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climbindrummer
Jul 26, 2006, 9:10 PM
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I've recently discovered a love for bouldering at the gym I go to, but I have a problem. It seems my arms have developed much faster than the the skin on my hands can tolerate. I have the strength to climb more and more difficult problems, but several times I have removed large quantities of skin from three or four fingers at a time. I have found a taping scheme that seems to work OK without overly restricting me, but I'd kind of like to develop some calluses as well. If I tape, I won't calluse but if I don't tape I manage to just tear the hell out of my hands. Then I have to lay off for several days to a week until they heal. It's a catch-22 and I'm wondering if anyone had any advice on how to strike a balance.
Thanks!
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krusher4
Jul 26, 2006, 9:54 PM
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Keep at it, your skin will get tough.
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maestro8
Jul 26, 2006, 10:07 PM
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The short answer is: keep climbing, but climb with awareness.
Calluses will form after continued periods of climbing, but they're not permanent. Stopping climbing for an extended period of time, even as short as a couple weeks, will allow soft skin to form underneath the callus.
If you climb until your tips are ground to the bone, as you've found out, you've got to take some down time to recover... that'll increase the amount of time it'll take to create and maintain calluses.
Instead, watch your tips while you climb and when they start to show any wear then either tape up or stop climbing. When you climb several days in a row, that might mean you only do one or two problems before you tape up, but that is much better than sitting on your couch 'cause your tips are too far gone to climb.
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climbindrummer
Jul 26, 2006, 10:54 PM
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Thanks for the replies. I probably could have been a bit more specific about my injuries. My finger tips actually aren't bad. Where I've absolutely shredded my hands are at the first and second pads above the palm when making larger, dynamic moves to distant jugs on overhanging problems.
My crimp technique isn't terrible and I think that has kept my tips intact. But jumping from a tenuous jug to another jug farther away usually results in a full hand grip-of-death. Even at that, though, it seems like it's not the "landing" that's killing my fingers but rather the "take off". I've missed a few of those dynos and landed on the mat only to find a big chunk missing from my take off hand. As I'm writing about it right now I'm thinking I need to post in the bouldering thread about maybe adjusting my technique. I'm not terribly new to climbing, but I am very new to bouldering and I've never worked problems that required such difficult moves as I am now.
Thanks again! :)
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kricir
Jul 26, 2006, 11:02 PM
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The process of losing and re-growing finger skin is something that every rock climber goes through. I also have recently felt that my biggest physical limiting factor is my finger skin. Here are a few tricks that have helped me climb longer and heal faster.
When you damage your skin to the point of pain wile climbing, stop climbing. I know it sucks, but I’d rather heal quickly then create more damage, and possibly injure my fingers my using the “good ones” and over straining them.
Go home and slather a good amount of vaseline on your wounds and cover them with a Band-Aid. It may seem counter intuitive to soften your skin if you want calluses, but my split tips\raw finger pads will heal in about 2 days this way, instead of a week or more if I just leave them alone. This also relieves the pain so you can continue going about normal every day live with out picking things up with the sides of your hands.
Use climb on hand bar or like product. I know the stuff seems expensive, but It really does help.
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rudi
Jul 27, 2006, 12:06 AM
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Sounds like you may have to work on your technique. The problem is a dynamic climbing style.. if you keep madly slapping for jugs you will get flappers. If you have to dyno then this is sort-of unavoidable. See if you can do the moves statically and controlled. This will help heaps not only for your skin but also for your strength and technique.
Until then, I would simply tape each callous on each digit.. which works ok.. but you still get the hand flappers which are hard to tape for.
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blonde_loves_bolts
Jul 27, 2006, 12:13 AM
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I've had mostly good luck keeping the skin on my hands during climbing, but I used to be a rower, and that was murder on my hands. If your skin is raw or if you have a blister, try using some zinc oxide (the white stuff lifeguards put on their noses in the sun) covered by a band-aid or two (it can be a bit messy). If you leave that on for about a day, it should seriously dry out the affected area. When your skin is intact and you're done climbing for the day, using moisturizer on a regular basis can help prevent your skin from breaking. Like others have said, if it really hurts, take a day or two off. It's painful when you barely let your skin heal, then develop a blister under a newly formed callous from resuming your climbing too soon.
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devils_advocate
Jul 27, 2006, 12:20 AM
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Yup, listen to rudi. Probably not what you want to hear, but you will be a better (and healthier) climber if you follow the advice:
There are far too many indoor boulderers that kick, slap, and scrape their way up problems because they want to send the hardest (read: highest color tape) one they can. Its fine to challenge yourself, but you should also spend time increasing the level at which you can climb smoothly and 'effortlessly' ...not to mention statically.
Desperate reaches and poorly thrown dynos will eat your hands up fast.
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rock_ranger
Jul 27, 2006, 1:05 AM
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In reply to: I've recently discovered a love for bouldering at the gym I go to, but I have a problem. It seems my arms have developed much faster than the the skin on my hands can tolerate. I have the strength to climb more and more difficult problems, but several times I have removed large quantities of skin from three or four fingers at a time. I have found a taping scheme that seems to work OK without overly restricting me, but I'd kind of like to develop some calluses as well. If I tape, I won't calluse but if I don't tape I manage to just tear the hell out of my hands. Then I have to lay off for several days to a week until they heal. It's a catch-22 and I'm wondering if anyone had any advice on how to strike a balance. Thanks!
Climb outside, pulling on plastic is bad for your hands :D
(btw, just came back from losing my fingerprints at the gym)
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climbindrummer
Jul 27, 2006, 1:57 AM
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Just wanted to pop in and say thanks for all of the advice. I knew I'd get some good perspectives :D
I do need to work on my technique (but then, don't we all?) The two problems I've been working on that have mangled my paws I picked specifically because they required me to do dynos; which I don't do well. I spend time working on other problems that require different things of me (micro holds to work out that nasty Spiderman crimp, finger cracks to work out childhood issues...). I just started on a new problem Monday that requires a heel hook for the same reason.
I'm definitely going to look into picking up a climb on hand bar. I've also been thinking of getting a Metolius simulator for the days when I really can't go to the gym (it's an hour away) and I can't go outside.
Yeah that pesky plastic is murder on the hands. They should label the grit on the stuff like sandpaper. I'm hoping to find some partners around here soon and get to know the area so I can get OUTSIDE!!!! :D
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curtis_g
Jul 27, 2006, 5:00 AM
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I really only tear after I take about 2 weeks off. I climb three hours three times a week (that's actually EVERY hour that Lifetime Fittness keeps their FOUR MILLION DOLLAR FULLY FEATURED NICROS GYM INCLUDING TWO ROOFS A CHIMNEY AND MANY ARETTES and did I mentioned it is fully featured?) ok, ok. but I never tear much even after a 2 week break. I never tore when I started either.
Now exactly how badly do you tear your skin? Down to bleeding? I've only done that once or twice on the rings screwing around in a gymnastics gym. I dont get how you could pull down on a dyno takeoff (not even fudge the landing hand) so badly that you tear. Try not swipe-ing down with your takeoff hand and instead keep pushing straight down until your hand simply pushes away from the hold...but hell, what do I know...I can't give good advice if I've never had to overcome the problem.
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curtis_g
Jul 27, 2006, 5:03 AM
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I really only tear after I take about 2 weeks off. I climb three hours three times a week (that's actually EVERY hour that Lifetime Fittness keeps their FOUR MILLION DOLLAR FULLY FEATURED NICROS GYM INCLUDING TWO ROOFS A CHIMNEY AND MANY ARETTES and did I mentioned it is fully featured?) ok, ok. but I never tear much even after a 2 week break. I never tore when I started either.
Now exactly how badly do you tear your skin? Down to bleeding? I've only done that once or twice on the rings screwing around in a gymnastics gym. I dont get how you could pull down on a dyno takeoff (not even fudge the landing hand) so badly that you tear. Try not swipe-ing down with your takeoff hand and instead keep pushing straight down until your hand simply pushes away from the hold...but hell, what do I know...I can't give good advice if I've never had to overcome the problem.
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ferretstyle99
Aug 9, 2006, 2:20 AM
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I'm pretty much still a newbie to bouldering (been working seriously for about 5 - 6 months at this point). I also get the frustration of sore hands way before my muscles are even close to getting worked. I've found that downgrading until I can move more smoothely through "easier" problems prolongs my sessions. It's a bit frustrating that I can't hammer through harder problems yet, but I feel like I'm making progress and learning how to move through the problems more, like the post above mentioned, "effortlessly".
I've noticed that laying off the chalk also helps to prolong my sessions. I know most climbers in the gym tend to use a ton of chalk, especially in the bouldering areas, but chalk just overdries my hands and makes my hands hurt sooner. So I only use chalk when I'm seriously sweating. Sorry if I sound like captain obvious here...
I'm cool with dealing with the pain if it will eventually subside due to tougher skin... I got a flapper once, and one of themore veteran climbers in the gym suggested that I file down my callouses... big callouses turn into flappers... smooth strong, flexible skin is far more durable.. any thoughts on that point? I"ve been filing them down for a while now, and it IS helping to eliminate the pinched up skin that turns into flappers right next the 2nd and 3rd knuckles.
I've heard that I should use rubbing alcohol on raw skin to toughen it
I've heard that you need to keep your hands moisturized away from the gym
I've heard that you need to lose to the point of blood before your skin really gets tough
I've heard that the only way you can toughen up is by climbing on rock outside
I really want to extend my sessions, and the only way I've been able to is by focusing on climbing with fluidity, making more static moves and reserving the dynamic moves, laying off the chalk.
Any thoughts or advice is totally welcome.. thanks to everyone..
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dutyje
Aug 9, 2006, 2:34 AM
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I'm a total flapper magnet. The skin just shreds off my hands from anything I climb. Inside, outside, it doesn't seem to matter. Of course, it's all accelerated by the hangboard training I do.
I recently bought a Climb-On Bar and have been using it quite a bit. It seems to have done a good job of healing my hands, and I had a very intense hangboard session tonight. I'm climbing at the gym tomorrow night, and those two things on consecutive days have a 100% history of leaving me with multiple flappers. I'll let you know after this week how it all turns out. So far, the Climb-On Bar has shown great promise, but I'm putting it to the test this week.
If this doesn't work, I'm out of ideas. I've tried 2 months of just climbing and working out, regardless of the condition of my hands. But now I've lost an outrageous number of skin layers, and I've almost got nothing left. I thought surely my hands would just toughen up if I kept at it, but apparently that was a pretty stupid idea.
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EricVT
Aug 13, 2007, 5:33 AM
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I would try to pay attention to the chalk your using. I know super chalk has some extra drying agents in it. I recently got off a bout of super raw hands and looking back I know it was from the chalk I was using. I've switched brands and laid off the chalk to a fine layer on my fingertips and my raw hands are gradually firming up. Now I can go twice as long at the gym without having to quit b/c my fingers are peeling through layers of skin. Advice - lay off so much chalk or switch brands .. try it out, who knows
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flowin
Aug 16, 2007, 12:56 AM
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used to happen to me all the time, technique helps greatly, dont lunge, and dont torque your hand on the holds....good luck
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bucknasty
Aug 16, 2007, 3:03 PM
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Wow, to revisit an old topic... Cutting back on chalk really helps. So does developing better technique. I always have a layer of skin missing from my tips now, and get about one flapper a week (I've been in the gym for about three months now), but it's not bad, just take a day or two off and tape the flappers and it's all good. If it hurts your pads when you're climbing, stop, like you would when anything else that normally doesn't hurt hurts. Moisturizing your hands after climbing is definitely helpful too.
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sanfranpunk
Aug 18, 2007, 8:25 AM
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[quote "climbindrummer"]I've recently discovered a love for bouldering at the gym I go to, but I have a problem. It seems my arms have developed much faster than the the skin on my hands can tolerate. I have the strength to climb more and more difficult problems, but several times I have removed large quantities of skin from three or four fingers at a time. I have found a taping scheme that seems to work OK without overly restricting me, but I'd kind of like to develop some calluses as well. If I tape, I won't calluse but if I don't tape I manage to just tear the hell out of my hands. Then I have to lay off for several days to a week until they heal. It's a catch-22 and I'm wondering if anyone had any advice on how to strike a balance.
Thanks![/quote]i haven't had fingertips for a year now. go climb in bishop(buttermilks) it will train your skin. but yeah someone prior to me said do static moves. thats completely true. you will also become stronger the slower and more static you climb.
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