So I’m sitting here watching the men’s high bar finals in gymnastics, and the soles of my feet are SO. SWEATY.
Epke’s epic gold for the Netherlands. Hopefully his palms weren’t sweating! Mine were though, for the both of us.
I’ve written about the science of sweating before, with a theory as to why humans sweat so much more, than say, a dog does. Well, here’s another sweaty puzzler–why do our hands and feet sweat when we’re nervous? I definitely get clammy with any slightly scary stimulus, especially anything involving leaving the ground: looking down from a height, quarry jumping, climbing trees, etc. (Also apparently when watching people flip around on the high bar. Remember that post about misplaced empathy? Yeah.)
But there might be an evolutionary explanation for this! Maybe the reason why we sweat on our palms and feet when we’re nervous is because of the fight-or-flight response. Think about back in the day, when our ancestors got their adrenaline rushes escaping from predators. A bit of dampness on our extremities gives us a little more friction/grip action, and might make it easier to, you know, swing from tree to tree if being pursued. If that biological pathway stuck around, there you have it. I watch men in leotards miss falling from great heights by a fingertip and boom, my hands and feet start sweating profusely, just in case I might have to run for it later.
It’s a bit of a stretch, but I can’t deny that right now my hands and feet are feeling especially grippy. Also, now that gymnastics and swimming are over you won’t have to read another post about the Olympics from me! And then I can get to sleep at a normal hour!
Then why do gymnasts use copious amounts of chalk? They need much more grip then us couch potatoes.
I think with sweat, just like most things in life, there can be too much of a good thing. Or, maybe it’d be too much friction/unpredictable when you’re orbiting a bar? DON’T ASK QUESTIONS!
joceline
To my knowledge, chalk *increases* grip strength. Similarly, Olympic lifters and powerlifters almost invariably use chalk when training/competing. Unlike gymnastics, the Olympic lifts (snatch, clean and jerk) and power lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press) do not involve rotating bars.
I asked the question as part skeptic, part student. That is, I doubt that sweat is useful for increasing grip strength, but I am willing to learn if you or anyone else can prove me wrong
On a slightly related note, one finding of this study is that substantial caffeine intake (400 mg in this study) increases sweat secretion by 1.5-2x. Interesting read, if you have the time. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003267097006429
THAN. I can’t believe I made a typo. Time to commit seppuku.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/464475-why-do-gymnasts-use-chalk/