Evan's Grip Strength And Bodyweight Training

[Evan Raftopoulos]

nothing special, just TNSing a 108lb Master hybrid with my off hand. I neglected my left crushing grip the past month or so and trying to get back to it.

[Royz]

Man you are strong!

I don't understand how you can train grip every single day?? Don't you need any recovery time? If I train grip more then twice a week I get fatigued and my numbers go down.

[JoshW]

Whatever he is doing is working, so for now we just need to observe and see if there is something we've missed about grip training lol

[Evan Raftopoulos]

Man you are strong!

I don't understand how you can train grip every single day?? Don't you need any recovery time? If I train grip more then twice a week I get fatigued and my numbers go down.

thanks man! I don't consider my self very strong gripwise relative to some other guys here, but grip/bw ratio I think I'm doing ok. I do train grip every single day I guess one way or another. I try to stay consistent with it and all I can say is that at this point in time is working well. In fact, the pain I used to have at the inside of my elbow with sidepressure is mostly gone. Also, I'm just lucky that nowadays I have the time to train (I train on average 1.5-2hrs daily) so I try to take advantage of it and get as strong as possible while it lasts. With recovery time I feel that my body is able to recover ok so far. Some days I'm more sore than others but even those days I manage to do what I want to. I don't feel that I'm lacking recovery. But I don't know how long that 's gonna last either. I'm fine up to this point and I'll keep going at it.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

Whatever he is doing is working, so for now we just need to observe and see if there is something we've missed about grip training lol

keep doing your thing too brother, what works for me might not work for somebody else and I don't want to mislead people with my training or give the impression that this is good for everyone. My body has been through a lot of physical stress in the past (training in the military) and I feel this is not bad at all. My body also seems to respond well for now to frequent loading of same muscle groups. I do however many different exercises overall.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

Did bouldering for about 30 min, attempted a V6 but didn't finish it

Went to my regular gym, did many exercises with the rolling thunder (older model) that I got today from a friend here. The main reason I got this is to train for one arm chin ups and eventually progress to a newer model that spins more.

RT exercises:

- to warm up I did 1 arm deadlifts up to 150 lb

- one arm pulldowns 105 x 4, 120x 2, 135 lb x1 then scapular retractions to failure (grip), I did a few sets with 120 alternating between L and R to failure

- brief one arm dead hangs

- archer pullups one arm rolling thunder the other on pull up bar as min assist as possible to complete the movement

- front lever on lebert equalizers (forearms on bars)

- handstands on Rogue Parallettes, balance is improving

- mini laches on crosffit bars

- pronation using body wt leaning back on suspension straps feet as far forward as possible (top roll training)

- superset above with supination and sidepressure with blue superband (hook training)

- did a few boxing drills

I was able lift off the ground my 41 blob for the first time, only for a few inches though (vid below)

on the way home I stopped at a park with gymnastic rings and did a few one arm chin ups, one set of two and 3-4 sets of one. I did one with 12 sec hold at the top. I did 21 pullups and a few front levers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfGIPVoruvc

Edited August 23, 2015 by Evan Raftopoulos

[Cannon]

I need to check out your log more often! Lots of good stuff here.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

I need to check out your log more often! Lots of good stuff here.

thanks Matt! I don't type everything I do here but I try to post most of it or whatever I was able to record. I wasn't planning on being consistent with this either but if it helps others in some ways I'll try to stick with it for a bit.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

Sunday August 23, 2015

Ninja warrior gym x 30 min

worked on rope climb, warped wall, spider climb and some balance stuff, not much grip. Next Sunday I'm competing at a local ninja comp there.

climbing gym x 40 min (this is a gym a few min away from the ninja gym both about 30 min from the city)

flashed a V5, I don't remember every doing that with a V5 (flashed =finish the problem at first attempt), attempted two V6 problems but didn't finish them. I see A LOT of improvement in my climbing as I'm getting stronger with grip sport.

did one arm deadhang with 100 lb x 15 seconds (new personal best) and also did a few sets of OAC

I was hoping to do regular squats at my gym when I got back in the city but I only had 20 min before the gym was closed. So I did pistol squats instead with up to 100 lb (2x50 dumbbells). These work the hips a bit more than the quads, Still need to work on stability /control but I 'm happy I went up to 100. Last time I tried this 1-2 months ago I was 60lb max. They say (or at least saw in another youtube vid) that to find out how much you should be squatting based on pistol squats (or the other way around) the formula you use is Pistol squat to back squat = bodyweight in pounds + (additional weight x 2). So for example for me it would be 100lb x 2 +156 = 356. I should be squatting 356 based on this but the most I've tried is 345 x 4 but I doubt that I was going deep enough to be considered regular squatting. Anyone else tried pistol squats to see if their numbers based on that formula correlate well?

[Evan Raftopoulos]

new PR with the adjustable thick bar today at 256/ 116.3 kg. Not sure if the 271 attempt was 10 inches so I don't count that as a good lift. I'm happy I was able to lift the 276 off the floor.

Her are the world records again: http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/worldrecords.html

74 K category is 113.2 Kg from 2013 unless the website has not been updated

Edited August 25, 2015 by Evan Raftopoulos

[Evan Raftopoulos]

other things I did today:

- 2.5 crusher up to 136, 141 attempt didn't look as good as last time's

- one hand pinch 2" block alternating r and l for reps up 67 lb then dropped to 62 and then 57. My pinch grip didn't feel very strong today. I've been able to lift more than my BW with two hands last week but my one hand pinch is much less than 50% of that even with my strongest hand. Maybe the technique with both hands makes it easier and accounts for the difference?

- wrist curls 25 lb plates neutral to flexion about 8 reps each side for a few sets

- wrist curls with 2" block at cable machine neutral to flexion, don't remember the wt I used but this felt that it worked the fingers and thumb very good, planning on doing it more often, I believe it will help a lot with pinch lifts

- did some random gripper training, some TNS attempts coc2 off hand and attempted my Elite hybrid 189 lb from 17 mm chocked.

It's not clear from the vid if the CoC2 was a close, the Elite hybrid 189 is the heaviest gripper I have attempted to close choked, happy I was able to close it more than 10mm. At this point I don't know if the choker work helps me or not with MMS closes, planning on attempting regular closes of grippers in the 150s later this week.

- arm curls both hands with 50 lb blob I got from Matt

Edited August 25, 2015 by Evan Raftopoulos

[Evan Raftopoulos]

August 25,2015

2" crusher up to 165lb, couldn't go heavier today
RT up to 150 lb
MMS attempts 155lb gripper
gripper machine 180 lb 4 sets x 15 reps, then one hand holds at end range
wrist curls with 25lb plate neutral to flexion
wrist curls 35lb plate isometric holds in full flexion and slow eccentrics to neutral
wrist curls up to 90 lb dumbbell neutral to flexion
worked a bit with the orbigrip and also IM titans key that I got today in the mail

[Evan Raftopoulos]

August 26, 2015

Rolling thunder up to 163lb

one arm pulldowns with rolling thunder 105 x 2, 120 x2, 135 x 2 L and R, 150 lb scap retractions

one arm pulldowns fatgripz 165 lb x 1 L and R

one arm pulldowns regular handle 180lb x 1 L and R

Front lever x8 one sec holds

weighted chin ups:

135 lb x 1, easy

170 lb x 1 attempt:

bicep isometrics up to 100 lb dumbbell at preacher curl setup, leaning forward and back mantaining elbow lock position elbow inside of shoulder (Arm wrestling position)

TNS CoC 2 106lb

TNS tetting master hybrid 108lb

TNS and MMS reps to failure filed CoC1 88lb

shallow hub up to 30lb with DH rules

[Evan Raftopoulos]

August 27, 2015

-started my workout with bench press only up to 100kg few reps

-fatgripz training with up to 70lb dumbbell bent over row position pulling, letting go, and then catching dumbbell, got the idea from Paul Savage's vids doing something similar.

-superset above with pec flyes machine elbows 90 wrist flexed 205lb focusing on explosiveness and a few end rom holds

- wrist extensions up to 90 lb barbell x 8, (forearms resting on knees hands pointing towards the floor/not parallel to floor) this felt really good. I've neglected doing wrist ext specific exercises

- deep set/ hold/negatives with GM 156 and Silvis T Rex at 150lb setting

- worked with 41 and 51 lb blob: bilateral Curls with 51, drags with 51, lifted the 41 a few inches off the ground with my left

- orbigrip with fatgripz + 5 lb 30 reps each side

- I have coc2.5 choked at work and did a lot of closes throughout the day L and R

Edited August 28, 2015 by Evan Raftopoulos

[JamesG]

Great log! If you get a chance could you post a vid or explain your pronator training with a towel? I havent figured out a setup where I feel like im hitting the intended muscles.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

Great log! If you get a chance could you post a vid or explain your pronator training with a towel? I havent figured out a setup where I feel like im hitting the intended muscles.

thanks James!

I took these pics at work for you, it's just like many top roll exercises. Start in supinated elbow position and then go into pronation and flexion towards the opposite shoulder.

I use a nylon sling attached to the cable machine.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

yesterday Aug 28 did a light workout, couldn't get to the gym and I have hard time pushing my self home

-lighter gripper workout up to 108lb focusing on TNS and reps to failure

- rolling thunder 130lb holds for time
-titan's key dynamic pinch training
-worked a bit with the levertop and wrist developer

- a few pullups and holds for time on Atomik xxl ball earlier at work

I talked with Andrew on the phone last week about bending steel. I'm excited to start bending very soon!

Edited August 30, 2015 by Evan Raftopoulos

[Evan Raftopoulos]

had a great workout today, did a few things (will post later) but the most remarkable thing for me is finally lifting my 41 lb blob! I was also able to hold it up for about 8 sec! It took me 4 weeks of training.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

also did a few negatives with Silvis T rex set at 150lb (first rep below)

and tried for the first time CoC3 silver bullet with 5lb.

only 8-9 sec hold, next time longer!

[Evan Raftopoulos]

other things I did today:

-2" crusher up to 170lb, I feel I could go heavier if the crusher wasn't painted

-Gripper machine one hand holds for time 180 lb L and R a few sets

-pronation with towel at cable machine up to 70lb (As the pic I posted above for James).

-OAC two good reps and two half reps right, almost two good reps with L

also some training at the end with filed CoC1 and CoC 2

Edited August 30, 2015 by Evan Raftopoulos

[Evan Raftopoulos]

forgot to mention, I also did bouldering for 30 minutes almost finishing that V6 I've been working on, also did some balance/ stability training on balance board (pistol squats) trying to prepare for the ninja warrior local comp tomorrow.

[Tom Scibelli]

Nice PRs Evan!

[Evan Raftopoulos]

thank you Tom!

August 30, 2015

Local ninja warrior comp, grip obstacles felt super easy, I had some trouble with some of the other stuff though.Ninja warrior requires a lot of specialized training besides grip strength. Did some obstacle course training after the comp.

Picked up the euro device earlier from a friend here. I tested it home with light wts and look forward to training with it tomorrow. That thing is heavy and I cannot train with it how I want to in my apartment. It will also be difficult carrying it to the gym. I might have to train with it in the shared backyard or at the gym's parking lot.

I emailed Clay Edgin to see if he is interested in hosting the King Kong challenge. I haven't heard back from the other gyms and we are getting closer to October.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

August 31, 2015

started with dumbbell row with fatgripz up to 120 lb a few reps (fatgrizp do not fully wrap around the handle)

deadlifts with dumbbell/fatgripz 130, 135, 145, 150. These are the heaviest dumbbells at my gym, next time I'm bringing my olympic dumbbell that I can add weights.

one arm dumbbell curls in standing up to 70lb x 4-5, 75 lb x 2 each side (got inspired by the recent arm wresting thread)

table curls 75lb dumbbell

wrist curls cable machine with wrist wrench replica I got from Luke here

practiced one hand pinch deadlift with the euro in the parking lot, I went up to 60lb when the webbing of my thumb started to hurt and I couldn't squeeze as hard as I wanted to (the edges of the plates are sharp).

Is it allowed in comps to make the edges of the euro plates smoother? I remember Tom mentioned that this is a good idea and some other guys I think recommended goat tape, but just wondering if this is allowed in comps.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

nothing special today, was feeling tired from long day at work. I worked a bit with orbigrip, RT one hand deadlift and pulldowns, and lighter gripper workout. Did a silver bullet attempt and did better today, ~13 sec with 5lb. Aiming for 20 sec by the end of the month.

I ordered some steel from Andrew (beginners stuff) and plan on starting bending as soon as it arrives!