Jump to content

Nathan Holle Replies


mobsterone

Recommended Posts

Yep with the last 10 minutes I had a reply to the letter I sent to Nathan. I will reproduce it in its entirity for you guys and gals to peruse. All emphasis's (underlines and bolds) are mine.

Dear Steve,

Thank you very much for the letter and the kind words. We were all very impressed with your Millennium Dumbbell lift, I'am currently in training with our Desbonnet replica (which we have now fettled down to 226 lbs), which we have no doubt when Chris James has an attempt on it he will at least equal Grun' s lift on the original and possibly duplicate Apollon's famous feat.

Steve please feel free to print this letter any where you feel like. Below are the answers to your questions,

This is basically how we train the grippers No warm up, one close of No.3, 4 - 6 attempts on the No.4 gripper, 2 - 4 closes on the next hardest gripper, every attempt is an all out 100% squeeze.

The best method of progression is to have the discipline to squeeze the gripper as hard as you can every time.

I wouldn't recommend to train the grippers everyday, you can only make the gains so fast. With training every other day you have far less injuries and you keep your momentum going, also this way doesn't hamper your ability to train all other areas of grip.

From what I have heard of Joe Kinney his training was very effective but also very destructive to his hands.

When I first touched a gripper I could barely close the No.2 none of my other brothers where even close to closing it.

I don't know if carpentry helped my grip but when I was foolishly training the grippers hard everyday it was adversely effecting my carpentry and all other area's of grip.

We think that if you train sensibly you are more able to fulfil your potential.

Most of my brothers train with the grippers and Craig is doing very well.

My best advice to anyone who wants to close a gripper is to train using the grippers, we have tried many different exercises such as strap holds and negatives, not only did we find these to be pointless but also these seem to be a way of making grip training more complicated than it needs to be.

We hope that your training is going great, thank you again for the letter,

All the best,

Nathan Holle

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 75
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Tom of Iowa2

    11

  • OldGuy

    8

  • Dan Cenidoza

    6

  • mobsterone

    4

Thanks Steve. According to Nathan, a lot of us seem to be on the right track :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man, I wish I could have progressed that way "just squeeze the grippers hard as a method of progression". I'd be closing a IM #6 by now. ;) I tried every combination of rest period you could think of. I wouldn't be closing a 2 today if I used his scheme. But, it all comes down to what will work for YOU.

I thought he trained the grippers 4 times a week plus other grip training two other days? Sounds like every other day from what Steve wrote.

I thought he finished with essentially ONE overcrush with a 3? Or was it a Super Elite? Now, it's 2-4 attempts with it?

At least the first part was consistent and it was directly from Nathan this time. :D

One thing to note....to get good at the grippers you must use the grippers specificially. And, the gripper that is your goal gripper especially.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for posting that, Mobster. Sensible training combined with hard work has succeeded yet again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, thanks for posting the letter Mobs!!

It sure would be nice to be able to know that you are squeezing with 100% all the time, sounds like it'd make training a whole lot easier. Myself, just can't do it so I have to get gimicky and do the straphold thing.

Jon@han

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bear in mind that the Holle brothers are no ordinary guys when it comes to grip potential. Clearly they have a gift for it. Their experience is probably limited to just themselves. 5 of them were quickly able to reach the level of certificaton. What has worked for them, may not work as well for most of the rest of us. Few perhaps can apply the all out intensity of squeezing on a gripper as if their life depended on it. Nathan seems to do just that. Not being able to achieve that level of intensity probably means that you would have to go with greater volume instead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oldguy, what reason(s) do you think one would not be able to give 100% intensity?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think what he says would work but 1) no one can say truly they are giving 100% without using an accurate means to measure (grip machine, dyno etc - or a ruler for grippers) and 2) that we, by chatting with each other, research and so on have found other techniques which can aid the grip. No One method is the be all and end all - be it High Intensity or Volume. Keep swapping ideas, routines, give the KTA a try, pick the brains of CoC's and eventually you'll find one idea that works for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I am saying is that perhaps Nathan's ability to be intense when squeezing a gripper is greater than most of the rest of us, or that we may not be trying as hard as we think we are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:D The{ Law of Specificity} is what is most important when trying to improve ones performance in doing anything. To get good at something you must "do it" sure there are supplement exercises/training methods but to improve something nothing is better than the performance of the event itself. That is what I found out in my research.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps Nathan has greater powers of focus and concentration. He maybe able to summon up forces that in the usual way would take a life or death situation to invoke them. Kind of like being able at will to go into incredible Hulk mode, without first getting mad!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your probably right OldGuy it seems he does tap into something more. Myself I squeeze my gripper and do notice a difference when I use "emotional content" to get more energy out of myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So if he could do it, or the Mighty Atom could do it or any other mortal man, why can not everyone do it?

The answer is because not everyone strives to be able to do it. I think most people don't even believe it's possible, for them at least. That is what makes it impossible... for them at least.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I played with this thinking stuff for a while knowing I can do anything I put my mind to. Sure I have failed but the other 9 times I do it even when I had nothing left in the tank. Your head is stronger than your whole body. Do not let doubt in. Pain must be used for the good of the thing you are doing. The more I hurt the harder I try. Being hard head is a good thing. It is good pain not injury pain. To give you an example: when a woman is having a child the pain help her get the child out and then when the child is out there is happiness not pain. Here is one way to check your thinking. Put one hand in the coldest water you can make. Then put your other hand in 102 degree water. Make your head and your mind think of how good the warm water feels. Learn to ignore how cold the other hand is. You should be able to keep your cold hand in the ice for days it seems like. Look at the warm bucket and enjoy the warm. Make yourself enjoy it. God made me to think harder than normal people it cames from living with learn disabilities. I am always thinking to make sure I don't mess up and someone sees my faults. Learning and overcoming the fear of the written word has been one of my greatest feats. God truely is merciful in blessing me with a strong mind, with this the hands have to follow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've found out recently that for myself that all out attempts are the best way for me to improve my sweep working toward the #3. I've gone from the handles at parallel to getting them under a cm in only a few weeks. However at the same time I can barely close my #2 and not always. I'm hopeing the new PDA Choker collars will allow me to work on the final close portion the same way I've been doing with the sweep. Every other day or two also seems to be best for me as well not really from hand fatigue or strain but my skin can't handle the constant abrasion. Everyone responds to grip training a bit different and it's up to you to find out which of the available methods work for you.

Edited by Incindium
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think he just has good genetics for grip. Yes it is true that it helps if one can mentally focus, ect. on a feat of strength. However, given the reports of his very marginal strength on other feats, I don't think the entire answer can be explained by "he can focus better and give it 100%."

Presumably he would use the same focus for his squatting and deadlifting or whatever as he would when squeezing a gripper. Yet his squat is only 300? His deadlift 3-- something? Again, I think this means he has extraordinary genetics for grip, and not so good genetics for other feats. When he squeezes hard on the grippers he gets better at them.

Likewise, when I squat, my squat just goes up without a lot of hoopla, ect.; people ask "what is your secret." The truth is, I don't know; I work hard and it just goes up. For some bench or overhead press are like this. I can do the same routine as them and my overhead doesn't get nearly as high. They can do my squat or deadlift routine and not get nearly the results that I get. The answer is GENETICS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy policies.