Fitness racing: hand rips, breathing and skin protection
Fitness races combine running with functional workout stations: sled pushes and pulls, rowing, carries, lunges, burpees and wall balls. Your hands take the sleds and carries, your knees take the floor, and your breathing gets pushed hard indoors. This is where palm patches and nasal strips earn their place.
Indoor events run all year. · Updated
What protection do fitness racers need?
Fitness racers mostly need hand protection for sleds, carries, rowing and bars (filed calluses plus palm patches, grips or tape), anti-chafe film for running segments, and optionally nasal strips for more comfortable nose breathing indoors.
Where it hurts: Fitness Racing
- 1Nose — sport nasal strips
- 2Chest — nipple guards
- 4Inner thighs — anti-chafe film
- 7Palms & fingers — palm & finger patches
STAGE 1
Training block
Protect hotspots during long runs and hard sessions so you reach the start line with healthy skin.
STAGE 2
Race day
Apply before the start. Everything is designed to stay on to the finish.
STAGE 3
After the finish
Cover broken skin, protect blisters and scrapes while they heal.
Tips
Fitness Racing tips
- File calluses flat once a week so they do not catch on handles and tear.
- Patch palms before chalk, then chalk the rest of the hand.
- Try nasal strips in training, not for the first time on race day.
- Cover knees for lunges on rough floors (kneeling patches coming in 2027).
Questions
How do I prevent hand rips in fitness races?
Manage calluses, keep skin moisturized between sessions, build pulling volume gradually and protect hotspots with patches, grips or tape.
Do nasal strips help in fitness racing?
They reduce nasal resistance, which many athletes find makes nasal breathing more comfortable. Research does not show a consistent performance gain.
Fitness Racing guides
Hands
How to prevent hand rips (CrossFit, fitness racing, OCR)
Why palms tear on sleds, rigs, ropes and bars, how to manage calluses, and how to care for a hand rip so you can get back to training.
Breathing
Do nasal strips help with running and workouts?
Do nasal strips help running? How external nasal strips work, what studies show about nasal airflow and performance, and how to use them in training.
Buying guide
Nasal strips for running: how to choose
How to choose nasal strips for running and workouts: size and fit, sweat-resistant adhesive, color, skin sensitivity, and what the research says strips can and can't do.