Athletes put their heart and soul into their workouts.
The things that many athletes can do with their bodies are incredible — but all that hard work and dedication takes a toll on them as well.
After the Tour de France, one cyclist showed the world how taxing biking can be with an unbelievable picture of his veiny legs.
Now, an Olympic rower is showing that it's not just big body parts, like legs and arms, that are affected by lots of exercise.
Even smaller body parts like hands can take a beating when you work out hard.
Alex Gregory, an Olympic rower, is currently in the Arctic exploring northern seas and collecting environmental data.
After a hard day's work rowing through the Arctic, Alex shared a picture of his bruised and battered hands — and the image is stunning.
Keep scrolling to see how the weather and hard work have affected Alex's hands.
[H/T: Mashable]
Thumbnail Photo: Instagram / alexgregorygb
Alex Gregory is a 33-year-old dad of three, and he is also a decorated Olympian from the United Kingdom. Alex has two Olympic gold medals in rowing, and many other world championship medals.
Right now, Alex is in the arctic with an expedition called the Polar Row. There, he and a crew of other rowers are exploring northern seas, where they're collecting environmental data while raising money for charity.
Alex spends most day out on the water, rowing through some pretty extreme weather.
Rowing a boat for hours can take a serious toll on your hands — and so can extremely cold weather, wind, and water. Alex may be a world-class athlete, but he's not immune to the adverse effects of a rough environment.
After hours of rowing in the extreme weather, Alex posted a shocking photo of how his hands reacted. He writes:
A photo of my hands after spending so long in wet gloves. The blisters were never bad on this row, but the wet and damp seeped into the skin. It's been one hell of an experience!
Despite that scary reaction and the serious dangers of spending time out in such extreme weather, Alex is enjoying his time in the arctic. About an earlier row in the arctic, he writes:
I was hurting, I had been scared, I was worried about safety but I was happy. I was enjoying myself in the weird way that people do who willingly put themselves in these situations. I've heard it described as type two fun: pretty hellish while it's going on, but once done you realise the experience was so much fun!
What Alex and the Polar Row are doing is scary, but so incredible. This picture was taken after 37 hours of rowing. I couldn't imagine doing something like that.
Luckily, Alex has his three kids and loving wife at home, who I'm sure make such a hard journey worth it!
Have you ever seen anything like Alex's hands after his long row?
Please SHARE this incredible story on Facebook!
