Developing The Crushing And Healing Hand

[DoctorOfCrush]

Aug 15:
R: MMS: IM2.5(134) filed 1mm x7 singles
    Rate coding: GHP4 x5 singles
_____________________________________
L: MMS: T-rex (120+) x4 singles          I didn't want to file my T-rex mm by mm, so I just went up the handles just a little bit.  Not very exact.D
                GHP5(109) x5 singles          This is where my contingency plan comes in.  If I can't complete 5 singles with the training gripper, I drop down and do five reps at a lower gripper as powerfully as I can.  I did these with a pause at parallel as well. 
     Rate coding: IM1.5f x5 singles

I was supposed to do another workout on Friday, but I was feeling kind of under the weather and had a mean headache, so I didn't.  I think that my body was just letting down from my test I drove down to Atlanta for on Wednesday.  Either way, that was the last boards exam that I had to take in medical school!!!!  I'm so glad that it is over.  Maybe now I'll be able to focus a bit more on working out.  My next clerkship starting tomorrow is just regular ole clinic, which I'm not really looking forward to, and the clinic is 45 minutes away from my house, so my days will be a bit longer.  I'd say once I get into a rhythm it will be ok, but the next week or so might have me dragging a bit. 

[Yan_Wei]

On Friday, August 12, 2016 at 10:21 PM, DoctorOfCrush said:

That aspect helps a lot.  I work the clamp this way as well as b/n my forefinger and thumb. 

Aug 8:
R: MMS: IM2.5(134) x10 singles           I felt better about these, so I'll be filing 1mm now. 
     Rate coding: GHP4 x5 singles
_______________________________
L: MMS: T-Rex@120 x10 singles
    Rate coding: IM1.5 x5 singles

Aug 12:
R: Choked: IM3 x15, 17, 21, 21(x), 19, 19
     Power set: IM3 x3 singles
___________________________
L: Choked: GHP6 x15, 19, 21, 23, 23(x), 21, 21
     Power set: IM2.5 x3 singles

I haven't been super focused as of late just because I have my last board exam (an oral/standardized patient exam) coming up next week. I've also been spending any free time playing disc golf because I'm currently addicted. 

Could you please define "rate coding"?

[DoctorOfCrush]

Ugh, it's been a while since I've posted.  Clinic 
Aug 22:
This was the first day I had to work in the clinic, so I didn't get to workout until ~5:45.  I was feeling strong going into it, but it was terrible.  I get so annoyed at how sensitive my top end grip strength is to schedule.  I basically barely even got 2 closes with either of my training grippers.   On top of that, I could hardly close my contingency plan grippers, so I just stopped. 

Aug 25:
KB work (all /side)
Press: 24kg x3, 5, 5, 5, 8
Long cycle: 24kg x5, 5, 5
1-arm swings: 24kg x10, 10, 10
Cleans: 24kg x5x5
TGU: 24kg x5

Aug 26:
Grippers
R: Choked reps: IM3 x15, 17, 19, 21x3, 15x3
     A. Power sets: RB300N(144) x5 singles
     B. Rate coding: GHP4 x5 singles
__________________________________________
L: Choked reps: GHP6 x 15, 17, 19, 21x3, 15x3
     A. Power sets: IM2.5(134) x 5 singles
     B. Rate coding: IM1.5 x 5 singles

All-in-all, not the best workout, but I was totally fine with it after the week I had (family medicine clinic will drain your soul) and the workout I had on Monday.  I'm hoping that tomorrow's workout will be a bit better. 

KB work (all /side)
Long cycle: 24kg x5x5 (1 min. rest b/n)

I may do something similar to this tonight, but I haven't decided yet. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

On 8/22/2016 at 5:36 PM, Yan_Wei said:

Could you please define "rate coding"?

 

[Yan_Wei]

19 minutes ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

 

Couldn't that be dangerous long-term wise if done too often? Perhaps cause things like chronic fatigue.?

Edited August 28, 2016 by Yan_Wei

[DoctorOfCrush]

Aug 28:
Long cycle: 24kg x 5, 5, 5; 32kg x 5, 5         All done with 1 min rest b/n sets. 

Aug 29:
R: MMS: IM2.5f(134) x 7 singles
     Rate coding: GHP4 x 5 singles
________________________________
L: MMS: T-rex at 120+ x 4 singles; GHP5 x 3 singles
     Rate coding: IM1.5f x 5 singles

I also randomly did 3 negatives w/ each hand w/ my RB300N(144).  Today felt better than last week for sure.  I think that I will start alternating my sets.  I used to just do my R hand sets immediately following my L hand sets, but now I will alternate every other set w/ 2 minutes in between.  This will give each arm 4 minutes rest. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

On 8/28/2016 at 3:12 PM, Yan_Wei said:

Couldn't that be dangerous long-term wise if done too often? Perhaps cause things like chronic fatigue.?

I'm not completely sure what you mean by this.  It's a single, explosive rep with a gripper at ~40% of your max.  

[avasatu]

How's the T Rex treating you (and welcome back, lol)?

[DoctorOfCrush]

On 8/29/2016 at 9:38 PM, avasatu said:

How's the T Rex treating you (and welcome back, lol)?

It's been doing quite well.  I also got the larger diameter handle filed, but I haven't been able to use it much because the ROM is just massive. It's hard to get used to the larger diameter, especially in the set. 

 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Sept 3:
R: Choked: IM3 x 15, 17, 19, 21(x), 21(x), 19 x7 singles
___________________________________________________
L: Choked: GHP6 x 15, 17, 19, 21 x3 singles, 21(x), 19 x2 singles

Pretty simple workout to just get it knocked out.  This next week will be de-load, which I should have done quite a while ago. I'll be doing rate-coding daily with a lot of rest between every rep. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

So it has been a little while since I have been back on here to log anything.  Over the past couple of weeks, I have done a few grip workouts and even more other types of workouts (esp. kettlebells) but nothing to write home about ('about which to write home' sounds way too pretentious). Plus, it has been super crazy with finalizing my residency applications and getting my boards scores, so I haven't been able to sit and re-evaluate my routine in order to plan the next step. I'll be going on vacation starting Saturday, so I think that will be when I can really focus and reset my goals. Nevertheless, I think I will be taking a different approach to the next 4 weeks or so (or more depending on how it goes). My goal will be to work on other domains of grip as well as overall strength in the most efficient ways possible. I'm thinking that this will include pinch, overall forearm hypertrophy training, lots of KB work, Fat Gripz pull-ups, and maybe some other bodyweight or augmented bodyweight training. I'll also be keeping up with grippers solely through doing light rate-coding. I think my system needs a reset to overcome some plateaus, and I don't think that the reset should just be 'pushing through' with more gripping because that obviously has not accomplished much in the past.

If I had the means, I would certainly expand my grip training more with various implements, but that just is not going to happen for a while, so I will work with what I have to accomplish as much as possible, and the plans I'm considering only involve purchasing the Fat Gripz, so that seems feasible. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Sept 28:
Ah! Finally back at it. With fall break vacation, residency applications, and starting a new rotation, it's been kind of hectic. On the plus side, I already have 9 interviews scheduled, including Duke, Vanderbilt, WashU, and Cleveland Clinic, so I'm pretty stoked about that. Anyway, I finally solidified a plan that I want to try out that focuses more on hypertrophy and de-emphasizes grippers in general, and I started that today. 

a. Pullups: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6     I'll be doing these with Fat Gripz once I get a pair, which shouldn't be too long now.  
b. Janda situps: 5x5

a. Rate coding: GHP4/CoC2 x 5 sets     I'll be doing only this 3x/wk for grippers.
b. Dumbbell wrist curls: 25#x12/side x5 sets     I did these SUPER slow with a pause at a neutral wrist. I'll be going up in weight, but I wanted to just stay in the house and do this today rather than going to my apt complex's little gym that has heavier dumbbells. 

Sledge work: So I finally went and bought a sledgehammer, and today was the first time I have ever done any of this stuff. I found out very quickly that I am extremely weak at this stuff!
     - Levering: 8#, 3 hand widths down, 3x4/side
     - Coin lifts: up to 4 hand widths down, 3 singles/side

It's pretty amazing how humbling this is. I'm glad that I went and tried the hammers out in home depot before buying one. I did all these super slow, and it was torture at times. I'm probably going to try a few things with this 2x/wk. It's really fun to work with. 

 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Was going to workout yesterday, but I was way more sore than I thought I would be. I'll try to do something today. I was just going to use this post to show a rough outline of what I plan on doing each day. 

Sunday: Simple and sinister
               Fat Gripz pullups
               Wrist rolling
               Rate coding                    
Monday: Janda situps
                Fat Gripz pullups
                Wrist curls                        
Tuesday: Simple and sinister
                Fat Gripz pullups
                Dynamic pinch
                Reverse curls          
Wednesday: Janda situps
                      Fat Gripz pullups 
                      Curls w/ AW grip
                      Rate coding
                      Sledge work        
Thursday: Simple and sinister
                  Fat Gripz pullups
                  Reverse curls w/ AW grip
                  Pinch for reps           
Friday: Janda situps
            Fat Gripz pullups
            Rate coding                     
Saturday: KB strength
                  Sledge work
                

For the pullups, I'll be doing the Warrior method. 10/9/8/7/6 --> 10/9/8/7/7 and so on. 

Edited September 30, 2016 by DoctorOfCrush

[DoctorOfCrush]

Oct 3:
So my Fat Gripz finally came in, and I was finally motivated to train again...

a. Fat Gripz Pullups: 8, 7, 6, 5, 4
b. Janda Situps: 5x5

a. Rate Coding: GHP4/CoC2 x 5 singles
b. Fat Gripz Wrist Curls: 25# x 10, 10, 10, 8, 8

Woah. These Fat Gripz are awesome. They wore me out in both the pullups and curls. I expected them to hit my forearms really hard, obviously, but what I did not expect was how hard it would hit my thumbs. It was pretty impressive how much they were burning while I was doing the wrist curls. I'm really excited to see what I can accomplish by using them. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Oct 4:
Fat Gripz Pullups: 8, 7, 6, 5, 5     These actually felt quite a bit easier than yesterday. 

a. Fat Gripz Dumbbell Wrist Extensions: 10# x 10, 10, 8, 8, 8     Geez, these were humbling. I left my forearm rested on a bench and went through the full ROM from completely flexed and relaxed to full extension. At the last rep I could muster, I threw in a hold. 
b. Dynamic Pinch: 5x5    As I mentioned yesterday, I didn't realize just how hard the Fat Gripz would hit my thumbs, so this was interesting. They were much more difficult than I expected. I may have to move these around to a different day/order. 

Simple and Sinister: 12:55 w/ 2-handed swings     I had to do the 2-handed version because my grip was just fried. It was much more difficult than usual for sure. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Oct 5:
a. Fat Gripz Pullups: 8, 7, 6, 6, 5
b. Janda Situps: 5x5

a. Rate Coding: GHP4/CoC2 x 5 singles       I will be lowering the resistance of the grippers that I use for this. As it stands, the reps are harder than what they should be (40-60% by feel), especially when I am throwing them into the middle of workouts. I'm going to pick some grippers of which I can grind together the handles amidst other training. 
b. Flexed Wrist DB Curls w/ Fat Gripz: 25#x 10, 10, 8, 8, 7        So for these I just kept my wrist maximally flexed at the bottom of each rep (elbow fully extended) and brought it to neutral at the top of the rep (elbow fully flexed). 7 is legitimately all I had on that last set. I just wanted something to hit my flexors without completely isolating and frying them. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Oct 6:
Fat Gripz Pullups: 8, 7, 7, 6, 5

a. Pinch: 25# x5 w/ reset, 5 w/o; 32.5# x5 w/ reset, 5 w/o, 5 w/o
b. Wrist rolling: 5 sets        I was trying a few different things and actually detailing it all would be a lot of work I don't feel like doing right now. 
c. Sledge levers: 8# sledge, 3 hand widths down (hwd), 5x5

Sledge coin deadlift: 4 hwd, 4 hwd x6 alternating reps, 4.5 hwd x3 singles        I tried to advance to 5 hwd because 4 felt much easier than last time, but it was a world of difference from 4 to 5, so I had to opt for something in b/n. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Oct 7:
a. Fat Gripz Pullups: 8, 8, 7, 6, 5
b. Janda Situps: 5x5
c. Rate Coding: IM1.5/GHP4 x5 singles

Super fast workout. I'm done with pullups for the week. I'll restart on Monday with 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 to continue the progression. I'm still not happy with how the rate coding is going. I am going to completely take them out of other workouts. I'll just do them as a stand-alone some other time in the day to fully focus on them. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Oct 8:
Sledge levers: 3 hwd x5 sets of 6
Sledge coin deadlift: 4.5 hwd x3 singles; 5 hwd x2 misses, 2 makes
KB Press: 53# x5 sets of 8
EYHB: a billion reps to de-stress while watching this Tennessee game... 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Oct 10:
Rate Coding: IM1.5/GHP4 x 5 singles

a. Fat Gripz Pullups: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5
b. Janda Situps: 5x5

Fat Gripz Wrist Curls: 25# x 12, 12, 10, 12, 12

Oct 11:
Fat Gripz Pullups: 9, 8, 7, 6, 6        By the time I was able to do these, I really only had time for them and not any other work unfortunately. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Ok, so it has been a VERY long time since I posted on here, but I want to give some updates and start posting again. 

Life Updates: The main reason that I stopped posting on here was because I started interviewing for residencies back in the fall and had a ton of other stuff going on. I'm glad to say that as of Friday, March 17, I was offered a position as a resident physician in pathology at Vanderbilt and will start July 1.  On top of that, my wife and I are now expecting our first baby in late September.  It's been a crazy few months!

Grip Training Update: Back in the fall, I also made the decision to purchase and attempt RRBT.  I attempted it a few times and made it as far as Phase 3 or 4 if I remember correctly.  I kept getting set back by either physical or mental problems. My injuries included and A2 pulley strain in my left middle finger that still doesn't quite feel 100%, multiple pinkie and ring finger rips that I fought through, and a huge palm rip on the right that set me back for a long while. In the end, I decided it just wasn't the right time for me to go for it, no matter how bad I wanted it to work. After I figured out it wasn't going to work, I just devised a new, simple plan to follow, and it's been working pretty well for the past few weeks. I'm slowly getting back to my previous (pre-RRBT) strength levels. I'm going to post the workouts in my next post for the sake of my own records. 

I've also been doing some other working out, but I haven't really been keeping track so I won't be posting any of that. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Week 1, Day 1:
R: GHP4 8 sets of 8
L: CoC1 8 sets of 10   (Yep, the A2 injury set me back THAT far)

Week 1, Day 2:
R: GHP4 10x10
L: CoC1 10x10

Week 1, Day 3:
R: GHP4 10x10
L: CoC1 10x10
__________________________
Week 2, Day 1:
R: CoC2 10x5
L: GHP4 10x5

Week 2, Day 2:
R: CoC2 5x6; 5x5
L: GHP4 5x6; 5x5

Week 2, Day 3:
R: CoC2 7x6; GHP4 x 8, 8, 8
L: GHP4 7x6; CoC1 x 8, 8, 8
__________________________
Week 3, Day 1:
R: GHP5 10x3
L: CoC2 10x2

Week 3, Day 2:
R: GHP5 7x4; 3x3
L: CoC2 5x3; 5x2

Week 3, Day 3:
R: GHP5 10x4
L: CoC2 5x3; 5x2
__________________________
Week 4: Supposed to be 'de-load,' but just ended up doing basically nothing
__________________________
Week 5, Day 1:
R: T-Rex (~115#) 5x3
L: CoC2 5x3

Week 5, Day 2:
R: T-Rex (~115#) 8x3
L: CoC2 6x3; 2x2

Week 5, Day 3:
R: T-Rex (~115#) 3x4; 5x3
L: CoC2 9x2
__________________________
Week 6, Day 1:
R: T-Rex (120#) 8x2
L: CoC2 8x2

Week 6, Day 2:
R: T-Rex (120#) 10x2
L: CoC2 10x2

Week 6, Day 3:
R: T-Rex (120#) 10x2
L: CoC2 10x2
__________________________
Week 7, Day 1: Attempts at heavy single
R: T-Rex (120#), CoC2.5 (126), CoC2.5(134)filed (X), CoC2.5(134)filed, BBSM(139) (X)(X)
L: GHP5(109), T-Rex(120) (X), GHP5x 5 singles

Week 7, Day 2: Mild rest for day 3
R: CoC2.5(126) x 5 singles
L: GHP5(109) x 5 singles 

Week 7, Day 3:
R: CoC2.5(126), CoC2.5(134)filed, BBSM(139) (X) (X)  So, so close on these. 1mm max. 
L: T-Rex(120) (X), T-Rex(120), T-Rex(120) (X)

So at the end of these workouts, I maxed at 134 w/ ~1mm file on my R and 120 on my L, both of which I am totally happy with. I'll be taking a similar approach with my next couple of weeks.  I'll do sets of 8-10, sets of 5-8, sets of 3-5, then de-load. Then 3-5, 2-3, heavy singles. I may switch to a dynamic workout on the second day of each week (kind of like a Westside approach). 

Sorry for the super long post. I just wanted to get this all down somewhere. 

 

[Buccos1]

1 hour ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

Life Updates: The main reason that I stopped posting on here was because I started interviewing for residencies back in the fall and had a ton of other stuff going on. I'm glad to say that as of Friday, March 17, I was offered a position as a resident physician in pathology at Vanderbilt and will start July 1.  On top of that, my wife and I are now expecting our first baby in late September.  It's been a crazy few months!

Congratulations on the job and soon-to-be addition!

[DoctorOfCrush]

Thanks, Buccos! I've got a life going on in the next few months. 

Week 1, Day 1:
R: GHP4 x 12, 14, 14, 15, 15, 15
L: CoC1 x 20, 18, 18, 17, 18, 15
All reps were slow and deliberate with the 1" side of a GHP block passed through on every one. Many more reps than last time around. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Week 1, Day 2: (Wednesday)
R: GHP4 x 12, 14, 14, 15, 15, 15
L: CoC1 x 20, 18, 18, 17, 18, 15

All click closes (5-10mm) focusing on crushing the handles as fast as possible. A kind of active recovery/dynamic day. I'll do the same thing for the second workout each week by mimicking Monday but with narrow reps.