Control Theory Calisthenics

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Everything you need to get set up is on this page. It takes about five minutes.

Setting up your parallettes

1. Wrap the grips

Your parallettes ship bare, and the roll of athletic tape in the box is for wrapping them. The wood is sanded smooth, so the tape is not there to cushion anything. It is there for tack, so your hands stop sliding during long sets and static holds.

  1. Start at one end of the section you actually grip.
  2. Wind the tape around the bar at a slight angle, overlapping each turn by roughly half the tape width so there are no gaps.
  3. Keep the tension even. Firm enough that it does not shift, not so tight that it bunches.
  4. Finish at the other end and press the tail down flat.
  5. Repeat on the second bar.

Re-wrap whenever the tape stops feeling tacky or starts to peel at the edges. It is a consumable, not a permanent fitting.

2. Use the chalk properly

Liquid chalk works differently from block chalk. Most people use far too much.

  1. Shake the bottle. The chalk settles.
  2. Put a small amount, about the size of a coin, into one palm.
  3. Rub it across both palms and your fingers, including the base of the fingers where most grips actually fail.
  4. Wait until it stops feeling wet before you get on the bars. That is the alcohol evaporating, and it is what leaves the chalk behind.
  5. Reapply when your grip starts sliding, not before.

3. Keep the wood in good shape

These are solid wood. Treated reasonably, they will outlast most of your training gear.

  • Wipe sweat off after a session. Sweat left on wood is what dulls the finish over time.
  • Store them indoors. Damp garages and outdoor storage are what warp wooden equipment.
  • Keep the rubber feet clean. Dust on the rubber is the usual reason parallettes start sliding on a smooth floor.
  • Use the magnets. Snapping them together is not just tidy, it stops the bars getting knocked around loose in a bag or a cupboard.

A few things worth knowing

Show us your first session

We repost the ones we like. It is genuinely the best way to find other people training the same skills, and it is where most of this community actually lives.

Tag @controltheorycalisthenics

When the chalk runs out

The bottle in your box is the 50 ml. There is a 250 ml if you train often enough to get through it, and it works out cheaper per use.

Chalk refills