Poor Vbar Lifts

[pdfk20]

Hey all,

I got a used FBBC Vbar just over a month ago and have been traing twice a week with it, but i haven't been getting anywhere near my max for some reason. When i was in Kansas and met Ben Edwards i lifted RH 139kg , in competition at IronGrip i lifted RH 134.75kg, and felt like i could of gone further.

What could be limiting factors that are affecting my lifts? The Vbar im using doesnt seem to hold chalk all that well, and it doesn't feel as coarse as the LGC bar we used at irongrip. Also i dont have many OL weights so when i have a Vbar session i have to use lots of small standard plates which means that my lifting hand is quite near the top of the weights, would that affect the lifts? Im thinking of getting a couple more 20kg OL plates, so that i would have 110kg in OL weights.

I guess im kinda dissapointed on how its going, cos i was hoping to of at least lifted 140 kg by now, but my current max using this Vbar is 126kg.

Any thoughts from anyone?

Cheers,

Pete

[CoC#3]

spend time rubbing chalk into your v bar. Ben most likely had a well used vbar so it was 'seasoned' basically meaning it has a lot of skin, chalk rubbed in, dust etc.. to give you a better grip.

Edited July 5, 2007 by CoC#3

[bencrush]

Hey all,

I got a used FBBC Vbar just over a month ago and have been traing twice a week with it, but i haven't been getting anywhere near my max for some reason. When i was in Kansas and met Ben Edwards i lifted RH 139kg , in competition at IronGrip i lifted RH 134.75kg, and felt like i could of gone further.

Pete, you were so adrenalized at my house because you had 3 guys watching you and cheering you on. That might be why you haven't matched it yet. Of course when you were in the contest recently that would have been very similar so you also lifted well then too. You might just be one of those guys (like me) who do their best lifting by far in front of an audience. No shame there. I have records of "excited PRs" and "non-excited PRs." Which just means contest or witnessed PRs.

What could be limiting factors that are affecting my lifts? The Vbar im using doesnt seem to hold chalk all that well, and it doesn't feel as coarse as the LGC bar we used at irongrip. Also i dont have many OL weights so when i have a Vbar session i have to use lots of small standard plates which means that my lifting hand is quite near the top of the weights, would that affect the lifts? Im thinking of getting a couple more 20kg OL plates, so that i would have 110kg in OL weights.

Store your vbar IN the chalk bucket if you can. A few times a week for a month, coat the entire lifting surface of your vbar with chalk. Then recoat it. Try to recoat it again. Then do a token lift of maybe 50% of your 1RM for a few singles to take some of that excess off the bar. Wait a few days and repeat the process again. Do the same on your regularly scheduled vbar training days. I would be shocked if it didn't help you immensely.

I always lost some top end strength when I had very little room at the top to grab onto the bar. Sounds like you're the same way.

Buy more 20kg plates! I also notice a difference when I use my Olympic-diamter (2") plates compared to using the standard-diameter (1") plates on the vbar. I lift more when I use the plates that fit tighter. That's not much of a surprise to me. Everything just feels "tighter."

I guess im kinda dissapointed on how its going, cos i was hoping to of at least lifted 140 kg by now, but my current max using this Vbar is 126kg.

You've got the strength base to go over 400 on the vbar. No doubt in my mind after watching you smoke that 306 on the vbar on your first time. So just keep working on it and paying attention to your hand setup. You've also got to remember that you're working really hard on the grippers and some other things so your recovery might not be super right now.

Any thoughts from anyone?

Hope this helps man.

Cheers,

Pete

[pdfk20]

Thanks a lot Ben for the advise thats exactly what i needed, i will follow your advise to the letter.

Thanks to Sam as well for you comments.

[mobsterone]

Twice a week?? There's your problem right there. I train it once every 9 days and other top boys train it less than that.

[Bob Lipinski]

Also-

Vbar is really, really sensitive to local conditions and humidity. I have pulled around 290 psyched out of my mind on the right vbar, the same bar and more humid I managed 250, at home with the FBBC bar 260-270 is my best.

[David Horne]

Twice a week?? There's your problem right there. I train it once every 9 days and other top boys train it less than that.

Haha! I better not tell you how much training I'm doing then!

David

[jimwylie1]

Twice a week?? There's your problem right there. I train it once every 9 days and other top boys train it less than that.

Haha! I better not tell you how much training I'm doing then!

David

He'd be talking about the old top boys then Dave .

[climber511]

I know most won't post their (super secret competition) workouts but competition preparation logs would make for very educational reading, even if posted after the contest. The volume or lack of it, training frequency of each event, other general strength training, rehab work, injuries working around, etc etc would be a tremendous read. For example Horne, Chad, Jedd, Thorton etc I'm sure work out very differently in training but all have figured out what works for them over the years - I'd just love to read all about it is all. Consider this a request - please - please??? Come on guys - share some of the knowledge you've gained over all the years.

[David Horne]

Chris,

I'll tell you on the day.

David

[climber511]

Chris,

I'll tell you on the day.

David

David

I'll hold you to that - knowledge gained then can always be used next year to try to catch up with you boys.

[pdfk20]

Right well i'll perhaps drop it down to 1 session a week, but i enjoy it even though im not lifting great so its hard not to train.

Ben, as for storing my Vbar in chalk, do you mean submersing the whole Vbar in the chalk or inverting and just putting the top part in chalk? I dont have enough chalk for that which leads me to another question to anyone in UK, where can i buy big buckets of chalk from?

Ill buy myself some more OL plates next week.

Hopefully the numbers will go up soon on the lifts, but i guess i will have to be patient

[twig]

I've a virgin LGC v-bar that I'm afraid to use since I got sciatica after I ordered it. Anyone wants test their max, this is the place to face is against maxmum odds.

Edited July 5, 2007 by twig

[Hubgeezer]

I agree with most of what everyone said. Here is my input:

1. I know of no event in gripping that the head/brain/attitude impacts more than the Vertical Bar.

2. Between rest and the mental aspect, I usually do 10% more in a contest than in training.

3. Humidity, seasoning, your own body's palms/dryness/moisture level etc can be a factor as well on any given day.

Hbgzr

[bencrush]

Right well i'll perhaps drop it down to 1 session a week, but i enjoy it even though im not lifting great so its hard not to train.

Ben, as for storing my Vbar in chalk, do you mean submersing the whole Vbar in the chalk or inverting and just putting the top part in chalk? I dont have enough chalk for that which leads me to another question to anyone in UK, where can i buy big buckets of chalk from?

Ill buy myself some more OL plates next week.

Hopefully the numbers will go up soon on the lifts, but i guess i will have to be patient

I mean just the vbar handle portion itself.

[The Mac]

Given how damp the UK has been the past few months, I am not suprised the lift is down.

Training it infrequently may be best for keeping the poundage high per session, but training it more frequently does have benefits in terms of conditioning the skin even if the poundages are not so high from session to session.

[pdfk20]

Given how damp the UK has been the past few months, I am not suprised the lift is down.

Training it infrequently may be best for keeping the poundage high per session, but training it more frequently does have benefits in terms of conditioning the skin even if the poundages are not so high from session to session.

I have noticed that already, there was a portion of skin under my middle finger that was tearing (and bleeeding) everytime i did a session, but now it seems to of hardened over with some particularaly tough skin.

[The Mac]

I know most won't post their (super secret competition) workouts but competition preparation logs would make for very educational reading, even if posted after the contest. The volume or lack of it, training frequency of each event, other general strength training, rehab work, injuries working around, etc etc would be a tremendous read. For example Horne, Chad, Jedd, Thorton etc I'm sure work out very differently in training but all have figured out what works for them over the years - I'd just love to read all about it is all. Consider this a request - please - please??? Come on guys - share some of the knowledge you've gained over all the years.

This is a very good point, and I would second your request - it is often more instructive to read what people ACTUALLY do, rather than what they THINK they do, or would recommend etc. Over a number of different sites I try to spend as much time reading training logs as possible.

[mobsterone]

I found sending emails and PM's useful. Frequency on the v-bar was as high as once a week and as low as every 15 days. DH is a high volume high base strength kind of trainer and we already know that's not working for Pete.

[egg_uk]

pete, not sure this is the cheapest, but look for a similar place. 20kg sack

[mobsterone]

8 x 2oz blocks for £10.00 plus P&P from Mega Grip. Pullums sell sacks of loose powder but they charge too much.

[Lol999]

Just took delivery of 8 x 2oz blocks for £10 inc postage off e-bay. Very happy!

Cheers, Lol