EricMilfeld Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 The more I experiment and think about it the more I realise that pinch training could play a very important part in your crushdown. I happen to do my crushowns with my fingers interlocked and the ends of the nail contacting my thumbpads. Having solid, strong thumbs developed from pinching will provide a better base with which to help those pecs and lats crush that nail. Also, pinching plates does develop fingertip strength, which I think is also helpful in the crushdown. With my fingers intlerlocked for the crushdown, I find that I'm digging my fingertips into the opposite hand to help pull my hands together. My next thought is more or less of a reminder, especially for myself, and that is to customize your workouts for the specific piece of steel you're aspiring to bend. All steel varies in its characteristics. As I'm currently struggling to get 5/16" grd 5s done in under two minutes, I've found the need to adapt my training. I've had success in the past progressively bending tougher and tougher steel, whether it be by shortening existing steel or climbing the ladder of stonger steel. This worked, in part, because with nearly all of the steel I've done in the past there was a point in the bend itself when I was able to pick up some momentum. There was an easy and a difficult part of the range of motion. The problem I'm encountering with these grd 5s is the fact that they are near impossible for me through the entire range of movement. So, even though my crush may be strong, as an example, because I'm so worn out just getting to the crush stage, I'm unable to finish it off. My solution is to get steel just a little bit easier, in this case 5/16" hexagonal, and do back to back bends with little or no rest to help build up my endurance. I guess it's just a long winded way of saying that sometimes volume is good, even for me. I've always hated volume training. Of course I'm not talking about doing 100 Reds, or anything, just a few back to back bends near my max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusom1 Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Eric- I agree about the thumbpads. the more your hands are padded, the less material you have to use. I think this is why people like Brookfield could bend almost bare handed or with a tiny shop rag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamidon Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Last I heard fear of wearing a dress got you to the 5.5" grand bastard. Perhaps all you need is some motivation brought on by fear I agree with what you are saying about the grade 5. Graded bolts tend to stay near their difficulty no matter how fast you move them. CRS bars get easier the faster you move them so you can cruise through the sticking points to get the bars done. The 7"grade 5 5/16" is a tough piece of steel and the length makes it very challenging. Clay Edgin does them better than anyone I have ever seen. I think his size helps him cope with the 7" bars (he always has been good with them). I call the Grade 5 5/16" x 7" bars EDGIN's in his honor as I believe he is the first to successfully bend them. Good luck on your quest to master the "EDGIN" I hope to solve my shoulder problems and get back in the hunt for the below 6" "EDGINS" in 2006. BTW - Grade 8 5/16" x 7" bars are available........ Greg Amidon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Man, you guys are making me want to get some more leather and start bending again. Stop it! All I'm bending with these days is cordura, so there will be no 5/16" G5's bent for now. Thanks for the kind words Greg. Eric, for me getting those bolts consistently was a matter of just trying nothing but those bolts for a while. I mean, I'd warm up with some lighter stuff and get progressively harder but even if I didn't move the 5/16" bolt at all I still tried to hit it as hard as possible. Those isometrics helped I think. Those bolts felt hard the entire way through in the beginning but over time the middle of the bend (30-90 degrees) became easier. Then the kink started feeling easier and finally the crushdown was the last to finally come around. I agree about what you said about tailoring your training to the specific bar you want to bend. Each time you try to tackle something new, you have to modify your technique and how you apply pressure throughout the bend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muscle Turtle Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 I have the same thoughts about the middle of my hand and thumb pad. With shorter stuff I stick it right in the middle of my hand and it beats me up pretty bad. I started curls with plates but with my thumb either facing straight forwards or downwards and the past few weeks my thumb pad is growing decently... Just a few words from me!!! Oh ya... Edgin, Im coming for that 5/16 buddy!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted October 30, 2005 Author Share Posted October 30, 2005 Edgins. I love it! Rolls off the tongue much nicer than 5/16" x 7" grade 5 hex head bolt. I'm with you Clay on bending, or attempting to bend, a lot of grade 5s. A good portion of my last workout consisted of taking one to just past 90 degrees, where it decided to sit down on its butt like a stubborn mule and refused to budge any further. Greg, you're right. I almost forgot about the "fear factor"! I need to calibrate one of those big grd 8s, if I can fit that much weight on my device. But if anyone could bend such a monster it would be the mighty Amidon. Heal up, brother! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burner Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 ........my joints are killing me!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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