Yesterday during training my weightlifting coach asked one off his star lifters if she'd been doing proper hand care. Hand care? I know a lot of weightlifters use sandpaper to grind the calasus off their hands. But if that was the only thing we were supposed to do they'd simply call it sanding your hands. I asked coach Shane Miller, the guru of all things weightlifting, what things is important in hand care? These are the things he said:
- your hands should be completely smooth. If your skin is rough or lumpy, they are more likely to catch on the bar when you are lifting causing painful rips or tears. So shave your hands. The best time to do it is after you shower or bathe.
-wash your hands after lifting to get all chalk off your hands. Leaving the chalk in will dry out your hands.
-use lotion on your hands to keep them from cracking or getting rough. it's especially important after washing your hands after lifting.
-use a small amount of chalk when you work out to keep your hands dry and help your grip. That will make you less likely to hold the bar too tight, which is a good thing as far as callus prevention.
- don't over-chalk. That may actually create more friction by having too much chalk on your hands.
- Use a towel to dry your hands between sets.
- weightlifting will make your hands tougher. The longer your a weightlifter, the better conditioned your hands will be, but it takes time.You will go through a period of time where no matter how careful you are, your hands will rip if you hit a high enough volume of exercise. Be patient and be careful and you will get through it. Your hands will come out tougher on the other side.
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