Breaking In Grips

[Daniel Burnham]

I just got two new pair.  Any tips on how to break them in faster?  

 

Edit: Sorry Moderators.  I forgot about the equipment forum.

[Joshua Slocum]

If you can, do some bails. That'll soften them up in no time.

 

You can also bend them around the rings with your hands (i.e. grab the grip rather than wearing it), and work it in and out of the correct gripping position several times. 

 

One thing I've done in the past is get into a hang, and "bounce" on the rings. You do about half of a pullup, then let yourself fall, and catch just before hitting bottom. This has an advantage over the previous method because it's guaranteed to break in the grip in the proper position. This does require a good amount of pullup strength/endurance, though. 

[Keilani Gutierrez]

what kind of grips did you get?

[Daniel Burnham]

Reisport protec.

[Joshua Slocum]

Just be glad you didn't get English Bulldog. Those can take weeks to fully break in 

[David Hurwitz]

I would imagine that the Protecs are extra difficult to break in.  Those are meant for people who are constangly breaking their grips, given the amount of tourque they exert doing swing elements. 

[Joshua Slocum]

Protecs are actually very easy to break in. They come soft out of the box. The key is that traditional grips, like the Bulldogs,  rely on using very thick leather to provide extra strength. Whereas the protecs use a special leather-laminate, which allows them to use much thinner leather. Where the Bulldog's leather might be 3/16" or 4mm thick, the Protecs are about half that thickness, and composed of two layers of leather. So Bulldogs are many times stiffer. 

 

I got a pair of protec grips for high bar, and was actually able to use them pretty much immediately. Several other people in my gym have had similarly good experiences with them. 

[Keilani Gutierrez]

so I guess it's more out of preference and what you want to go through to get to the "good" feeling of a broken in grip. used to do the same with bike grips, so its no biggie. 

 

would you use them, even if you didn't do swings? for say, stuff like Forward and Backward rolls? .....actually, a lightbulb just went off in my head, if Swings are trained in the Foundation series, i'll just wait until I know if that's an element we'll be  embarking on for sure and then go with you guys recommendation for Grips. 

 

thanks again! always appreciated

[Joshua Slocum]

so I guess it's more out of preference and what you want to go through to get to the "good" feeling of a broken in grip. used to do the same with bike grips, so its no biggie. 

 

would you use them, even if you didn't do swings? for say, stuff like Forward and Backward rolls? .....actually, a lightbulb just went off in my head, if Swings are trained in the Foundation series, i'll just wait until I know if that's an element we'll be  embarking on for sure and then go with you guys recommendation for Grips. 

 

thanks again! always appreciated

 

It's not preference. The protec grips are equal or superior to traditional style grips in every metric other than price. They break in easier, they're stronger, and they're more comfortable. However, unless you are heavy for a gymnast and/or have a particularly powerful swing, you'll probably be fine with a strong pair of regular grips. 

 

 

There is absolutely zero need for grips unless you are learning big swing skills. They make swinging easier, but they also make strength skills a bit harder if you're not used to them. And as the Foundation series is for building strength, there will be no big swing skills in the foundation series, and thus no need for grips. 

[Joshua Naterman]

Hahaha... sounds like I will need Protecs.

[Joshua Slocum]

You're something like 6'2"/220lb right? 

 

For learning basic swings, I'd start out by seeing if there's any old grips in your gym that will fit. Once you get to the point where you're learning dislocates on rings or giants on high bar, you might want to consider getting a new pair of your own. You'd probably be fine with a high-quality normal grip, like US Glove or standard Reisport. But if you plan to move on to more powerful moves, like bails on rings or a Chinese (e.g. dismount) tap on high bar, you'd definitely want English Bulldog (easily the strongest/thickest leather grip) or preferably Reisport Hyper Protecs. 

 

Catastrophic grip failure, in the form of a grip tearing while you're using it, is rare but does happen. The most common cause is failing to replace old, worn-out grips. Your size will cause grips to wear out faster. So you'll need to be diligent about inspecting your grips for cracks, fissures and other signs of compromised integrity.