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Joe Kinney


grippers777

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I'll go ahead and throw in my 2 cents on the subject.

My personal connection to Kinney was when I contacted him and bought the SW. I had all sorts of questions, wrote him a long letter, mailed it out and then forgot about it. I figured he would read it, and then offer a simple 'thank you' for my order and that would be it. What happened next surprised me.

He wrote ME a long letter in his very own handwriting AND he answered every question I asked him! Wow, I couldn't believe it. Here I was, a super nobody asking him about what is argueably one of the greatest feats of grip strength in history, and he took the time to answer all my questions. I was very impressed to say the least.

Later, I called him abnd we talked on the phone - again, an amazing conversation I had with him. I'd like to one day meet him in person like Heath did, but if it never happens, I'll be happy with what he did for me and taking the time to talk to be about grip strength and training grip.

Now that deserves it's own thread. I'd be interested in hearing excerpts from that letter response.

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I'll go ahead and throw in my 2 cents on the subject.

My personal connection to Kinney was when I contacted him and bought the SW. I had all sorts of questions, wrote him a long letter, mailed it out and then forgot about it. I figured he would read it, and then offer a simple 'thank you' for my order and that would be it. What happened next surprised me.

He wrote ME a long letter in his very own handwriting AND he answered every question I asked him! Wow, I couldn't believe it. Here I was, a super nobody asking him about what is argueably one of the greatest feats of grip strength in history, and he took the time to answer all my questions. I was very impressed to say the least.

Later, I called him abnd we talked on the phone - again, an amazing conversation I had with him. I'd like to one day meet him in person like Heath did, but if it never happens, I'll be happy with what he did for me and taking the time to talk to be about grip strength and training grip.

Now that deserves it's own thread. I'd be interested in hearing excerpts from that letter response.

Agreed

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It was about September or October of 1999 that I wrote Joe Kinney and I ordered his "Secret Weapon". This was a grip machine created by Joe and demonstrated by him on his video, Get A Grip. I was struggling on the #3 at the time and was looking for help. I wrote him a long letter asking him a bunch of questions about his life and how he trained his grip. Surprisingly, he answered EVERY question I asked - all by a handwritten letter.

When I got the SW grip machine, the letter was attached. Here it is in it's entirety:

John,

Thanks fer yer order. It's always good to hear from a grip guy. Reckon it took about 21 months of training fer me to close the #4. Thats countin all of it from the first gripper all the way to the #4. You have lots of questions. I'll try to answer them all. Richard Sorin wrote once and got a tape - I've never met him, or John (Brookfield), so all I know about them is what's wrote in MILO. Don't reckon we'll be agoin to Atlanta - we don't get around much - there's lots of work fer me here and I need to stay after it. There won't be any books either, doin the video was tough enough fer me. The only testing ever been done on my grip was the #4 and bustin cans. One day at work I was teasing my friends by closing the #3 either hand and holding it. They got frustrated and one of em got a Coke from the machine to challenge me with. I carried it over to the drain in the floor. He asked, "What're over there fer?" and I told him I didn't want to make a mess. He said "You won't make a mess, because that there can ain't gonna break, nobody can break them things".

Well when it blew up he didn't have anything else to say.

We don't have any more #4 photos but here's a photo of me opening a beer. I'm a big Paul Anderson fan. My hands are still sore from my training. Grip training - severe grip training is very hard on the hands. Don't reckon there'll be any new products - sorry. Fer my job - I'm a machinist at an engine building shop - we build racing engines. I'm the machinist. My grip strength is <u>mostly</u> from my grip training. Training the grip twice a week works good - both the pinch and crush can work good this way.

I don't have any IronMind products except the #3 and the #4. I can't afford much - thats why I started making my own gear. But their stuff sure does look good don't it.

When you use the Secret Weapon put on some thin gloves - this should help. Train the short range - don't allow the handles to open all the way up. Use yer other hand to pull the weight up, and do yer negative - only let the handles open up about 1 1/2 inches or 2 inches - then while keepin the grippin hand under pressure, use yer assisting hand to lift the weight back up to the closed position. That way you get a negative <u>and</u> then an assisted positive movement out of each rep. This is the most productive way to train. Please be carefull. Always make sure yer closing the handles all the way. We're training "Past the Range", remember? This is the best way to train that I know of. Best of Luck to You.

Joe Kinney

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If you consider the whole of what Joe has written and put out there, this doesn't sound like him at all. :huh:

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If you consider the whole of what Joe has written and put out there, this doesn't sound like him at all. :huh:

The opening line is identical, word for word, from when I purchased his VHS tape in 2001.

There is a much more serious side to Joe that I see in his more recent writings, and the more recent video produced by John Wood. He was way more "light" in his first video. It is probably something that just comes with age.

I thought it sounded very helpful by the way.

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are "eman" and "snybersott" the same guy ?

Well one is a legend, so "no". :D

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That's interesting Mike. He is actually a fairly talented writer, but maybe only after the edit process. What that letter lacks in edits, it makes up with charm. :)

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I actually find Joe Kinney to have an eloquent way with words. Randy Strossen sent me an email by proxy from Joe in response to one of my posts about him and I'd say his command of the english language is not unlike that of a an english major. In addition to having an immense vocabulary, his letter also contained the tell-tale marks of someone who was well versed in grammar and composition. My experience with the man never showed him spelling "your" y-e-r. I don't know how he measured those homemade weights. However, a 170lb man in his 40s who had no prior history of working out squatting at his best 440lbs for 60 continuous reps every morning or at least close to that number and reps would be something I'd have to see. I'm not saying it is impossible to do, but I do think I would have to see that first to say I could 100% believe that. He did his #3 cert in '97 and his #4 in '98 under the old rules which required only a picture and no judge or new gripper. Did he complete the rules and certify the #4 under the old rules? Yes. Where I am curious is in spite of all his advocating eccentrics (negatives) I've never found them to work for me and in fact only found them to cause injury. I feel the strongest piece of evidence that Joe Kinney did these feats he claims is the fact that when asked a question by John his eyes NEVER dart up and to the right indicating the creative or imaginative side of the brain is active. If someone is telling the truth imagination is far less likely to come into play. Also his voice and tonality are even and his breathing is regular all of which indicate honesty. Those are the only points I have why I am not 100% convinced someone with his physique, weight, and age did not squat 440lbs for 60 continuous reps. That said Jesse Marunde squatted 410 or 420 for 20 reps and then collapsed and that dude it around twice Kinney's size and in his 20s. At any rate Kinney has done many things for grip, controversial though he may be.

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did jesse marunde die because of squatting ? :O

He died while Squatting. Doubt if it was "because of".

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No but it is interesting :)

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I actually find Joe Kinney to have an eloquent way with words. Randy Strossen sent me an email by proxy from Joe in response to one of my posts about him and I'd say his command of the english language is not unlike that of a an english major. In addition to having an immense vocabulary, his letter also contained the tell-tale marks of someone who was well versed in grammar and composition. My experience with the man never showed him spelling "your" y-e-r. I don't know how he measured those homemade weights. However, a 170lb man in his 40s who had no prior history of working out squatting at his best 440lbs for 60 continuous reps every morning or at least close to that number and reps would be something I'd have to see. I'm not saying it is impossible to do, but I do think I would have to see that first to say I could 100% believe that. He did his #3 cert in '97 and his #4 in '98 under the old rules which required only a picture and no judge or new gripper. Did he complete the rules and certify the #4 under the old rules? Yes. Where I am curious is in spite of all his advocating eccentrics (negatives) I've never found them to work for me and in fact only found them to cause injury. I feel the strongest piece of evidence that Joe Kinney did these feats he claims is the fact that when asked a question by John his eyes NEVER dart up and to the right indicating the creative or imaginative side of the brain is active. If someone is telling the truth imagination is far less likely to come into play. Also his voice and tonality are even and his breathing is regular all of which indicate honesty. Those are the only points I have why I am not 100% convinced someone with his physique, weight, and age did not squat 440lbs for 60 continuous reps. That said Jesse Marunde squatted 410 or 420 for 20 reps and then collapsed and that dude it around twice Kinney's size and in his 20s. At any rate Kinney has done many things for grip, controversial though he may be.

Kinney may or may not have shut the #4, I don't really care. However he never squat 440 lbs for 60 reps. He did a squat/pullup to questionable depth with a safetybar using undefined concrete weighs which he estimated the weight of. Also the 60 reps was his max and nothing he would do everyday. Also I remember hearing that Kinney would talk about high rep days, where the objective was to squat 50-80 reps total during one day, in sets of 10 or so. So the 60 reps might not even have been consecutive. Which would make a more reasonable achivement of a 170ish guy in his 40's with no prior training.

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I actually find Joe Kinney to have an eloquent way with words. Randy Strossen sent me an email by proxy from Joe in response to one of my posts about him and I'd say his command of the english language is not unlike that of a an english major. In addition to having an immense vocabulary, his letter also contained the tell-tale marks of someone who was well versed in grammar and composition. My experience with the man never showed him spelling "your" y-e-r. I don't know how he measured those homemade weights. However, a 170lb man in his 40s who had no prior history of working out squatting at his best 440lbs for 60 continuous reps every morning or at least close to that number and reps would be something I'd have to see. I'm not saying it is impossible to do, but I do think I would have to see that first to say I could 100% believe that. He did his #3 cert in '97 and his #4 in '98 under the old rules which required only a picture and no judge or new gripper. Did he complete the rules and certify the #4 under the old rules? Yes. Where I am curious is in spite of all his advocating eccentrics (negatives) I've never found them to work for me and in fact only found them to cause injury. I feel the strongest piece of evidence that Joe Kinney did these feats he claims is the fact that when asked a question by John his eyes NEVER dart up and to the right indicating the creative or imaginative side of the brain is active. If someone is telling the truth imagination is far less likely to come into play. Also his voice and tonality are even and his breathing is regular all of which indicate honesty. Those are the only points I have why I am not 100% convinced someone with his physique, weight, and age did not squat 440lbs for 60 continuous reps. That said Jesse Marunde squatted 410 or 420 for 20 reps and then collapsed and that dude it around twice Kinney's size and in his 20s. At any rate Kinney has done many things for grip, controversial though he may be.

Kinney may or may not have shut the #4, I don't really care. However he never squat 440 lbs for 60 reps. He did a squat/pullup to questionable depth with a safetybar using undefined concrete weighs which he estimated the weight of. Also the 60 reps was his max and nothing he would do everyday. Also I remember hearing that Kinney would talk about high rep days, where the objective was to squat 50-80 reps total during one day, in sets of 10 or so. So the 60 reps might not even have been consecutive. Which would make a more reasonable achivement of a 170ish guy in his 40's with no prior training.

You think kinney may not have closed the 4 ? :O havent you seen the movie ?
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You think kinney may not have closed the 4 ? :O havent you seen the movie ?

I know that some people don't think he did. Personally I could care less, maybe he closed it or maybe he didn't. All I care about is the 440 squat for 60 reps claim, which turned out not to be squats at all.

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Kinney may or may not have shut the #4, I don't really care. However he never squat 440 lbs for 60 reps. He did a squat/pullup to questionable depth with a safetybar using undefined concrete weighs which he estimated the weight of. Also the 60 reps was his max and nothing he would do everyday. Also I remember hearing that Kinney would talk about high rep days, where the objective was to squat 50-80 reps total during one day, in sets of 10 or so. So the 60 reps might not even have been consecutive. Which would make a more reasonable achivement of a 170ish guy in his 40's with no prior training.

The only thing I regret is not nailing him down on specific details, i.e., how much weight did you use, for how many reps, how many sets, how many times per week, etc. When I talked to him on the phone, he was very precise about certain things and somewhat muddled about others. And when I talked to him, I let him talk and I mostly listened - he had a bunch to say and I didn't want to miss any of it. I often comment that I learned more in talking to him over the phone than I did in 2 months of grip training. You can take that for whatever it's worth. I do know that if it weren't for his help, I probably would of given up on trying to cert on the #3. NOW - I'm a mega superstar legend in the realm of grip strength and all my millions (yes, I did say the word, 'MILLIONS') of fans love and adore me! :grin: Thank you, Joe Kinney!

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Kinney may or may not have shut the #4, I don't really care. However he never squat 440 lbs for 60 reps. He did a squat/pullup to questionable depth with a safetybar using undefined concrete weighs which he estimated the weight of. Also the 60 reps was his max and nothing he would do everyday. Also I remember hearing that Kinney would talk about high rep days, where the objective was to squat 50-80 reps total during one day, in sets of 10 or so. So the 60 reps might not even have been consecutive. Which would make a more reasonable achivement of a 170ish guy in his 40's with no prior training.

.....NOW - I'm a mega superstar legend in the realm of grip strength and all my millions (yes, I did say the word, 'MILLIONS') of fans love and adore me! :grin: Thank you, Joe Kinney!

Right. Someone keep him talking and I'll call the cops.

:grin:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Do some of you guys not believe in kinney?

I was going to post a troll alert here, but judging from who's visited his profile recently, the mods are on top of it.

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Everyone is quick to say the 440x60 squats is a lie.... BUT, people like Jordan compare it to Jesse Marunde's feat, etc., without mentioning that Kinney did his squats in a Safety Bar Squat. Marunde used a regular barbell.

I have read of people (much stronger than myself) saying they were anywhere from 50%-70% as strong using a regular barbell, than using a Safety Bar Squat. I have also read a text from either Kinney or Strossen where it stated Kinney said something like this "I'll tell you this, when the weight got heavy I pulled a lot with my arms and I sure didn't need to hit the Lat Pulldown", or something to this effect.

My point being: 440x60 in one of those bars, if you're using your arms as much as you can, can apparenly be equivalent to anywhere from 220-330x60 in a regular barbell. Everyone who has tried (and more than once) both the Safety bar and the Barbell claims they do much less on the barbell.

So why is this not mentioned everytime the 440x60 is mentioned? It SHOULD.

The same way that people talk about his "Huge numbers in his Titan Telegraph Key, 100# pounds, NO WAY!".... well, why don't you people mention his TTk was home-made and had a very different ration to Ironmind's? That might explain the seemingly outrageous number too.

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Do some of you guys not believe in kinney?

I will ask you straight up COC#4, what's your real name?

Mine is Joe Musselwhite, aka Mighty Joe!

Welcome to the GB!!!

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He did his #3 cert in '97 and his #4 in '98 under the old rules which required only a picture and no judge or new gripper.

Does anyone know exactly what the old rules looked like? What does this "only a picture"-thing mean exactly?

Edited by Norden
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okey... i am caught red handed. My real name is Simon Norevi and lives in sweden! And my previous accounts was grippers777 and gotgrip?. It is i who uploaded that stupid film of my friend closing the coc#3 saying gripboard sucks! when it actually is awsome. I did that because i was with my friend and we where angry because all of you gripboard veterans said i was a troll. But the truth is i love gripboard. And i can promise you that i will stop posting stupid posts and starting stupid threads.! PEACE! I will also upload a sorry video and remove the number #3 video!

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Don't blame the newbie, it's human fate: you start from scratch at birth, then you learn a few things (and forget even more), then you die soon after.

Our dear Grippers777 here is currently starting from scratch.

Like every true newbie, he assumes that he will be able to replicate - or surpass - any world record around, or become CEO of Microsoft, World Strongest Man, President of the USA etc. if he sets his mind to it (newbie usually believes in the infinite powers of the mind).

As a consequence Newbie only respects the record holders (secretely feeling pity for the poor guys which will SOON loose their titles), and despise any sound advice coming from anyone else.

And like all of us before, Newbie will have to learn the hard way that he is wrong.

Welcome aboard grippers777 :)

lol, Wow, that is an incredibly depressing post. I nearly lost all will.

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