Calluses are layers of skin that the body builds up to protect itself from friction and pressure. They are the result of friction in a long-time/consistent basis; so as long as your hands are doing the hard work every day, most likely you have higher chance of getting a callus once in a while. You can identify lots of activities that can cause having calluses but the most common causes are from manual labor, and working out.

As someone who loves working out, this lifestyle is inevitable and you’ve got to embrace everything it encompasses but it doesn’t mean that you can’t handle any hurdles along the way.

Here are some expert tips on how you can take care of your hands and prevent those itchy whitish bulges whilst still doing your workout routine.

• Do not over-gripping. For a starter, sometimes we tend to execute too much from what is being asked us to do. Workout rule, observe and learn the proper alignments of your body and the proper execution. If we over-grip, our hands will suffer in the long run.
• No to having any accessories while working out. Some may say that they feel more confident having their ring or any bracelet with them, I’ll tell you, they are just distractions. It’s better to take them all off so you can just be yourself, and you’ll feel much more lighter during the time of your workout.
• Moisturize your hand daily or you can use a protective balm. Skin is the largest organ in our body and the most expose too. Moisturizing lotions keeps our skin soft, smooth and gentle, giving our skin added hydration and protection from outside factors, one of which is friction since we are talking about workout related; Meanwhile other potential harms that could affect our skin are: polluted air and too much exposure from the sun.
• Wear protective gloves. Gloves is a gear and it is very important to be complete with our gears especially if you are having CrossFit and other strenuous activity that includes your hands. Be mindful however to be picky in choosing a glove pair, as sometimes other CrossFitters find it difficult in having a good grip, so I think it all boils down again on which type of gloves suited for your hands and the material being used to fabric it.

And when all else seems impossible to halt the growth of the callus, don’t worry as we have some treatments and remedies, we can do to lessen it and prevent it from growing further.

• Soak the rough areas in the water. Soaking your calluses in warm water for 20 minutes or so will soften the tissue even further and eventually help you to exfoliate it. The objective is to soften the tissue and prepare the callus, so that you can slough off dead skin cells easily. Just like when we are cutting are nails, it is easier to trim our nails after a shower. Add Epsom salts for better results.

• Exfoliate the thickened skin. Once you have softened the calluses, you can begin to reduce them by exfoliating the thickened skin. Using a pumice stone, callus shaver, or microplane (a gentle grater designed for skin); Work gently to avoid going too deep or cutting yourself. Don’t be that aggressive. Rubbing to hard will only cause another skin problem; patience is really a must.

Take note: Do not use a pumice stone if you have diabetes. Doing so can increase your risk of infection.

• Apply lotion to moisturize the skin. A recommended lotion for dry and rough hands is  CeraVe SA Renewing Skin Lotion, you can check it on amazon.

Some of the readers comments and suggestions are:

“Soak mine in the bathtub or hot tub and then use a pumice stone. I use Pumie from the cleaning isle in Home Depot. The salon pumice stones are way too smooth so they are useless. I use it about 3 times/week so callouses never get too thick. Leaves them nice and smooth. Don’t cut them. If you over do it, it will take too long to heal and interfere with your training”

“I use nipple cream. Sounds weird, but helps instantly”

“I wear barehand gloves and love them!!”

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Any workouts wouldn’t be complete without the use and help of the perfect gears. One main concern on the side, all of us loves to travel- and who doesn’t? –, during this time, it is a lot more difficult to incorporate workouts or keep on track our fitness routine especially if there is no any nearest gym in your area while you are on tour. Whilst working out is a lifestyle of most of us already, we don’t want to miss getting our body moving and making such an excuse not to work out just because we are traveling is absurd.

Some activities that doesn’t require that much of equipment and basically some of its needed gears are travel friendly 😉 such as: running, doing yoga, dancing, resistance training without the use of the equipment, and jumping rope workouts.

For this article we will be focusing on the recommendations of our readers on what brands of jump ropes they actually love using and which they think are the best in the market!

• Double Under Wonder– Many of our readers loved this brand as you can have it customized, designed by you; they’re super-fast, super-stylish, and they don’t get lost in the crowd when you’re in a group workout. One of our CrossFitter reader said, “Double under wonder! Super cute and custom made. Great customer service too!”

• RX Smart Gear Jump Ropes– This gear loved by almost of our readers. They are the maker of the RX Jump Ropes, which they claimed to be “custom sized to each individual athlete’s height and offers five different cable variations to support multiple tempo and resistance levels; Every rope comes with a patented swivel axis bearing system, custom wrapped handle and pvc coated aircraft cable”.  Our CrossFitters comment to this brand, “I love that I can change the cable as I get better at double under. The weight makes me feel the movement even though I struggle daily”. Some of its awards are:

“The Official Jump Rope of USA Boxing”,
“The Official Jump Rope of USA Wrestling”,
“Voted by Men’s Health Magazine as top 5 Best travel fitness tools of 2016”.

Come on! What are you waiting for! It’s pricey but you’ve got what you paid for.

• RPM– This cater and gives you four different jumping ropes classification based on your specific activity. They are called as: 1. Sprint, 2. Competition, 3. Scout, 4. Session. Depends on what you need based on the type of jumping exercise you’ll do. If you want the light weight and super easy to carry on, which makes an awesome travel buddy, go for Sprint. For a more aggressive gear which will give you a better A-game, the fastest rope is the Competition. For the middle kind of feels, a smooth buttery RPM feel but with enough amount of weights to let you spice up a bit any double under workout, head over for Scout. Our member said, “I love my RPM Comp rope! It’s uncoated and super-fast. I learned my DUs on a heavier coated rope at the gym but ever since I got this one my DUs have gotten so much better”.

• WOD Nation speed rope- This particular brand offers an array of workout equipment’s such as Double Under Jump Rope, Resistance Bands and other more Fitness Equipment. They claim to produce high quality fitness equipment and apparel that works harder as you get stronger. A lot of our readers love this brand too! They said, “WOD Nation. Comes w/ 2 interchangeable cords that can be cut to your best length for your height & doesn’t get tangled or bent up easily. Also has groves in the handle to know where to place your hands for a better grip.” Another one, “WOD Nation speed rope. It’s the bomb! Light weight so my forearms last longer before dying on double unders”.

• Rogue Fitness– It is the official supplier to the CrossFit Games, USAW, World’s Strongest Man and the Arnold Strongman Classic. Exceptional achievements! Awesome work here Rogue! This brand offers a lot of fitness workout equipment and not just solely jump ropes. You can get almost anything you need here! Not all brands can do and offer the same for you. Surprisingly it really does work! And can lasts longer than you expect! Some of the comments regarding this brand, “Rogue. It was made with magical unicorn hair that gave me double unders”, “I have a Rogue one for the past 4 years and it is really amazing doing its job!”.

• Rapide Jump Rope– For what it’s worth and quality, this jump rope isn’t bad at all! For its cheap price, you can only purchase it below $1o usd, and you are good to go! This enables you to have a decent jumping rope experience without breaking the bank haha! A CrossFitter have been using this jump rope and particularly mentioned, “It is Under $10, comes with 2 different rope weight choices. The heavier one really helped when learning dubs and I recently switched to the lighter rope. Love it the same”.

• Survival and Cross Jump- Tried and tested by some CrossFitters out there, It may not be as famous as much as the other brands but you can still be confident while using this rope! You can work out your speed and endurance nicely with this rope, perfect for cross-overs, criss-crosses and tricks and can definitely be your gear for a killer cardio workout! And has built to lasts a lifetime, as long as you wont intentionally cut them off right haha!

Jumping rope is a great deal and a perfect travel buddy while we stay on fit!

Happy exercising CrossFitters!

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Weather you prefer either gymnastics, high intensity interval training, olympic weightlifting, calisthenics, having an intense workout (CrossFit), will keep all our body parts moving, and in correlation to this we tend to sweat a lot. A LOT. And as woman, we want to keep and maintain great hygiene. One concern in working out is when our hair gets on our way on our face while doing the exercise; not only it is a hindrance, it can also cause skin damaged or breakouts to our skin especially when we are sweating all over, our oils mixed up with the dirt from the air and once our hair mixed into them, it just gets worse.

Being physically active, we also value our skin as much as any beauty and wellness enthusiasts do. We also care for the overall health and well-being of every CrossFitters. Investing in a good headband suited for you will geared you up completely and pulled up all your hair in your face, for a better performance throughout the workout and of course prevent having skin breakouts.

We gathered up this data based on what our readers and followers think is the best headband for all CrosFitters out there!

• JUNK bands– Their tagline is “Headbands for every adventure”, which we do believe their claim can be trusted based on what our readers have said. They cater and offer different forms and styles of headband based on your preference and personal use. The best band in their collection is the wide ones, it covers up the entire front and does holds your hair into place. They have medical bands design, rainbow, MLB, florals and some statements bands. “Junk bands!! The only ones I’ve found to stay in place. They are the best!”, One reader said.

• Sweaty bands– Each headband comprised of velvet backing which comfortably grips hair, while the back has an elastic portion that stretches enough to create a secure, flyaway free hold. Sound really good this headband brand, isn’t it? From the given material used, as someone who loves running and working out, I can picture out myself having a clean face, looking and feeling great while staying active for the entire activity. A comment from one Crossfitter in the group, she said “I like Sweaty Bands. They have a material like velvet on the underneath side so it doesn’t damage hair. They have super cute designs and stay put really well”.

• Lululemon– This is like any regular headband but it does its work! It keeps your hair in place and it is good for people who has sensitive hair so you got an extra care using this band simultaneously; not bad at all. One reader of the group said, “My head is sensitive and my hair is wild! These are the best”.

• Bondi band– From the word itself, you can literally see the influence of Bondi in their branding; as you can see the patterns of their designs are hydro-summer and abstract related. They do have different collections too that caters to what you need personally; you can even design your own! What an awesome idea! Their bands are made from their own exclusive technology, Bondi-Max. You can assure of no slip- no drip, as they are known for having a moisture wicking headband. A member and her friends said “My friends recommended Bondi bands and they seem to hold up nicely.”

• RazzyRoo Headband– Simple band with playful designs, stylish! I am loving it! this band is enough to pulled up your hair but I am afraid if you have baby hairs go for something wider as it will cover up and secured your entire head. This I can recommend for people who doesn’t have baby hairs and just want a smaller band, because some people are irritated for having a wider band, which seems like pressuring their head. So, this band is better for counted people only.

• MandaBees Headband– Wow! This brand offers a wider and thinner band, which seems like a thin clothing material. It covers up literally until the top of your forehead and due to its thin clothing, it is very light like an air, keeps your hair in placed and at the same time gives you comfort and ease. If you want to be active, looks good and at ease while you are running or doing some active activity, you better try this one!

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For those who are in need of an additional piece of equipment like a weighted vest because you are starting to feel that your pull-ups and other exercises no longer feels very physically demanding anymore or you’re in the CrossFit box sweating through a Murph. Congratulations to you on reaching such a remarkable level of fitness!

Weighted vests transform just about any workout into a resistance exercise. The added load increases your bodyweight to move more effectively without altering your form, giving you a great option to switch up your workouts on a whim if you want to free up your hands and leave the dumbbells and barbells for the day.

Now, let’s take a look at the top 5 best weighted vests to buy – the sports equipment item that can bring the challenge back into your routine. 

1. Unbroken Designs Stars and Stripes Weighted Vest – The famous Stars and Stripes Weight Vest is made of stretchable stars and stripes neoprene with a black trim finishing. This vest is perfect for adding resistance to your workout, whether it is for aerobics, sports conditioning, or training for military, fire-rescue or law enforcement. “I love mine from Unbroken Designs. Fits really well, adjustable weight (2-20#) and it’s washable” said one of the CrossFitter.

• Cross101 Adjustable Camouflage Weighted Vest  – This vest is a good option if you are already doing strength training. The size of the vest is very versatile as it can fit a petite female without any problems. It is equipped with ten weights of 4 lbs, permitting you to set your own weight depending on how much you can handle. The maximum weight that this vest supports is 40 lbs and the size is 13 inches in width. “I got the CROSS101 vest online and I love it!” – commented by one of the CrossFitter.

• RUNMax Pro Weighted Vest – The RUNMax Pro Weighted Vest is a great vest to start your cross training, strength training, and anything else you will need a weight vest for. They are a great way to add resistance to your workout. It gives you the freedom to choose which weight fits your workout and one size fit most.

• MiR Adjustable Weighted Vest – This vest is made of heavy-duty 1200D reinforced nylon lined with double padded shoulders for added comfort and mesh vented inside for breathability. The padding is designed to be contoured to your shoulder to provide maximum comfort. The MiR Weighted Vests has two adjustable straps that can be adjusted underneath so you can easily adjust the body length of the vest by sliding the straps up and down through the D-rings.

• 45Lb BOX Weighted Vest for CrossFit and Gym Bodyweight Training – The BOX Weighted Vest is fully manufactured in the USA and comes with a lifetime warranty. The vest has been tested at the highest levels of competition and it has been proven that the unique contoured BOX Weighted Vest delivers comfortable coverage with minimal bulk. Coupling with its military-grade exterior materials are also moisture-resistant for a cool, dry feel in any training conditions.

Finding the time to run is not a problem for some of us. However, finding the time to run, then shower, then restyle our hair that makes it easier to find excuses. A quick, 30-minute workout session can easily turn into an hour and a half routine.

But here is the good news: You Don’t Have to Wash Your Hair Daily! Skip the wash and spray in some dry shampoo. We have it figured out for you – The best go-to Dry Shampoo after a sweaty workout!

Here are the 5 best dry shampoo after a workout.

1. Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Dry Shampoo – When there is no time to wash and style after that epic gym workout or maybe Friday just your ‘no wash day’. With Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak, you have nothing to worry about because they do the tidying up for you! Their new unscented version of the must-haves as it is perfect for all the sensitive-scalped style connoisseurs who want a fragrance-free freshen up. One CrossFitter commented that – “I like called ‘not your mother’s – the coconut smells amazing! And doesn’t make you greasy!”

• Batiste Dry Shampoo – Let’s face it, skipping a wash (or two) is inevitable after a sweaty workout but with Batiste Dry Shampoo you can effortlessly take your hair from flat to fab. Their waterless formula targets excess oil, dirt, and grease at the roots. Just spray in, massage, style, and go. This dry shampoo instantly makes your hair feel clean, fresh adding body and texture. With Batiste Dry Shampoo, you can be confident your hair looks great no matter what life throws your way. One CrossFitter claims that “Batiste is great”

• Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo – Your secret weapon to maintaining your style! The Perk Up Dry Shampoo ensures that it doesn’t leave your hair looking powdery or white and perfect for all hair type even color treated hair. Fun fact about the brand – Amika is hair rebellion against conformity & the mundane. Founded by industry OUTSIDERS in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2007 amika is the antithesis of a typical beauty brand!

• Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo – Containing super-absorbent formula that eliminates oils, dirt, and impurities in between washes, leaving hair fresh and clean. The super-absorbent Dry Shampoo contains micro-fine rice powders that turns translucent as they absorb which will naturally blend with hair colors and expand to provide lift in the roots – tada! Restoring your hair volume. The product also contains Golden root extract which help increase moisture to prevent dryness and breakage.

• Perfect Hair Day (PHD) Dry Shampoo – The dry shampoo that goes beyond the usual call of duty! No matter what workout you’ve endured, this dry shampoo will make your hair look and smell clean. It is said that PHD Dry Shampoo is perfect for all hair types and colors, a patented OFPMA molecule reduces the surface friction on hair—leaving virtually no visible residue or powdery build-up. It also contains odour neutralizers to help eliminate unwanted smells, and a time-release fragrance releases a light, refreshing, long-lasting scent. One CrossFitter commented that “, I just got Living Proof PHD Dry Shampoo and love that too!!” 

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