Archived Forum Advice, Vol. 574

By Steve Maxwell

Recovered by Dave Wardman

Korovin,

I have had calouses for years and they never were a problem until I started swinging kettlebells for high reps. Gloves always made my hands and grip seem weaker so I abandoned them. Later I learned that pressure points in the hand stimulate a motor-nerve response and help recruit more muscle fibers to perform a task. Thick padded gloves interfere with the motor recruitment process. It is really not so much a question of being macho as better performance without the gloves.

After a tearing incident with my kb.s, I really pay attention to my palms and trim and file any tissue build. As a side note, and this sounds really gross, I treated my tears with urine. Pavel told me that in the Spetsnaz it was common practise to piss on open sores to accelerate the healing process. Sounds crazy but it worked faster than anything I had tried before. I tore my hands twice. The first time I did the neosporin, bandaids with tape etc. My wounds healed very slowly and I was in consideral discomfort as I am forced to use my hands because of my line of work. The second time I tried Pavels idea and urinated on my wound every time I would take a whiz. No ointments, salves,antibiotic creams or bandages. My hands healed miraculously fast. I could hardly believe it. In 3 days my hands were able to go through a workout. A natural physician friend of mine, who specializes in alternative healing methods, explained to me that urine has healing and antibiotic properties and has been used for eons by the natural people of the earth.

Steve Maxwell