Developing The Crushing And Healing Hand

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 4/18/23:

Grippers DE

Right: 
        1" GHP Block: Silvis T-Rex Adjustable (120) x 12 doubles
        Click closes to overcrush:  GHP6 (126) + CPW Bumper, 2 full turns x 6, 6, 6, 6, 4

Left: 
        1" GHP Block: CoC 2 + CPW Bumper, 1 full turn x 12 doubles
        Click closes to overcrush: GG4 (115) x 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

Strap Wrist Extensions: 6.25kg x 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 (each hand; done between click close sets)

 

It feels like I have lost the spirit/point of this workout over the past few weeks. Rather than focusing on speed/power, I started spacing out my rest a bit more, and it has slowly been turning into more of a strength than power workout, which is not what I want. And turning the block sets more into strength work leaves me gassed for the click closes which end in less dominant over crushes. The main culprit is my right hand. I feel like I've been keeping my left in the appropriate zone. Going forward, I won't be jumping up in grippers as frequently. I'll keep a 24 rep cap on the block sets and move to fast triples after I master fast doubles. If the triples get slow, I'll drop back down to doubles. If the doubles get slow, I'll drop down grippers. I'll also keep a tighter lock on rest periods. I was spacing them out more and more, and this workout above ended up taking over an hour, which I don't think should be the case in a workout where I am trying to focus on speed and power. I think I can still get this work done on the left with less rest, but I will probably gripper down on the right next week. 

In related news, I finally ordered a Flask, so I'm really excited about that. Not sure when it will get here, but I can't wait to use it. I also ordered a CoC 2.5 RGC 121 from @Cannon to fill that gap in my current lineup. And once I get done filing a few grippers I have now, I plan on sending in 8-9 grippers for rate-and-return so that I no longer have any unrated grippers. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 4/19/23:

A. Belt squat: 40kgx10, 55kgx10, 70kgx10, 80kg x10, 10, 10
B. Landmine wrist curls: Olympic bar, 12.5kg x 12, 15, 15, 15, 15 (each hand)
C. Belt squat calf raises: 40kg x25, 55kg x25, 70kg x25, 80kg x25, 80kg x25
D. Fat Gripz hammer curls: 15.5kg/hand x 5 sets of 10; final set followed by drop set of 8 cheat curls

Got into a groove with the belt squats. I can start pushing the weights more as i get more used to them. I'm limited in that I only have two regular 20kg plates. The bumper plates are too thick to use, and I don't have any 25kg plates. I've probably only got room for another 20kg or so with the plates I have. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

It's been a great 24 hours!

1. I found out last night that I had been voted on by the pathology residents to receive the Fellows Teaching Award. I was super honored!

2. My youngest went to the bathroom on her potty for the first time! It's the beginning of the end of diapers. 

3. I completed my RB adjustable project that I have been contemplating for some time. See below!

4. New gripper day! My CoC 2.5 (121) arrived from @Cannon. 

5. I hit a PR! I closed my GHP7 for the first time ever. 

Workout 4/21/23:

GRIPPERS
Right:
     Warmup
     MMS: BBSM (139) x 1
     Deep set: GHP7 (143) x1 make (PR!!!), 1 miss (<1mm), 1 make; CoC 3 (146) x miss (getting close!)

Left:
     Warmup
     MMS: GHP6 (126) x 3 singles
     Deep set: CoC 2.5 (126, now filed 2mm) x 1 miss (<1mm)
 

I added a choker conversion to my RB adjustable. The rest of my workout was playing around with that and figuring out what will be good settings for 19mm sets. 

All 19mm sets:
On the left: best was heavy spring (HS) 4-4; barely missed 4-5. For reps, I did HS 3-4 for 5 (almost 6).
On the right: best was HS 5-5. Then I did HS 4-4 for 10 and HS 4-5 for 3. 

 

[Jared P]

Insanely close on that CoC 3! That things gonna fall in short order.

Getting into those exciting levels now.

[DoctorOfCrush]

5 hours ago, Jared P said:

Insanely close on that CoC 3! That things gonna fall in short order.

Getting into those exciting levels now.

I know! I wonder how close it would’ve been if I hadn’t made three attempts at the GHP7. But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 4/22/23:

Double kettlebell press: 34kg/hand x [1,2,3,4,5]x3, [1,2,3,4] x 1, [1,2,3,3*] (i.e. 23 working sets; 64 total reps; ~80 mins)

As Pavel says: If you want to press a lot, you've got to press... a lot (VOLUME!).  I missed the last rep on my last set. I made it about 2/3 up, but I totally gassed out. It's been a while since I've missed a prescribed set, but when I have in the past, I just repeat the week. It's still progress because I did 4 more total reps than last week. The 36kg kettlebells are still not in stock, so this will buy an extra week before I need them.

On another note, tracking says that my Flask should get here Monday! I have a feeling it may it get pushed to Tuesday based on updates, but either way I'm excited. I also just shipped off a whole bunch of grippers (9!) to Cannon this morning to be rated so that I don't have any non-rated grippers. I filed a few of them, and I'm hoping it will fill out my range from 126-139 nicely.  We'll see. Here's what I sent off:

Coc 0.5 (heavily filed)
CoC 1 - my first ever gripper from ~2013/2014
CoC 1.5 (filed 3-4mm)
GHP 4
CoC 2 - a true work horse
HG250 (filed 3-4mm)
CoC 2.5 (originally 126 then filed 2mm) - I'm hoping for ~128-131. 
RB240N (originally 131 then filed ~3-4mm) - Would be great if this was around 133-135.
CoC 2.5 (originally 134 then filed 3mm) - I haven't tried it since I filed it a bit more, but I would like for it to be ~137.  I bet it will be more. Hopefully not dead on 139 because I already have a 139. Doubt it will make it all the way to ~141, but that would be good too. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 4/23/23:

A. Back squat: Warmup, 105kg x5, 5, 8
B. Plate pinch curl: 6.25kg x 5 sets of 12
A. Front squat: 75kg x4x5
B. Seated RGT cable row: 32.5kg x 5 sets of 8. Drop set after final set with regular handle 8 on L and 10 on R. 
 

Squats felt pretty good. I was worried after my second set, but I rested a bit more, and the first 5 of the last set felt easier than the second set. I think I’m just not resting enough between sets to be honest. I usually don’t rest more than 3 minutes. I rested 4 between the second and third and felt loads better. The last GSLP wave where I did 105, I hit six reps, so eight is improvement. I stalled on 107.5 last time, so it’s looking like I’ll exceed that this time. I’d love to make it to 115 this time. At least 100 seems likely. The 1RM calculator (which I know are crap) puts me around 130kg. Not strong, but stronger than previously. I hate how weak my squats are, but maybe with some consistency I’ll eventually put up some numbers a grown man would be proud of. 
 

The Flask gets here tomorrow, so this is probably the last time I’ll do the plate pinch curls for now. I’ll use it for pinch curls from now on. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 4/25/23:

Grippers DE

Right: 
        1" GHP Block: GG4 (115) x2; CoC 2.5 (121) x 1*; GG4 (115) x 2,3,3,3,3,2,3,3
        Click closes to overcrush:  GHP6 (126) + CPW Bumper, 2 full turns x 6, 6, 5; GHP6 (126) x 6, 5; GG4 (115) x 6

Left: 
        1" GHP Block: GHP5 (109) x 2, 2, 2; RB adjustable light spring 10/10 at 25mm x 2,2,3,3,3,3,2
        Click closes to overcrush: GG4 (115) x 6, 6, 4, 4; GHP5 (109) x6

Strap Wrist Extensions: 7.5kg x 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 (each hand; done between click close sets)

I had to gripper down a few times during the workout. My forearms are actually still a little sore from Sunday's RGT work, especially my right. I also sent a number of grippers to Cannon for rate-and-return, so I didn't have my typical CoC 2 that I use from my left hand. I tested the waters on the right with the 121, but it wasn't there. 

My Flask got here yesterday, so I decided to play around with it after grippers. I love this thing. It feels fantastic, and the quick load of the loading pin system is so nice. I was crunched for time a bit, so I just decided to see what I could do 1-handed with each hand and just stop when I couldn't get a weight on the first attempt. Then I moved on to 2-hand. 

Right and left 1-hand: 25kg (55 lb) loaded; broke the ground with 30kg but it started to slip. 
2-hand: 67.5 kg (148.8 lb) loaded; broke the ground with 70kg but it started to slip. 

I don't have a point of reference for where this stands as a first attempt, but I imagine it's where a lot of my other lifts are in the late beginner/intermediate territory. 

 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 4/28/23:

GRIPPERS
Right:
     Warmup
     MMS: BBSM (139) x 3 singles (4 attempted; missed one by ~1mm)
     Choked reps: Tetting Grand Master (150) @ 13mm x 3, 3, 3

Left:
     Warmup
     MMS: GHP6 (126) x 4 singles
     Choked reps: RB adjustable @ 19mm: Heavy Spring 3-4 x 5, 11; 4-4 x5

On my MMS, I was focusing on exaggerated pausing at the MMS before going on every rep. I did take an attempt at the 143 again, but it wasn't there today. I know 13mm is a weird set distance, but that was just where it ended up when I got tired of working the wing nut on the choker mechanism. I'm not sure what happened on the left hand RB reps. Something clicked, and it was way easier at the 3-4 setting, so I bumped it up. Not sure if I improved my hand placement or what. 

After this, I decided to try out the Flask once more, this time without the 1 attempt limitation. I knew there would be newbie gains as I got used to the implement, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much everything went up. 

One hand Flask: 20kgx3, 25kgx2, 30kg x miss (both hands), 25kg, 27.5kg, 30kg, 31.25kg, 32.5kg, 35kg (make on left, miss on right), 32.5kg, 33.75kg, 35kg x miss (both hands)

So I went from only hitting 25kg a few days ago to hitting 35kg/77.2lb on the left and 33.75kg/74.4lb on the right

Two hand Flask: 60kg, 62.5kg, 66.25kg, 70kg, 75kg, 80kg x miss, 77.5kg x miss

I went from 67.5kg a few days to 75kg/165.3lb today. 
     

I also got word from Cannon about my gripper ratings, and after some selective filling, this is how they all turned out:

Coc 0.5 (heavily filed): 75 lb
CoC 1 - my first ever gripper: 73 lb
CoC 1.5 (filed 3-4mm): 86 lb
GHP 4: 85 lb
CoC 2 - a true work horse: 101 lb
HG250 (filed 3-4mm): 120 lb
CoC 2.5 (originally 126 then filed 2mm) - I'm hoping for ~128-131. : 131 lb (after additional filing)
RB240N (originally 131 then filed ~3-4mm) - Would be great if this was around 133-135. : 123!
CoC 2.5 (originally 134 then filed 3mm): 135 lb (after additional filing)

Interestingly, the two 2.5s both lost poundage from their original ratings. The 126 was re-rated at 126 after I filed it a few mm, and the 134, which I had also filed a few mm, actually re-rated 132. With some additional filing on Cannon's part the ratings fell into some better spots.  I'm thinking that the 131 that was mentioned to me about the RB240N was either a typo or a  misremembrance. Either way, it's still in a usable spot. I was also surprised about the GHP4. I would have guessed it was more evenly in-between the 1.5 and 2. 

Now I can't wait to get them all back!

[Douglas Carney]

10 hours ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

... I also got word from Cannon about my gripper ratings, and after some selective filling, this is how they all turned out:

Coc 0.5 (heavily filed): 75 lb
CoC 1 - my first ever gripper: 73 lb
CoC 1.5 (filed 3-4mm): 86 lb
GHP 4: 85 lb
CoC 2 - a true work horse: 101 lb
HG250 (filed 3-4mm): 120 lb
CoC 2.5 (originally 126 then filed 2mm) - I'm hoping for ~128-131. : 131 lb (after additional filing)
RB240N (originally 131 then filed ~3-4mm) - Would be great if this was around 133-135. : 123!
CoC 2.5 (originally 134 then filed 3mm): 135 lb (after additional filing)

Interestingly, the two 2.5s both lost poundage from their original ratings. The 126 was re-rated at 126 after I filed it a few mm, and the 134, which I had also filed a few mm, actually re-rated 132. With some additional filing on Cannon's part the ratings fell into some better spots.  I'm thinking that the 131 that was mentioned to me about the RB240N was either a typo or a  misremembrance. Either way, it's still in a usable spot. I was also surprised about the GHP4. I would have guessed it was more evenly in-between the 1.5 and 2. 

Now I can't wait to get them all back!

Nice gripper collection!  I don't typically see much around 135lb so you have a great range to work with there.

The 2.5 ratings are kinda wild though.  I would have thought they'd both go up with filing (and more distance to travel).

This reminds me that I still haven't gotten to the post office and mailed @Cannon some grippers to rate.  "Just" need to make the time.

[DoctorOfCrush]

2 hours ago, Douglas Carney said:

Nice gripper collection!  I don't typically see much around 135lb so you have a great range to work with there.

The 2.5 ratings are kinda wild though.  I would have thought they'd both go up with filing (and more distance to travel).

This reminds me that I still haven't gotten to the post office and mailed @Cannon some grippers to rate.  "Just" need to make the time.

Thanks! These represent about 1/3 of my grippers. They were just the ones that still needed rating. 
 

As for the 2.5s, I’m assuming that they just lost a little bit over the years. I’ve had and used both of them for the 8 years or so. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 4/29/23:

Double kettlebell press: 34kg/hand x [1,2,3,4,5]x3, [1,2,3,4] x 2 (i.e. 23 working sets; 65 total reps; ~80 mins)

Redemption from last week. I got that last rep this time. Parts of the workout felt a bit tougher, but I had more gas in the tank by the end of it. I'm slightly annoyed because the 36kg / 80 lb kettlebells that I need for the next progression still are not in stock. There are only a handful of companies that have competition-style kettlebells that heavy. Most of them stop at 32kg.  Hopefully, they'll show up in the next couple of weeks by the time I need them. If not, I'll have to figure out something else. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 4/30/23:

So this week, I decided to wake up early and split up this workout up into two different workouts and see how that felt. It felt great. I plan to continue this way if possible. 

Early morning workout:
A. Flask pinch curl: 2.5kg x 12 x 2; 5kg x 6, 8, 8, 8
B. Seated RGT cable row: 35kg x 5 sets of 8. D

Afternoon workout:
A. Back squat: Warmup, 107.5kg x5, 5, 7
B. Front squat: 80kg x4x5

The Flask curls took some getting used to, but I finally got into a rhythm. I need to weigh it with the loading pin to see how much I'm actually doing. Right now I'm just listing added weight. 

Squats felt pretty good too. I got stuck at 107.5kg last time I progressed through, so this is definite improvement. I think I got the first set of 5  then only got 4 on the second set the last time through. 

I'm going to a regional hematopathology conference next Fri-Sun, so I'm going to have to re-arrange some things. It might be a de-load week for squat so I can just knock it out when I get back from driving 5+ hours next Sunday. I'll probably also move pressing to Thursday night and do some gripping in the hotel room on Saturday night. 

Lastly, I emailed the kettlebell company last night, and they got back to me today saying that it would late June/July before they re-stocked. So I decided to just go with another company. The pair of 36kg bells should be on their way soon. 
 

Edited May 1, 2023 by DoctorOfCrush

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 5/3/23:

Grippers DE

Right: 
        1" GHP Block: GG4 (115) x 8 sets of 3
        Click closes to overcrush:  GHP6 (126) x 5 sets of 6

Left: 
        1" GHP Block: RB adjustable light spring 10/10 at 25mm x 2,2,3,3,3,3,3,2,2
        Click closes to overcrush: GG4 (115) x 5 sets of 6

Strap Wrist Extensions: 10kg x 8, 8, 8, 8, 10; drop set with 5 kg - 24 reps

I pushed off what is normally a Tuesday workout to Wednesday because initially USPS tracking stated that all my grippers would arrive on Wednesdays, but then that was pushed to Thursday, so I had to just go ahead and do it.  The past month, I have been on an elective rotation, so I was able to workout in the afternoon, but now I am back on service so that's not possible. This was the first time having to workout at night again (started my warmup at 8:30). It went fine.

I'm nearing the end of this 'mesocycle,' so now I am brainstorming how I will change things for the next 6 weeks or so.  I think I will keep with a two day/week with grippers, but I may change up how I do this dynamic day. Not sure yet. I may cut down on the variety (just stick to one set style) and incorporate pinching or something. 

I have a hematopathology conference this weekend, so I won't be able to keep my normal workout schedule. I will probably skip my pressing entirely. I initially planned on trying to get my pressing in tonight (Thursday), but I may instead use the time to play around with some deadlifting because I think I want to include that in my next cycle, and I would like to see where I stand beforehand. Next week is essentially a deload. 

Edited May 4, 2023 by DoctorOfCrush

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 5/4/23:

So a little back story about my deadlifting. I haven't trained deadlift in a serious fashion for over 10 years. There have been a few times in the last few years where I would train it for a few weeks (definitely less than a month) and just let it fall off. I have been wanting to re-incorporate it just to see how it goes, so I wanted to know where I stood. My previous best ever was 365 lb conventional, mixed grip deadlift. That was probably 10-12 years ago. And that was at ~170 lb probably. I don't think I've lifted more than ~315 lb since then.

During this workout, I wanted to see where I stood doing double overhand, and I went in thinking I would be happy with ~150kg/330lb. 

Deadlift (Double overhand, conventional stance):

60kg x5
90kg x5
110kg x5
130kg x3
140kg x3
150kg x1
160kg x1
170kg x1

So I ended up hitting an all-time PR with 170kg / 375lb at an RPE of around 8-9. My first attempt at 170 resulted in my hands starting to unfurl, and I didn't want to let it to affect my positioning. I just let it down and re-attempted with straps. Needless to say, I was very pleased with this result. I am WAY closer to a 400lb deadlift than I thought I would be. Since this is the baseline without having trained deadlift, I expect that I may be able to hit 400 in pretty short order. 

My plan going forward is to use 170kg as my 1RM and begin doing Greyskull like I am with squats. I'll probably start with 115-120kg for my sets of 5 and see where that takes me. 

For accessory work on the nights I do deadlift, I plan on doing pull-ups and dips. As such, I wanted to re-check where I stand on my pull-ups. For what it's worth, I do what I consider gymnast-style pull-ups when I do them: pointed toes, hollow body position, slow/controlled, pause at the bottom, and chin above the bar without extending the neck.  I was able to get 10 bodyweight pull-ups with a 1-2 sec pause at the bottom of each rep before I thought I would not complete the next rep without putting some body english on it. I'll definitely be doing weighted pull-ups based on this result, and I'll probably play around with these sometime next week to see what feels like a good starting weight for sets of 5. 

[Douglas Carney]

2 hours ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

...  I haven't trained deadlift in a serious fashion for over 10 years.  ...  That was probably 10-12 years ago.  ...  I don't think I've lifted more than ~315 lb since then.

 

During this workout, I wanted to see where I stood doing double overhand, and I went in thinking I would be happy with ~150kg/330lb.

...

So I ended up hitting an all-time PR with 170kg / 375lb at an RPE of around 8-9.  ...  Needless to say, I was very pleased with this result. I am WAY closer to a 400lb deadlift than I thought I would be. Since this is the baseline without having trained deadlift, I expect that I may be able to hit 400 in pretty short order. 

...

For accessory work on the nights I do deadlift, I plan on doing pull-ups and dips. As such, I wanted to re-check where I stand on my pull-ups. For what it's worth, I do what I consider gymnast-style pull-ups when I do them: pointed toes, hollow body position, slow/controlled, pause at the bottom, and chin above the bar without extending the neck.  I was able to get 10 bodyweight pull-ups with a 1-2 sec pause at the bottom of each rep before I thought I would not complete the next rep without putting some body english on it. I'll definitely be doing weighted pull-ups based on this result, and I'll probably play around with these sometime next week to see what feels like a good starting weight for sets of 5. 

Awesome pulling power!  What a great baseline to start from...  You'll be pulling 400 in no time!

[DoctorOfCrush]

44 minutes ago, Douglas Carney said:

Awesome pulling power!  What a great baseline to start from...  You'll be pulling 400 in no time!

Thanks, I was genuinely surprised. I assume that all the heavy kettlebell swings over the years have maintained my posterior chain. Hopefully with some dedicated training I can push past the 400 mark pretty quickly. It’s only 11 kg! 

[Blacksmith513]

Just now, DoctorOfCrush said:

Thanks, I was genuinely surprised. I assume that all the heavy kettlebell swings over the years have maintained my posterior chain. Hopefully with some dedicated training I can push past the 400 mark pretty quickly. It’s only 11 kg! 

I'm sure that was a big factor. KB swings are pretty effective and great for the posterior chain.. I've honestly never really deadlifted except for 10 years ago I messed around for a bit. Closest i've come is using the Napalm Nightmare. I'm real curious what my deadlift would be.  Might have to grab my POS barbell from my bros house.

 

I think you'll hit 400 very soon.

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 5/6/23:

GRIPPERS
Right:
     Warmup
     MMS: Silvis T-rex set to ~140 x 4 singles 
     Choked reps: Tetting Grand Master (150) @ 16mm x 2, 2, 2

Left:
     Warmup
     MMS: GHP6 (126) x 4 singles
     Choked reps: RB adjustable @ 19mm: Heavy Spring  4-4 x 6, 3, 4, 5

Not too bad for a hotel workout. I think I was hitting the T-rex reps, but it was hard to tell. I didn't feel like it was worthwhile to attempt the GHP7 given how I felt.  I'll stick with this as my singles gripper for the next workout. I am going to de-load next week and just take it easy before I start my next mesocycle. It'll probably go for 6 weeks or so.  I am going to attempt what @Chez laid out in a video a couple of years ago where you do heavy singles, then doubles, then triples. I probably won't do the negatives just because I'll have other volume in the form of my second gripper day. I won't detail it all here because you can go watch his video on it. As a deload week, I'm just using my workouts this week to see where I stand on a few lifts (I'll do an RGT attempt at some point) and to also see what I should consider for working weights in exercises that I am adding to the mix. 

I was watching a video where Eddie Hall made an interesting point that I hope to hold on to. The context was that before he finally took home WSM he was really bummed out having not won the WSM, and he was seeing a therapist about it. The therapist asked something along the lines of "What if told you that it was only going to take X more failed attempts before you win? Would that make the loss easier? Would that reinvigorate you?"  I like that. I'm going to try to stop thinking of progress in the framing of "that was one more workout where I didn't accomplish X" and instead think of it as "I'm now one workout closer to the time when I do accomplish X." 

[Gripperer]

I like that snippet, thanks for sharing.

[DoctorOfCrush]

Welp, I got to eat a big ole slice of humble pie tonight. It's my 'de-load' week this week, and I was going to use it to test out where I am on certain lifts I have been training as well as other ones I plan on implementing in my next cycle. Tonight was RGT testing followed by assessing weighted pull-ups and ring dips.

RGT was an utter failure. 

I have been running an experiment where I do the RGT reps as cable rows hoping to get the same volume stimulus while not taxing my legs or low back at all, which was especially important since I was super-setting the movement with squats during those workouts. Well, that experiment failed. Or at least doing higher volume sets did. I focused on doing sets of 6-10 with around 70% of my 1RM with some variation over the cycle.

Tonight when I re-tested my 1RM, I hit the exact same weight that I hit on March 12th. Not another pound.

I was genuinely surprised and bummed out. I haven't decided if I need to attempt RGT rows with higher weights/lower reps or just start doing reps off the floor. 

RGT:
20kg x5
30kg x5
40kg x3
50kg x2
57.5kg x miss
52.5kg x1
55kg x1 (miss on right)
56.25kg x miss on left
55kg x miss on right

After this, I tested out my approximate 5RMs on the weighted pull-ups and weight ring dips to determine a working weight. for pull-ups I'll use 20kg as my 5RM. It has been a while since I have done ring dips, so I'm sure they will jump up. I used to use the same weights for my pullups and dips when I did them more often.  For now, I'll just use 10kg as my 5RM on the ring dips. 

 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Ok, now it's time to start my new cycle. I'll document the full plan in a later post, but I decided to keep my squatting and rolling handle work on Sunday. I initially thought that I would continue with GSLP, but at the eleventh hour I found the Candito 6 week program and decided to give the lower body portion a try. It pairs squats with deadlifts, which I have never done but am willing to try out. I'll have to cut down the work I was planning on pairing with deadlifts, so I'll put off weighted pull-ups and dips to another time. I also won't be doing the bench component because I've never really been interested in bench press (plus I train exclusively solo and don't have safety bars; no thanks). 

I also wasn't quite ready to totally give up on RGT rows just yet. I blame the programming, not the movement. I'll be doing Clay Edgin's program but adapting it to my six week cycle. 

Workout 5/14/23:
AM
A. Seated RGT cable row: 40kg x6/side, 36.25kg x6x3, 32.5kg x6x3
B. Flask curl: 5kg x8/side, 10, 10, 10, 10

PM
Squat: 100kg x6x4
Deadlift (double overhand): 135kg x6x2

Squat and deadlift in the same workout is tough but doable. I'm glad the deadlift was only two sets. Doing sets of 6 after having not done deadlift was rough. I had to throw on straps for the second set. FWIW, I'm using 125kg as my squat max and 170 as my deadlift max.

[DoctorOfCrush]

Well Clay Edgin's program seems to be no joke. Both of my forearms are genuinely sore from yesterday's rolling handle work. Hopefully the soreness will translate to actual progress. We'll see!

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 5/16/23:

So the plan for Tuesday nights is grippers, pinch, and wrist extensions. I wanted to play around with alternating gripper sets and pinch sets. It went ok for the warmups, but when I got to my pinch working sets, my gripper power fell off precipitously. I will have to work something out where I do grippers first then pinch. I'll probably warm up my pinch with grippers then hold off on the working sets until after grippers. 

I'm just doing the Clay Edgin program for pinch as well. I figure I don't need the perfect program because I hope to see some newbie gains just by virtue of actually training the lift for the first time, and using this program just simplifies things since I'm using it for RGT too. For my 6RM tonight, I just reverse engineered it from my 1RM and was hoping to hit 65kg. When I was warming up though, the 60kg triple was getting slippy, so I decided to try for that instead. 

Grippers:
Right: Tetting GM choked (150) @13mm x 3, 3, 3, 2

Left: RB adjustable, choked @ 19mm, heavy spring 4-4 x 5, 6, 6, 4

Pinch:
2-hand Flask: 60kg x6, 55kg x6x3, 50kg x6x3

The goal of the plan is 5 sets of choked grippers, 3 sets of strap holds, 7 sets of pinch, and 5 sets of wrist extensions. Hopefully between now and next week I can think of a way to stack these exercises to get the work in as efficiently as possible.  

[Blacksmith513]

On 5/10/2023 at 10:21 PM, DoctorOfCrush said:

Welp, I got to eat a big ole slice of humble pie tonight. It's my 'de-load' week this week, and I was going to use it to test out where I am on certain lifts I have been training as well as other ones I plan on implementing in my next cycle. Tonight was RGT testing followed by assessing weighted pull-ups and ring dips.

RGT was an utter failure. 

I have been running an experiment where I do the RGT reps as cable rows hoping to get the same volume stimulus while not taxing my legs or low back at all, which was especially important since I was super-setting the movement with squats during those workouts. Well, that experiment failed. Or at least doing higher volume sets did. I focused on doing sets of 6-10 with around 70% of my 1RM with some variation over the cycle.

Tonight when I re-tested my 1RM, I hit the exact same weight that I hit on March 12th. Not another pound.

I was genuinely surprised and bummed out. I haven't decided if I need to attempt RGT rows with higher weights/lower reps or just start doing reps off the floor. 

RGT:
20kg x5
30kg x5
40kg x3
50kg x2
57.5kg x miss
52.5kg x1
55kg x1 (miss on right)
56.25kg x miss on left
55kg x miss on right

After this, I tested out my approximate 5RMs on the weighted pull-ups and weight ring dips to determine a working weight. for pull-ups I'll use 20kg as my 5RM. It has been a while since I have done ring dips, so I'm sure they will jump up. I used to use the same weights for my pullups and dips when I did them more often.  For now, I'll just use 10kg as my 5RM on the ring dips. 

 

by RGT do you mean Rolling Grip Thing? 

 

Man that thing is tough. Its a fight and a half for every 10lbs I add. Microgainz plates are about $60+or- on Amazon and have been a great investment. Sometimes 1lbs might as well be 100lbs. It aint movin off the floor!

 

And thats a solid workout right there, not a failure at all.