Hand Toughening Tricks

[The Avenging Mind]

OK, I'm a FNG here so go easy.

I like to go mountain climbing when I can, but I do it so rarely that I can't toughen my hands enough and when I get back home my hands are completely shredded. I've heard and read that rock climbers have tricks to toughen their hands in the off season, but I've never been able to find out what they were. I tried posting this question on a rock climbing site, and I got answers like try steel wool, use a cheese grater, battery acid works great, dry your hands with 40 grit sandpaper, all of which gave me the feeling that they really didn't care for FNGs asking questions on their site. I was hoping the folks here would be a little more helpful.

Are there any tricks that will toughen hands quickly or is it just a rock climbing in-joke?

Serious replies, OK? No sandpaper or battery acid.

[curdog]

I heard that the old bare knuckle fighters used to soak there hands in salt water to toughen their hands.Whether it works or not I don't know.

[Rogue-Hawk]

I'm not sure when it comes to climbing, but I've found similiar threads on martial arts forums that were very informative. If you can't get a rise out of anyone you might try checking. Hopefully someone else can shed some light on your question.

[smoothED]

Get a rodbusting job. Tying rebar 10hrs a day should do it.

[Raylen]

There is a way an old buddy of mine did it.
buckets of sand punch down into them.
few weeks later change the courseness o f the sand to beach sand then gravel .
next stage little polished stones .
next sharper gravel etc etc .
volcanic rock. metal.

When you cook your meats dont use your hands when you spread on the meat tenderizer.

[dixieforge3]

Blacksmithing does a heck of a job, but i have heard of oldtime prize fighters useing horse urine... either one.

[magfed556]

Ive done my share of climbing. Basically it's really just as simple as roughing up your hands constantly. I used to thrust my hands into sandbags filled with sand and pee gravel (straight in, open hand, closed fist). The idea is not to just do the palm area but the back of the hand as well, you should no this if you use your hands as cams. YES its gonna hurt for a while until your hands get used to it but it works. Use plenty of chalk and do finger tip pullups like, forever.

[Domindart]

take martial arts

[Vanishing Nomad]

Find a good Chinese martial arts teacher and learn iron hand form him, and all the eagle claw exercises.

I specify Chinese because they use herbal medicines and hit a movable medium like a mung bean bag. Other styles don't use the movable medium, or the herbs and end up with perminant damage, arthritis and deformations.

Karate guys are nuts with the brutal training measures they take. I have seen a lot of those guys who actually brag about how messed up thier hands are. Nice they can break 8 concrete patio tiles, but so can Kung fu guys, without the hand damage from training.

[caledonian]

Do plenty of manual labour - I work as a Plasterer and my right hand is permanently calloused & tough from......troweling work, honest !!!

In all seriousness, doing a good bit of diggin` oughta do it.

[Wildernessguy1]

be a farmhand especially when ya bail hay nine hours of than will do it

[Raul Perez]

Originally Posted by Royal Dragon

Karate guys are nuts with the brutal training measures they take. I have seen a lot of those guys who actually brag about how messed up thier hands are. Nice they can break 8 concrete patio tiles, but so can Kung fu guys, without the hand damage from training.

I dont want to hijack this thread but that's a closed minded statement. I can't speak for the mainland Japanese systems but Okinawan martial arts (origination of Kara-te) use herbs and proper hand conditioning. Actually Kara-te and Chinese martial arts share A LOT of similar training techniques due to the extensive trading and tributes the Ryukyu Kingdom did with China from the 1400-1600s.

[Swamp Shuck]

Tannins are used to toughen up feet before long hikes. I would think soaking your hands in acorn water or tammarack water would work. I've never heard it done for hands but it's been done for feet around the world for centuries. If you plan on doing Everest they'll have you do it before you begin the accent.

shuck

[the hog]

You can come and wash my car, or hoover the house, or tidy the kids bedroom or cut the grass or trim the edges round the garden or come and cut some wood for me.
All these things my friend will toughen your hands and also make me happy.

[HarvestR]

Originally Posted by caledonian

Do plenty of manual labour......
In all seriousness, doing a good bit of diggin` oughta do it.

Originally Posted by Wildernessguy1

be a farmhand especially when ya bail hay nine hours of than will do it

+1 and +1 on these comments; there is no substitute for hours in the gardens or fields - even daily light/medium duty will keep your hands from 'softening up'. Also, can't beat the connection one gets with the earth from doin' some good ol' diggin!

I did indoor climbing for about 3 years some time ago, and found that playing guitar was an excellent complimentary activity to climbing - off or on season. Not only do you maintain and develop your left handed grip considerably, but your callouses will improve considerably. Dexterity and muscle memory in both hands are some other bonuses - besides perhaps learning a new instrument and making music.

Another 'trick' (if it can really be called that) are those hand stress-balls - again good for grip - not necessarily for 'toughening' the skin so to speak.

And like MAGFED556 said: do your finger pull-ups.

Hope this helps. Take Care.

[survivor-guy]

Originally Posted by The Avenging Mind

OK, I'm a FNG here so go easy.

I like to go mountain climbing when I can, but I do it so rarely that I can't toughen my hands enough and when I get back home my hands are completely shredded. I've heard and read that rock climbers have tricks to toughen their hands in the off season, but I've never been able to find out what they were. I tried posting this question on a rock climbing site, and I got answers like try steel wool, use a cheese grater, battery acid works great, dry your hands with 40 grit sandpaper, all of which gave me the feeling that they really didn't care for FNGs asking questions on their site. I was hoping the folks here would be a little more helpful.

Are there any tricks that will toughen hands quickly or is it just a rock climbing in-joke?

Serious replies, OK? No sandpaper or battery acid.

the only thing i can think of is practical manual labour like hauling bales, cutting wood, shoveling gravel, etc. i guess you could do what all the guys in tibet do and punch phone books all day, but thatseems like work, only you get nothing done...the only thing worse than work is doing pointless work.

i have heard about the saltwater trick too, but you're drawing out the moisture, in order to create caluses... if you're going to rock climb, you also need the strength, so just do manual labour. get a side job, get your money too! you don't get paid punching phone books all day.

[Vanishing Nomad]

Originally Posted by Raul Perez

I dont want to hijack this thread but that's a closed minded statement. I can't speak for the mainland Japanese systems but Okinawan martial arts (origination of Kara-te) use herbs and proper hand conditioning. Actually Kara-te and Chinese martial arts share A LOT of similar training techniques due to the extensive trading and tributes the Ryukyu Kingdom did with China from the 1400-1600s.

Reply]
Interesting. I wasn't aware of that. Do they use a movable medium? or the layered cloth/paper type Makiwra boards?

As for similarities, I do know that the Southern tai tzu I have been exposed to was a foundational art of the Okinawan styles of Karate. In fact, the Sam Chien set comes directly from our San Zhen. The primary difference that I can see is that the Okinawan version does all the tension wrong and misses the body mechanics. It is missing some of the critical breathing aspects, and does not have the Sink, Swallow, Float, Spit needed to generate the rib cage power.

The Okinawan stuff has a HUGE Southern white Crane influence as well. It's widely thought that a southern Chinese style known as Ngo Chor is the link because it is built on Tai Tzu, Crane, southern Louhan and a few others. Elements of each can be seen in the Okinawan material. This would not be true if Tai tzu or Crane style alone was the influance.

I have actually had Okinawan guys come to me for the aspects that are missing in thier arts. It's really cool to show them how the San Zhen is done, then have them remove the excessive tension in thier Sam Chien and replace it with the correct body methods. It's like all those little lights come on and they suddenly understand how it's supposed to be done.

[The Avenging Mind]

Thanks for the useful advice guys. You know, even though I heard there were "tricks" you could use, I really didn't think there was any fast and easy way to do this, and you just had to scrape and work your palms until the calluses formed. I'll try the sand and gravel trick though, that might speed things up.

But if it's OK, can I pass on the horse-**** soaking?

[Dr. Worm]

You said you were a mountain climber...maybe you should purchase a hang board. It will help get you in shape and they have a rough texture, but not nearly as rough as rock. Here's a listing of some:
http://www.rockclimbing.com/gear/Ind...g/Hang_Boards/

[olblue]

I think this might make your hands crack and bleed.