Only Thick Bar Work...

[Blackheart]

Hello guys,

i am beginning to train with thick bars, handles, etc.. as brooks kubik suggested.

Will this situation give good results or will leave me sore for all my life....? Then if i do all my workouts with thick equipment, i must decrease my grip workouts (crush , pinch, supporting, wrist roller etc.)? (i am currently training my grip three times in a week.for example:one day on, one off..)Or i will just have to experiment a little?

[Starkmann]

I have not gotten around to thickbar training yet but.....

I have gotten the impression from some that going to all thickbar work can be a little detrimental. It's a tool, not the only way to go.

[Muscle Turtle]

I love thick bar work with my tiny hands... but for me persoanlly I just mix things up and hopefully get some pr's while im at it!

[Soilworker]

Exclusive thickbar training will make your wrists and grip stronger, there is no doubt about that. Your lifts will be less in comparison to a olympic bar or what have you, so be prepared for that. In some cases, way down. For someone desiring lower arm power of an insane level, thickbar would seem to be the way to go. For someone lifting heavy weights and building there bodies as well as their grip, a combination is probably better. I use an Olympic bar, a solid 2" bar, and a 3" bar myself. Cleaning and pressing is a great workout on a 2" bar. Overall, just do what feels right. For some, thickbar is the main focus of their grip routine, for others it is supplementary.

[steelbiceps]

I agree that if you want to train your whole body, you've gotta do at least half of your workout without thick bars. I don't think you have to sacrifice focus on other types of grip training, though. I do a grip workout about every other day, and I just change my focus. Workout 1 is focused on thick bar stuff but contains a bit of everything, workout 2 prioritizes crush but still has something of everything, and then one with a pinch focus and one with a bending focus.

Also, other exercises help a lot. Double-overhand deadlifts are great for supporting grip, heavy bench press is good for wrist stabilization, etc. Just look for ways to put a bit of a grip component in everything, and you'll get a well-rounded grip workout.

[austinslater]

I love thick bar work but do a combination of both. A recent deadlift workout saw me using a regular bar and working up to a miss with a double overhand grip and no straps. Then I switched to a reverse grip and did my normal workout. After this I did thick bar deadlifts. This will give you the best of both worlds. Good luck!

[Blackheart]

thanks for the replys guys.

Soilworker, i know that the weigths that i lift will "fall" but i believe that in time and consistent training they are going to be "up" again.I would love doing workouts only with thick bars and handles...But it wouldn't be bad i think to do the main movements with thick bars, if an individual does not hae acess to other thick equipment.

[Soilworker]

I love thick bar work but do a combination of both. A recent deadlift workout saw me using a regular bar and working up to a miss with a double overhand grip and no straps. Then I switched to a reverse grip and did my normal workout. After this I did thick bar deadlifts. This will give you the best of both worlds. Good luck!

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That is exactly what I do too.

[Blackheart]

thanks austin slater

Good luck with your workouts too!!!

[Jeremy Sipple]

Austinslater

Your deadlift workout sounds brutal, how often do you do regualr deads followed by thick bar deads?

[denisbeck]

Exclusive thickbar training will make your wrists and grip stronger, there is no doubt about that. Your lifts will be less in comparison to a olympic bar or what  have you, so be prepared for that. In some cases, way down. For someone desiring lower arm power of an insane level, thickbar would seem to be the way to go. For someone lifting heavy weights and building there bodies as well as their grip, a combination is probably better. I use an Olympic bar, a solid 2" bar, and a 3" bar myself. Cleaning and pressing is a great workout on a 2" bar. Overall, just do what feels right. For some, thickbar is the main focus of their grip routine, for others it is supplementary.

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Do you feel that there is a negative impact on crushing and pinch strength if thick bar training is used supplimentally? I am focused on closing the BBSM and was thinking of doing holds with a rolling thunder and thumbless reverse curls as supplimental exercises. I crush 5x a week and was going to do the auxillary exercise 2x a week.

[ruffhans]

i personaly dont do any lifting with weights. i use to, for about 3/4 years. that is how i built a foundatoin. i dont foresee myself ever going back to wieghts though. my arms are 16 inches, forearms are 14 inches,..thighs25.5 inches,...i think i have got a pretty good size and mass for anything i am ever going to need. my curent focus is droping body fat, and increasing my lower arm strength.

however if i wanted to start to increase muscle size agian i would go back to wieghts. but i would not do all thick bar stuff, it would not allow me to focus on my muscles to achieve mind muscle conectoin needed to get my muscles growing.

i curently shooting for lower arm strength so if i was useing dbs or bbs i would for sure use thick ones.

i also believe you could get away with useing just thick dbs to achieve a great grip.

[austinslater]

Jeremy,

I pull heavy every other wk. On the thick bar work Ill sometimes mix it up. After a heavy deadlift workout I might do holds in the powerrack. On the wks I dont pull I will usually just do a thick bar deadlift. Im using a 2.5" bar so the stress on my back is minimal. Hope this helps.

Thanks guys for the kind words!

[Jeremy Sipple]

Jeremy,

I pull heavy every other wk. On the thick bar work Ill sometimes mix it up. After a heavy deadlift workout I might do holds in the powerrack. On the wks I dont pull I will usually just do a thick bar deadlift. Im using a 2.5" bar so the stress on my back is minimal. Hope this helps.

Thanks guys for the kind words!

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thanks man, That clears it up what are your best lifts?

[WildGorillaMan]

I'm a big fan of thick bar work, but you have to place it in context in your training. For example, I've been training 1-arm dumbell rows with my thickbar dumbell handles; this is quite taking on my grip as well as my upper back. Any way, my best work to date is 50kg for five reps. Well, last night after going 5/3/3 as my grip gave out, I strapped up and did 50x10 and 60x5.

Should I keep doing them without straps to build my grip? Obviously, yes.

Should I limit the work my back can perform by never using straps? No.

Like everything else in your training, you've got to work on the whole package, and I don't think accepting reduced back development to work harder on your grip is a sensible option.

[jimwylie1]

We've been doing thickbar (2.5") dumbbell rows for a while. They are tough. The limiting factor for me (right hand) is my lats. However, due to a wrist injury, it is my grip / wrist that gives out on my left hand first. As soon as this happens, I switch to a regular dumbbell and finish my set.

If you can use a thick bar without compromising the main aim of the exercise, then do so.

WildGorilla, what diameter bar are you using?

[priznr]

i do lifts with the 3" bar, then the 2" bar, then the 1" bar.. but for me i use thickbars to train my grip AND protect my back from going to heavy etc.. since they limit the weight.

i train with all thickbar work and with cinder blocks which is also pinch .. so my hands are constantly fried.. i feel it has toughened my all around grip bigtime by training with thickbar every workout. it has increased my crush and levering without even training those lifts.

your hands will adapt to it.. just be consistent with it..

[WildGorillaMan]

WildGorilla, what diameter bar are you using?

2" diameter. I have little girl hands, and 2.5" for pulling is out of the question. With 2" bars, my thumb and middle finger just touch.

My point is that it makes sense to keep pushing the weights up over time both with and without grip aids.

[manis]

2" diameter. I have little girl hands, and 2.5" for pulling is out of the question. With 2" bars, my thumb and middle finger just touch.

offtopic: With 2" bars, my thumb and middlefinger are also just touching. But I didn't know hands just a bit under 8" were considered girlish. <7" would be more girl range i guess..

ontopic: i'm currently in the process of adopting thick bar training into my routine. As of this weekend I don't have access to a commercial gym anymore, so I want to buy a thick bar for at home and do only thick bar lifts combined with chins, push ups, odd lifting, some gymnastics strength exercises and ofcourse pinching, sledge hammer leverages etc. etc.

I think I can get away with only thick bar training without my muscle mass or basic strength levels suffering from it, because my regular lifts aren't that good anyway: I'm a very humble lifter. So the gap between what my grip and what my primary mover muscles can handle isn't that huge... Right?

Edited February 25, 2006 by manis

[TelegraphKey]

How big are your hands, if your middlefinger & thumb touches on 2" bar? I use 2" bar, my hands are allegedly 8", but middlefinger & thumb seem nowhere near touching! wtf

I basically use thickbar for everything except "real" deadlift; my main focus is powerlifting, though I'm not competitive. I use thickbar for bentover rows, and Olympic snatches & overhead squats. For most of my bench press I use the thickbar, but sometimes I use the regular bar (it definitely makes a difference; I did about 30 lbs. more on a bench rack partial when I took the plates off the thickbar & put in the regular bar). The first week or so I began going heavier on Overhead Squat, my wrist was sore, but eventually I adapted. In fact, every new thing I've done with the thick bar, something -- thumbs, elbows, wrists, back of forearm -- was sore for at least a week, but then eventually went away as my body adapted. I try to work in thickbar deadlifts, but I like "real" reverse-grip deadlifting too much to go away from the regular bar most of the time.

The IronMind piece of white paper that comes with everything they sell, says with Apollon's Axle, "The guts of thick bar workouts are PULLING movements -- rows, curls, reverse curls, cleans, snatches, deadlifts, etc." I think using thickbar for non-pulling movements can help, too -- like Bench, and even Squat (since you grip the bar holding it on your back, squeeze pretty hard actually!) -- but the core is Pulling movements. So I use it for nearly all pulling movements, except serious Deadlifts

[Blackheart]

I believe that nothing can be compared with thick bar lifting and genrally anything that it is thick and can be lifted in terms of functional strength.I believe that thick bar training send to sky crushing and pinching because it tends to more reality things.that is: grabbing an opponenet from a hand or leg, grabbing a person trying to save his life from an arm or leg etc.That;s why i think that thick bar lifting must be a priority.It cannot be compared with gippers and sets and no set etc.You just grab the bar and if you are able you will lift it.If not strong enough...next year.Not to mwntion the mass on the forearms by thick handles...without even doing specific forearm work.

[Starkmann]

I'm curious to revive this thread and see how all thicbar training is working out for blackheart.

[Blackheart]

Unfortunately my friend i have no access to thick bars and thick hndles currentlyI wish i had 2", 2.5" and 3" thick bars....I concluded to my previous post from many conversations with guys from here , books from kubik and Brookfield and private research.I do not know though everyone is different and every person has specific needs in training etc.

Edited March 13, 2006 by Blackheart

[t_rex]

Just go and buy some 2" PVC and slide it over a barbel then screw the sleeve back on...

[Blackheart]

So, today i started collecting steel bars and makind thick bars and and dumbbells, once i make them all i will train all the basic movements with thick bars and dumbbells as mr.kubik recomends and see my progress.To other handles i will add the padd which all trainees use to squat and see how it goes.i have two choices: 1) train with my thick bars plus training with grippers three times a week as usual or 2) train with my thick bars and forget the grippers and every crushing exercise for a while just to see my progress. What is your opinion?