About 3 weeks ago, I injured myself and I've been out of crossfit comish since. 2 weeks in a boot + 1 week of no crossfit, and I still can't run, jump, lunge, etc. Seeing as how I wasn't going to be able to do crossfit like usual, I focused on my strength training 4 days a week and thought I would get my fitness fix that way.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love strength training for obvious reasons (it gets me STRONG AS FUUUU), but lifting weight isn't the same as throwing weight. Strict pull-ups aren't as fun as kipping pull-ups. And grip WODs just don't do it for me- I need strength work, but (helloooo) I want to do the fun stuff! I hate having to hold hex dumbbells with my fingers for a minute knowing that I won't be doing any cool crossfitty stuff after that. YUCK.
So how does all that have anything to do with hand ripping? WELL LET ME TELL YOU.
My strength training/powerlifting coach has been programming my strength, and since being injured, she didn't want me to get too out of shape so she would add in a bit of conditioning at the end of each strength session. Bless her heart. It was SO OBVIOUS I was slightly depressed over having ZERO crossfit, so she tried to make the conditioning workouts as crossfitty as she could while still letting my leg do its healing thang.
Lately it's been KB swings, or push ups, and a lot of Airdyne. But THIS time she included pull-ups! Woohoo! As a powerlifter and a strength specialist, my coach never (and I mean NEVER) allows for kipping ANYTHING. Apparently it sort of defeats the purpose of strength or something. Anyway, this time, she let me kip!! I was SO excited to do some swinging around a bar! I hadn't done kipping pull ups for a good 3 weeks, so I was definitely jonesing for 'em, ifyouknowwhatimean...
So my conditioning "WOD" is:
3 Rounds
20 Pull-Ups
20 reps of 4 movements on battling ropes (just think of 80 reps of slamming huge ropes)
30 sec Airdyne sprint
So off I go. I chalk up and get to swinging... Mistake #1: My grip. I recently learned that wrapping your thumb around the bar is the "correct" way to grip the bar, and having your thumb on top of the bar is WAY bad. Kelly Starrett explains it in more detail here, but here's the gist: Thumb outside of the bar: BAD. Thumb AROUND the bar: GOOD.
As I'm swinging and kipping and breathing hard, I feel my palms just burn. I get off the bar and stretch my palm and look down. No rip, but I can so see that circular demon blister forming. Damnit. I have 40 more pull-ups left!!!! How did my hands get so sissy from this time off?! Ugh, let's just do this...
I get through the battling ropes (forearm destroyer is what they should really be called), and get to the Airdyne, and before I know it, I'm back at the pull-up bar. I chalk up, I hop on, and I swing. I get through 5 and have to come down because I'm a little bitch like that. My hands! Oh the pain, the searing pain!! I look down at my palm again and that little fu*ker is just laughing at me. On the verge of tearing, I get back on that bar and finish my set (in mini sets of 5 obvi). There was no way I was going to finish that set unbroken.
Ropes, Airdyne, Chalk....back to the bar. I stood there going back and forth from staring at my palm and staring at the bar while intermittently whimpering. I do 2 pull-ups. TWO. I get down, look at my palm and, YEP, there it goes. It ripped. FML.
Thinking about the remaining pull-ups I have to do, I die a little bit. THIS TOTALLY BITES. WHY ME?! THE CROSSFIT GODS ARE SMITING ME! I didn't know the "thumb outside of the bar" was smite-worthy! Oh the humanity....Not that it made any difference at this point, I assume the "thumb OUTSIDE of the bar" grip that I had forgotten about, and somehow crank out the last pull-ups. I was NOT happy.
After finishing that workout, all I kept thinking about was:
- It stings!
- It's going to sting when I wash my hands!
- OMG I'm supposed to wash my hair today! It's going to stiiiiinng!!
- The ONE time she let's me kip, I friggin' RIP. WTF. Sissy hands!
My life was in shambles for a good 2 minutes as I assessed the damage on my hand. Why am I being a big 'ol whimp about this?! People rip their hands all the time.
Look at it. It's not even that bad right? People are probably like, "OMG Tiffany, calm your shit down. It's a hand rip- get over it." But I can't!!
I can't be the only chick out there with a ripped hand that can't NOT complain about this. It's stings, and washing dishes is a real bitch. I'm right-handed too! Try carrying a crap load of grocery bags all in one hand- you can't. Try carrying a mug- you can't. Try doing anything- you can't. I'm an official cripple.
Who knows, maybe I'm sensationalizing my situation a little, but hand rips are just a real interruption to daily living. I'm just hoping that over time, my skin will toughen up, as well as my will to carry on. Because I can't be a little bitch forever.
Some extra information on handcare for those of you, like me, who suffer from an occasional hand rip:
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