Your Athletes Deserve More Than Just Tape and Chalk
Let’s be honest, coaches:
How often do you hear,
“Are we on the rig today?”
“Do you have any tape? I ripped yesterday.”
Or even worse…
“Coach, I can usually do toes-to-bar but my hands are still wrecked from last week’s pull-ups. What can I sub in today?”
If you’re like me, you hear this stuff constantly. And no matter how many times you warn athletes to stop before they rip—they often push right through that sketchy, stiff callus until bam... blood, tears, and a serious setback.
We Coach Everything… Except Hand Recovery
We spend so much time helping athletes fix their lifting technique, dial in gymnastics progressions, refine nutrition, and stretch out sore hamstrings. But there’s one thing we all tend to overlook:
Hand care.
And that’s wild—because our hands are used in almost every movement. Whether it’s a 300 lb barbell, a kettlebell swing, or a high-rep gymnastics set on the rig, the hands are the connection point. And when they rip? Your athlete is out. Or worse—they’re training at 50% just trying to avoid more damage.
You Don’t Want to Get Rid of Calluses—You Want to Manage Them
Calluses aren’t the problem. In fact, they’re the body’s way of protecting itself. But when they get too thick or too dry? That’s when they catch. That’s when they tear.
Most athletes don’t realize that calluses often form like a little mountain—tall in the center, thin at the edges. When they grip the bar, that ridge catches. And the thinner edge? It’s what rips.
Sure, we can hand out tape and hope for the best. But there’s a better solution that prevents those rips before they happen.
OctoGrips: Train Hard, Grip Smart
This is where OctoGrips come in.
As a coach, you want to give your athletes every tool possible to stay consistent, stay injury-free, and keep progressing. OctoGrips are a total game-changer for anyone training with high volume bar work, CrossFit, calisthenics, or Olympic lifting.
These grips are:
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Low-profile and ultra-comfortable
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Designed to reduce friction where it matters most
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Built to distribute pressure evenly across the palm (no thick central pressure point = fewer calluses = fewer rips)
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Breathable, durable, and chalk-friendly
Your athletes can throw them on mid-WOD without breaking stride. No tape, no fiddling, no compromise on grip. And the best part? Consistent use of OctoGrips significantly lowers the chances of callus buildup and skin tears before they happen.
Callus Care Still Matters
OctoGrips do the heavy lifting (pun intended) on preventing rips during training, but we still need to teach athletes the value of smart recovery. Encourage them to:
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Gently file down rough calluses after training.
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Use a hydrating balm to restore skin elasticity (especially after heavy chalk use).
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Pay attention to that “tight” or “peeling” feeling—that’s the body warning a rip is coming.
With that kind of awareness + protection from OctoGrips, they’ll avoid those dreaded rest days just waiting for skin to grow back.
Recovery Is a Full-Body Job—Don’t Forget the Hands
We talk a lot about recovery for muscles, joints, nutrition, and sleep. It’s time we include the hands in that conversation. Because when they fail—everything else does too.
Hand rips aren’t a badge of honor. They’re a preventable injury.
So the next time your athlete walks in worried about their grip, their torn skin, or skipping the rig again… hand them a pair of OctoGrips and teach them how to train smarter.
Strong athletes need strong hands.
Smart athletes protect them with OctoGrips.
Let’s start coaching that, too.