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Chez vs The MM8: Whatever it takes


Chez

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47 minutes ago, Chez said:

Great Right hand gripper day at the gym today. I set a brand new post surgery PR. Here is the workout minus the warm ups:

Ab Machine

4 sets of 20 reps

Leg Extensions

4 sets of 10-12 reps

Seated Calf Machine

4 sets of 20 reps

Right Hand Grippers

186 lb MM3 Replica - Very slight Miss like 1/16 inch. This happens sometimes. I miss the first attempt and it wakes me up. Its like a boxer who needs to get punched in the face to know hes in a fight :tongue

186 lb MM3 Replica - Closed! for a post surgery PR. The set went out of frame and the close started out of frame. Hell, the angle of my hand to the camera is horrible but I was able to get a still of the close and felt the handles touch. I'll take it. Video below. 

186 lb MM3 Replica - Miss. I wanted a second one but not today. I'll have to wait till next time. 

176 MM3 Replica - 2 Singles

174 RB 280 - 2 Singles

Right Hand RBA negatives

3 negs with 10 second holds

Silvis Frankenstein Gripper

10 singles - I want to start upping the volume now as a finisher. 

 

Here is the 186 MM3 Close on my new youtube Channel. All videos will be upload to this new channel:

 

Next up. My 190lb RGC MM5 Replica!

Nice work Chez, I know how exciting it can be to get back to a past peak level. The way youre progressing i wouldnt be surprised to see you go farther than you had been before. Exciting log, way to keep at it.

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Thanks dude. Its been a long road but I'll keep fighting. Good luck in your training. Hope to see you again in a competition. 

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Great close Chez - grip strength getting back to where it was, although camera work still has a way to go on the road to recovery! ;)

Sorry to hear about the YouTube channel - it's infuriating that there are people who will use their own time to cause somebody else a loss, when they don't gain anything by doing so.

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3 hours ago, patrickmeniru said:

Great close Chez - grip strength getting back to where it was, although camera work still has a way to go on the road to recovery! ;)

Sorry to hear about the YouTube channel - it's infuriating that there are people who will use their own time to cause somebody else a loss, when they don't gain anything by doing so.

Thanks dude. Ya, when I started posting again its like I forgot how to film my own closes. I use to be good at it. Eventually it will click again. 

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real fast workout today. Didn't bother writing down the weights but at least I got the work in. 

Flask

4 sets of 3 reps each hand

4 Inch Pinch Block

3 sets of 3 reps each hand

Thumbscrews dynamic pinch

3 sets of 10-20 reps each hand

Levering to the front 

3 sets of 10 reps each hand

Levering to the rear

3 sets of 10 reps each hand

Sup/Pron

3 sets of 10 reps each hand

Seated Plate wrist curls

3 sets of 10 reps each hand

Seated reverse plate wrist curls

3 sets of 10 reps each hand

 

Abs and calves are real sore today. Beat them up good yesterday. 

 

Edited by Chez
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Trained Wednesday but forgot to log. I did bench and squat with the accessories. My sore left pec is much better. Used 225 for the last set but still held back to be careful. Not going to bother logging Wednesday. Let's just move on and focus on today:

went out last night in NYC for a friends b day and got home late. Tired as hell today and slightly hung over. Finally managed to drag my ass to the gym.

Standing Overhead Press

120 lbs - 3 reps

135 lbs - 4 reps I believe and going for the 5th when I remembered that I was suppose to stop at 3. Oh well

155 lbs - 8 reps. Probably had another 1-2 but that felt good enough.

Deadlifts

245 lbs - 3 reps

280 lbs - 3 reps

315 lbs - 7 reps. Had more in me but that was enough

Machine Preacher Curls

3 sets of 10-15 reps

Skull Crushers/Close Grip Press

75 lbs - 10 and 10 reps

85 lbs - 10 and 10 reps

95 lbs - 10 and 10 reps

Lying Hamstring Curls

3 sets of 10 reps

1 Arm Cable Rows with 2.5 inch crusher

3 sets of 10-15 reps each arm

Ab Machine

3 sets of 20 reps

Left Hand MMS Grippers

10 singles between 172 lb coc #3.5 and a 149 coc #3. I attempted my 174 RB 280 but missed by a hair with a bad set. Didn't feel like trying again and instead just got the work in. Next time

RBA Negatives Left Hand

3 negatives with 10 sec hold 

Silvis Frankenstein Left Hand

10 singles

Edited by Chez
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I was really curious how big my right bicep has gotten since the surgery and I was pleasantly surprised that it measures 18.5 inches cold. Not bad considering the largest cold measurement I have ever had was just about 19. Shape looks completely normal also. Now let's see if I can push it even further.....

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Me and my bud from work have conflicting schedules this week so I lifted alone last night. Here are the working sets:

 

Smith Machine Bench Press - No one to spot me and I'm taking it easy on bench since now my right shoulder is acting up a bit (Argh!)

210 lbs - 5 reps

245 lbs - 3 reps

255 lbs - 5 reps - good enough. No need to push anymore

 

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

75 lb Dbs - 3 sets of 8-10 reps

 

Smith Machine Squat

240 lbs - 5 reps

270 lbs - 3 reps

300 lbs - 3 reps - 

 

Lat Pull Downs

3 sets of 10 reps

 

Rear Delt Flys Face Down on a 30 degree bench

15 lb DBs - 3 sets of 15

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Very busy weekend. Only got to the gym today and didn't have much time so I moved fast:

standing barbell overhead press

130 lbs - 5x

145 lbs - 3x

160 lbs - 5x

Lying Hamstring curls

3x10

Deadlifts DO No Hook or straps 

265 lbs - 5x

295 lbs - 3x

335 lbs - 5x

Grippers Right Hand MMS

182 lb RB - 1x

186 lb MM3 - 1x

182 lb RB - miss. I have been sick and not super energetic today

176 lb MM3 - miss. Dam cold

174 lb RB - 3 singles

172 lb COC 3.5 - 1x

165 lb Elite - 2 singles

Silvis Frankenstein Right Hand

10 singles

RBA adjustable nega right hand

3x with 10 sec hold 

extensors 

IM Red Band - 3x50 both hands

Singles leg calf raises

100 each leg

lying leg raises in status Crunch 

3x15

 

Short week because of thanksgiving so lifting with my bud from work tomorrow night. No rest for the wicked.

 

Edited by Chez
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Training session with bud at work. We got caught later at work then planned so I had to rush again and leave out the last 2 accessories. Better than nothing:

Bench Press

175 lbs - 5x

200 lbs - 5x

225 lbs - 8x. Still holding back to protect the left pec and right shoulder. No issues. Did these slow also which makes it harder. I had more but I stopped at 8 since I did 5 last time. Slowly ramping up. More next time. Figure at least 10 next week.

Smith Machine Squat

220 lbs - 5x

250 lbs - 5x

280 lbs - 15x. Not bad considering I did deadlifts yesterday. Pushed a little harder since my bud is improving on these quickly and my ego needs to keep the distance between us :)

decline dumbbell bench press

75 lb DBs - 15 reps, 12 reps and then 15 reps. Again he pushed harder on the last set so it made me do the same. 

Lat pulldowns 

3x10

- this guy has a lot of heart. Even though he's smaller than me, he makes me try harder to match his effort. Good workout partner.

 

 

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Got 2 workouts to log tonight but in the meantime, I set a new best since starting the comeback for off hand (left) MMS. My 174 lb RGC RB 280:

Missed my 176 MM3 by a freaking small margin right after.......next goal lefty

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3 hours ago, Chez said:

Got 2 workouts to log tonight but in the meantime, I set a new best since starting the comeback for off hand (left) MMS. My 174 lb RGC RB 280:

Missed my 176 MM3 by a freaking small margin right after.......next goal lefty

Awesome job bro!

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21 hours ago, Paul Markowski said:

Awesome job bro!

Thanks buddy. Usually when one hand hits a new level the other is right behind so hopefully I can get back to 190 right hand by year end

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6 minutes ago, Chez said:

Thanks buddy. Usually when one hand hits a new level the other is right behind so hopefully I can get back to 190 right hand by year end

I find the toughest part in crush grip training is to consistently get a good "set".  I have had days when I could not get a good set and fail to even get a single rep with a gripper that I closed for a set of 3 reps the workout before!  Do you also find this is true?

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5 minutes ago, Paul Markowski said:

I find the toughest part in crush grip training is to consistently get a good "set".  I have had days when I could not get a good set and fail to even get a single rep with a gripper that I closed for a set of 3 reps the workout before!  Do you also find this is true?

The set has always been the hardest part for me. To get good at it I have to practice it constantly by always hitting MMS and I also have to lift heavy. When my total body strength is high, the set comes easier.

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Time to get off my butt and the log the 2 most recent workouts:

wednesday 11/23

Deadlifts 

235 lbs - 5x

270 lbs - 5x

305 lbs - 8x - I was freaking sore and exhausted going into this workout since I just did squats and deadlifts only a couple days ago so I just made sure to hit the required reps and a couple more for good measure. Today was not the day for max effort

standing barbell overhead press

115 lbs - 5x

130 lbs - 5x

150 lbs - 7x - same as the deadlifts. Just did enough and called it quits

DB tricep ext on incline/pec deck fly

30 lb dbs - 10/10 x

35 lb dbs - 2 sets of 10/10 x

makeshift preacher curls

3 sets of 10 reps

row machine 

3 sets of 10 reps

lying hamstring curls

3 sets of 10 reps

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Friday 11/25

close grip push-ups with floor handles and one leg calf raises - didn't keep count Reps and sets and only used these to wake up the cns for grippers. Hot in the apartment so I worked up a good sweat.

Left Hand MMS grippers

165 elite - 1x

174 RB 280 - 1x. Nice! Best lefty close since starting the comeback. Didn't even feel hard. Video above in the log

176 MM3 - very close miss. Heat check. Next time

174 RB 280 - 1x. Pretty cool 😎 

172 COC 3.5 - miss. Time to drop

165 elite - 2 singles

149 coc 3 - 2 sets of 3 reps

149 coc 3 - 1 set of 2 reps

Silvis Frankenstein left hand

15 singles

Left hand RBA adjustable negatives with hold

1 neg with 15 second hold

4 negs with 10 second holds

extensors

IM red band - 3 sets of 60 reps each hand

- upping the gripper volume to push the progress. This workload seems good for now. 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Chez
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Yesterday went to Nates in NJ and helped him move his garage gym to the basement with other gripsters. It was good to see everyone and a good workout. He had tons of stuff to move. My back was acting up a bit. I think all the deadlifts and squats got to me. Def need to rest the back today. Afterwards we sat down to a nice meal his wife made. 

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So its been over a year since my surgery (The year mark was at the beginning of November). I told myself I would sit out of competition all of 2016 to recover and it hasn't been easy. I love competing. First because I'm a competitive guy and second because I miss the comradery. I'm at a good place now. I have settled into my new position at work so things aren't so stressful and I'm consistent with my training again. I have picked which competition I will attend as my first since making the comeback. I'm going to compete at the South Jersey 4 Comp on July 15, 2017 which Nate is hosting. The events are perfect for me and its only 2 hrs away which is close for a grip comp. Plus, a lot of my friends will be attending including Geralt who is making his first trip to America. It will be nice to meet him since he was the first person to reach out to me on the board when I started back in mid 2011 and we share a passion for grippers. Here are the events which I am told will all be contested one hand:

1) 30mm block grippers - Even though I'm not at peak strength, I think I can get there by July if I keep with the plan I laid out so I'm confident I will do well in this event. Nate told me that some other strong crushers are planning on going. I know he did that to light the fire and it worked. This is my specialty and I'll bust my ass to make sure I take this event. I don't have too much experience with 30mm block and I actually believe I lost my Horne block during my move so I will have to order a new one. In the meantime I will focus on my MMS and switch to block sets when the comp gets closer.

2) Flask 1 HP - I bought a flask this year and I have been using it but my pinch has dropped off big time. I was to over 92 lbs 1 hp on my Euro 1 hp at one point (which is slicker that others. I always pull more on others). I might have been able to pull 100 on a well seasoned one. I will need to up the volume and intensity on pinch.

3) 2.5 inch crusher one hand - a while back I got pretty good with the ironmind rolling thunder. Not great but good but I stopped focusing on it. Thickbar is the most difficult thing to balance with grippers. When one soars the other usually doesn't for me. I have an idea on how to balance them though. I probably lost the most strength here since thickbar was the hardest thing to train while recovering due to the poundage of the lifts. My arm is good now so I have to make up for lost time. Same as pinch, I will be upping volume and intensity.           

Looking forward to training towards this comp. It will fuel my intensity. I love having a goal to shoot for. This is going to be fun. 

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5 minutes ago, Chez said:

 I don't have too much experience with 30mm block and I actually believe I lost my Horne block during my move so I will have to order a new one.

I sell a 20x30mm setting block at my site: http://www.barrelstrengthsystems.com/products/metric-setting-block

I also have a sale going on today for 10% off. Use the code "turkeycrusher". :)

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1 minute ago, Squeezus said:

I sell a 20x30mm setting block at my site: http://www.barrelstrengthsystems.com/products/metric-setting-block

I also have a sale going on today for 10% off. Use the code "turkeycrusher". :)

Pretty sweet. I'll get one today. Def better shipping. Thanks Gil. 

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23 hours ago, Chez said:

Friday 11/25

close grip push-ups with floor handles and one leg calf raises - didn't keep count Reps and sets and only used these to wake up the cns for grippers. Hot in the apartment so I worked up a good sweat.

Left Hand MMS grippers

165 elite - 1x

174 RB 280 - 1x. Nice! Best lefty close since starting the comeback. Didn't even feel hard. Video above in the log

176 MM3 - very close miss. Heat check. Next time

174 RB 280 - 1x. Pretty cool 😎 

172 COC 3.5 - miss. Time to drop

165 elite - 2 singles

149 coc 3 - 2 sets of 3 reps

149 coc 3 - 1 set of 2 reps

Silvis Frankenstein left hand

15 singles

Left hand RBA adjustable negatives with hold

1 neg with 15 second hold

4 negs with 10 second holds

extensors

IM red band - 3 sets of 60 reps each hand

- upping the gripper volume to push the progress. This workload seems good for now. 

 

 

 

 

For the Frankenstein Gripper, are you using the 8 mm spring?  Also, when you say 15 singles, does that mean you rest a little between each of those 15 reps?  If so, how long is the rest period?  I'm intrigued.  

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5 minutes ago, Paul Markowski said:

For the Frankenstein Gripper, are you using the 8 mm spring?  Also, when you say 15 singles, does that mean you rest a little between each of those 15 reps?  If so, how long is the rest period?  I'm intrigued.  

It is the bigger spring which I believe is the 8mm spring. I don't take much rest at all. I usually just spin the gripper in my hand and make sure its in position and go right into the next single. Sometimes I take a little more time to adjust the gripper if I determine the setting is too easy or too hard. I'm actually going to start measuring the distance between the top of the handles to the top of spring too keep track of the setting. Till this point I have been estimating and going by feel. 

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Notes got a little messy from yesterday's workout since I was playing around with the weights to figure out my baseline but here is cliff notes version:

1 hp flask 

After warm ups, did 4 singles, 3 doubles and 3 triples with each hand. Weak as expected but my left was much stronger than my right. Left always has been better with pinch but the difference was even bigger than in the past. Luckily only one hand will be contested at the comp. I already know I'm going right for grippers and left for the flask and crusher. 

Sorinex 4 inch pinch block

3 sets of 5 reps each hand. Left still way stronger. Just throwing this in to get my wide pinch strength back. I was getting pretty good with block weights back in the day.

thumbscrews dynamic pinch

5 sets of 15 reps each hand.

wrist training

They have these weighted exercise bars at the gym which I use for wrist work like a sledge. It beats dragging a sledge to the gym. If I wait to do the training when I get home I might forget. Did front and rear levering while seated and supination/pronation. Then I did plate wrist curls and reverse curls seated. Everything is stronger when my wrist are stronger (especially grippers).

Ab Machine

4 sets of 20 reps. I will admit that I use to always skip abs in the past since I find it boring. Trying to change that since I need to strengthen my core to improve my squats and deadlifts. It must be working because my abs are super sore for days after every time.

 

 

Edited by Chez
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Need to log Tuesday nights workout. It was a bad one. Very low energy so i pretty much only got the required reps and called it a night. Everything felt heavy. My week is very busy and I would rather do the bare minimum required for workout than miss the workout. Here it is:

Bench Press

185 lbs = 3x

210 lbs = 3x

Switched to Smith Machine - 265 lbs = 6 x. My buddy couldn't make it and I didn't have a spot.

 

Smith Machine Squats

235 lbs - 3x

265 lbs - 3x

295 lbs - 3x. shit this felt so much heavier than usually. I couldn't get comfortable also. Felt like my position was off. I did the bare minimum and called it a night on these.

 

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

75 lb DBs = 3 sets of 10 reps

 

Lat Pull Downs

3 sets of 10 reps

 

Rear Laterals

20 lb DBs face down on bench - 3 sets of 10 reps.  

 

I'll rebound from this like always. Every training session can't be great. You gotta grind through these days. 

 

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