Clay Edgin Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 "world's strongest secretary" still makes me laugh when I think of it. My wife and I are spending the weekend with Woodchuck, his wife, and their new baby boy and somehow grippers and nails ended up in my luggage. I guess I can't go anywhere without bringing something along. Here's a quick rundown of this weekend's grip activities for me and Woodchuck. Me: countless 60d nails and timber ties, 2 6x1/4 G5 bolts, 2 6x1/4 G8 bolts, 2 6x5/16" G2 bolts (bit harder than a red), 1 5.5"x5/16" G2 bolt, failed on a 5"x5/16" G2. One 12" 3/8" spike too. 3 decks of cards individually, quartered a deck, and tore a corner out of another. Pinched 2-25's for a while with different numbers of fingers including fully lifting them with the ring and pinky. Tried 2-45's but could only pop them from the ground. 2 hand pinch worked up to 173. Woodchuck: few TT's, few 60d's, 2 g5's, 2 g8's, broke 2-45's off the ground higher than I did. Lots of 2 finger pinches of 25's including the ring/pinky combo. Broke 173 off the ground in 2 hand pinch. This guy has got to train more than 4 times a year. When we move here next year and start training together on a regular basis, I should be bringing a very strong, well-rounded freak with me to GGC2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Red Devil Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 My best was a 60d first time bending, and it went easily...but what can I say, when you rule Hell, there isn't much you can't do. Is it Woodchuck that trains 4 times a year or is it your newly found freak? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Loaf Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Clay, does that freak of yours workout with weights like squats and benches and stuff too or is he more like Popeye with strong forearms only? MEAT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 Meat, he used to do some lifting but doesn't do as much because most things bother his back. He does some thickbar deads once in a while, although it's not a lot more than 300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 Forgot to mention - the other night when we did all this other grip stuff, I ripped a corner out of a couple different decks with a sharp 90 degree angle and then was able to quarter them for the first time. I think what has helped the most with quartering and cornering is pinching plates with my fingertips and also pinching them with just a couple fingers. Pinching is really fun to me, and its positive effects are carrying over to just about everything. I don't know why I didn't start pinching plates earlier! I had a real problem being able to pinch the deck hard enough with one or two fingertips to quarter or corner it but plate pinches helped. In Big Steve's video, he demonstrates plate pinching to aid in card tearing and that has helped a lot. Now I'm looking at the quartered pieces and thinking "Hmm, I wonder if I can tear them into eigths?" For the first time in a long time, I am happy about how my grip training is progressing. I'm relearning what "hard work" is during a workout and enjoying the benefits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darco Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 (edited) Good to hear Clay. Edited October 26, 2004 by Darco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foggymountainmuscle Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Clay do you think your big fingers/hands get in the way of quatering decks? I know Big Steve talked about his hand size making it hard for him to notch a deck. It just shocks me that you can corner a deck (something I can't do yet) while you just now quartered a deck (something I could do right after ripping my first deck). I can fit all my fingers on a halved deck so maybe that's the reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted October 27, 2004 Author Share Posted October 27, 2004 I think that's part of the problem, yeah. My index fingers are kinda thick. I think more than anything it is just a matter of strength. I'm not strong enough to be more proficient at quartering yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted October 28, 2004 Author Share Posted October 28, 2004 10/27/04 Wasn't feeling it today, but that's no excuse to skip a workout. Deadlifts: 245x3, 335x2, 425x1, 515x1, 565x1, 610x0, x0, 335x10 SLDL Could get the bar to just about knee level on those 610 attempts but could not change gears and get it the rest of the way. Squat lockouts (6" ROM): 245x5, 445x5, 535x5, 625x5 Found I could do them very easily if I squatted like a powerlifter. I used to not be able to do anything with squats with a wide stance and sitting back, but now they're easy. I should explore this with full depth squats Overhead squats: 45x5, 95x2 Yeah right, like I was really going to do overhead squats after pulling and squat lockouts. Sometimes I don't think! Found a couple good 45's for pinching and did them with two hands. Popped them off the ground with one hand. Then I did some one and finger pinches from each hand with them and moved on to the 25's. Pulled them several times with each hand, then with one and two fingers and trying to overcrush them. On to the 35's - 6 full deadlifts per hand (a PR), then 2 full deadlifts without the pinky, another PR, each hand. Got them halfway up with two fingers in the right hand. Got home and decided to bend with some cordura. 60d, G5, G8, and FBBC 7"x5/16" bar went down, although the last one took a bigger effort than I remember it taking. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt my hands and I was able to crush everything down to 1" or less because of the reduced padding. I should explore bending with just cordura for a while until I try big bolts again. Also got my index fingers about 1-1.5" apart on the FBBC bar before kinking it. This is so much harder! But worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted November 1, 2004 Author Share Posted November 1, 2004 Worked out at Hubgeezer's place yesterday and had some fun with the grip stuff. Tore a few phone books, which brought the weekend's total up to about 10. Did 2-35s with either hand a few times, then with 3 fingers each hand, then with two fingers left handed. Couldn't get it all the way up with the right. Couldn't really do anything with the 2 hand pinch or the RT, and the best I could muster was an average #3 close. I was anxious to try another one of those 5/16" x 7" bolts so I did a 1/4"x6" G5 bolt to see how things felt and then got after its big brother. Then went after a piece of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted November 1, 2004 Author Share Posted November 1, 2004 continued... ....3/8" x 7" brass that Eric Milfeld sent me with those G5 bolts. These seemed harder than the G5 bolts the whole way and once I got it down to the crushdown stage where I could interlock my hands and squeeze, I just didn't have the strength to finish it off under 2". Maybe in a few days I will get it down, although once it has cooled it becomes hard and springy. I will really have to be on my game to get it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Loaf Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 (edited) Oh that little bitch bolt is teasing you. The time to strike is NOW. KILL!!! But bro, you've gotta do better than that on the overhead squats. I KNOW you can do a few hundred pounds more when you get used to the movement (just make sure there's nobody near cause if you fall, ain't nobody gonna make it if Clay Edgin lands on him!) Be careful...I don't want to take your throne of "sexiest man alive" by default! I am off to do the wrist curls now you told me to do. MEAT Edited November 2, 2004 by Meat Loaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted November 2, 2004 Author Share Posted November 2, 2004 It isn't balance I have a problem with, it's shoulder flexibility. I get down into that bottom position and the bar starts to come forward. If I force the bar back over my head, I get an unpleasant sensation in the shoulder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted November 9, 2004 Author Share Posted November 9, 2004 Been out of it for a few days recovering from tonsilitis which I seem to get every year about this time. It's 95% gone and I was going to pull a friend's truck last night but it was raining and I didn't want to get sick again. I'm a wussy. So I went to the gym. I almost didn't go there either. I wasn't prepared mentally to lift and started making excuses - "I don't have my belt....my wraps.....no chalk...." But I never used any of that stuff when I first started working out and I survived, so why should that stuff be necessary now? 11/8/04 Skwats (wide stance) 135x10, 185x8, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3 Man, I am not nearly as sore from squatting today as I was last time I got under the bar. 315 was a lot easier and I was able to keep my form throughout the reps. Time to increase the weight on this for sure. Standing Press (strict) 135x10, 185x3 Was going for 5 reps with 185 but left wrist started hurting quite a bit. Felt better when I stopped. Shrugs 225x10, 315x10, 405x5, 455x5, 455x5, 225x30 I remember not too long about not being able to get a clean rep with 405, but I think the double overhand bending has strengthened my upper back to some degree because I knocked out 455 for 10 reps in 2 sets and will do 495 next time with some gas in the tank. The 30 reps at the end were just for fun. Came home and hit the grippers for the second day in a row. About a dozen shots at the #4. Doing good with a 1" or parallel set so far and am hopeful that the MM3 will feel easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted November 11, 2004 Author Share Posted November 11, 2004 11/10 Choker & negatives night. I got this SE I can't close past 1/2" with a 1" set and put it in a choker. Darn near got it closed tonight, which is better than I've ever done on it before. Also put my new #4 in a choker and moved it down to about 1/2" from 1 1/8" Man, that thing is tough. Did several negatives with the hard 4. Forgot how tough these are. Hands are feeling good enough to hit it again, so I'll do that after I sign off. Also ripped 3 phone books - one with the "popping" technique and two using a style that relies a lot on wrist strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maidenfan Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Nice workouts Clay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankyBoy Posted November 12, 2004 Share Posted November 12, 2004 Good job, Clay. This time the MM3 will have no chance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted November 13, 2004 Author Share Posted November 13, 2004 11/12 More choker work, negatives, then rep out. Got the #4 shut 3 times in a choker and held it for a good long time, then took that third close and did a negative with it that must have lasted 20 seconds. Also got under 1/8" on my hard SE in a choker. Am making progress on that pretty much every workout now and I expect to shut it soon. Some more negatives on the hard SE and then I wanted to see how many reps in a row I could do on the HG200. Stopped at 50 in each hand because the pump was so bad in my right forearm that I couldn't close the gripper all the way, and the extensors weren't opening up all the anymore! The 50 reps in the right were full reps and the 50 in the left were opened to parallel or 1". Then did 8 reps with the #3 in the right and barely 2 in the left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan McMillan Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Nice!!!! Jon@han Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted November 15, 2004 Author Share Posted November 15, 2004 11/14 Last workout before a week's rest and attempting the MM3 again. Nothing special to report. Not even close to being recovered from all the reps I did on Friday night or whenever it was. Still got the hard SE down to 1/8" in a choker, got the easier SE to about 1/4", then I missed my filed tough Elite, did a few singles on the #3, and called it quits. I'm going to enjoy resting. Today was a good day in the grip toy department. I got a pair of CAP Barbell 45lb plates that are thinner than the ones I've been pinching. The ones I've been training on are 3" together, and these are 2.5" together which seems to be a standard width in contests and such. Nice texture and I think they will work well with chalk. Also drilled and tapped the handles of my BBWC and added 1.5" worth of washers to each handle. Still can't close it. Now it feels like the HG500 except a little harder. A cool toy though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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