Tips for skin when ARCing

[kev]

Hi,

Does anyone have any tips for skin condition when ARCing? I completed 2x30min ARC sets yesterday. Mainly on a 10 degree and 30 degree wall with some time on a 45 panel. Completing the sets was fine, but my skin was on fire by the end!! I don't have a problem with smaller holds, but I can't ARC on these for very long so inevitably have to spend more time on bigger holds. The tips of my fingers are fine but I lost a callous near the base of my middle finger and the skin at the top of my palm and near the finger joints got really worn out. I'm not a newb by any means, and my skin is pretty used to lots of abuse, but this always seems to happen when I'm doing circuits on an indoor board. Should I just MTFU or does anyone have any other suggestions - taping? At the moment, I'm not looking forward to 2x35min sets tomorrow!!

Cheers 

Kev

[MarkAnderson]

That's a great question. Tape is certainly an option. Here are some other tips:

-Use lots of chalk, like an excessive amount, to "lubricate" your hands, the way a gymnast would use it.
-Keep your hands GLUED to each hold. That is, if you're traversing, and approaching a hold form the side, try to grab it in such a way that you can avoid rotating, or otherwise grating your skin against the hold texture as you move past. Most of the discomfort you are experience comes from this rubbing action. It's not a big deal on a single move, but it really adds up over the course of the workout.
-Train when conditions are good: dry and cold.
-Vary your hold size/shape so you aren't constantly working the same skin patches for 90 minutes. I think its definitely easier on the skin to ARC on less-steep walls with smaller holds. I usually try to stay on the steeper (30ish degrees) wall for most of my first set, then on the less steep (10ish deg) for most of the second set.
-Consider using some type of balm on your palms and 2nd/3rd pads.

I wouldn't say I have this licked, so if anyone else has ideas, please share them.

[brendann]

Taping around the place where a ring would sit is defiantly a good solution for jug rash. Make sure to keep this area callus-free to prevent catching it on the lip of jugs.

[kev]

Thanks for the suggestions. It's definitely the rotation on the holds which is causing the problem so the "glue hands" is a great thought to keep in mind. Used some Climb On cream as well last night and skin noticeably less painful today. Taping at the base of fingers worked well also.

Cheers

Kev

[emperorsnewclothes]

Jun 1, 2014 16:02:16 GMT -7 MarkAnderson said:

-Use lots of chalk, like an excessive amount, to "lubricate" your hands, the way a gymnast would use it.

Do you just fill your bag with a ton of loose chalk so that you get "powder layers" on your hands easily?  I guess my context would be what a full chalk ball/sock puts on your hand vs what a chalk pot with a ton of loose chalk in it puts on your hand.  Which of these is closer to the amount you use?

[MarkAnderson]

Tons of loose chalk, enough that I can fill my cupped hand with it to get my palms covered.

[tedwelser]

I ran into the same problem during my endurance work last summer. Similar to Mark's comments I have made some changes to how I climb during the ARC sessions by being a bit less dynamic and keeping my hand positioning very controlled. I also have worked to reduce the steepness of the terrain such that I can generally use 1 pad and 2 pad deep holds, rather than full hand. I think this reduces the burn as well because, if you look at you fingers as you load a simple handlebar, the 3rd pad will tend to rest at a 45 degree angle relative to direction of pull, but the first two pads, when each is loaded will tend to be 90 degrees to the direction of pull.

My home wall has some unavoidable steep sections, and on those I try to use the bigger holds just up to my second pad, and then spend extra time making smaller movements and resting on the less steep sections.

[majorsick]

Some cut resistant gloves I got from work and cut the fingers off of.  Most of my skin pain was on my upper palm and at the base of my fingers.  The rubber on these is very thin, but obviously very durable.  They work really well.

Got the idea from an interview with Angie Payne, where she talked about wearing bike gloves for super long stints on her home wall.  I tried those, but the padded palm area bunched up and dragged enough to become a hindrance.

I've been mocked and called a wimp by my friends, but whatever...

[tedwelser]

Nov 16, 2015 11:40:50 GMT -7 majorsick said:

Some cut resistant gloves I got from work and cut the fingers off of.  Most of my skin pain was on my upper palm and at the base of my fingers.  The rubber on these is very thin, but obviously very durable.  They work really well.

Got the idea from an interview with Angie Payne, where she talked about wearing bike gloves for super long stints on her home wall.  I tried those, but the padded palm area bunched up and dragged enough to become a hindrance.

I've been mocked and called a wimp by my friends, but whatever...

Cool gloves! Cost and source? Also, perhaps let us know how they work after 10 sessions?

[majorsick]

www.nationalsafetyinc.com/Terminator-Abrasive-Cut-Resistant-Gloves-P168277.aspx

After a few sessions, I've decided I'm going to try a smaller size. Since I'm cutting the fingers off anyway, I can probably get away with this. It's a bit strange to CUT the fingers off of cut resistant gloves...

There was just enough slippage to make it feel like I was hanging on the glove material rather than the actual hold geometry. I'll report back next session. Regarding longevity, I'm guessing you'd be looking at 7-8 sessions on really steep terrain before the rubber layer abraded away. You could definitely get ALOT more mileage on less steep walls.