About Chalk...
By
October 14, 2014
Hey Guys--
It's time for a little fireside chat. I know you all love making those cute little puffer clouds when you dip your hands in the chalk bucket and clap them together as you walk across the gym or leaving your hand prints on your buddy's shorts. I also know that sometimes it really is the magic fairy dust that helps you hold on to the bar for that massive set of pull ups or keep your grip on your heavy barbell. We provide chalk because it is helpful for what we do in here. If you are a chalk user, please keep the following in mind.
1.) Chalk increases the friction between your hands and whatever bar you are gripping. If your hands are sweaty and losing their grip, chalk will help. If your hands are ripping from pull-ups, you are only making it worse by chalking up. Increased friction equals more ripped skin. Instead, grab yourself a callous shaver and some moisturizer and take care of your hands. We've all done it, but there is no excuse for doing it over and over again.
2.) Chalk stays in the bucket and the bucket stays in the middle of the room. Why? Chalk out of the bucket gets kicked, stepped on, and left laying around for your coaches and fellow athletes to clean up. If you need to use chalk, take the extra 3 seconds to walk to the chalk bucket and chalk up there. While I'm on my soap box, please don't break the blocks into smaller chunks for your personal use. They will break up on their own and last a whole lot longer as a block than in smaller pieces.
3.) Clean up you chalk masterpieces. Nobody wants to jump up on the pull-up bar and feel your dried sweat/chalk crust on the bar. The same goes for barbells. Please wipe them down at the end of your workout. Chalk prints on the floor? It happens and it's okay. Our gym wipes only make the problem worse so those will just have to wait to be mopped up.
4.) Don't let chalk kill your intensity. Back in my heavy chalk using days, I could sometimes go back to the chalk bucket every few reps to refresh. It becomes habit rather than true necessity. And it interrupts your workout, allows you a few extra moments to breathe, and let's some time tick off the clock. Don't let it just become something you do when you don't want to do another pull-up or aren't ready to pick the bar up just yet. I rarely use chalk these days...but when I do, I'm ever hopeful for the magic fairy dust effect.
Alright, enough ranting today. Thanks for reading and helping me with this housekeeping issue. Have an awesome day and come see me in the gym.
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