The Tracy Rif Sock Sleeve for KB training.

The Tracy Rif Sock Sleeve for High rep Snatch and Swing training.

Perhaps the most troublesome aspect of high repetition snatch and swing training, especially for Comrade Ladies, is the wear and tear on the hands. Women clients, most particularly, are loathe to develop calluses much less deal with tearing those calluses.
While proper hand care; consisting of shaving and filing large callus pads down regularly, is vital, many trainees like to use some kind of hand protection during rigorous training.
One can use gymnastics grips(sometime poor feedback from the bell), make grips from athletic tape( hard to do if you train alone) or, you can use an innovative solution my wife came up with; the Sock Sleeve.
This is a very simple solution to a vexing problem. The gymnastics grips and the athletic tape work by reducing friction between the hand and the bell. Holding the bell in the hook grip and NOT deep in the palm is another key component to not tearing calluses and this solution actually encourages the correct hand and grip position on the bell.
All one has to do is find a pair of medium thickness socks and cut the top, elastic portion of the sock off. A two inch section is best, although one can cut three inches if they have very large hands. We have found crew socks, as opposed to tube socks to work best although feel free to experiment. New socks works best as the fresh elastic helps to keep the sleeve in the right part of the hand.
Simply slide the sleeve over the top of the hand covering the lower portion of the fingers and the top section of the palm of the hand. Just where the bell should sit if properly held!
That’s it! Pick up the kettlebell and start snatching or swinging and you will find there is considerably less friction in the hand right from the start, but with almost no extra bulk to tax the strength of the grip. The sleeve doesn’t roll up as you swing and encourages you to hold the bell in the correct part of the hand. You can use this all the time or just when you feel tender or hot spots on the calluses.
A very simple but effective solution for keeping the hands in tip top shape and keeping your training on track.Nothing worse than wanting to train but having to make adaptations because the hands are trashed.
Enjoy!

Mark Reifkind