sigmfsk Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I started the v-bar, a few days ago, at 135 lbs, worked my way up to 180 lbs. Hands killed! Couple of days later, worked my way up to 220lbs. Hands pretty darn sore. Today, worked my way up to 255lbs. Hands sore, slight blister forming. My starting v-bar numbers surprise me. Next week, 300 lbs! hehehe, right. What limits the lifting of weights on the v-bar? It doesn't really seem a grip limiting feat - at least for my weenie overall body muscles. It seems like my back is starting to get a strain from having all the weight over one shoulder. I've never deadlifted, but can bench 200 lbs. I can close the #2 and pull 175 lbs on the rolling thunder, and pinch lift 2 25's for a few seconds. So I'm really not much to talk about, but certainly better in grip than anything else. For the elite lifters, I'm guessing grip is the limiting factor. Does the bar actually slide down the hand during the attempt (and wouldn't that take a good bit of skin with it - or create an awesome blister)? What about the average lifters? Has anyone effectively said "well, I've got a good grip, I just can't lift that much off the ground"? It just seems odd. The rolling thunder seems 100% grip limiting, and I'm in no danger of overexerting myself. My guess is that I need more overall body strength before grip becomes the limiting factor in v-bar. thanks, arthur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zevich Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I think you are right when you say you need more overall body strength. You have the unusual problem of your grip being stronger than overall strength so why not put together a basic strength routine emphazing core, back and hip girdle strength? Such as deadlifts, rows, power cleans, etc. Once a week low rep routine should help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I started training this lift only a few weeks ago. Pain tolerance, grip strength, and technqique have all figured heavily in my progress. I won't say the bar slips so much as it "settles" into the hand as I'm pulling it up, and then it stays put till I return it to the floor. And congrats on that very nice PR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mac Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Congrats on the 255! Skin ripping often seems to be the limiting factor in this lift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Congrats on the 255!Skin ripping often seems to be the limiting factor in this lift. ← True, as well as pain tolerance and back strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikael Siversson Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 (edited) Well I would not say that skin coming off your hand is the limiting factor in itself. The skin comes off usually when you lift at your limit and the bar starts to slip. For a 250lbs max lifter this will happen around that figure and for a 350lbs max lifter the skin tends to get torn off your hand as you test your 350 lbs limit. In other words there is no magic lbs number where the skin just peels off your hand, as it is related to your max strength. I would have to hold 250lbs for an extended period of time and litterally shaking the hand for skin to come off at this weight, whereas it would be a totally different matter if my max strength was just above that number. If you core body strength cannot handle 250lbs you certainly need to get stronger. Imagine Benny Wennbergs 700lbs+ one hand lift. Edited October 23, 2004 by Mikael Siversson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikael Siversson Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I could add that almost all the times I have had skin torn off my hands in the v-bar lift it has followed the same pattern: you make a lift that feels very heavy and close to your limit, but instead of settle with that you go for just one more lift. The bar slips a bit and off goes the skin and then you curse yourself. Actually I lost less skin as I got stronger and could lift more as I became more aware of just how far I could push it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikael Siversson Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 (edited) Congrats on the 255!Skin ripping often seems to be the limiting factor in this lift. ← True, as well as pain tolerance and back strength. ← Make no mistake about it. This is primarily a feat of grip strength (unless you have very poor core strength) in competition mode (where pain tolerance is not really much of an issue with all the adrenaline released into your blood stream). I you doubt that you must have missed the results from the GGC. We know very well that both Clay and Rob (no. 1 and 2 in the v-bar) have massive grip strength, as shown in other lifts. Edited October 23, 2004 by Mikael Siversson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mac Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 (edited) Mikael, So it is the slipping of the bar at max weights, rather than the weight itself, that tears up the hands? That makes sense - I had not considered that in and of itself. I agree totally with your point that if your back/core strength is a limiting factor in a one-hand lift (the one-hand lift itself, v-bar etc) then you just need to get stronger in those areas. Edited October 23, 2004 by The Mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikael Siversson Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Mikael,So it is the slipping of the bar at max weights, rather than the weight itself, that tears up the hands? ← Yes it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigmfsk Posted October 23, 2004 Author Share Posted October 23, 2004 This is primarily a feat of grip strength (unless you have very poor core strength) ← Rather than poor core strength, I prefer to think that my grip strength as so massively incredibly overpowering that my core strength only appears poor in comparison. Seriously, thanks for all the posts and ideas. I'll try a regular dumbell or such 20" off the floor and see what max weight my core strength can handle, then slowly add weights to the v-bar and see what gives first, grip or core. I feel more confident after reading Mikael's posts about the mechanics of what happens with slip and how it feels "at the limit". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerryg Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Where can I find a picture of the V-Bar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Where can I find a picture of the V-Bar? ← Try to imagine a length of steel rod 24'' long 1'' thick with something on one end to keep the plates from falling off. That's it. Hardly any different to a standard loading pin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaner Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I like the v-bar alot but from my limited experience my strength on it seems to vary a bunch from one workout to the next. I wonder if this is normal or is it something I'm doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikael Siversson Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 It is normal and is usually the result of the amount of chalk on the bar and your hands, training frequency and your pain tolerance for that particular day. For more consistent results, use plenty of chalk (don't brush off the excess). Moreover, if you do it too often (more than once a week) your results will vary more as it is a demanding lift for your hands (skin) and upper back. The pain from the skin will, to some extent, shut down your strength, if you do it too often. In competition, the pain factor is not so much of an issue for most as I mentioned above. Do not clean the bar between training sessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikael Siversson Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 In my own training, my v-bar performance does not vary more than any other lift. In the months leading up to the LGC X in december 2003, I was in the 140-147.5k range (308-324 lbs) with my right hand and got 142.5k righty (145k lefty) in the competition (made a big jump for the final attempt to 152.5k in order to beat Benny but did not quite get it to two inches). The training results did, however, vary a lot more the first year of v-bar training because of the reasons outlined above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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