Preventing Rips

Preventing Rips #1: Moisturize

Gymnasts need to wash their hands often, so finding a gentle soap is essential. We want to wash the hands without drying them out.

Some people believe gymnasts shouldn't moisturize their hands because it can lead to rips.

In our experience, and according to USAG, moisturizing properly and often actually reduces rips!

Chalk dries out hands - that's a given.

To prevent rips, it's vital to wash hands after every practice with warm (not hot) water and mild soap. After washing, apply a clean (not greasy) moisturizer.

Replenishing moisture increases skin elasticity - which is what prevents rips! So keep those hands clean and moisturized to prevent rips.

Preventing Rips #2 - Treating Calluses

If your gymnast gets a callus... wait, that's not right. Let's try that again.

When your gymnast gets a callus, you want to treat it. The first thing you can do to prevent rips is to keep up with calluses. It's important to remember that the callus is protecting your athlete's hand. Your athlete is building extra tissue to protect against the extra friction and pressure from bars. If the callus gets too thick or too large, it can cause a rip, so it's crucial to treat calluses when they occur.

Some of the options to treat a callus include pumice stones or feet sanding sticks. Very thick calluses may require a callus razor but be careful not to cut through the skin!

The secret to callus treatment is to shave the callus down - but not too far. If you see tender pink skin underneath, you went too far. Be careful and only remove a little bit at a time. You can always file the area again to remove more - but you can't put the skin back on!

If a gymnast keeps up with their callus treatments, it can reduce calluses and rips.