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Jason Steeves Is In The Grip Well!


Bill Piche

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From Jason:



The first thing I'd like to say is that I'm really honoured to be thought of enough to be put in the same group as the others in the well. They're all amazing athletes that I don't feel like even close to being their peer. Where I can comment is that I've had some modicum of success is most of the variations of grip and feats with the most standout probably being my reverse bending and card tearing.



My journey into grip started back in 2008 when I realized my grip sucked for deadlifting. After some snooping around on the internet I found the Gripboard, David Horne's old site, and Adam Glass' blog when he was still posting videos out of his garage. I was amazed at the stuff being done and was really interested in the feats (card tearing, nail bending, sledge levering, etc.) and devoted most of my grip training towards that end.



With my first set of grippers and nails ordered from Ironmind I was able to close the #2 right away and then it eluded me for about a month. Luckily it's never left again lol! I remember my start with the nail bending as well using a cut up chamois and light ardox/timber spikes, CRS, and HRS. Man it was tough and a lot of blisters to get to a 60d nail.



My main bugbear is still that stinking blob but I know it's just a huge lack of consistency holding me back. The last year or year and a half I've been primarily training towards armwrestling goals and grip that doesn't directly assist those goals has fell by the wayside. One of the cool things with this stuff though is that your strength levels in grip take a very long time to dissipate.



A bit about my personal life is that I used to do a lot of labour and chainsaw work in through my 20's but have been fairly sedentary as an office guy since then. I've worked primarily in the oil and gas industry since I was 14 picking rocks and digging hotlines with a pick and shovel to now being a lead estimator for URS.



I hope I can give out some useful information to some of you folks or just chat if you'd like.



Thanks again for the opportunity.


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Hi Jason,

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

I would like to know what your thickbar work looks like and how you improve on axle. I know you are a big deadlifter, so I was wondering how you cycle this in. Holds? V-Bar? I know you have been lifting the Baby recently. What's your strategy for advancement?

Thanks man.

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Hi Jason,

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

I would like to know what your thickbar work looks like and how you improve on axle. I know you are a big deadlifter, so I was wondering how you cycle this in. Holds? V-Bar? I know you have been lifting the Baby recently. What's your strategy for advancement?

Thanks man.

Thanks for the question Mike. I don't really consider myself overly good at the axle but I think I'm going to have to play with it again. Realistically the past year or so I've done very little grip specific training and all of it can be followed in my "Shoggoth's Basement" log. I think the main thing that's kept my thickbar strength up is that position with the fingers is very similar to the same spot as armwrestling. That develops the ability to lock the fingers then I also do lots of wrist curls and hooking at the table.

I can't really say what I did to pick up the baby Inch other than that as I basically lifted it the first time I played with it when my forearms weren't fried. For the axle and 2HP I found doubles and triples at 75% and up work well and then follow the top end of Prelipin's chart for total reps. I also like to include a burnout-finisher of some sort. If I'm working with a plate loaded device I'll go with 60-65% and giver. Technique is huge though as well and that's where I'm still playing. The biggest advice I can give comes from folks before me in that keep your wrist straight, bend your elbows, and get your whole hand on the implement; right into the palm.

As far as what I plan on doing to keep working the baby (the only grip focus I currently have) is to keep working singles and holds and terminating the sets once I fail then 2-3 assisted lifts. I'll add reps when possible as well. In an ideal world it might look like this:

1-1-1-F

1-1-1-1-1-F

2-1-1-1-1-1-F

2-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-F

And so on. Always working the volume and trying to stay away from absolute failure. I'll also continue to do a ton of wrist work and TTK pinches.

A bit of a ramble but I hope that helps.

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What do you do for your wrist work? I'm trying to develop much stronger wrists for grip and for rehab. Thanks man.


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Hey Jason,

Just curious on how you been warming up for the Baby.

Do you do other fat bar work prior? If so do you do bare minimum work before so you come at the Baby fresh??

Thanks bro.

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What do you do for your wrist work? I'm trying to develop much stronger wrists for grip and for rehab. Thanks man.

I think my wrist strength was built a lot through all of the reverse bending, sledge levering, and tearing I did in the past. Currently I'd say armwrestling every week does a lot and then I suppliment with wrist curls; both in the neutral/flat position and in the flexed position from a high cable. I try to do these for high reps a couple of times a week.

With armwrestling tension is always being placed on the wrist as you fight. Supinating, pronating, keeping radial deviation, etc. Armwrestlers probably have the strongest wrists out there.

Short of that pick a couple if exercises and stick with a way to progress for a few months. For just general wrist strength though try;

DB Wrist Curls 3 x 15-30

Reverse Curl 3 x 15-20

Sledge Levering to your head 3 x 5-12

Sledge Front Loads 5 x 3-5

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Hey Jason,

Just curious on how you been warming up for the Baby.

Do you do other fat bar work prior? If so do you do bare minimum work before so you come at the Baby fresh??

Thanks bro.

My warm-up is just some shoulder pressing to get me warmed up and get my hands to feel like working. Then I go straight after the baby. First lift is just a hop, rest about 2 minutes and start lifting it.

A bit thing with pinch and thickbar is to make sure your skin is prepped good. I'll scrub my hands thoroughly with a degreaser. Not just the palms but between the fingers, back if my hands, everywhere. That oil is pesky stuff when friction is concerned. You may have noticed me roll the bell around a bit before each lift. I'm working in a little chalk as well as scuffing up my hands a bit to help with traction.

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Jason, I know you're into the armwrestling thing. What kind of wrist training motions have the best carryover into your thick bar work? Do they hamper other areas of your grip training?

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Jason, I know you're into the armwrestling thing. What kind of wrist training motions have the best carryover into your thick bar work? Do they hamper other areas of your grip training?

Probably the dumbbell wrist curl done at around the neutral plane as it helps you lock your wrist flat and a thicker implement Cyplenkov curl or a high cable wrist curl with a thick rolling handle as they'll really work the fingers to stay in the flat/slightly cupped angle. Enough weight and time those positions will become very strong. Ivan B. gave me a lot of insight into that.

As far as hindering other training I feel you've only got so much recovery ability. I found after quite a while the legitimacy if the old saying "if you chase two rabbits you'll go hungry" or something like that. Pick one or two aspects to specialize in and give it a good go for 2-3 months before switching. The other grip stuff won't really lag and can possibly improve during this time. I think one of the best examples of this is Andrew Durniat. I think by what I've read he pretty much just does axle work as far as grip goes during the offseason then when it's time to compete he'll do a cycle that includes the competition implements.

I think we've got too many toys to play with most of the time :)

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Hi Jason, when you first started bending what sort of level were you at, what could you reverse and DO to begin with?

Thanks!

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Hey Jason, just wondering what are some of the goals you have for grip, arm wrestling and overall strength? Thanks.-Tom

Edited by Tom Scibelli
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Hi Jason, when you first started bending what sort of level were you at, what could you reverse and DO to begin with?

Thanks!

Not very good haha! Back when I started I was using cut chamois so they were fairly thin as well.

Reverse bending I remember working on 3/16" HRS and CRS a lot to start. When I finally bent a 60d ardox/timber spike it was very difficult. I couldn't even wobble regular easier 60d's.

Double overhand I never got the hang of it for a very long time and couldn't really bend anything. I read an article by Jedd on "chicken winging" that made things click. I immediately bend a gr8 then wobbled a red. The next day I finished that red. A day later I did a red straight through. After that I did a bunch of different FBBC bars in short order. My total DO career was probably only over about 4 months or so.

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Hey Jason, just wondering what are some of the goals you have for grip, arm wrestling and overall strength? Thanks.-Tom

Hmm, for an immediate grip goal I'd like to clean and press my baby Inch this summer and dominate that circus bell I made.

In regards to armwrestling it's baby steps. My next competition will be my third. First comp the goal was to show up and get on stage and pull, second was to not get flashed like I did in the first one and at least make people fight, and the next I'd like to at least win a match. Progressive goals. Most everyone I pull with is national level at the very least and most of my competition have quite a few years behind them. Lots of work to do :)

Strength goals; I plan on just punching the clock for a while. I'm in the process of losing a bunch of weight right now so I'm working mainly to retain my strength.

Edited by Shoggoth
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My question is when are you guys coming down to AZ to visit again? Was looking forward to hanging out while you were down for the AZ comp last month. Not too warm yet. :D

- Aaron

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My question is when are you guys coming down to AZ to visit again? Was looking forward to hanging out while you were down for the AZ comp last month. Not too warm yet. :D

- Aaron

:D

We might have to come and experience some of your 100+ weather this summer. I just had a couple of weeks off so maybe in 2-3 months. I might even have enough work in on the baby Inch to do something with your full sized one :)

AZ is a great State to visit though; with the folks down there, the sites, and most importantly the food!! Have you seen that three layer cake stuffed with pies!!

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My question is when are you guys coming down to AZ to visit again? Was looking forward to hanging out while you were down for the AZ comp last month. Not too warm yet. :D

- Aaron

:D

We might have to come and experience some of your 100+ weather this summer. I just had a couple of weeks off so maybe in 2-3 months. I might even have enough work in on the baby Inch to do something with your full sized one :)

AZ is a great State to visit though; with the folks down there, the sites, and most importantly the food!! Have you seen that three layer cake stuffed with pies!!

That would be awesome and you and Gail are always welcome. It's not too bad yet only in the mid 90's on the warmer days right now. If you are serious about attacking the Inch I may have a new training tool for you to try sometime soon. Got the idea earlier this week but have not had a chance yet to fire up the welder.

Have not seen that cake yet but now I have a lunchtime mission. :)

- Aaron

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Hey jason,

I lurk around on your training log from time to time and if i remember correctly, i read that you have a case of tendonitis that seems to act up when you do grippers. Was just wondering what you do to treat it, besides avoiding grippers?

Also i've always wanted to tell you that you have the most hilarious avatar pic here on GB.

Thanks,

Anthony

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Hey jason,

I lurk around on your training log from time to time and if i remember correctly, i read that you have a case of tendonitis that seems to act up when you do grippers. Was just wondering what you do to treat it, besides avoiding grippers?

Also i've always wanted to tell you that you have the most hilarious avatar pic here on GB.

Thanks,

Anthony

Danke man!

Best things I've found to help:

Lots of fish oil. About an ounce or so a day.

High rep band hammer curls supersetted with band push downs. Keep going back to back until you can only manage about 15 reps. It pumps tons of blood in there. It might look like 60-50-35-25-15. I know a lot of people expound the virtues of ice but I've never found it to help with the elbows.

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My question is when are you guys coming down to AZ to visit again? Was looking forward to hanging out while you were down for the AZ comp last month. Not too warm yet. :D

- Aaron

:D

We might have to come and experience some of your 100+ weather this summer. I just had a couple of weeks off so maybe in 2-3 months. I might even have enough work in on the baby Inch to do something with your full sized one :)

AZ is a great State to visit though; with the folks down there, the sites, and most importantly the food!! Have you seen that three layer cake stuffed with pies!!

That would be awesome and you and Gail are always welcome. It's not too bad yet only in the mid 90's on the warmer days right now. If you are serious about attacking the Inch I may have a new training tool for you to try sometime soon. Got the idea earlier this week but have not had a chance yet to fire up the welder.

Have not seen that cake yet but now I have a lunchtime mission. :)

- Aaron

Here ya go!

http://www.charlesphoenix.com/category/cherpumple/

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Hey jason,

I lurk around on your training log from time to time and if i remember correctly, i read that you have a case of tendonitis that seems to act up when you do grippers. Was just wondering what you do to treat it, besides avoiding grippers?

Also i've always wanted to tell you that you have the most hilarious avatar pic here on GB.

Thanks,

Anthony

Danke man!

Best things I've found to help:

Lots of fish oil. About an ounce or so a day.

High rep band hammer curls supersetted with band push downs. Keep going back to back until you can only manage about 15 reps. It pumps tons of blood in there. It might look like 60-50-35-25-15. I know a lot of people expound the virtues of ice but I've never found it to help with the elbows.

Thank you sir!

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Which kind of grip training do you think has helped you the most, with arm wrestling? Except wrist dominated kinds of grip training. Im thinking about training for the hands, fingers, thumbs etc. If there is anything in particular you can think of.

Do you think that the arm wrestling has helped you get better at grip training. I realise that arm wrestling trains your grip. But I was curious if the training has made it harder getting progress in making grip feats because of less time to train for them directly or fatigue from it.

Do you think its a stupid idea to arm wrestle, between two pals, who are clueless about technique, because of hurting yourself? I arm wrestled my big bro one time without knowing technique or anything and i was hurting in my bicep for a couple of days. I guess most people arm wrestle like this for fun or for showing of at the pub or so.

Do you have any tips for a arm wrestling newbie with some technique tips to get advantage at another newbie :D I once was told to press down my opponents hand and then his arm, if you get what I mean, it made a very big difference.. So something obvious for you maybe can help me

Oh man im tired when writing this and d*mn spelling control changes my words to muppet swedish all the time ;) Hope I made any kind of sense and thank you

Edited by Six Barrel Shotgun
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Which kind of grip training do you think has helped you the most, with arm wrestling? Except wrist dominated kinds of grip training. Im thinking about training for the hands, fingers, thumbs etc. If there is anything in particular you can think of.

Do you think that the arm wrestling has helped you get better at grip training. I realise that arm wrestling trains your grip. But I was curious if the training has made it harder getting progress in making grip feats because of less time to train for them directly or fatigue from it.

Do you think its a stupid idea to arm wrestle, between two pals, who are clueless about technique, because of hurting yourself? I arm wrestled my big bro one time without knowing technique or anything and i was hurting in my bicep for a couple of days. I guess most people arm wrestle like this for fun or for showing of at the pub or so.

Do you have any tips for a arm wrestling newbie with some technique tips to get advantage at another newbie :D I once was told to press down my opponents hand and then his arm, if you get what I mean, it made a very big difference.. So something obvious for you maybe can help me

Oh man im tired when writing this and d*mn spelling control changes my words to muppet swedish all the time ;) Hope I made any kind of sense and thank you

I'm still very much a newbie with A LOT to learn about armwrestling.

As far as grip stuff I'd say anything that trains your fingers to stay in a isometrical lock in the cupped/flat position. Could be thickbar, chins or rows with a flat surface etc. Another aspect that doesn't get talked about a lot is to thicken the hell out of your thumb muscles. The bigger and fatter you can make them the tougher it is for your opponent to get a good grip. Some dynamic work does well for that.

As far as AW helping grip... I think it just keeps your hands active to minimize strength loss but you will lose in technique until you devote a few weeks to get everything up again.

One aspect of grip type training that's hurt me a bit is that most of the time for grip related stuff we work with the wrist in extension so we practice and get comfortable in that position. Big no-no for armwrestling unless you're doing something like a flop wrist press.

As far as wrestling buddies where no one is really trained I wouldn't advise it. Pretty easy to get some serious injuries if you get in the wrong position. There are lots of clubs around the world and I've heard Sweden has a large contingent of professional pullers. Get in touch with them. Pretty much everyone in this sport is willing to teach and practice with others.

As far as the pain goes.... it's always there lol! I've never done any physical activity in my life that's carried this much pain along with it. Not even close. If you can stick it out it does subside some but you will always be in pain after a good practice or set of pulls. Not just fatigue or DOMS type stuff but deep freaking pain. You've got to love it :)

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Thanks Jason for your answers! :) Arm wrestling is helluva lots of fun, we'll see what happends

Edited by Six Barrel Shotgun
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My question is when are you guys coming down to AZ to visit again? Was looking forward to hanging out while you were down for the AZ comp last month. Not too warm yet. :D

- Aaron

:D

We might have to come and experience some of your 100+ weather this summer. I just had a couple of weeks off so maybe in 2-3 months. I might even have enough work in on the baby Inch to do something with your full sized one :)

AZ is a great State to visit though; with the folks down there, the sites, and most importantly the food!! Have you seen that three layer cake stuffed with pies!!

That would be awesome and you and Gail are always welcome. It's not too bad yet only in the mid 90's on the warmer days right now. If you are serious about attacking the Inch I may have a new training tool for you to try sometime soon. Got the idea earlier this week but have not had a chance yet to fire up the welder.

Have not seen that cake yet but now I have a lunchtime mission. :)

- Aaron

Here ya go!

http://www.charlesphoenix.com/category/cherpumple/

I had heard of this cherpumple thing on the local AM FM radio show, and thought they were joking. Apparently, they were not!

If you do set a date to come down, and it's 30 days out, we could try doing a contest again. Rumor has it Russ is training again as well. :sorcerer:

We have plenty of left over trophies for it :mellow

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My question is when are you guys coming down to AZ to visit again? Was looking forward to hanging out while you were down for the AZ comp last month. Not too warm yet. :D

- Aaron

:D

We might have to come and experience some of your 100+ weather this summer. I just had a couple of weeks off so maybe in 2-3 months. I might even have enough work in on the baby Inch to do something with your full sized one :)

AZ is a great State to visit though; with the folks down there, the sites, and most importantly the food!! Have you seen that three layer cake stuffed with pies!!

That would be awesome and you and Gail are always welcome. It's not too bad yet only in the mid 90's on the warmer days right now. If you are serious about attacking the Inch I may have a new training tool for you to try sometime soon. Got the idea earlier this week but have not had a chance yet to fire up the welder.

Have not seen that cake yet but now I have a lunchtime mission. :)

- Aaron

Here ya go!

http://www.charlesphoenix.com/category/cherpumple/

I had heard of this cherpumple thing on the local AM FM radio show, and thought they were joking. Apparently, they were not!

If you do set a date to come down, and it's 30 days out, we could try doing a contest again. Rumor has it Russ is training again as well. :sorcerer:

We have plenty of left over trophies for it :mellow

I'll keep that in mind. I'd like to lift your Gracie as well as an Inch when I come as well.... If I can that is :)

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