Hi All. New Guy. Seeking Advice.

[gripn00b]

Hi (already posted some of this in the "Newbies Post Here" thread)

A few years back I had a non-paralytic spinal injury that severely limited my mobility.

I gained about 150 pounds of pure fat in the mean time (Very large frame, 6'3, 28 years old). The weight gain further aggravated the injury, which in turn diminished my mobility to almost nothing.

A month ago, I said f**k it. No sense wallowing in self-pity feeling sorry for myself. Time to pull myself up by my bootstraps.

A few years of substantial immobility basically drew my working strength down to nothing. I wanted to start with training, but I have absolutely zero background. After experimenting with different things, I realized that if I was going to start on a substantive weight training regimen and do it right, it all started out with my grip strength.

I started with a blue "light tension" gripmaster.

I chose gripmaster as I play guitar and the ability to work on finger muscle autonomy appealed to me.

Moved up to a blue/left hand, red/right hand.

Now, I use a red gripmaster in my left and a black in my right.

Right now, my gear consists of:

Red, blue and black Gripmasters for fingers.

I have a COC "Sport" on order (My short term goal is to close the 1.5 in 2 months)

I also have a 3# hand sledge and a shortened 12# splitting maul that I use for wrists.

Where I really need guidance is on starting a training regimen. Reps, different muscles, what gear to use in what order, etc.

Can anyone help?

Thanks

Landon

Edited October 18, 2007 by GRIPn00b

[twig]

Read, use the search function, listen, ask, read, ask, and then listen some more.

Start by reading THIS then ask and learn, once you have read, there are no stupid questions, so ask away. I came here with an extensive lifting background, and was afraid to ask for fear of looking daft. Since then there have been countless questions I wish I had've asked but didn't, but should have, cos everyone else was thinking it, but was too shy to ask.

And if anyone says: Use the search function; use it, they're not grumpy, they're just directing you to answers better than they could give.

[THOR]

Well bud im not the best at giving advice but since no one else has answered yet here it goes...

For starter im not to sure what the red and blue gripmasters are... sorry for that... are they the large rubber bands? I know they come in different colors and i just called them the "bands."

Ok, first if you dont have the "bands" , you need to get them, a big problem that alot of people have on this board is pain, pain on this, pain in that, if you use grippers you NEED to use the bands if you only work the crushing mucles then the others start to suffer and get adjitated and sore, like doing bicept curls you have to work your tricepts too.

Second, get a powerball they can be found online or in some athletic stores, you dont need to get the really expensive ones

unless you want to, they work really well for all parts of your wrist especially with limited strength in some areas.

Any ideas with reps and how many times to do each exercise is kind of up to you and your body, at first go easy so you dont stress or strain any tendons. Every other day is a good start, I personally dont have any order as to what muscle i work before another, like muscle A before B or visa-versa. The powerball is a good start for getting the mucles into shape and warming them up, then move to the grippers and bands. After you get used to useing that stuff you can look into doing some light wrist curls and hammer curls, then just mix it all up and keep learning more. Pretty soon you will start looking at weights and items differently asking yourself "can i pick that up with just my fingers?" and then you will be hooked on grip.

Hope that helped in some way...

[gerryg]

Search around and read old posts, there's tons of info on the gripboard! Also check out the Diesel Crew site, there are many free articles and videos.

http://www.dieselcrew.com/Articles.htm

http://www.youtube.com/THEDIESELCREW

http://www.dieselcrew.com/Videos.html

[gripn00b]

Thanks for all the help!

The archives sure are a trove of good info!

I've done some research about "blobs".

The flea market has a guy with a 50# fixed dumbbell for $10.

If I were to sawzall out the center bar, would the two 25# end weights be a serviceable "blob" substitute?

[gripn00b]

Also- is it OK if I use big stones as part of my training regimen?

There's a river by here with lots of nice stones and that way, I could pick out what sizes are best for my skill level at any given time.

Are regular old stones OK for grip training?

Edited October 19, 2007 by GRIPn00b

[superfeemiman]

Also- is it OK if I use big stones as part of my training regimen?

There's a river by here with lots of nice stones and that way, I could pick out what sizes are best for my skill level at any given time.

Are regular old stones OK for grip training?

YES. Remember, hex heads/blobs weren't made for pinching.

Edited October 19, 2007 by superfeemiman

[nightowl27]

I won´t give advices on gripwork because I´m also a beginner with this kind of training but i can tell you that you first have to build a good base of back strength before starting with stonelifting. stonelifting is often done with a rounded back , something you have to avoid in the beginning.

start instead with deadlifts, they´ll teach you to keep your back straight and get a feel for the power of your back.

Kettlebellswings are another good exercise for the back . i can recommend the books enter the kettlebell or power to the people from pavel tsatsouline. they were a great help for me to get started.the second book is about deadlift technique and how to make your own programm. it´s easy written and really good for the start.

if you have good control of your back, then you can start with stones, barrels or sandbags. the last item is also possible in the beginning. it´s also cheaper than a barbell set. get a military duffel bag and some smaller bags where the military normally puts sand in(these backs are used for floods and so on).fill it with round gravel or sand and start with the bearhuglift.

here´s a link for it: http://sandbagexercises.ifsstrength.com/speaking.html

don´t start too heavy and keep your back always straight. but nevertheless buy some books to get knowledge no one can take from you so you´re on the safe side.

some links for you:

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles.html

here´s a link with really good bodyweighexercises where you need nearly no equipment. they´ll give you plenty of strength:

http://www.beastskills.com/

i hope this helped a bit....

[Condor]

http://www.gripfaq.com/

http://www.geocities.com/ltgodfrey/home.html

again, use the search function. You'll find old threads answering all your questions for a loooooong time.