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What do you use grip for?
Okay, so I noticed at the USPDF EVERY performer used grip on their pole. I have never seen anyone directly apply grip aid to a pole. Does everyone put grip on their poles before using them? I have only ever put grip on my hands because I have the powder mighty grip which I kind of think is crap but that’s neither here nor there. In any case I was curious exactly what and how everyone uses their grip aid and which ones you all like best. I’ve seen people put it between their legs, on their hands over the shoulder and now directly to the pole.
Should I use grip? How can you do any spins if you are all covered in grip aid? Is it possible to do a whole routine without grip with inverts? I checked the forum and couldn’t find anything about grip aids..other than peoples faves but not really how exactly people use it. So, let me know what you think. How do you use yours?
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40 Replies
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I have never used a grip aid. I use just windex and that alone produces adequate grip for me. I also have a lil mynx that I will use because its powder coated and is grippier when my chrome is too slick. I know its not the answer you were looking for but I wanted to throw my 2 cents in. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif I’m interested in seeing everyones answers to this topic too.
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I never used grip aid until about a month ago, and even now I only use it sparingly. I’d like to be able to do my inverted tricks anywhere with just my normal hands, lol. It takes patience, but my hands and I have a greater understanding now. I will use my grip aid (iTac2) when I’m working on something where my hands really need to stick hard. The good thing about iTac is that it’ll soften up when you want to spin. So I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing anything with this grip aid. I’ve only put it on my hands but I know that Karol Helms uses it on other common points of contact on her body too. The first time I saw someone use grip aid on the pole itself was watching Jungle Cat slather Dry Hands all over a pole, and then slathering it all over himself too. I did giggle a bit at first… it looked funny, all of that white goop all over everything! But after seeing his rigorous and quickly spinning routine, I can see why he took the extra steps. It’s all about what you intend to do, and how much extra grip your body may need. I suggest trying to use little grip aid, and really gauge when you think you actually NEED it.
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pennygirl, I’ve tried SO many grip aids for my sweaty hands and lil mynx stainless steel. None of which I bought again. I finally got an xpert TG few weeks ago and am having better practices. Even though my hands tend to sweat I am able to get more done. I just ordered some grip spray made by a gal at aerial empowerment. She has a post about it here somewhere. Although, due to it being mixed with alcohol, she could not ship it pre-mixed. She sent me powder mixture with how to mix. I am so anxious to try it, although now that I have the TG don’t know if I’ll have need for it. I wish I could have tried it on ss pole before taking it down. Also, don’t know if can be on pole for spins.
I’ve tried grip aid on the pole, my hands, between legs; tried shaving gel, etc. I didn’t have any luck. I had decent practices on the ss when weather/pole cooperated which was few and far between!
So the competitors used grip aids during competing, hmmm Did they put on pole, hands, where? Did you find out what was used? I often wondered what performers do with slippery pole/hands.
I also probably didn’t give you any answers https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif
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I love grip aid but don’t find myself using it unless I am trying a new move or unless I am sweating and sliding terribly. I like Mighty Grip when I am needing a good grip to get a move without sliding down to quickly. I can do the moves without the grip aid as well. I just sometimes slide faster. I don’t think it hinders the leaniing process. Try it with it and with out it. If I am breaking into a terrible sweat, I use a special formula made by a friend of mine on here called Gription. I love it. It is made by chemgodess on here. Also, If you are experiencing issues and you have a chrome pole, clean it with alcohol vs windex. That helps ALOT!!!!
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I use mighty grip every time I pole. I put a good amount on my hands, only the palms, but not my fingers. That way I can grip without having any issues with spins, I also realized when I put it on my fingers I’m more prone to sliding and twisting my fingers. I also have put it on my calves for more grip when trying one leg inverts. I don’t need it between the knees or elbows, for some reason I grip just fine. I used to wipe my pole between moves, but sometimes I think it works better when I leave some trace grip on the pole. I would very much like to try some other grip aids. Anyone think iTac2 is strong enough? I’d like to try 3 or 4 possibly, I feel like my hands are always super sweaty, even if I’m not hot. I think your best bet is to experiment a bit and see what works for you. And if anyone has answers for me about iTac I appreciate it.
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Thanks Luvlee https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_redface.gif
I do not use grip aid much unless I am learning a new move. Iguana mount was one because every time I put my head down my hands would start to sweat and that is one move where you don’t want to lose your grip! I also use it sometimes on my legs just because my shins sweat a lot when I am dancing and knee holds get difficult for me.
As for competitions…I think the lights on stage on top of performance jitters would turn me into a pool of dew. I would rather be slathered in grip aid than fly off the pole.
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from my little bit of experience, during competition or performances, the poles rarely truly get warmed up, and your body is rarely as warm as it gets during practice or class, so if you don’t put grip on the pole or yourself, you just don’t stick. i never use grip during practice (unless i’m learning something brand new and very difficult) but i use it during performances– on the pole, and only above 6′ so that i can still do spins.
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What Amy said https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif
The poles are never really warm at comp and the grip on the pole also helped my hands stay drier. I have very sweaty hands and without grip poling is impossible. I actually took a lot of more advanced work out of my original uspdf routine because I was afraid of the poles and what the grip might be like.
I always pole with atleast antiperspirant on, I sweat that is something I cannot sure so I use tite grip religiously. If for some reason I need more griping power I use some Grrrip lotion. I also look at it this way – gymnasts don’t practice with out chalk so why I should I work without antiperspirant.
I have tried grippier aids like Itac and I so hate saying this but those aids just turn to slipperiness for me. I was scared someone before me would be using Firm Grip or Itac, lol!
I had my pole prepped with Grrrip, covered my body with Grrrip and used tite grip on my hands to avoid weat and my poles were okay. Not the best but I didn’t have any slippy problems. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif
As part of USPDF training I would actually only runthrough my routines cold (i.e having only minimal warm ups and stretching.) So that I could replicate the scenario I would be in. I even poled in a cold house so my pole wouldn’t warm up so I could get a feel for how the grip, the pole and my body would work under those circumstances.
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It’s oka Koba, I was at first curious just to see what type of responses and then also to see what would work best for me. I have so many days when I can’t do a darned thing.. it really gets on my nerves. I feel like I am ALWAYS slipping. (I have a chrome expert) I’ve never tried windex though, I’ve only used alcohol. what kind of pole do you have?
I have never used a grip aid. I use just windex and that alone produces adequate grip for me. I also have a lil mynx that I will use because its powder coated and is grippier when my chrome is too slick. I know its not the answer you were looking for but I wanted to throw my 2 cents in. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif I’m interested in seeing everyones answers to this topic too.
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I kind of wanted to be like you but then I realized that I slip all over the place. It’s not sweaty palms because my hands are usually pretty dry. (sometimes ashy and too dry even) I wanted to learn how to do all spins and inverts without grip, but that is turning out to be more of a hindrance than anything. I haven’t tried spin yet. I think I’m a frady cat at this pooint becuase I can’t stick on static lol! Thanks for the advice!
I never used grip aid until about a month ago, and even now I only use it sparingly. I’d like to be able to do my inverted tricks anywhere with just my normal hands, lol. It takes patience, but my hands and I have a greater understanding now. I will use my grip aid (iTac2) when I’m working on something where my hands really need to stick hard. The good thing about iTac is that it’ll soften up when you want to spin. So I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing anything with this grip aid. I’ve only put it on my hands but I know that Karol Helms uses it on other common points of contact on her body too. The first time I saw someone use grip aid on the pole itself was watching Jungle Cat slather Dry Hands all over a pole, and then slathering it all over himself too. I did giggle a bit at first… it looked funny, all of that white goop all over everything! But after seeing his rigorous and quickly spinning routine, I can see why he took the extra steps. It’s all about what you intend to do, and how much extra grip your body may need. I suggest trying to use little grip aid, and really gauge when you think you actually NEED it.
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thanks, I have always used alcohol on my chrome so that’s a good thing. I will keep the name of that grip in mind if I find the need to change. I just ordered some dry hands because it’s popular but I don’t know if I will like it or how I will use it just yet. thanks for the advice! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
I love grip aid but don’t find myself using it unless I am trying a new move or unless I am sweating and sliding terribly. I like Mighty Grip when I am needing a good grip to get a move without sliding down to quickly. I can do the moves without the grip aid as well. I just sometimes slide faster. I don’t think it hinders the leaniing process. Try it with it and with out it. If I am breaking into a terrible sweat, I use a special formula made by a friend of mine on here called Gription. I love it. It is made by chemgodess on here. Also, If you are experiencing issues and you have a chrome pole, clean it with alcohol vs windex. That helps ALOT!!!! -
Yes Chem that made sense…when one of the girls explained how she watched jungle cats performance she understood the need to slather grip on the pole. I can honestly say I am not doing anything too rigorous at this point, but when I practice say my caterpillar I just slide slowly until I’m on the floor…it’s quite sad actually.
Thanks Luvlee https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_redface.gif
I do not use grip aid much unless I am learning a new move. Iguana mount was one because every time I put my head down my hands would start to sweat and that is one move where you don’t want to lose your grip! I also use it sometimes on my legs just because my shins sweat a lot when I am dancing and knee holds get difficult for me.
As for competitions…I think the lights on stage on top of performance jitters would turn me into a pool of dew. I would rather be slathered in grip aid than fly off the pole.
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Ha ha charley, you’re so cute "what she said"
I guess that makes sense. My livingroom is always colder than the rest of the house and that’s where my pole is so it’s always cold. I sometimes put the mighty grip on when I try to practice inverts but sometimes I feel like I’m cheating. You make a really good point when you say that gymnasts don’t work without chalk, I think I’m totally with you on that one. I never thought about antiperspirant though, mostly because I’m not doing any under arm grips yet. So I use grip when I try the caterpillar and the aysha… well you saw me totally crush poor rena trying to do my aysha which was highly embarrassing! In any case since I got home I have been practicing the caterpillar and it seems that I just slide down slowly almost riding the pole until I am basically head to floor lol! So I really wondered if it was normal to put so much grip on my body and the pole. I was really shocked to see it at the USPDF. You also make a really great point about the poles never getting warm at the comp. I think the only action they got was from the pole cleaners…poor lonely poles!
Anyway, thanks for the advice charlie oh and by the way, I’m still working on that hip roll and exaggerated body roll. When I feel comfortable I will post a vid. YAY! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gifWhat Amy said https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif
The poles are never really warm at comp and the grip on the pole also helped my hands stay drier. I have very sweaty hands and without grip poling is impossible. I actually took a lot of more advanced work out of my original uspdf routine because I was afraid of the poles and what the grip might be like.
I always pole with atleast antiperspirant on, I sweat that is something I cannot sure so I use tite grip religiously. If for some reason I need more griping power I use some Grrrip lotion. I also look at it this way – gymnasts don’t practice with out chalk so why I should I work without antiperspirant.
I have tried grippier aids like Itac and I so hate saying this but those aids just turn to slipperiness for me. I was scared someone before me would be using Firm Grip or Itac, lol!
I had my pole prepped with Grrrip, covered my body with Grrrip and used tite grip on my hands to avoid weat and my poles were okay. Not the best but I didn’t have any slippy problems. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif
As part of USPDF training I would actually only runthrough my routines cold (i.e having only minimal warm ups and stretching.) So that I could replicate the scenario I would be in. I even poled in a cold house so my pole wouldn’t warm up so I could get a feel for how the grip, the pole and my body would work under those circumstances.
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i was interested to see they put grip on the poles at uspdf! i put tite grip directly on the pole if i’m doing a full routine or performance (for sequence practice and move practice i try not to use anything) and i put it on my hands too. I use gorilla grip on my legs and arms. I really found tite grip worked well on the pole when it had a while to dry off. In fact, i actually ended up more bruised because my grip improved so much and i get stuck on the pole doing the SM bounce/hop, which makes it look like im just flailing my legs!!!
For people worried about spins… i practice on brass but had to perform on chrome so i had the pole plastered and was still able to complete spins with good rotation and speed, and was able to complete my full routine with no slipping! (i’m not a great spinner but even my teacher said they had really improved now that i was confident i wasn’t going to fly off into the wall!)
im debating whether to enter a comp, but you aren’t allowed to prep the pole with any grip
and they will be cleaned between each performance. i know that on chrome my chances of gripping with my body (prepped with GG), are reduced but very worried about hands https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_pale.gif -
first off, i ALWAYS start off without grip aid https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_bounce.gif but, i use grip aid when it too hot or humid here, i live in GA USA, the south is hot & humid though the summer months so it is just now getting to where i can pole without it again daily. sometimes i like to use grip aid or mighty grip gloves when i am using spin mode, instead of grip aid, just because it makes me feel more secure trying new stuff. when i use it, i usually put a little on my inner thighs & behind my knees & sometimes on my inner elbows && then i wipe most of it off my hands with rubbing alcohol, this allows me to spin freely & still have a little extra grip https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
i have a stainless steel pole.
i have mighty grip & iTac2… i personally like the iTac2 better but it all depends on your skin type & pole texture & climate.
i have found if you contact grip aid companies a lot of them will send you a sample so you may want to try that before you spend $20 on something that may or may not work for you https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gifgood luck https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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