Taping Smaller Steel To Larger Steel

[Brad Manion]

Gazza and Bencrush,

I have taken your suggestions in the "Training for the Kink" thread and combined them. I have bought a bunch of 1/8" and 3/16" roundstock and am taping it to long pieces of 1/4" round stock, 8", 7-1/2", and 7".

I tried out the first pieces last night, 8" x 1/4" HRS (no CRS available) + 8" x 1/8" CRS. I found this to be very easy, in spite of the difficulties in my shoulder flexibility. I have to add that I found Gazza's tip --- slowly pushing on the ends, locking the wrist, and feeling the steel flex high under the chin before bending --- to be quite easy to visualize and perform with these longer pieces of steel.

One question regards how to properly tape the pieces of steel together. I taped the 2 pieces of steel tightly at the ends, but is that enough? Should I also tape the steel pieces tightly where they'll bend as well?

Due to how easy I found this to be, I think I'll double my training pace.

Basically, I'm bending 2X/week. Both times, I'll be working on flexibility with the longer taped pieces. One session, I'll follow that up with endurance training (15-25 x 60d) and the other will be followed up by a few tough --- but not necessarily PR-range --- bends. All of the bending training is at the conclusion of whatever powerlifting or strongman training I'm doing on a given day.

If there are any other suggestions, feel free to offer them.

Thanks for all the help everybody,

Brad

[bencrush]

Good work Brad! Nice that you're already out there putting it to use. It'll pay off big time.

I only tape the ends together. If you want to make the entire bend harder you can tape the middle too. Makes a big difference on the few that I accidentally taped in the middle! Try it out and see for yourself if you can feel the difference.

If the 1/8" stock isn't quite hard enough maybe you could tape 2 pieces of it to the 1/4" stock. That might be just right or a tad too hard. Never know until you try it though. If it's too hard with 2 pieces taped to the 1/4" you could cheat kink them (still taped together) to 45 degrees to work on your sweep with some harder stock, or to 90 degrees to work on your crushdown.

[gazza]

Brad

If your making progress bro thats all that matters use whatever is at your disposal as long as its not cheating.

some people tape just the ends i have seen others tape the middle also upto you matey as its only a training aid as i dont think any rules have been written about bending 2 pieces together so feel free to exploit it

I personally feel that as long as it makes the bend harder and not easier then your on the right track i dont personally use this method anymore as i can get very small graduated stock and i make good progress that way so i will stick with that for the time being.

Try tapeing 1/8" and 3/16" round to squire stock as well its a little different as the squire bends slightly different than the round so it offers a different feel.

I find when useing a straight bar for kink purposes wether it be hard plastic/polycarbonate or springy steel i feel this is a very good training aid for a couple of reasons 1. when useing it just to ease into you are feeling the muscles/tendons trhat are being used and are greasing the groove so that you refine your technique and learn to feel the bar bending and not just collapsing when you blast it. And 2nd you are getting the wrists and fingers used to the pain/punishment for harder bars and again you get to feel the bar moving over the fingers and the wrists being used to also torgue the bar this is hard to do when you blast a bar as when its a limit bar your technique suffers slightly as its an all out effort.

I have gotten great results when i have run out of steel just sitting on the couch with a bar in the kink position whilst i am watching a program i just feel the bar flexing on and off for the duration of the programme you dont always need to hit the massive steel to get a good training effect.

[Brad Manion]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll put it to good use.

[Tim71]

I've not done much of that but I can say you can never go wrong following Gazza's and Ben's advice. Either one has helped me alot and offered lots of encouragement. 2 of the best!

Keep it up!

Tim