Hubgeezer Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Got my Grab Ball today. I had seen photos of it, read about it, heard about the dimensions, etc. Still, I was not prepared for it. I was surprised how relatively small and light it is. I don’t think anyone will be able to argue that it favors large-handed people. I think guys with monster hands may be at a disadvantage. The weight of my rig, which is an IM loading pin, carabiner, and the G Ball, is a bit over 5 lbs., so I will be calling it an even 5 lbs. The thumb is going to be the make or break key to performance. I can see potential hyperextending injuries to the thumb if you push too much too soon. Question for anyone who has used it: Do you think that the Grab Ball can be a good tool to build up the thumb pad? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulFord Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) By thumb pad do you mean thenar eminence? If so, I think it could work but it wouldn’t be a good way to do it. I spend a lot of time playing around Sport grips no. 4 at work and have built up my thenar eminence to the extent that I can’t hook grip anymore. I had a marginal hook grip Index finger and thumbnail to start with. Not much increase in strength. But that twisting motion is working the thumb muscle at a lot of angles with a significant TOT. Even if you move your thumb around on the grab ball your still only working one specific position at a time, and to work enough angles you’re going to hit finger strength constraints and waste a lot of time. I wouldn’t recommend a sidewinder either. The muscle growth happened, it wasn’t intentional and it hasn’t carried over into anything useful Edited June 16, 2020 by PaulFord 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubgeezer Posted June 17, 2020 Author Share Posted June 17, 2020 I had a "Strongwoman" contest at the beginning of Lunch Hour yesterday in the office. Six women participated. The age range was 27 through 43. One has been in Cross Fit for five years. The others were not athletes in any way shape or form. The sole implement was the Grab Ball. They all wore gloves on their lifting hand, part of the Covid-avoidance procedures in place at the office. It may have adversely affected them by a few, not many, pounds. Counting the implement as five pounds, they all easily got 25 pounds, then 30 pounds. Two went out at 35 pounds, one more went out at 40 pounds, and the three remaining all successfully got 42.5 pounds. One went out at 45 pounds, and the last two failed at 47.5 pounds. Big time prize money: 1st place (she got 47.5 lbs two inches off the floor) received $5. Second place (she achieved a wiggle) got $3, and third place got four postage stamps. Yep, I am one generous guy. Don't laugh, they all did, and were happy to get anything. Every person had fun. The winner was the Cross Fit woman. Second place lady...I tested her on a Dyno 12 years ago. She was awful. Two years ago, she squeezed 30% more. Raising three kids helps the grip. Mom Power. I believe those numbers indicate the range of an "average woman" on the implement. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubgeezer Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 Does this implement “season”? Chalking my hands does not seem to do much, and the gadget does not really appear to respond to chalk. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences with chalk, good, bad, or no results ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kluv#0 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 4 minutes ago, Hubgeezer said: Does this implement “season”? Chalking my hands does not seem to do much, and the gadget does not really appear to respond to chalk. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences with chalk, good, bad, or no results ? Mike, The FBBC Grab Ball does take chalk but you need to rub it in (kinda like Gil does with Flask) and with work time it will get better. Try static holds, pulldowns, DL, front raises, etc and it should start to feel better. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kluv#0 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Iam going to start doing Rows this week and some pull-throughs. I think it has improved my hand strength - which is nice instead of a one-time lift for an event. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markob42 Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 How do folks grip this? Thumb and fingers as close to a rim as possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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