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"the Formulator"


Dave Lemanczyk

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Grip master John Wood is an extremely humble man. I have personally witnessed him perform incredible feats of grip strength and flexibility in an extremely calm and positive manner. As an educated man and the son of a former professional football strength coach, I understand exactly where he is coming from. In one word, experience.

"The Formulator" on his web site www.functionalhandstrength.com, is the finest accessory piece of equipment I have ever implemented for my lower arms. "The Formulator" is available from a man (John Wood) who is a Grip Master and who also implements "The Formulator" in his own personal physical training.

Do you think using "The Formulator" will improve you physically?

Honestly, if it doesn't work for you it is definitely because you failed to put in the proper effort. This lower arm developer is the finest and one that ALL professional athletes and non-professional athletes should be implementing for their lower arms.

I mention professional athletes first because most athletics require a great deal of lower arm specific work. Athletes also make their living using their bodies physically; therefore they need it to perform at the highest possible level. If they do not work, sometimes they will not be paid.

Doesn't this also sound like a manual laborer? There are no coincidences.

Does it make sense for someone who works on a performance basis be prepared to perform in their sport/employment by using "The Formulator"?

I know the answer to these questions and the current and former athletes/employees know as well; yes.

Anyone who does not participate in athletics needs to improve their lower arms simply because grip training is as essential as breathing. We all need improvement and this physical tool enables you to unlock the potential in your lower arms through leverage. You NEED strong, durable and flexible lower arms without excuses.

John Wood has given this one out for the world to take. When you use "The Formulator" you will understand my words. Full ranges of motion and all ranges of motion. This is a gift. I would advise each and every one of you to save your money and purchase "The Formulator". There is no substitute for this piece of equipment as homemade versions are not even close to the real thing. This is a piece of equipment that I continually advocate to any athlete I work with or speak with regarding lower arm specific training. Watch things happen!

Sincerely,

Dave Lemanczyk

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I dunno....I don't see what the difference between the formulator or a homemade version would be.

It's just two pieces of wood/steal/plastic/whatever, running parallel with space for the hands and a loading pin.

I'd rather build my own for 15-20 bucks and save the other $250+ for something better.

nice review though, makes me want to build my own quick :)

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I don't really want to ripple any waters here, but I have to say this. I ordered & received a Formulator about a month & a half ago. It's a fine piece of equipment, but I must admit that I have been a little disappointed at how little difference there seems to be between it and the dumbell-superset wrist curls I have been doing. In my dumbell wrist curl superset (at a gym with a full complement of hex dumbells), I take 2 db's & do 15-25 wrist curls (flexion/pronation), then grab about 10 lbs lighter db's & do 15-25 hammer-wrist curls, then grab about 10 lbs even lighter & do 15-25 reverse wrist curls (extension/supination). 2-3 supersets of this, and my forearms (and grip) are fried. I had hoped the Formulator would be much more wicked than even this. Unfortunately, so far I haven't experienced that. It's definitely comparable, but it's not significantly more intense. The grip is less fried, but the forearms don't feel any more worked out. I find this unfortunate (particularly since I spent $175).

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people have been performing incredible beats before and after formulator. personally, i think it is the same as doing barbell wrist and reverse curls. just cause you can't curl as much weight with formulator, don't mean they don't work the same muscles. wrist and forearms. don't see john brookfield, richard, david, etc going all gung ho about it. waste of money. thats just another matt furey like scam. hey! i got two rubber paddings that will make you have the strongest grip in the world, crush the four, pop beer cans, rip cards in half. for only two hundred dollars you can achieve these goals. you want to buy my rubber paddings. and i will throw in a free "killer grip" kelby training course(worth forty dollars) to help you achieve your goal faster. come on you guys, quit buying everything you read on the net. save your money and do some good old hard work. sweat is the lubricant of success.

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come on you guys, quit buying everything you read on the net. save your money and do some good old hard work.

This sentence is all that need be said.

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What I don't understand is why taking the thumbs out of forearm extension is a good thing. If your thumbs don't have the forceps-like strength to keep the bar in place, maybe that's a weakness that needs to be addressed.

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the Formulator works very good guys and yes you can still get strong without it. but I am glad we got one I our gym. I love it. That is fine if you think it is a over priced scam to get you to spend $. Just don't buy it then. Let us fools waste our $ on it. I guess i don't understand why it is such a big deal when it comes to this stuff on here. If you don't like it don't buy it and leave it at that. Just my thoughts.

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the Formulator works very good guys and yes you can still get strong without it. but I am glad we got one I our gym. I love it. That is fine if you think it is a over priced scam to get you to spend $. Just don't buy it then. Let us fools waste our $ on it. I guess i don't understand why it is such a big deal when it comes to this stuff on here. If you don't like it don't buy it and leave it at that. Just my thoughts.

I don't understand why people can't post their opinions on a product, good or bad.

Dave posted a review touting the formulator and some people are responding with thoughts on both sides. no harm done.

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I think to post an opinion of a product, it would be needed to have or have tried the product. I would say almost every person that gets on here and screams scam or bad mouths the Formulator has never even tried one. Now if you have one and don't like it, by all means post your opinion. Good an bad opinions are what helps people decide to buy products, but to have never tried a real Formulator and to post an "opinion", that is hard to do. That is no a slam on anyone, just my thoughts.

I have a Formulator and I love it. IMO, it is better than wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. When I do regular wrist curls my left wrist seems to pop out of place, does not happen with the Formulator. I work my thumb enough with blocks, thicbar, and pony clamps. Taking the thumb out allows me to work my extensors more. My main reasons for buying the Formulator, I wanted one to try. Also, all of my grip work is done in my house, no room to store heavy db's or a barbell for training, the formulator takes up no room. I can do an entire grip workout, grippers, pinch, thumbs and forearms in 20-30 minutes and be absolutly killed.

About people doing amzing things before the Formulator was invented, yest they were. People have been doing amazing things for a very long time. People were doing amazing things with hand strength before there were grippers, the blobs, or wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. People can choose what they want to train and how they want to train it. I don't think anyone has said buying a Formulator is the only way to build strong hands. It has probably been said that it will help, and that is not a lie. Can you build them other ways, yup sure can.

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I think to post an opinion of a product, it would be needed to have or have tried the product. I would say almost every person that gets on here and screams scam or bad mouths the Formulator has never even tried one. Now if you have one and don't like it, by all means post your opinion. Good an bad opinions are what helps people decide to buy products, but to have never tried a real Formulator and to post an "opinion", that is hard to do. That is no a slam on anyone, just my thoughts.

I have a Formulator and I love it. IMO, it is better than wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. I work my thumb enough with blocks, thicbar, and pony clamps. Taking the thumb out allows me to work my extensors more. My main reasons for buying the Formulator, I wanted one to try. Also, all of my grip work is done in my house, no room to store heavy db's or a barbell for training, the formulator takes up no room. I can do an entire grip workout, grippers, pinch, thumbs and forearms in 20-30 minutes and be absolutly killed.

About people doing amzing things before the Formulator was invented, yest they were. People have been doing amazing things for a very long time. People were doing amazing things with hand strength before there were grippers, the blobs, or wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. People can choose what they want to train and how they want to train it. I don't think anyone has said buying a Formulator is the only way to build strong hands. It has probably been said that it will help, and that is not a lie. Can you build them other ways, yup sure can.

I guess the problem is when someone's "review" of a product is less a review and more like doing the person selling it a favor. Now that I have reread the original post, Dave doesn't specifically mention using the formulator or what it does/did for him.

However, your review of the product was much more informative and includes personal experience.

Edited by joeyg
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I am 51. I wanted to improve my Rolling Thunder. I decided that I needed to strengthen my wrists. I did wrist curls for 3 years, reverse and regular. My PR stayed the same for 3 years. I got the Formulator this summer. My best has gone from 187 to 202. My best in competition went from 177 to 196.

I knew about a competition in March of 2005 that was going to have a wrist roller event. I knew about it months in advance. I purchased a wrist roller from IM, and worked it extensively for months. I came in 6th out of 8 in the ten event competion, my worst performance. There was another competition I entered in November. I did zero wrist roller workouts between March and November, but had been using the Formulator for a few months. I came in first place in the wrist roller event. Kevin Bussi, Ronnie Castro, and Dan Harrison were in the same competition.

My son uses the Formulator way more than I. He has small hands, stays away from Rolling Thunder. He has never done a wrist roll in his life. He has been a mechanic for 3 years. In the 6 months he has been using the Formulator, his forearms started looking like a bodybuilder's.

None of these are "cause and effect", and are nonscientific. I am not saying they are because of the Formulator. Who knows, maybe at age 51, you suddenly hit unexplained PRs. Or maybe a guy that uses his hands every day has his forearms balloon out when he turns 24 from wishing they were bigger. It could happen.

Hubgeezer

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I think to post an opinion of a product, it would be needed to have or have tried the product. I would say almost every person that gets on here and screams scam or bad mouths the Formulator has never even tried one. Now if you have one and don't like it, by all means post your opinion. Good an bad opinions are what helps people decide to buy products, but to have never tried a real Formulator and to post an "opinion", that is hard to do. That is no a slam on anyone, just my thoughts.

I have a Formulator and I love it. IMO, it is better than wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. I work my thumb enough with blocks, thicbar, and pony clamps. Taking the thumb out allows me to work my extensors more. My main reasons for buying the Formulator, I wanted one to try. Also, all of my grip work is done in my house, no room to store heavy db's or a barbell for training, the formulator takes up no room. I can do an entire grip workout, grippers, pinch, thumbs and forearms in 20-30 minutes and be absolutly killed.

About people doing amzing things before the Formulator was invented, yest they were. People have been doing amazing things for a very long time. People were doing amazing things with hand strength before there were grippers, the blobs, or wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. People can choose what they want to train and how they want to train it. I don't think anyone has said buying a Formulator is the only way to build strong hands. It has probably been said that it will help, and that is not a lie. Can you build them other ways, yup sure can.

Well put Heath.

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I have a formulator, I like it and use it consistently. I get a better workout with it than I did with wrist curls on a barbell/dumbell which have never felt comfortable for me. I like that I can isolate my wrists w/ the formulator so that I can train crush/pinch in the same workout without them being affected. When I did wrist roller/barbell wrist curls my grip/thumb was fried from squeezing the implement to hold it in position. The arms of the formulator are slighlty angled which is also more comfortable on my left wrist which was broken several years ago. Keeping the thumbs out of the exercise allows you to work through a greater range of motion in a safer manner. To say the formulator is a waste of money is a false statement, you can say it would be a waste of money FOR YOU, but you can't speak for other people. Example: to me the treadmill is the stupidest invention alive, you can walk/run ANYWHERE unless you live in a closet. So why spend 1000+$ for something that is free no matter where you live? But I don't go on jogging/fitness websites bashing treadmill companies because I think their product is pointless. Because I realize for others not in my situation a treadmill may be a worthwhile investment.

PS This is just my opinion I've never met or conversed with john wood, kim wood, steve w., pat p. or Dave L etc...

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I guess the problem is when someone's "review" of a product is less a review and more like doing the person selling it a favor. Now that I have reread the original post, Dave doesn't specifically mention using the formulator or what it does/did for him.

However, your review of the product was much more informative and includes personal experience.

I can assure you Dave is not the type of person to endorse a product simply out of a "favor". You're looking too much into what you *think* is going on without knowing the people you speak to, or about.

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I guess the problem is when someone's "review" of a product is less a review and more like doing the person selling it a favor. Now that I have reread the original post, Dave doesn't specifically mention using the formulator or what it does/did for him.

However, your review of the product was much more informative and includes personal experience.

I can assure you Dave is not the type of person to endorse a product simply out of a "favor". You're looking too much into what you *think* is going on without knowing the people you speak to, or about.

Knowing the people involved means nothing, I can only go by what i see and I see a review that does not contain any personal experience. So, going by what i see, it seems as if his "review" was more a favor than a "review" about a product that can produce strength gains.

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At the comp in NC I got 4 reps with the 12lb hammer with my right and 1 rep with the 10 with my left. I have done no levering work since the GGC and only formulator work. At the GGC I got the 12 once with my rt and Only a 8 with my left. Same with CHris Rice. He had done very little lever work since the GGC and and GOt the 12 like 3 times maybe 4 with his rt at ggc and 1 or 2 times with his left. At the NC comp he got the 12lb hammer 10 times rt and the 12lb hammer 5 times left . We think It is because of the formulator work we were doing. I can't talk totaly for Chris, but I was doing levering, wrist curls and all that as well and didn't see as much of a jump in strength as I did from the formulator.

Edited by nickr104
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Knowing the people involved means nothing, I can only go by what i see and I see a review that does not contain any personal experience. So, going by what i see, it seems as if his "review" was more a favor than a "review" about a product that can produce strength gains.

If you knew Dave, you would know that he would not endorse a product he didn't believe in. Dave will tell you, me or John Wood the truth whether we like what he says or not.

Please post a picture when you build your "Formulator"... there's one already in the gallery, maybe you could build it to those specs. :D

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well look at johns website. he has all kinds of products. hyping them up and charging a killing with these products. and thats no different from formulator. like i said. sweat is the lubricant of success. and to me formulator is just another training tool. nothing amazing. wrist curls are alot harder to use. i know john know matt furey, and he was taught how to use the enternet to make money. i was reading furey advertisement on john, and man, matt made john sound like he can crush a truck into a ball with his hands. my hands were also six inches, now they are seven and a half. cause of wrist curls and reverse curls. along with grippers. but i still have along ways to three, but not really ineterested in it. i do grip and wrist cause of grappling. look at larry scott and some of the old timers, they used over two hundred pounds on the barbell wrist curls. 150 on the reverse barbell curls for reps, that is hard work and lots of strength. if we start adding gimmicks like formulator, reverse wrist curls will be obsolete, like one arm cleans, bent press etc. they will be nothing but history. look at what theses weight lifting machines are doing to our gyms. squats and deadlifts are starting to be obsolete. another good example is the ab roller, people used to tell me they loved it and improved lots, but that was just lying to themselves. we are making money for john, matt etc just selling products and hyping them up. john got strong from old fashioned work, not the formulator. did he mention that. i am not being rude or disrespectful to anyone, just like the old ways better. nothing beats the basics.

my wrist were six inches not my hands. lol

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well look at johns website. he has all kinds of products. hyping them up and charging a killing with these products. and thats no different from formulator. like i said. sweat is the lubricant of success. and to me formulator is just another training tool. nothing amazing. wrist curls are alot harder to use. i know john know matt furey, and he was taught how to use the enternet to make money. i was reading furey advertisement on john, and man, matt made john sound like he can crush a truck into a ball with his hands. my hands were also six inches, now they are seven and a half. cause of wrist curls and reverse curls. along with grippers. but i still have along ways to three, but not really ineterested in it. i do grip and wrist cause of grappling. look at larry scott and some of the old timers, they used over two hundred pounds on the barbell wrist curls. 150 on the reverse barbell curls for reps, that is hard work and lots of strength. if we start adding gimmicks like formulator, reverse wrist curls will be obsolete, like one arm cleans, bent press etc. they will be nothing but history. look at what theses weight lifting machines are doing to our gyms. squats and deadlifts are starting to be obsolete. another good example is the ab roller, people used to tell me they loved it and improved lots, but that was just lying to themselves. we are making money for john, matt etc just selling products and hyping them up. john got strong from old fashioned work, not the formulator. did he mention that. i am not being rude or disrespectful to anyone, just like the old ways better. nothing beats the basics.

my wrist were six inches not my hands. lol

Good point. The formulator is relatively new. I'm pretty sure john wood had strong hands/wrists before the formulator.

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well look at johns website. he has all kinds of products. hyping them up and charging a killing with these products. and thats no different from formulator. like i said. sweat is the lubricant of success. and to me formulator is just another training tool. nothing amazing. wrist curls are alot harder to use. i know john know matt furey, and he was taught how to use the enternet to make money. i was reading furey advertisement on john, and man, matt made john sound like he can crush a truck into a ball with his hands. my hands were also six inches, now they are seven and a half. cause of wrist curls and reverse curls. along with grippers. but i still have along ways to three, but not really ineterested in it. i do grip and wrist cause of grappling. look at larry scott and some of the old timers, they used over two hundred pounds on the barbell wrist curls. 150 on the reverse barbell curls for reps, that is hard work and lots of strength. if we start adding gimmicks like formulator, reverse wrist curls will be obsolete, like one arm cleans, bent press etc. they will be nothing but history. look at what theses weight lifting machines are doing to our gyms. squats and deadlifts are starting to be obsolete. another good example is the ab roller, people used to tell me they loved it and improved lots, but that was just lying to themselves. we are making money for john, matt etc just selling products and hyping them up. john got strong from old fashioned work, not the formulator. did he mention that. i am not being rude or disrespectful to anyone, just like the old ways better. nothing beats the basics.

my wrist were six inches not my hands. lol

Was John strong before he got the Formulator, yes.

You say sweat is the lubricant of success, has anyone here said all you have to do is look at the Formulator and you will get stronger? No. Everyone who has a Formulator trains hard, training hard is training hard I don't care what you use.

You say the Formulator is a training tool, you are correct.

"Wrist curls are harder", to me they are more uncomfortable, I don't know about harder.

Most of the things we do are "obsolete" by todays standards, we use thicks bars, we use block and scale weights, we use chalk, ring handles, 1 hand lifts, all these are "obsolete" by todays standards.

Again, no one is saying you have to own a Formulator to be strong. No one is saying by owning a Formulator that you can look at it 2x per week, pet it 1x per week and watch your lifts go up. You still gotta train hard, that is the underlying element of anyone successful, they train their ass off.

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You know, I'm cheap to the point of being an ass about it. But I just recently shelled out the bucks for a formulator. Why? Here's the list of guys that had posititve things to say about the equipment:

John Wood

Zcor

nickr104

Cunny

mANVIL

Heath Sextion (Bearcat74

Wannagrip

Hubgeezer

Dave Lemanczyk

Climber511

3Crusher

gerryg

supermagnamon

MARKR

Sean Dockery

Dimitri

gotenmyoou

Patrik_F

austinslater

HAMMERHEAD

maidenfan

sigmfsk

newbie john

Big Steve

handgripperman

terminator

To make it more interesting - look at the names of the skeptics on the first post on the equipment:

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtopic=11342&hl=

I did find the cheapest price could be had through http://www.theformulator.com However, I'm not getting posters and I think the shipping is slower.

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I wasn't going to chime in on this one at all but as usual; I can't keep my big mouth shut. DO NOT BUY THE FORMULATOR!!! This thing is a piece of junk - it can not and does not work - at all - in any way - for any purpose - at any time, ever. I hope no one ever buys and trains with one.................... or I'm never going to place in another contest. The grip world is a tiny place and people have been and continue to be very open and sharing with all their tips and tricks they find that help them in their quest for strength. Of course different things help different people to different extents but some things work - wrist curls and reverse wrist curls work and they work very well, you have to do them in some form if you want success. If you're one of those people, like I was when I was younger - that can do them pain free and injury freeand with perfect form, then to be honest, you will probably reap less benefit from the Formulator than those of us who the Forulator design allows to do the movements with less pain, joint stress, etc. than a straight bar or DBs. As far as the homemade designs - whose homemade design are we talking about - I've seen some I'd be afraid to load with any weight and I've seen one that isn't much different than the real thing so there is homemade and there's homemade. I have yet to see one made from wood and plumbing parts that allows proper wrist position or the ability to hold any real weight like you're going to need for the strong side of your wrists. Nick has already told of his and my experience with our levering - can I swear that the Formulator is the reason - of course not, but after only a very few Formulator workouts, I repped a 12# sledge until time ran out in the Tar Heels contest - an enormous PR for me! I used to have one tip I passed out to friends that I thought and still think of as a "secret" exercise for grip strength, and that's finger curls, I believe in them that much. I also believe the Formulator has that same kind of potential - and I met John Wood one time for long enough to shake his hand at NOSIII so my endorsement has nothing to do with personal relationships at all. SO don't buy one, and if you have one, don't use it - give an old man a chance!

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Haha, shouldn't this be posted in the selling forum?

Anyway, a true review should be posted in the equipment forum, unless someone chooses to post it in the main forum just to get a few more views of it.

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