gloves or chalk?
annalisbeth74
Posts: 328 Member
I have settled into a good routine now, doing KB workouts 4-5 days a week. I am currently using gloves. Should I switch to chalk? What does everyone use, and why?
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I am a bare-hander. When I get a new bell, i spend about an hour on the handle with sandpaper. I have used chalk a couple of times, but not regularly. Living in the desert, I don't have as much problem with the sticky handle as others do.0
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I don't use gloves. I did try them just for the heck of it early on but felt that i didn't have as much control over the bell as when i didn't wear them. I also found that i would still get blisters caused from the gloves shifting & rubbing as i swung.
I use chalk, mostly to absorb some of the sweat on my hand (i sweat a lot) and provide some semblance of grip when things get super sweaty. I have decent grip strength but sweat definitely has an effect on my ability to hang on to a swinging piece of iron.
I totally agree with the sandpaper notion. Some of the cheaper bells i've bought have had some nasty jagged bits hiding under the handle that needed sanding/dremel tooling. Some of the competition bells (well, all) that i've got seem to ship with a coating on the handle that needs removing with sandpaper.0 -
depends what you are doing and what your goals are
a well conditioned handled ( sanded etc ) will take chalk well - you can chalk the bell handle and tour hands
gloves require you to grip harder and can bunch up when doing snatches or clean and jerks where the bell is rotating a lot
My primary event is the snatch and I use chalk - you can`t wear gloves in competition anyway - swings do not need anything there is not enough friction to worry - I use gloves and lighter weights for grip training - but they are think cotton gloves rather than lifting gloves
An alternative that will protect your hands without compromising your grip is just using the top of a ribbed sock round the palm of your hand0 -
I think I'm gonna try sanding them. Thanks!0
