Ricochet 245 Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 (edited) LOG STARTED ON WEDNESDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2019 1991 - 2008; ORIGINS [19 NOV 2008 = 13¾" (Wrist: ~7½"; Mid-Forearm: ~11½")] My initial serious foray into the grip world was via a hard lesson with an old school wooden wrist roller (you know a stick with a rope attached) by one of my first bosses (a former British SAS Mobility and Special Projects Trooper) for weapon retention training purposes. Soon after I was introduced to Ironmind's earliest grippers in 1992/93 by some cat I knew from 5th Group who knew Richard Sorin. I was hooked and immediately bought a #1 and #2 and then in 1998 bought myself another #1 and #2 and my first #3. Sadly I lost all five of these early IM grippers in the IDF shelling/bombing of the UN HQ during the Gaza War in January 2009. The last time I closed a CoC#3 was that November/December 2008 before the war. The pic in my profile is actually from this period of time and thus explains the scowl on my grumpy face... I had lost all my grippers! Back in LATE 2008 my forearms were an extremely solid 13¾" (measuring is performed cold (no pump)... unflexed... no goosenecking... with the arm held out straight.) at a bodyweight of around ~79-80kg. At my heaviest ~100-105kg (which I have held for over a year three separate occasions during my career for duty purposes) my forearms were only ~12-13" so overall size has had very little effect on my forearm size... I chalk it up to my body type and naturally long thin arms. Direct work is the key for me to grow my forearms. 2008 - 2018; THE DARK AGES [10 SEP 2012 = 13¼" (Wrist: ---"; Mid-Forearm: 11¾")] An inexcusable ten-year hiatus from all things grip and forearms. In part due to a number of pathetic reasons: losing all my grippers; high operational tempo; heavy travelling in austere work environments; training in muay thai and power lifting; and a psychotic interest in vertical running and stair climbing... during all of which I pretty much ignored my grip and forearms. I know, naughty naughty, but I am back now and with a vengeance! My forearms were big (not well defined though) in 2012 because I was powerlifting and weighed ~100kg but there was never any direct forearm training involved during this period. 2018; THE AWAKENING [21 AUG 2018 = 9¾" (Wrist: 6¼"; Mid-Forearm: ~8")] On 21 AUGUST 2018 I started working on my forearms again. My forearms were down to 9¾" with 6¼" wrists (@ a body-weight of 86kg) and I could barely close my IM CoC#2. I want to close a IM CoC#3 again and striving/aiming for a 20-second IM CoC#3 Silver Bullet Hold. With that said, my primary and ultimate goal is to see how jacked I can get my forearms...16" possibly? FYI - this was only a joke... I don't think it is physically and/or genetically possible for me to have 16" forearms 😉 but I do think 14" is doable but it will indeed be a monster challenge. I respond well to high-frequency training... just as long I watch the overall workout loading and volume and keep the number of movements per workout to a minimum. I incorporate "Active Recovery" often in my training but rarely do I take "Days Off". This year I have only taken four (4) days off in total. I have absolutely no stress in my life so am extremely happy and healthy; sleep six to seven hours a night; nap whenever and often; and eat extremely well. 2019; PROGRESS [21 AUG 2019 = 11¾" (Wrist: 6¾"; Mid-Forearm: 9⅛")] Now after a year of dedicated training my forearms are coming back... over 11½" with 6¾" wrists (@ bodyweight 82kg) and I am easily closing my CoC#2 for reps and my IM CoC#2 Silver Bullet Hold is over 30 seconds either hand. 2020; THE PRESENT [21 AUG 2020 = 11⅞" (Wrist: 7⅛"; Mid-Arm: 11⅛")] Two (2) years since I started this Popeye Forearms specificity training. In that time I have gained over 2" in my upper forearms; over 3" at mid-forearms; and nearly an inch on my wrists. My upper forearms are ever so slowly creeping back-up from the loss during to COVID-19 lockdown... however, I did manage to make some amazing gains at both the mid-arm and wrist. My forearms are definitely getting stronger now... nearly at the same strength levels back when I had 13¼ and 13¾" forearms. The major difference this time around being that I believe my forearms are much more denser and harder (tighter) now... thus perhaps why the girth is smaller. I will add a little bit more volume on my flexion (wrist curl) workouts to see if that may illicit more growth and mass in the lower wrist flexors (upper forearms). Edited September 4 by Ricochet Updated with some more relevant back history. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 16, 2019 Author Share Posted October 16, 2019 (edited) WEDNESDAY, 16 OCT 2019 Cable Fat-Grip Rolling V-Handles Seated Pulldown Wrist Curl Both Arms; 50 Reps @ 60 | 80 | 100 | 120 LBS; 42 Reps @ 140 LBS Cable Fat-Grip Rolling-Handle Standing Pulldown Wrist Curl Single Arm; 50 Reps L&R @ 80 | 100 | 120 LBS Dumbbell 180° Forearm Rotation 30 Reps @ 30 | 35 | 40 | 40 | 40-Pounders Barbell A2G Front Squat 10-Count Pause Single @ 100 KG Sauna 13-Minutes @ 103°C Band Finger Extension 5-Count Pause; 200 Total Reps L&R @ IM Blue & Red Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting and removed warm-ups 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 17, 2019 Author Share Posted October 17, 2019 (edited) THURSDAY, 17 OCT 2019 (BFR) Cable Wrist Roller 40mm Wooden Handle; 1.5m Cord Length BFR (Blood Flow Restriction) Wraps No Eccentric; 3 Sets of Flexion ↑ + Extension ↑ @ 80 LBS Smith Machine Slight-Decline Bench Press 1-Count Pause; 5 x 12-15 Reps @ 70 KG Sauna 15-Minutes @ 105°C Traditional Thai Hard Massage One-Hour Band Finger Extension 3 to 5-Count Pause; 150 Reps L&R @ IM Blue & Red Edited November 1, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting and removed warm-ups Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 (edited) FRIDAY, 18 OCT 2019 Hand Gripper Silver Bullet Hold CoC#2; LH @ 20 | 25 | 36.9 Seconds Silver Bullet Hold CoC#2; RH @ 30 | 35 | 49.4 Seconds Machine Hammer Curl 2-Count Hold Pause; 5 x 12-15 Reps @ 115 LBS Long Hold Pause Double @ 165 LBS Sauna 17-Minutes @ 97°C Band Finger Extension 3-Count Pause; 200 Reps L&R @ IM Blue & Red Decided to measure my hands today and they are bigger than I had remembered... very strange as I don't believe I measured them wrong back in 2008. Has anyone else found their hand size change as an adult? 26 APR 2008: Hand Length: 6 ⅞" Hand Span: 7 ½" 18 OCT 2019: Hand Length: 7 ⅝" Hand Span: 8" Edited October 30, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting and removed warm-ups Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 19, 2019 Author Share Posted October 19, 2019 (edited) SATURDAY, 19 OCT 2019 (BFR) Cable Fat-Grip Rolling V-Handles Seated Row Wrist Curl 50 Reps @ 60 | 80 | 100 | 100 LBS 39 Reps @ 120 LBS Belt Forearm Rotation Supination; 50 Reps L&R @ 5 KG Radial Deviation; 50 Reps L&R @ 10 KG Pronation; 5 x 50 Reps L&R @ 15 KG Short-Bar Thumbless Reverse Wrist Curl 5 x 50 Reps @ 18 KG Sauna 17-Minutes @ 99°C Traditional Thai Hard Massage One-Hour Band Finger Extension 3-Count Pause; 100 Reps L&R @ IM Blue 5-Count Pause; 100 Reps L&R @ IM Red Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting and removed warm-ups 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 (edited) SUNDAY, 20 OCT 2019 (BFR) Barbell Plate-Loaded Band Wrist Roller 20-Minutes Non-Stop Rolling ↑↓ @ 15 KG Barbell Finger Roll 4 x 15-20 Reps @ 80 KG Dumbbell Slight-Incline Bench Press 1-Count Pause; 6 x 8 Reps @ 80 > 85-Pounders Sauna 16-Minutes @ 90°C Band Finger Extension 300 Reps L&R @ IM Blue & Red Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting and removed warm-ups Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goran Paulinič 158 Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 I am curious about your trainnig. You seems to do very high reps. What is the logic behind that? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Goran Paulinič said: I am curious about your trainnig. You seems to do very high reps. What is the logic behind that? Hello there Goran. Don't know if you saw/read my first post in this log but I touched upon this briefly. On 10/16/2019 at 6:02 PM, Ricochet said: I respond well to high-frequency training... just as long I watch the overall workout loading and volume and keep the number of movements per workout to a minimum. I have absolutely no stress in my life so am extremely happy; sleep seven hours a night; nap whenever and often; and eat extremely well. Currently, the past few weeks I am in a higher rep, lower weight hypertrophy phase which I always fall back to for 4 to 6 weeks whenever my heavier, lower rep strength building phase goes stagnant. Whenever I hit a strength plateau and/or am feeling stagnant I switch over to a short hypertrophy phase for 4 to 6 weeks to simply reboot. So at the moment I am in one of these higher-rep hypertrophy (mass building) stages. I will slowly enter back into a strength focused phase again here in about two weeks... gradually reducing my reps and increasing the loads on most all exercises/movements until I am back to performing heavy triples, doubles, and singles. Even my wrist roller work will be significantly reduced rep wise from what I am doing now... going from thirty to fifty total reps (rolls) per set (that is left and right hand turns combined; rolling up either the full 1.5 meters of cord or 1 meter of band) to only performing ten to thirty total turns (rolls) per set with much heavier loads. During my strength phase I may even change to harder and/or heavier loading variants to achieve lower reps. For example, I'll perform much longer pauses or double/triple pauses on the "cable hammer curls"; go one-armed on the "machine hammer curl"; and/or perform heavy or super heavy swinging "dumbbell hammer curls". Or I''ll re-introduce completely different movements like axle lifts or fat-bar dead hangs. That said, I have found for me, that my forearms require higher reps and volume for not only building mass but strength as well. Certain movements that I perform like "fat-grip rolling (rotating) handle wrist curls" I usually aim for at least 8-10 reps plus even on the heaviest loads as anything less than that rep-wise doesn't seem to trigger nor stimulate much in me. Many arm wrestlers train their forearms in a similar manner. Grip-wise though I tend to follow lower volume and rep schemes as most grip masters do. By the way, as I am chasing maximum forearm growth (planning to break my personal best of 13½" back in 1997 and 13¾" in 2008), I am aiming for 16" cold, so I will lean towards higher reps and volume at times to keep that growth on track😉. Edited October 20, 2019 by Ricochet 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hopefully 1,097 Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 That hypertrophy phase that you call it is a great way to bounce back in my experience as well. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 (edited) MONDAY, 21 OCT 2019 Hand Gripper Parallel Set (No Close); 5 x 3 L&R @ CoC#2 Parallel Set (No Close); ~20 Singles L&R @ GEN300 Cable Rope-Handle Hammer Curl 2-Count; 5 x 10-12 Reps @ 140 LBS Sauna 20-Minutes @ 95°C Traditional Thai Hard Massage One-Hour Band Finger Extension 10-Count Pause; 100 Reps L&R @ IM Blue & Red Edited November 8, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting and removed warm-ups 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 22, 2019 Author Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) TUESDAY, 22 OCT 2019 Dumbbell Fat-Grip Hanging-Arm Wrist Curl Flexed Wrist Lift Only; 3 x 3-5 L&R @ 120-Pounder Flexed Wrist Curl; 4 x 25-30 Reps L&R @ 80 > 70-Pounder Dumbbell 180° Forearm Rotation 4 x 25-30 Reps @ 45 > 40-Pounders Sauna 16-Minutes @ 102°C Band Finger Extension 300 Reps L&R @ IM Blue & Red Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting and removed warm-ups Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) WEDNESDAY, 23 OCT 2019 Hammer Strength Plate-Loaded Horizontal Decline Press 1-Count Pause; 3 x 12-15 @ 115 KG Barbell Fat-Grip Low-Bench Wrist Curl 71 | 76 Reps @ 50 KG; 35 Reps @ 60 KG Sauna 16-Minutes @ 105°C Band Finger Extension 3-Count Pause; 200 Reps L&R @ IM Blue & Red Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting and removed warm-ups Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) THURSDAY, 24 OCT 2019 Hand Gripper (Easy Day) Inverted; 20 Singles L&R @ CoC#1.5 Machine Hammer Curl 2-Count Hold Pause; 3 x 10-12 Reps @ 125 LBS Dumbbell Fat-Grip Zottman Curl Slow Tempo; 5 x 10-12 Reps @ 25 > 20-Pounders Sauna 16-Minutes @ 103°C Band Finger Extension 5-Count Pause; 150 Reps L&R @ IM Blue & Red Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting and removed warm-ups Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 In order to shorten my posts I will forgo listing my warm-ups. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 (edited) FRIDAY, 25 OCT 2019 (BFR) Barbell "Poundstone" Curl 107 Consecutive Full ROM Reps @ 20 KG (BAR) Cable Fat-Grip Rolling V-Handles Seated Pulldown Wrist Curl 78 Reps @ 100 LBS Belt Forearm Rotation Pronation; 100 Reps L&R @ 10 KG Barbell "Poundstone" Curl 112 Consecutive Full ROM Reps @ 20 KG (BAR) Stomach Vacuum Standing, Seated, Kneeling: 10 Each Sauna 13-Minutes @ 106°C Traditional Thai Hard Massage One-Hour Band Finger Extension 500 Total Reps L&R @ IM Blue & Red Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fist of Fury 1,525 Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Gotta make those biceps buuuuuuurn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 😝 They be burning............. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 (edited) SATURDAY, 26 OCT 2019 Cable Wrist Roller; 40mm No Eccentric; 3 Sets of Flexion ↑ + Extension ↑ @ 80 LBS Barbell Guillotine High-Incline Bench Press 1-Count Pause; 3 x 10 Reps @ 60 KG Barbell Low-Decline Bench Press 2-Count Pause; 3 x 8-10 Reps @ 100 KG Sauna 16-Minutes @ 99°C Band Finger Extension 2-Count Pause; 200 Total Reps L&R w/ IM Blue & Red Edited October 31, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 27, 2019 Author Share Posted October 27, 2019 (edited) SUNDAY, 27 OCT 2019 Hand Gripper Strap Hold; 10 L&R @ >5 KG w/ CoC#2 (5-Count) Strap Hold; 5 L&R @ >10 KG w/ CoC#1.5 (3-Count) Strap Hold; 5 L&R @ >12.5 KG w/ GEN150 (3-Count) Cable Rope-Handle Hammer Curl 2-Count Hold; 3 x 10 Reps @ 160 LBS Ez-Bar Thumbless Texas Arm Wrestler's Reverse Curl 2-Count Hold; 3 x 10 @ 27 KG Sauna 14-Minutes @ 93°C Band Finger Extension 10-Count Hold; 50 Total Reps L&R w/ IM Blue & Red Edited November 8, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 28, 2019 Author Share Posted October 28, 2019 (edited) MONDAY, 28 OCT 2019 (BFR) Cable Fat-Grip Rolling V-Handles Seated Row Wrist Curl 3 x 50 Reps + 10-Second Flexed Wrist Hold @ 100 LBS Cable Straight-Bar Thumbless Reverse Wrist Curl 3 x 50 @ 30 LBS Dumbbell 180° Forearm Rotation 3 x 50 Reps @ 35-Pounders Sauna 16-Minutes @ 93°C Traditional Thai Hard Massage One-Hour Band Finger Extension 500 Total Reps L&R w/ IM Blue & Red Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 29, 2019 Author Share Posted October 29, 2019 (edited) TUESDAY, 29 OCT 2019 Barbell Plate-Loaded Band Wrist Roller 6-Minutes Non-Stop Set ↑↓ @ 30 KG *** NEW TIME PR *** 1 Set of Flexion ↑↓ + Extension ↑↓ @ 45 KG Barbell Finger Roll 24 @ 80 KG Dumbbell Slight-Incline Bench Press 1-Count Pause; 3 x 12 Reps @ 85-Pounders Sauna 11-Minutes @ 95°C Band Finger Extension 3-Count Pause; 100 Total Reps L&R w/ IM Blue & Red Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 29, 2019 Author Share Posted October 29, 2019 Updated my Training Log Intro post (please see above). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 30, 2019 Author Share Posted October 30, 2019 (edited) WEDNESDAY, 30 OCT 2019 Hand Gripper Parallel Set (No Close); 50 L&R @ CoC#2 > GEN300 Machine Hammer Curl 2-Count Iso-Pause; 3 x 10-12 Reps @ 130 LBS Sauna 14-Minutes @ 98°C Traditional Thai Hard Massage One-Hour Band Finger Extension 2-Count Pause; 200 Total Reps L&R w/ IM Blue & Red Edited November 8, 2019 by Ricochet Formatting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 (edited) THURSDAY, 31 OCT 2019 (BFR) Cable Fat-Grip Rolling-Handle Standing Pulldown Prone Wrist Curl 5 x 50 Reps L&R @ 40 LBS Cable Rope-Handle Standing Pulldown Deviation & Rotation Ulnar; 50 Reps L&R @ 40 LBS Radial; 50 Reps L&R @ 40 LBS Supination; 50 Reps L&R @ 20 LBS Pronation; 50 Reps L&R @ 30 LBS Sauna 16-Minutes @ 91°C Band Finger Extension 600 Total Reps L&R w/ IM Blue & Red A real nice forearm pump-up session; the tightest I have ever had my BFR Wraps (Blood Flow Restriction aka Occlusion Training). I will be switching back to a more strength-focused training program here come this weekend. Edited November 4, 2019 by Ricochet Spelling error Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricochet 245 Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 FRIDAY, 1 NOV 2019 Cable Wrist Roller; ~40mm Wooden Handle; ~1.5m Cord No Eccentric; 10 Sets of Flexion ↑ + Extension ↑ @ 60 > 40 LBS Smith Machine Guillotine Bench Press 3-Count Pause; 3 Sets x 15 Reps @ ~50 KG Sauna 12-Minutes @ 93°C Band Finger Extension 5-Count Pause; 100 Total Reps L&R w/ IM Blue & Red Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.