Chez vs The MM8: Whatever it takes

[devinhoo 367]

You’re going to crush the 200 Ronnie Coleman and the 203 Super Elite. How long until you destroy the MM8?

Edited March 15 by devinhoo

[Donc101 2,158]

Awesome job Chez, great crushing!

 

[Chez 5,509]

3 hours ago, devinhoo said:

You’re going to crush the 200 Ronnie Coleman and the 203 Super Elite. How long until you destroy the MM8?

 

3 hours ago, Donc101 said:

Awesome job Chez, great crushing!

 

 

3 hours ago, devinhoo said:

You’re going to crush the 200 Ronnie Coleman and the 203 Super Elite. How long until you destroy the MM8?

 

3 hours ago, Donc101 said:

Awesome job Chez, great crushing!

 

Thanks guys! Next grippers I have to conquer are my 199 ghp9 and the 200 Ronnie Coleman I just bought. If this groove continues, I should be ready for the MM8 by June maybe. I working hard to increase my whole body strength 

[Chez 5,509]

“If it doesn’t scare you, it isn’t heavy enough” lets (bad word filter)ing GO! in two weeks I take this for a ride. I can't wait. 

 

Edited March 16 by Chez

[Chez 5,509]

Argh. New York, Connecticut and New Jersey gyms had to close last night at 8pm and will continue to be closed during this virus scare. I ran to the gym after dinner to finish some light accessory work I didn’t have time for this weekend.

Machine crunches

140 lbs - 4 sets of 20x

Machine Leg Press Calf Extensions

2 warm up sets

300 lbs - 4 sets of 25x

Leg Extensions

1 warm up set 

170 lbs - 10x

185 lbs - 10x

200 lbs - 10x

215 lbs - 10x 

Lying Hamstring Curls 

95 lbs - 10x

110 lbs - 10x

125 lbs - 10

140 lbs - 8x

Strict Double Hand Plate Wrist Curls (forearms I’m bench)

45 lb plate - 3 sets of 10

Strict Reverse Barbell Wrist Curls (forearms on knees)

50 lb barbell - 3 sets of 10

Front Levering 

9 lb fitness bar - 3 sets of 12x each hand 

Rear Levering 

9 lb fitness bar - 3 sets of 12x each hand 

Supination/pronation 

light black fitness bar - 3 sets of 10x  each hand 

Note - already made plans to continue the barbell lifts at my friends garage gym. He’s a powerlifter so he’s got a bench and power rack. I also bought a band system that attaches to the door for accessory work like lat pull downs etc. gotta keep working hard towards my goals during the apocalypse. 

[Chez 5,509]

Still training. I don't have a home gym cause I own a one bedroom apartment just north of NYC so no space. But my buddy is a power lifter and is letting me train the powerlifts in his garage gym with him. On Wednesday, I started back up the program I was using before the pec strain at his place. As with all programs it starts light so nothing worth noting. I was making amazing progress on this program before the pec strain so I am looking forward to get back to that level in the upcoming weeks as it ramps up. 

Also, my co-op board is letting me store weight plates in the community fitness room to train loading pin grip stuff like crusher, flask etc. 

And I bought a heavy band system that anchors to the door for accessory work like lat pull downs, tricep pressdowns etc. 

Always gotta keep moving forward and overcoming obstacles...........

[Chez 5,509]

Still training. Just got off track with the log as I adjust my workouts at my friends home gym and the fitness center in my building. Today I attempted my 199 Rated GHP 9 for the first time ever. I didn't really feel on and I had trouble getting my CNS firing today. My set was also off big time and fumbled it bad and started wider than MMS. The set has always been my weakness and GHPs have a hard set and sweep making them always feel harder than their rating to me. Its the first time I have missed my goal gripper since coming back from surgery. After analyzing the video, I immediately noticed my mistake. See the big gap between the pinky and the other fingers. I fumbled the set and started wider than MMS and those fingers are too high causing me to loose leverage. If I can get an efficient set, I can close this gripper.

"If you learn from defeat, you haven't really lost."

GHP 9 -1, Chez - 0. Now I want revenge........

Edited March 30 by Chez

[Fist of Fury 1,465]

Damn that set was way off  you'll close that one easily with a proper set 💪

[Chez 5,509]

6 hours ago, Fist of Fury said:

Damn that set was way off  you'll close that one easily with a proper set 💪

Thanks buddy. Set has always been a weakness for me and ghps have the toughest set and sweeps. It will fall though. Thinking about doing extra negatives today.

[devinhoo 367]

3 hours ago, Chez said:

Thanks buddy. Set has always been a weakness for me and ghps have the toughest set and sweeps. It will fall though. Thinking about doing extra negatives today.

I gotta pick up a harder GHP to work on setting. A buddy of mine has a 170 GHP8 for me when I get up to that level. Still having plenty of fun trying to set my 165 RB330N for now though. 😅

[Chez 5,509]

3 minutes ago, devinhoo said:

I gotta pick up a harder GHP to work on setting. A buddy of mine has a 170 GHP8 for me when I get up to that level. Still having plenty of fun trying to set my 165 RB330N for now though. 😅

Ya. Setting is tough. It takes both upper body strength and efficient technique. If I don’t practice it constantly, my set gets weak and my technique gets funky 

[Chez 5,509]

Time to start logging again guys with tonight's workout since I have my new setup figured out with the gym closed. I am currently training in my friends garage gym so I switched back to my previous routine even though I was still making great gains on the other one. Reason being is the other one was very long and I didn't want to take advantage of my friend's generosity but staying at his house for hrs and killing his time. This is only the 3rd workout of this routine so its still light and ramping up. 

Flat Barbell Bench Press

4 warm up sets

255 lbs - 4 sets of 4x

285 lbs - Single. Super easy

200 lbs - 17x. AMRAP. I am not use to these high rep sets now so it will take time to adjust again

Incline Barbell Bench Press

185 lbs - 5x

225 lbs - 3x

240 lbs - 3x. Easy

- Still getting use to this incline setup. different then the gym setup. 

Barbell Floor Press (real weight, not smith machine since he has a real power cage) - every rep paused

245 lbs - 3x

265 lbs - 2x

285 lbs - 1x. easy

245 lbs - 5x

Straight Bar Triceps Pushdowns on Plate Loaded Cable Machine

100 lbs in plates - 4 sets of 10x. easy. 

- Skipped Biceps since I hit Standing Dumbbell Hammer Curls in the community Fitness Room Monday night. 

- Time to get back in the groove again. Apocalypse training. Onwards!

Edited April 2 by Chez

[Chez 5,509]

dam. behind in the log again. I am in a funk lately and struggling to keep up with logging. still training my ass off despite this plague though. I have to get back on track logging. Part of me wants to log my last 3 workouts but lets just start fresh and get consistent again with tomorrow's workout. I am thinking about trying my 200 lb rated ronnie coleman gripper Sunday to see what it feels like. Even though its a lb heavier than the GHP 9 it may be easier cause GHPs always feel harder due to the tough set and sweep. 

 

[Chez 5,509]

Time to log last night’s workout so I can get on track with logging in general:

Flat Barbell Bench Press

4 warm ups 

255 lbs - 4x

255 lbs - 5x

255 lbs - 5x

255 lbs - 4x

290 lbs - 1x. Easy 

205 lbs - 16x AMRAP

Incline Barbell Bench Press

185 lbs - 5x

225 lbs - 3x 

245 lbs - 3x. Easy 

Barbell Floor Press (each rep paused)

245 lbs - 3x

270 lbs - 2x

290 lbs - 1x

245 lbs - 5x

Straight Bar Triceps Pushdowns 

100 lbs - 10x

120 lbs - 3 sets of 8x

[Chez 5,509]

Plan is to train twice today. Here is the first session:

Farmers Walks

120 lbs each hand - down and back across my friends background. Its probably like 40 feet each way

170 lbs each hand - down and back across my friends background. Its probably like 40 feet each way

Note - me and my friend are ramping up week by week. More weight next week. I used my wrist wrap hooks to save my grip because I plan to hit grippers tomorrow. I don't use them on off weeks from grippers

1 Hand Flask Pinch

several warm ups

81 lbs - 3 singles each hand. Very solid singles. I plan to bump this up a little next time. 

71 lbs - 3 doubles each hand

61 lbs - 3 triples each hand

61 lbs - 3 singles with 10 second holds each hand

1 Hand 4" Block Pinch

Warm ups

55.5 lbs - 3 singles each hand

50.5 lbs - 3 doubles each hand

45.5 lbs - 3 triples each hand

45.5 lbs - 3 singles with 10 second holds each hand

 

- Later I plan to hit shoulders and triceps in the fitness room in my building for the late night session.  

[Chez 5,509]

Second Session of the day:

Standing 1 Arm Overhead Band Press

2 Orange Bands (Heaviest they sell) - 5 sets of 5x each arm. 

Seated Arnold Dumbbell Shoulder Press

50 lb DBs - 5 sets of 12x

Dumbbell Skull Crushers 

40 lb DBs - 4 sets of 10x

Seated Dumbbell Side Laterals

30 lbs DBs - 3 sets of 10x

Dumbbell Rear Laterals (Face down on a slightly inclined bench)

25 lbs DBs - 3 sets of 10x

 

Note - Tomorrow morning I go to my friends for Squats, grippers, Stiff Leg deadlifts and lat pulldowns. Wanna try the Ronnie Coleman 350 I have rated at 200. Should be fun. 

 

 

[Chez 5,509]

Great training session today. Once I am fully rested I plan to give a full write up but for now I will just mention the highlight. I tried the new 350 Ronnie Coleman strongman gripper rated by cannon at 200 RGC that I just got and came so dam close. I missed by a freaking hair. Here is a video and still of the attempt. Argh! so frustrating to get this close and just miss but I will keep working and get vengeance on this gripper. Even though it is rated 1 lb heavier than my GHP 9, I think it feels slightly easier to me due to the easier set and sweep. GHPs always feel harder to me since they have the hardest set and sweet and that is my weakness so I plan to take down this gripper first and the GHP 9 next. 

 

 

"If it bleeds, we can kill it"

Edited April 12 by Chez

[Maiche 25 20]

Hello Chez, I notice that among all the very high level athletes in grip you are by far the most explosive! No matter how difficult the gripper is, you crush it with violence and crazy speed. When I see Morgan or Nathan Holle, it is rather the incredible slowness that is striking. Is it voluntary on your part to be so energetic and aggressive or is it a natural talent? Have you ever tried to imitate this kind of slow style like them?

[Chez 5,509]

4 hours ago, Maiche 25 said:

Hello Chez, I notice that among all the very high level athletes in grip you are by far the most explosive! No matter how difficult the gripper is, you crush it with violence and crazy speed. When I see Morgan or Nathan Holle, it is rather the incredible slowness that is striking. Is it voluntary on your part to be so energetic and aggressive or is it a natural talent? Have you ever tried to imitate this kind of slow style like them?

Hey Maiche. Yes, it is voluntary when I hit a gripper fast and hard with aggression. I realized very early in my training that grippers are very central nervous system dependent (especially for me) so I practiced being able to get my cns firing when going for a big close. I do this by listening to motivation music or speeches, doing certain weightlifting movements to wake up my body etc. I have gotten pretty good at it and most time I am able to replicate it on demand. I have tried the slower style and it just doesn’t work for me. I think everyone is different but I always perform better with adrenaline. I am usually good for more lbs during a certification or training session for this reason. 

Edited April 13 by Chez

[Chez 5,509]

quick session in the community fitness room doing the light accessories I didn't have time for during the week

Band Row (Both Hand Same time with handles anchored to the door)

1 warm up set

2 Orange Bands (heaviest ones) - 4 sets of 15 reps. 

Single Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curls (on an Steep incline Bench)

1 warm up set

40 lb Dumbbell - 4 sets of 10x each arm. Slow and controlled to make it harder

Standing Calf Raises

Body Weight (290+ lbs) - 4 sets of 50x. Slow and controlled and paused to make it harder

Lying Leg Raises (Lower Abs)

4 sets of 10x

Stiff Leg Deadlifts 

Holding two 50 lb DBs (biggest in the fitness room) - 4 sets of 15x. Slow and controlled to make them harder. 

 

[Chez 5,509]

So hit Chest and tris Wednesday and forgot to log but it was a cruddy session. I felt off. Not going to bother logging it. Just move on and rebound in the workouts coming up. I sent the following heavy grippers to Cannon to get rated today 4 of them previously rated by someone else. I want Matt to re rate them to make them more comparable to the other heavy grippers I have which are all rated by Cannon. 

Older COC #4 (Just the number stamped on both handles) - never rated but feels 201-203. I have given it my best effort before my recent surgery 

COC #4 - 203. 

Grand Eilte - 210. 

COC #4 - 214

COC #4 - 217

I also had two adjustables made by Aaron using an MM8 Replica Spring and a pro spring and he gave me sets of longer handles for more adjustability and I having Matt find ratings on them for the gaps I need. Its on like Donkey Kong! They are the two to the left below. Training harder and smarter this time around. 

Edited April 18 by Chez

[Chez 5,509]

Great workout tonight in the fitness room. Rebounding from the cruddy one Wednesday

Standing One Arm Overhead Band Press

1 warm up each arm

2 orange bands (heaviest) - 5 sets of 6x each arm. Think it’s time to move up a little

Seated Dumbbell Arnold Shoulder Press

50 lb DBs (heaviest in the room) - 2 sets of 13x, 3 sets of 12x

Lying Dumbbell Skull Crushers 

40 lb DBs - 4 sets of 10x. Gotta up the rep a little next time

Seated Dumbbell Side Laterals 

30 lb DBs - 3 sets of 10x

Dumbbell Rear Laterals (face down on a slightly inclined bench)

25 lb DBs - 3 sets of 10x

RBA Gripper Right Hand Negatives 

several warm ups 

setting 7.5 - 10 negatives with 5 second holds. Done in between sets of everything else 

 

[Chez 5,509]

Argh. Behind in logging again. Lifted Sunday and Monday. Nothing special to note though so lets just start logging again with tonights workout. I had a bad bench session last week but rebounded nicely tonight. Went up in weight or reps on everything. Everything felt much lighter. Only had one miss and I think its cause I wasn't in good position (oh well, something to improve upon next week)

Flat Barbell Bench Press

4 warm up sets

255 lbs - 4 sets of 5x. no problem

300 lbs - no problem at all. 

215 lbs - 14x AMRAP. I probably could have gutted out another rep but I decided to save it. 

Incline Barbell Bench Press

185 lbs - 3x

225 lbs - 3x

250 lbs - 3x

Barbell Floor Press - each rep paused

245 lbs (low rack position cause my buddy is much shorter than me) - 3x

275 lbs (Higher rack position) - 2x

300 lbs (higher rack position) - miss. the one miss of the workout. I think I wasn't in great position. Oh well, next time.

245 lbs (low rack position) - 5x

Straight Bar Triceps Push down

100 lbs in plates - 4 sets of 12x

 

Had my board presentation today remotely and it went well. Grippers this weekend! I want revenge on the 200 lb rated Coleman gripper! Missing by a hair really pissed me off. 

[Chez 5,509]

Long day of training. AM and PM session:

AM

Farmers Walks  (Used wrist wrap hooks to save my grip for grippers tomorrow)

Did what I believe is about 40 feet each way on uneven grass backyard with 120, 170, 185 per hand. Still ramping up and getting use to this exercise but I am enjoying it.

Then went home and cleaned the rust off some used weight plates that I bought which was pretty labor intensive cause I live in a coop and I used chemicals so I had to do it far away from the building then carry them pretty far to the fitness room across the courtyard up stairs and then down stairs 😪. I ended up using these for my PM session below:

PM 

Standing Overhead One Arm Band Shoulder Press

2 Orange Bands (Heaviest Ones) - 5 sets of 6x each arm

Seated Dumbbell Arnold Shoulder Presses

50 lb DBs - 3 sets of 15x

Dumbbell Skull Crushers

40 lb DBs - 3 sets of 10x

Now to use the plates I cleaned and lugged to the fitness room for Pinch Work:

One Hand Flask Pinch

Some warm ups

86 lbs - 3 singles left hand and 2 right. Left is always stronger on this and the left hand had more solid lifts. This is a post surgery PR though so I am happy. 

76 lbs - 3 doubles each hand

66 lbs - 3 triples each hand

66 lbs - 3 singles with 10 second holds each hand

One Hand 4" Pinch Block 

Couple Warm ups

58 lbs - 3 singles each hand. Another Post Surgery PR

48 lbs - 3 doubles

38 lbs - 3 triples

 

Enough for Today. Squats and Grippers in the AM. Lets GO!

 

[Maiche 25 20]

 

Hi, your surgery seems to have been a real success! Do you still experience pain or do you think you have minor consequences anyway?