Indiana’s national-title run just handed every lifter and athlete a free lesson: grip matters more than most people think, and liquid chalk is a hell of a way to stack the deck in your favor.
The Indiana QB, The White Hands, And The “Loophole”
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During Indiana’s College Football Playoff games, QB Fernando Mendoza’s hands looked bright white on TV as he repeatedly applied a liquid, chalk-like substance to keep his grip locked in under pressure.
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Clips went viral with people asking if he’d found a “loophole,” but what you were really seeing was a legal, rosin/liquid-chalk style drying agent used on his hands, not the ball, to manage sweat and maintain control.Why Elite QBs (And Lifters) Use Liquid Chalk
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At that level, a ball slipping once can change a season; just as a deadlift slipping at the top can change a meet, athletes lean on grip tools to control moisture and keep the implement exactly where it needs to be.
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Liquid chalk dries fast, stays on the skin, and doesn’t create the cloud and mess of block chalk, which is one reason it's popular with quarterbacks, climbers, and lifters who train in cleaner or shared environments.
How Liquid Chalk Fits Into Serious Strength Training
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For heavy pulls, rows, strongman work, and anything where losing your grip is the limiting factor, liquid chalk lets you push the set to where your back, hips, and legs are the bottleneck—not sweaty hands.
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It is especially useful in hot garages, crowded commercial gyms that hate dust, and for movements like axle pulls, farmer’s walks, and high-rep dumbbell work where straps either aren’t allowed or aren’t the right tool.
Using elitefts Liquid Chalk In Your Training
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elitefts Liquid Chalk is a quick-dry magnesium carbonate formula designed to eliminate moisture, stay put, and save you from carrying around a bag that leaves chalk on everything you own.[
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A small amount goes a long way: shake the bottle, squeeze a coin-sized amount into your palm, rub it across your hands for a few seconds, let it dry for 5–10 seconds, then grab the bar, dumbbell, stone, or sandbag and go. Where To Plug It Into Your Program
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Use liquid chalk on your top sets of deadlifts, rows, presses, and events where grip has cost you reps, then keep your lighter and technical work raw to make sure your hands and forearms still get trained.
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Treat it like the Indiana QB treated his: a performance tool you earn the right to use—when the weight, the moment, or the environment demands it, you don’t leave your results up to sweat and hope.
