Your beginning gymnast is ready to strap on a palm guard and tackle bars, rings and the horizontal bar! They’re ready to make the transition from bare hands to gymnastics grips that put a barrier in between the equipment and the skin of their palm; thus helping to protect them from the infamous gymnastics “Rip”!

A gymnastics “Rip” is a blister and/or subsequent tearing of the skin of the palm that results from the forces present when a gymnastics swings their body weight from bars and rings. While they’re widely regarded as fact of life and a rite of passage in the life of a gymnast, they’re still not fun.

Wearing gymnastics grips or gymnastics palm guards can help reduce the wear and, literal, tear of the skin by serving as a barrier between their hands and the equipment.

Just as gymnasts don’t come in standard sizes, grips and guards don’t either. To ensure the safety and effectiveness of your gymnast’s palm guards, you’re going to want to measure your athlete’s hands to do your best to get them into the proper sized grip. (more…)