blacksmith513]

8 minutes ago, matek said:

Not many men talk about it because it's not "cool" I guess, but: take care of your hands and moisturize it.  
 

I cant stress this enough. I wear hearing protection and eye protection at work.. Not too many people bust my balls, but some think thats not "manly". They actually have it backwards and are the self conscious ones.  It literally makes no sense.

 

I put 6 grand in my eyes last year for 20/20 vision. I'll do whatever it takes to keep them healthy. 

 

Take care of it but also don't be afraid to work though certain pain either. After awhile you learn what you can and can't work through and how to get creative to work around certain things.

 

 

 

[Sino_]

10 hours ago, C8Myotome said:

Which brand of grippers is messing your hands up? I always use chalk but for sharper brands I very slightly file the knurling to give them a more broken in feel. I can train a lot more if I actually have skin. Haven't ripped my hand open in a very long time. Some brands I don't adjust at all.

I use Ironmind I think. Although they don't have a name on them. I bought them many years ago when I was doing workouts in my basement. Then many years went by and now I am kind of back to grip a bit.

Mostly because of martial arts since it can be a huge benefit there. Also, I think tough hands will probably reduce the chances of getting bent fingers and so on from grappling.

But that is also the reason why I don't want to have too many wounds inside my hands. If I only did grip training I could train around it. Use a gripper from another angle and so on. But when I go to the mats that is harder to avoid. Also, many people can mistake it for staph or bad hygiene, so best to avoid it. 

I think the wounds came the day when I first went to training, then did really heavy holds and negatives with the grippers. After that I did John Brookfields exercise with the wet towel. I REEAAALLLLYYY like this exercise . 

Think it feels good in the elbows and hands for some reason. That exercise feels like it heals the hands or something. I don't know why. But it also is tough on the skin I think. When you really try to squeeze that freakin towel it kind of cuts into your hands, right  

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by Sino_