Hand Gum – aka “Hand Chewy”
Hand Gum is small, portable, and surprisingly effective.
What is it?
Hand Gum is a resistance-based putty designed for finger, hand, and forearm rehab/prehab training. It comes in different resistances so you can progress over time.
Purpose
In bouldering, fingers are often the weak link. Hand Gum builds strength, mobility, and durability in the fingers—helping to prevent injury and improve performance.
Why I Chose It
We use Hand Gum at Bould Move because it’s:
- Low cost
- Easy to use anywhere
- Perfect for beginners and pros alike
- Effective in balancing flexor vs extensor muscles
How I Use It for Training
Hand Gum is excellent for:
- Warm-up: activating fingers before bouldering
- Strengthening: adding resistance through squeezes and pulls
- Rehab: gentle mobility when recovering from finger strain
Rehab specifically
- Volume
As much as you need. Our experience at Bould Move is that this is hard to overdo.
Note: Do not do things that worsen pain.
- Exercise Choice
- Everything the fingers can do
- Finger squeezes
- Finger extensions (pressing out)
- Pinch holds
- And the hold that causes the most pain
- This is important – this should done often, never exceeding a pain score of 1. Discomfort is OK.
- Repetitions
3 minutes at a time. Both hands. Several times daily.
- Key Focus
Keep the fingers moving to reduce acute and chronic inflammation.
Reduce the risk of pain hypersensitivity in the fingers and hands.
Other Ways to Enhance Benefits
- Combine with finger rolls using dumbbells
- Use contrast training (ice bath for fingers after session)
- Pair with antagonist training (rubber band extensions)
3 Actionable Takeaways
- Start using Hand Gum as a rehab and prehab tool
- Improve your hand proprioception to reduce your injury risk
- Pair Hand Gum with antagonist training to balance your hands and avoid overuse injuries.
