Slippery Lifting Platform?! Use THIS.
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The last thing you want when you're training is a slippery lifting surface - at the very least, it's inefficient and a good way to miss a lift, and on the other end of the spectrum, it's a good way to accidentally end up doing the splits and perhaps get injured in the process.
you don’t want a slippery platform when lifting.
The Problem: Lack of Friction
A lifting surface with reasonable friction is rather important, and it's especially important in the Olympic lifts. Picture the split jerk wherein your feet leave the ground and then come back down in different positions - friction is vital as you’ve got some decent front-to-back force between your feet, and you don't want to end up doing the splits. However, friction is important in the slow lifts or “strength lifts” as well - you don't want any chance of your feet slipping under the load of a heavy squat.
So, if you train on a surface that tends to be a bit slick, or if you train in a humid environment that can occasionally create such a situation, what do you do?
The Answer
Rosin powder. It’s cheap, it works well, and you can get it quickly from Amazon (click here). Rosin powder is simply rock rosin mixed with magnesium carbonate - in other words, crystallized tree resin mixed with chalk so that it comes in a powder form that’s easy to apply. You can also get rosin in rock or crystal form, but this powder is tough to beat for convenience and portability.
How to Use It
Perform the following steps (watch the included video above for a demonstration and explanation)
Step 1
Sprinkle some powder on your platform. You don’t need much, and it doesn’t matter where you sprinkle it as the goal is to get it on the soles of your shoes (not the platform).
Step 2
Grind and/or stab your shoes into the powder repeatedly until all of the powder is on the soles of your shoes.
Step 3
Check that you’ve gotten all of it on your shoes. You know you’re done when you can’t see any more powder on the platform. You also know you’ve done it correctly (and didn’t use too much) when you can walk around your platform and not leave white footprints wherever you go.
Wrapping Up
A 4 oz shaker bottle of rosin powder costs roughly $10-15, and it should last years. A bottle at Testify typically lasts a few years, and bear in mind that’s with multiple people using it, so if you’re just purchasing it for personal use, it might last longer than you do.
Interestingly, rosin is actually required at weightlifting meets, but we have never seen it present at a local meet (well . . . except ours). With this in mind, if you intend to compete, I recommend bringing your own in case the platform (warm-up or competition) is a bit slick.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
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