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Rock gym blisters


Kevin_Matlock

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Or you could just be like me and watch the skin continually peel off in sheets? Is that normal or do I have leprosy??? confused.gif Tape on fingertips sux monkey though, your tips get sweaty and then the tape just slides around or comes off, only works for about 10 minutes while your warming up.

 

As for best thing.... well besides not popping off of sharp edged crimpers? smileysex5.gif if Know!

grin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gif

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I climbed on sharp edged crimpers all day at Clem's Holler and my finger tips are fine. I think you folks with the new home climbing walls are suffering from over zealousness. Back off a little and give your hands time to heal. Then get back on and give your hands time to build up callouses. Use a moisturizer at the end of the workout to keep the skin from cracking.

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Currently, I don't pull anything harder than V2/3 in the gym, but I've never had a problem with blisters, inside or out. I can see shredding tips, but beyond that, I'm not sure what kind of repetitive friction you're pulling to generate blisters. Unless you're talking about tearing from slopers...

 

One thing I can think of is that climbing in the gym tends to be MUCH more humid due to being enclosed, so I need to chalk up more. Without the chalk, your hands might be sliding over the holds and rubbing the skin loose.

Edited by badvoodoo
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I think you folks with the new home climbing walls are suffering from over zealousness.

 

I was wondering if this was my prob.... I've been a member at this one gym for 2 weeks now and have NOT climbed maybe 2 or 3 of those days. My arms feel like shit (pumpage), but I was expecting that; the blisters are a bit of a surprise though. cry.gif

 

Looks like I am taking a couple days off and bigdrink.gif

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often when you are starting back into (gym) climbing you overgrip holds, thus creating more contact pressure and blisters, flappers, gobies, what have yous. try a lighter grip (less pump), plus once you have climbed in the gym enough you start to recognize holds and know if you are going to need to really pull down on them or not. and be sure to wash the chalk off your hands before you head home

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Without the chalk, your hands might be sliding over the holds and rubbing the skin loose.

 

I call bs on that one. 1st you only needed to chalk up if your working something hard. 2nd I find its more of a probelm that i just can't grip the hold in the first place if my hands are sweaty, if you can grip it once your hand is on there its not a probelm

 

Try Squids idea, or just deal with it till your hands get used to it.

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Without the chalk, your hands might be sliding over the holds and rubbing the skin loose.

 

I call bs on that one. 1st you only needed to chalk up if your working something hard. 2nd I find its more of a probelm that i just can't grip the hold in the first place if my hands are sweaty, if you can grip it once your hand is on there its not a probelm

 

Try Squids idea, or just deal with it till your hands get used to it.

It was the best I could come up with, since I'm at a loss as to how you get blisters climbing. I was a gymnast for several years, and I learned quickly how blisters form. Rips are easy when you're pulling hard, because it requires only a single lateral motion to simply rip the skin off, but blisters require repetitive motion in multiple directions, working the skin loose. If you're working your hands on a single spot that much in that many directions, it seems like you're not keeping your movements smooth, which is critical when you're holding on by just the friction of your skin.

 

As for rips, ya, second to just taking some time away, Squid's superglue option seems like the best bet for fingertips.

Edited by badvoodoo
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Skin 'ripping' is probably the better term versus blistering; I stand corrected.

My problem areas are all localized to either the first pad (closest to the hand) on a finger or the normal callus placement on the palm of the hand (opposite the knuckles). I'm not having any specific finger TIP issues, just in a narrow band on both hands.

I noticed that both pinkies have a buckled up skin thing happening whenever I drop off the wall... just opening the hand really wide tends to flatten out the skin... you can feel it unfold; GNARLY!

Maybe it's my "hold on for dear life"-technique????

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When I started out on plastic, my callouses grew really fast. Too fast, to be exact. The bigger they got, the more apt they were to tear from the underlying layers of tissue. As soon as I started whittling them down with a file (Franklin makes a nice, rough callous scrubber that keeps them from getting too big) the problem went away.

 

Also, I found that hitting the campus board created lots of flappers. Just my .02 cents worth.

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Gym climbing mastah say: dumb man swing on holds like monkey; kung fu mastah dance on holds like spider. Get more technical with your climbing. Learn to climb statically so that your hand finds the sweet spot on the hold and then stays in one place, and exert only as much force as is necessary. The secret to this is of course to have good footwork. If you ever find yourself hanging by your arms then you are probably not climbing in the most efficient manner. Not only will this tear the skin off your hands, it also won't cut it on harder stuff where the holds aren't big enough to just hang on (I can speak only to 5.11's though).

 

Oh yeah, and climb a lot.

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  • 1 month later...
"Climb On" bar is great for post-climb hand moisturizing and healing the scrapes and boo-boos.

I totally agree! Although i try to avoid the bar for minor boo-boos and just let my body work it out, it is great for big flappers- helps them heal much faster. Although, i must say, putting a big plug of it in a gaping, bloody hole in your finger is a bit disconcerting at first! oh, and make sure to cut that excess skin as short as possible!!!

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When I started out on plastic, my callouses grew really fast. Too fast, to be exact. The bigger they got, the more apt they were to tear from the underlying layers of tissue. As soon as I started whittling them down with a file (Franklin makes a nice, rough callous scrubber that keeps them from getting too big) the problem went away.

 

Also, I found that hitting the campus board created lots of flappers. Just my .02 cents worth.

 

 

thumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gif Maintainence is the best prevention. As longs and I make sure not to let my calouses thicken unevenly, by using file or pumic stone, I don't get flappers.

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