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Providing suggestions on methods and fitness gear you can use during your workout routine at the gym in order to avoid calluses forming on your palms.
If you regularly lift weights at the gym, then it’s not a surprise that you might have calluses formed on your palms. If you’re not sure what this word means, it is a hardened and dry patch of skin that appears due to dry friction and pressure between the weights and the skin on your palms. Nothing to worry yet, continue reading!
Calluses are not all bad, as they prevent your skin from tearing, cracking or breaking in the future. Though callus prevention is not necessary, read on to learn how you can avoid contacting calluses on your hands in the first place. Let’s do this!
Keep The Gloves On
The best way to avoid getting calluses is to wear gym gloves. By using gym gloves, it helps protect the palms and parts of your fingers from friction with the weights. But there are mixed feedbacks on wearing gym gloves. Some say that using them hinders their workout at the gym, while others highlight that they actually lead to a better grip as sweaty palms prevent them from holding the bar properly. Besides gym gloves, one can also apply chalk on the palms for weightlifting as it aids in absorbing sweat, hence reducing friction on your hands. Never lose the gloves, y’all!
Focus on The Technique
One of the other ways you can fend off callus formation is to ensure proper weightlifting technique is done. By wrongly gripping the bar, it can result to larger calluses on your palms which may crack and tear. This even happens with seasoned lifters. The perfect method to grip the bar is to place it in between the palms and fingers along the knuckles, because this lessens the potential friction which can cause calluses. If you’ve always held a bar differently, you may want to consider following this style instead. It may be a big adjustment at first, but you’ll thank us later!
Invest in A Grip
Slightly different from gym gloves, grips are usually used for workouts involving the pull-up bar. Grips aid in reducing the friction and tension on your gym hands, and it’s best used for CrossFit athletes and gymnasts who utilise pull-up bars a lot in their routine. However, one common feature of gym gloves and grips is that they can prevent calluses when frequently used. As for the holding technique, adding another layer between the hands and pull-up bar may require some getting used to, but your hands will be calluses-free. Try them on and kiss those calluses goodbye!
Lifting Straps are Your New BFF
If you lean more towards powerlifting than CrossFit, then investing in lifting straps could be a better option for you. Lifting straps are beneficial in keeping the hands safe from calluses during heavy lifting as they tend to redistribute tension and weights away from your palms, and increase strength into your forearms and wrists. By wearing them properly, it can remarkably reduce friction and rubbing on the hands, and you can erase calluses from your memory for good!
There’s an array of ways you can avoid getting calluses on your palms. However, the decision in choosing the right method depends on you. If you do have calluses on your hands, then there are a couple of simple callus treatments that you can apply to cure them. But if the calluses continuously form on your palms, it’s best for you to consult a dermatologist who will be able to remove them using a surgical blade. You could also opt to use salicylic acid as it aids in loosening dead and hardened skin. So long, old friend calluses.
