Complete Calisthenics - Ashley Kalym

unusual pain in them whatsoever, cease the exercise and rest.
Taking Care of Your Hands
As I have already explained, out of all of the parts of the body involved in
calisthenics, the one that is used the most is undoubtedly the hands. For almost
every exercise, including pushing, pulling, and many of the core exercises, the
hands are used extensively and can really take a beating, so it is important that
we look after them. In the same way that we perform mobility and strengthening
exercises for the shoulders, and perform flexibility drills for the whole body, we
should look after the hands.
When you start calisthenic training, you may notice that the palms of the hands
can be quite sore, especially after a heavy pull-up session, or after using
parallettes for an extended period of time. This is a normal and natural
reaction on the body’s part, so you should not attempt to inhibit the soreness,
except rest and maybe moisturize. Do not be tempted to start using gloves.
This will only cause more problems later on, especially when you begin to learn
the false grip and other movements that require complete feel and sensitivity
in the hands.
The second change that will happen, in response to the soreness and the use
of the hands, is that the body will form calluses, most commonly where the
fingers join the palm and on each joint of the fingers themselves. This is, again,
normal, but you should not allow them to become too big, as they can often
have the negative effect of getting caught on things, and of getting in the way
when grabbing a pull-up bar or other object. They will also bunch up and
squash whenever the hand is closed into a fist, which, again, can be
uncomfortable. The best solution that I have found is to sand down and
reduce the height of the calluses to the point that they are much reduced, but
not gone entirely. You can use a number of tools for this job, like nail files, very
light sandpaper, and certain beauty products designed for getting rid of dry
and dead skin. This is important for a number of reasons, the main one being
that the skin hardens in those places for a reason, and that you need this to
stop blisters and other rips and tears from happening. It may seem big and
clever to have torn hands, and not a week goes by where I do not see a