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nick97
Sep 24, 2012, 2:20 AM
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Everyone on here wants to get rid of calluses and i want them! How can I get them? Ive been climbing for a year now. I climb 5.11c and V4-5 and I have one callused finger........ :/ Someone please help me with some tips or tricks on how to get them. And please no "climb more" replies.
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ObviousTroll
Sep 24, 2012, 2:34 AM
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You don't honestly think that there's some sort of chemical or something that you could apply to your finger to make your body deliver the appropriate cellular material necessary to grow calluses do you?
I think you're going to get a bunch of "climb more" replies.
I'd love to hear that I'm wrong though.
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skellie
Sep 24, 2012, 2:56 AM
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Sandpaper all the keys on your keyboard.
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jackweeze
Sep 24, 2012, 8:07 AM
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honestly, they come and go. One week you'll have a lot of calluses, the next you'll have none. Just focus on good technique and it will be as little of an issue as possible. And understand that sometimes, climbing just simply hurts the fingers/skin.
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lena_chita
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Sep 24, 2012, 3:22 PM
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nick97 wrote: Everyone on here wants to get rid of calluses and i want them! How can I get them? Ive been climbing for a year now. I climb 5.11c and V4-5 and I have one callused finger........ :/ Someone please help me with some tips or tricks on how to get them. And please no "climb more" replies.
There are calluses, and there are calluses.
The ones people are usually trying to get rid of are the spot calluses, the small patches of skin, usually just below the knuckles on the palm side of your fingers/hands, because these calluses, if they get to be much thicker than the surrounding skin, can rip and create a flapper.
What you want is just tougher skin overall, but without spots that are so thick that they can rip off.
And really, climb more is the only possible answer to that.
Some people really like Hoofmaker, to keep the skin tough. And some people swear by using Climb On or Joshua Tree salve. But it all comes with conjunction with climbing often enough, and regularly enough, to let your body adjust the skin cell production to replace the skin that in being worn off.
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knubs
Sep 24, 2012, 7:32 PM
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as said, you dont need calluses, just tough skin. i'm guessing that you ask about this because you are destroying your fingers. one thing ive noticed is that all my friends bitch every time we climb because their fingers are raw. it is always the friends that are chalk fiends. personally i never use the dip style chalk bag and i never tear up my fingers. i use a simple chalk sock to dry my hand. whenever i have used the dip style bag i feel too chalky and it make my grip less secure. also because the grip is less secure my fingers get torn up by the abrasive chalk and the rock. all my friends think that chalk is some magical compound that makes your grip stick better when really it's a descant to dry your hands....
so try using a lot less chalk. you will be amazed at how much better your hands feel. dont coat them, just dry them.
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nick97
Oct 7, 2012, 6:41 PM
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I am a chalk fiend! Haha maybe ill grab a chalk sock and see if that helps. It just seems like after a year of climbing i have no calluses, all my climbing friends, even those whove climbed shorter than I have developed calluses.
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patto
Oct 7, 2012, 7:25 PM
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Calluses are vastly inferior to tough strong skin. You don't want them.
nick97 wrote: I am a chalk fiend! Haha maybe ill grab a chalk sock and see if that helps. It just seems like after a year of climbing i have no calluses, all my climbing friends, even those whove climbed shorter than I have developed calluses.
I've been climbing for over 7 years and don't have calluses. That includes an intensive 5 month road trip of climbing.
(This post was edited by patto on Oct 7, 2012, 9:39 PM)
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go_dyno
Oct 8, 2012, 6:50 AM
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There actual is a chemical that will toughen your skin and build calluses, tho I would not recommend it.
Methylated Spirits is what we use to use when I lived in Africa. I worked as a PH and Game Ranger and we basically marched thru the bush all day wearing a raw leather sockless hunting shoe called a Veldschoen (or just felly for short). You needed tough feet and when I first started working like this the blood from my blisters would actually bleed right thu the leather shoes and then harden the leather and make the the rubbing spot even worse. It was recommended that I use Methylated Spirits to toughen my feet. I was told "correctly" to use it very sparingly over a few weeks to gradually build up the tougher skin and calluses I desperately desired. I of course wanted this to happen sooner than later and used too much & too often to speed things up and it made my feet so tuff and hard that the calluses cracked creating very painful sores. Eventually my feet broke in to the veldschoens. If you do use the Methylated Spirits it WILL toughen the skin, but use very LITTLE and not very often and go SLOW. My recommendation is get a Metolius Board and develop your skin by working out on that. Good luck
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DemolitionRed
Oct 8, 2012, 10:32 AM
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patto wrote: Calluses are vastly inferior to tough strong skin. You don't want them. nick97 wrote: I am a chalk fiend! Haha maybe ill grab a chalk sock and see if that helps. It just seems like after a year of climbing i have no calluses, all my climbing friends, even those whove climbed shorter than I have developed calluses. Why do you have a desire for calluses. I've been climbing for over 7 years and don't have calluses. That includes an intensive 5 month road trip of climbing.
I'm glad someone else said this!
It may well be that you already have 'tough skin'. It may be that your climbing technique is something all those with calloused fingers need to learn ;)
I'm not sure why not having sore hands bothers you?
If you really want sore hands then do some serious indoor bouldering and put a ring on every finger!
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occlimbing
Oct 15, 2012, 4:16 AM
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I got the calluses I have from player guitar and lifting weights. Climbing has done nothing but rip those calluses off and been a PITA.
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go_dyno
Oct 18, 2012, 8:49 AM
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http://www.dermagear.com/
I was told by some fellow guitarist that this stuff works and does it naturally. No experience, but I might try it for my fingertips on left hand for guitar as I am sick of my calluses peeling all the time.
If you try it please give us a report
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