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Donati's Log Of Steel Bending, Grip And Powerlifting


Buccos1

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Thur (10/9)

Deadlifts

(2x5) 135

(2x3) 225

(2x2) 315

(1x2) 405

(1x2) 425 - add suit/straps down

(1x1) 455

(1x1) 505 - straps up

This was my first "official" workout in my new gym. There is still a million things that need to be done, but it was nice to lift on my own equipment, and with a bar that actually has good knurling!

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Sat (10/11)

1-hand Axle Deadlift

(1x1) 105

(2x1) 125

(2x1) 135

1-hand Euro

(1x1) 65

(1x0) 75

Ironmind Hub

(1x1) 50

(1x1) 60

DO - IMPs

Yellow Nail

1/4 x 7" Square

Red Nail

Horseshoes - 1.2" suede

Diamond Bronco PL000 - 130 deg.

The 135 on the axle felt solid, but is pretty close to my max on the 1-hand lift. The Euro felt awesome on the 65, and I was actually able to break ground on the 75 (a few inches), but nothing on a few attempts after that. My "seasoning" on the Euro has been all over the place lately. Too much chalk it seems, and my fingers slip easily. I actually seem to be doing better with a cleaner surface.

The PL000 was a tougher one, and fought me every degree. That and not having done a shoe in awhile made for a good workout.

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Sun (10/12)

Squats - briefs

(1x3) 135

(1x2) 225

(1x2) 315

(1x2) 405

(1x1) 435

(1x1) 475

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Mon (10/13)

Grippers

(1x3) #1

(1x3) #1.5

(1x1) GHP5

Axle Curls

(2x5) 105

Little Big Horn

(1x1) 60

(1x1) 92.5

(1x1) 110

(2x1) 120

1-hand Euro

(1x1) 45

(1x1) 55

(1x1) 65

(1x0) 72.5

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Fri (10/17)

Bench Press

(1x8) 135

(1x5) 185

(1x3) 225

(1x3) 265

(1x3) 300

Dumbell Bench Press

(2x8) 110

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Sat (10/18)

Squats

(1x5) 135

(1x3) 225

(1x2) 315

(1x2) 405 - add briefs

(1x1) 435

(1x1) 475

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Sun (10/19)

1-hand Euro

(1x3) 40

(1x3) 50

(1x2) 60

(1x0) 70

1-hand Axle Deadlift

(2x1) 125

(1x0) 135

Ironmind Hub

(1x3) 40

(1x3) 50

(1x1) 60

(1x0) 65

Grippers

(1x5) #1

(1x5) #1.5

(1x1) GHP5

Overall, today felt pretty weak all-around. My hub felt super-heavy. But, one of my fingers has been hurting from a recent session of bending, so that definitely had something to do with it. Can't remember the last time I missed 65! The Euro felt OK up until 70lbs. then I couldn't get a decent grip, as my fingers kept slipping. Just when I think I am starting to get better with this thing, I go in the opposite direction. Not a great session, but I was happy to get in some work.

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Tue (10/21)

Axle Curls

(2x5) 85

(2x5) 100

Ironmind Little Bighorn

(1x1) 77.5

(1x1) 112.5

Ironmind Hub

(1x1) 40

(1x1) 50

(1x1) 60

DO/DU - IMPs

Yellow Nail/Yellow Nail

1/4 x 7" square/1/4 x 6.75" grade 5

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Thur (10/23)

Bench Press

(1x8) 135

(1x5) 185

(1x3) 225

(1x3) 265

(1x3) 305

Dumbell Press

(2x6) 110

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Sat (10/25)

King Kong Grip Challenge

1-hand Pinch

65 - no lift

65 - no lift

65 - good

70 - no lift

1-hand Axle Deadlift

116 - no lift

123 - good

131 - good

136 - no lift

Ironmind Hub

54 - good

61 - good

65 - no lift

65 - no lift

Little Bighorn

112 - good

117 - good

123 (?) - no lift

First off, I had a great experience competing at Jedd's for the first time. First time ever in NE PA too, which made an interesting trip! Had no GPS for about 30 miles and had no clue where I was. But, I am upset with my performance overall, especially on the hub.

My training wasn't that great going in, but I was able to get some consistent sessions in, so it wasn't that much of an issue. On the Euro, I just couldn't get a comfortable grip, and ended up tearing my thumb pad pretty good on the 3rd and 4th attempts. This messed me up on the axle and hub, or at least threw off my numbers a little. I just couldn't get a good position on the hub. The axle for me under the best of conditions is pretty weak, so I don't think it was too much of a big deal.

I ended up switching hands on the Little Bighorn from my right to left, which affected my results. (Most of my focused training was on the right hand.) The left attempts actually felt OK the first two attempts, but real weak when it started to get heavy.

I was hoping to get 65-70 on the Hub, so was really disappointed with my results. I thought about switching to my left after the thumb pad tear, but my left is at least 5lbs. off of my right, so I kept with it.

A few notes from the experience:

--Jedd's place is really awesome! He has some sick equipment. Just wish I could've stuck around longer to mess around with some stuff, but had a long trip ahead.

--It was cool meeting new people in grip ... some really impressive lifts too. It was cool meeting Frank who I "met" before from bending.

--It was awesome seeing Jedd attempt the Silver Bullet. He didn't get the record, but came so close. And to see him surpass his first attempt with a longer second attempt was pretty sick.

--Next time I am out Jedds' way, I will be better prepared with directions and not so reliant on GPS (which I had zero connection with-thanks Sprint!)

--I still have a TON of work to do with the Euro. Getting some tips from Jedd made a difference ... little things. Like when I missed 65 twice, and then made a slight alteration, and got it pretty easy on the next attempt.

--Getting the thumb tear sucked. But I was happy I was able to regroup and at least put up OK numbers, all things considered.

--I did not have my music, which sucks, and for anyone that knows me or has seen me lift/bend, knows it is a huge part of my mental approach to training. Having no cell service on my phone changed these plans for me, but goes back to me should of having a back up plan, or at least an old CD player or something.

--I am going to re-dedicate myself to the Hub, and am setting a new PR goal of 75lbs!!!

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Carl, I think you did pretty good! Especially considering that you haven't trained much since you were in the middle of a move. It's not about the numbers you put up, it's about whether you have fun and learn stuff, and it seems you did both of those. So it was a success. Happy training brother!

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Nice performances at the contest, Carl! Looks strong to me man.

Carl, I think you did pretty good! Especially considering that you haven't trained much since you were in the middle of a move. It's not about the numbers you put up, it's about whether you have fun and learn stuff, and it seems you did both of those. So it was a success. Happy training brother!

Thanks guys! All-in-all, I was happy with getting a chance to compete, the experience and overcoming some issues. But a little disappointed in not putting up the numbers I was capable of. Especially with the hub ... 9 times out of 10, any given day, 65 is going up easy. That's one of the most frustrating things. Hopefully, I can do Gripmas again this year (baby is due in late-December). Not my better events, but I'm hoping to get the axle and euro up these next few months. 300 remains an attainable goal I think, with some work.

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Tue (10/28)

Squats

(1x5) 135

(1x3) 225

(1x2) 315

(1x2) 405 - add briefs

(1x1) 440

(1x1) 475

(1x2) 405

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Wed (10/29)

Ironmind Hub

(1x1) 40

(1x1) 50

(1x1) 55

(1x1) 60

Ironmind Hub - Holds

50 - 10 seconds

50 - 10 seconds

55 - 10 seconds

GripTopz Stub

(1x1) 30

(1x1) 32.5

(1x0) 35

1" V-bar

(1x1) 115

(1x1) 175

(1x1) 210

Rolling Thunder

(1x1) 77.5

(1x1) 112.5

(1x0) 125

Sledge Deadlift

(1x1) 144

(1x1) 156

(1x1) 168

Grippers - MMS

(1x5) #1

(1x5) #1.5

(1x1) GHP5

I tried to alter my finger placement on the Hub, to no avail. Even trying to angle my thumb felt way off and somewhat painful. I'm going to incorporate some holds with the Hub to see if it makes any difference in my overall numbers. I tried the RT for the first time in 3 months, and it felt really weak. I have always had great difficulty with the RT, but with some focused training over the summer, was able to get it up to 140 from 120. But, apparently, my baseline with this thing is around 115-120, and all progress is lost if I don't train it.

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Thur (10/30)

Axle Curls

(1x8) 85

(2x5) 105

Rolling Thunder

(1x1) 112.5

(1x1) 117.5

(1x1) 122.5

Axle Deadlift - Double Overhand

(1x3) 125

(1x3) 195

(1x0) 250

Sledge Levers - F/R

I've never been that good at fatbar-type lifting (RT/axle) and lose any gains if I don't train them regularly. (My best DO axle earlier in the year was about 280 and my RT max was 140.) I had to really work to make small gains in these lifts the past few years. (Having small (er)-sized hands doesn't help, but can't do anything about that.) Despite that, I actually like training the axle and Rolling Thunder. Anyway, I hope to at least get back to where I was at earlier in the year, with some focused training, and hopefully compete at Gripmas next month.

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Carl, I noticed you attempt max weight pretty frequently. Sometimes using different metrics to see track forward progress can keep you gaining ground without stagnating. Maybe tracking total reps at 80% or below or see how total volume you can work up to in a session for specific lifts.

In my experience, maxing frequently burns me out and can be discouraging if you're not hitting your marks. I improved on axle when I was regularly doing high rep rows with fat DBs. Right now I'm doing sets of 5 regular and 3 thumbless at a slowly increasing weight and slowly increasing volume. Just a thought.

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Carl, I noticed you attempt max weight pretty frequently. Sometimes using different metrics to see track forward progress can keep you gaining ground without stagnating. Maybe tracking total reps at 80% or below or see how total volume you can work up to in a session for specific lifts.

In my experience, maxing frequently burns me out and can be discouraging if you're not hitting your marks. I improved on axle when I was regularly doing high rep rows with fat DBs. Right now I'm doing sets of 5 regular and 3 thumbless at a slowly increasing weight and slowly increasing volume. Just a thought.

3-5 sets of 3 has helped my axle, (as well as 3-5 sets of 3 with my warm up sets) the hard part for me is fighting the urge not to max out

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It is very tough for me to not push myself to my max on any given workout. Even with training for lifting events, I have always had a hard time not grinding out that last attempt/rep at 99-100% of max. With lifting, this has served me well, as my lifts have continuously gone up, while bodyweight went down ... and age went up. But training grip more specifically this past year has got me thinking about taking some different approaches, including not maxing out all the time (which I know I shouldn't be doing!) and including more reps to work on technique, and including more timed holds (which I have started doing recently with the Hub). I appreciate the advice too!

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Sun (11/2)

Bench Press

(1x8) 135

(1x5) 185

(1x3) 225

(1x3) 265

(1x2) 305

Speed Bench - chains

(5x3) 175

Rolling Thunder

(1x3) 77.5

(1x3) 102.5

(1x1) 112.5

(1x1) 125

GripTopz Stub

(1x1) 25

(1x1) 30

Grippers - MMS

(1x3) #1

(1x3) #1.5

(1x1) GHP5

DO - IMPs

Yellow Nail

1/4 x 6" Grade 5

Red Nail

Today was my first "official" bench session in my new gym. I finally got around to rebuilding one of my powerracks, so it was great to be able to bench on my own stuff again. Speed Bench was a little slow, so I might need to knock the weight down 10lbs. The Rolling Thunder felt better today than the past two sessions.

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Mon (11/3)

2-hand Pinch

(1x3) 45

(1x3) 95

(1x1) 135

(1x0) 140

Axle Deadlift - Double Overhand

(1x2) 195

(1x1) 245

Rolling Thunder Holds

7 seconds -- 112.5

9 seconds -- 112.5

Ironmind Hub Holds

10 seconds -- 50

10 seconds -- 55

Sledge Levers - F/R

(2x8)

First attempts at 2-hand pinch in a long time. Felt OK at 135, then was messing around with different hand prep. techniques, and couldn't get it right. I'm going to do some experimenting at different widths to try and find the "right" spot for me. Generally, I have been in the 42-48mm range.

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Thur (11/6)

2-hand Pinch

(1x3) 95

(1x3) 115

(1x1) 135

Rolling Thunder

(1x1) 112.5

(1x1) 122.5

(1x1) 127.5

GripTopz Stub

(1x1) 25

(1x1) 30

(1x1) 32.5

1" V-bar

(1x1) 115

(1x1) 165

(1x1) 210

I started feeling sick yesterday and my temperature was up a little, but I needed to get some work in. Not too bad considering how I felt.

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Sat (11/8)

Squats

(1x5) 135

(1x3) 225

(1x2) 315

(1x2) 405 - add briefs

(1x1) 455

First squat workout in new garage gym! Aside from it being really cold outside (gonna have to get used to not being in my basement anymore), everything felt OK.

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Sun (11/9)

2-hand Pinch

(1x3) 45

(1x3) 95

(1x3) 115

(1x1) 135

(1x1) 145

Rolling Thunder

(1x3) 112.5

(1x1) 120

(1x0) 130

Axle Deadlift - Double Overhand

(1x3) 125

(1x3) 215

(1x1) 235

(1x1) 245

(1x1) 250

Ironmind Hub - Holds

10 sec. - 40

10 sec. - 50

5 sec. - 60

1" V-bar

(1x1) 165

(1x1) 215

Grippers

(1x5) #1

(1x5) #1.5

(1x1) GHP5

Overall, today's workout was excellent. The top set on the Euro was starting to slip, but all other reps felt solid. The 130 miss on the Rolling Thunder broke the ground, but slipped out of my hands about half-way up. Slowly, my axle strength is starting to return to where it was earlier in the year. I did my top set on grippers with the GHP5, and actually held it shut for a few seconds, with the close feeling strong. Right after that, I tried for a second rep, but couldn't get it.

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Mon (11/10)

Bench Press

(1x8) 135

(1x5) 185

(1x3) 225

(1x3) 265

(1x2) 305

Speed Bench Press - chains

(8x3) 145

Wide-grip Bench Press

(2x8) 225

Lying Dumbell Extensions

(1x8) 30

(1x5) 30

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