Knuckle pushups: Keeping knuckles soft & smooth

[SureDawgNube]

I find that doing lots of knuckle pushups thickens the skin so much that it starts to crack. All the vaseline in the world doesn't help (yeah yeah, lotsa jokes can be made). The skin is just thick, not necessarily dry (likely due to the constant application of vaseline). So a pumice stone doesn't help much.

So what do people do to avoid this? I mean, besides the obvious solution of switching back to normal palm pushups.

 

[Denoginizer]

Bench press?

 

[SureDawgNube]

Yes, that would do it. I was hoping to find a solution that did not involve curtailing knuckle pushups.

 

[Hatredcopter]

Why knuckle push-ups? U can always use a bar/handle to push up from so ur stil gripping with ur wrists flexed/neutral rather than extended.

 

[ahheadlock]

i dont see the problem. if you have to defend yourself and you punch a guy in the face not only will you hurt him from the punch, but you'll give him gravel rash. win / win.

 

[MDoza]

Read Of Mice and Men.

Curly's got you covered.

 

[Keosawa]

If you don't mind my asking, why is the obvious solution of switching to normal push-ups not good?

 

[Paranoia]

Are you doing them bare handed? If you want to affect the skin less you could try doing them wearing wraps or something similar. Depends on if you're doing knuckle pushups to condition your knuckles or if you're just doing it because you like to.

 

[PowerHungry]

If you don't mind my asking, why is the obvious solution of switching to normal push-ups not good?

Because Korean Taekwondo masters ain't soft.

 

[Babyeater]

well, I do them because of former tendonitis issues in my elbows. Having my palms flat on the ground means my wrists end up taking pressure at a pretty solid 90 degree angle, which tennis elbow inflammation feeds off of. Doing push-ups off your knuckles/fists will alleviate the issue.

It will also increase your ROM. My weak point on my bench is off my chest, so increasing ROM in the push-up exaggerates the positioning of my arms such that my positioning at the bottom of my chest on bench is mirrored at the bottom phase of the fist push-up. Do I KNOW if this is going to transfer to my bench? Nope. It's just a theory. But it's why I do what I do.

 

[zere0wn]

try doing a cambered hand pushup

 

[SureDawgNube]

Hatredcopter: Using a bar is a good backup plan. If I can find a way to continue doing knuckle pushups, however, it forces me to make a proper fist.

ahheadlock: Gravel rash? Ha ha. Truthfully, I doubt I'll ever get into a fight. This is just to ward off bad habits when I eventually get back into training.

Keosawa: I wasn't trying to imply that normal pushups are bad. There are advantages to doing knuckle pushups. In addition to the extra pushing distance and the strengthening of the wrist, it forces you to make a proper fist.

Paranoia: Hmmm, not a bad idea. I wouldn't do wraps cuz it takes me a long time to do up a wrap, but some thin gloves might help. Those dainty slip-on ones. I'm doing them for conditioning, but I'm sure that think gloves won't short circuit that too much.

Babyeater: I have to agree, doing pushups on your palms does seem harder on the joints, especially you're doing inclined pushups i.e. with feet propped up.

zeroOwn: I googled camberd hand pushup. Interesting -- that's how I normally do them. I didn't realize they were not the normal pushup.

 

[CPP]

Do you do them on concrete? I used to do them on a yoga mat or tatami (except when my JJ sensei felt especially sadistic and brought out the gravel tiles).

 

[SureDawgNube]

Not concrete. Kitchen tiles. I rely on the tiles to gauge symmetry. I can place a cushioning mat on the tiles, but still eyeball the tile lines beyond the upper edge of the mat. Thin gloves might achieve the effect. Thanks.

 

[SureDawgNube]

OK, so the dainty gloves didn't last too long. Rather than going through all sorts of gloves, however, an idea came to mind. If I could find a rubbery mat (like a dinner placeholder, but maybe a bit longer), that would take the edge off of hard tile. Faster than wraps, and softer too. It doesn't have to be too thick, but ideally, it should be transparent so that I can use the grid of the tiles for positioning.

While I can picture the product that would do the job, I can't say that anything retail I've ever seen would fit the picture...can anyone suggest some good candidates, or close alternatives?

 

[Ice 9 Cobra]

Two mouse pads?

 

[weaselGRM]

Bas Rutten is a big fan of those. He's done them through out his career and attributes his healthy wrists to those.
So you have a problem with the skin on your wrists cracking? I'm not following...
Have tried doing them on tatamis or just not concrete?

 

[CPP]

Like I said, I use a (rubbery) yoga mat. It's about 10mm thick. Enough, also on tiles, to spread the pressure. Shouldn't be too expensive and can be used to make all sorts of exercises more comfortable (stretching, sit ups).

 

[m14man]

Try bag balm overnight. Wear cotton gloves. Or try curel intensive care.I have to use one of the 2 all the time Cuz kettlebells are hard on the hands. Also try born huskers lotion, it actually toughens hands.

 

[Gunshow74]

Corn Huskers Lotion works wonders.