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Chasing Bends & Climbing the Mash Monster Ladder


devinhoo

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I did my MM0 cert yesterday, so I guess it's time to take this a little more seriously.

I train grip 3-4 times per week on top of a powerlifting/strongman routine, but I figure I'll mostly just post about grippers here (unless I do something especially neat with another implement, hit a PR, or something else of the sort).

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Good stuff. I’ll be following. You should post all your workouts though, not just grippers 

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1 minute ago, Chez said:

Good stuff. I’ll be following. You should post all your workouts though, not just grippers 

I'll see what I can do. I'm in medical school studying for my first boards exam right now, and one of the reasons I didn't start a log earlier was so that I wouldn't spend as much time on this site when I could (should) be studying. I only do grippers once a week though, so my plan is to post once a week with an update of what I've done that past week. Might be just as time consuming either way.

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2 minutes ago, devinhoo said:

I'll see what I can do. I'm in medical school studying for my first boards exam right now, and one of the reasons I didn't start a log earlier was so that I wouldn't spend as much time on this site when I could (should) be studying. I only do grippers once a week though, so my plan is to post once a week with an update of what I've done that past week. Might be just as time consuming either way.

Haha, I get it. I had a hard time keeping my log updated my first year of law school 

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Kind of an unusual training week.
Makeup comp for the Arnold happening this Saturday (New England Armlifting Regional) so I've been taking things easy/not training the next few days to rest up for it. Plus I have a test on Friday.
Usually I follow Brian Alsruhe's DarkHorse program for powerlifting/strongman exercises and Clay Edgin's Rolling Thunder program for my grip stuff. For grippers right now I'm trying something recommended to me by Hannes Thorsteinsson where I do 6 singles with a heavy grippers and then 6 dropdown singles with a slightly lighter gripper, but I'm starting slow. Everything will be in pounds unless otherwise stated. If something is in kg I'll probably write it in lbs as well.

Monday
DOH Deadlifts (beltless)
285x8 (lbs)
335x6
385x4
305x5x3 (five reps x three sets)
Almost failed last rep at 385, which surprised me. I haven't done heavy DOH deadlifts since December because I've been training for the Arnold and doing almost exclusively axle deadlifts.

Double Inch Wrench
145x4
130x3x3
115x3x3
Felt like I was practically doing rows by the end of this, but I didn't want to tire myself out too much for the comp this weekend.

Squats
175x3x3

Got in and out in exactly an hour, which was dope.

 

Wednesday
Log Z-press (because all the good barbells were taken)
100x6
115x4
130x2
105x5x3

Grippers set practice
CoC1 @ 78 lbs 5x5
Trying to work on setting with my chest rather than walking my fingers down the gripper, more like Tanner talks about in this thread.

Bench
135x3x3
Greasing the grove more than anything else since I'm not focusing on bench for a while.

Chest fly machine
210x8x5

Chin ups (BW 186.20 lbs this morning)
+85x5
+85x3
+85x4
+85x3
+85x2
Was aiming for 5x5. Last time I did chin ups it was in the middle of my workout rather than at the end of my workout with +80 lbs, so in comparison these didn't go quite as well.

I'll do a separate writeup for the Arnold makeup comp this weekend.

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2 minutes ago, devinhoo said:

Chin ups
+85x5
+85x3
+85x4
+85x3
+85x2

Dayamn. 

How much do you weigh BTW?

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1 minute ago, Cannon said:

Dayamn. 

How much do you weigh BTW?

Oh I should probably have put that somewhere. I weigh about 185-187 lbs / 85 kg, but I'm also 6'2" / 1.88 m tall. I was going to be competing in the under 90 kg class at the Arnold, but someday I hope to make it into the under 110 kg category weighing closer to 105 kg. I have some eating to do.

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1 minute ago, Hopefully said:

How does Tanners setting technique work for you? 

The "power set" technique has seemed to help, that and just keeping the gripper really close to my chest. I have trouble using my chest to set grippers and in the past have defaulted to bracing against my leg more like for SB in order to do MMS closes. I recently re-warched Paul Knight's setting video which seemed to help a bit. I think in my MM0 video I'm more proud of the set than I am of the close.

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First Armlifting competition yesterday! Had a blast. Had some people drop out last minute so we didn't have a sorinex Saxon bar and had to cancel the medley event/Jokabug event. Still had a great time lifting with folks. Didn't realize how much information I knew about grip but I'm glad I was able to give some pointers to other folks. Weighed in at 85.3 kg (188 lbs), so I need to work on at least filling out my weight class on the road to moving up a weight class. However I was the only one in my weight class so it didn't really matter for the competition itself.

I pretty much hit my goals for what would have been at the Arnold, which were 85 kg on the RT, 155 kg on the axle, and any scoring time on the SB with a #4. I was kind of hoping that with an extra week of deloading and a lower stress environment that I might hit 87.5 kg on the RT and 160 kg on the axle, but I just didn't have it in me yesterday. Those would have both been PR's by a few kg though.
Hopefully I can make it to another Armlifting USA competition with a Saxon bar this year so that I can get a full entry for the season rankings. Even if I was in first place on all three other events I would still be in 4th place without a Saxon bar lift. I would be pretty stoked to get to 90 kg on the RT and 165 kg on the axle by the end of the year, so I gotta keep training thick bar really hard. Based on my Napalm’s Nightmare pinch numbers I might be able to get 90 kg on the 3" Saxon bar this year too.

 

Rolling Thunder
74 kg
79 kg
83 kg (182.98 lbs)
Missed 86 kg but I floated it off the ground

Apollon's axle
140 kg
150 kg
155 kg (341.72 lbs)
Missed 160 kg but I made it just passed my knees

Silver Bullet
CoC4 for maybe half a second. First set was the best, but I lost tension and couldn't recover.
CoC4  2.61 seconds. This was a huge PR for me and cleared the 2 second minimum for the competition. Really stoked.
CoC3.5 14.5 seconds. This was just for fun to see what I could do burnt out at the end of of a comp.
I rated a few grippers during the comp too. The #4 I had rated previously at 213 lbs, and the #3.5 I rated that day at 175 lbs.
Also did a wide approximately CCS close with an unrated CoC2.5 at the end of the comp to explain the different types of sets.

3" Saxon bar (AASS not Sorinex, so it doesn't count for the season rankings)
78 kg
83 kg (182.98 lbs)
Missed 88 kg but got it off the ground. I didn't warm up for the last event very well because we just had the one bar. In hindsight I should have been warming up with my AASS Napalm's Nightmare 3" pinch blocks.

 

Here are some of the videos.

 

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5 hours ago, WestSlope said:

Very nice SB #4! I wish I could set like you. My set requires full body tension all the way down to my toes.

Thanks man! I decided to go HAM the second attempt, complete with mouth guard and belt. 😂

@Lennix has a SB setting video that helped me a lot. I think I would have an easier time if I was better at setting in general though. Eric Dawson set the #4 for the silver bullet like it was a #2. It was crazy to watch how quickly he did it.

 

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Fantastic job at your first contest dude. Great numbers all around!

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Got these two in the mail today, a seemingly unused Tetting Elite and Tetting Super Elite. They're beautiful grippers. I didn't understand what it meant for the handles to be "drilled and pinned" until I got a chance to look at them first hand. Really cool way to make a gripper, and I see how they could be converted into adjustable grippers like @acorn has done in the past.

I bought them hoping that the Elite would be in the 160-170s and that the Super Elite would be 170-180's. I gave them a squeeze compared to my CoC3.5 at 181 and my GG6 at 189 and they both felt harder than either one of those. I'm guessing they're both in the 195-205 range. The mount is almost flush with the coil though, so I guess I'm not surprised. From this post back from 2015 Cannon said that Tetting's mounts got really deep towards the end. If it wasn't for the quarantine I would have rated them this afternoon. Might be able to rate them at a friend's garage gym next week.

From what I can measure using this post as a guide, the Elite has a ~1 mm (1/32") mount and a 74 mm (2.9") spread, and the Super Elite has about a 1.5 mm (1/16") mount and a 67 mm (2.6" ) spread. I don't have a micrometer to measure the springs, but assuming they're both what they say they are they should be like a really deep set MM2 and MM4. They'll be amazing grippers when I get to them, but that might be years from now unless I have them converted into adjustable ones.

IMG_4445.thumb.jpg.f8d68385a834b1e64fb1e6a148185471.jpg

IMG_4453.jpg

Elite on the left and Super Elite on the right.

 

@Cannon I know that Tettings vary a whole lot regardless of their mounting depth, but what's your experience with ones that are mounted this deep? The guy I bought them from said he had a Grand Master as well, and I'm guessing it would be a similar mount. Those are usually only in the 150-160 range though right? Less likely to be a high 150 into 160's.

 

Edit: I sent them to CPW and the elite rated 188 and the super elite rated 194. I bought a GM and it rated 145.

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Another unusual week of training.
Quarantine/shelter in place orders kind of screwed up my plan to start a new cycle of my program. Gym I usually go to said I could borrow some plates when they shut down (tomorrow), and I've decided to buy a titan 2" axle once they're back in stock. Hopefully I can do some easy DOH axle deadlifts, get good at cleaning the bar for front squats, and do Z-press and floor press with it. Never a bad time to start a home gym I guess. My hope is that after the coronavirus panic dies down I can score some cheap plates from someone who bought them and decided they don't want them after all. 

 

Monday
4" Block Deadlifts
315x10 (lbs)
365x8
405x4
315x8x3 (sets x reps)
No belt, but I used straps to give my grip a break after the Armlifting USA comp last weekend. These were harder than expected after not doing heavy barbell deadlifts for a while and I felt it in my back for a few days.

Double Inch Wrench
130x8
120x8x3
105x8x3

Squats
185x3x3

 

Wednesday
MMS grippers
133x1x6 (reps x sets)
121x1x6
92x15
Got every rep right handed with my 133 RB240 but only half of them left handed. Held each rep closed for a good 4-5 seconds. Only missed one rep at the end left handed with my 121 CoC2.5.

Friday
pull ups off Napalm's Nightmare handles because I don't have a pull up bar at home.
5x10 (reps x sets) Second set was ten reps because I couldn't remember if I had done 5 or 10 the first set.

Napalm's Nightmare 2 3/8" pull up
5 reps but my left wrist wasn't too happy with this so I went back to regular pull ups

Double Inch Wrench Pull up
0 reps 

Push ups
10x5

 

Saturday
Sandbag squats (using my milk crate full of grip gear)
50 lbs x 10x10

Gripper MMS
154 miss
165 miss
152 miss by barely 1 mm
152 success
154 miss by 1/2 cm
152 miss by about 1 mm
142x1x6 (reps x sets)
118x6
Those are all right handed. Didn't manage to close anything left handed today (except the 118 filed GHP5 at the end).
The 152 GNC300 barely required any set it’s so narrow (53 mm vs the 60 mm RB330N and 78 mm CoC3).
Had a lot of trouble setting the 142 RB240 left hand. Got about 3 mm away at best. Tore a flapper on my left pinky 4th drop set.

Napalm's Nightmare chin ups & pull ups (BW 186.00 lbs this morning)
5 of each to compare how they felt on my left wrist

 

 

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1 hour ago, devinhoo said:

I know that Tettings vary a whole lot regardless of their mounting depth, but what's your experience with ones that are mounted this deep? The guy I bought them from said he had a Grand Master as well, and I'm guessing it would be a similar mount. Those are usually only in the 150-160 range though right? Less likely to be a high 150 into 160's.

Yeah a deeply mounted GM will probably be 150-160. I've seen Tettings mounted so deep that the spring fouls the handle at the end of the close. 

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1 hour ago, Cannon said:

Yeah a deeply mounted GM will probably be 150-160. I've seen Tettings mounted so deep that the spring fouls the handle at the end of the close. 

Good to know. I would try and buy a GM as well but I worry that it would be 150-155... which is a range I already have 3 grippers for (150 GG5, 152 GNC300, 154 CoC3). If it was definitely going to be 156-160 that would be dope though. Gotta just wait for the next batch of pre-rated grip genies and hope for something 158-160. 

I was hoping to make larger jumps than 2 lbs, but the 154 just wasn’t there today. I’ll probably attempt it next week and try to stay with 4-5 lb jumps to try and go 154->158->162 (filed)->165->170?

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1 hour ago, devinhoo said:

154->158->162 (filed)->165->170?

Seems like an excellent progression!

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I do still occasionally convert them to adjustable mount for folks. Just did one last week for Cannon to be adjusted to hit a specific closing tension for a customer of his.

- Aaron

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Quarantine week 2.
Borrowed some plates from my gym, ended up with 4x55 lb bumpers and 2x25 lb bumpers. Plates should go well with the 2 3/8" axle bar I bought from AASS that will get here on Monday.
Quarantine seems like as good a time as any to start assembling a home gym. The gym I go to right now doesn't even have a proper axle, so it the addition of the 2 3/8" bar will be really nice. I'll be moving down to Long Island NY in a few months for school and if I can't find a nearby gym I might try and double down on a home gym. My other option is going to be a 45 minute drive each way... no ideal for working long hours in a hospital. My current gym is about a 5 minutes drive away, and it's going to be hard to give that up. If I can find some plates theoretically I could get by with just the axle and a decent yoke.

 

Monday
Napalm's Nightmare 2 3/8"
280x8
255x8x3 (reps x sets)
230x8x3
Turns out 4x55 and 2x25 is exactly as much weight as will fit on my BSS loading pin.

Sandbag squat
110x5x3 (2x55 lb bumpers)

Gripper TNS
112 miss
108x1x5 all misses
92x6 (right hand, missed all with left hand)
Haven't done TNS in about a month and my technique definitely suffered. I was doing my 108 CoC2 for 5 reps with my left hand back in February and my best TNS was a 121 CoC2.5 around the same time.

Pull up
5x5 

 

Wednesday
Handstand push up
1 rep
Felt terrible on my wrists and I went up crooked. Decided to do pushups instead.

Push ups
+55 lbs x5
+25x10x5
Bumper plate placed on my back.

Gripper MMS
133x1x6
121x1x6
Started doing left hand before my right and it made a huge difference. Had a bit of a breakthrough where I realized that one of the reasons that my left hand closes suck could be that I always do them right after my right. Time to switch it up!
@Hannes recommended going up a "goal" gripper after closing it two weeks in a row, so next week I get to play with my 137 filed RB210. That gripper is about my current max lefty, as I haven't been able to close my 142 RB260 left handed yet. Hannes said he got tips on his sort of program from Nathan Holle, so I'm inclined to follow it for a while and see where it gets me.

 

Saturday
Sandbag squat
135x5x5
80x10x3 (reps x sets)

Gripper CCS
92x1x6
78x1x6
127x1 (right hand, failed left hand by 1/2–3/4 cm)
This was miserable. I think I just have to set it completely without my pinky before the credit card THEN put my pinky on. Found that keeping my thumb on the dogleg when opening up my hand for the card similar to how I do TNS seems to help keep the gripper keep from slipping back in my hand. Starting essentially at the bottom of my pile of grippers and then working my way up to focus on technique.
The 127 CoC2.5 was technically a PR though I guess. I'm not focusing on CCS right now, but I am kind of hoping to certify on the CoC3 by the end of the year. Right now I'm just aiming to get my MMS consistently into the 170's, then try and figure out CCS like @Chez recommends.

Pull ups (182.8 lbs BW)
5x5
BW down a few lbs from last week. Getting real tired of seeing the numbers move in the wrong direction. 😕

 

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Quarantine Week 3.
Inch Axle from AASS arrived on Monday and has already made working out at home way easier. Bar weights 27.1 lbs empty, which is why all the numbers look funny.

 

 

Monday
2 3/8" Axle Deadlift (Inch Axle)
247x7 (and a half lol)
187x8x6 (weight x reps x sets)
Failed 5th rep in the middle of my top set of 8, and had to pass to re-chalk my hands multiple times. Brand new bar with only two warm up sets worth of chalk on it slipped out of my hand a little and I had to lower it to the floor (quickly). Might just do 6 reps for my working set next week just to get used to the bar.
I tried to grippers after this, but my arms were so pumped I seriously couldn't even TNS my 78 CoC1. I was setting the bar down so gently and practically doing RDL's with the bar to avoid dropping it on the wooden floor. Ended up being a lot of time under tension.

 

Thursday
Floor press (axle)
137x5x5
187x0
This felt super weird. My best bench is closer to 225-230 and I've done 190x8 before, so I was surprised that I couldn't get 187 lbs to go. Had to ask for some help to figure out if I was doing it right. General consensus I got from Instagram and the OK Discord server is that floor press without a rack just kind of sucks, but that the way I'm doing it is the way everyone else does it. The heads up from @Andrew Dube that that's how he does it was a nice vote of confidence.

Push up
10
This was for just fun for a reddit r/strongman contest.

Gripper MMS
137x1x6 right  (missed reps 2 and 4 left handed)
127x1x6 both hands
Bad set second rep lefty. The filing on this 137 RB210 makes it SUPER hard to tell if it is closed in my left hand; the handles touch way to one corner of the handle and I’m not sure if I got the 4th rep either. The other reps felt pretty solid though, I just have to be careful of my set left hand.

 

Friday
Pull ups
10x5 (reps x sets)
5x3
Short (~30 minute) study break to keep the madness at bay. Might take more short breaks like this to do break up the studying, even if it's just doing bicep curls for 20 minutes.
About a month and a half until I take boards... if the testing centers open and I get to take boards. 😕
I'm just trying to pass, I don't even care about doing well on boards or exams anymore.

 

Saturday
Zercher squat (axle)
187x3x5
Even with the 2 3/8” axle and elbow sleeves it’s really hard on the skin of my arms. Worked a little better with my pizza sock stone sleeves, but still not great. 

Gripper CCS
92x1x6
78x1x6
If I go up a gripper every two weeks (~5 lb jumps) I should be able to CCS a CoC3 by October (!)
Did easier gripper (CoC1) as a giant superset between left and right hand at the end.

 

 

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Quarantine week... 4?
Second to last week of "class" then just... studying for boards.
 

Monday
2 3/8" Axle Deadlift (Inch Axle)
247x8
187x8x6 (weight x reps x sets)
Decided to take things outside since it was such a nice day! Took a lot to set up and take down though.

Gripper TNS
92x1x3 only got 3/6 right and 0/6 left
78x1x6
Axle takes a lot out of my hands, so I might just do TNS with my 78 CoC1 for a while for the technique practice.

 

Wednesday
Floor press (axle)
137x10x5
Showed my partner how to deadlift.

Gripper MMS
137x1x6 right  (missed reps 1, 2, and 6 left handed)
127x1x6 both hands
Dogleg has been slipping back in my hand lefty and costing me reps. Same problem as last week in that I can’t tell if the gripper is closed because of the filing.
Hopefully next week goes well with the 142 RB260. The 'beyond the range' has been causing problems with my left hand, but the reps with my right hand are still solid.

 

Friday
Not really a workout but I got a little stir crazy after a big exam while I waited for my grade (I passed) and tried to rate some grippers. Problem is, I have a rack mounted RGC device but no rack... so I improvised. Both my Tetting Elite and Super Elite are 190-200 like I thought, but I can’t say too much more than that for sure.
Lucked out and managed to buy a few more Tettings when they got posted to eBay. Got a SM for warm ups, a GM for fun, and another Elite that should arrive sometime next week. Will bring my total up to 27 grippers, not including the 5 I lent to a friend. After I rate these Tettings I should probably sell/trade some of them so that I have fewer duplicates in RGC. With the deep mount on the last ones, I'm hoping the SM is in the high 130's and that the GM is in the high 150's based on CPW's ranges. Elite could still be a wildcard.

Edit: I sent them to CPW and the elite rated 188 and the super elite rated 194. Second batch, SM was 128, GM was 145, and elite was 173.

 

Saturday
Front squat (axle)
137x8
137x5x4
No rack so I also did a power clean at the start of each set. Very quickly decided I didn't want to do 8 reps for all 5 sets. Will probably switch back to zercher squats next week.
I don’t mind front squats, and I don’t mind cleans, but axle cleans into front squats wasn’t that much fun. I miss barbells and racks.

Gripper CCS
112x1 (PR left hand, technically)
108x1x5
92x1x6
Also did MMS attempts with my ~172 HG350 (got within 1 cm), 165 RB330N, and 154 CoC3. Setting felt terrible for some reason today. Could also have been that I was goofing off with MMS when I shouldn't have been.

 

 

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Quarantine week 5! Finished second year of medical school! 🎉
Did a couple extra workouts of just arms because I needed a study break leading up to my last test Friday morning. I think I'm just going to do curls with the empty bar going forward when I need a break from studying for boards.
Got the numbers back on the Tetting grippers I sent to Cannon: 128 SM, 145 GM, 173 Elite, 188 Elite, 194 SE.

 

Sunday (study break)
Bicep curls
77x5x5
27x15x5

Pendlay Rows
137x5x5

Reverse curls
27x15x3

 

Tuesday
2 3/8" axle deadlift
247x5
187x8x6
Grip just wasn’t there today. Tried three more reps to get to eight at 247 but couldn’t lock it out. Switched between sumo and conventional and back to sumo two sets each. 

Gripper TNS
78x1x6
Left hand was pretty trashed after thickbar. Took me a few tries to get those last two closes.

 

Thursday
Floor press
137x10x5

Gripper MMS
142x1x6 right hand
142x1x3 left hand
127x1x6
Left hand PR! I had never closed that 142 gripper with my left hand before, and I got it for 3 separate singles. Couldn’t get a good set fouth rep lefty despite three tries, but I think I was just out of juice on reps 5 & 6.

 

Friday
Bicep curls
27x15x8 (lbs x reps x sets)
back of my left forearm was really unhappy after each set, hurt along my extensor carpi ulnaris muscle.

 

Saturday
Zercher squat
187x5x5
Felt much better wearing my 'stone sleeves' from the first set. Even threw on my knee sleeves for fun.

Gripper CCS
108x6x1 (sets x reps)
92x6x1
Decided to brush off the handles of my grippers. I was cleaning them after each workout at the gym, but I stopped cleaning them when I started working out at home because it makes a mess. Cleaned about 1/3 of them after this workout, probably clean the next 1/3 of the grippers after my next workout etc.

 

Had some weird numbness in my a few of my fingers after working out. Tip of my left thumb has been numb for a few days after thick bar deadlifts on Tuesday, which has happened once before after I was going really hard on the hub for a few weeks back in September. I think I was compressing a superficial nerve the way that I was twisting my thumb in to get more friction on the hub. Haven't trained hub since, but I think I was turning my left thumb in a bit on the axle to turn it into more of a pinch on a few of the lifts where it was slipping out of my grasp. Somewhat more irritating is the tip of my right middle finger on my thumb side, as I can't figure out how I would have compressed a superficial nerve. It started after my Thursday workout where I did floor press and gripper MMS, but neither of those exercises really put much pressure on the side of my middle finger where that nerve runs. The area that is numb has gotten a little smaller each day, but it's definitely still there. Makes me want to take a week off anything grip related until it stops.

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Quarantine week 6
Numbness in my right middle finger was getting a little better with some rest, but then it got worse again after my gripper workout on Wednesday. I’m really frustrated because I feel like progressing with grippers was like the one thing keeping me afloat right now. Never had this happen before from working with grippers, but it looks like it’s time to give them a break. Really disappointing because I feel like I’m finally starting to make progress with my left hand by consistently closing my 142 gripper.

Time to take a break and give my hands a rest.

 

Monday
Axle deadlift with straps
297x5x5 
This was all the plates I have right now. Felt really good to go moderately heavy, not worry about my grip, and just lift. Had to go thumbless when using my figure 8 straps, and my Eleiko straps barely go around the bar all the way.

 

Wednesday
Z-press
77x10x5 (lbs x reps x sets)

Gripper MMS
142x1x6 right
142x1x2 left (missed attempts 2, 3, and 6)
Two attempts with my 154 CoC3, but it didn’t feel like a good set. Got maybe 1/2 cm away. Super frustrated, because I felt like I was about as close with my unrated HG350 two weeks ago.
Trying to focus on overcrush, even on left handed misses. 

Ab Wheel
5x5
Using a 55 lb bumper on a loading pin

 

Friday
Zercher squats
187x5x5
Started each one of these off with a zercher deadlift to get the bar into a "racked" position. It was tougher, but I think I liked it more than deadlifting it, lapping the bar, and then zerching it up.

4" block pinch
60x2
60x1
60x1
Based on my past lifts I thought I was going to get 8+ reps. Honestly couldn't even get the second double left handed. My pinch blocks are from AASS so I flipped it over to do 3" pinch.

3" block pinch
60x6
Tore a huge flapper left thumb on the first rep of my second set. Not sure what I did to incur the wrath of the grip gods, but damn. Time to take a break from any/all grip work while my hands heal up. 

IMG_4615.thumb.jpg.4dc4406d3783bee46ed5a48e2889d3a2.jpg

Edited by devinhoo
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Was talking with @Tom Flesher yesterday about how to get started with steel bending, and he ended up writing a really in depth beginners guide to bending which clarified some terms that I didn't understand and demystified a lot of it.

Not something I'm going to start while injured, but definitely something to keep in mind for the future.
Going to need to be careful next time I go to the hardware store. Although I could use a sledge for some rehab work...

https://www.reddit.com/r/GripTraining/comments/g7fmt6/im_at_the_hardware_store_what_can_i_bend_a_guide/

 

Edited by devinhoo
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Quarantine week 7
Took the week off grip work to give my hands a break, no axle, no pinch, no grippers. However, after talking with @Tom Flesher more I went to the hardware store and got some nails, and cut up some old jeans into wraps. Watched a bunch of videos on how to bend, figured out my wraps, and bent my first nail! Timber tie went down easy, so I went for one of the 60d nails I bought and that went as well. Really exciting feeling. Went out a few days later and bought more 60d nails, so now I have about 50 of them to bend. 

 

 

Monday
Squat (axle)
137x5
Attempted to use a piece of furniture as a squat rack. It did not go very well, but it felt nice to have a bar on my back for the first time in over a month. Wasn't feeling great so I just called the workout after that. Tuesday I warmed up for deadlifts but then called it quits and went and bought nails instead.

 

Wednesday
Steel bending overhand
Timber tie x1 
60d nail x1
20d nail x1
2x timber tie fail
All bends done in three layers of denim with bands, which ends up being 1 1/4” diameter. After doing some digging, IMP in thirds is apparently about 1”, so need to switch to two layers of denim.
Did a bunch of digging trying to figure out the ratings of these nails. Looks like a 6" timber tie is about 210, a 60d Grip Rite nail is 320. Checked it the same way that @ClayEdgin did a while back on his instagram, so I confirmed that these nails are in the same ballpark. According to the AZ Grip website a red nail is something like 420 so I have a ways to go. Hopefully things will be a little clearer when I burn through the 50 or so 60d nails that I have.

Steel bending underhand
Timber tie x1

Steel bending reverse 
Timber tie x1

Axle deadlift with straps
297x5x5 
I was pretty tired after messing around bending steel for an hour and a half.

 

Friday
Zercher squats w/ zercher deadlift to rack position
187x5x5
Not exactly an eventful workout, but I needed to lift something after watching Thor deadlift 501 kg.

 

Edited by devinhoo
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