You squeeze a small amount on your hands, rub it in, and--voila!--you have chalk on your hands. I was quite impressed. This stuff really does work! It stays on pretty well. I'm not sure about all the ways it adds grip because I only lift weights. And your hands already have good grip for that. I don't know how well it would work for someone who does rock wall climbing, gymnastics, etc. etc., but it does work well for weightlifting (and Ultimate Frisbee, as it turns out...). I hope you enjoy this product and all the ways you can use it! :-)