the point of chalk is so that you don't rip the skin of your hands by dropping heavy weights due to sweat, because then you won't be able to lift again until your hands heal.

Straps for deadlifts are basically cheating, part of developing strength in the deadlift is increasing your grip strength. Using grip straps is the same as guys benching on the smith machine.

I Don't use gloves because they make the bar too thick, plus they stink and also any padding will cause bounce, decreasing your total power. Its why weightlifting shoes have hard soles.

Does anyone know where to buy chalk or liquid chalk?

Well benching on the smith machine and benching with free weights is completely different. IF your goal is to make your pecs bigger and create muscular imbalance (which can lead to injuries) then bench on the smith machine.

But if you want to increase your true strength, build up all your muscles including the smaller balancing muscles then you should use a free weight rack or dumbells. Same goes for squatting on the smith vs squatting on a rack with a free bar.

Another thing to consider is the way your body moves. Our body never moves in a straight line, its fluid and requires constant balancing. So using a machine that only moves in one linear direction will not train your body to move better, it only trains a few muscles and the bigger ones.

For me I lift weights to get stronger and move better. If you're a body builder or you just want to impress your friends by loading the rack up with more weights then the smith machine is great.

I never used chalk before but I'm getting to a point with my BP and deadlift where I can feel the bar starting to slip because of sweat.

I found a good alternative to chalk - because a lot of gyms might not allow it because of the mess it makes - http://www.amazon.com/Metolius-Ball-Non-Ma...22700415&sr=8-7

Anyone know anywhere in Malaysia that sells something like this?

Gloves will never fit well, plus they are cushioned. Any cushioning will cause a little bit of bounce and if things are bouncing you'll lose power. also, gloves will increase the overall thickness of what you're grabbing onto, and obviously thicker things are harder to hold than thinner (just ask your GF )

Anyway, I've never used chalk, but I've read enough about it to know that proper lifters and weightlifters all use it because it dries out the hands and stops slippage. If there's no slippage, there shouldn't be any skin tearing. Callouses or tough skin are part of the biz.

Tomorrow I'll use chalk for the first time, I found the Metolius Eco Ball at Camp 5 rock climbing center at 1Utama. 17 RM each which wasn't too bad as they usually sell online for $4 + postage

http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/eco_ball.html

We'll see how much it improves after tomorrow session.

yeah i wanted to get the eco ball because its "invisible chalk". I'm going to FF and I dont think they would like if i was spilling chalk all over their nice clean floor

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Added on December 5, 2011, 1:17 pmfirst session with the eco ball today and was very good! Basically you press the ball between your hands and chalk comes out. I wouldn't hold it too close to your eyes because it does shoot out. Good thing is it leaves no marks and no mess and works well to dry out hands.

I really noticed the difference on the deadlifts, no slippage at all but because of that I had a little skin tear but nothing that stopped me from lifting. I can probably just shave off the loose bits of skin to stop that happening next time. All in all its a big help, no mess and I also broke 2 records today, overhead press and deadlifts which I'm really stoke about. Next session is bench press which i also felt the bar slipping too so that should improve.

Very happy with eco ball.

This post has been edited by micksolo: Dec 5 2011, 01:17 PM

I got them at Camp5 Rock Climbing Center at 1Utama. They were 17RM each. Online from Amazon they are about $4 USD + postage so it probably works out to be the same.

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Added on December 6, 2011, 1:41 pmGym chalk is magnesium carbonate. Blackboard chalk is calcium carbonate but it can't hurt to try! I remember blackboard chalk is quite firm so it might take some effort to break it down into powder form.

This post has been edited by micksolo: Dec 6 2011, 01:41 PM