Imagine you’re deep into a workout.

Lungs burn, legs are heavy, and hands are on fire.

But you’re not done yet, you still have to put together 1 more round of 20 chest-to-bar (CTB) pull ups, 20 deadlifts, and 20 calories on the airbike. 

At this moment, you’re not worried about the pain you’re feeling from the acid buildup in your muscles…. That’s normal, you’re used to it.

What you’re worried about is the fact that your hands are almost raw from the prior 3 rounds.   

So you take a small break, chalk up those hands in an attempt to get a better grip on the bar, and proceed to the final round.

The first 5 reps of CTB’s go smoothly.

The second 5, again, no issue. Just mild hand cramping. 

The next 5, your hand really starts to burn across the palm. 

And by the final 5, you’ve given it everything and can’t feel your arms.

Upon jumping down to go straight into your deadlifts you notice a red streak running down your hand and forearm and realize you’re bleeding.

You look at your palm to find the source of bleeding… SURPRISE... You managed to rip your hand on those CTB’s. 

Now it’s decision time. 

Either you take the time to tend to your wound and end the workout when you were about to PR or you proceed to bleed everywhere while pushing through the pain of raw skin on a steel, knurled bar.

There's no great choice in this situation. In fact, you may have even experienced this dilemma before.

So let's pause here and rewind to the beginning of the workout. 

To a time where smart decisions and planning should be made. 

If the workout is full of high volume pulling aka it’s “grippy,” it’s going to be best to protect those hands. 

Although chalk will help dehydrate those hands to get a better grip, let’s remember CTB’s expose your hand to higher levels of turnover and friction.

So chalk is fine, but it’s not protective. 

That friction will end up peeling away at the skin on the surface of your palm. Even most leather model grips don’t protect your hands completely. They stop at the base of the fingers, are so thin that they wear down quickly, and don’t provide full hand protection/coverage.

But let’s insert the IsoGrip Hand Grips here and discuss the benefits.

• The IsoGrips provide sufficient full palm protection because they have no finger holes. Meaning they actually protect the palm through the base of the fingers where turnover is highest and they'll reduce the friction substantially on that area.

• Next, they do not require any chalk. That’s because the material is rubber blended with kevlar. The rubber sticks naturally to a clean steel bar. And no chalk, means no extra breaks. But if you wanted to chalk your hands for the deadlifts, that’s fine, just don’t chalk the front of the grip.

• Lastly, because IsoGrips stick so well to steel, you won’t fatigue your hands and forearms as much throughout your workout. The grips are working for you! That makes a huge difference as you move from round to round and the reps add up.

So now it’s your choice! 

You're welcome to continue going bare handed or using a thinner finger hole grip, just realize the risk of ripping your hand open mid-workout does increase. 

If you would, however, like to level up and grab a pair of the IsoGrip Hand Grips, simply click the link below. 

LESS RIPPING, MORE GRIPPING.

#TeamE26

IsoGrip Hand Grips

**BONUS: If you do end up ripping your hand or have known areas on your palm that do tend to rip no matter what, we also have a fix for that!! It’s called Rip Repair. 

Rip Repair is a medical grade super glue that is similar to liquid bandage. It provides a plastic-like protective barrier to a fresh rip or area known to rip. Impermeable to sweat, water, and chalk!

Best part about Rip Repair is that you can use it immediately! You simply clean the rip, apply an even coating of Rip Repair to the affected area, and let it dry for 60 seconds. And guess what, there’s no sting! 

Rip Repair

 Written by: Phil Gauthier 

Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).

E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body." 

To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!