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Chris Rice Is In The Grip Well!


Bill Piche

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Chris, in your climbing hobby, have you ever found yourself scared for your life, maybe stuck or about to fall? What happened and how did you handle it? Was it exhilirating in hindsight or did it make you question your hobby? Just curious and hoping for a great story.

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  1. If you had to pick one exercise for general handstrength, for someone who didn't want to get into Gripsport, what would that be?

Easy one – Fingers Curls done in a Power Rack – Double overhand and double underhand grips. High reps one time with lighter weight– then low reps with moderately heavy weight – then massively loaded negatives once in a while – lots of rest in between. It does need something additional for balance like opening rubber bands or reverse wrist curls but as a standalone exercise it will make you darn strong.

Can you describe the lift? Are you standing?

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Chris, in your climbing hobby, have you ever found yourself scared for your life, maybe stuck or about to fall? What happened and how did you handle it? Was it exhilirating in hindsight or did it make you question your hobby? Just curious and hoping for a great story.

Chris, in your climbing hobby,

have you ever found yourself scared for your life - Yes,

maybe stuck - Yes

or about to fall - Yes?

What happened - (I either fell or I worked it out – that’s why we always use a rope and protective devices – falling is actually fairly common in some forms of climbing and not a good idea in others)

and how did you handle it – (you just keep trying)

in hindsight Was it exhilirating – (a little fear is exhilarating – a lot of fear is only exhilarating in hindsight and often not then either, mostly you’re just plain scared at the moment). Being seriously scared is not the idea at all and I (we all) try hard to avoid those situations.

or did it make you question your hobby? I have never really questioned my climbing – it’s only those dangers that I cannot control like bad rock, rock fall, avalanches, lightening (wind and storms), and the like that scare me to that point and those have been the things that got me into trouble over the years. I used to enjoy routes with longer run outs and at my limit – a sort of walking along the edge of my fear - but not so much anymore. I’ve gotten scary in my old age – I’m not as good or as strong physically as I once was and have lost some of my confidence and that feeling of being invincible. I think it really helped that we learned how to climb as a family so my wife and kids understood more about the sport and what it entailed at the different levels. We have done many trips climbing all together as a family.

Just curious and hoping for a great story.

You have to understand climbing at a deeper level I guess. Certain types of climbing are very very safe. And then it can run the spectrum to nearly suicidal. An understanding of difficulty, objective dangers, and one’s ability can control risk to whatever level one chooses to participate at more or less. On the majority of trips I take I am much more scared of the long drive to get there than of the climbing itself - once in a while I do a trip with more serious climbing. But of course I have had a few exciting moments along the way. The telling of a good climbing story usually involves a campfire and a couple beers. Come to Seneca Rocks this Oct and I’ll take you climbing and tell you a few tall tales (er stories).

One time I was up about 800' on a 2000' route, 30' above a manky RP, one foot on a tiny icy nubbin, and a frozen fingertip in an ice filled crack when ..............

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  1. If you had to pick one exercise for general handstrength, for someone who didn't want to get into Gripsport, what would that be?

Easy one – Fingers Curls done in a Power Rack – Double overhand and double underhand grips. High reps one time with lighter weight– then low reps with moderately heavy weight – then massively loaded negatives once in a while – lots of rest in between. It does need something additional for balance like opening rubber bands or reverse wrist curls but as a standalone exercise it will make you darn strong.

Can you describe the lift? Are you standing?

Matt – stand in your power rack like you are going to do a short range rack pull - set the pins so that if you would drop the bar from a straight arm hanging fingertip hold position it would barely fall. There are two grips possible - double overhand and double underhand.

Double Overhand – grab the bar (arms straight) pick it up with a deep grip , allow the bar to roll as far down the fingers as possible and then squeeze - rolling it back up to a tightly closed hand again – repeat – keep arms straight. This is usually a more comfortable grip but not as strong a position as

Double Underhand. Start out the same and do the same. The big difference here is that now if you bend your legs and rest the bar on them you can “cheat” by rolling up the thighs to pretty much whatever degree you want – including doing some crazy heavy negatives right up to where it’s heavily assisted “mini reps” at best. Be sure to not try to “biceps curl” when doing this. Allow lots of recovery time when you get heavy as it can get pretty brutal – and like anything else you can overdo. Stop when you push the blood out from under your fingernails – it happens until your hands adjust – then it will be fine.

A good way is the easy - medium - heavy workout system - maybe once a week going easy one week - moderate the next - then heavy a week later and repeat.

Edited by climber511
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Where do you think the 2HP records will be in 5 or 10 years?

What is your coolest creation to date?

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Chris, you are probably one of the best "Lab Rats" in the world of grip when it come to the subject of Age. The fact that you have been training with weights for over 50 years makes your situation that much more of an interesting case to study.

In terms of "declining strength", what aspect, what exercises of a grip nature are most sensitive to decline? What "nongrip" areas are most sensitive? For example, I cannot overhead press what I could do as a skinny long-distance runner more than 40 years ago. But, I am far stronger in deadlifting than I was back then.

In grip, for me, I am not sure that anything has yet to be measurably declining, as it seems to be a matter of just "working harder" to improve. That does not go on forever. Have you hit the wall for grip stuff, and if so, what areas seem to be the most sensitive, and which less so?

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Where do you think the 2HP records will be in 5 or 10 years?

What is your coolest creation to date?

I'm not much of a future predictor but I think things will keep creeping up slowly and "Bang" some freak will come along with some kind of natural advantage for the lift and add 20# all at one shot.

I don't think so much that any of creations are so "cool" but solve common problems like the climber curl does with wrist mobility - it's just my belief but the Wrist Thingy is the most valuable training item I make. Rotational wrist strength (wrist strength in general) is something that limits many otherwise very good grip guys. Its terrific for 2HP "breaking" work for example and I have seen a few arm wrestlers using them lately.

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Chris

It's awesome that you're doing this buddy. My question is simple yet not so simple.

If you had to choose only 5 assistance type exercises for the Europinch what would they be, and why?

I am speaking in terms of a general 5 to target specific main areas, not specific assistance relating to myself or to any other person but just the 5 best pinching assistance training methods to the general population not taking into account one individuals strengths or weaknesses.

I know we have discussed the importance of extensors in out past chats, for example. I think the idea of assistance work for grip lifts is something most do not consider with a lot of gripsport lifts or grip feats.

P.S. Check Facebook, I built something today you might find interesting. :grin:

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Chris,

Thoroughly enjoyed reading your answers.

I totally agree with you regarding contests, and hence I am getting more quick contests out there on my tours this year, and also to public areas, with them having a go. We want to find some more geezers like yourself :)

By the way, if I was ever going to come to USA to compete again, it would be the Gripmas that would tickle my fancy. This contest signifies what the sport of grip is about!

By the way I'm not coming to America, haha, not when the North Wales mountains and sea are only a 2 hours drive away!

David - you and your family will certainly be made very welcome in my home if you ever do make it over - very welcome. I can't imagine what all two old codgers like us could get into in my garage gym?

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How do YOU use the climber curl?
Sets, reps, frequency, as assistance?

So far I've been dong like 12-30 reps on it, going to failure, after grip workouts, for 2-3 sets.

The burn..... :)

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Thank you!

Chris,

Thoroughly enjoyed reading your answers.

I totally agree with you regarding contests, and hence I am getting more quick contests out there on my tours this year, and also to public areas, with them having a go. We want to find some more geezers like yourself :)

By the way, if I was ever going to come to USA to compete again, it would be the Gripmas that would tickle my fancy. This contest signifies what the sport of grip is about!

By the way I'm not coming to America, haha, not when the North Wales mountains and sea are only a 2 hours drive away!

David - you and your family will certainly be made very welcome in my home if you ever do make it over - very welcome. I can't imagine what all two old codgers like us could get into in my garage gym?
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Chris, you are probably one of the best "Lab Rats" in the world of grip when it come to the subject of Age. The fact that you have been training with weights for over 50 years makes your situation that much more of an interesting case to study.

In terms of "declining strength", what aspect, what exercises of a grip nature are most sensitive to decline? What "nongrip" areas are most sensitive? For example, I cannot overhead press what I could do as a skinny long-distance runner more than 40 years ago. But, I am far stronger in deadlifting than I was back then.

In grip, for me, I am not sure that anything has yet to be measurably declining, as it seems to be a matter of just "working harder" to improve. That does not go on forever. Have you hit the wall for grip stuff, and if so, what areas seem to be the most sensitive, and which less so?

Mike - Chris, you are probably one of the best "Lab Rats" in the world of grip when it come to the subject of Age. The fact that you have been training with weights for over 50 years makes your situation that much more of an interesting case to study.

That’s me ole “lab rat” – I think that’s the first time I’ve been called that – much kinder than some things people say for sure.

In terms of "declining strength", what aspect, what exercises of a grip nature are most sensitive to decline?

The “simpler” the lift the more sensitive it seems to be to just plain “strength” – it’s very hard to find technique “tweaks” that can help. As I have trained Grip now for a while – I have been realizing the complexity of some of the competition events and what I can milk out of a lift by learning better ways to use my strengths and minimize my weak points or generally “better technique and the use of other than prime movers” can give better numbers with the same strength levels. A major “hold back” for me is that my overall body strength and injury history is such a liability – my Axle dead lift is held back by low back strength, the weight my hands can hold is pretty heavy compared to my max Dl – so the lift takes a long time for me compared to someone for whom the DL portion is well over their hand strength – I have to hold on a good bit longer because of it. Some of the best Axle lifters have dead lifts 300# over their Axle numbers – me, not so muchJ. Some contests have had very heavy frame holds and similar events – sometimes more than my body is capable of even though I have the hand strength to lift it.

What "nongrip" areas are most sensitive? For example, I cannot overhead press what I could do as a skinny long-distance runner more than 40 years ago. But, I am far stronger in deadlifting than I was back then.

Mike this is an interesting question. I often think about the differences between you and I and how our time lifting compares and what differences it makes. I have “injury limitations” that go along with actual strength issues that make comparison difficult going back to my younger and stronger years. Is my dead lift down because I have 2 ruptured disks and the rest bulging in my lower back (and can’t train it as hard or in certain ways) or am I simply weaker than I was? My best ever DL was in 1969 of 495# in a PL meet in Danang Vietnam (BW of maybe 175 or 180 training with pipe and sandbags???). My best recent lift (training) is only 420# within the last few years and is probably lower right now with the recent back trouble. Overhead press is down a lot at the moment due to some shoulder impingement but prior to that was down perhaps 20% from my best I would venture. Big muscle strength is down I am guessing 10 - 25% generally – but in some cases almost no loss at all. Part of that is I don’t place the same training importance on the same lifts these days so I seldom do what I might call a “competition max” which would be the number I could use for comparison to the past. Recovery is such a big issue these days - I can’t work nearly as heavy with any volume for as long without problems these days which no doubt holds me back. But I think equally important is the fact I don’t train very often with one rep max strength in mind either. The place I notice the most change is any kind of lift where coordination is key – my movement skill set has declined as well due to very little use compared to when young – think something like full squat snatch for example. Movement skills are a major focus these days – maybe more so than raw strength.

In grip, for me, I am not sure that anything has yet to be measurably declining, as it seems to be a matter of just "working harder" to improve. That does not go on forever. Have you hit the wall for grip stuff, and if so, what areas seem to be the most sensitive, and which less so?

Mike – at 65 I find Grip is holding up pretty well and I don’t feel I have quite hit the limits for me yet - the problem is that I can’t maintain the training levels I think are necessary to advance much further – I also struggle with “I don’t care as much as I used to” – things like closing a #3 and bending the Red are things I have done and don’t care about now. I think the fact that I have been training my overall body for 55 years and the actual Grip Sport events for only a decade makes a difference also. I think I have gone close to as far as I can with the plain “muscular strength” I have. It pretty much comes down now to sneaking up on events sort of – training all “around” the actual movements until close to the comp. Instead of training Axle DL, I work say rack pulls and DBs set up on boxes for the hands and glute/ham raises and Trap Bar etc for the low back and then do all kinds of auxiliary grip exercises – then do about 3 or so weeks of actual Axle event training before a contest to pull things together. My actual 2HP training is around 10 total reps a workout including warm ups these days – I think I could advance it if I could hold up to a little more work but I can’t with the isometric nature of things so….. I train pieces and parts with the hope I can add them together come meet time. As you mention “working harder” works – well it works if you can work harder without getting hurt or over reaching. The isometric nature of grip seems to fry my CNS rather quickly. I think with my body type I am a “high excitation” lifter and recruit a fairly high percentage of muscle fibers in my lifting – which seems to tax me a lot more than what I might call “muscle lifts” that I can do without the excitation. I have tried more conventional training methods for grip and for me the results are not as good as what I get doing it this way. This sounds a little hokey reading it over but made sense when I typed it so I’ll leave it I guess.

One thing I do differently than most perhaps is I don’t actually train for anything particular and seldom train grip outside of climbing. My training is all over the place with a lot of climbing related work done – grip work for sure but different than what most here care about – I go long periods with zero grip sport targeted work being done. Jedd and I have talked about this – “if” I could concentrate seriously for say a year on “grip” or one event from grip (Jedd says I should do grippers) – what could I do? I think I could probably increase 10% on about everything – I don’t think I am unable to become stronger yet on Grip events due to age but and only if I could recovery adequately. Guess that is age related huh?

One thing seldom mentioned that has become a bigger deal to me is lack of confidence, courage, and just plain fear of straining to the max on certain lifts. The dead lift is it for me – when I hurt my back this last March I was in the kind of pain for a few months that was life changing – something I really want to avoid doing again. So in a way this accounts for some lifts not showing the numbers I might be capable of if strength was the only limiting factor – I don’t know but the thought is there sometimes. So short version is yes I have declined overall but I think I can still milk some gains out of grip.

I just read this over and it’s a rambling mess of thoughts but I think I’ll leave it alone – maybe you can get something out of it.

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How do YOU use the climber curl?

Sets, reps, frequency, as assistance?

So far I've been dong like 12-30 reps on it, going to failure, after grip workouts, for 2-3 sets.

The burn..... :)

Chris,

Same question just on the wrist thingy? I've been using it in replace of hammers due to flaring up wrist pain. Also what is a good weight mark on it? The best I've done is 80lbs off the end of a barbell for 8 reps each way. Thank you for doing this, I continue to learn a lot from you.

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Chris

It's awesome that you're doing this buddy. My question is simple yet not so simple.

If you had to choose only 5 assistance type exercises for the Europinch what would they be, and why?

I am speaking in terms of a general 5 to target specific main areas, not specific assistance relating to myself or to any other person but just the 5 best pinching assistance training methods to the general population not taking into account one individuals strengths or weaknesses.

I know we have discussed the importance of extensors in out past chats, for example. I think the idea of assistance work for grip lifts is something most do not consider with a lot of gripsport lifts or grip feats.

P.S. Check Facebook, I built something today you might find interesting. :grin:

Chris

It's awesome that you're doing this buddy. My question is simple yet not so simple.

If you had to choose only 5 assistance type exercises for the Europinch what would they be, and why?

I am speaking in terms of a general 5 to target specific main areas, not specific assistance relating to myself or to any other person but just the 5 best pinching assistance training methods to the general population not taking into account one individuals strengths or weaknesses.

I know we have discussed the importance of extensors in out past chats, for example. I think the idea of assistance work for grip lifts is something most do not consider with a lot of gripsport lifts or grip feats.

P.S. Check Facebook, I built something today you might find interesting.

Jon

  • I can’t really say what assistance work YOU need – assistance should target personal weaknesses and create balance. So of course we each need different things to do that.
  • The Wrist Thingy made a significant difference for me. Rotational wrist strength is critical to a big pinch. Sledge hammer work isn’t quite a good but still a great exercise for pinch.
  • Dynamic Tombstone work – it’s a homemade David Horne Tombstone type affair on a Vulcan Gripper that allows a range of motion training that duplicates 2HP closely. I do very high reps squeezes on it (like a Euro) starting with hands deep and letting it work out onto the fingers – then fingertips. Work with movement is healthier than all isometric work I think. Really works the thumbs in a manner more closely related to the Euro than some other thumb work. If you don’t have one a TTK or Clamp etc is also good.
  • Balance work of extensors (fingers and forearms) and wrist work the opposite way of the Euro “breaking” movement. I know others don’t agree but I think your body will only allow so large an imbalance across a joint before stopping gains that make for further imbalance – if that makes any sense? Plus it is a healthy approach for sure.
  • Training at different widths – Isometric work seems to develop strength in very narrow ranges to both sides of the position used – so going both above and below a little can work both margins to add in from the sides if that makes sense?
  • Massage work. Armaid – The Stick – Lacrosse balls – massage therapy etc etc. I am learning a little about what my therapist is calling “tissue quality” and its importance. You should look into this maybe.
  • Uneven loaded Euro wrist curls. Load your Euro up on just the front side – pick it up like normal and “tilt” it back between your legs for reps – then turn it around and repeat. It only worked once for me but it worked enough for a small but nice gain.
  • I’d like to say one more thing that I think is one of the biggest problems I see. For God’s sake people, take a deload once in a while – I love reading training logs (I know it’s kind of weird) and some of you guys are just beating yourselves senseless – training through all kinds of injuries – causing all kinds of injuries – just STOP IT! There is a difference between training hard and what some of you are doing. We all read about the workouts the “Big Guys” do and think we can do the same – there are probably some things they do that you don’t that make that possible – things you may not want to do if you know what I mean.
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How do YOU use the climber curl?

Sets, reps, frequency, as assistance?

So far I've been dong like 12-30 reps on it, going to failure, after grip workouts, for 2-3 sets.

The burn..... :)

Chris,

Same question just on the wrist thingy? I've been using it in replace of hammers due to flaring up wrist pain. Also what is a good weight mark on it? The best I've done is 80lbs off the end of a barbell for 8 reps each way. Thank you for doing this, I continue to learn a lot from you.

NewGrippster, on 11 Feb 2014 - 06:46 AM, said:

How do YOU use the climber curl?

Sets, reps, frequency, as assistance?So far I've been dong like 12-30 reps on it, going to failure, after grip workouts, for 2-3 sets.The burn.....

Chris,Same question just on the wrist thingy? I've been using it in replace of hammers due to flaring up wrist pain. Also what is a good weight mark on it? The best I've done is 80lbs off the end of a barbell for 8 reps each way. Thank you for doing this, I continue to learn a lot from you.

I train both about the same way. I don’t use either item regularly and I think both are assistance lifts (you’ll never see them as a competitive event) – I plan a time period of a few weeks to a month or so and train one of them hard, then forget it for a while as I go to something else. I don’t do anything really outside the ordinary. I think both should primarily be done with moderate weights and moderate reps – say something for 8 to 15 reps for a couple sets. Once in a while do one set to absolute failure at the end with a target goal of 12 to 15 reps at failure (this is probably what I do most often). Then I’ll do a heavy workout of 3 to 5 reps for a couple sets once in a while but not often – and by this I mean max effort hard as heck – but be careful and prepare yourself for a while before doing this on the Wrist Thingy. On the wrist thingy I try to get a very slight stretch to increase the range of motion at each end. What’s a good weight – probably 5# more than whatever you can do today J. I could tell you what I use but that isn’t really the point. Just continue to progress is all that matters. I can push harder on the Climber Curl than the Wrist Thingy – there is a lot more tendon stress with the WT I think.

Just a note but I like the Climber Curl done behind the back best of all – John Eaton method next and conventional over the knees last.

Edited by climber511
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Another question. This is something you could probably write a book on, and something better explained in person.

Unfortunately, many of us live too far away for a training session.

Could you please list your 7 most important realizations or points about pulling big numbers on a Euro?

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Another question. This is something you could probably write a book on, and something better explained in person.

Unfortunately, many of us live too far away for a training session.

Could you please list your 7 most important realizations or points about pulling big numbers on a Euro?

I wrote this up a while back for Matt Cannon - so instead of directly answering your question I copied and pasted it here - maybe this will help. I wrote it a good while back and i have learned more since but this is a good primer.

Matt - Like many people get consumed by grippers - I got hooked with trying to increase my Euro results. Back when the GB had a "Chat" function - I talked one night with David Horne - and he gave me this advice. He said to buy a notebook and try Everything and RECORD the results. So I did - this was before he came out with the measure your hands stuff. I think the first thing to realize is how one's anatomy may be different than someone else. I can't lift the way Jedd does because my thumbs don't rotate like his - I also don't have the arm strength to lift with bent arms like him. You obviously can't say his way is wrong - just wrong for me. Chad Woodall lifts a lot like Jedd also – they simply have the overall strength and a different set of strengths and weaknesses to deal with.

The other thing is how “your form” is going to change as you go along – I really struggled with this. I did all my notes, I figured out what worked for me, I lifted some decent weight (200#) and then stalled big time. I knew I was stronger – I was sure I had my technique dialed in – but nothing. So I started over with the notebook – all the different widths, different thumb and finger placements, different twists with my lats and hands – I tried it all. And my conclusion was that my strengths and weaknesses had changed with the training I had done and what had once been best for me was no longer the case. This has happened twice actually. But there are certainly some basics that seem to apply. So here’s a start.

• Buy a notebook – this was what worked for me anyway. Record everything about each and every lift – width, hand spacing and position (angled or straight), impressions and weight (these don’t always coincide). Where you felt the pressure, where you didn’t feel the pressure etc etc etc etc. This thing should look like a short story after each session.

• Your hands measure 38 – mine are less than an inch between my thumb and index finger when holding them parallel and not stretched over the apparatus. I ended up throwing out that indication for best width rather quickly when I actually started taking notes. A starting point but for me not any more than that.

• Get over thinking about the setup like you would a bar on a barbell. If it helps think of it like a series of different sized bars you are experimenting with to see which one lets you use the most weight. As you know you can’t just keep putting weight on and trying to lift it like you would a bar.

• Always clean your hands the same way before a session – consistency is key. Develop a routine to eliminate variables.

• Round the edges of your plates – a slight rounding is allowed within the rules and mine are pretty darn smoothed over where I train. Getting cut all the time is going to stop you cold. If you always feel like you’re going to get cut (or are getting cut or torn every time) you are probably too wide. If the joints in your fingers are always sore, you’re probably too narrow.

• A biggie for not getting cut is to start in your “second position” – not your “first”. What this means is this. When you put your hands on the plates, you are normally very deep (first position) but as soon as you pull, your hands will either rotate slightly or slip slightly – then settle into the actual position they will keep throughout the lift (second position). That very deep first position is where most of the trouble comes from as the webbing is stretched over the edge so tightly and then pulled on. This is also what Jedd talks about when he shows placing the edge of the plate “on” the thumb instead of deep in the webbing. There should be as little movement as possible when you pull – once things start to slip, they usually keep on going.

• The 2HP is an isometric exercise and all the old research shows that it only develops strength in a fairly narrow range to each side of the position trained. So using various widths has advantages and disadvantages in a way. Even after you settle in on a best width for you – continue to do some work to either side of that setting on occasion.

• Irradiation – is a term popularized by Pavel but it’s been around a long time. At its base is the idea that tensing your whole body will allow individual muscles or areas of muscles to obtain higher tension levels than if used alone. This works but for myself and for only this event – I have as much success by targeted tension in associated areas as with whole body but it took a while to get this. Definitely try using this.

• Discover what it takes for you to get even pressure from all parts of your hands. In general this will mean strengthening your thumbs, but more importantly your ring and pinky fingers and then learning to rotate into the weaker fingers using your lats and not your elbows as the driving force producer. This is so much easier to show than to describe. Another big thing is learning to pinch with the palm itself – try lifting the bare apparatus but not allowing the fingers to touch the plates, just the base knuckles if that makes sense – this is a great way to find your width really.

• Something I learned climbing is that the muscles in the hands don’t give much if any indication when they are done – they just quit all of a sudden. No pump or noticeable signs of impending doom – just done.

• Everyone knows about using a “tilt” but really most people don’t understand it at all. Train with a front load and a back load trying to maintain the same degree of tilt each way until you actually start understanding “why” you are tilting. And in reality, you won’t be tilting, only attempting to tilt as the weight goes up.

• Understand that the two hand and one hand pinch setups are quite different. Your thumb placement and difference in ability to twist into the plates changes everything. A 2HP of 180 may not even be close to a one hand pinch of 2 45s for example.

• Surface area contact is key – this is a part of the right width key – I know when I lose contact from the tips of my thumbs and feel it only part way, that I have messed up and rolled too far over to the finger side – and it will cost me 10 or more pounds on the lift. This is one of the “tilt” issues you will discover – if you concentrate too much on the tilt you roll the thumbs off the back side – it’s a balancing act.

• Most people stand too far back thinking its like a dead lift on a bar – get the plates back between your feet to about the arch level – again you need to find the best spot for you – not someone else.

• Pull smoothly off the floor (don’t jerk) and pull only an inch or so above the bar – not to a full standing position when it counts – do what you want in training of course.

• Head up or head down can change the lift more than you might think – something to work with. Another variable is feet – angled out, straight ahead, or toed in just a bit makes more of a difference than you might expect. Foot spacing is a biggie – as a general rule you want to squat the weight up but many very good pinchers dead lift it up. What seems to be a good indicator is if you sumo or regular DL – again find what’s best for you.

By now you’ve no doubt noticed I haven’t told you “how” to do the lift – it’s not how I think. Over the years I have trained with so many people that I have completely given up on telling people that “this” is what you need to do. I found that when they do the work and stick with it – listen to their bodies and experiment – that they do so much better. After learning the basics - the differences between people are just too great to say – “Do it this way”. The object here is to lift more weight on the David Horne 2HP – and while I have talked a lot about the feel of the lift, it’s the weight lifted that is the trump card – if it feels right it “probably” is but maybe not. If whatever you try feels crappy but more weight comes up – guess what?

They are lots of tricks so to speak you can employ to get stronger for the lift but that’s another article – figure out your technique and width first. Just doing the lift will take you a long way before you’ll need anything special.

Hope this helps in some small way.

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Great advice. Hopefully will boost my Arizona record to come, so as long as I don't overthink it on the platform.

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Chris,

From all the experience that you have, what kind of training methods have worked for you, both in traditional lifting and grip training?

Do you train to get stronger in your grip lifts the same way you do in other traditional lifts?

Thanks for doing this.

-Tom

Chris,

From all the experience that you have, what kind of training methods have worked for you, both in traditional lifting and grip training?

Do you train to get stronger in your grip lifts the same way you do in other traditional lifts?

Thanks for doing this.

-Tom

Tom – I am currently writing a book on my life and training – not that it will ever be finished or even available to the public the way things look but it does help me pull some thoughts together perhaps. I believe every kind of training works as long as it meets some general requirements.

It must meet the goal it is targeted for – the best bench press program in the world is going to be a huge failure if you want to run a marathon for example. And weight lifting is not the only way to get to many goals – even though it is often a good choice as an “add on”. Athletes especially need to understand that “sport” is not the same as “weight room” unless the sport is the weight lifting. It’s not so much that you become too strong as much as you a) you think getting strong is more important than sport practice and spend time you should be doing the sport lifting weights – or b) you train improperly and get “slow strong” which hurts sport performance.

It must be safe – for you and where you are right now, not where you want to be later on or where you think you should be that day. Not safe for someone else who may have a very different background than you. A hang board routine that helps me with my 31 year climbing background may not be suitable for you right now for example.

It must be progressive in some manner that gets you closer to your goals with the equipment you have. It is called progressive resistance training for a reason – but people have taken that to always mean more weight lifted for one rep these days. So often better movement skills or technique will trump raw strength development for almost all goals outside of competitive lifting sports and often even then.

You must also realize that there is a price to pay down the road for everything you do – if you realize this, you may be able to compensate in certain ways to minimize that price as you age. There is a huge difference between lifting for your health and lifting for competition – even if it is just competition with yourself. There needs to be some balance developed between the two on and off season (you do have an off season don’t you?) You cannot pound yourself senseless forever without a pretty high price to be paid somewhere down the road.

When you look at training over a lifetime instead of over a few months or a year you begin to look at things differently (this is hard to do looking forward – it works much better looking backJ). You begin to realize that Arthur Jones’s HIT protocol does work – high volume does work – negatives do work – isometrics do work – 3 sets of 10 or 5 x 5 or 3 x 3 – 531 or any other Guru titled workout - everything works for a finite length of time at the proper point in one’s training life. The whole problem is will it work for you where you are in your training life at the moment and where you are trying to get to with your training right now? Nothing works the same way forever for everyone. Some people can do the same 3 lifts for years and progress without injury or any problems – most of us cannot. Forcing yourself into a program that is not right for you at the current time is the single biggest mistake I see people making.

I think people read forums and Blogs for advice way too often and books by successful people not often enough. I’m not a complete believer of scientific studies that much either – many of them are not done with higher level lifters and most studies seem to find just what they thought they would find when they started out. I have learned a lot from those people actually out there doing – not just studying. The Russians and old York Weight Lifters knew a lot – and the things they did with isometrics are very good to know in regards to our grip training as much of what we do happens in an isometric manner (forget the Dianabol they were using – the things they learned about isometrics are still very valid in proper context). Read the Sportivy Press books – they contain a goldmine of information. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel so to speak with our training – we just need to do it and log our personal reaction to the different methods – then use that information in the future to design programs for continued progress. If you aren’t keeping a training journal – and not reading it with a critical eye towards what works and what doesn’t for you – you are missing out on many important things you can learn about yourself. We are all an experiment of one and I cannot say it enough that you have to understand yourself and how you react to different training methods to reach your potential. Learn to think for yourself.

I think I'm caught up for now.

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Currently I am concentrating on bending and grippers at the same time, my question is - are they a good mix to have and how many times per week do you think I should be doing one or the other or both?

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Currently I am concentrating on bending and grippers at the same time, my question is - are they a good mix to have and how many times per week do you think I should be doing one or the other or both?

Josh - Personally I don't think they are a good combo as both put major pressure on the palm of your hands pretty much in the same spot - which could be an issue as the strength goes up as the forces get high. I am assuming you mean Double Overhand bending? Reverse might work out better. If the palm isn't an issue I don't see why the two couldn't be made to work together with proper programing that allowed over compensation to occur. Personalty I would do them alternating workouts and not together to start and see how that goes.

As for how often - start at once a week - go to twice - then 3 times a week and see how it goes with recovery etc. You want as much work as you can recover and overcompensate from - but not a rep more than that. Something to consider is to forget about "weeks" and think about days instead. What if you considered an 8 or 9 or 10 day rotation instead of a "week" - I find it much easier to program my workouts this way and work in the time I need to fit everything in. I like a 9 day week often with 3 different workouts I rotate.

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Chris, you mentioned rotational strength a bit back. I recently made a little device that trains wrist torque with a specific application to 2hp. It is basically 2 small pieces of a 2x6 hinged together with outward facing hooks for rubber bands. Do you think it is beneficial to train torque dynamically through a very small ROM or just to focus on isometrics? I'd upload a picture but I don't have one on this pc.

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Chris, you mentioned rotational strength a bit back. I recently made a little device that trains wrist torque with a specific application to 2hp. It is basically 2 small pieces of a 2x6 hinged together with outward facing hooks for rubber bands. Do you think it is beneficial to train torque dynamically through a very small ROM or just to focus on isometrics? I'd upload a picture but I don't have one on this pc.

Jon Umperville just posted a picture on my facebook of something like this that he made - I'm already planning to make one. I think anytime you can train something with movement (even if the movement is small) that it will prove healthier over the long run than purely isometrics. Will it make you stringer than an isometric contraction remains to be seen I guess. Thanks for bringing up a neat new idea that can benefit us all - please post a picture for us when you can.

Edited by climber511
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Nice! Easy to make with common tools and very little expense - great idea!

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