My hands are susceptible to ripping. Or maybe it's that my 165 lb. bodyweight makes me have to grip harder, kip harder, and rip harder. Two years ago, my hands would have been an utter MESS after 15.1!

First some personal history. I have been a casual rock climber for a number of years. Being a self proclaimed student in the art of mastery, I know full well that dabbling in any sport is no way to progress. It was with pure serendipity that a number of events happened to allow me to not only put some old fashioned effort into training, but also gather some wisdom about taking care of your tools that I would like to share. As fate would have it, I had recently opened a CrossFit affiliate in a huge 5000sqft facility with 18ft ceilings (in 2009 when I opened, my gym would have been one of the largest in Canada). A few months...

With the Open one week away, people everywhere are making predictions. Will this be the year of the bar muscle-up? The handstand push-up? The pistol? Will it be heavier than normal? The amount of time we waste thinking about it is actually insane because the truth is nobody knows exactly what Dave Castro will throw our way.  But despite the unknown surprises that are sure to come, there are a couple things I’d put money on: 1. Chest-to-bar pull-ups in high dosage 2. Considering how competitive this year will be with only 20 regionals berths on the line, repeating workouts will be more likely than ever this year Combine both of these theories, and this means hands must be ready...

  T’Was the night before Christmas And there was only one small glitch The athletes were in stinging pain Ripped hands are a bitch!   They tossed and turned, raw wounds stinging in their beds While visions of thin, smooth calluses danced in their heads And I with my polysporin that got smeared all over my cap Had reluctantly settled down for a messy winter’s nap   When near the pull-up bars there arose such a clatter It was obvious to all nothing was the matter Santa Class had RIPT kits for all hands to be tamed And he whistled and shouted and called the products by name:   Now Daily Dose, now Quick Fix, now Grind Stone too! On bees...