Road to the CoC #3

[AvgJo]

20 minutes ago, Hopefully said:

That's really impressive! If you are too overtrained or burnt out, the 'deload' would mostly serve, in my experience that is, as a way to get back to baseline most of the time. Whereas if you take one before you cross that line it should kick you into supercompensation instead if the stimulus have been enough. Atm I'm not deloading but resting completely since I have pushed way too hard and I simply must rest not that efficient for gains. 

I think it would be easiest to schedule the deloads every 4 weeks or something like that and just stick to that regardless of the situation perhaps overreach just a little bit the last workout before that so you can feel a little better about it. 

It seems that is the case for me right now. I feel like I am at baseline or back to where I was after 2 weeks of training - 4 weeks forward, 2 weeks back . Yea 4 weeks of work then a deload regardless is what I'll do next block but I won't push it to the limit on the 4th week this time. I guess there is a really fine line between having a hard last workout before deloading or just fking it all up and going backwards.

Edited August 17, 2020 by AvgJo

[AvgJo]

24/08/2020

Push:

OHP 7x10 at 40kg
OHP 3x10 at 30kg
CoC #2 10 closes (in between OHP) 
Banded facepulls 3x20
EZ bar curls 3x8 at 40kg
Skullcrushers 3x20 at 20kg
BB wrist curls 3x15 at 40kg

Using home gym at my girlfriends parents house. First workout in a week, didn't manage anything for the first week as we were at a holiday home. Was fun to let a few strong Polish guys have a go at the #2.

Edited August 24, 2020 by AvgJo

[AvgJo]

26/08/2020

Park workout:

Chinups 10x5
Tricep extensions 10x10
Bodyweight rows 5x20
Tricep extensions 10x10

Chins and rows supersetted with triceps. No grippers today, there is a bbq tomorrow and some Polish guys will show me how to make beer and smoke meat in a traditional smoke house so no doubt the #2 will make an appearance

 

[AvgJo]

28/08/2020

Arms:

CoC #2 4x2 closes
EZ bar curls 3x6 at 45kg
EZ bar reverse curls 3x12 at 25kg
Banded hammer curls 2x12
BB wrist curls 3x15 at 40kg

[AvgJo]

31/08/2020

Push:

Bench press 10x10 at 60kg
CoC #2 10 closes
EZ bar curls 3x12 at 30kg
Skullcrushers 3x12 at 30kg
Plate curls 5x3 at 10kg

Back home tomorrow. I miss doing bench press so I thought to make the most of it. Bench and grippers were supersetted with 3’ rest between bench sets. Arms supersetted with little rest, then plate curls to finish. I’m still rubbish at these. Left is much stronger than right but I’m not advancing it without my right catching up.
 

Edited September 3, 2020 by AvgJo

[AvgJo]

02/09/2020

Park/home workout:

Chinups 10x5
Dips 5x10
Tricep extensions 10x10
Knee raises 5x10

CoC #2 4x10” holds
BB wrist curls 4x15 at 40kg
EZ bar reverse curls 4x12 at 25kg

Both park and home workouts done in a circuit style. We decided at the last minute to stay until 10th of Sept in Poland as the flights were a good price so I’ll continue just going by how I feel and doing what I can with the #2. I’m trying to get 3 workouts in per week. My diet is all over the place and I’m not drinking enough water. To save the details, toilet trips are just not happening. I feel pretty weak but that is always the case for me when I travel to different countries - my body doesn’t handle change well.

Edited September 3, 2020 by AvgJo

[mcalpine1986]

On 8/8/2020 at 9:29 PM, AvgJo said:

08/08/2020

Grip:

CoC #2.5 3 attempts
CoC #2 3 closes
Towel chinups 50 reps (6x8 +2)
Pronation/sup. and ulnar/rad. work with bands (experimenting)

Feeling beat up. I'm going to take next week off from grippers but try and still do the other grip work. The following 2 weeks after that I will be in Poland so I'll try and sneak a gripper into my luggage without the mrs rolling her eyes. It will probably be tough trying to do some form of gripper work while I'm there, as it mostly consists of beer, vodka and a 3-5kg weight gain when I return. Was hoping to take my #2 and try 2-3 sessions a week of just maintenance work. There is an outdoor workout park nearby that I'll use when I'm there.

Just seen and had a proper look at your log and we are at similar levels gripper wise it seems. Im on the #3 quest as well. I find towel chinups great assistance for grippers since you have to squeeze so hard. Especially when you add extra weight. I like to use 2 thick sports towels so my hands are in the same postition as a gripper close. The plate curls will serve you well as well. Ive spent about 8 months building up a general base of grip strength and my wrists using a lot of plate curls before concentrating on grippers. Good luck on your journey. You will get the 3 in time no doubt.

Edited September 3, 2020 by mcalpine1986

[AvgJo]

1 hour ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Just seen and had a proper look at your log and we are at similar levels gripper wise it seems. Im on the #3 quest as well. I find towel chinups great assistance for grippers since you have to squeeze so hard. Especially when you add extra weight. I like to use 2 thick sports towels so my hands are in the same postition as a gripper close. The plate curls will serve you well as well. Ive spent about 8 months building up a general base of grip strength and my wrists using a lot of plate curls before concentrating on grippers. Good luck on your journey. You will get the 3 in time no doubt.

Yea I thought the same when I seen your log, I love calisthenics also. I have a pretty good base for grip I would say, I have always tried to get the most bang for my buck by incorporating grip into basically everything. Jumping straight into an intense/frequent method of gripper training from zero was probably not the best idea, hence feeling beat up. Towel chinups are probably my favourite grip related exercise. I really like BU KB presses but my 2x16kg comp KBs are at my parents unfortunately - I seen you are pretty strong on those, given you are 171lb also (I'm 210lb right now). If you like working wrist stability and calisthenics, you should give ring grip pushups a try. They are insane and the guy in the video makes them look easy - I think I have a lot to gain from progressing them. You can see them in the following video:

 

[mcalpine1986]

1 hour ago, AvgJo said:

Yea I thought the same when I seen your log, I love calisthenics also. I have a pretty good base for grip I would say, I have always tried to get the most bang for my buck by incorporating grip into basically everything. Jumping straight into an intense/frequent method of gripper training from zero was probably not the best idea, hence feeling beat up. Towel chinups are probably my favourite grip related exercise. I really like BU KB presses but my 2x16kg comp KBs are at my parents unfortunately - I seen you are pretty strong on those, given you are 171lb also (I'm 210lb right now). If you like working wrist stability and calisthenics, you should give ring grip pushups a try. They are insane and the guy in the video makes them look easy - I think I have a lot to gain from progressing them. You can see them in the following video:

 

I average about 170 lbs ish at 5ft 9 in. Thanks i wouldnt say 24kg BU  presses are strong as ive seen some crazy bastards on instagram doing 48kgs and higher. Im trying to up the rep count. Ive actually done those ring pushups before. Very hard. Never on fire though

Due to covid and my new gym opening times im not able to go back to a gym so ive been training at work in a warehouse. I have access to a forklift truck what ive been doing weighted dips and pullups from. I did a spell of weighted and unweighted ledge pullups. They are a grip killer

I bang into neck training as well but for this past month or so its grippers. I wont stop until the 3 is close. I had mine rated recently by gods of grip in the uk and it came in at 150lbs. So average although it has a 3 1/8 spread. I have a 2.5 rated 126lbs by cannon power works on the way as we speak. Beem nearly 2 weeks i cant wait to try it. 

[AvgJo]

56 minutes ago, mcalpine1986 said:

I average about 170 lbs ish at 5ft 9 in. Thanks i wouldnt say 24kg BU  presses are strong as ive seen some crazy bastards on instagram doing 48kgs and higher. Im trying to up the rep count. Ive actually done those ring pushups before. Very hard. Never on fire though

Due to covid and my new gym opening times im not able to go back to a gym so ive been training at work in a warehouse. I have access to a forklift truck what ive been doing weighted dips and pullups from. I did a spell of weighted and unweighted ledge pullups. They are a grip killer

I bang into neck training as well but for this past month or so its grippers. I wont stop until the 3 is close. I had mine rated recently by gods of grip in the uk and it came in at 150lbs. So average although it has a 3 1/8 spread. I have a 2.5 rated 126lbs by cannon power works on the way as we speak. Beem nearly 2 weeks i cant wait to try it. 

Yea in the future I want to get a pair of 24s and 32s. I think 32kg BU KB press is a pretty solid feat. Haha nice, that is the beauty of calisthenics, you can do it anywhere with a bit of imagination. I was training my neck on and off also, but haven't in a while. I'm planning on getting my grippers rated by Gods of Grip as well soon. On the 10th I'll have a GHP 4, 5 and set block as well as a Hybrid RB 210. All from Cannon PowerWorks. Have you closed a #2.5?

[mcalpine1986]

38 minutes ago, AvgJo said:

Yea in the future I want to get a pair of 24s and 32s. I think 32kg BU KB press is a pretty solid feat. Haha nice, that is the beauty of calisthenics, you can do it anywhere with a bit of imagination. I was training my neck on and off also, but haven't in a while. I'm planning on getting my grippers rated by Gods of Grip as well soon. On the 10th I'll have a GHP 4, 5 and set block as well as a Hybrid RB 210. All from Cannon PowerWorks. Have you closed a #2.5?

Yeah i agree on the 32kg. I may get one one day. Nice collection. Id love some GHPs. Hard to find now with no production due to covid. Ive never tried a 2.5. Ive got one on the way frpm cannon Rated at 126lbs.  I can do sets of 5 with my 2 rated at 102lbs by gog. Where are you from, uk? 

Edited September 3, 2020 by mcalpine1986

[AvgJo]

1 hour ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Yeah i agree on the 32kg. I may get one one day. Nice collection. Id love some GHPs. Hard to find now with no production due to covid. Ive never tried a 2.5. Ive got one on the way frpm cannon Rated at 126lbs.  I can do sets of 5 with my 2 rated at 102lbs by gog. Where are you from, uk? 

Well good luck with the #2.5 mate, it is quite a bit harder than the #2 and the #3 is just crazy. You seem motivated and with consistency and a bit of a program/plan for it, you should manage no problem to close the #2.5 soon or straight away and then grind away at the #3. I'm from Scotland, you? I assumed US because you were talking in lbs haha.

[mcalpine1986]

2 hours ago, AvgJo said:

Well good luck with the #2.5 mate, it is quite a bit harder than the #2 and the #3 is just crazy. You seem motivated and with consistency and a bit of a program/plan for it, you should manage no problem to close the #2.5 soon or straight away and then grind away at the #3. I'm from Scotland, you? I assumed US because you were talking in lbs haha.

Cheers mate. You too mate, you will get that 3 no doubt. I do have a loose plan but for years have trained instinctivley. I just go by feel. Works for me. Nice one mate. Im from newcastle. I only put lbs on here as most are american and havent got a clue about stones lol. There are not many on here from anywhere in the uk. I love scotland. I got married and honeymooned there and have been loads of times. 

Aye well i picked a sightly above avergae 2.5 at 126lbs to use. My 3 feels like a brick but not really tried it much as im not at that level just yet.

Im on instagram if you are on as "justyouraveragegripster" if you want to follow me. I post up my grippers as its easy to film. Are you on Im?

Edited September 3, 2020 by mcalpine1986

[AvgJo]

14 hours ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Cheers mate. You too mate, you will get that 3 no doubt. I do have a loose plan but for years have trained instinctivley. I just go by feel. Works for me. Nice one mate. Im from newcastle. I only put lbs on here as most are american and havent got a clue about stones lol. There are not many on here from anywhere in the uk. I love scotland. I got married and honeymooned there and have been loads of times. 

Aye well i picked a sightly above avergae 2.5 at 126lbs to use. My 3 feels like a brick but not really tried it much as im not at that level just yet.

Im on instagram if you are on as "justyouraveragegripster" if you want to follow me. I post up my grippers as its easy to film. Are you on Im?

Ah nice, yea I think there is some UK people on here but not much. Haha thats great man, I love Scotland too lol. I have been many times up north and as a bonus my gf works as a tour guide as a side job during the season for it, so if I'm free, I usually get to tag along for free hehe. Would love to find a job up north or retire there. I have never been to Newcastle but I have met a few guys from there and they seemed to be pretty much Scots lol. Nice, yea I have IG but I just started using it recently to follow some gripper/armwrestling guys haha, I'll add you at some point, my phone doesn't have connection in Poland. Cheers mate 

[mcalpine1986]

1 hour ago, AvgJo said:

Ah nice, yea I think there is some UK people on here but not much. Haha thats great man, I love Scotland too lol. I have been many times up north and as a bonus my gf works as a tour guide as a side job during the season for it, so if I'm free, I usually get to tag along for free hehe. Would love to find a job up north or retire there. I have never been to Newcastle but I have met a few guys from there and they seemed to be pretty much Scots lol. Nice, yea I have IG but I just started using it recently to follow some gripper/armwrestling guys haha, I'll add you at some point, my phone doesn't have connection in Poland. Cheers mate 

Aye not many from here or scotland that i know of at all. Ive been on here since 2009 bit only got back into grip training late last year. Im actually off to Edinburgh next month. Newcastle is a  great city. No worries mate. Enjoy poland. 

[AvgJo]

04/09/2020

Park workout:

Chinups 10x5
Dips 10x5
Hyperextensions 3x15
Knee raises 3x15
Active hang ~1'20" max out

Last session and today were the first times doing dips in over 1 year and I am so happy I am finally pain free in push exercises - now I just need to build the strength back slowly. Coming back to an exercise type, in my case push, after a long lay off usually means that there is a lot of shaking and lack of endurance. I need to build the reps up slowly and allow my stabilising muscles to adapt. Overall I am buzzing about that.

[Nuttgens]

1 hour ago, AvgJo said:

04/09/2020

Park workout:

Chinups 10x5
Dips 10x5
Hyperextensions 3x15
Knee raises 3x15
Active hang ~1'20" max out

Last session and today were the first times doing dips in over 1 year and I am so happy I am finally pain free in push exercises - now I just need to build the strength back slowly. Coming back to an exercise type, in my case push, after a long lay off usually means that there is a lot of shaking and lack of endurance. I need to build the reps up slowly and allow my stabilising muscles to adapt. Overall I am buzzing about that.

Nice work man. Good luck on the  #3. We are so  Close to being at the same level looks like I can probably get a rep or two more than you on the 2.5 but your #3 attempt looked way better than any I have tried. I can barely budge it 

[AvgJo]

30 minutes ago, Nuttgens said:

Nice work man. Good luck on the  #3. We are so  Close to being at the same level looks like I can probably get a rep or two more than you on the 2.5 but your #3 attempt looked way better than any I have tried. I can barely budge it 

Thanks man, good luck to you too. I literally have no endurance on grippers, probably because I have just been training singles. I don't think I can even do 2 consecutive reps with my #2.5 so your 4-5 is pretty impressive. Did you even use chalk? It didn't look like it in your video. I am planning to experiment with higher rep training if/when I stall. A big factor is that the gripper ratings and handle spreads vary so much. I have a feeling my #3 is on the lighter end and my #2.5 is on the heavier end. I'm planning to get them rated soon. It's the only way to compare grippers really.

[Nuttgens]

2 minutes ago, AvgJo said:

Thanks man, good luck to you too. I literally have no endurance on grippers, probably because I have just been training singles. I don't think I can even do 2 consecutive reps with my #2.5 so your 4-5 is pretty impressive. Did you even use chalk? It didn't look like it in your video. I am planning to experiment with higher rep training if/when I stall. A big factor is that the gripper ratings and handle spreads vary so much. I have a feeling my #3 is on the lighter end and my #2.5 is on the heavier end. I'm planning to get them rated soon. It's the only way to compare grippers really.

Yeah man I’m pretty sure mine is the opposite my 2.5 has the smallest spread of all my grippers and the spread on my 3 is by far the biggest not sure if that is normal or not. Picture is my 2.5 compared to 3. No I haven’t tried using chalk maybe I’ll give it a try next time I find my hands don’t get sweaty though so not sure if it’ll make much of difference.

[AvgJo]

3 minutes ago, Nuttgens said:

Yeah man I’m pretty sure mine is the opposite my 2.5 has the smallest spread of all my grippers and the spread on my 3 is by far the biggest not sure if that is normal or not. Picture is my 2.5 compared to 3. No I haven’t tried using chalk maybe I’ll give it a try next time I find my hands don’t get sweaty though so not sure if it’ll make much of difference.

Well it's even more impressive you didn't use chalk man. For me it helps a tonne. I think you can add a rep or 2 easily using it. My #3 is definitely wider than my #2.5 and #2 but I think it's down to the fact that my #3 is practically unused, like yours. All the reps on the #2.5 and #2 over time will reduce the spread slightly.

[Nuttgens]

9 minutes ago, AvgJo said:

Well it's even more impressive you didn't use chalk man. For me it helps a tonne. I think you can add a rep or 2 easily using it. My #3 is definitely wider than my #2.5 and #2 but I think it's down to the fact that my #3 is practically unused, like yours. All the reps on the #2.5 and #2 over time will reduce the spread slightly.

My next gripper workout is on Sunday I’ll chalk up for that and let you know how it works. Now you got me excited I’m really hoping for something good. 
 

My 2.5 has been my narrowest gripper since new out of all my grippers and I have only done two workouts with it. 

[AvgJo]

8 minutes ago, Nuttgens said:

My next gripper workout is on Sunday I’ll chalk up for that and let you know how it works. Now you got me excited I’m really hoping for something good. 
 

My 2.5 has been my narrowest gripper since new out of all my grippers and I have only done two workouts with it. 

Nice, I can see 6 or 7 reps with the #2.5. Another thing I wanted to say was you should practice setting your #3, you don't even need to attempt a close. If your #2.5 is narrow, you aren't getting much practice in setting with your free hand. It is very important, a lot of technique. You could add in 1-3 settings/attempts with your #3 before your volume work on the #2.5. For me, it helps boost my CNS and I 'usually' perform a bit better on the #2.5 after it. It helps build some confidence as well with the #3. 

Edited September 4, 2020 by AvgJo

[Nuttgens]

2 hours ago, AvgJo said:

Nice, I can see 6 or 7 reps with the #2.5. Another thing I wanted to say was you should practice setting your #3, you don't even need to attempt a close. If your #2.5 is narrow, you aren't getting much practice in setting with your free hand. It is very important, a lot of technique. You could add in 1-3 settings/attempts with your #3 before your volume work on the #2.5. For me, it helps boost my CNS and I 'usually' perform a bit better on the #2.5 after it. It helps build some confidence as well with the #3. 

Yeah man thanks that’s actually a really good idea I suck at sets especially with the #3 being to hard for me to just kinda mash it with my working hand I should for sure get some practice at doing proper sets with my other hand

[AvgJo]

11 hours ago, Nuttgens said:

Yeah man thanks that’s actually a really good idea I suck at sets especially with the #3 being to hard for me to just kinda mash it with my working hand I should for sure get some practice at doing proper sets with my other hand

Yea man, it is essential if you ever want to close the #3. Some guys would argue that grippers are mostly technique. If any of your other grippers have a wider spread you could practice setting those instead of the #3. It would just be for technique work, so nothing taxing, even using your #1.5 or #2 to practice setting after your work sets or in between sets of OHP/whatever. If you use the #3 definitely do it first in your training though. I think you honestly have a knack for grippers - 4 months of training closing the #2.5 for sets of 4-5 with no chalk is up there regardless of spread IMO 

[AvgJo]

05/09/2020

Grip:

CoC #2 8,7,5,5 closes
CoC #2 2x10" holds

I decided to clean my gripper for the first time and try reps for the first time. It didn't really cross my mind but the knurling on my grippers are all clogged with chalk, the springs are rusty/dirty and they creak when closing. After taking a wire brush to my #2 and some WD40 I can't believe it. It is literally like I knocked 10-15lb off the gripper. I need to take better care of them from now on and I will be sure to clean my #2.5 and #3 when I am back. I guess I wasn't really taking care of them. I don't feel like I am cheating myself doing this, but instead returning it to the level it was out of the packaging. It was just a quick workout today, 1-1'30" rest between sets.
 

Edited September 6, 2020 by AvgJo