Mephistopholes Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Sunday 1-13-13 at YMCA Axle Eye Level Press - 115 x 5, 135 x 3, 155 x 3, 175 x 2 (8 sets) Axle Cleans - 105 x 5, 125 x 3, 145 x 3, 145 x 3, 145 x 3. Today was a real grinder. Got through all my presses, which was great, but that last set really took all my focus and power. So when I got to the cleans, my arms were feeling pretty dead, and a few sets in, they just felt like noodles and I called it a day early. Wanted to do more cleans, but that's alright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 Two things I need to get: 1) a loading bar for my 2 hand pinch set up. Since it won't quite be a Euro, I think I'll call it an "Americano," in honor of the York plates it will be built around 2) A bigger loading pin, the 15" Olympic size one with the heavy caribeaner. This whole time I've been using the smaller, 12" ironmind standard size one, but I'm approaching that 200lb limit pretty fast... Sucks though, I don't wanna pay $55 plus shippig for a piece of pipe... Maybe I'll make one instead... On the upside, I'd imagine the added 3" inches in starting height will only make my lifts easier, and maybe my numbers will go up. Still, I'd rather shell out the money on a heavier gripper or two... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 Monday 1-14-13 at the YMCA Axle DO deadlift - 165 x 3, 215 x 3, 255 x 3, 305 x 3, 305 x 2, 305 x 1, 295 x 3. Axle Hise Shurgs - 185 x 10, 235 x 10, 275 x 10, 325 x 20, 325 x 20. Dumbbell face carry - 35 x five carries. Well, today wasn't the best, but it wasn't awful. My arms still feel pretty beat so I decided I'd take it easy, skipping pullups and such... I think that may have been partly why I didn't do so well on the Axle Deadlift. Wasn't terrible, but I didn't get as many as I would have liked. There are a couple things I need to figure out here. For one, I had my axle made with very slight knurled rings at the 32" inch mark, where on a normal bar there would be two smooth rings; the reason I did this was so, when doing the clean and any type of overhead press, I could feel the rings with my little finger (I press with my hands slightly inside the rings instead of right on them) and know that my hands are in the right place, and not worry about them being uneven. However, this is not the ideal grip width for the deadlift for me. For deadlifts, my hands generally do better right over the rings, but to avoid the knurling, I'm gripping slightly inside them, which makes the deadlift kind of awkward and the lockout feel weird because I kind of have to pull extra in my traps... I could try gripping slightly outside them and see how that feels, or I could just grip right on them and not worry about it. The knurling is super slight, at my request, its just there enough to let you know where your hands are on the bar, and they are thin rings, so If I grab right on them, it probably wouldn't make a huge difference in terms of "helping" me in the grip, I wouldn't think... It would probably only make a difference in max attempts, which I don't really do too often. Any one have thoughts about this? The other thing I have to think about is that maybe pressing 3 times a week, at the volume I'm doing, may be too much for me to recover from, hence the dead feeling in my arms lately. I may change things up so that I always military press on wednesday, and friday I either Push press or Eye-level press, alternating weeks, and take the weekend off from pressing... My real goal is in the Military press. I'll see how I feel about it Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 Okay so I've been thinking and realized that, at the volume ive been doing, pressing three times a week (particularly with the rack press) is too hard on my tendons to recover fully from, so ive devised a plan to press two times a week and still use the 3 presses. The idea is I will have two weekly grip days that dont change, and three days for "big lifts" that revolve, so I only do two a week and they repeat every 11 days, with 4 lifting days a week, basically 2 heavy days and 2 light days.... I think this will allow me to recover better and continue to make gains, AND as an added bonus, it basically gives me an extra day so I can finally work in one of my favorites, the anvil horn lift. The Monday/Friday workouts: Workout A- Axle Military Press, Deadlift, Hub. Workout B- Axle Push Press, Squats, Rolling Thunder. Workout C- Axle Eye-Level Press, Axle Cleans, Anvil Horn lift. The Wednesday/Saturday workouts: Wednesday- Axle DO deadlift, eagle loop pullups, Hise Shrugs, Block/plate carries... And maybe dumbbell curls. Saturday- Grippers, 2HP/blobs. (and maybe a little cardio, Which I should probably be doing...) So Wednesday and Saturday will be the same everytime, meaning I hit axle deadlifts, Grippers, and pinching once a week each. It'll look like this. Monday- Workout A. Wednesday- Grip. Friday- Workout B. Saturday- Grip. Monday- Workout C. Wednesday-Grip. Friday- Workout A. Saturday- Grip. Etc. I'm going to take off this wednesday to rest and will start with workout A this Friday, so it won't upset my schedule so much. And if I can work some light cardio in there, maybe I can trim this gut a little... A few pounds less is a few pounds closer to my goal of the bodyweight press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Wednesday 1-16-13 at the YMCA Just did 30 minutes on a stationary bike today and played "around the world" on the basketball court for a little while. Taking today off from lifting to allow for some extra recovery and I'll start back lifting Friday. Tried to palm a basketball. No go. Also, I have this posted elsewhere, but I thought I'd put it here too... I'm looking to trade my blue Vulcan V2 gripper for some TSG grippers, or a Blob and I'll pay the difference.... Please see the post if interested. http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtopic=39794#entry560062 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Was thinking more about the revolving routine and think I came up with something better, where the lower body lifts will remain on a weekly schedule, and the presses and grip lifts will rotate together. Monday- Deadlift Wednesday- Cleans Frida-Squats. Some grip stuff will remain weekly on Wednesday, and there will be no presses then. Saturdays will be Grippers and pinch. Presses and grip lifts will be grouped like this: Military press and Axle deadlifts. Push press and Hub. Eye-level press and Anvil. If this gets to be a problem with deadlfing and axle deadlifting in the same day, I'll shuffle some stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Rolling thunder will be done every Wednesday... At least until I make 200lbs, then I may switch that off with axle deads in the rotation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Friday 1-18-13 at the YMCA Axle Military Press - 90 x 5, 110 x 3, 130 x 3, 150 x 2 (8 sets) Oly Squats - 100 x 5, 140 x 5, 170 x 5, 210 x 5... Form got real bad here, so I switched over to... Bottom Position Parallel Squats - 210 x 5, 210 x 5, 210 x 5, 210 x 5, 210 x 5. Much better. Axle DO Deadlift - 165 x 3, 215 x 3, 255 x 3 (Thinking maybe I need to put another warmup set in here...) 305 x 3, 305 x 3, 305 x 1, almost 2. Today went well, felt great to be back lifting. Got through all my presses without any trouble. In the squats, I finally had to get off the Oly squats... I'm just so tall, going down that far and coming up without doing an ugly good morning on the way isn't really too feasible. With the bottom position parallel squats, my form is much better, and I don't think they're really all that much easier than the Oly squats. Starting from a dead stop like that takes a lot to get the weight moving. But these felt much better, both on my back and on my knees, which were able to stay stationary and not wobble around at the bottom. Axle deadlifts went alright. I did all this this morning, but didn't get to log it until now. Met my cousin Dwayne today for lunch. He's a little older than my dad, so probably early 60s, but still very strong. Of all the people I've met, he has always had the biggest hands, fingers, and wrists of anybody. Super thick and tough, his hands look like hams, and a grip like a steel trap. To shake his hand, it just swallows yours up and crushes it. Last time I saw him, I was happy to realize that I could finally hold my own with him when I shook his hand. haha. I don't know what he could do If I showed him my grip training stuff, and I probably won't ever get the oppurtunity, but he definitely has some super strong hands. For me, they are the picture of grip strength, and If my hands ever get to look like his, I definitely wouldn't be upset about it. He's a dairy farmer, and has been working on farms his whole life since he was a kid, so he's got that strength that is built up from decades of manual labor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 And I'm feeling good about the gripper workout I'm gonna have tomorrow. The Grand Master is going DOWN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotAGrip Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 And I'm feeling good about the gripper workout I'm gonna have tomorrow. The Grand Master is going DOWN! Good luck with it mate. You're gonna destroy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Thanks man! I'll hit it this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotAGrip Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 (edited) Thanks man! I'll hit it this afternoon. Let us know how it goes. I have clamped my CoC (sound wrong lol) to reduce the spread but I get some intense pain at the back of my left hand and I am unable to hit my max with that hand. Ever experienced this? It doesn't hurt on any other grip exercise, just grippers - it's odd. Edited January 19, 2013 by GotAGrip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 What do you mean by "back of hand?" And does the pain happen just while your closing it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Saturday 1-19-13 at Home Indian club warmup Grippers Left - T x 10, #1 x 5, #1.5 x 3, (Attempt) SM x 1, 1. Very close both times! #2 x 2. (Silver Bullet) #2.5(+5lbs) x 2, 3rd attempt. #2.5(+2.5lbs) x 1, 2nd attempt. SM(+5lbs) x 1. Right - T x 10, #1 x 5, #2 x 3, (Attempt) GM x 1, 1. Very close both times! #2.5 x 3. (Silver Bullet) #3(+7.5) x 1, 2nd attempt, with several attempts at it. #3(+5lbs) x attempt. GM(+5lbs) x 1. (+7.5lbs) x 1, (+10lbs) x attempt. 2HP with York 45s - 10,10,10. 28lb Blob carry - A bunch down back yard, consecutively. Twist your wrist - 15 x 10. Today was a good one. Got closer than ever on the GM and SM with respective hands. Not quite closed, but I'm getting there. Did somehthing different with the holds today: instead of going for 10 seconds at a time, I just held it till I dropped it. So some were longer than 10, some shorter. I didn't bother marking it. With the blob, I'd carry it till I dropped it, switched hands and do the same, then pick it up with the other hand and remove my pinky, etc. then my ring finger... got down to 2 fingers each hand before I just couldn't do it anymore and called it a day. All in all, today felt good. and even though I'm not someone who cares about "pump," well, the pump in my wrists and forearms right now... d-damn... can't wait till I have my 2HP setup ready! Going to hopefully talk to the machinist this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Also, noticed something today... The tetting Grippers have a narrower spread than my CoC Grippers. For some guys, this might be good, but for me it's kind of a pain. My hands are big enough that this means, especially for my left hand, which is bigger, that positioning them in my hands is harder. When I was attempting the SM, I'd get real close, but then my left hand would slip around on it and I'd lose leverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotAGrip Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 What do you mean by "back of hand?"And does the pain happen just while your closing it? Dead centre of the back of my hand, behind the knuckles. It hurts when the grippers are nearly closed. I know I have the strength to close it with my left hand because I have done it before - but lately, it hurts like mad and I have to stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Oh okay. Yeah I've had that before too, but I'm not really sure what it is... I bet somebody else on here does though. Maybe Jedd. Ibuprofen and Contrasts Baths seem to help just about eveythin though. And light extensor work, I do that 3 times a day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterSweden Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 What do you mean by "back of hand?"And does the pain happen just while your closing it? Dead centre of the back of my hand, behind the knuckles. It hurts when the grippers are nearly closed. I know I have the strength to close it with my left hand because I have done it before - but lately, it hurts like mad and I have to stop. I've had sharp pain in two of my knuckles, not at the same time, I've had sharp pain inside my hand, middle of the palm. All gripper related. All I did was take a couple of weeks off and then ease into it again. Often times I've noticed that 2-3 weeks off can really jumpstart your progress again Also I did contrast bathing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Yeah, rest is not only good for recovery from injury, but for progress. Maybe take a week or two off, do the baths and some active rehab... In other news, just ripped apart a bicycle deck at a party. Felt good. Not as clean as I would have hoped, but faster than I remember having done it before 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 My beloved dog, and best friend, Joe, passed this morning. I loved him as much as I have ever loved any human, and I've dedicated this morning to digging his grave and giving him a proper burial. Rest in Peace, Joe. I loved you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotAGrip Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 My beloved dog, and best friend, Joe, passed this morning. I loved him as much as I have ever loved any human, and I've dedicated this morning to digging his grave and giving him a proper burial.Rest in Peace, Joe. I loved you. So sorry to hear that man, Hope you're okay. Keep your head up - he's in a safe place now and I imagine you gave him a fantastic life. RIP Joe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Thanks man. I'm upset, but I'll be alright. I got Joe when I was 8, and he lived a long, happy, spoiled life of 14 years. In September of 2010 he damaged his lower spine and his back legs became paralyzed. We thought we would lose him then, but he pulled through, and with extra help and love he lived his last year and half pain free. Only recently he began to have complications from being immobile for so long. He has been laid to rest now, and is in a better place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotAGrip Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Thanks man.I'm upset, but I'll be alright. I got Joe when I was 8, and he lived a long, happy, spoiled life of 14 years. In September of 2010 he damaged his lower spine and his back legs became paralyzed. We thought we would lose him then, but he pulled through, and with extra help and love he lived his last year and half pain free. Only recently he began to have complications from being immobile for so long. He has been laid to rest now, and is in a better place. I lost a dog a few years back - it's not nice, especially when you are close. I feel for ya. Hope you get back on your feet soon - allow the happy memories to help you through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Thanks. I'll be fine, but today I'm just going to rest and reflect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel reinard Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Losing a dog sucks. Sorry to hear. Sounds like he lived along life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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