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Kettlebell Chalk?

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blad51

Level 8 Valued Member
Hey Gang!

I've been away for awhile. But I'm back baby!!!

TLDR: Guy tries chalk for swings and feels like his hands are going to rip apart. Share your chalk routine.

5 years ago I accomplished the Simple goal. Then . . . I got promoted at work. My new position was a very demanding assignment that required me to work some ridiculous hours. Needless to say, my KB practice fell by the wayside. When things let up at work, I tried to start my KB practice again. I never made it more than a month before life intervened.

Well with COVID hitting, I decided to recommit myself to Simple and Sinister during quarantine. I've been practicing regularly since March 19th. I have been taking my time and I am in the Timeless Simple stage.

I bought Simple and Sinister 2.0. It certainly answered many of the questions that I had from the first edition. I am following the plan in S&S 2.0 to the letter. That includes CHALK.

I am having a really difficult time with the chalk. I have tried both liquid and traditional chalk.

IT IS TOO GRIPPY.

I have used a little. I have used a lot. I can't find the right balance. When I do swings, the bell doesn't move easily. I get hot spots on the top of my palms along the callous line and the first knuckle of my fingers. It feels like the KB is going to rip the callouses off my hands. (I follow the hand care practices and regularly pumice my hands.)

I don't know what to do. I have worked with a SFG before to dial-in my swings. I have never had problems with my grip or my hands before.

I am considering skipping the chalk. But I want to follow the program so I can progress with the heavy bells.

What am I doing wrong?

Please share your chalk routine. Please tell me where you put chalk on your hands and how much you use.
 
I use it, I would even say a lot, but it is just my personal feelings. After more than 80 days straight with S&S I can say that my callouses are regularly ripped on every session but they are so tough that it make no difference to swings, and I got use to it. I have never use a liquid chalk, but if the chalk is an issue mayb abort practice S&S with it?
 
A few things come to mind... Some variables are the kettlebell handle (powder coat vs. smooth; cast vs. comp), your hand size, and your swing technique. A video would be helpful. Do you find that the bell wants to rotate up at the top of the swing, or up at the bottom of the swing? These are technique issues that can cause a lot of extra friction.

On thing that helped me a LOT with 32kg 1H swings not tearing up my hands was learning to set up my initial grip very carefully, with maximum contact of all 3 finger pads of a 4 fingers firmly on the handle, and not pinching the palm (near the fingers) at all. Get the chalk on your fingers, and when you go to set up, touch the tip of your fingers on the handle and slide your fingers forward while in contact with the handle until the base of your fingers contacts the handle, and your wrist is straight. Then squeeze. Then hike and swing. This way, the handle should press the palm calluses away from your fingers, not pull towards your fingers. Try to keep your grip tight enough through the set of swings to maintain that. (Bonus tip: if you're able to lay your thumb on top of your index finger and/or middle finger, some chalk there will help maintain that contact as well, and can really help hold the heavy bell).
 
What I noticed is you never said you had a grip problem. If you don't have a grip problem without chalk then don't use it. if you live in a very dry environment then you may not need the help.

Also what kind of bells do you use? Mine are all steel comp bells with the handles sanded smooth. I used a trainers Rogue Fitness cast bell and they were slick as ice to me. I dripped a bell on a swing for the first time in my life. For me, I had to use chalk to swing one of his bells. With my steel hands I mainly need it when I sweating heavy.
 
Thanks so much for the replies!

I live in Chicago and practice in my basement.

My bells are a mix of RKC, Rogue, and some I bought from the Strong First store. (Elite?) No competition bells.

I guess what I am really looking for is the "permission" to skip the chalk. I want to follow Pavel's program to the letter. In S&S 2.0, Pavel clearly states to use chalk.

I am not trying to modify his program. It is that I have never had problems with my hands until I used chalk. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong.
 
I am considering skipping the chalk. But I want to follow the program so I can progress with the heavy bells.

I guess what I am really looking for is the "permission" to skip the chalk. I want to follow Pavel's program to the letter. In S&S 2.0, Pavel clearly states to use chalk.

I am not trying to modify his program. It is that I have never had problems with my hands until I used chalk. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong.

If you don't like it or need it, don't use it.

Nobody is going to come bust you for not chalking.

I don't use chalk with kettlebells. Ever.

FWIW, my bells are competition style bells with 35 mm handles.

I do sometimes use chalk with barbells when I'm pulling >85% 1 RM cleans.

(I don't use it on barbell snatches, though)

Ultimately, you're an adult, responsible for your own outcomes -- training programs are just templates for what is considered to be the typical best practice. But every good coach or trainer knows that programs have to be tweaked to suit individuals.

It's okay not not use chalk if it's not helping.
 
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Hey Gang!

I've been away for awhile. But I'm back baby!!!

TLDR: Guy tries chalk for swings and feels like his hands are going to rip apart. Share your chalk routine.

5 years ago I accomplished the Simple goal. Then . . . I got promoted at work. My new position was a very demanding assignment that required me to work some ridiculous hours. Needless to say, my KB practice fell by the wayside. When things let up at work, I tried to start my KB practice again. I never made it more than a month before life intervened.

Well with COVID hitting, I decided to recommit myself to Simple and Sinister during quarantine. I've been practicing regularly since March 19th. I have been taking my time and I am in the Timeless Simple stage.

I bought Simple and Sinister 2.0. It certainly answered many of the questions that I had from the first edition. I am following the plan in S&S 2.0 to the letter. That includes CHALK.

I am having a really difficult time with the chalk. I have tried both liquid and traditional chalk.

IT IS TOO GRIPPY.

I have used a little. I have used a lot. I can't find the right balance. When I do swings, the bell doesn't move easily. I get hot spots on the top of my palms along the callous line and the first knuckle of my fingers. It feels like the KB is going to rip the callouses off my hands. (I follow the hand care practices and regularly pumice my hands.)

I don't know what to do. I have worked with a SFG before to dial-in my swings. I have never had problems with my grip or my hands before.

I am considering skipping the chalk. But I want to follow the program so I can progress with the heavy bells.

What am I doing wrong?

Please share your chalk routine. Please tell me where you put chalk on your hands and how much you use.

I swing KB's up to 32kg , outdoors in 40C, no chalk...
 
I guess what I am really looking for is the "permission" to skip the chalk. I want to follow Pavel's program to the letter. In S&S 2.0, Pavel clearly states to use chalk.

But Pavel also said "how you do it from here is up to you", in relation to the TGU. At some point, just move the weight around and get the benefit. Pavel is giving great advice for the average. Sadly the average in a normal distribution is less than 1% of the people, the rest are either one way or the other but not the average.

Do what you do, just keep piling on the weight and get stronger. How you do it, is up to you!
 
Thanks for all of the replies.

This morning I went no chalk for my S&S session.

My hands feel great again.

I greatly appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge. Thanks again!

Based on just my own experience, do a little experiment:

Go without a chalk for a while.
Then suddenly add chalk after like 6 first sets and see if you notice any difference in power you are able to produce with the chalk on your hands in last 4 sets. You might be supriced and want to work on your grip with the chalk like Anna C described. ? I went through this and for me its a no brainer now. Its also adviced strongly like 8 times in the new version of S&S to use chalk and there is a reason for it.
 
Hey Gang!

I've been away for awhile. But I'm back baby!!!

TLDR: Guy tries chalk for swings and feels like his hands are going to rip apart. Share your chalk routine.

5 years ago I accomplished the Simple goal. Then . . . I got promoted at work. My new position was a very demanding assignment that required me to work some ridiculous hours. Needless to say, my KB practice fell by the wayside. When things let up at work, I tried to start my KB practice again. I never made it more than a month before life intervened.

Well with COVID hitting, I decided to recommit myself to Simple and Sinister during quarantine. I've been practicing regularly since March 19th. I have been taking my time and I am in the Timeless Simple stage.

I bought Simple and Sinister 2.0. It certainly answered many of the questions that I had from the first edition. I am following the plan in S&S 2.0 to the letter. That includes CHALK.

I am having a really difficult time with the chalk. I have tried both liquid and traditional chalk.

IT IS TOO GRIPPY.

I have used a little. I have used a lot. I can't find the right balance. When I do swings, the bell doesn't move easily. I get hot spots on the top of my palms along the callous line and the first knuckle of my fingers. It feels like the KB is going to rip the callouses off my hands. (I follow the hand care practices and regularly pumice my hands.)

I don't know what to do. I have worked with a SFG before to dial-in my swings. I have never had problems with my grip or my hands before.

I am considering skipping the chalk. But I want to follow the program so I can progress with the heavy bells.

What am I doing wrong?

Please share your chalk routine. Please tell me where you put chalk on your hands and how much you use.

Great that you are back on track with your trainning.

Apart from chalk, Pavel okayed thin, fingerless gardening gloves. Perhaps you want to try those when having problem with calluses. Callus pain does affect grip strength.

Personally, I always had one bad callus on each hand that never fully healed. I must say I did waste some time not trying the gloves earlier. I use them when it does not matter - two hand swings, light timed swings. Saving the fresh grip for heavy, regular one hand sessions.

As for chalk, I just started using that and must say it does make a big difference. I only put it on my fingers, away from the calluses. Not much, I just drag my finger over the chalk block.

Once I tried both gloves and chalk on my fingers. Otherwise I would need to skip the session. Worked well.
 
@Nacho, I think that is good advice. I will try that. I think I was shocked by how my hand "gripped" the bell. I didn't expect the hold on the handle to be so solid.

@Molson, I agree that Pavel clearly tells us to use chalk in S&S 2.0. That is the only reason I am trying the chalk.

I like the advice of dragging the fingers on the chalk block. As far as gloves go, my hands and grip have never given me any problems prior to using chalk. I try to stay ahead of the callouses by following the hand care advice.

Thanks again to all of you for sharing your wisdom!
 
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