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Kill, Maim, Slay. Vol. 1 - I'm Seeing Red


richcottrell

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KMS Vol. 1 – I’m Seeing Red

The time has come to set a goal.

Any goal.
One goal?
My goal! 

I have been here on the gripboard sense 2013 [you can find my first gripboard post on page 94 of the “Introduce Yourself Here” tread – Oct 17, 2013]

 
Sense that time, I have basically just been playing around with grip training, but I do love it so.   I have a growing arsenal of Grippers and grip tools.  Actually, when I think about the money invested, it's a bit depressing.

My first real taste for the grip community came in 2015 when Nathaniel Brous invited me to his “GripTogether” at his house.  It was a great time and I even did my first ever short steel bend there.  It was the mighty Green nail.  I would also do a Blue nail that day, but someone had to pre-kink it for me.

I have now been to Jedd’s leg of the Worlds Strongest Hands in 2015, as well as Gripmas 2015.  While I did compete in both, I can not say I actually trained for either -- as I was still only playing around with grip training.

I will be going to Gripmas again this year.  It will be the only competition I will get to compete in this year.  Now that Chris Rice has announced the implements, I might actually try to train a little for this competition.


That said, I have two other things to work on first… or shall we say two goals on the horizon.

I have read many times that the only real way to make measurable progress is to set a goal and work towards it.   I lack the relentless passion that I need, but I am trying to find it. 

I did this back in High School when I was a pole vaulter.  Back then my goal was 14’3” which was exactly one inch higher then the school record.  While I literally came up short of that goal, I could jump 13’6” in my sleep.

When it comes to Grip, there are so many cool things someone could set there eyes on, and to be honest, I am not sure I am ready to make this my first true grip goal, but a fellow gripster has been egging me on, and the reality is -- it is time I pick at least One Goal, so why not this?

While I am still not completely convinced that this is a realistic goal, Nathaniel Brous has taken me under is wing, and he is convinced I can do it, so here we go…
Cottrell is now a bender, with the RED as his first KMS Goal. 

I will be honest, I am so new to bending in general this might not be the smartest first goal, but I am under the guidance of a good coach (and friend) so why the hell not?

The cool thing about setting a bending goal, is except for grip people, it is outside almost anyone else’s reality… so you can keep working towards that goal, yet your average family and friends have precisely zero understanding what that feat of strength takes. 

I have a second goal  -- which is actually more important then the first!  I am 40 years old and I am 15lbs over weight.  For you big guys I am sure that is nothing, but I am 5’8” and currently 175lbs.  

Just two years ago I was 165lbs and in 2013 I was under 160lbs.  I used to train BJJ so I have a general idea of my weight from years earlier.  I was in the range of 158-163lbs  from 2005 to 2010. 

Basically I am looking at almost an 11% weight gain over the past 10 years.  NONE of that is muscle.  I think it is safe to say, even with me not training BJJ anymore, there is no acceptable reason for me to be over 165lbs.  While I am now “middle aged”, the real reason my pants have gotten tight is I drink too much beer and I do not exercise.

So Goal #2  --which is actually more important--  is to get my weight back down to at least 165lbs.  I plan on getting this done ASAP so when I cross it off my Goals list, I will be left just  looking at KMS#1 -  I’m Seeing Red.

I will not be posting every workout, but instead I will treat this as a semi regular progress report.  My next post will list where I am currently at in the "Drill Rod Alphabet" and what my first Bending Work will look like, but for now I must  get ready for work...

 

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Awesome that you are keeping a log. Good luck achieving your goals. 

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1 hour ago, richcottrell said:

I have a growing arsenal of Grippers and grip tools.  Actually, when I think about the money invested, it's a bit depressing.

Haha.  You gotta tell the wife that grip equipment holds its value better than a car.  This is at least true with Rated Grippers and blobs (bought at a reasonable price).  When you add in Craigslist finds...you can get the vast majority of your money back.

I've been lucky enough to find another gripster within driving distance...and even luckier to find a kindred spirit and friend.

I'm very pleased to see you begin this log.  Something about maintaining it reminds you...you have a goal, and you are somewhat accountable.  Since I'm likely going to be helping with this journey...I'm going to keep my comments off the log (god knows I post enough. ;) ).  Just wanted to give you virtual high-fives for officially beginning this journey.  I have ZERO doubts that you will be successful.  

Zero.

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“The Drill Rod Alphabet"

I went to coach Brous’ home on Thursday Sept 15th to get started on the path of working my way up the drill rod alphabet.  Its smart to start this journey in September as school just started back up for my kids too…

We started with chalking my IMPs, as from now on – they are all I will be bending in.  While I already had a few pairs, I never really used them let alone chalked them properly.  After my first time ever trying them, they slipped on me and I tweaked my wrist, so I had abandoned them for craft store suede.

Now that it is time for the serious bending, the suede is out and the IMPs are back.  I did wash them a few times before [per the advice in the Bending Section of the BripBoard], but I did not use the weights overnight to get that perfect solid crease.  I will be sure to do that with future pairs of IMPs as I plan on having a few sets going at all times.

Nate had some drill rod ready for me to see where I was at strength wise.  A week or so earlier Nate had me bend a few 60d nails and he thought my beginner technique was actually not so bad.  Once he showed me how to wrap the nail’s more efficiently we got started.

Unless noted, from now on:
All bends are 7inch in length
and done in single IMPs.

First “E” attempted
-- this went down easy enough

First “G” attempted
-- this felt very similar to the “E”, and went down easily as well

First “I”  attempted
-- wow, this one felt much different and harder.  I forget how many hits I tried before Nate told me to take a breather.  I did get a wobble in it and it was just about starting to kink.

While I took a break, Nate had me put the wraps on another 60d nail so I could remember what good technique feels like.  Again the 60d felt easy.

Then I tried hitting that same “I” over and over again.  It was just not moving.
In the end, we measured it at 20deg.

I felt pain in my left pointer finger mostly.  Nate had me play around a little with how I held my pointer and thumb.  In the end, I felt like it was not the lack of pain threshold, but instead -- just not enough strength and power.
I was too excited to be tired, but Nate warned me I might be sore the next day.  I will say, because I am new to bending, even the act of wrapping and rewrapping was fatiguing to the hands and thumb pad.


[I forgot to mention, during the time I was at Nate’s he was doing barehanded work with the 60d nails and maybe some work with his fractionally minimal cut up IMPs on some drill rod.  Either way, real bad ass bending right there.]


Nate showed me how to do some dumbbell rows while lying on an incline bench to try to get the upper back muscles going.  He also tried to show me a dumbbell fly type movement to help me get the proper muscles working when I bend, but I could not feel it.  I might have been too tired by that point.

Before leaving Nate sent me home with some “E” “G” and “I” rods, as well as a couple of handfuls of 60d nails.  At home I already had some Yellow and Blue nails, as well as some ¼ CRS from FBBC in 7”, 6.5” and 6” lengths.

 

My Homework:
Bend five to six  60d nails everyday.  This is to Grease the Grove on the technique.  Job is not just to bend them, but to actively try to feel the muscle groups working together.


On bending days:
Do some strength training after the bending
1) Incline rows -- I will be using my Kettlebells as I have pairs in 12kg, 16kg and 20kg

2) Nate’s bender's dumbbell flys  -- if I can ever figure them out

3) Shrugs – always to be done last

4) Slant Board sit ups -- I am overweight and out of shape so these are part of the program

 

current weight 175lbs

 

 

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Glad to hear you're on the road to the red Rich -  train well and toughen those hands!

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Plastic Wrap

I have kept at trying to bend five to six 60d nails each and every day.  The problem is the galvanized ones flake so much the clean up is a problem.  

I dread one of my sons getting a flake of metal in the eye [8, 5, and 4 years old].

I was given this AWESOME and simple idea:
Just wrap the nail in a little plastic wrap, before wrapping the ends in the IMPs.
Problem solved. 

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KMS explanation and progress report:

Apparently KMS is not very google friendly so here is what I mean when I say KMS...
KMS is my shorthand for Kill; Maim; Slay.
The idea is to set a goal that may or may not be possible, but go after it with the intent to Kill that goal.  If you come up short, then at least you should have Maimed that goal...
but if you got it maimed, then you still might be able to Slay it.

yesterday was a serious bending session. [Serious in approach, but light in volume]

"E" - Wraps slipped some but easy enough
"G" - that was easy
"I" - first one attempted of the day; Kinked to apx 30-35 degree.  Had to take a small break as I got stuck after that but when I picked it back up i killed the "I" 
"I" - second "I" killed as a single bend [PR]

first "K" attempted ever - wobbled it to 10 deg

Injury reports:

My right shoulder hurt last night, and it is partially destroyed today.  Last time I felt this pain was after bending horseshoes.
I will need to start doing some preventative shoulder work ASAP.  Probably minor rotator trouble but doing hand held television camera work over the years has not helped.

Weight: down to 173lbs
[I discovered the Health app that is built into the IPhone so at work the past few weeks I tried to do some good old fashioned  walking and stair climbing before dinner.  One day I did 55 flights of stairs.  That was probably going a little overboard as my achilles hurt the next day.  But it was easy to get a little calorie reduction in without having to work too hard]

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Nice, how are your index fingers holding up to the volume?

Regarding the shoulder pain, try doing isometrics with arms in kink posotion hands high under chin, but you hook your fingers together and are pulling your hands apart. It's the only thing that really helped me, I had the same problem based on your description.  Pretty much the exact opposite movement of the kink, and it works the upper back pretty well.

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I know Nate is a Tuff-foot guy but I found it had the opposite effect on my hands, making them softer. Anyway you see fit condition your hands.

Club swinging has helped my compromised shoulders the most and it is a big part of me continuing to bend.

Looking forward to reading this log.

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21 hours ago, wobbler said:

Regarding the shoulder pain, try doing isometrics with arms in kink posotion hands high under chin, but you hook your fingers together and are pulling your hands apart. It's the only thing that really helped me, I had the same problem based on your description.  Pretty much the exact opposite movement of the kink, and it works the upper back pretty well.

Wobbler,
This is a great tip.  Thanks.  
The hands are doing OK.  Starting to get a little callus on my left pointer finger.  That is the finger that seems to feel the pressure first.  I still have not found nice that place where the bar rests more on the middle finger.
When I am not in the act of bending I do feel a little pain in the middle joint of that left pointer finger.  I try to keep it moving, but I have not gotten to the point where i am icing any.  That said I did take some Advil yesterday for the shoulder pain, so I will be sure to use your little finger lock iso trick before any bending from now on.

 

21 hours ago, JHenze646 said:

Club swinging has helped my compromised shoulders the most and it is a big part of me continuing to bend.

actually I have a bunch of indian clubs.  I just have to start using them.  Which weight do you use most?

 

On September 26, 2016 at 1:16 PM, Anton.Torrella said:

Glad to hear you're on the road to the red Rich 

thanks

On September 20, 2016 at 11:30 AM, Chez said:

Good luck achieving your goals. 

thank you

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Looking forward to this, dude. Already the things you've said in your journal seem extremely smart. Now it's just a matter of putting in the wrench time. And of course, nutrition and rest.

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2 hours ago, richcottrell said:

actually I have a bunch of indian clubs.  I just have to start using them.  Which weight do you use most?

After some technique tweaks and a programming suggetion from @canthar things really improved. I don't have real clubs but I either use 3 or 7 lb. "club shaped objects".

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I do those isos day after, when my shoulders are sore, and it offers some immediate relief, gets some blood flowing and you can concentrate on all the upper back muscles. Haven't actually tried it in the middle of a bending workout but that's a good idea too. You can do them whenever and only get moderately strange looks from people.

Oh, trim your fingernails first.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Grapes of Wrath

figured I should give an update...
The day after my last real bending I had some real pain in my right shoulder and it lingered for days...
it actually still haunts me some... but:
I started trying to do wobblers back iso / flex before each bend and I think it might be helping...

Wen Sept 28th:
12 total 60d nails [some shinny, some dull, one was a new Home Depot one and two were super easy spiral home depot ones]

Thu, Sept 29th
6 dull
2 shinny
1 Blue
1 yellow

Friday- OFF

Sat Oct 1st:
2 shinny 60d
2 Blue

Sun - Off

Monday:
By now, I  was supposed to have done a real Drill Rod day but I just lacked motivation... as a matter of fact I was even tired of the act of wrapping the nails... so I did this...
I had ten pieces of CRS from FBBC that were 1/4" and 6.5 inches long...  I did them all as fast as I could with only maybe one or two re-wraping.

Tue - Off

Wen - with much too many tries and great effort I did precisely ONE shinny 60d nail.

Thu - Still with great effort, i did one shinny 60d
[I will say, my dull 60d nails  --which I wrap in plastic wrap due to the metal flakes-- are easier then the shinny ones]

Friday, October 7th - afternoon
The first  "real" bending day sense the day I killed that "i"... but this time it was also a solo bending day,  so it was a true test of internal motivation. 

'E" - this was hard
"G" - this was hard too
"i" - I could only get a kink.  I did not feel like I wanted to do this, but I knew I needed to do it.  I just lacked drive... so I took a 15 min nap... and then I took another 20 min nap after that one.  
Then I had a salad as a early lunch.
Then I went back to the basement to KMS.

"i" - was already kinked, and now, it is dead!

**debate time, should I go for the "k" again, or just do another 'i" ?**
I decided to just go for another "i" -- got it to just past 20deg

Should I be proud?
or should I feel like I need stronger focus if I will ever KMS a RED?

Sat, Oct 8th:
one dull 60d

Sunday, Oct 9th
Trying something new from now on with these dull 60d nails.  Going to make sure they are bent parallel for now on... or at least as close as I can get.
6 dull 60d - to parallel 
also revisited two older bends to try for the parallel [one blue nail, one 60d]

 

Recap so far:
well, I have only been on the Road to Redville for a little bit so I can not offer any insight yet, but I can see the growth of the calluses on my left finger just below where I used to feel the most pain from bending, and across the inner fold of each hand.
I have also started trying to find hidden motivation.  Just last night I was watching a classic piece of American Moviemaking - The Grapes of Wrath, and I found this gem of a quote by Henry Fonda:
"What is these Reds anyway?"

I had no luck posting the clip [and I thank sir Wannarrip for taking down the dead link] so now you would have to watch 1hr 46min into this classic movie... or just visit my Facebook for the clip...

Edited by richcottrell
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15 hours ago, richcottrell said:

Still with great effort, i did one shinny 60d

The first  "real" bending day sense the day I killed that "i"... but this time it was also a solo bending day,  so it was a true test of internal motivation. 

Should I be proud?
or should I feel like I need stronger focus if I will ever KMS a RED?

Nice work.  Yes, you should be proud.  Any time you bend a bar you haven't bent before is a good day, no matter which bar it is.  Don't worry about the red right now, just keep making progress, it takes time, a lot of time.  Keep going.  

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Uesterday's  Fruits of Labor, but not quite Graps of Wraph...

All in due time ...

thanks KRC and Josh (and some other guy)

image.jpeg

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Nice progress Rich! - but the nail all the way to the left of this picture is out of sync and facing the wrong way!!! NOOOOOO!!!

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  • 1 month later...

It is crazy how a month passes by... long overdue for an update here.  

I was starting to make some real progress in keeping at the bending.... I started trying to always bend the 60d nails to at least parallel   I was even trying to get them past that point [with no success]

Then one night after a few beers I tried to finish off on of the 60d nails without any wraps.
S T U I P I D

repeat, stupid!

so I have been nursing a bruised finger now for like three weeks.  it hurts so bad, I can feel it even when I grab an empty barbell...
 

in summary...
Sooooo Stupid

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Before the injury:

image.jpeg

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Ouch. If it hasn't healed in 4 weeks it might be more than a bruise.

Barehand is a totally different thing, even 3/16" stuff is rough. Start slow there and keep it separate.

Try crushing in 1/3 imps maybe, that's still a lot more pressure than full imps.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On November 14, 2016 at 1:20 PM, wobbler said:

Ouch. If it hasn't healed in 4 weeks it might be more than a bruise.

I guess I can officially say, it's more then a bruise...  Soooo stupid!

on a positive note, body weight is down to 172.

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  • 1 month later...

Body weight back to 174..
happy new year!

Finger still messed up.  Time to make a trip to the doctor for that finger.  I will post into the "2017 Goals" thread next week or so, but one real goal is to somehow find a "PCP" --- a Primary Care Physician--  in my area, and to also find one who understands people who are one the extreme end of fitness.
 In my case, I am not at that "extreme" end yet, but sometime my beer muscles make me think I am.

I will say this... 2017 needs to be a focused year and more importantly and injury free year as I am currently nursing both a messed up finger and a minor hernia.  

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  • 7 months later...

Trying to get back on the road... SJ4's bending was great to get the fire re-started.    BOUGHT some of those "cut spike" vintage nails from  Tremont Nail in MA.  Got some of the 60d and 70d cut spikes.   Just tried one of each before work.    It will be challenging to get these to bend centered.   I wonder if using DO is the wrong approach to get the bend started....

but I also have a new training partner... or at least an advocate...A coworker gave me this case of beer...

IMG_2689.JPG

IMG_2690.JPG

IMG_2691.JPG

Edited by richcottrell
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