An unseasoned POV on seasoning pinch grip tools

[bencrush]

19 hours ago, Tom Scibelli said:

The amount that people sweat from their hands I think plays a big part in how much chalk they like on an implement. Weirdly enough I don't sweat barely at all from my hands and I like lots of chalk. My son is the complete opposite and sweats like crazy from his hand, but does not prefer a chalky surface. It would be interesting to hear from other people to see if that is a common thing.

I am the opposite of you then, Tom.  I sweat a lot from my hands and like a ton of chalk on everything that I'm gripping.

[Lucasraymond]

On 7/19/2017 at 10:35 AM, Rob McMurren said:

I didn't use any chalk at all on my hands on the heavy platform.  There was some on the flask but it was minimal.  I pulled 43 kg and lost 45 on the way down.

Yeah i have been training with it that way and have nearly lifted 109# to height but with a bunch of chalk I struggle to break 100#.

[Lucasraymond]

The major variability which was only small between the 3 flasks used was how rounded the edges were with the sharpest being in Area 1 and the roundest being Area 3 which I lifted. I dont think there was that much variability on the surface of any flask. 

A thought that came to my mind is if someone does not have muc experience with the flask and attempting to find an optimal texture can they find that texture in a contest. It took me about 8-10 training sessions with a flask to figure out a texture that felt good (minimal chalk on the flask and only enough chalk on my hands to keep them dry). How many us gripsters try to stick with one chalking technique in training versus trying out different textures. I cannot get th texture on my hands that i want in the first 45-60 minutes my workout as the constant application of chalk has to dry my hands out to a certain amount before the texture on my hands is optimal for pinching on the flask and euro for that matter. Just a thought about how I go about my training and trying to reduce the gap of optimal texture in training and what is possible in a contest. 

[Anton.Torrella]

I think humidity and temperature has a major impact on pinch lifts - I train primarily on the flask which lives in my garage, maintains a very decent seasoning, and some days it stays in my hands and others it doesn't - I just started training on @Jose Cabrera Euro which will live as a neighbor to my flask in the garage and season similarly but I expect my lifts on it to vary similarly - pinch is crazy

[Andrew Dube]

19 hours ago, Anton.Torrella said:

I think humidity and temperature has a major impact on pinch lifts - I train primarily on the flask which lives in my garage, maintains a very decent seasoning, and some days it stays in my hands and others it doesn't - I just started training on @Jose Cabrera Euro which will live as a neighbor to my flask in the garage and season similarly but I expect my lifts on it to vary similarly - pinch is crazy

I think @Chez definitely affected the humidity in the room :P

Personally I had best results with clean hands and I blew any loose chalk of the flask before gripping it.

[Chez]

7 minutes ago, Andrew Dube said:

I think @Chez definitely affected the humidity in the room :P

By the end of the day I had changed weight classes 

[Climber028]

I brushed chalk off the flask, dunk my hands in the bucket then wiped the excess off on my clothes and that worked great, I put up some good first time numbers. I was also on platform 1 and people seemed to be happy with that surface.

[JHenze646]

The problem with any pinch surface for competition, Euro, flask, whatever, is that people do not always compete with the conditions as they are but try to compete with the conditions they wish they had.

[Climber028]

5 minutes ago, JHenze646 said:

The problem with any pinch surface for competition, Euro, flask, whatever, is that people do not always compete with the conditions as they are but try to compete with the conditions they wish they had.

Isn't that true of any athletic competition? You can never recreate your exact training environment and part of being elite is the ability to adapt to equipment variations

[Sapper88]

3 minutes ago, Climber028 said:

Isn't that true of any athletic competition? You can never recreate your exact training environment and part of being elite is the ability to adapt to equipment variations

^^^^^ This! My opinion exactly. My personal flask and crusher are both more suited to my liking (obviously). 

I believe the unfamiliar implements, different/uncomfortable location, crowd, and individual mental toughness all combine to show who, on that day, was best prepared or performed best. 

It's much easier to put up solid numbers in your own gym, with your implement,  your music blaring,  no distractions and no other different variables.

[KapMan]

@JHenze646's Sith flask was nearly unpinchable for me.It was smooth and i couldnt stick to it. But others were lifting 70-80 plus on it. Much like the platform 3 flask. I could grip it. But i have a feeling if my hands were damp id glue to it. 

Your skin itself plays a key role here aswell. If you are naturally oily or have baby smooth hands that works against you too. 

[JHenze646]

4 hours ago, KapMan said:

@JHenze646's Sith flask was nearly unpinchable for me.It was smooth and i couldnt stick to it. But others were lifting 70-80 plus on it. Much like the platform 3 flask. I could grip it. But i have a feeling if my hands were damp id glue to it. 

Your skin itself plays a key role here aswell. If you are naturally oily or have baby smooth hands that works against you too. 

 

[Mikael Siversson]

If you want to be really serious about it (as any elite athlete in any other sport would be) then record temperature and humidity every time you train and measure these two parameters (with the same instrument) when you get to the competition venue. This should give you a good idea of a probable performance interval (eg 100-103k or whatever). You also make a note of how much increase, if any, the adrenaline kick gives you (so you eventually know the average increase and can add this increase to arrive at a probable competition result interval). This may sound over the top but would be pretty ordinary low tech prep in any other sport.

Edited July 22, 2017 by Mikael Siversson

[Climber028]

Don't stop there, there is a handheld device available called a skin hygrometer that will tell you both the water and the oil content currently in your hands. It's important to be thorough.

[Mikael Siversson]

There should not be any oil on the hands at all. I assumed everyone washed their hands with an effective dishwashing detergent prior to a pinch workout.

[climber511]

Outside of David Horne's I think there have been more 2 HP records set at Gripmas than anywhere else.  I think one of the factors is the time of year (December) and the venue - a garage separated from the house and heated by a large natural gas heater.  I have never tested the humidity but my guess is that it is conducive to the Euro - :).  While I agree it would be interesting to know the exact conditions which give your persoanal best best results - I never expected to be able to control them at a contest so never worried about it.  Just like at SJ4 conditions beyond anyone's control were what had to be dealt with - so train under any and all conditions - learn to know yourself under any conditions (both natural and surface conditions) - make your first attempt well within yourself - and go from there.

[Anton.Torrella]

On 7/21/2017 at 10:51 AM, Andrew Dube said:

I think @Chez definitely affected the humidity in the room :P

Personally I had best results with clean hands and I blew any loose chalk of the flask before gripping it.

Chez def represented the jersey swamp in sj4

[Anton.Torrella]

On 7/21/2017 at 10:59 AM, Chez said:

By the end of the day I had changed weight classes 

Went from "+" to just "120kg"?