Pet Peeveve: pictures of bloodied hands/calluses

[Augustine Castronovo]

Not sure if anyone has made a comment on this before + if this is the correct place to post this, but here goes. (admins please feel free to move this post, I am kind of new to this board).

First off, I love crossfit and think it is an outstanding program. However, I don't understand why crossfitters and affiliates post pictures of people's hands that are bloodied due to ripped calluses.

My only guess would be that people are proud of their scars or battle damage from having torn open their hands. I just can't help but find this kind of dumb. Sure, it looks kind of hardcore, but think of the time off one needs to take to properly heal back up. In reality, tearing off calluses causes setbacks in training and a negative impact to fitness. In his book "Enter the Kettlebell", Pavel states, "Ripped calluses are manly, but since they make you lose training time, try to avoid them when you do your quick lifts."

What bugs me is that some crossfit affiliate sites seem to be supporting and embracing this.

I think a good analogy would be soldiers/marines who have long ruck marches. Every soldier knows that foot care is essential. A blister can stop the most athletic soldier dead in his/her tracks. An impressive soldier can ruck 20+ miles while never developing any blisters. At the end of the day soldiers are impressed by those that didn't blister up. You will never see soldiers photographing their torn up feet and posting it up on a website because it says, "hey, i'm an idiot that doesn't know how to properly take care of my feet". A soldier needs his feet intact to move and a crossfitter needs his hands intact to workout. What's the difference?

Once again, I whole-heartedly support crossfit, but just wanted some opinions on the matter.

[Steven Low]

Yup they're like overuse injuries.

The hang around for a week or two and hinder your workouts. They should be avoided if at all possible.

Also.. like puking during your workouts as well.... you did too much probably. You shouldn't really be proud of that.

[Justin Gross]

Having torn palms doesn't mean you're an idiot who doesn't know how to take care of your hands. Sometimes you get em despite your best efforts. They suck and taking pictures of them doesn't mean we're glorifying, them anymore than pukie glorifys puking.

They just look gnarly, that's all.

[Anthony Bainbridge]

It happens - and sometimes it's out of your control (think hot bars at the CF Games last year). Suck it up. Deal with it. Move on.

[Beau Bryant]

I have posted pictures of torn hands on my website. Directly under the picture I explained how to attempt to avoid them and how to take care of them once you get them. After all, anyone who has trained hard for more than a day has had rips.

As far as lost training from rips, only if you do not know how to treat them.

Wash with soap and water, dry, and apply vitamin E oil several times a day. Do not cover them with tape. This will have you back on a pull-up bar in less than 48 hours with no issues.

I will post pictures of them again in the future if I think folks are in need of the information concerning rips.

[Mark Martinez]

I think the OP has a point in how not just torn calluses, but also Pukie the Clown, Uncle Rhabdo, and the Kool-Aid/Jone's Town analogy brings negativity to Crossfit's image. It's all humor in poor taste, but so is Family Guy which I like. The problem arises when people forget it's all just for fun. There may be better ways to promote awareness of hard work, smart fitness, and commitment. It may look a bit vulgar and insane to the potential mainstream newcomers otherwise.

Edit: is it Uncle Pukie and Rhabdo the Clown? Haven't had my fill of coffee yet...

[Augustine Castronovo]

Originally Posted by Anthony Bainbridge

It happens - and sometimes it's out of your control (think hot bars at the CF Games last year). Suck it up. Deal with it. Move on.

ok, i agree that competition is a little bit different. i think of renzo gracie continuing his Pride fight despite a broken elbow.

however, i think your answer is exactly what i am talking about. 90% of the time it is in your control. you feel your hands ripping up and you have to make a decision to essentially stop or further damage yourself. the "suck it up" mentality is the "don't be a ***** mentality".

[Augustine Castronovo]

Originally Posted by Mark Martinez

I think the OP has a point in how not just torn calluses, but also Pukie the Clown, Uncle Rhabdo, and the Kool-Aid/Jone's Town analogy brings negativity to CrossFit's image. It's all humor in poor taste, but so is Family Guy which I like. The problem arises when people forget it's all just for fun. There may be better ways to promote awareness of hard work, smart fitness, and commitment. It may look a bit vulgar and insane to the potential mainstream newcomers otherwise.

I think that is well put.

[Augustine Castronovo]

Originally Posted by Beau Bryant

I have posted pictures of torn hands on my website. Directly under the picture I explained how to attempt to avoid them and how to take care of them once you get them. After all, anyone who has trained hard for more than a day has had rips.

As far as lost training from rips, only if you do not know how to treat them.

Wash with soap and water, dry, and apply vitamin E oil several times a day. Do not cover them with tape. This will have you back on a pull-up bar in less than 48 hours with no issues.

I will post pictures of them again in the future if I think folks are in need of the information concerning rips.

Sounds good to me. I just got annoyed the other day when I saw a picture of bloodied hands with the title "crossfit, earn your scars".

Back on the pullup bar in less than 48 hours with no issues? Do explain your secret, i need this info too.

[Matt DeMinico]

Originally Posted by Mark Martinez

I think the OP has a point in how not just torn calluses, but also Pukie the Clown, Uncle Rhabdo, and the Kool-Aid/Jone's Town analogy brings negativity to CrossFit's image. It's all humor in poor taste, but so is Family Guy which I like. The problem arises when people forget it's all just for fun. There may be better ways to promote awareness of hard work, smart fitness, and commitment. It may look a bit vulgar and insane to the potential mainstream newcomers otherwise.

Edit: is it Uncle Pukie and Rhabdo the Clown? Haven't had my fill of coffee yet...

I gotta agree with you on pukie, if I have anything to say about it, we'll never have pukie shirts at our affiliate. The other owners I think feel mostly the same way, or at least don't have any strong affection for that nasty clown. But that's the beauty of business ownership, you get to make the rules.

"Uncle" rhabdo, eh, everywhere I remember seeing it, it was basically the CrossFit version of the "Skull and Crossbones", and served a purpose of "warning, don't go here"