Cannon Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Let's talk about it. I've heard that Kody has a unique approach that includes cleaner plates then you would think and less chalk than you would think. Maybe I'm remembering that wrong or making it up. Hopefully some of the big pinchers will weigh in, but thoughts and questions from ANYONE are welcome. I just don't know of a good thread here that covers this topic and I feel there should be one. I also feel like there are some truths to be found here beyond individual preference for a certain "feel." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Sharkey Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Great thread. Chez had his Euro at the NY Throwdown this weekend and it had a much nicer seasoning then I have been able to achieve. And by seasoning I mean positive texture. I'm not experienced enough to compare numbers, but Chez said his isn't even as well seasoned as some others he has pulled on, so any advice is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodyburns Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Hey Matt ! Not sure if I could be of any help on this but I will chime in here. I can't say I do anything different than what I've seen David Horne, Jedd Johnson, Andrew Durniat and Adam Glass do as I was nearing the previous world record. I always prepped the surface pretty much the way I saw these guys doing it. For those people who maybe new to the sport, too much chalk is gonna leave your hand more slick than you need it. My hands tend to sweat alot in my daily life in general. In my training it is worse as I get ramped up. I am constantly applying chalk. I think there is a fine line where this really can become an issue if your not conscious of this before your attempts. The day I pulled the 270 was somewhat interesting for me. Of course I honestly had no plans of pulling 270 by any means, nor did I think it was possible at the time. Thinking back, my plan was 252 so I could have the elite total which at the time was 800 for the 93kg class. My third attempt was 245, so I had to figure out what was more important, the elite status or the world record. Things worked out well that day for me. Around the time of my second pull of 235 I believe is when I started noticing what the chalk was doing to my hands. Most of the other top end guys kept saying that the device was slick and didn't feel the greatest. For me it kicked my senses in and I started obsessing about how the chalk was feeling in my hands. As I was waiting between my attempts I noticed that after I applied the chalk my hands were basically sweating it right off. Or maybe it was a humidity issue I'm not sure. But the chalk wasn't sticking very good at all. So I kept adding chalk and rubbing it in and I kept checking my fingertips by just rubbing my thumb and finger tips together. So I started to figure out that after I applied my chalk it seemed I had about a 20 to 30 second window of opportunity when my hands lost the tackiness feeling if you wanna say. No other time did I notice this before Gripmas '12. To me I think it was a combination of the nervousness and sweaty hands of myself and the humidity in the room. It was pretty cold outside if I remember right and with all the 20 plus guys in the room I think it made the device somewhat slicker than I and others had hoped for. This is how I discovered my window of opportunity or as I've heard Richard Sorin say the "Magical Minute". Right where the chalk is at its best. I'd like to say this works everytime but as you know temperatures and humidity are ever changing. I think people can become better at this as they become more conscious of how the hands feel after chalk. I think Richard has said something about how washing your hands right before you chalk helps in finding that magical minute. For me the sweat did the washing for me that day and it worked out right. I think just being aware of the fact that it can and does change can be a deciding factor in an important lift. If you have trouble keeping chalk on your hands than this is something to be concerned with if your like me. If you don't have problems keeping chalk on your hands maybe consider wiping some off til you get the tacky feel. Hope this helps. Any more questions, feel free to ask. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertmiller67 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Great thread & great info being shared! Kody & I have discussed this before & it makes a lot of sense reference to the tackiness! Since pinch is a friction lift I feel its very important to get the right texture.. it makes a big difference! Thanks again Kody! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodyburns Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 (edited) Anytime Robert ! Glad I could be of help ! Edited August 1, 2014 by kodydelone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odin Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Kody, thanks for the great explanation! I usually just feel the texture of the implement and rub my hand on it until it feels right-I've never rubbed my thumb and finger tips together for chalk feel. Do you feel the need to feel the texture of the implement after rubbing your thumb and finger tips together, or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannon Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Kody, thanks for the great explanation! I usually just feel the texture of the implement and rub my hand on it until it feels right. Do you feel the need to feel the texture of the implement after rubbing your thumb and finger tips together, or not? Good question. I wanted to ask this too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodyburns Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Absolutely guys. That way I know how it feels and if I need more or less I can judge by doing that. Theres been times when I pinch that I'll slap some chalk on the euro and on my hands then I go to feel it and its way too slick. Or sometimes I waste a pull and I can tell right away. Then I'm wiping off the euro and / or my hands til it feels like I got a better bite. Alot of times I get better in judging how much to put on the device in warm ups then I add as I feel the need. Most of the time I'm adding a little to the device after each lift and adding a ton to my hands. Then I wait and monitor how the friction of the hands feel. I dont always do the thumb and finger rubbing but alot of just rubbing my hands together in general. The thumb and finger thing is just a quick way to do it for me sometimes. This became real apparent when I was one hand pinching training last year for King Kong. I missed 115 like 5 times in a row, then on the 6th time I nailed it, then went on up 10 more pounds over a couple more lifts. I think I was missing my window by a hair here. Either waiting too long or not long enough is the only thing I could figure. I think it's easy for guys to just chalk and go and not give this a thought. It's definitely worth practicing and experimenting. After awhile I think you get good like your talking about and you just know by grabbing the implement. Something tells you its good or not so good. Or you can waste more pulls like me and become more angry 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
climber511 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 The whole "seasoning" and "prep" topic is interesting and highly individual. My "euro" is not rough at all - probably the smoothest of any I know of - and I (and seemingly everyone else) pull just the same numbers on it as on the ones' that "feel" better or more like sand paper. I don't like a build up of chalk either. But surface prep is totally dependent on the conditions at the time of the pull. Unlike Kody my hands don't sweat much so I'm usually breathing moisture on my hands and rubbing them together to warm up my skin as I approach the plates. There is a sweet spot and finding it is more of an art form than a science and experience is the only teacher. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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