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Quest For Gripstrength Starting With Gripper #3


Geralt

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Well. Dusting myself off. Was so close. It hurts. Keywords: revenge, redemption, relentless persuit, etc.

Today's work.

My setup will unfold as I go in this log. Also ordered some new toys: Manus Grips, and a 162 BBE from CPW.

Bw 224 lbs / 102 kg

  • Several bodyweight hangs with Fatgripz Extreme, DO and DU, best hanging time is 15 seconds. See if I can up this time.
  • Several bw hangs DU (palms facing forward) with cocked hands and arm halfway chinup position (arms about 90 degrees);

I can tell you this fries the lowerarms and fingers like nothing. My tendons already felt pretty 'dead' in my lower arms.

Did some light Trapbar work up to 150 kg, but I am very careful with my back and my legs are still sore from last Saturday. The tension and BW squats 4 x 25 made my legs very sore apparently. Left my legs for what they are today.

Close grip benching with homemade axle, starting very light, emphasizing the triceps. Better for my shoulder. 4 x 10;

Tricep extensions with Kettlebells, high reps 12 kg.

Tricep pulldowns with chain and towel. Triceps also fried.

Several arm movements with kettlebells held in the same angle, so the bulb is pointing forward when the arm is in 90 degree position.

Trying to feel what works the wrists best and what is doable for my right arm.

Plate curls for the extensors lower arms (arm on bench, pinching 5 kg plate and palms facing the floor)

Vulcan with orange spring and thumbscrews .Various sets.

Lower arms are dead.

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Quickie tonight.

Squats after warming up 82kg 5 x 5. Starting low.

Dumbbell rows after warming up max out sets for reps with 35kg.

Planks 5 x 1 minute.

Lower arms deep, deep doms because of thickbarwork Monday.

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Did grippers today. Just had to feel some grippers in my hand again. I have filed my #3. In this video I give some explaining in what I do. Just for fun.

I wasn't fully recovered because of last Monday's thickbarwork. It made my lowerarms sore as hell.

The video is just an impression of what I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9nLrEzfX74&feature=youtu.be

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Intense stuff Geralt!

Maybe too intense. At least with other strenght stuff I generally notice better gains if I keep a little bit in the tank. However I'm not really sure yet if that related to crushing grip as well.

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Well, that is also one of the keypoints you are mentioning now I am still looking for. Very intense sessions with long recovery periods VS less intense sessions with shorter recovery periods. In general I can say that the more volume I use (when doing less intense work), breaks down my strength very fast. Sure I could do more gripperwork in a certain period, but I would be working with grippers around 2, maybe 2.5 at best. Level #3 grippers are so much harder that I can't seem to find benefit from doing lots of work with 'lower' grippers if you understand what I mean.

I can't imagine how more volume would benefit me. KTA is the extreme version of that but I think that does not benefit CCS/TNS strength at all for the higher grippers. I once read that David Horne advocates three sessions per week for grippers. I have no clue what that setup should be. In terms of volume and resistance per session. I know Adam Glass also worked by doing lots of volume some periods almost every day but let's be honest, you and I have also lives (no offence meant) outside training with work, kids, household and a house outside to maintain.

So at this moment, my best shot is giving it all I have per session with grippers. I am however not going balls out with regular strengthtraining and other gripwork as thickbar. My lower arms just were shot because I have done very little thickbar work lately.

But even without going balls out, when I do good thickbarwork, I just know that I need at least 6 - 8 days of no direct gripwork for optimal gripperwork after that. I did my grippersession today but as you can see I could barely do one #3 straphold and that cost me very much strength. Better would be that I would have done a grippersession somewhere next week, wednesday or so. I just wanted to test some movements and stuff. I give myself a month for that to get that mental 'down' feeling from my failed cert out of the way.

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I was meaning to put in today's training before I saw Ivan do a 463kg fingerlift with eagleloops lol I now feel puny. that said.

Energylevel was low after a nice day of keyboardwarriorship, cooking dinner, putting kids to bed etc. But the trapbar called. And I answered. :chris:

Getting into the normal training routine, carefully building it up again trying not to jerk to hard when lifting, seeing my last 205kg lifts which messed up my lower back.

55kg x 10;

95kg x 10;

135kg x 6;

140kg x 5;

155kg x 2 x 5;

135kg x 8

Dumbbell bent over rows 35kg 4 x 10;

Kettlebell swings 2 x 20 with 24kg.

I went pretty quick through this workout so I was sweating like a pig and was pretty exhausted.

Wanted to do some abs but saving it for tomorrow. Don't want to rush through the ab work.

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Squats, volume up till 80 kg, lots of sets.

Legs feel funny.

Close grip benchpressing with EZ bar. Sounds weird but this way my shoulder doesn't feel bothered. So that ok for triceps.

Was sweating like a pig, the temperature suddenly raised this day.

Tried dips but my that bothers my right shoulder to much. Very annoying. I am trying to test the ROM where it starts to feel uncomfortable in the dip and then start rising up. Maybe I can train the ROM this way. Just testing stuff.

In general I am doing just lighter weight but more reps.

Got a BBE @162lbs and a pair of Manus Grips (56mm) in the mail today from CPW! Nice.

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Try bench dips?

Feet on one bench and hands on the other, behind the back.

Weight in the lap.

Feels good on the shoulders

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Try bench dips?

Feet on one bench and hands on the other, behind the back.

Weight in the lap.

Feels good on the shoulders

Haven't tried those, maybe I will! Damn weak shoulders of mine.

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My training approach for grippers is now pretty much clear for me. More volume, more beyond the range and solid assisting work i.e. open hand/thickbar, pinch, and wristwork.

Today 15 sets of 20mm blocksetreps with a filed IM #2.5. When I can up the reps to at least 20 the first set than it's time to move on.

Discussed some training lately with Ivan and Carlos Rivera. Good stuff guys. Learned a lot recently.

I just let the camera roll. I didn't film everything but it covers a lot I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFqEzPNki4o&list=UU_y-TPakQE6zfc18qWgZW7Q

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Hey Geralt,

I'm no expert on grippers at all, but it seems to me you should train more from a Credit card set. I know everyone says that if you can mms a 170?lbs gripper you can CCS close normal #3. But isn't that a bit like saying if you can lockout 250?kg you can deadlift 200kg? It's a totally different ROM and the grippers sits differently in your hand as well. Seems to me you should practise the ROM in which you need to cert more. I know your top end crushing strenght will go down because of that, but I don't think it was your top-end crush that ultimately failed you at your cert. I think it was more likely the different set and sweep, then what you are mostly training. Just my opinion... :sick: I just hope my gripper strenght will one day be up there with yours and I can have a crack at a cert too. :grin:

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Hey Geralt,

I'm no expert on grippers at all, but it seems to me you should train more from a Credit card set. I know everyone says that if you can mms a 170?lbs gripper you can CCS close normal #3. But isn't that a bit like saying if you can lockout 250?kg you can deadlift 200kg? It's a totally different ROM and the grippers sits differently in your hand as well. Seems to me you should practise the ROM in which you need to cert more. I know your top end crushing strenght will go down because of that, but I don't think it was your top-end crush that ultimately failed you at your cert. I think it was more likely the different set and sweep, then what you are mostly training. Just my opinion... :sick: I just hope my gripper strenght will one day be up there with yours and I can have a crack at a cert too. :grin:

No problem Roy, I am also not an expert on these things lol, so your insight is pretty much welcome! That said, the general idea is indeed that when mastering a 3.3 gripper one should be able to start thinking about CCS #3 work. BUT. There is a lot of difference between getting a 3.3 level gripper closed and mastering it with a true parallel set (paused / 20 mm blockset). So, in that case, being able to close a IM3.5 should be more realistic.

My sweep is not the problem, it's the final part. CCS is a technique, but I want to practise it not earlier anymore than when I can mash my 3.5 or Ghp8. I just need some more topcrush.

I have done a lot of heavy gripperwork every time and working singles and haven't gotten a lot of progression when looking back the last year, year and a half. So I am doing something not good. For me, that is. So that's why I have started doing gripperwork Beyond the range and more volume. Discussed this also with Ivan B. And he has also good experience with this, that when the volume is upped, base strength will get bigger and so all other parameters also will rise. Volume is killing but it doesn't kill the tendons as much as doing very heavy grippercloses every week.

So when I can do more MMS closes with my filed 2.5 (20), I have seen progression and I will progress to volume with my BBGM. Etc. From time to time I also work heavy grippers, but this way I can measure progression. and that is more motivational than huffing and puffing on a max gripper from week to week, and in all the sessions it never gets closed, know what I mean? I think this, for me, is a very good setup and will stay with that for a while.

In perspective: normally on a typically average workout for grippers I would normally - after warming up - do 2 or 3 attempts on a goal gripper, a few 3 closes and than my hands would be wasted. So that's maybe 10? closes, of which a few even misses. Last session I now did about 75 grippercloses working right and around 80 workingcloses left. And I can tell ya, after 15 sets, the 2.5 starts to begin feeling like a #3 when setting and the skin is burning. I even had a sore shoulder yesterday evening. So I came to the conclusion I have girly hands and this is good for me lol

Edited by Geralt
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Definitely sounds like a new direction for you with the grippers. Good stuff. 20 blockset closes with a filed 2.5 would be pretty awesome in it's own right!

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Definitely sounds like a new direction for you with the grippers. Good stuff. 20 blockset closes with a filed 2.5 would be pretty awesome in it's own right!

Hope so! It's just trial and error all in all. It takes time. Same as it wouldn't make any sense for me to DL or bench against my max week after week. It worked for a while though. I remember the time I thought it was impossible

to close a #3. Now I can close any #3 with a wide set. It just takes some time to make a consistent CCS happen.

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Trapbar deadlift

10 x 55 kg;

8 x 95 kg;

6 x 135 kg;

8 x 160 kg;

10 x 135 kg.

Goodmorning 3 x 60kg supersetted with

One arm dumbbellcurls, 4 x 8 @ 35kg.

Planking, several sets, best hold was the first one, 3.40 minutes. I have neglected this one for a while. I want to get it up to 5 minutes.

Saw a guy on YT doing a plank for almost one and a half hour. So freakin' sick!

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Building it up very gently, don't want to hit a plateau soon again. So here also more volume.

Had to train today since I have no time tomorrow and Friday because of a wedding. Not ideal since I trained DL yesterday.

Squats

bar x 10

55 kg x 10

65 kg x 10

75 kg x 10

80 kg x 10

85 kg x 8

75 kg x 6.

Bench / EZ bar pressing. this feels better for my shoulder. I can get my hands in a more comfortable position, tuck my elbows in, etc.

Maybe a bar with neutral grip would be good for me. I don't have the setup for that right now. Anyway, after kicking my ego out of the door. Finally no pain when pushing like this.

bar x 10

55 x 10

65 x 10

75 x 10

70 x 10

55 x 15

Got a phone call, left training for what it was.

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Yesterday my brother's wedding, so understandably I wasn't in bed before deep into the night. Also some beer consumption. Little bit :)

But tomorrow busy day, driving around due to family obligations, so I had to do grippertraining today. Another volume session.

Skin was burning like hell and I had to tape my pinkies.

Gripperworkout in roughly one and a half hour.

All true 20mm blocksets.

15 sets with filed IM#2.5 right hand: total of 84 reps (16 reps on 1st set);

15 sets with filed IM#2 both handles left hand: total of 98 reps, (22 reps on 1st set).

That's a 9 rep total pr more than last session righty and 13 rep total pr lefty.

After that some open handwork. I noticed my energy levels dropping quite a bit so I quit.

Edited by Geralt
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Trapbar Deadlift:

55kg x 10

95kg x 10

135kg x 8

155kg x 10

135kg 3 x 3 as explosive as possible, like I was going to clean the trapbar. Sort of.

Squats

55kg x 10

75kg x 10

85kg 2 x 5 normal

2 x 5, 2 seconds paused every rep at the bottom.

In between supersetted with one arm dumbbellrows @ 35kg;

Extensor work for the lower arms with barbell, 4 x 10 @35kg. Just going for the burn (moving wrists like gasthrottle and short hold per rep)

3 x 20 kettlebell swings with 24kg KB.

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