Tearing up my hands on artificial rock

I do go to a climbing and bouldering gym quite often and for 3-4 hours. That does seem very long for climbing, maybe I need to try more challenging climbs to tire myself out.

After all this climbing I do tend to tear skin quite frequently. I am known for having "baby soft hands" lol, is there a kind of glove for rock climbing or is this just something silly.  

There are gloves for crack climbing, otherwise ease off. If you're going for 3+ hours frequently, your skin is only the first thing that's going to fail. 

It seems like you answered your own question in writing your post.  How long have you been climbing?

Ted Pinson wrote: It seems like you answered your own question in writing your post.  How long have you been climbing?

I have been climbing for 2 years. 

Gavin Anastasiou wrote: I do go to a climbing and bouldering gym quite often and for 3-4 hours.... is there a kind of glove for rock climbing or is this just something silly.  

I once tried experimenting with rubber-coated tape that I put over my fingers. 

What I found was that the shear stresses on the surface of my fingers were huge, so that no matter how well I tried to anchor the tape (e.g., with tape adhesive, wrapping the wrist), it would start sliding off within about 30 min of climbing. Perhaps superglue (cyanoacrylate) between tape and finger might have worked, but I wasn't keen on trying it.  

After a long session take a look at your fingers. Sand off excess callous and use cuticle cutters to cut away and flappy bits. Moisturize if you have expecially dried hands (climb on, Joshua tree, etc. Over the next few weeks you'll hopefully develop callouses that don't get torn up each time.

I would read up on the countless articles on skin care or the section in the Rock Climber's Training Manual (excellent reference for a lot) 

Yes, grippy gym holds, especially the big textured jugs, can be quite rough on the skin.

Climb something harder. With smaller holds.
And give your skin time to recover by climbing every other day.

 Use a hand salve after climbing (of course apply it after washing your hands)-there are many such salves on the market, it comes down to preference. Just don’t use a water-based lotion that tends to soften the skin too much. Climb on and Joshua Tree Climbing salve are the two most popular ones, but your nearest pharmacy probably has Burt’s bee hand salve, or badger balm.  

If you are getting flappers from jugs, consider how you climb. Not every move needs to be a throw. Placing your hand on the hold precisely, and not pumping/re-adjusting your grip multiple times, will save your skin, as well as improving your technique.

And take care not to build very thick calluses. Many people would oremptibrly file down thick calluses before they become so thick that the skin rips off when the callus catches on textured holds. 

Thought I was just going to have to deal with skin for the longest time.  Any stint of training in the gym would put my skin through the ringer.

I have recently started carrying a file around while at the gym.  I file every time I feel skin raising.

It’s important to use a good lotion after.  I am usually 1 day on 1 day off and I apply climb skin about every 4 hours while awake.  

This process has been a game changer for me at least.

Good luck

'Artificial rock' LOL.  You mean plastic.   
I do find some indoor climbing holds these days are very grippy, almost like sandpaper. Climbing outdoors regularly can help reduce callouses, which can become 'flappers' esp if you're doing big moves indoors or climbing roofs....

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