Climbing is one of those sports that have a big impact on our body, how it looks, and how it behaves. People often are more than happy to gain some muscles while doing a sport that they like, but what if that sport over a long period of time will do changes to your body that you don’t want?
For example, what “Can climbing make your hands bigger?” A lot of men won’t complain about it but many women don’t want to have big, manly hands, so how it is in reality? Are there any ways to prevent your hands from getting bigger? Don’t worry because we did the necessary research for you, and right now we will give you all the answers.
Most beginners have already spotted many climbers with bigger hands but the general idea that “climbing makes your hands bigger” is only partially true, because people tend to think that muscles inside your hand will get bigger due to the climber’s training but it is false. Our hands don’t have muscles, the muscles that are meant to move our fingers and hands are inside our forearms. Forearms are connected with fingers by tendons, and tendons after training can get stronger, and thicker which can theoretically make them look bigger.
How to prevent my hands from getting bigger?
Unfortunately for most girls, there are not many ways to prevent your hands from getting bigger, Note that women are getting muscle mass slower than men which can give you a bit more motivation, the same goes with tendons.
You can try to use multiple muscles at the same time, which will lower the severity of every move, and will let you average the growth of your muscles in a specific body part like arms.
There is an important thing that a lot of people are missing. If you are measuring your hands right after exercise they will look bigger due to the swelling, which is a totally normal thing for all of us. That’s why people at the gym tend to take pictures of themselves after a workout to make them look bigger than they really are.
How can I make my hands look bigger?
If you are one of those people who are more than happy to look a bit bigger then you are on the right track. You just have to train climbing more often. Climbing won’t make your fingers longer but it can make them look a bit thicker because your tendons will strengthen and get more volume.
After a few climbing sessions, your hands will get harder. To be more precise your skin will get harder because your skin will start to adapt to the situation, for example, it is very similar to guitar players when they slide their fingers over the guitar’s strings.
Are bigger hands good for climbers?
Climbers on average have bigger hands than normal people. Climbers need strong and big hands because that can make their grip stronger. A strong grip is very important for climbers to hold their bodies close to the wall and not fall off.
When your hands are bigger then that means that some handholds will be way easier for you to hold on to, handholds like:
- Pinches
- Open hands
- Slopers
- Jugs
- Undercut
- Cracks
Generally speaking handholds that will let you use the full area of your hand will give you a better grip, but unfortunately, things like pockets and crimps will be harder for those with bigger hands. If you want to know more about bigger hands being an advantage for climbers check out this article “Are Big Hands Better For Rock Climbing? – (For Beginners)“.
Let’s summarize this up – Does climbing make your hands bigger?
Climbing will make your hands look bigger, especially right after your climbing session. There are no muscles inside your hand so they are not the reason for your hands getting bigger, the real reason is your tendons which will get thicker and stronger.
Our hands are very complicated from a biological perspective, and almost all of their movement is possible due to the forearms that are connected with tendons to your fingers. Note that taking good care of your hands is very important if you are interested in climbing, and because of that we have created a great article that will give you more details about it “How To Take Care Of My Hands After Climbing?“.
