***There will be no official Seminar Series Class today but Rudy will be around to assist with any snatch and clean and jerk help needed today!***
Olympic Total:
Snatch 1RM
Clean and Jerk 1RM
Compare to 8Oct11.
This time last year… Zack wrote on Problem Foods and Keeping it on the Rails.
Oh $#$@ I ripped – now what?
-Kate Mikelsons
What is the 1st giveaway that someone CrossFits? Checkout their hands! I know my hands look pretty decent until you flip them palms up and see that they actually resemble hands of an Appalachian lumberjack. It really freaks people out when they catch a glimpse – my favorite is walking in to get a manicure and seeing the reaction on the manicurists face when my hands had a little less than an ideal week – it’s awesome!
As a former gymnast, I think I got my first rip at age 4 and have had the (often time painful) privilege to try just about every precaution and remedy out there (except for pickle juice which someone mentioned the other day!) and wanted to share my “best of” to prevent them and suggest what to do if you unfortunately get one.
What is a rip?
If you are reading this and you don´t know what a rip is and you´ve been CrossFitting for over 1 month – kudos to you but…..you should probably be working a little harder on the kip in your pull-up – just kidding (kinda) ;)! Calluses are hardened areas of skin that develop in response to a prolonged point of friction in order to protect your skin. Because that skin has hardened, the dead cells don´t “slough off” the way normal skin does. A rip occurs because too much excess dead skin is sitting on top of a developed callus at a friction point and when the thickness becomes too great, the callus tears off or rips.
Maintenance
If you CrossFit or hang from bars, you will develop calluses (good thing) which can, if left on their own rip (not so pleasant). The idea is to develop great calluses that will allow you to perform 40+ pull-ups in a row but not lose training time because they rip halfway thru a workout. “Callus Maintenance” is needed to prevent rips from occurring.
There are lots of methods that work to sand down your calluses. You want to make sure that the skin remains tough but all the edges are smooth. Some tools I´ve used that are effective are the ped egg, a callus shaver (intended for the feet), and razor blades both on moist and/or dry skin. The key is to try a few different ways, adopt your favorite, and make time to do it every week! Remember, you are shaving off DEAD skin but the soft skin around the callus is very much alive and has nerve endings – don´t mess with that! Also, I do not recommend picking because it´s not as precise and has a tendency to create tears rather than prevent them.
Oh-no! It happened!
So now what? Miss a week of CrossFit? Ask your coach to give you a substitute for pull-ups because your hand is in shambles? First, it depends on the rip, but if possible, here´s my advice for coming back faster even with one of the worst kinds of rips – the bloody ones!
1. IMMEDIATELY following a rip, cut off the flap of skin. If it´s a bad one, tell a coach and they will show you where the scissors are and help you inspect your apparatus for blood. If you don´t notice until your home or want to assemble your own “rip” kit, scissors with a slight bend at the tip work well. I tend to use nail clippers or cuticle cutters because they are easier to maneuver with one hand. The most important thing is to cut that flap off as close to the skin as humanly possible.
2. Wash your hands. Totally painful, I get it but it has to happen as an infected rip is way worse!
3. Get that sucker closed – fast! This is the biggest area of discussion as there are probably a hundred ways to do it and some fancy products on the market (I dislike the ones with alcohol). My favorite is taking a black tea bag, wetting it completely (doesn´t matter what temperature water) and wrapping the string around my hand while clutching the bag. I move it around or flip it over every 5 or so minutes for about 15 minutes. It stings a little and your hand will be a little discolored when you take it off (see above photo), but the rips will be closed. If there is still a little oozing going on, I repeat after letting it breathe for 30 minutes.
4. Cover them during the day with Neosporin and band aids.
5. Leave them open at night – no band aids
6. Cover them when you work out and modify the exercises that hurt if needed.
To better looking hands!
Great post, Kate!
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Remember: There is no yoga on Sunday. See you next Tuesday.
Is there really a 6 a.m. class on Friday?
Great article, Kate. I grabbed my Ped Egg, which I haven’t used in awhile, after I read it.
Airdyne fun this am:
50 cals x 8, 2 min @ 40-50% b/w intervals
50 cals is pretty synonymous with a 500m row so this was pretty much 2 mins on, 2 min @ cruise control as i finished most of the 50 cal work in about 1:50-1:55. rest periods were probably too short as i could actually walk after i finished. they need to be 90 secs next time, then it will not be as “pleasurable” in the aftermath. hoping to get in the Oly Total later on today in weightlifting shoes so always an adventure when i rock the Adistars
Anyone out there planning to come in to retest the paleo workout? I planned to do it last night at the 8pm but no one else in class planned to do it, so I ended up sticking with the regular programming. I will get it done today, but was hoping for company. Post here or email me at kittyhatter@gmail.com.
Great article Kate. Has anyone tried dermabond ? I know it burns but I just wanted to know how quickly your rips heal.
Oly total
Snatch @ 225
C&J & 275, 290 (fx2)
Very timely article for me as well although i am the worst offender of not taking care of my hands. I got a few blood blisters in both hands after doing bar muscle ups for the first time in months on Monday and am not really sure how to play it. They are under the surface of my first layer of callouses and i worry about doing pullups or high rep kb swings or barbell work the remainder of this week because i don’t want them to burst. at the same time i have no clue if they will disappear if i give them some days off so i’m stuck with quite the little quagmire…giggity
Great article Kate! Rips are kind of a ritual of initiation for Crossfitters…but once you get them once you never want to get them again! From doing all the preventative stuff Kate mentioned, I haven’t ripped (at least from pullups) in almost a year.
Maintenance is the most important kind of rip prevention, but another thing to do is use grips of some kind. You can make your own using athletic tape (Glenn did an article here: http://www.crossfitchicago.com/archives/5948 ; another how-to is here: http://www.crossfitvirtuosity.com/articles/ive-got-to-hand-it-to-you-part-3/)
You can also get leather gymnastics-like grips which are a little more durable than tape. However, both the tape and leather grips types of grips protect mainly your palm, not your fingers…so be sure to keep your callouses in check on your digits even if you use grips!
If I’m doing a workout of more than ~60 movements on a bar (usually pullups or toes to bar), I’ll consider wearing tape grips. But day to day, I really don’t like having something in between my hand and the bar.
Also, thank Rudy for having really nice Rogue pullup rigs! The diameter and texture of the bar really does make a difference and the Rogue bars are great…when I travel and use pullup bars at other gyms, my hands cry (almost literally) to be back at CFC!
Great article. If you need to tape, Coach Glenn wrote a great “how-to” back in the day: http://www.crossfitchicago.com/archives/5948
Olympic Total:
Snatch: #175 (I haven’t been able to PR on snatch for a longtime)
Clean and Jerk: #245 (#10 PR)
Total: #420
Nice and timely article Kate, got a pretty good rip on Monday snatching and had to deal with it today. In terms of general maintenance, I’ve been using a product called Bag Balm while on the Oly Cycle. ChrisS recommended it to me awhile back and I usually put it on before bed. A number of the lifters at MuscleDriverUSA use this, and I’ve found it to help immensely in terms of keeping your hands soft.
http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-detail/Bag-Balm?skuId=576025
Bit of an off day today, but fun to see the PRs by a number of people at the 6am this morning.
Snatch: #175-#185(FxLost Count)-#190.5(Fx3)
Pulls and bar speed were good, right elbow/tricep was hurting a bit from the bench maxing yesterday and just couldn’t lock that sucker out.
C&J: Took 5 minutes on the C&J and only had time for #225. Just #10 under my PR and felt smooth.
I know 6am’ers are supposed to have word limits on their posts but wanted to provide the Bag Balm tip as it’s been a game changer for keeping my hands intact.
Olympic total: 146
Snatch: 65 (5# PR FINALLY broke 60#)
Clean&Jerk: 80 (5# PR, failed the jerk @ 85#)
I am thankful for positive recognition from Bryce.
Funny, haven’t seen any “diary like” posts from the 6am. Weird.
Crossfit Minneapolis
Good time back home…
Bench press. 2-2-2-2-2
135-155-165-175-185
Metcon
10-10-8-8-6-6-4-4-2-2 push ups
20m bear crawl between each set
5:27
Games athlete Deborah cordner Carson belongs to this box and was working out with us. I went out hard and tried to keep up with her, but fatigue set in and she smoked me in the end. I really need to get better at push ups.
First post
Olympic Total: #320
Snatch – #115 (First time doing a snatch, correctly)
Clean & Jerk – #205, failed jerk at #215
Good and useful article, Kate.
My hand maintenance techniques are slightly different, but they work for me. I use a rough emery board on my callouses, I keep it in my car and file my hands regularly on my drive to work. The white debris that comes off them is a little gross, so I try not to wipe it on my pants! I usually go to Ulta and buy the roughest one they sell. One lasts me several months.
I rarely rip anymore, but when I do I use crazy glue to seal the edge of the rip after trimming the excess skin. The problem you encounter after trimming skin is that there’s a rough edge that is very prone to ripping again. I fill the remaining gap with crazy glue after the bleeding has stopped and the wound is clean. You might think that’s crazy, but I can assure you it’s very similar to dermabond in composition and much cheaper. My opinions aren’t just my own on this, I know plenty of other docs who use crazy glue all the time on skin. I’ve been using it for years, long before I was a crossfitter.
I am sure most of you have heard this already, but excessive chalking can cause your hands to tear. I personally do not use chalk and my hands rarely tear.
Thanks for the PSA Carlo, but you forgot to mention that you also rarely work out.
C’mon Radin you couldn’t beat DCC at that wod? You MUST represent for CFC! Only kidding as she is the troof
Snatch Friday! (oh wait, it just feels like a friday…)
Snatch: 75
C&J: 100
Both are within 5lbs of PRs. C&J felt pretty light, I think I had more in me, but just not enough time. Need to work on making contact with the bar.
@ Adam
+ 2 Fantasy life points
@ AllDay
Longer posts are appreciated, please keep them up, along with your thoughts on what you posted, how you felt about those thoughts and what you thought about those feelings.
Oh snap Adam!
I second Allday’s recommendation of the Bag Balm. Since I work construction and wear gloves most of the day, I coat my hands with it once a day and keep my hands in the gloves. Then at the end of every shower, when my hand are soft, I use a pumice stone and run the heck out of my calluses.
I haven’t come close ripping since I started this.
@Adam – Don’t be jealous of my smooth hands.
If anyone wants to watch Coach Erin down margaritas and chips and guac for time – we’re heading to Uncle Julios at 7:30 tonight. I think there’s about 7 of us. Send me a text if you want to come – if the group gets much bigger, I’ll call ahead to make sure there’s not a long wait. 773.339.4393
No runs, no rips, no errors……
Snatch: 115#
C&J: 155#
Was getting psyched out wicked bad today. Really need to focus on jumping back. Almost all my lifts had me landing forward…
Journal Entry #3
Daily breakdown:
5:15 – Arise from slumber
5:16 – Abscond to the lavatory for a morning scrub, wash the body in preparation for today’s activities.
5:18 – Personal reflection (this involved looking at my reflection in the mirror to make sure sure I had not contracted vampirism throughout the night as well as to check for any moles that have the potential for cancer)
5:19 – Personal time (this involved some other stuff)
5:30 – Requisition vehicle for daily commute to place of employment
6:30 – Reach place of employment
6:42 – Log in to computer and peruse several blogs of the humor and merriment, as well as several others pertaining to the expansion and growth of the mind.
6:50 – Begin work
7:13 – Pause for personal reflection, admire image in reflection of window
8:45 – Rush to the lavatory after morning coffee
8:50 – Receive reprimand from Human Resources
8:51 – Put pants back on
8:53 – Resume work at more studious pace!
10:25 – Review humorous crossfit blog, find humorous posts
10:27 – Respond in kind, awarding the squire Adam C +2 fantasy life points and laying down some knowledge for one, young Mr. Anthony Dayritt
10:30 – Resume laborious labor at incredible speed!
11:48 – Post non-funny entry and prepare to vacate said work premises for the holiday weekend
11:49 – Adventure awaits!
may have found my 6am stride today. spent most of the morning snatching. hit 111# (1# PR) and then hit 115# (5# PR)
c&j only had time to work up to 125#
great article Kate – i have the most pansy hands around. anything high rep on the bar I tape up, also am trying to train myself not to overgrip on the bar – something i used to have no idea that I was doing, but it makes a big difference how you grip!
Called it.
Who also knew after watching DBTG #3 JoeP would come in swift with a long diary post?
*Don’t actually respond. Let’s not be THAT guy ^!
At Crossfit Emergence in Missoula Montana.
Of course it was a burner….
3×5 BS: 140-150-160
3rds for time
17 KB swings (1.5 pood)
15 wall balls 14#
5 mins and 47 seconds of awfulness. Got some good cues on programming to make sure these short burners don’t stay in the suck wheelhouse.
Post
3snatch pulls+1snatch
1×55, 1×70, 1×80, 1×85, 1×90 (x4)
Struggled and dropped prescribed weight as I had to use a men’s bar which threw me for a loop. Should probably play with that from time to time.
5 rds not for time
8xFS @95#
10 TTB
10 false grip ring rows
I think we are going to do a family murph tomorrow for good measure. This slight bit of altitude (and the pizza I ate last night) is causing some issues;). Good times!
Loving the additional info on the blog today, it’s always great to hear what works for other people.
I keep hearing little kids voices (just like in the Subway commercials) when I look at todays photo.
Carrie: “Look, I can pick up this big orange bouncy ball!”
Mo: “Augh sweet! I wanna pick up that big orange bouncy ball too!”
Coach: “Me and my beard are so happy for you!”
Hey guys!
Don’t forget to fill out the Goal Survey linked to in yesterday’s blog. Out of 400+ members, there are currently only 25 people who have completed it–c’mon guys take 5-15 minutes to fill one out!
http://www.crossfitchicago.com/archives/8636
There are also identical paper copies available at the front desk if that is more convenient.
Have a great and safe holiday :)
^ Linked to in Monday’s* blog rather
145 snatch. 10#pr
Spent several close pulls on 155 before settled with 145
185 c&j. Shoulder wasn’t feeling great so went to clean only. Got 205. 10#pr. Went to 225 instead of 215 cause I was distracted thinking about how Bryce likes me more than anyone else at the box. By the time I went to 215 I was spent.
Thanks for the great cues Bryce.
Your favorite
Yeah, I was a little surprised to see the 6 am’ers pegged as diary bloggers, too, Brooke. Go figure.
Solid, solid effort Joe P.
Be that guy, please keep being that guy.
Worked out at Lifesport Crossfit in Toledo today. Did Cindy…5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups & 15 air squats. (Originally set for dead lifts but I got grouped with the out of towners & senior citizens….not that you old folk don’t rock the heck out of some crossfit bc I’m gonna be old and crotchety when I’m 90). Did 9 rounds + 4 pull-ups in 20 min. They had us do strength stuff after…which felt weird. 10 sets of 2 squat cleans every 30 seconds. Done at 50#, felt like I could’ve gone a teensy bit heavier.
@JoeP…you make me feel like I don’t spend enough time reflecting upon my reflection in the mirror. Will work on adding more time doing that.
Snatch@175 10#PR
C&J@205
First time doing C&J so I suppose that’s a PR. 205 went up super easy, jumped to 235 and missed. Should have had 225 if I didn’t attempt the 235.
In regards to “the rip” it was just 2 days ago that a few people noticed the insides of my hands. Their expressions were pretty priceless. “Dude, what the hell is wrong with your hands?!?!?!”
It is now my goal to fill out the goal survey
My form is getting better, but I need more depth on these lifts. Still working on my mobility.
Snatch: 115#
C&J: 145#
Day off today, dropped kiddos off and went back to bed. Slept into 9:15! Can’t tell you how much that’s a miracle.
Oly total # 310
Snatch 125#
C&J 185#
Weak!
My technique and form are so bad! Really bad. I am strong enough, but mobility isn’t there either. Great cues from Bryce and working with jonny vu helped. I think I need to get more laser focus on mobility and technique over the next 3-6 months. At this stage it getting friggin embarrassing.
Off day tomorrow to overindulge in some bird and some booze. Back at it Friday.
Have a great thanksgiving everyone. Looking forward to reading a minute by minute account of joeP’s thanksgiving day!!!
snatch: 160
clean and jerk: 205 – a lot of fails at 215. As always I just needed to get under the bar…
Snatch: 195 (20#PR) 205 (Fx2)
C&J: 245 (10#PR) 255 (Fx2)
Just got fatigued toward the end. I’d like to shoot for 200+ on snatch next time around.
So awesome to see so many new names on the blog!!! Keep posting all your stuff you lurkers!!!
JoeP v Drywall in a blog off. Would love to see this showdown as the war of words & witticisms would be legendary
as we are all reflecting,
i am reposting this. Ranison posted this last year!
http://www.dieselsc.com/101-ways-to-be-fckin-epic/?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d8cbf9c4f30fa19%2C0
Dear diary: Stuck in Mesa, AZ. Although there are a ton of boxes around here, didn’t have a vehicle to get to one. For the first time in years, I indulged myself in a bowl of cereal: Lucky Charms. It was awesome. My daughter had some too, but to my horror she didn’t like the marshmallows. I guess that’s a good thing.
Great article Kate. I would also suggest to crossfitters is to avoid putting a death grip on the pull up bar. There was also an article on the CF journal and the guy used a grip that relied more on his fingers as opposed to the palm.
Do people really do this sh@t to their hands?
This is not for real! Rugged rough hands are cool and sexy and make you more elite. At least that is what Joe P told me!
Snaha – 155 – didn’t have it today on 2 hours sleep and 18hours of fasting, can’t wait to eat at 5 tonight!
Started intermittent fasting (did it last year and liked it)
Clean and Push press (still have toes problems)
205
WOD
Every 5 minutes for 4 rounds
10 TTB
10 Pull-ups
400m rows
Round 1 – unbroken – 2:10
Round 2 – unbroken – 2:00
Round 3 – unbroken to rep 7 on pull-ups – 2:09
Round 4 – unbroken – 2:13
Great noon class!!! Nice work Coach Bryce with a very large and loud (Bob) class!
Still taking it easy on my back so avoided pulling from the ground, flexing my trunk, and hyper extending my trunk which sucks. Tough wanting to lift with the other athletes, but I definitely hope to come back stronger and with a better understanding of listening to my body.
Worked up to 10 reps of overhead squats @ 135
Focused on form and keeping my midline tight.
Post: Strict muscle up work and double unders.
Snatch@60#. Not a PR. However I ended up realizing FINALLY that squat snatching is the way to go. I realized this after I was sitting in a OHS for a while yelling at Bryce to come look at my form. He WAS right …damn it.
C+J=100#. Finally!!! That’s been on the bucket list for QUITE some time. My apologies to those who witnessed my “happy dance” after.
Gotta go! Time to take my shirt off and strut my stuff!
Happy Thanksgiving! :)
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
― Marcel Proust
Happy Thanksgiving to everybody and their families
Love the quote MJ, you are no JoeP but great quote.
@6AM Glenn – I wish I didn’t like Lucky Charms…My Suprailliac Score score says I think they are really good.
@Alex – Picked up some Hawaiian Rolls for Thanksgiving Dinner…when can I expect you? I know they are your weakness.
Snatch 170 +5lb PR – Great cues by Jonny on speed and set up, Randy taught me to slow down…slow to get it off the ground, fast in the middle, when I did it the way they told me I snatched my PR like a warm up.
Clean and Jerk 225 +10lb PR
New PRs tonight! Love throwing around heavy weights.
Snatch 140#
CJ – 160#
Lots of good advice from Randy and Val. Thanks guys.
Warm-up: 2.5 hour drive from the office in the Western suburbs. Missing the start of the 4pm class meant a little extra time to practice DUs for joining the 5pm.
Snatch: worked up to 155# (PR) but this remains an awful movement for me. I got better today thanks to Randy and Vals’s excellent coaching, but still a long ways to go.
CJ – 215# (+20# PR) Almost had 225# just couldn’t get the push on the Jerk. Next time!
Snatch – 155# 10 lb PR, Thanks to Randy for the cue to be patient.
CJ – 205# tied my PR but was getting tired and could not stand up with 210#
Snatch – 145# PR for a power Snatch
C+J – 205# (-5# for PR)
Total – 350#
I couldn’t clean 215# for the life of me today. Nice work to all the PRs.
The Mainsite WOD tomorrow is the Open 12.1…Whose up for 7 minutes of burpees…you’re a real stud if you do it after the pumpkin pie!
Snatch: 152# (2# PR…wooo fractional plates!)
C+J: 170#
I should have planned my weights better…PR is 177# so after 170 I jumped to 180
Post:
A1: 3×12 Ring Dips
A2: 3×12 False grip ring rows
A3: Watch Carrie DL 315
B1: 2×20 GHD sit ups
B2: 2×20 Hip/Back extensions
B3: Watch Carrie DL 322
C1: Watch Carrie DL 360!!!!!!!! YEAH CARRIE!
Finished out the weeks lifts:
Tuesday:
Bench
5X60# 3X70# 2X85# 1X90# 1X95# 1X100# 2X105#
5# pr
Pull-Ups
5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 9
Wednesday:
Deadlift
5X125# 3X150# 2X175# 1X185# 1X200# 1X 215#
Failed 225# five times in a row.
Press
5X50# 3X60# 2X70# 1X80# 1X85# failed at 90# boo :(
Bent Over Row
5X50# 3X60# 2X70# 1X80# 1X85# 1X90# 5X95#
Done for the week. Happy Thanksgiving!
snatch: 70, pr because the I could barely squat snatch the bar last time i tried this. still a lot of work to do but learned a lot tonight.
clean and jerk: 105, not sure if this is a pr because i can’t remember if i squat cleaned the last time i did this. squats are the limiting factor.
way to go nicki on a 20# pr on the clean and jerks!
Olympic Total:
Snatch: 145# (matched PR)
C&J: 195# (15#PR)
total: 340
Had some early form issues on the snatch – having trouble from the ground to the hang. After some good pointers and form work from Coach Carolyn I got to 145 but ran out of time.
C&J – felt good, for the first time my jerk was my limiting factor instead of my clean.