It starts as a soft block , which can be used on its own, or crushed into a powder. Companies also sell a liquid chalk , where the mineral is mixed in an alcohol solution.
Every time she practiced, her teammates would offer advice on which type of chalk to use. Some preferred solid, others powdered. She decided to turn to science instead. She ordered bottles of liquid chalk online. Then, she and a friend each performed 20 sets of three swings on the uneven bars.
Five sets were bare-handed, five used powdered chalk, five used solid chalk and five used liquid. Their goal was to finish the third swing with their bodies in a vertical line above the bar. If one type of chalk worked best, she reasoned, the swings with that chalk should be closer to vertical than swings with other types of chalk.
Krystle made sure that all of the swings were videotaped. She and her friend had the best third swing when using liquid chalk. Krystle decided to test the swing again. Again, she tested no chalk, solid chalk, powdered chalk and liquid chalk — but not just on her bare hands.
She also tested each of the conditions while she was wearing gymnastics grips. These are strips of leather or some other tough fabric that many gymnasts wear when they compete. The grips help the gymnast to, well, grip the bar. Krystle found the grips alone made a big difference in how well her swings turned out.
But the chalk gave additional grip. And again, the liquid chalk came out on top. Solid chalk came in second, followed by powder. No chalk at all produced the worst swings. The pad is preferably made of a durable resilient foam material, such as neoprene.
An end 18a of a wrist belt 18 is attached along the length of the pad, with the extreme end having a buckle 20 with an open loop 20a attached to it, as shown. On the exposed face of end 18a of the belt is a patch 22 of a first one of hook and loop materials. The other or free end 18b of the belt has a compatible patch 24 made of the corresponding other of the hook and loop materials.
When worn by a user, as shown in FIG. Attached to finger end 12a of the palm strap is a preferable firm, but resilient rod or dowel This dowel extends laterally of the strap and is positioned proximally, relative to the wrist end, of the finger holes.
Dowel 26 preferably is at least as long as the opposite sides of the two finger holes, so that the two fingers of the user are supported on the dowel, as shown in FIG. As shown particularly in FIG. Attached to the same face of the palm strap as the dowel are means for inhibiting the removal of fingers from the finger holes.
This is provided by an elastic strip 32 sewn onto the distal end of the finger end of the palm strap so that it extends laterally of the strap with the finger holes slightly covered, as shown. The strip is attached at opposite ends 32a and 32b, and at an intermediate region 32c, so that two loops 34 and 36 are formed in line with finger holes 12c and 12d. These loops should be sized to require stretching in order for the fingers of a user to fit through them. They are positioned so that the fingers pass through the loops before being inserted through the holes.
The fingers are thereby held against strap 12 when the finger tips extend through the finger holes. The user's hand 38, connected to wrist 16, has fingers, such as finger 40, that extend through the finger holes, such as hole 12c, with the loops of elastic strip 32, such as loop 34, extending around them. Palm strap 12 extends along the palm of hand 38 with belt 18 securing the palm strap and wrist pad on wrist Grip apparatus 10 thus supports the hand of the user when gripping a bar 42 shown in cross section.
A grip apparatus 10 made according to the present invention thus provides improved security and dependability to a gymnast by inhibiting the release of the finger end of the grip from the fingers. The preferred embodiment in fact has been known so far to always stay on the fingers of the user during use.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that variations in form and detail may be made in the preferred embodiment without varying from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims any modification of the claim language or meaning as provided under the doctrine of equivalents.
The preferred embodiment is thus provided for purposes of explanation and illustration, but not limitation. Chalk helps gymnasts improve their grip on different apparatus, such as bars both men and women and balance beam. By: NBC Olympics. Chalk Gymnasts use chalk, also known as magnesium carbonate, on high bar, parallel bars, uneven bars, and rings to reduce friction.
Grips are used to help gymnasts have a firmer grasp on the bar when swinging and performing release moves. Copyright Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sign up for the Headlines Newsletter and receive up to date information. Click here to manage all Newsletters.
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