chrisof4 Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Life has been pretty crazy, and lots of other things have taken priority over my bending efforts. I started bending about 2 years ago, and struggled with the 3/16" stuff, but very gradually worked my way up to where I am now (with a LOT of help from the Gripboard community). Currently, I can bend a yellow over 90 percent of the time, and have worked my way through my first batch of 25 blue nails. On a really good day, I can bend two blues back to back, but I am still a ways off from being consistent. Competing with my bending are my goals in the area of weight lifting. Both are important me, but I find my bending is less strong for a few days after a good hard weight workout. I am going to try to find a way to balance both. It has been a desire of mine to bend the 60D nail for all of the last 2 years. I am close. I have one on my desk that has a good kink in it, but I have never bent one past a few degrees. I believe this is the year. My friends Tmmicklabs and Ben Crush have been excellent examples of what can be achieved if you are dedicated, and put your mind to it. Last year I suffered a shoulder injury that set my training back several months, but I am mostly recovered from that and now have my sights firmly fixed on the 60D nail. Any advice that is offered will be treated seriously and with great consideration. I worked out pretty good with the weights both Saturday and Sunday, so I am pretty sore today. Even so, I just can't resist the call of the steel. I will post the results in a bit, but I will probably stick to a low volume workout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 9, 2006 Author Share Posted January 9, 2006 (edited) 1/9/2006 Bending Workout As expected, it was a pretty low volume day. Even lower than I expected. I had hoped for one yellow and then one blue. The yellow went down hard, but that is not uncommon for my first bend of the day. After a little rest, I went for a blue, but barely got a kink in it. I rested a little more, and grabbed another yellow. It took two attempts to get the second yellow. After the first attempt, I stalled at about 45 degrees. During the second attempt I put it away. Summary: 2 yellow nails. Edited January 9, 2006 by chrisof4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankyBoy Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Which style are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Chris Keep it up 2 yellow nails are better than 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 10, 2006 Author Share Posted January 10, 2006 Frankyboy, I have always been a double overhand bender. Gazza, Thanks for the encouragement. It was a LONG road to being able to bend one yellow, much less two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grh122 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Chris, What are some of your strengths and weaknesses? E.g. bench press (how much?), grippers, sledge levering, deadlift and/or rowing/pullup strength. For me, a year-long emphasis on wrist strength took my bending level from 3/16 stock to grade 5 bolts. During the same time I did not improve as much in many other areas. Also, are you flexible enough to find the "sweet spot" for high DO ... closer to the chin than to the chest? That's how it has worked for me, I'm much stronger when bending at neck level rather than a couple of inches lower at chest level. Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 10, 2006 Author Share Posted January 10, 2006 Chris,What are some of your strengths and weaknesses? E.g. bench press (how much?), grippers, sledge levering, deadlift and/or rowing/pullup strength. For me, a year-long emphasis on wrist strength took my bending level from 3/16 stock to grade 5 bolts. During the same time I did not improve as much in many other areas. Also, are you flexible enough to find the "sweet spot" for high DO ... closer to the chin than to the chest? That's how it has worked for me, I'm much stronger when bending at neck level rather than a couple of inches lower at chest level. Glenn Well, I am not the strongest of individuals, Glenn. However, I am much stronger than when I started two years ago. I benched during my last workout and did 8x100lbs and 5x100lbs for my second set. That was my first time benching in several months, so I was not pushing real hard. It is not too far below my single rep max of around 135 though. I haul equipment for the NFL football teams during football season, and that equals two pretty good workouts each weekend (once to bring the team in before the game, and once after the game). Because of this, my formal training was mostly on the back burner. Now that football season is over (for Kansas City anyway), I am back in the gym. Not sure what my deadlifts and squats are at now. Next time I do them, I will let you know. My best gripper close is my Master. With a good set, I can normally get a single. For reps I use my SA. I don't work the grippers too often as they are just not as interesting to me as bending. I have not done much sledge levering, but when I did, I was just using a 6 pounder. I can normally lever it while holding it about 20 inches below the head of the hammer. Any farther and it just laughs at me. These are pretty humble stats to be posting in a forum such as this. They are also honest stats, however. I try to lift using a strict form, and slow, steady movements. I would rather lift less weight, and do it right, than focus on numbers, and end up cheating. My two main weaknesses are my lower back and my right shoulder. My right shoulder suffers from a repetitive stress injury, but with extensive physical therapy, I have learned the exercises to deal with this. My lower back has caused me problems in the past, but as long as I am working out regularly, it is not a problem. I threw it out completely doing deadlifts a little over a year ago, mostly because I let my form go bad. For me, this means wear a belt when doing deadlifts, focus on strict form and not weight, and I don't push my deadlifts to failure. Anyway, I hope that helps. Nice to meet you, Glenn. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 1/10/2005 I knew I should not try any bending today, especially with the poor results I had yesterday, but I could not resist trying. I took at least 4 attempts at a yellow nail today, and never got it past 10 degrees. So, I probably will not try any bending until Friday or Saturday. I went to the gym and did 20 min on the treadmill. Then I eased my way back into deadlifts. I do sumo deadlifts, because they seem to be easier on my back, and I find it easier to maintain my form. 60 x 5 80 x 5 90 x 2 100 x 2 110 x 1 This last one was not extremely difficult, but my lower back began to feel fatigue, so I stopped here. Next time I think I will start at 90 for 5 reps, and see how it goes from there. In July of last year, I was doing 130 x 5. My goal for now will be a single rep max of 150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grh122 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Sounds like you are on track for back strength with deadlifts in your program. For chest and arms, the things that have helped me the most with crush-down strength and with the pushing aspect of high DO bending are: - pushups and weighted pushups on pushup handles (incline are better, feet elevated) - overhead press (6 to 12 rep range) - crush-down of pre-kinked nails. Pre-kink a variety of 60ds - some to 90 degrees, some to 15 degrees, and a variety at in-between points. Isometrics and actual crush-down both are useful. I find this to be more valuable than chest-crushing grippers. Crushing down pre-kinked stock is also easier on the shoulders than starting with a straight bar and doing the kink every time. I look forward to seeing your progress, Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencrush Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Great to see you back to posting Chris! You're a strong guy inside an injured and cautious guy's body right now. You will bend that Blue again soon! Keep banging away at it man. It's only going to help having the great benders here giving you advice on how to work back up to it. And then work well beyond what you've done before. Welcome back man... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 Sounds like you are on track for back strength with deadlifts in your program. For chest and arms, the things that have helped me the most with crush-down strength and with the pushing aspect of high DO bending are: - pushups and weighted pushups on pushup handles (incline are better, feet elevated) - overhead press (6 to 12 rep range) - crush-down of pre-kinked nails. Pre-kink a variety of 60ds - some to 90 degrees, some to 15 degrees, and a variety at in-between points. Isometrics and actual crush-down both are useful. I find this to be more valuable than chest-crushing grippers. Crushing down pre-kinked stock is also easier on the shoulders than starting with a straight bar and doing the kink every time. I look forward to seeing your progress, Glenn Good idea on the pre-kinked 60D's. I will definately try that. The initial bend through about 30 degrees has always been hardest for me. Once I get past 30 degrees, I can almost always finish it off. Pre-kinked ones sound like a great way to work up to a full bend. I do quite a few other exercises in my gym routine, so I will start posting those here also for the sake of completeness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 Great to see you back to posting Chris!You're a strong guy inside an injured and cautious guy's body right now. You will bend that Blue again soon! Keep banging away at it man. It's only going to help having the great benders here giving you advice on how to work back up to it. And then work well beyond what you've done before. Welcome back man... Hi, Ben! I have been silently tracking the progress you and Travis have been making. All I can say is WOW! You both have made a ton of progress. Great job. Thanks for the positive feedback in my log. Chris BTW - I am still using that book you gave me on lifting positions. What a great resource. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigT Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 keep going buddy, those nails will bending to your will soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 (edited) Thanks for the encouragement, BigT. It helps. 1/11/2006 That yellow that I could not get yesterday was bugging me today, so I finished it off. I gave another one a try, but did not get far. I should have just rested, but oh well. I have not done much gripper work lately, so this seemed like a good day to work with them. I did two sets spaced a few hours apart. Right hand: Master - 1 close, 1 miss by about 1/8" Super Advanced - 8 reps, then 4 IM #1 - 13 reps, then 6 Left hand: Super Advanced - 1, then 1 IM #1 - 5 reps, then 3 IM Trainer - 20 reps I need to get a harder gripper that is one step up from my Master. It helps motivate me when I have a gripper that I just can't quite close. Then I will probably start being able to rep my Master. Any recommendations here? It is usually my grip that fails when I miss a bend. As long as I can hang on to a nail, I can usually bend it. When I miss on the initial kink, it is always because my grip falls apart. Edited January 11, 2006 by chrisof4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmmicklabs Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Welcome back Chris. Ben and I speak of you often. I have a question for you. What are you using to wrap the nail in ? Ironmind blue pads maybe ? If so put them away and get some leather. Read this article right away. http://dieselcrew.com/articles/gregdavebend2.pdf It's the bending bible. I went from a blue to a red in 2 months by switching to leathers from the ironmind pads and by making a slight adjustment to my technique. You and Ben need to come down to the dungeon. You WILL bend a 60d Common with ease after spending 2 minutes with me. My 15 year old cousin is bending 60d's with ease after just 2 training sessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 Welcome back Chris. Ben and I speak of you often. I have a question for you. What are you using to wrap the nail in ? Ironmind blue pads maybe ? If so put them away and get some leather. Read this article right away.http://dieselcrew.com/articles/gregdavebend2.pdf It's the bending bible. I went from a blue to a red in 2 months by switching to leathers from the ironmind pads and by making a slight adjustment to my technique. You and Ben need to come down to the dungeon. You WILL bend a 60d Common with ease after spending 2 minutes with me. My 15 year old cousin is bending 60d's with ease after just 2 training sessions. Hi, Travis! You have turned into a bending machine! It is scary. Great work. I read through that article. Good stuff. I have been comparing my DO style to the one in the article, and I think I am pretty close. I probably have some fine tuning, but I am not too far off. I am using the IM pads. I would be willing to try the leather. Where can I get some? When I miss a bend, it is almost always my grip that fails. If I can manage to keep my grip tight, the nail will bend. I am not sure how much help leather will be for this, but it is worth a try. I have only been bending infrequently over the last few months (e.g., a few nails a month), and I think that is partially responsible for my successes with the blue. Since I have started bending seriously again and in higher volume, I have had to drop down to the yellow as my max bends. Hopefully, as I get back into it, I can build up my endurance, and quickly work back up to the blue level. I would love to come out for a bending visit. You have always been more confident of my bending abilities than I am myself, but I would love to see if a technique change could improve my results. Let me know next time you guys get together, and I will try to attend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 1/13/2006 I was reading the thread on breaking nails, which has always appealed to me. So, yesterday I spent a few minutes with an IM green nail, and managed to break it. One thing is for sure, it is a good upper body workout. I took a shot at a bending a yellow nail also, but barely got it kinked. I had planned to work out at the gym, but I am fighting off a cold, and decided to rest instead. My next opportunity to workout will be Saturday. I plan to reintroduce squats in my routine then. Today I did manage to bend a few more nails. I reread the article Travis linked to above. In order to really concentrate on my form, I had to go buy a bunch more grade 2 bolts (1/4" x 6"). It looks like I am back to bending these to get any kind of volume. Today's results are: 2 - yellow nails 2 - grade 2 hex head bolts (1/4" x 6") attempt at a 3rd hex head, but no luck. I am deliberately leaving all my nails and bending materials at work so I won't be tempted to bend over the 3 day weekend. I expect better results next week. My short term goal is to bend a blue again. Hopefully this will happen by the end of this month, but I prefer not to tie dates to my goals. When I am strong enough again, it WILL fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Side Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Nice work on that green break. Throw a little more volume in these workouts, and you'll bend that blue by the end of the month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 15, 2006 Author Share Posted January 15, 2006 1/14/2006 Thanks for the encouragement, Left Side. Here is today's workout: Squats 110x5, 120x 5, 130x4 - start at 120 next time. Make sure to stay to go straight up, not forward. Bench press 100x5, 110x5, 120x2 - start at 110 next time and go up by 5's Crunches 20, 10 Tricep press 65x5, 75x8 Goal is 5-8 reps, increase to 80 next Lateral raises 15x6, 15x4 L-flys 15x10, 15x10 very hard on last two reps of each set. Do this weight again. DB shoulder press 25x10 (each hand), 25x9, missed rep #10 Dumbell rows 40x10, 40x9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 The three day's rest did some good. I had a better bending session today. I did several bends, but all of them were very difficult for me, and most took several attempts. I started bending around 10am and quit around 3pm. Here are the results in the order they were bent: 1. TT 2. 6" x 1/4" grade 2 3. Yellow, very off center 4. Blue, very off center 5. TT to check my form and figure out why bends were so off center. 6. Blue 7. Yellow 8. Two 6" x 1/4" grade 2's I will work out at the gym later tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmmicklabs Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 The three day's rest did some good. I had a better bending session today. I did several bends, but all of them were very difficult for me, and most took several attempts. I started bending around 10am and quit around 3pm. Here are the results in the order they were bent:1. TT 2. 6" x 1/4" grade 2 3. Yellow, very off center 4. Blue, very off center 5. TT to check my form and figure out why bends were so off center. 6. Blue 7. Yellow 8. Two 6" x 1/4" grade 2's I will work out at the gym later tonight. Awesome bending workout. You are well one your way to the 60d my friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Side Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Now we're talking buddy! Nice volume, keep going that 60d is close my friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisof4 Posted January 18, 2006 Author Share Posted January 18, 2006 Thanks, Travis and Jonathan. This was a much better bending workout for me, and I was pleased with the results. I just wish I did not struggle so much with each bend. I can't help but feel the yellow should be easier for me than it is. I really think I struggle more with 7" stock than I do with 6" stock. Maybe this points to bad form. Not sure. I cheater kinked a 60D down to 45 degrees using a pair of pipes, and was able to crush it the rest of the way. I kinked another one to 30 degrees, but could not bend that. In a few more days when I am fresh, I hope to be able to bend this one. I worked out at the gym tonight and here are the results. Weight 195 20 minutes cardio on the treadmill Deadlifts - 90 x 5, 110 x 3, 130 x 1. I missed on a second attempt at 130. I felt myself sliding forward, so when my form fell apart, I just went back down. Curls - 50 x 8, 50 x 6 Lateral flys - 15 x 4, 10 x 7. I need a tweener here. I am very strong on 10 pound L flys, and can usually do 2 sets of 20. But with 15 lbs, my reps drop dramatically. Traps - 15 x 11, 15 x 10R and 15 x 8L Dumbell Rows - 40 x 10, 40 x 10. The last two reps were very hard. Lift this again. Dumbell shoulder press - 25 x 10, 25 x 10. This felt strong. Try 30 next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Side Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Good call on the deadlift, if the form isn't there, it's an injury waiting to happen. If you want the yellow to feel easy, and you should, bend as many as you can next workout. And the next, and the next, untill you can hit like 8. The numbers should go up every workout unless you get injured. In a couple weeks you will be laughing at yellows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmmicklabs Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Chris, I too suck with the 7" stock. I would rather bend 5 blues in a row then bend one yellow. My issue is my shorter than normal arms. 6" stock and 5" stock feel perfect in my hands though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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