Gloves

My hands are long and wrists are fairly slender.

Is there a glove that is recommended that can reduce hand stress and pain while using the rings?

Sometimes it presses the center too hard straining tendons, and other times it painfully presses the ball around the thumb.

Other times I'll end up with a claw hand, like my fingers are frozen in position and I have to use my other hand to straighten them.

Get used to it, wait for the calluses to harden, the frozen fingers are also normal, esspecialy after ring strenght series

Are we masochists here?

Gymnasts use some kind of protection , no?

Chalk does amazing things

Chalk has nothing to do with cushioning or protection.

Gymnasts wear a thing on their wrist, but they aren't gloves. I forgot exactly what they were for, but my guess was so that they wouldn't fall off of the rings in the swinging elements because of the massive force pulling at the fingers.

Seiji said:

Gymnasts wear a thing on their wrist, but they aren't gloves. I forgot exactly what they were for, but my guess was so that they wouldn't fall off of the rings in the swinging elements because of the massive force pulling at the fingers.

Yeah, it looks like a leather hook maybe?

I've seeen grips online and used althletic tape which I don't care for.

I tried regular workout gloves and they are not too bad, though could use something stronger even.

Wristbands will help and are commonly worn under gymnastic grips.

Mr Brady said:

Wristbands will help and are commonly worn under gymnastic grips.

Thanks. I'm checking into it. Do you think there is a grip that is best for doing GB exercises?

I've seen a high-end with dowels and heavy leather, some with lighter leather, and just palm guards,

ranging down from $50 down to $10. Start small and work my way up as needed?

Gymnasts wear grips, they transfer some of the hanging/swinging loads to the wrist. For men there are two kinds, rings and high bar and they are different from one another. The wrist bands you see under the grips are there just to protect the skin/absorb any sweat that happens to get by the chalk.

In my opinion grips are only needed when you are doing swinging elements/dismounting. I know when I was in school I only wore my grips when I was working dismounts and running through my routine before a meet. Now since I don’t work swings anymore and don’t even have access to big boy rings I haven’t even looked at my grips. Your hands will slowly adapt to the ring work (it took mine quite a wile and they still hurt if I work hard on my rings at home). Its part of the strength building process. Your hands, wrists and skin need time to develop just like everything else.

Gloves are allowed only if you are in a profession where you need to take care of your hands. Some medical professions would be this and being a masseuse. Patrons don't like getting massages from torn up hands and the use of oils basically changes the texture of your hands.

Gymnasts use some kind of protection , no?

I have seen some gymnasts wear helmets when vaulting. Seriously.

Some tape on the wrist is good for Muscle-ups so they don't tear the skin. Wristbands may work in this regard but may move around to much and be too thick.

In general, it's a good idea not to have the hands of a princess. Especially if you are a man. However if you wear skinny jeans, you might as well wear some Michael Jackson gloves.

FutureisNow said:

Are we masochists here?

Gymnasts use some kind of protection , no?

Yes, you could use grips, but that just funny to use them for basic strenght development.

I don't see the point of using grips for that. Wait few months and your hands will harden and the pain will dissapear.

Thanks for the info guys. I know it isn't very macho to wear grips or palm protectors.

In my defense I will say that my hands are more slender and wrists narrower than average, and body bigger than the average gymnast, 6' 172lbs.

It is not so much the movements as the pressure on the fingers and heel of the palm from pulling and pushing, so some more even weight distribution through the leather may help. I know in time they will strengthen/toughen. But in the meantime I do want to minimize issues. I need to type a lot for my living and also compete in old-guy tennis so need to avoid problems.

Thanks again!

You will get used to it, it will just take time.

I am 6' and have a 6'6" arm span so . . .

Hey. I also recommend waiting for your skin to harden. Have you heard of the Maxi Flex gloves? I know they're for working in garden/working with building materials, but trust me, you'll have a strong grip for working out too - my friend owns them.

If you get some and don't like them anyway well, time to get in the garden and pick some weed

Tefached said:

Hey. I also recommend waiting for your skin to harden. Have you heard of the Maxi Flex gloves? I know they're for working in garden/working with building materials, but trust me, you'll have a strong grip for working out too - my friend owns them.

If you get some and don't like them anyway well, time to get in the garden and pick some weed

They look pretty good. A bit "sticky" with the rubber outside maybe. But I will see what they have around here.

Last time I wore leather gym gloves with some bandage gauze wrapped around the hand covering most of the key areas.

I looked like a hand burn victim but it was fairly effective