CrossFit and KB Enthusiasts Should You Be Proud Of Ripped Hands?

Yes and no!

Let’s be honest, ripped and bloody hands are an expression of

“I don’t give a …..* and just pushed on through, that’s how tough I am”.

*fill in one of the following, a word starting with f and ending with k, or starting with s and ending with t.

Jump straight to: Cause for Kettlebell ripped hands | Cause for CrossFit ripped hands

Let’s get serious here. Ripped hands happen with CrossFitters and Kettlebell Athletes but there is a rite of passage and that is to have the fundamentals under one’s belt. The technique and understanding to perform high reps. Before you have those under your belt it’s totally not cool to rip your hands. Even when you do have the rights to post your blood photos, it is and should never be the goal. Let’s talk about those times it’s perfectly alright to claim your Instagram and Facebook fame.

I already spoke about having a good understanding of the fundamentals and technique, if you have that and you’re in a competition, the one day you put everything on the line for, the day you’ve been training for, that’s when you go all out and go further than you’ve ever gone before no matter what, and that’s the time you can claim your bloody hand fame (if there is no other option). Okay maybe you can get away with being in competition with yourself once in a while as well, but again, it would require you to first have the fundamentals and technique down.

In any other situation it’s just plain stupid and puts you out of action for a while. You should stop before your hands rip, take a step back and analyze your faults. The caveat is that it happens in an instant.

Okay, so if one meets all the basic requirements how can the hands still rip then? Even if your technique is spot on when you perform incredibly high reps the skin will simply pass the point of endurance. Each rep no matter how good will provide some kind of friction and that amount of friction will add up to an amount which will cause your hands to rip. The other cause could be fatigue, a condition which prevents you to implement a good technique.

So, what am I saying? I’m saying that everyone will rip their hands at some stage if they do serious reps. Everyone should invest time in learning the fundamentals and proper technique for whatever they’re competing in. I’m saying that the pro’s who put in the hard yards, the coaches who are smarter, and the deserving athletes are not impressed with your antics when breaking the rules of bloody hands on social media.

Cause for Kettlebell ripped hands

1. Not understanding the fundamentals
2. Incorrect technique
3. Hands not well maintained
4. Too much too soon
5. Too much
6. Too heavy

Cause for CrossFit ripped hands

Most of the reasons mentioned above will apply to CrossFit, there are also further reasons like:

1. Rusty equipment
2. Not using chalk
3. Not using chalk properly
4. Not well-maintained equipment
5. Not stopping when you know you should

Hands will always develop calluses as there is friction between your hands and the equipment you work with, calluses need to be maintained by shaving them down to just above normal skin.

A high-risk kettlebell exercise that can cause ripped hands is the kettlebell snatch. Learn how to avoid ripping your hands to be able to do high reps.