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David Wigren Is In The Grip Well!


Bill Piche

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EDIT: has anyone else usingthe wrist developer for DU bending? I've done this a few times before. Has anyone else tried it, or is it a no-go?

Thanks again.

Edited by Jones1874
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Here's a quick video explaining some of the ideas I've mentioned about the two kinds of wrist exercises you can do, those that load your wrists and those that target the muscles associated with that particular wrist movement. Just thought I'd post this video before moving on to the other questions.

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Hey Wiggy. Most people here missed the Golden Age of Steelbenders. First I'd like to say thank you. When I was a new bender, you were especially helpful and open with all your knowledge and advice. It meant a lot to find a group of guys willing to share their secrets.

You took your bending to the top level in each discipline. I know you worked patiently and consistently for years. I was wondering how much the competitive aspect played a part in your drive to excel. Without the camaraderie and competition of steelbenders, do you think you would have been pushed enough to reach the heights you have? What drives you now?

Thanks dooode.

Hey Sharkey! Excellent question! Let me tell you, anyone who knows me know that I’m a very competitive person. Obnoxiously competitive at times! I don’t always have to be best at my given venture. I try and compare myself to and compete against others who are at the same level as me.

Some guys will tell you to only keep track of your own progress, but I say that’s BS. If you want to improve, there is simply nothing better than to compare your progress against others who are at your current level. Because if you beat them, then you’re progressing faster and that means that you’re doing something right! It means that you’re either working harder or working smarter, and it’s paying off!

Of course you don’t have to be a jerk about it. You support your friends and we’re all in it together! I always enjoy the comradery at the gym or here on the Gripboard or over at the old Steelbenders forum. I think it was Chris Rice who said that after decades of working out, he remembers little of the numbers lifted but he remembers the people he trained with! After all, what is the point of spending a lifetime lifting and training if you can’t share your experience with other likeminded people and have fun doing it!

Thanks for doing this Wigren!

First off, never forget the help you gave with my horseshoe and reverse bending journey. Thank You.

1) I'm working the sledges pretty hard right now, do you believe plate curls should be involved to have the wrist as strong as possible?

2)Working for a strong sledge dead do you believe both holds and reps are needed to be at your strongest?

3)what are the numbers that represent a respectable sledge Dead,oh lever,reverse dead?

Again,Thanks for your time Mr Wigren

Hello David my friend!

1. YES! I do think plate curls and plate wrist curls are important for strong wrists. The biggest and strongest muscles in your forearm are the flexors that you use during a wrist curl. And most of us neglect them almost completely! They get hit pretty good in thick bar, but really, for optimal strength and function, you should add some work like wrist curls or similar movements to strengthen that part of the forearm.

2. Personally I like reps more than holds. I find that you get much more “time under tension” with reps. And also you get to practice lifting or levering the sledge using the same movement you would in a heavy single which some believe say will help your max.

3. A strict 6 lbs hammer is better than the absolute majority of all the guys you’ll find can lift in most gyms. But for a respectable lift for an experienced grip guy I’d say that an 8lbs hammer deadlift grabbing it by the end is a very respectable lift. On the overhead lever or lever to face, whatever people call it nowadays, I’d say a very strict 12 lbs is respectable, and a sloppy 14-16 lbs is respectable. I’m not sure what a reverse dead is? Do you mean some kind of supination or pronation lift? I’m not familiar with those and I’ve never done them heavy, so I don’t know what would be a respectable lift, sorry.

1. What do you focus on now and what are your grip goals for the future?

2. Do you lose alot of strength and muscle when you lean down and get ripped?

3. What are your best tips for losing phat? I gain so easily. If I eat moderatly wrong for a month I can gain 2-3kg :S

Luckily I lose it rather easy if I cut out the sugar totally. I never really see my abs tho. When I start to see abs I feel so weak and thin and that scares me and I start to eat more to not lose any more strength.

Strength is way more important than abs but it would be cool to have both.

1. Since the announcement of the gripcomp in Löddeköpinge this summer, I’ve redirected my focus to suit the events that will be in that comp. My grip goals would be to close something just under a #3.5 with a 20mm set with my dominant hand. Go over 80kg on the 2HP and over 70kg if the LGC handle will be in the comp. If it’s an axle lift then I have no specific goal since I’ve never done tried that before. To my understanding there is also going to be some kind of wrist event. Depending on what that will be, I will focus on that event as well. My goal is to get a decent placing in that comp and not come last :)

2. Yes, I lose a ton of strength when I lose weight! I’m already lean as it is, so when I’m shedding weight, it’s hard for me to do so without also losing some muscle mass in the process. My pinch and my wrists are the only lifts that seem relatively unaffected by it. But everywhere else I lose strength. Well, I can maintain strength if I work hard during the cut. But you can’t work on all areas at the same time so those areas that don’t get that much attention during the cut will suffer.

3. Best tip is to keep active where you can throughout the day. If you’re lucky like me and live close to the city. I live 0.5 k from my work, about 4 k from the University and about 2k to the gym and I ride my old crap bike everywhere. Add in all the places I go, I probably average 10-12 k a day. That’s pretty much an extra happy meal I can eat every day lol! But if you live to far away and the only way to get to where you’re going is to drive, well then you’re going to have to work a little harder to add in extra activity where you can. I live on the 4th floor with no elevator and I have a dog that needs to be active. I take her out three times a day and at least one of those will be a longer walk 20-30 minute walk. That’s usually enough activity for me to attain my BW. If I want to shed weight I’ll usually add some cardio. None of that crazy HIT stuff where people do interval training that is supposed to be super optimal for weight loss and cardiovascular development. But IMO if it’s to hard and you don’t like doing it, then you’re probably not going to keep up with it. I like to go on 5 to 10k runs with a moderately high tempo. It’s relaxing and therapeutic for me. I can spend time and reflect on things while I run, which makes the time spent more productive. When it comes to your diet, eat lots of chicken, fish and vegetables. Don’t drink any calories, not during the cut at least! If you’re like me and can go with periods of hunger, intermediate fasting is good. I usually eat a small to moderately sized breakfast and then I fast until the evening where I get to stuff my face with lots of food. If you’re hungry during lunch, maybe you have a manual job, well than have a small lunch so that you have the strength to carry on your work.

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Awesome video. I will start lever sledging!!

I know you said you don't like suggesting rep ranges etc as everyone is different but do you seperate out a whole session for just levers or at the end of sessions?

Thanks mate,

Josh

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Awesome video. I will start lever sledging!!

I know you said you don't like suggesting rep ranges etc as everyone is different but do you seperate out a whole session for just levers or at the end of sessions?

Thanks mate,

Josh

Hi again Josh! Personally I've never had a separate session where I only work on sledge levering. To me it just feels natural to mix in other areas of grip since most other grip exercises won't affect my sledges negatively. Not saying that it would work or be beneficial to only do sledges on a session, just saying that I never really tried it myself.

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David,

I recall you injured an abdominal muscle pretty seriously a few years back bending horseshoes, I believe.

Could you tell us about that injury, what you believe caused it, and how we as benders could prevent it from happening to us?

Thank you.

Jedd

Hello Jedd my friend! Yes that is true. I injured my superficial abdominal wall. I suspect that I wore it down from doing WAY to much crushdown work on horseshoes without proper recovery. Constantly pushing the back hand up against my stomach was probably what wore it down. I was told that it would never heal, and that it could rip at at any moment during a heavy lift. If it does rip, it's an easy fix since they'll just sew me back up. But still, I didn't take that very well. That messed with my head for a bit and for awhile I actually consider giving up on lifting. Each time I picked up a weight or went for a bend I got terrified that it would snap. Felt like I had a ticking timebomb in my stomach. But I eventually realized that I can't live without training and I started back with grip and BW movements and as time went on I've added deadlifts and heavy movements. I have done some bending but I have not done any braced bending since then. I'm not sure if I ever will go heavy again on horseshoes. Lately though I've made a serious effort to improve my superficial abdominal strength(the abs). My core was definitely not as strong as it should have been back then and could possibly be the reason why I jacked my shit up. Having a tight core and a strong layer of extra protection on the stomach would definitely have helped and may even have prevented it!

I think the best way to prevent it would be to include more recovery. I was folish in that I was chasing the mighty Bergmann by overdoing it. Also my abdominal strength back then was not what it should have been. I would definitely recommend doing hard specific work for the superficial abdominal muscles (the abs). I don't know if it'll work. As with anything, there are no guarantees that you won't get hurt. But a strong core would definitely help!

Edited by David_wigren
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EDIT: has anyone else usingthe wrist developer for DU bending? I've done this a few times before. Has anyone else tried it, or is it a no-go?

Thanks again.

I've tried using the WD for DU. But the movement just feels so different, I'm not sure it would help your DU that much. Also Horne recommends not using the WD this way since if the spring would snap, it would be close to your face and possibly injure you.

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Thank you for the detailed response as well as the vid David.

No problem Josh! I enjoyed making it. I watched it myself and it came off alot better than I thought it would. I remember having one or two points that I wanted to make, and in the end I rambled on for 11 minutes lol!

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Great insight on your injury, David. Thanks a lot bro.

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Good stuff so far David. I'm interested in weight loss while already lean. It seems some lean muscle loss is inevitable if BF % is already low - how are you eating to minimize that but still drop overall BW?

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Hi David,

I am currently using isometrics for horseshoe bending. Its kind of frustrating to never feel any movement in the shoe. Reading your posts gives me some new hope. How have you managed to keep yourself motivated all the time without knowing if the shoe will ever move?

Also do you have any advice for strengthening the index finger for DO? Or is it not necessary?

Tanks a lot for taking the time and sharing your experience!!

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Great insight on your injury, David. Thanks a lot bro.

No problem Jedd! Most of us will make mistakes at one point in time in our training. The best we can do is to learn from them and help others from making the same mistakes.

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Good stuff so far David. I'm interested in weight loss while already lean. It seems some lean muscle loss is inevitable if BF % is already low - how are you eating to minimize that but still drop overall BW?

Not superstrict. I'm a firm believer that you need to be active to allow for a higher caloric intake during weightloss to maintain your muscles. The bodybuilding idea of caloric deficit nomatter how you achieve it IMO is wrong. If you starve yourself and sit on the couch all day, then you're not signalling the body to maintain your muscles. Hitting the gym for an hour a few times a week is not enough.

I also don't think that massive amounts of protein is necessary. If you're a meat eater and eat reasonable amounts of meat/chicken and fish, then you'll get enough protein in your body. That's if you're natural. If you're "enhanced", you'll have a much higher protein synthesis and build more muscle. So if you're a juicer it makes sense to include massive amounts of protein. But for someone of my size being natural, eating massive amounts of protein won't help that much. Sure it might help a little, but those few extra % isn't worth the hassle and the money of buying and drinking shitloads of protein drinks with either massive amounts of sugar in them or massive amounts of sweeteners.

As for my food. Like I've mentioned I eat alot of chicken and fish. I try to keep my intake of red meat at a low. Lots of broccoli and vegetables. Some fruits, I don't care what those paleo crazies says about fruits and fructose regarding insulinspikes bla bla bla. If you exercise on a regular basis like all of us in here do, then your body is fully capable of handling a small insulin spike. Because after all, that's exactly what happens when you work out and break down glycogen in your liver and muscles to glucose. Having small amounts of sugar released into the blood isn't going to harm us who have a body well adapted to it from having worked out for years. However I can agree that having large amounts of processed sugar might not be good for you and I try to stay away from sodas and such for that reason.

As for how often you eat and nutrient timing etc. From what I've seen you can eat once a day or 20 times a day. It's all about how much you eat and what you eat. If you want to spread out the food throughout the day or eat it all at once, that's fine. Personally I'll have a small breakfast and lunch and then eat the majority of my food at dinner and in the evening.

I keep those as general guidelines. I try not to be to strict on food. I enjoy a good hamburger or pizza at least once a week. I'll have some sweets and such a couple times a week, even when I'm cutting. I don't think it's a good idea to be to strict about food or you'll burn out and give up on the cut.

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Good stuff so far David. I'm interested in weight loss while already lean. It seems some lean muscle loss is inevitable if BF % is already low - how are you eating to minimize that but still drop overall BW?

Not superstrict. I'm a firm believer that you need to be active to allow for a higher caloric intake during weightloss to maintain your muscles. The bodybuilding idea of caloric deficit nomatter how you achieve it IMO is wrong. If you starve yourself and sit on the couch all day, then you're not signalling the body to maintain your muscles. Hitting the gym for an hour a few times a week is not enough.

I also don't think that massive amounts of protein is necessary. If you're a meat eater and eat reasonable amounts of meat/chicken and fish, then you'll get enough protein in your body. That's if you're natural. If you're "enhanced", you'll have a much higher protein synthesis and build more muscle. So if you're a juicer it makes sense to include massive amounts of protein. But for someone of my size being natural, eating massive amounts of protein won't help that much. Sure it might help a little, but those few extra % isn't worth the hassle and the money of buying and drinking shitloads of protein drinks with either massive amounts of sugar in them or massive amounts of sweeteners.

As for my food. Like I've mentioned I eat alot of chicken and fish. I try to keep my intake of red meat at a low. Lots of broccoli and vegetables. Some fruits, I don't care what those paleo crazies says about fruits and fructose regarding insulinspikes bla bla bla. If you exercise on a regular basis like all of us in here do, then your body is fully capable of handling a small insulin spike. Because after all, that's exactly what happens when you work out and break down glycogen in your liver and muscles to glucose. Having small amounts of sugar released into the blood isn't going to harm us who have a body well adapted to it from having worked out for years. However I can agree that having large amounts of processed sugar might not be good for you and I try to stay away from sodas and such for that reason.

As for how often you eat and nutrient timing etc. From what I've seen you can eat once a day or 20 times a day. It's all about how much you eat and what you eat. If you want to spread out the food throughout the day or eat it all at once, that's fine. Personally I'll have a small breakfast and lunch and then eat the majority of my food at dinner and in the evening.

I keep those as general guidelines. I try not to be to strict on food. I enjoy a good hamburger or pizza at least once a week. I'll have some sweets and such a couple times a week, even when I'm cutting. I don't think it's a good idea to be to strict about food or you'll burn out and give up on the cut.

I was in a bit of a hurry when I wrote this so I apologize if it's a bit casually written and incoherent lol. I'm not an expert on diet but I've studied some cell signalling and physiology and I base most of my diet plan from that information mixed in with a bit of broscience I've picked up over the years that seems to make sense. I'm sure my ideas are not perfect, but they've worked well enough for me to reach/approach my weight and appearance goals with relatively little work and effort over the last year or so.

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How much is your body fat percent? Your forearms looks so ripped bro.

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This closes out this session of the Grip Well with David. Thanks again to everyone who posted questions for David and of course a BIG thanks to David for taking the time to be in the well!

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