A couple of years ago I did a blog about hand care and BJJ. It mainly focused on finger taping and protecting your hands whilst rolling but with the state of our hands with repeated washing at the moment it makes sense to revisit it from a hand care perspective. After all the last thing we need is our hands being shredded to bits for when we finally get to feel that collar choke or spider guard in live rolling again!

Keep Washing Your Hands – First things first, no matter what do not give up on good hand hygiene at the moment. Washing your hands properly will not only help to keep you healthy but, if everyone plays their part it will help us get back to training more quickly!

Soap and Water – Soap and water is your friend, but choose your soap carefully. Strongly scented soaps due to the chemicals in them can irritate sensitive skin. Consider trying a natural soap containing olive oil, coconut oil or aloe vera which help to condition your hands as it cleans. I know that there are a host of great naturally based BJJ orientated soaps on the market but I am going to recommend a company local to me. Idee Pure has a range of soap but I particularly like their peppermint and tea tree soap. Coconut oil combined with natural antiseptics of peppermint and tea tree makes it an obvious choice.

Dry Your Hand Gently – Also make sure you dry your hand properly after washing them by gently patting them dry, not rubbing to prevent drying and damage to the skin.

Wear Gloves – not for any virus related reason but I bet you’ll be doing more cleaning or DIY at home. Gloves simply create a barrier between your hands and harsh chemicals or products your using. Especially if you are not used to it.

Get a Good Hand Lotion – Moisturisers are your friends at the moment. You don’t have to get a wildly expensive one (although I did spoil myself with a Rituals one!).  Some great options from the supermarkets / online include Aveeno, E45 or Neutrogena. Or if you can make your own if you have the time and ingredients at home. Although that isn’t my area of expertise there are a host of guides on sites like Pinterest. If your hands get really bad you can always put your lotion on before bed followed by some cotton gloves for a DIY hand mask treatment.

Grip Strength Work – I’m not going to write about this in-depth as by doing exercises at home you may already be helping your grip strength but kettlebell training, as well as pull up exercise using a towel or a gi can all help your grip strength. Similarly, certain yoga poses and hand balance can help strengthen your wrists, in turn, helping your grip.

Work on Your Rehabilitation – Often finger rehab gets ignored, but take advantage of those none painful digits and exercises them! Rosi Sexton is well known within MMA and the UK grappling scene and has done a little video on finger exercises that you might find useful.

I hope you’ve found my tips useful but feel free to share anything you sure to look after those all-important hands and fingers!

Disclaimer – I have not been sponsored by any of the products in this post but all Amazon links are affiliate links.

Photo Credit – Pixel, Liam Wandi (but it does feature my hand!)