GVT – day 10 – Pullups and Calluses

Day 10 of Mike Mahler’s program. The German Volume Training (GVT) portion continues to be a challenge and today was a killer. (See day 2, day 4, day 7, day 8, day 9)

I found an article that made me focus on pull ups during this workout. Yavor from RelativeStrengthAdvantage wrote about Lat Activation. The timing was perfect since my next workout included pullups; I was determined to apply his suggestion.

The workout consists of ten sets of ten double military press and pullups, followed by three sets of ten turkish get ups.

I managed to add another rep for all ten sets of the pullups – a great improvement in my mind. Thanks to Yavor for giving me a little edge to have my lats literally carry the weight through the pullups. That just changed my weakness – my grip. Take a look at the image of my hands several hours after the workout.

You can still see the calluses. They aren’t terrible and nothing ripped, but during the last few sets I wasn’t too sure. I will definitely have to do some work to battle these things.

So what do you do for calluses?

Simple, soak and file away using a pumice stone. I’ve found lots of variations that recommend different liquids to soak your calluses to soften them. The recommendations include:

1. Vinegar
2. Baking Soda and warm water
3. Epsom Salts and warm water
4. Soap and warm water
5. Pineapple peel – this one was odd. The recommendation is to cover the callus with the pineapple peal and tape it in place until the callus is softened.

Independent of how you soften the skin, use a pumice stone to remove dead skin. Take care to remove only the raised skin and not go too deep.

When ever I spend lots of time focused on pullups I get calluses building up on my hands at the base of my fingers and the first joints. I’ve soaked my hands in warm soapy water, then rubbed with pumice stone to remove the built up dead skin. After several bouts of 10 sets of 10 pullups my hands need some attention.

I found one site that offered a full tutorial with pictures along the way. Beast Skills – Tutorial on Removing Calluses.

Whatever you need to do to stay active, and fit to enjoy life outside of the box. Do it.

About Troy Pesola

Troy is the founder of Cube.Dweller.Fitness. He's an innovation catalyst in several areas of life including business, marketing, and process improvement. Outside of work he's actively involved in fitness, health, and living vibrantly in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.