"You have really bad hands! They are no longer soft at all.” Yes, correctly identified. As soon as you set foot in a functional gym and do regular work-outs, that's it for the first time with the delicate hands.
Avoid torn hands
We do pull ups, toes to bar, bar muscle ups, barbell work-outs and all of this puts a lot of strain on your hands. Our biggest fear - at least mine, haha - is tearing my hands open. When that happens first end in the area. The friction of sweat, magnesium and the pull-up bar quickly causes blisters to form on the hands. If these tear open, it is associated with infinite pain and some blood. Ergo, very uncomfortable.
Above all, the benchmark work-out "Cindy" (20min AMRAP 5 pull ups, 10 push pps, 15 squats) is known for open hands. The annoying thing about the open hands is not the pain during it, but that the next training sessions have to be adjusted and you have to endure a lot of pain. Caring for your hair, washing your hands, writing, typing - your whole everyday life becomes very uncomfortable.
I can't even remember what my first work out was when my hands ripped open, but I think it was an open work out. My hands used to tear up almost every week because I had no idea about hand protection. And I didn't take good care of them either. So that you are spared the misery - here is my blog article about my experience in the universe of brains.
Many brains tested
There are many manufacturers of so-called "Gymnastic Grips". My beginnings were of course at Amazon. I got a pair there for a relatively cheap price. These cheap grips didn't survive long, but somehow I was too stingy to invest more money in good ones. If I had saved myself the 15 cheap pairs, I would have been able to afford higher-quality grips. In my experience, the cheap ones are not robust and stable enough for functional fitness. My next grips were of course the "Jaw Grips". These are quite good for barbell work-outs but for the gymnastic movements - in my opinion - much too thin and do not offer proper protection. Next one.
So the "Bear KompleX" followed. I wasn't happy with these either. The foam on the inside of the wrist was very annoying on the model at that time. So for example when I was hanging on the pull up bar and doing bar muscle ups, the foam between my wrist and palm felt very slippery and I lost my hand on the bar. I find that rather bad, because I want to be able to concentrate completely on the movements during the workout.
Then I grabbed the "Victory Grips X2". A lot of money and "WOW!". Those are really good handguards. The material is great - for rough and also powder-coated bars and the processing around the wrist is also super comfortable. I chose the fingerless version. This is cool if you want to use the grips on the barbell as well. However, the material was too thin for my taste. That was then again nothing. So the search continued.
Hello My Love
And then I found them: Picsil Falcon Grips (3 fingers) – Oh,… Hello My Love!
Why do I like these grips so much?
The grips have a soft yet strong material around the wrist. It doesn't cut in and they don't get slippery when you sweat a lot.
The material also provides optimal support for powder-coated pull-up bars. This is important because often the poles are new at competitions and as a result are very slippery and offer little support. Even with rough poles (approved by Bens Gym) the grips give a great grip.
The grips have a Velcro fastener and can be quickly turned around. So you don't lose a second when you go from toes to bar to handstand walk...
I personally prefer the 3-hole variant. The 2-hole grips are a bit too narrow for me.
I chalk my brains in, throw them around the pole and off we go! The lifespan of the grips depends entirely on the frequency of use. But basically they last a few months if you use them as much as I do. And so they last much, much longer than the other comparison products that I have tried. And best of all: your hands stay whole and that's the most important thing.
Oh yes: How do you actually grab the pull-up bar?
Many grab the pole in the so-called suicide grip. The name says it all here. This means the thumb does not grip the bar, but lies on the bar like the other fingers. The danger here is that you fall off the bar and nobody really wants that. So the Monkey Grip would be right. Not only is this safer, it also allows you to tighten your lats. And we definitely need that big muscle. Besides, you're not just gripping the kettlebell with your fingers, are you? Here, too, the thumb encloses the kettlebell. Think about it and give it a try!
Yeah, I know the Games athletes don't either. Why? Coach Birdy (of The Gymnastic Course) answered this question for me: "The sport is so young, they don't know any better and/or don't want to switch after such a long time."
So, that's it from my side.
your buddies