matek's training log

[matek]

41 minutes ago, DevilErik said:

Your pull ups are INSANELY strong like absolute mad lad level strong.

Thanks man. Having good strength-endurance is nice (especially for increasing muscle mass), I just wish my 1RM was higher. But for me it was always like this with almost all exercises. 

[DevilErik]

1 hour ago, matek said:

Thanks man. Having good strength-endurance is nice (especially for increasing muscle mass), I just wish my 1RM was higher. But for me it was always like this with almost all exercises. 

Maybe you could start maxing out every week.

You could just do a training max(a single above 90%) followed by volume work.

Maxing out is a skill so it will probably go up once you start maxing out frequently.

You have the muscle mass and the strength it is probably just a matter of not having enough intramuscular coordination due to not maxing out frequently enough.

Edited April 24, 2022 by DevilErik

[matek]

11 minutes ago, DevilErik said:

Maybe you could start maxing out weekly.

You could just do a training max(a single above 90%) followed by volume work.

Maxing out is a skill so it will probably go up once you start maxing out frequently.

I'm doing this weighted pullup thing for many years (with some breaks of course), so every week would be probably too frequent. But I might have to try maxing out more frequently .

Edited April 24, 2022 by matek

[DevilErik]

Just now, matek said:

I'm doing this weighted pullup thing for many years (with some breaks of course), so every week would be probably too frequent. But I might have to try maxing out more frequently .

I hope that will bump up your max man!

Other than that I can't really help you with anything because you are an absolute beast!

Keep up the good work man.

[matek]

3 minutes ago, DevilErik said:

I hope that will bump up your max man!

Other than that I can't really help you with anything because you are an absolute beast!

Keep up the good work man.

Thanks man!

I hope I'll get good at grippers. Based on my CoC 3 I MMS closed not long ago the MM0 cert is probably really close, but I will have to buy a new gripper for that (another #3 or a GHP Level 7), because the one I have was choked for about a month and would be cheating to use that, even if the rating didn't change. Since I don't have a GHP, I'm leaning towards buying a Level 7. Have you ever tried a GHP gripper?

[DevilErik]

5 minutes ago, matek said:

Thanks man!

I hope I'll get good at grippers. Based on my CoC 3 I MMS closed not long ago the MM0 cert is probably really close, but I will have to buy a new gripper for that (another #3 or a GHP Level 7), because the one I have was choked for about a month and would be cheating to use that, even if the rating didn't change. Since I don't have a GHP, I'm leaning towards buying a Level 7. Have you ever tried a GHP gripper?

Coc 3 MMS is already pretty good man from what I have heard MMS has some carry over to wider sets.

No I haven't I have an Ivanko Super gripper, a Vulcan v2 and some Golden Grip torsion spring grippers.

I haven't even tried CoC yet.

I would love to try both CoC and GHP I think I am going to love GHP because from what I have heard they have some pretty aggressive knurling which seems freaking great to have on a gripper.

Pretty much all of my grippers are smooth even the so called "knurling" on my golden gripper feels smooth so I don't even know what it's like to squeeze a gripper with some proper knurling.

Edited April 24, 2022 by DevilErik

[matek]

Just now, DevilErik said:

Coc 3 MMS is already pretty good man from what I have heard MMS has some carry over to wider sets.

No I haven't I have an Ivanko Super gripper, a Vulcan v2 and some Golden Grip torsion spring grippers.

I haven't even tried CoC yet.

I would love to try both CoC and GHP I think I am going to love GHP because from what I have heard they have some pretty aggressive knurling which seems freaking great to have on a gripper.

I see!

I also love aggressive knurling and it helps me a lot. I think you would like Standard grippers as well, the knurling is quite sharp on both handles. 

[Jermiah Merciconah]

Just now, matek said:

I see!

I also love aggressive knurling and it helps me a lot. I think you would like Standard grippers as well, the knurling is quite sharp on both handles. 

Standard grippers are definitely one of my favorites up there with Baraban grippers, I find standards more pleasant to use than GHP on account of them not having that sloped edge at the bottom of the handles for the pinkie to slip off

[DevilErik]

Just now, matek said:

I see!

I also love aggressive knurling and it helps me a lot. I think you would like Standard grippers as well, the knurling is quite sharp on both handles. 

I also think I'd love Standard grippers but I live in the Netherlands so the shipping is probably more expensive than the gripper itself.

Edited April 24, 2022 by DevilErik

[matek]

10 minutes ago, DevilErik said:

I also think I'd love Standard grippers but I live in the Netherlands so the shipping is probably more expensive than the gripper itself.

Yeah that sucks man. I'm also struggling with this when it comes to grip stuff. The only proper grippers I can buy locally for a fair price are CoCs. 

 

[DevilErik]

1 hour ago, matek said:

Yeah that sucks man. I'm also struggling with this when it comes to grip stuff. The only proper grippers I can buy locally for a fair price are CoCs. 

 

Coc's are great but if you want other grippers than CoCs it really sucks.

I am one of the very few people that prefers adjustables though so it isn't really a big deal in my case.

I just really want to certify on the no.3.

I might not touch another torsion spring gripper ever again after certifying on the no.3.

I am not entirely sure though because I would love to give the Standard grippers and GHP's a squeeze.

 

Edited April 24, 2022 by DevilErik

[matek]

8 minutes ago, DevilErik said:

Coc's are great but if you want other grippers than CoCs it really sucks.

I am one of the very few people that prefers adjustables though so it isn't really a big deal in my case.

I just really want to certify on the no.3.

I might not touch another torsion spring gripper ever again after certifying on the no.3.

 

Oh I love adjustable grippers as well. I have these adjustables + the big ISG replica I've modded recently for parallel training. 

 

 

[DevilErik]

Just now, matek said:

Oh I love adjustable grippers as well. I have these adjustables + the big ISG replica I've modded recently for parallel training. 

 

 

Awesome man!

[DevilErik]

26 minutes ago, matek said:

Oh I love adjustable grippers as well. I have these adjustables + the big ISG replica I've modded recently for parallel training. 

 

 

I am going to get more plates,a vertical bar, the arm assassin wrist wrench and thumbblaster first after that I can start worrying about grippers again.

I still need to close the highest setting on both my Ivanko and my Vulcan with the orange spring after that I still have the CROM spring for the Vulcan so I should be good for a while.

Edited April 24, 2022 by DevilErik

[Jermiah Merciconah]

2 hours ago, matek said:

Oh I love adjustable grippers as well. I have these adjustables + the big ISG replica I've modded recently for parallel training. 

 

 

I've tried the standard adjustable gripper set and love it, No difference in feeling imo to the normal standard

 

In my personal opinion the GD Iron Grips absolutely suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck, They feel like absolute garbage in the hand and to close

[matek]

1 minute ago, Jermiah Merciconah said:

I've tried the standard adjustable gripper set and love it, No difference in feeling imo to the normal standard

 

In my personal opinion the GD Iron Grips absolutely suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck, They feel like absolute garbage in the hand and to close

Yea those Standard adjustables are really good. Handles get really wide at lower settings though, so have to be good at setting it. 

 

I made a ton of progress using the GD Iron Grip, and for me, it's super useful that the spread is adjustable. Probably my most used gripper in my collection, I really like it. My only problem with it is that the handles don't touch. 

[Jermiah Merciconah]

10 minutes ago, matek said:

Yea those Standard adjustables are really good. Handles get really wide at lower settings though, so have to be good at setting it. 

 

I made a ton of progress using the GD Iron Grip, and for me, it's super useful that the spread is adjustable. Probably my most used gripper in my collection, I really like it. My only problem with it is that the handles don't touch. 

Thats fair enough and i can't fault you for liking it, I just don't like it because the knurling is almost smooth on mine, I've torn the centre of my palm on it more times than i've done it on something like a Standard Cobalt, Also the fact that the handles are fixes means that the motion feels unnatural to me as opposed to a torsion spring gripper

[matek]

1 minute ago, Jermiah Merciconah said:

Thats fair enough and i can't fault you for liking it, I just don't like it because the knurling is almost smooth on mine, I've torn the centre of my palm on it more times than i've done it on something like a Standard Cobalt, Also the fact that the handles are fixes means that the motion feels unnatural to me as opposed to a torsion spring gripper

Yeah the feeling is definitely different compared to a torsion spring gripper. 

[matek]

2022/04/25 DU bending

 

2x CRS (SS400) 7.1mm x 165mm (0.28" x 6.5")

Stainless (316) 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 7")

Then I tried a Drill rod (SK95) 7.4mm x 180mm (0.291" x 7"). I tried for 10-15 mins, trying different wrap combinations, but only bent it a little. Kinking high carbon rods a little bit is ok, but over 5-10 degrees it's a nightmare. 

 

My wrist hurt, but practiced a little bit more on the medium carbon steel

2x CRS (S45C) 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 7")

CRS (S45C) 7mm x 165mm (0.276" x 6.5")

 

Besides the failed SK95 drill rod, all bent between 80-95 degrees.

Edited April 25, 2022 by matek

[matek]

2022/04/26

 

Just a quick mehh gripper workout. Wrists felt weak after yesterday's bending session. I will do contrast baths later today. 

 

Assisted closes with the Standard adjustable Ti, filed, level 3 RGC 135
RH/LH 8x1 assisted: I just wanted to practice setting a gripper at this really wide third level, but closed all assisted (with the other hand), because why not.

ISG/SILARUKOV-1 replica, choked parallel, springs at 8,10
RH/LH 8x1: closed only 2 with both hands
 

[matek]

2022/04/26 (second)

 

Braced bending

 

I was supposed to do cardio tonight but I remembered braced bending is basically HIIT, so I did that . Also, it doesn't really involve wrists, so I didn't have to worry about that. 

 

Drill rod (SK95 - high carbon) 7.4mm x 180mm (0.291" x 7")

CRS (SS400 - low carbon) 8.3mm x 190mm (0.327" x 7.5")

CRS (SS400 - low carbon) square 7mm x 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 0.276" x 7")

For these, I didn't rest besides wrapping really quickly. 

CRS (S45C - medium carbon) square 7mm x 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 0.276" x 7")

This was fun. It always sprang back to 2"+ with the wraps, so I ended up removing one side and just using it on the "outer" side of the bar.

CRS (SS400 - low carbon) hex 8mm x 180mm (0.315" x 7")

Once it started it was fine. 

 

Some geekiness (probably nobody cares but oh well):

x mm square > x mm hex >x mm round for sure, and one can experience some troubles just because of the shape, but how much is attributed to the shape vs. how much material is in there? Some quick volume calculations for the shapes (mm and mm^3) : 

7x7x180 square: 8820
7x180 hex (where 7 is 2 x apothem as they usually measure it this way): 7638
7x180 round: 6927

8x8x180 square: 11520
8x180 hex: 9977
8x180 round: 9048

So compared to the round, about ~27% and ~10% volume increase for the square and hex, respectively. Based on empirical evidence, the increases in ratings are around ~40-45% and ~20-22%, so those differences could be attributed to the shapes. 

Edited April 26, 2022 by matek

[matek]

2022/04/28 DU bending (doubles)

 

2x CRS (SS400 - low carbon) 7.1mm x 180mm (0.28" x 7")
Maybe it was 170mm, I didn't measure but it doesn't really matter.
Stainless (316) 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 7")
Stainless (316) 7mm x 165mm (0.276" x 6.5")

 

Drill rod (SK95 - high carbon) 7.3mm x 180mm (0.287" x 7")
This was way easier than the first time I tried it. Also it took only two hits, it went down pretty fast.
Drill rod (SK95 - high carbon) 7.4mm x 180mm (0.291" x 7")
Definitely better than the first time, but after 10 minutes of struggling I managed to bend it to only ~20 degrees. The sweep is just soo hard. The 7.3mm and this 7.4mm are from different batches, this could also explain the big difference I experienced. Because it's hard to believe 0.1mm matters that much. But who knows, maybe I should have started with this. I won't use this bar anymore, all this essentially hardening process probably made it even more brittle, and I don't want to risk snapping with a high carbon bar. 

CRS (S45C - medium carbon) 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 7")
I didn't want to stop at a fail. This went down surprisingly fast, only one hit. 
CRS (SS400 - low carbon) hex 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 7")
I really pumped up myself. Took a few mins, but I'm really glad I did this, it was a good confidence boost after the failed drill rod. Edited: I edited the text, because I think this hex bar was low carbon, not medium carbon, I just mixed it up the drawer when storing it. I tried the medium carbon hex since this, and it is super hard, and I really don't think I was able to do it after struggling that much with the high carbon drill rod.

Edited May 4, 2022 by matek

[matek]

2022/04/30

 

DU bending, shoulders, wrist

 

Shoulders:

Side raises 8x12

Chest crusher 12x16

Close to the body, so it's more shoulders

Front raise 8x14

 

DU bending (single thicker leathers):

Volume bending, nothing particularly hard. I was practicing how to drive my elbows forward during the sweep, because I feel like that way I can use my shoulders more. 

10x CRS (SS400 - low carbon) 7.1mm/7mm x 180/165/150mm (0.28"/0.276" x 7"/6.5"/6")

Combinations of these diameters-lengths. 

2x CRS (S45C - medium carbon) 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 7")

Grade 4.8 bolt (CrMo) 8mm x 150mm (~5/16 x 6")

 

Wrist:

Actually I wanted to do grippers, but I've bent too much this week and my skin wasn't ready for grippers (second pic). So I did wrists.

6x 12-14 all: ulnar deviation, radial deviation, supination, pronation

 

Edited April 30, 2022 by matek

[matek]

2022/05/04 DU bending

 

In the following order:

2x CRS (SS400 - low carbon) 7.1mm x 165mm (0.28" x 6.5") 

Stainless (316) 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 7")

2x Stainless (316) 7mm x 165mm (0.276" x 6.5")

Done in single leathers. 

 

CRS (SS400 - low carbon) 8mm x 180mm (5/16" or 0.315" x 7")

Done in doubles of a suede + leather. Video related, also on the protractor. About 85 degrees in one hit. I never did this diameter (unbraced) before. I'm glad I could do this. If I conquer the 7.4mm high carbon drill rod, I'm ready for the A2 bolt Horrido cert. 

 

7x Drill rod (SK95 - high carbon) 6.8mm (0.268")x various length of 6", 6.5", 7" 

Done in single leathers.

CRS (SS400 - low carbon) hex 7mm x 180mm (0.276" x 7")

Done in doubles. Only this one took more than one hit, my wrists were already tired.

 

 

 

[matek]

Zero fat bar work for like 3 months now because of elbow tendonitis, and I only tried pinching 2-3 times because of the elbow + thumb pain. It was slowly healing up, but the consistent gripper work + heavy pulling sessions at the gym slowed down the process a lot. Since DU bending doesn't really bother my elbows, I've been doing that a lot recently and I had a lot of newbie gains. 

 

Not much griper work either in the past month, only a few times. This definitely sets me back, but feels like my elbow is in ~90% condition and I'm really happy about this. That weird thumb pain around the MPC joint is also gone, although I injured my right thumb recently (not training related) and to be honest it's quite uncomfortable when crushing. 

 

From next week, I'm doing grippers consistently again, and maybe... maybe I can do pinching or fat bar work once per week.