UKC

hey guys

i have read loads of articles on how to repair your skin, the usual-
sand callasus
use climb on cream
bandage
rest etc

but the problem i am having just now is my skin isnt repairing fast enough,its not the thick skin i want rid of it the amazingly thin skin now on my tips, that are sweating through and pretty sore to climb on.
i take rest days but if i take anymore i wont get any climbing in, i climb roughly 4-5 times a week and usually have pretty good hard sessions at the wall but my skin is making me struggle just now!
any help, please???

In reply to unknownclimber6:

Is all of your climbing on plastic? I'm not sure what grade your climbing but if you've got a woodie at your wall use this exclusively for one of your sessions or even a beastmaker/ campus session ( this is at your own risk, they're friendly for skin but nasty for tendons ).
Also what chalk are you using? I only use blocks of metolius chalk and although I don't know if it's additive free, my skin can handle repeated sessions where It can't with other chalks.
I'm not an expert but this is how I get through climbing multiple days on.

In reply to deacondeacon:

im pulling fairly regularly on 6Cish jus now trying up to about 7B.
my wall doesnt have a beastmaker (it does kinda but they are all resin holds) i could do a session on the campus boards or fingerboards but i would be too tempted but the projects i have staring me in the face
i have started using Moon dust because it doesnt have a drying agent in it but i might revert back to metolius super chalk which does, i found it much better to be honest.

In reply to unknownclimber6:



How do those two statements add up?


Take more rest, climb at a rate your skin can cope with.
jk

In reply to unknownclimber6:

IMO the problem isn't your skin, it's the amount of climbing you're doing. I'd reduce the volume and give your skin time to 'catch up' by toughening up. You can't expect it to do this overnight.

In reply to jkarran:

to progress i will need to be doing about 4 sessions a weeks, less and it wont really be usefull is what i ment by those 2 conflicting statements

In reply to Fraser:

i have tried taking 3 and 4 days off but then after the first session it just gets raw again.

In reply to unknownclimber6:


Not necessarily true and certainly not true if the latter half of the week is spent wincing every time you touch a hold.

If you're mad keen to improve but your skin can't currently hack 4-5days a week (mine struggles at 2/week) then you could rest your skin one or two of those days and do some training away from the wall: Improve your general fitness, core conditioning, get a wooden fingerboard or combine all of those into a skin-rest day. It'll still benefit your climbing.

If you need time on the wall to develop your technique then drop the grades back a bit for one of the sessions, focus on really good form and efficiency rather than hard projects, it's kinder on the skin. Likewise an easy mileage session doing laps is kinder on the skin than working hard stuff.

Cleaning and moisturising my hands after a session helps ease the pain of dry shredded skin, whether it helps beyond that I couldn't reliably say. I just use E45 or Neutrogena, nothing fancy. I've never found sanding my tips helpful, generally it makes them feel worse though I've sometimes had to resort to shaving down callouses with a razor blade to stop them tearing.
jk

In reply to unknownclimber6:

How long have you been climbing? Have you had this sort of problem before? Do you use any hand products?

I get sore skin quite often, and even find that my skin sometimes stops my sessions before my muscles do. I find keeping my skin moisturised helps, but there are a range of other things I do too.

When I was training and climbing at about the same frequency as you, I had to be very careful of my skin to ensure that I could climb again the following day. This meant things like stopping before my skin got too sore to recover to a reasonable level overnight (this takes some experience to judge), laying off a move if it was trashing my skin too much (it's only training), and climbing in a skin-friendly way (no wild slaps for sharp or rough holds). Also, if my skin got too bad, I would switch to doing a stamina/PE session rather than power.

Doing all these things meant that my skin was pretty much never a problem when I was climbing hard.

In reply to unknownclimber6:

Crikey, I only climb on weekends; indoor midweek sessions just seem to aggravate my elbows. I only managed more than twice a week for any length of time when I was unemployed and only ever climbed outdoors. I'd just step it down; 3 times a week is more than enough, especially if you work boulder problems - power training needs decent recovery.

In reply to unknownclimber6:

I wonder if there might be a technique/style issue here.
Is it possible that you're twisting your hands on the holds while moving (as opposed to keeping the hand still & moving the body around it) ?

In reply to i.munro:

..or indeed grabbing holds in an uncontrolled manner, I climb with one climber who always has trashed skin and I'm sure it's his style that causes it, he tends to cut loose on most moves and frequently jumps between holds (where more elegant methods do exist)

Have you tried concentrating on your style? ie keeping your feet on by using toe and heel hooks etc...

Also how long have you been climbing? My skin is usually ok for up to 4 sessions a week but I have been at it for quite a while (Rhythm is a Dancer was at No.1 in the charts!)

In reply to unknownclimber6: Have you tried Antihydral cream? It thickens the skin and reduces sweating. I only climb once or twice a week and so don't need it most of the time, but use it before a climbing trip.

In reply to unknownclimber6: A trick for building up callouses when you get flappers and the like is to soak your hands in warm salt water (absolutely loads of salt, enough so the water is oversaturated and you get salt gathering on the bottom of the bowl) for about 10 minutes, a few times a day. It stings a bit, but it will help stop new skin growth and promote callous development instead. Used extensively by gymnasts.

Also, Vitamin E oil works miracles.

In reply to jkarran:

thanks for that
i have a fingerboard in my room but its a metolius simulator 3d which is resin and since my girlfriend bought it i think she would take the hump if i replaced it with a beastmaker.

although last night i had an easy session and focused on technique and didnt seem to bad on my hands!

i also bought some tip juice and i have to say, i put it on going to bed last night and it has worked wonders it has noticably reduced redness in my tips, they are not as sore and almost stopped them sweating through! really surprised

In reply to Monk:

a couple of years, yes, bought tip juice last night but only ever used climb on balm for cuts and stuff before.

In reply to i.munro:

this is an interesting one and i thought about it last night when i was working technique and i have to say no to be honest but i did look at the couple of projects i have and realised they all have big power slapping moves up to slopers and one has a dyno to a rough, sharp edge.

In reply to as646:

you dont want calluses on your hands for climbing, they rip off very easily and make a mess of your fingers/hands, you want thinner tougher skin

In reply to unknownclimber6:

Try taking a bit more time between problems, when you notice your skin is getting sweaty and soft take 10 minutes and go outside /somewhere cold and let them dry out they will last longer, Also most skin tends to get wasted when your tired doing those last few problems, end your session strong and stop when your thrashing around, then our have more skin for next session

In reply to unknownclimber6:

Is this all indoor climbing?

If so do some routes every so often helps build stamina do that instead 0f straining on hard holds.

Personally from what I recal constant climbing without enough rest for your body is
a) bad for your body in the long/short and medium term.
b) self defeating to improve you need your muscles to be at the top of their game not constantly being worked above their paygrade without a moment to recover.

If I am honest spend a little more time with your girlfriend climb three days a week with 2 off and funnily enough if you sort your sessions out into power/ core/ technique/ stamina and endurance you will improve.

You are giving yourself more chance of a bad injury the way you are going.

In reply to unknownclimber6:

anti hydral cream