One of the most amazing things i have ever seen

[John Wood]

Today  a buddy of mine picked up the inch replica dumbell.  Wha is even more incredible  is that he never does any type of grip work at all.  He cant even close the #2.  He is not even that big 6'2 225.  His name is Travis Demeester and he could be a major grip stud in the future.  He can already pick up a 70 pound anvil with a fat horn.  He had been able to budge the inch a little but never pick it up.  It surprised both of us.

[Sybersnott]

Measure the size of his hands.  At 6'2", he has to have big hands to lift the Inch Dumbbell.  I recently shot videotape of myself lifting *** (weight not mentioned for fear of laughter) on my plate-loaded Inch replica that wasn't near the 172 pounds that the actual replica is.  I barely broke it off the ground, but couldn't lift it!  On my plate-loaded, the handle is 2 1/2", and I wonder if that makes a difference or not.

Tell your pal he has done an incredible feat of grip strength and that he should grip train.  Thousands of people tried to lift the Inch and failed.  That puts him in an elite group.... to be able to do it!

[Guest RobbyTooSlobby]

Yes it seems incredible but isn't this feat perhaps just like you said because of his large hands?

I don't know I never tried to lift it but I have fairly small hands.

[Guest JD79]

Large hands would surely help, but that doesn't detract from the greatness of this feat.  Don't buy into the defeatist attitude of, "I can't do it, I have small hands."  A man can't help how big his hands are, or how small they are for that matter.  Take what you have and use it to its fullest.  BTW, tell this hoss congratulations from me John!

JD

[Guest Ouch]

Im 6'2" and I have very average size hands so Heighth doesnt always have anything to do with it. I agree wholeheartedly w/ JD ---even if tou have big hands that still 170lbs in 1 hand:)

Ben

[Guest HAD]

I thought taht the inch dumbels handle was quite narrow, so that many people with larger hands couldn't actually get a decent grip on it, as there hands would be too wide...........tell me if i'm wrong.

[Tom Black]

    I think that the width of the handle is not nearly as critical as people have proposed.  I actually think this “myth” started with David Willoughby in “The Super Athletes,”  who stated that Arthur Saxon could not pick up the inch dumbbell because his hands were too wide at the palm.  Willoughby stated, “That Saxon’s gripping strength was inferior to Inch’s is unthinkable.”  With all due respect to the great Arthur Saxon and Mr. Willoughby, think again.  Saxon’s hands may have been wide across, but not very long, and thus he could not lift the dumbbell.  Recently, there have been some guys with huge hands somehow manage to squeeze them into the handle of a replica and pick it up.  Someone on the Gripboard witnessed this, but I can’t remember who, maybe Bob Jodin.  

[John Wood]

i agree with Tom Black, the handle is a non factor.  Travis does not have overly large hands so he must have some x-factor which enables him to do this. I dont know what it is though.   Again, i am dumbfounded that he can lift the bell even though he cannot close the #2.  Recently i hade him  try the rolling thunder dl which he only got about 210.  Evidently he is just hooked up physiologically for such a feat.

[mobsterone]

hmm me thinks i can help again. A short handle means that the hands can be wedged against the globe ends and stop them rotating. Bill Richardson and Eddie Ellwood both have large wide hands and Eddie struggled and had to train for a year, like me, to lift it. Bill on the other hand did not.

My challenge dn has a longer handle and I have yet to lift it - mind you it does weigh 226 pounds.

PS: I warmup with 198 pounds on the rolling thunder and shut the three... I wonder if this helps (sorry about the idle bragging)