Wobbler log

[wobbler]

Did euro 2hp sunday, need more technique work and better chalking. Really tiring wrestling with that thing to get weights loaded. Getting it on the scale I'm rim lifting from the 10's on there so that takes a bit out of me too. Maybe a decent number next week, so far 48mm is too narrow, I like 54mm, 50 or 52 might be better but I didn't set it up. Did 3-4 reps at 145 ish to dial in width, can't trust a single max effort to sort that out.

Today, bending. 1\4×6 g8 in BBW pretty quick. Moved fbbc 9/32×6.5 ss in BBW from like 160 to 110. Red nail still stuck, might have put 5 more degrees in it. O1 drill rod crush in imps, .2969x7 and .302x7 to under 2" starting from 2.5ish.

Couldn't really move a g8 in imps, too rough in index fingers. Might adjust beer from 1 before 2 during, to 2 before 2 during. Not joking there at all, it helps but too much and you will hurt yourself.

 

[wobbler]

No luck with the euro, bending might be slowing things down. Did some random stuff, two hand keypinch on ironmind hub, 88lbs. Thumb and 2 finger 45 plate hub, thumb and index 35 plate hub right only. Kind of a wasted day but it was fun. Thinking axle and blobs next, will take a few more cracks at that hub key pinch too.

[wobbler]

Bent a spiral red nail on sunday in BBW wraps, also 1/4×7 fbbc square (way harder than my ebay squares ive bent before in imps) and made some crushing progress on that 9/32×6.5 fbbc stainless (harder to crush than that spiral red)

My shoulders click and I tweaked one trying to keep the bar higher, elbows up,  and rotate forward, that's just not for me I guess.

Keeping up with pushups in the morning and at night hoping for some noob gains because my chest strength is definitely not great.

Can't kink shit in imps after getting used to the BBW wraps, but I'm also not destroying my index fingers every time I bend so I'll keep with it. On 7" crs bars once it's kinked it goes, so I think I'm working on the right weak spots for now (sweep and crush.)

Have a stack of new red nails but could use more spirals to work through this. More comfortable with a 6" kink which could bite me later.

 

 

[wobbler]

Did hub stuff and blobs sunday, nothing to report there, maybe next week. Was still a bit sore but did some bending today because I'm booked tomorrow.

BBW wraps, melted a 1/4×6 g8 in about 15 seconds. This was after putting about 5* in two of them in imps, index finger pain tolerance issue.

Spiral red nail in BBW about 2:20 start to finish, had to take a breather. Big improvement on last week. Looking forward to under a minute, then work on transition to imps. From what I've seen people say bbw are like 1 1/3 imps, but they sure feel like 1.5-1.75 when it comes to kinking stuff.

Shoulder is still a bit sore but fine if I stick to the range of motion / kink style I'm used to.

Here's the g8, red nail 2 part video is up too but not real exciting.

 

[wobbler]

Tried hubs last weekend not much luck. Blobs felt good though, couple solid lifts both hands with pre usa half 90. I keep bruising my palms and thumb pads bending, maybe that's why hubs aren't working out... Probably switch that up.

Bent today, yellow nail in imps warmup, the rest in BBW. 1/4×6 g8, took my time, about 45 seconds. Spiral red 1:20, fastest so far. New red nail (first for me) just under 5 minutes. Kink was rough but it let go after 20-25* and felt like crs again, until the last part of the crush and it tightens back up. Moved that fbbc 9/32×6.5 ss from like 80* to about 2.5".

Think I'm ready for a bastard cert, I have some old ones I got 2nd hand but also some 7.5" new ones I bought direct, probably chop a half inch off one of those just to be 100% sure its a legit bar and go for it next week.

[wobbler]

Spiral red (thanks @Anton.Torrella ) in a little under 40 seconds, BBW. Went for a new red and lost all the extra skin on my left index. No blood, stopped just in time. Then did some kink isos and crush isos on that 9/32x6.5 ss. Did some homework and watched a lot of bending videos, noticed some guys (sorry, let's be honest it's just guys) crushing with the bar out in front away from their chests. Tried that and it feels good, the bar was moving a lot more it just kept springing back.

Switched bending to weekends, more sleep and more food, hoping to recover a bit better. Grip will have to be a weekday, blobs and sledge I think.

 

[Anton.Torrella]

Hell yea!

[wobbler]

.277x7 drill rod in imps, spiral red in BBW 1.75" in from the ends (have been going 1.25 or so) slowly, letting it cool off after every hit. Skin on my left index is giving me problems, and some palm bruising/pain, 2 days recovery isn't quite enough at this point. 

So I played with some blobs, half 50 index finger only, half 60 ring, half 70 middle. Some partial lifts and negatives with half the 90.

Sledge fingerwalks to get some blood flowing. Meh, would have liked to bend a bit more but wasn't in the cards today.

[wobbler]

.277 drill rod in imps. Spiral red, bbw 1.75" in from the end of the bar, 36 seconds. I could probably get it faster with wraps further out, but that won't work with imps so really not much of a point there. Tried a spiral red in imps and again lost all the extra skin on my left index finger, no blood but as close as you can get.

Crush feels good, kink is off, my right hand is way higher than left, so need to work on that. Some nagging pain in my left shoulder, this latest video yoy can really see how lopsided the kink is. Watching more videos including going back to my old imp videos when I was kinking some decent stuff.

So 3 ideas for progression right now are:

1) Warmup bend in imps, go faster,  slowly increase difficulty (I have a lot of drill rod)

2) Spiral reds in bbw, go faster and with wraps further on the bar

3) New reds in bbw, will have to start with wraps about 1 - 1.25" on the bar because I can barely move these (so far have only bent one) then same as step 2

Eventually I'll get imps on the spirals and "step 2" the new reds, then lose the rubber bands and I'm there.

 

[wobbler]

Bending went well today, details in the instagram text. Index finger skin all good, index finger nerves all dead, so felt great! I got a spiral red in about 20 seconds but was a little over 2", needed one more hit. Hoping for less than 30 next week. Also imps felt real comfortable with .277 drill rod, will go .282 next week.

 

[wobbler]

.282x7 O1 drill rod in imps, fast warmup, 3 hits done in under 10 seconds. Spiral red in imps, to 2 1/8" in about a minute, needed one more hit. First time putting more than a ding in one of those with imps so happy with that. New red nail in fbbc wraps, about 38 seconds. Skin held up, no unexpected pain, so definitely a good session. Won't know until tomorrow but I might not even have bruised palms. Gaining a bit of weight, walking around at 187 or so.

[wobbler]

Still bending every weekend, slow progress, not much to report. Keep bruising only my left palm/thumb area fot some reason.

 I set up a beastmaker 2000 hang board so figuring that out a bit.

[wobbler]

A couple good bending milestones today. Spiral red in imps <1 minute, new red nail fbbc wraps a little more than 1.5" on the bar, same place I put imps. I can go a lot quicker with wraps further out, but that doesn't translate to bending in imps so, who cares. Crushed a 1/4×5.5 g8 from 90* where it was stuck. .277 drill rod imps no bands warmup felt easy too. Don't think I bruised my palms at all, didn't lose any skin on my fingers either.

Main adjustments were trying to keep the bar higher, elbows up and forward, and I've started using the gripper crush again after I kept missing bends by 1/8" or so.

Vids on my instagram page, but here's the graveyard:

 

[wobbler]

Still been bending once a week, want to get to twice a week if my skin holds.

Lost a bit of strength and trying to improve technique at the same time, so once this all clicks I should be close to the red nail cert.

Happy with how easy that kink felt relative to the crush, wish I'd held that first hit longer though. That heats the bar up more and makes the rest of the bend a bit easier.

[wobbler]

Bent 2 days ago and ate/slept enough to try again tonight. Walking around a bit over 190 lbs. 0.290x7 O1 drill rod and 1/4×6 g8 bolt both in imps no pads.  Failed spiral red imps with bands.

Started a few beers deeper than usual, a little over confident. Working on technique and speed, hoping max effort bends will fall in line when I'm more reste/focused.

I have changed my stance hoping for more symmetrical bends and it seems to be working, wide parallel feet. I used to put one foot forward. I wanted to flip the bar 180* but can't really do that without bands. Here's the .290 drill rod, I think it looks pretty good: 

 

Feel like I'm getting pretty close to red nail cert so if anyone has anything that might be helpful, all ears. Any criticism at all is more than welcome, tell me to smile more if you think that would help

[wobbler]

Bent some stuff, a few flavors of 5/16×7 crs and did a 1/4×7 crs underhand pads touching. Some vids on instagram.

Feet parallel and higher bar is starting to pay off. BBW today for the most part, blew through most of these bends so I think subconsciously pain tolerance in imps is still a bit of an issue. Will get stronger and go back, faster bends should help work around that.

[Slippery Pete]

Do you drink alcohol before/while bending? I usually drink a bit of dark rum or whiskey while bending. Feels so much easier for me that way.

Good luck on the Red Nail cert!

[wobbler]

Thanks man. 2 beers before, 2 beers during, without fail. No joke hoping it's not an issue to drink beer before/during a cert attempt... Usually just miller lite, maybe something heavier before. I've found that I bend better on an empty stomach too.

Speaking of, bent/tried to bend some stuff tonight. Got some 3/8HRS and cut a 7" bar, not even a wobble in BBW but I swear it sprung back on me. Might try a different batch, if it still doesn't move then it's time to make some ISO bars. That bar had the spiral look to it, I got 2 other 3ft lengths others that don't.

Gave it 5 hits and saw some stars, the plus side is I'm now comortable enough with form to go 100% instead of 95% on the kink. Managed a spiral red in BBW well under a minute after that, then  1/4×7.5 SS square from fbbc which got rid of some extra skin on my index fingers, but went down easy. Then played around with reverse, 1/4×6 g2 melted, galvanized 60d harder but it went.

 

[wobbler]

Got some cool pieces of equipment from "jokabug" on instagram, 44 lbs on payne (like a shallow gold bar) and 70lbs on anaconda before I got a thumb flapper.

Bent stuff today, focusing on using my back more and shoulders/chest less for the kink and getting hands further on the bar, no skin problems and it went ok.

 

[wobbler]

Didn't bend for 2 weeks (vacation) and didn't eat enough, lost about 5 lb in the wrong places I'm sure. .272x7 drill rod imps no bands "warmup" took over 2 minutes. Spiral red in bbw a long time with 2 breathers, but got it finished. Failed .290x7 drill rod in imps, skin issues and felt like it was not the right time to push through it.

Not unexpected, hope I can bounce back next week. If you need, me I'll be in the kitchen cooking some steak and potatoes... Nagging pain in left shoulder felt good still so maybe it will stay that way.

[wobbler]

Left shoulder still a probem, been that way for years, gets better/worse but never totally gone, going to really focus on getting that sorted out soon. It's causing my left shoulder and elbow to drop througout the bend, I can bring my elbow up if I concentrate but shoulder still drops.

Been bending every week but just now getting back to stuff worth sharing.

5/16×7 ebay (easy) CRS in imps, spiral red in BBW missed by about 1/8" in a minute, finished it after a breather.

 

[wobbler]

Still bending every week, and started pinching too.

Killed a new red nail in BBW but when I tried in imps my finger just popped so I bailed, index finger skin still not fully healed and I didn't want to push too much.

That was a new red nail, after doing 2 spirals.

Also had just a regular physical, not a specialist but primary doctor thinks my shoulder problem is AC (Acromioclavicular) joint and that makes sense. Gave me some topical voltaren gel, but it seems to be more for pain (not really an issue) and won't really do too much else.

[Stephen Anderson]

1 hour ago, wobbler said:

Still bending every week, and started pinching too.

Killed a new red nail in BBW but when I tried in imps my finger just popped so I bailed, index finger skin still not fully healed and I didn't want to push too much.

That was a new red nail, after doing 2 spirals.

Also had just a regular physical, not a specialist but primary doctor thinks my shoulder problem is AC (Acromioclavicular) joint and that makes sense. Gave me some topical voltaren gel, but it seems to be more for pain (not really an issue) and won't really do too much else.

Beast!

[wobbler]

Left shoulder still.messed up but working around it pretty well.

2 firsts today: new red nail in imps (little under 2 min, it was rough) and spiral red nail imps no bands under 1 min, cert conditions!

Bastard pretty quick in BBW, about 26 seconds. Wobbled a 150 kg irongrip bar in BBW, didn't measure because my caliper batteries were dead but it's probably a 5/16 or 8mm hex.

I'm taking a lot of extra time with the gripper crush because my chest crush usually leaves me at 2 1/8 or so. If I can get that sorted I'll be killing this stuff a lot faster.

My blood pressure was high and "very high" cholesterol so I'm cleaning up my diet a lot, so far no negative effects on strength but too soon to say if it's helping. Losing a bit of weight, 191 lbs in flip flops.

Not a bad day in the garage. Some vids on instagram. And my wife wanted to take a picture to explain all the chalk on my shirt.

 

 

[wobbler]

New red nail cert conditions ~23 seconds. If I can do it again next week I'll contact ironmind to set up a cert attempt. I have a nail from the end of the raw bar (you can tell from the way it is cut on the end) and those are usually more difficult. If that goes then I'm ready. Might also try a little newer/stiffer pair of imps, but don't want to mess with what is working.