31 October 2007 - Gym Workout

Front Squat
-Bar X 20 (warm-up)
-135 X 10
-225 X 5
-250 X 3 (w/ belt)
-275 X 1 (w/ belt)

Hack Squat
-210 X 12
-300 X 5
-300 X 5
-390 X 1

Stiff-Leg Deadlift (DO grip)
-135 X 12
-185 X 10
-205 X 8

Swiss Ball Crunches
-2 X 25

Swiss Ball Rotations (25lb plate)
-2 X 20

NOTES: This was a quick workout this morning, my schedule is heating up and trying to keep up with my wife's is even harder. Anyway - the front squats felt HEAVY. To be honest, I didn't think I was going to get 275, but it went up...slowly. A good solid rep, true to form - ass in the grass. I really wanted to hit some single leg presses, but a couple of jokers were talking about vacation while using BOTH leg presses in the gym. That shit burns me up! I digress. The hack was heavy right from the word go, but the extra range of motion felt really solid. The ab work is getting easier and easier now. I'll have to up the anty on these for my next workout, there's still some life left in ma belly! I didn't hit grip yesterday, sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day. LIFE HAPPENS! If you're in a groove with you workouts, sometimes it's better to miss a day than throw off your cycle. I haven't decided if I'll chalk it up as a loss or if I'll hit some grip stuff today after work...life permitting. FYI - All my lifts are w/o a belt unless otherwise noted.

29 October 2007 - Gym Workout

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
-50's X 10 (warm up)
-80's X 5
-90's X 5
-100's X 5

Standing Barbell Shoulder Push Press
-135 X 10 (strict press, no leg)
-135 X 10 (strict press, no leg)
-185 X 2
-185 X 2
-200 X 1
-135 X 7

Dumbbell Floor Press
-70's X 10
-90's X 5
-90's X 5

Incline Dumbbell Skull Crushers
-45's X 5
-35's X 8
-35's X 8

Swiss Ball Crunches
-2 X 25

Swiss Ball Torso Rotations
-2 X 20

NOTES: It was hard to get out of bed today. I forced myself to get to the gym...the strongman log won't press itself. I felt REALLY weak in the over-head presses today. As you can tell from the numbers, it's going to take some work to get my strength back up. I'm really trying to train hard on the dumbbells, they're stability enhancers, and I think I need them at this stage of the game. That was part of my rationale when choosing to use dumbbells for the floor press. The strength was there to press the 100's for a few reps, but the dumbbells were all over the place. Once I get more strength in the stabilizing muscles, the weights will go up. Same deal on the skull crushers...when you do them with dumbbells it's really tough to keep them strict. I'm actually going to call them "Ear Bitters" from now on. I used the 45's on my first set, and damn near tore my right ear off. Same tune here too...once the stabilizer muscles get stronger the weights will go up.

Williamsport, PA STRONGMAN CONTEST

All-

Jedd and Smitty of the Diesel Crew, along with Dave Bellomo of Maxx Kettlebells, are hosting POWERFEST 2008 in Williamsport, PA - 27 January 2008.

POWERFEST 2008

Check out the blog, and keep track of their updates. They have a great list of events already, but things can always change. These guys put on great events...so it's DEFINITELY worth checking out. I know I'll be there!

-Goody

27 October 2007 - Gym Workout

Stiff Leg Deadlifts (warm-up, 135lbs)

• 3 X 15

Deadlifts

• 135 X 12 Conventional
• 135 X 12 Sumo
• 225 X 10 Conventional
• 225 X 10 Sumo
• 315 X 5 Conventional
• 315 X 5 Sumo
• 405 X 3 Conventional
• 455 - MISS (Conventional)
• 425 X 1 Conventional
• 225 X 8 Conventional

Low Cable Sumo Pulls (rope on the low pulley, sumo deadlift stance)

• 100 X 12
• 130 X 10
• 150 X 10

Pull-Ups (OH grip, just past shoulder width)

• 1 X 10
• 1 X 6
• 1 X 6 (hammer bars)
• 1 X 6

Swiss Ball Crunches

• 2 X 25

Swiss Ball Rotations (25lb plate)

• 2 X 20

NOTES: My first legit deadlift day since I started back. I never pulled sumo prior to today...I see the benefits, but have always hung on to my conventional style deadlift. I thought I'd give it a go today just to see how it felt. I think I burned myself out doubling up on the lifts. The 455 miss was disheartening, but I'm confident it was because of fatigue. Prior to that lift, the bar was moving like there was nothing on it. The low cable sumos are fantastic...I think they're really going to help speed up my hips in the deadlift movement. I'm looking forward to training these again. I will say this...my hands are KILLING ME! I had to super glue a rip on my left pointer, and 2 on my right hand (pinky and palm). I love super glue. On another bright note, the rain stopped this morning.

26 October 2007 - Gym Workout

Grippers

LH:

• Filed HG150 X 10 TNS
• CoC#2 X 12 MMS
• HG300N X 5 MMS/5 FR
• HG350 X 10 FR
• CoC#3 X 5 Negs
• Filed HG150 X 5 TNS

RH:

• Filed HG150 X 10 TNS
• CoC#2 X 21 MMS
• HG300N X 14 MMS
• HG350 X 10 FR
• CoC#3 X 5 Negs
• Filed HG150 X 4 TNS

25lb. Plate Curls

• 3 X 10 L/R

25lb. Plate Wrist Curl Negs

• 3 X 8 L/R

45lb. Plate Pinch Around the Back Passes

• 3 X 20

25lb. Plate Single-Finger Holds

• 2 X Failure (L/R, all fingers)

Olympic Bar Wrist Curls (bar only)

• 1 X 20 (two hands)
• 1 X 5 (single handed, L/R)
• 1 X 6 (single handed, RH)/1 X 5 (single handed, LH)
• 1 X 6 (single handed, L/R)

Olympic Bar No-Thumb Reverse Wrist Curls (bar only)

• 3 X 10 (L/R)

2" Pony Clamp

• 3 X Failure

Swiss Ball Crunches

• 3 X 25

Swiss Ball Torso Rotations (25lb. plate at arms' length)

• 3 X 12

Filed HG150

• 10 TNS - RH
• 12 TNS - LH

Extensor Bands

• Easy Band X 60 (L/R)
• Medium Band X 60 (L/R)
• Hard Band X 40 (L/R)

NOTES: Despite the cold rain, I felt pretty good in the gym today. I started out with 10 minutes on the elliptical machine to get the blood flowing, and got after it. I decided to test a new method in my gripper workout. I felt the same old, same old was...well, getting old. My hands felt stale. I got my hands warmed up with the Filed HG150, and hit the CoC#2 for max reps. To be totally honest...I never did my #2 for max reps. 21 MMS reps on the RH...NICE. I was pumped! 12 MMS reps on the LH...needs some work. At any rate, my hands feel great. Smoked, but great. I think the added volume was really what my hands were looking for. I'll keep on a similar gripper workout for a little while before I change it up again. The one arm wrist curls on the Olympic bar were amazing! TRY THEM! They hit everything. It took damn near all I had just to keep the bar from flailing all over. I'm going to do these more. I got soaked to the bone walking home from the gym. It's coming down like mad out there. Time for a shower and some din-din.

DAMN RAIN

It's been raining in DC for 3 days now. Cold rain...like, mid 50's rain. The kind of rain that hurts your joints. The kind of rain that keeps you from working out in the park.

Looks like I'm off to the gym for some grip and core training...

25 October 2007 - Gym Workout

Squat

• Bar X 15
• 135 X 10
• 225 X 10
• 315 X 5

Squat Lock-Outs

• 315 X 5
• 365 X 3
• 365 X 3

Single Leg Press

• 210 X 10
• 210 X 8
• 210 X 6

Olympic Bar Curls

• 95 X 10
• 135 X 6
• 135 X 5

Dumbbell Curls

• 50's X 10
• 70's X 6 (Hammer)
• 70's X 5

NOTES: First leg day in over 4 months, and I felt miserable. It's pouring rain and 53 degrees outside...terrible. EVERYTHING felt heavy. Really heavy. My squats were awful. All my joints hurt in this weather - I'm like a walking barometer. I just couldn't seem to get my ass in gear this morning. I guess a shit workout is better than no workout. This too shall pass.

23 October 2007 - Park Workout

Grippers

RH:

• Filed HG150 - 10 reps (TNS) warm-up
• CoC #2 - 5 over crushes
• HG300N - 3 over crushes, 2 forced reps
• HG350 - 1 over crush, 2 forced reps
• CoC #3 - 1/4" away on my max attempt - 5 negatives (10 sec)
• CoC #2 - 5 over crushes
• Filed HG150 - 6 reps (TNS)

LH:

• Filed HG150 - 10 reps (TNS) warm-up
• CoC #2 - 5 over crushes
• HG300N - 1 over crush, 4 forced reps
• HG350 - 3 forced reps
• CoC #3 - 5 negatives (10 sec)
• CoC #2 - 5 forced reps
• Filed HG150 - 7 reps (TNS)

Swing Set Climb (2.5" triple bar end of a huge playground swing set - I take hold of 2 of the 3 bars and climb up to a height of roughly 10', across a 1.5" bar and back down the other legs of the swing set. Up and back down is 1 rep)

• 1 X 2
• 2 X 3
• 1 X 2

Monkey Bar Static Hold (2.5" main bar on an old set of playground monkey bars)

• 3 X Failure (~30 seconds, standard grip)
• 3 X Failure (~15 seconds, opened grip)

2" Pony Clamp (Set on a table and crushed with the thumb on the clamp and fingers under the table)

• 5 X Failure (Negatives)

Extensors

• Various strength rubber bands for reps - pyramidal reps based on band strength

NOTES: Grippers felt really terrible today. I felt weak in all aspects of my grip except for the swing set climbs. I guess I'll call it an off day (?). You'll see above, I've done twice the static holds on the monkey bars today. That's mainly because I found a new grip that really hits the fingers and the thumb HARD. By simply rotating my wrists toward me, I've opened my grip significantly, thereby creating greater stress on the fingers and thumb to keep the grip over the large bar. I think this hold will have direct carry over into an event like the axle deadlift or a feat like lifting the Inch Dumbbell. FYI - I can't even hold on long enough for it to hurt.

I've scouted out a few potential pet rocks hidden in the bushes of the school across from the park. I'll have to wait until nightfall to look them over, several are quite sizable so they could make great training tools if procured. We shall see.

22 October 2007 - Grip Active Rest Day

Stress Ball

• Unknown number of sets with various hand positions for enough reps to almost feel like a workout.

Extensor Bands

• 3 different bands increasing in difficulty done for maximum amount of reps.

Contrast Baths (hot bath was as hot as my hands could physically stand with Epsom salts, cold bath contained ice and table salt further decreasing the temp.)

• 5 contrast baths

Stretching

• Stretched the hands, fingers, and wrists in all ranges of motion post contrast baths

NOTES: Stress ball movements were lots of fun, squeezing the ball in various positions in the hand (i.e. one finger at a time, pinky and ring fingers only, index and middle fingers only, etc.). The pinky and ring finger squeezes showed a lack of strength and endurance in that part of both my hands. It's no secret higher levels of strength in the pinky and ring fingers aid in closing bigger grippers. Perhaps I should look into getting an IMTUG?

I'm looking for a pet rock.

22 October 2007 - Gym Workout

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

• 50's X 10 (warm up)
• 80's X 5
• 90's X 5
• 100's X 4

Lock-Outs (top half of the bench press movement)

• 225 X 5
• 275 X 5
• 295 X 2

Close Grip Bench Press

• 135 X 10
• 185 X 8
• 205 X 5

Push-Ups (feet against the wall, hands wide)

• 1 X 8
• 1 X 8
• 1 X 8

Swiss Ball Crunches

• 3 X 25

Swiss Ball Rotations (45lb dumbbell at arms length, laying on the swiss ball at upper back, rotate side-t0-side rolling on the ball)

• 3 X 20

Roman Sit-Ups

• 3 X 25

NOTES: 5:15AM comes early. If you've been reading this blog and you have half a brain, I'm sure you've deciphered I'm a puller. My push numbers are WAY lower than my pull numbers (always have been). I fear the up-hill climb to restore my strength will be rocky. I am not disheartened. I will succeed.

20 October 2007 - Gym Workout

DO Rack Deads (pulled from center of the knee cap height, no straps)

• 135 X 10
• 225 X 5
• 315 X 5
• 405 - MISS
• 375 X 1
• 385 X 1
• 390 X 1
• 400 X 1

Rack Zercher Pulls/Holds (pulled from waist height held at lockout for 5 seconds)

• 315 X 1
• 405 X 1
• 455 X 1

Arched-Back Good Mornings

• 135 X 10
• 185 X 5
• 205 X 5

Dumbbell Bent-Over Rows (both arms at the same time)

• 75's X 10
• 90's X 5
• 100's X 4 (the 5th rep was so sloppy I'd be lying if I counted it)

Power Shrugs (alternating grip, no straps)

• 315 X 5
• 405 X 5
• 495 X 4 (5th rep got hung up on my junk and I lost my grip...seriously)

Static Holds (alternating grip, no straps)

• 585 - Failure (~13 seconds, no belt)
• 600 - Failure (~15 seconds, w/ belt)

100lb. Plate Holds (fingers in the lip, thumb on the smooth side)

• 1 X ~20 seconds
• 1 X ~12 seconds (left thumb is weak)
• 1 X ~ 8 seconds (left thumb is weak)

NOTES: This is my first gym workout since June. Yeah, I said it...JUNE. Right off the bat, I felt really weak on the DO rack deads. The miss on 405 went right to my head, bad...but, as you can see, there's more than one way to skin a cat. When you fall on your face, you have to get back up or you're beat. After I got over the initial hurdle of that 405 miss, the rest of the workout felt pretty solid. Obviously, my numbers are WAY down, but that's to be expected after 4 months off. I'm hoping the grip endurance movements will breathe a little more life into my hands.

When I got home, I crushed down a can of tuna (37.5g Protein), 16 oz of skim milk (16g Protein), 2 slices of pizza from last night, a banana, and some branch chain amino acid pills. Protein supplements are good, but protein for complex sources is, IMO, much better.

18 October 2007 - Park Workout

-WRIST DAY-

Front Levers

• 3 X 8 L and R

Rear Levers

• 3 X 8 L and R

Lateral Wrist Rotations (arm at 90 degrees, starting with the v-bar straight up and down and allowing it to rotate the wrist all the way to max on the outside and returning it to center, likewise rotation to the inside with return to center for 1 rep.)

• 3 X 8 L and R

6" X 5/16" HRS DO Bend

• ~45 seconds (WAY off-centered bend, but it went down real easy)

Wrist Orbits (v-bar straight out in front of me, parallel to the ground, with both hands at the end of the handle. orbit the head/torso with the apparatus in the direction of the hand on top. when the v-bar is approaching the starting position the wrist will begin adduction and will be in full adduction when the starting position is reached. once around and through the full range of adduction is 1 rep.)

• 3 X 8 L and R

Pull-Ups (DO on 2.5" monkey bar main beam)

• 3 X 8

Body Weight Dips (also done on the monkey bars, standard monkey bar diameter...whatever that is, just over 1" I guess)

• 1 X 20


• 1 X 10


• 1 X 10

6'-4"X4" Single Arm Wrist Curls

• 3 sets to failure, each arm

6'-4"X4" Double Arm Reverse Wrist Curls

• 3 sets to failure

NOTES: I live in a small place on Capitol Hill. I don't have a sledge hammer, so I had to improvise. I took my home-made 1" v-bar, dropped a nickle down it and a small collar to hold the plate down so I don't crack my skull and vuala! Now I can lever until my little heart's content...or until I breakdown and buy a sledge. Yes, the bar is only 24" long. Yes, sledge hammers are considerably longer, but the bar weighs about 13lbs + the 5lb plate + the small collar, hell, we're looking at something over 18lbs with a 1" handle. Try it.

I bent the steel because my wrists were feeling strong. I really had no intention of bending today, but I figured one little piece wouldn't hurt. I don't do enough bending...it's really fun. Mental, but fun. I also did the pull-ups and dips because I thought it wouldn't hurt. I felt pretty good after my first set of 20 dips...especially at my heft of about 240lbs these days. All-in-all it felt like a great workout but, in hindsight, I was ALL OVER THE PLACE! Such is life.

16 October 2007 - Park Workout

Pull-Ups/Push-Ups Supersets

• 3 X 8 (2.5" monkey bars, just past shoulder width)/3 X 20 (feet on a bench)

Body Weight Squats

• 2 X 50

Grippers

RH:

• Filed HG150 - 10 reps (TNS) warm-up
• CoC #2 - 5 over crushes
• HG300N - 2 over crushes
• HG350 - 1 over crush and 1 forced rep
• CoC #3 - 1/4" away on my max attempt - 3 negatives (10 sec)
• CoC #2 - 3 over crushes
• Filed HG150 - 10 reps (TNS)

LH:

• Filed HG150 - 10 reps (TNS) warm-up
• CoC #2 - 5 over crushes
• HG300N - 2 forced reps
• HG350 - 2 forced reps
• CoC #3 - 3 negatives (10 sec)
• CoC #2 - 3 forced reps
• Filed HG150 - 10 reps (TNS)

Swing Set Climb (2.5" triple bar end of a huge playground swing set - I take hold of 2 of the 3 bars and climb up to a height of roughly 10', across a 1.5" bar and back down the other legs of the swing set. Up and back down is 1 rep)

• 6 reps

Monkey Bar Static Hold (2.5" main bar on an old set of playground monkey bars)

• 3 holds to failure (at this point, failure is about 30 seconds)

2" Pony Clamp (Set on a table and crushed with the thumb on the clamp and fingers under the table)

• 3 holds to failure (each hand)

6'-4"X4" Single Arm Wrist Curls

• 3 sets to failure

6'-4"X4" Double Arm Reverse Wrist Curls

• 3 sets to failure

Extensors

• Various strength rubber bands for reps - pyramidal reps based on band strength

NOTES: I feel like I can chop down a tree with my forearms after wrist curls. The pump is amazing, and it's a great finisher. The static hold on the big bar is silly, it makes my thumb feel like it's going to explode. I like it. Grippers felt weird today - I felt fairly strong on my RH CoC #3 max attempt, but rest felt weak. And having enough gas to get 10 TNS reps at the end tells me my gripper training needs to change.

Two guys came over to me in the park when I was finishing up. They were very interested in what I was doing, and actually gave some of my grippers a shot. They asked tons of questions about grip in general, grip as a sport, and where they could get more info. I directed to the usual suspects - Diesel Crew and The Gripboard. Do you think they caught the bug?

Ground Zero

I was under the impression I had a fairly good grip from a pretty young age. My father taught me the value of good eye contact and a strong handshake. The old man used to say things like, "Hell of a handshake, boy." or "You've got hands like a vise, kid." I was destined to be a gripster from a very young age...I just didn't know it. Prior to falling into the grip world face-first, I simply 'trained' (I use that term loosely here) my grip by squeezing the hell out of the bar on every lift in the gym. That'll only get you so far, trust me. I really didn't do any lower arm work in any of my workouts, with a killer handshake like mine, why would I waste the time? Boy was I wrong.

After college I moved to Upstate NY in search of the American Dream, only to find an industrial area stripped of its industry. Economic deprivation was common and jobs were sparse, but the hearts of the people were HUGE. If I could have found a job, we never would have left. That said, I did what any gym rat would do, I found a gym and hit the plates to pass the time. I then found a need for a sports nutrition store and found Barbells of Binghamton. The owner is a great guy, always willing to help people out - if he doesn't have what you're looking for, he'll get it. Hell, when I moved to DC, he sent me several sets of wraps I'd been looking for for a long time. They sell all kinds of goodies, but most importantly, they sell Captains of Crush Grippers (CoC). If you're not familiar with these, CHECK 'EM OUT! Read all about them on the Ironmind website.

I was really inspired to train grip by The Diesel Crew. If you've never heard of these guys (but, if you're reading a blog on functional hand strength chances are you have) CHECK THEM OUT! Their videos, articles, and blogs speak for themselves. You can't watch a single video in their library without getting pumped! I'd be surfing the web looking for anything interesting while droning through another day in a boring job. Stumbled across their website on a search for hand strength and the rest is history.

Through The Diesel Crew I got acquainted with The Gripboard. EVERYTHING hand strength, seriously. Again, if you've never been to the site, you must check it out. The Board is loaded with friendly people who are willing to share training tips and lend support at the drop of a hat. These people are all like-minded gripsters who post PRs, training routines, pics, and vids. The Gripboard is a great place to learn and share - it's like Grip School. Get after it boys and girls.

I have minimal equipment, so I train with what I've got: a hand full of grippers, extensor bands, a home-made v-bar, minimal weights, a 6' piece of 4"x4", a railroad tie, an old playground swing set, and an old playground set of monkey bars. I'll bend whatever I can get my hands on...I'd love to train my bending more but, like all things, time and financial constraints limit this effort to a few pieces of steel a month...if that. I have my friends and and co-workers bring me phone books, old decks of cards, and license plates to rip.

This blog is going to chronicle my journey through the grip world. I'm going to start a training log on here so you can get an idea of how my training sessions go. Trust me when I tell you, the posts will not be this long, especially after a grip workout. I can shake a martini without even trying after some harder grip sessions! HAHA!

Check out the links, check back for posts, and GET YOUR GRIP ON!