Rowing

I'm doing some off-day rowing in the corporate fitness centre in an effort to blow through a fat loss plateau and also build some cardio endurance. This post will be a note for times.

Sept. 29     6446 metres/ 30 minutes (Metallica - Death Magnetic)

Cheat Meal Continued

Cheat Meal

Pieces of the Puzzle

Mornings are my favourite time of day. I'm actually a morning person, if you can believe it. Who *is* these days? I have been for a long time and it's also been my habit to get my workout in first thing in the morning. That leaves me with a wonderful low-key feeling for the rest of the day. Besides, after a Crossfit workout, nothing in my day will be as hard as that. It's not the easiest thing to roll out of your comfortable house and head off to lift twelve thousand pounds. But you know what's cool? In my office I look to my right. I look to my left. I know for a FACT that I am stronger and faster than most of the people I worked with. While most people are exercising their distinctions in what channel to watch, WE are breathing fire. We're the cool kids.

Of course my favourites are on the menu this morning. The overhead squat challenges me because it asks for considerable shoulder flexibility. When I'm down low in the squat position sometimes I feel myself teetering forward a bit. It's barely noticeable  but to my inner balance I feel like the leaning tower of Pisa. No problem - just keep practicing. Now the front squat used to be something I did NOT like. "Tricky tricky" I thought.  I remember Mia stepping in front of me when I was learning this lift. "Do me a favour", she said. "Take a step back from the rack so the barbell lands on the mat when you lose control of it." That was good advice, as it turns out. I've had a few wrecks doing the front squat. Something funny happened along the way. I started to appreciate it's merits. It was cool because it was different than the back squat. Elbows up is such an important thing to learn and the key to driving that weight upward. Today something happened that made me smile all day. I was working with Coach Clarke on the front squat and we were loading plates for his set and deloading plates for mine. I knew my maximum was 185lb so we loaded to that and I gave it my best. My first attempt failed and I was a bit disappointed. Nothing like blowing a lift you have done before. But, I thought, it was my maximum so just chalk it up and move on. Coach suggested I try a weight belt. He also noticed that I took a breath during the upward push of my lift. That caused me to lose stability and the barbell came down to the floor. So I took his advice and strapped on the belt, inhaled a deep breath, held it, then went down for the squat. It was tough but I kept my posture and nerve and drove it up for two nice reps. Ah, that felt good. I knew I had learned something powerful that will help me with all my lifts. Then I noticed something else. In my focus to get good technique I didn't count the pounds on the bar. Instead of lifting my personal best of 185lb, I had actually lifted 205lbs! I didn't just sail through that lift, I drove by it with the car window down and knocked over it's mailbox with a baseball bat! I beat my personal best of TUESDAY by twenty pounds. Damn, I have felt good about that all day.

I always talk glowingly about the Oly lifts, but don't get me wrong here - I need the Met Con. I'm always glad (afterwards) to leave a swangel on the gym floor. It's my bread and butter of feeling fit and happy. I naively thought the walking lunges would be the rest exercise of the round. Ha. Was I ever wrong. I was begging for a pullup after a set of those. The pain! I was able to squeak out six rounds in ten minutes and then I lay on the rubber mats with that good old fashioned feeling of exhaustion and exhilaration.

OHS

3 X 75lb

3 X 95lb (failed on the last)

3 X 95lb

F Squat

2 X 135lb

2 X 185lb

2 X 205lb (fail)

2 X 205lb (with belt)

Bars and Bumpers

There's nothing more wonderful than a beautiful snatch. I say that without a trace of irony  but I did hear a few titters in the crowd. Stop that. This morning I was wondering what WOD the Coach had programmed. I knew that he attended Olympic lifting certification over the weekend and I figured there was a good chance we'd be practicing the moves today. But, you never know. Crossfit teaches us to train for tomorrow. What happens tomorrow? Exactly.

By the grin on his face I knew we would be doing some heavy lifting today. Sweet! I took off my squishy running shoes - won't be needing those - and put on my lifting shoes. It felt like coming home. I'm always glad to practice these lifts because they can be so challenging. Just when you think you've got it nailed, the body does something funky and it's all over the map again. There is the tendency to overthink the lift because there are many parts to it. I picture a chain, each link being a step in the lift. Deadlift the bar, keeping it close to the shins. Over the knees and into the crease where the thighs meet the trunk - arms straight! At that point, everything speeds up. Shrug the weight up so the bar is traveling up close to the body, jump under  it while rotating the wrists. Catch it in a power squat with the feet wide apart in the jumping position and having active shoulders. Rise and hold the weight there. It's a complicated move that looks beautiful when done correctly and feels even more wonderful when you get it. Love the snatch.

I've been doing this for a while now and I'm still amazed at how the body has memory of its training. I make a small adjustment in how I am using my shoulders, train that a hundred times, and then it's part of my automatic repertoire. Adjustment by adjustment, we incrementally add skill to our lifts and they become smoother and easier. The benefit is being able add a few pounds each time you improve. If you're anything like me, it's a constant negotiation with myself to keep the weights heavy enough to be challenging yet light enough to keep excellent form. I have the urge to test myself - how much can I lift? It's a healthy ambition but must also be tempered with patience. I believe the heavier weights will come when I master the form that will allow me to lift heavier. And, my muscles need to adapt to this new thing I'm asking them to do. They sometimes protest.

I was so pleased with training the Clean & Jerk and the Snatch that I almost forgot I set a PR in the Front Squat. 185lbs for two reps. In a previous post, I wrote that I was feeling fear when I tried the squat clean because I had a confidence issue with jumping under a heavy weight. Practicing drops helped a lot. And Coach said, almost in passing, the route to feeling confident in the squat clean is to work on your front squat. That made a lot of sense to me. If I know that I can front squat 185lbs, then I know I'll be fine squat cleaning 135lbs. Elbows up!

We finished the morning with a quick Met Con routine of box jumps, pull-ups and sit-ups. It's not Crossfit without some fitness in there. Instead of feeling like this was a toss off, I got into it. I can do kipping pull-ups! Five months ago I felt like a fat kid jumping for a jelly doughnut trying to get to that bar. And missing. I was a sad panda. And now that's changed. Sterling wrote to me in those early days, encouraging me to keep pushing it. "I was once where you are!", he wrote. Man that meant a lot to me. Sticking with this has been completely worth it.

Clean & Jerk
105lb X 3
115lb X 3
135lb X 3

Power Snatch
75lb X 3
85lb X 3
85lb X 3

Front Squat
135lb X 2
165lb X 2
185lb X 2

Thrusters

Have you ever done something that was so damn hard that even after when you are finished you still want to kick it around? Let me set the scene: early morning at the Langley box and the morning shift arrives to see what the mission is. There's mist in the fields and the cold air feels good. I feel so much better than Tuesday and I'm up for anything - even running. Okay, I'm kidding. Running sucks. Coach Clarke grabs a marker and writes 'Thrusters' on the whiteboard. I've never done these before so I don't have the experience to be afraid. "Cool", I think. "I can get some practice in." Five sets of five reps sounds doable.

Here's a link to the exercise. After a 750m row to get the blood flowing, Coach and I set up the barbell with 135lb. We placed a medicine ball behind it to ensure we would get proper depth in the squat.

Strength training is tough. You should not walk away from it with a light sweat, slightly raised heartbeat and a pleasant story to tell around the dinner table. No. You should feel fear when you walk up to the barbell because you know it's going to ask everything you have - and then some. The first round, I did not feel this fear because I was blissfully ignorant of the thruster. But I had some clues because Coach went first and he was working hard. My first set splashed cold water in my face and woke me up. Even punched me in the guts. Holy crap it was heavy!

"The first set is the hardest", Coach remarked. Thank god.

We keep forging on, grunting and swearing through the sets and high-fiving through the rests. Partner workouts do make a difference. We find the groove and keep moving that weight up, time and again. The last couple of reps of each set are spectacularly hard. I'm almost locked out, so I stand there PUSHING with everything I have until I can fully extend my arms to lock out. For a microsecond I stand there, barbell overhead, feeling like Atlas holding the world, and then I drop that damn thing to the floor. It bounces nearly to my waist before settling down. That is the most satisfying feeling I experience in heavy lifting.

"Auf Wiedersehen motherfucker!"

I have now learned to fear thrusters. And that's good, because I'm not happy unless I'm testing my limits. Honestly, I can do without the pleasant dinnertime stories. I want the gut-wrenching, gag-inducing hard as nails workouts that will build me cannonball shoulders and a spine made of iron. There are dues to be paid for that.

Bent-over rows almost feel easy after this. We loaded up to 135lb for a light set, then ramped up to 205lb for the fifth one. I like this exercise. Back work is difficult, like doing leg work, but it pays off in so many ways. And five reps is achievable when doing heavy sets. My mind can wrap around the idea that I only have to do it five times, and I'm sure I can do that. I'm watching my form in the mirror to make sure I'm keeping my back set and not using cheater movements to get the bar moving.

The last exercise is unique and one I've never seen before - Renegade Rows. I like that. Crossfitters are renegades. Essentially, assume the plank position holding a dumbbell in each hand. One at a time, row a dumbbell up and then down. Alternate sides. It's a fun movement and challenging depending on the weight selected. I opt to start with 40lb, then increase by 5lbs per set for 3 sets of 10 reps. After the heavy work sets of the thrusters and bent over rows, 50lb dumbbell rows is plenty heavy. My hands are sore from the knurling and I'm watching them carefully for tears.

I like pushing myself and today was an opportunity to do so. I discovered the keys to my performance a couple of years ago and it's positive peer support - teamwork. I always get the best workouts and results working with a partner and team. Working with my Coach is a treat, and he's so damned strong that it pushes me to extend my game even further.

I'm going to feel this tomorrow.

Thrusters

5 X 135lb
5 X 135lb
5 X 135lb
5 X 135lb
5 X 135lb

Bent Over Rows

5 X 135lb
5 X 185lb
5 X 195lb
5 X 195lb
5 X 205lb

Renegade Rows

10 X 40lb
10 X 45lb
10 X 50lb

Ladder

A quick question for you: What is the most important thing to help you through an early morning WOD?

a) set a good pace and stick to it

b) determination

c) coffee

The answer is coffee. In fact, for all questions, the answer is always coffee.

I completed this in 17:01 not Rx'd. Halfway into the second ladder I had to switch to knee pushups and do my pullup off a little box. I was having trouble jumping up to the bar, hanging on and then doing the pullup. I just didn't have it today.  Figures, as I ultimately took the day off sick with a stupid cold.

Oly. Oly. Oly.

Saturday was an awesome continuation of strength training. Coach programmed a heavy day of squat cleans and deadlifting to build on Thursday's Olympic lifting class. I was reading last night in Starting Strength that these two exercises are very beneficial to train together - one helping the other. And I relish the opportunity to practice squat cleans when I can. On my journey to a thousand squat cleans, I figure that I've done about 60 in the last week. 940 to go! Mike and I worked on technique, building up to our maximum weights and keeping the form as strict as we could. It's a difficult move. I've addressed my issue of pulling the bar too high, but now I'm jumping under the bar to soon - essentially sitting down. When I compensated for that, I jumped quite high and was airborne with the weight for several inches. Heh. That must have looked hilarious. Even so, there were a few that felt just right, as Goldilocks would say. It's funny to work on these because the more the brain gets involved, the worse it gets. Here's my depiction:

But that's also what makes it so great and worthwhile. If it was easy, I wouldn't be trying to damn hard to get it. I performed some light moves and then loaded 135lb for my work sets. This weight is heavy enough to keep me from muscling up the bar and light enough to allow me to keep my form. Just right. A few of these and I loaded two 10lb plates on for another attempt. Fail. I also read in Starting Strength that this is the nature of the clean. The addition of just 5 or 10 more pounds and the weight just won't rack. This is such an interesting sport.

Deadlifting was next and Mike decided to keep pace with the weight I was loading on the bar, based on my 295lb personal best.

1x4 50% - 150lb
1x4 70% - 210lb
1x4 70% - 210lb
1x4 80% - 255lb (Actually higher than 80%)

Bar over the shoelaces, I repeated to myself. Arms straight and back set. A reverse grip, and hoist! (I love this stuff) We both gave it our all and I was impressed with Mike's strength and determination. Partner workouts really help build the enthusiasm to do your best. The deadlift felt awesome and soon I'll be ready to challenge my PR. I think I deserve a weight belt.

Box jump drills after that. These were surprisingly fun and I read AGAIN in Starting Strength that the vertical jump is a good predictor of athletic performance. Hollie and I created a pancake stack of bumper plates on a box and challenged ourselves to keep jumping higher and higher as we added plates. At the other end of the gym, Mike was LEAPING atop the tallest box stacked with three plates. Impressive.

I left the gym with my mind and body refreshed and renewed from drinking at the Crossfit well.

What A Difference A WOD Makes

My hands gripped the rings and I pulled myself up for a try at skin the cat. Starting in the hang position and keeping my arms straight, I lifted my toes up and back overhead, to an inverted hang. Then, slowly lowering my toes towards the floor behind me as far as I could go.  Then lifting my hips I pulled out back through the hang and lowered to my feet. Once down, I could hardly believe I was able to do it so well. I have to extend some credit to the Grace workout for increasing my shoulder strength. My profile picture you see on the right was actually taken during the Grace workout. I've felt notable improvement in all my shoulder movements since doing that. I wouldn't want to date her exclusively but I will see that beotch now and then.

The next ring exercise captures my imagination too - the Archer ring pushup (variation 3). This is an amazing exercise and my chest is hurting now from it while I write this. I've been challenging myself to go much lower in my ring pushups and dips. As my strength and flexibility improves, so has my form. However, the last couple reps were shaky as I tired from the rounds and my final pushups were ugly. My chest hit the deck on the last one as I collapsed. God, that rubber matt can feel good sometimes. It's like a vacation. Just lie there, not moving - maybe the eyes just a little - but nothing else.

And what WOD would be complete without at least one total gong show. Thy name is double-unders. I took Coach's advice - practice, practice, practice! I realize the only way to get good at something is to keep pushing it, so I started cranking out double-unders - as many as I could do before stumbling. That was two. <grimace> Push. Push. Push. I did nine rounds as double-under's, starting and stopping, resetting and accidentally whipping my shins about a hundred times. For the tenth round I decided to get some quality skipping in and did fifty singles. What is it? Jumping? Coordination? I dunno.

Later in the day, I arrived for a class dedicated to Olympic Lifting. When I heard we were going to do this, I nearly jumped out of my shoes for joy. Readers of this blog know that Oly lifting is my religion. I'm not even that good at it but I will squat clean a thousand times to gain this skill. It's like honing a golf swing. There is a lot to practice at each point of the lift. How to grip the bar. Starting the clean from the hang. Foot position. Jumping under the bar. Mental attitude. I'm practicing this, so I backed the weight way down to 135lb and kept in that groove. I tend to pull the bar too high before jumping underneath it. I couldn't figure out why until I realized that I had fear of jumping under a heavy weight that is crashing back down to earth. Since I pull it too high, getting in the squat position underneath would have the bar traveling at a good speed when it makes contact with me. Ouch. I have visions of falling over backwards with this thing on me. I think I know what to do. I was watching a video of clean drops on Crossfit.com. Using a light weight, like an empty bar, just drop into the squat over and over. I figure if I do that, gradually increasing the weight and getting confident, I'll overcome my tendency to pull too high. It's going to take much work, but I want it real bad.

Secret Confessions of A Crossfit-A-Holic

During a tough round in the WOD, do you work your butt off to get to a favourite exercise so you can have 'fun' before diving into the tough work again?

I do, and today it was the kettlebell swing. Today's WOD was 7 rounds of clean & jerk, 6 pullups, 9 kettlebell swings and a 200m run. Because this workout has NO rest periods, I need a psychological rest point each round. I do this a lot. It's like reaching a safe harbour before venturing out into the storm again. It's safe to say that the 200m run is NOT the rest spot. Besides, the kettlebell swing is *fun*. It's weighed in poods which makes it strangely exotic. I like that. You don't see these in Globo gyms and I like that too. If I had one, I'd paint a skull and crossbones on it.

I haven't done a met con for a while and this was a heart pounder. It's the running, you see. I find it very challenging to run for distance and, ironically, it's probably the thing I should do the most. I foresee more time at the LSS track with a stopwatch. Shudder. I want to improve my time on the 400m run. However, I was pretty pleased with my pullup effort today. While I struggled with doing six full dead hang pullups in one go for the last three rounds, I went full extension and up over my chin for my mini-sets near the end. Clean and jerks, what can I say? This lift makes me feel good. Afterwards. In the middle of the WOD, that 135lb bar strikes fear in my heart.

I clocked a time of 20:19 which is okay. My old friend oxygen deprivation is still sticking around but at least I can keep moving. I've come a long way in four months with miles to go before I sleep. It's time to up my game again so I'm going to add a fourth Crossfit workout to my week. I wanted to start at an achievable pace and build from there. Now, I can properly recover between workout days. It used to take days for the soreness to abate. It still happens occasionally when I do a new movement. 

I think I'm addicted to this.

Paradise Found

"Feels heavier than twenty-five pounds, doesn't it", Jeff said as he handed me the dumbbell.

"It does", I said as I double checked the weight before hefting it into the trunk of my car. I was borrowing two dumbbells so I could do a WOD on the weekend while I was staying in Victoria. I hate missing a workout.

"Take the ab wheel too".

Grimacing, I threw it into the trunk. When you first see the ab wheel in action, it looks  fun. Around about sixty, it begins to resemble a medieval torture device.

"Thanks buddy, I owe you".

I wasn't exactly sure what kind of WOD I was going to do. I had surfed the Crossfit site getting some ideas and settled on some kind of shoulder work, skipping, and ab wheels - all with equipment that would easily fit into the trunk of my car.

Here was my plan:

On a beautifully clear and warm Sunday morning, I pulled out the equipment and set up on our cabin deck overlooking the Gorge waterway. The setting was tranquil and pretty. I started with skipping to get my heart rate up and warm up my joints and muscles. I got to five skips and the rope tangled on my shoes. No matter, I began again. A dozen later I stepped on the rope. A few more and the skip rope handle flew out of my hand. This was getting frustrating. "Damn it", I thought, "What is up with this?" Getting a little angry, I rattled off 50 skips quickly. My calves were burning and I recognized that good old-fashioned feeling of being pissed off. Rather than stop and do something else, I kept skipping in 50 set chunks until the 300 were done. I tripped a few more times but I was skipping much faster and smoother.

Without waiting for my heart rate to settle, I sat down on the deck stairs and grabbed up the 25lb dumbbells. Man, they really do feel heavier outside the gym. I pressed them overhead, touching them together at the top, and then back down. Then a few more, full repetitions. I was trying to concentrate on the idyllic scene of the narrow inlet flowing in with the tide, but my shoulders were burning and my reps were getting hard. I finished my ten and set them down for a 20 seconds. After what seemed like too short a rest, I picked them up again and pressed them overhead quickly, full repetitions, with aggression. After each set of ten, I rested for just 20 seconds and then snapped up the weights and pressed them skyward again. I was feeling pissed off again because I don't enjoy struggling with weights that I know I can lift easily. With pain rising in my arms, I slammed them up ten more times to finish them off. The deck was made of wood and I was disappointed I couldn't just slam them down because that is what I wanted to do.

I saved the easy one for last. A mere 72 ab wheels and victory was mine! In fact, the first four rounds were okay. I've been doing these a lot so it isn't the gong show it was in the beginning. Mind you, by the fourth round I was in the shit again. Each extension was harder than the last and because I'm stubborn, I try to wheel it forward to the very limit of my ability to control. The stretch in my shoulders was deep and I wondered how a small inexpensive piece of plastic could so humble me. I wanted to throw it in the Gorge, but I didn't because it belongs to Jeff.

I got to thinking afterwards. What made this workout so challenging? The weight wasn't that heavy and I've skipped before, for goodness sake. Why were things different this time? The beautiful setting was inspiring and working outside in the sun always makes me feel good. What made the difference between almost getting it right and shifting into the Crossfit athlete high gear and getting it done?

Attitude.

When you read the preceding paragraphs carefully, each time I moved from feeling whipped to feeling unbeatable, it was because I was determined - I was pissed off. In my mind, there was NO way I was going to fail and that caused me to lift with passion. By concentrating on the beautiful surroundings and how peaceful and tranquil I felt, I may as just as well slipped on something from Lululemon and practiced yoga. Crossfit demands everything from you. It's not a peaceful endeavour and the only time you feel relaxed is when you are done. I had no pre-WOD jitters for this workout which signalled that my head wasn't in the right space yet. But I got there.

So the next time you see saunter into the Crossfit Langley box talking about what a gorgeous morning it is, slap me upside the head. I need to stare into the chalk bucket and get my game face on.

A Journey of a Thousand Power Snatches

I love it when I get to spend some time practicing Olympic lifting. I feel like it's a pilgrimage to my own personal Mecca, made up of smooth steel bars and heavy bumper plates. There's something exhilarating and addictive to the sport. It's truthful. I love it. You hate it compared to how much I love it.

But I am not a master of the lifts. I admit this freely to you. I need LOTS of practice. My Power Snatch sometimes looks like a starfish, as Mike calls it. But now and then, everything aligns and I find myself standing under the weight after almost effortlessly lifting it overhead. I could do that all day. In fact, I probably need to practice this move a thousand times to achieve good competency in it. PVC pipe won't cut it so I'll have to be creative.

 

It was just Mike, Coach and I this morning and that led to some great personal coaching in the lifts. Nothing can beat getting instruction from someone who is great at this sport and these sessions are like deposits in the bank. I value them.

 

                   

Most of the morning was spent on practice, but it wouldn't be Crossfit without some kind of gasser in there. And to finish off the morning we did a quick three rounds of burpee pullups and half-moons. I actually enjoyed the burpee pullups if you can believe it. I can do them! Booyah! The strength training is really paying off in the met con WODS. The breathlessness is still there, but my muscles aren't giving out early in the WOD. The sandbags are another story. They look so innocent when you first pick them up. They're diabolical because the sand shifts inside as you swing the bloody thing around. If you did this workout, you'll know what I mean.

Front squat
2-2-2-2-2
Power snatch
3-3-3-3

3 Rounds
10 burpee pullups
10 sandbag half moons

Training for Strength

Row 500m @ easy pace

Back squat
5-5-5-5-5 loading 80% 1rm or more

6-1 ladder
pushups
pullups
box jumps
DB split power snatch 40lb

I'm favouring a sore lower back today. I was walking in the park during the weekend and my left foot went into a hole, jolting my spine. I felt a pain in the left side of my lower back, which has persisted for a few days. It's not very painful, but enough of a warning to practice very safe lifting and book a chiro appointment ASAP.

Today was a quiet workout, with only three of us in the box - Coach, Holli & me. That suited me fine as strength training is a slower activity with lots of rest in between. My squat numbers are pretty bang on for 80% of 1rm. A few weeks ago, I squatted 205 lb for three reps. So if I consider that my maximum (until proven otherwise), then 80% is 164 lb, which I squatted during the last three rounds. The new lifting shoes have made a big difference in my stability and confidence. I would have enjoyed piling on a few more pounds but with a sore back I will retreat to fight another day.

The ladder was just plain fun. I remember when something like this would have been a big deal to consider. 6 pullups? Ug. Not too hard these days. But Coach Clarke said something interesting this morning - if you walk out of Crossfit without breaking a sweat, then you need to bring more intensity. So I ran through the ladder as quickly as I could, following strict form. My heart was beating fast at the end. But he still beat me by three rounds. Will I ever be that strong and fast? I remind myself that I've been doing this for just four months and in that time, everyone else has been improving too. So my marker for progress are these blog entries, which tells the story of how far I've come.

5 X 135lb
Failed on 185lbs
5 X 155lb
5 X 165lb
5 X 165lb
5 X 165lb

The Logical Case for Using Chalk

Let's do something really stupid: Let's avoid using chalk for lifting. Let's always go barehanded. Especially for cleans. 

One of the worst side-effects is the torn callus. When you have a solid grip on the bar, it prevents slippage and helps prevent the torn calluses. I have a persistent callus on the inside of my thumb just below the knuckle. Every time I clean a heavy barbell without chalk, I have torn it off. I don't usually notice this until after the WOD when it starts to hurt. Chalking my hands before lifting helps prevent this.

Sweaty hands can't grip the bar well, and a heavy load might normally slip out of your grip. If you are forgoing chalk, you might want to wear your steel toed boots for when the bar drops on your toes. Ouch. The other downside to chalk is the fingerprints all over the gym floor, right next to the sweat angels. Most big box gyms ban chalk. The managers know that if they get rid of the chalk, the big scary guys will go with it, leaving more room to sign up people who prefer heavy gossip to heavy lifting. Like Mark Ripettoe says, "If your gym doesn’t allow you to use chalk then it’s not a gym, it’s a spa."

But Crossfit isn't about posing, and chalk has it's rightful place near the bumper plates. Use it. Don't make a mess and lift with respect given to others. Whether it's accurate or not, chalk is the symbol of the serious strength athlete.  By the way, it's not chalk anymore, but magnesium carbonate. And by using it, it can lead to greater control of the barbell and higher totals.