Gymnasts Have Honey on Standby Before Their Routines — What's the Science Behind It?

The Summer Olympic Games are always a sight to behold, whether you're an avid sports enthusiast or even just tune in to one or two major events on television. Every four years (global pandemics notwithstanding), audiences from all over the world witness dedicated participants performing astonishing athletic feats all while competing for Olympic gold. As such, athletes from around the world prepare in all sorts of ways and undergo training that most of us couldn't even imagine.

In most instances, training for one Olympics takes place almost directly after the previous one with known competitors already mentally and physically preparing themselves to be the best in their sport. Rigorous training and dietary restrictions are often a must, but some may be surprised to know that Olympic gymnasts often use a secret weapon for their routines. That secret weapon happens to be honey. What exactly do gymnasts do with it, though? FYI, no, they don't necessarily eat it.

If you watch the Olympics often, you might have seen gymnasts clapping up clouds of chalk dust before performing their Olympic routines. These athletes typically use chalk dust on bars in order to decrease the effects of friction whenever they grip and spin on the bars, ensuring a smoother routine with as little room for error as possible. However, most male gymnasts will also supplement the lessened friction with another strategy for a sure grip. That strategy is honey.

According to a report by The New York Times, male athletes will often squirt some honey on their hands in order to have a better grip on the bar to counteract all the chalk accumulated onto it. During the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, NYT reported "more than a dozen honey bottles" being used by gymnasts before their routines.

Some athletes have even broken down their preferred brands and types of honeys to use. One athlete preferred organic honey while others preferred the sure stickiness of more sugary honeys.

Honey isn't the only sticky substance that male gymnasts use either. Some athletes prefer to use molasses for similar purposes. Evidently, there seems to be more food science at play for Olympic events than simply strict diets. Gymnasts are willing to use any tool at their disposal to reduce as many variables as possible when it comes to their events.

Interestingly enough, however, honey usage seems to be limited to men's gymnastics. Many report that while female gymnasts still use chalk dust to reduce friction, honey isn't necessarily part of their tool set. This is because women's gymnastics often involve vaulting from one bar to another or performing complex flips and launches. Having sticky hands would only hinder such routines, so you likely may not see the likes of Simone Biles honeying up very often.

Most people at the gym have bottles of water and preferred playlists, but Olympic athletes use more things than we realize in order to perform at their best.