Grip Of The Adirondacks

[matthcarl]

I have generally been too lazy to keep a workout log, but I've decided to take advantage of the gripboard's web space to track my progress. I'm not sure I want to put complete workouts in, but I'll hit the highlights, starting today.

Wednesday, 1/30/08

I've been pleased with my bending lately, so I tried a 6" bastard this morning. It kinked to 20 degrees, and I could move it no more. I didn't want to do a serious bending session, but I also did a 6"x5/16" G2 just to bring my confidence back.

I also hit the gym, though my workout was all over the place. I'd never tried overhand deadlifting, and wanted to see how tough it was. I hit 315 for a single, and feel I could do more with a little practice. I haven't trained DL much...my PR is 345 with mixed grip. I was impressed by how the bar wants to roll down into the fingers at higher weight. With my small hands I have a feeling a thick bar DL would really humble me.

Now that I was warmed up a bit, I tried a Military PR. Not hard, since I'd never maxed on it before. 135 went up easily. I tried 155 and couldn't quite get it without making it a push press. Then I did 2 sets of 10@95lbs, then went up to 105 and only managed 5 reps.

I tried a couple sets on the bench, but I felt a little shaky and didn't want to drop the bar on myself.

I finally managed to pinch 2 45's with two hands. It's been a goal of mine for a while. My gym has Ivankos if it matters. I also did 3 holds with 2 35's for 10-20 seconds. I was counting in my head and I'm not sure how fast I go. I also tried and failed yet again to pinch 2 25's with one hand.

I moved to wrist curls and alternated with regular and reverse, sets of 10 at 50, 60, and 70 lbs. Then I did 3 sets of 10 finger curls with the 70. You people in the know might recognize this as David Horne's "First Workout For Beginners."

After that I did alternate dumbbell curls for 20, 30, and 20 reps with 25 lbs. By then my arms were burnt and I went home.

Weight after workout: 206.0 lbs.

[matthcarl]

Thursday and Friday are my long days at work (5:30 AM to 6:30 PM, or later) so I don't have much to report. Late last night I did try a 5" G8 and it kicked my butt. It got stuck a little before 90 degrees...and to make matters worse, my right hand has been bothering me. I think I'm going to have to take a week off from bending.

I did have a nice gym workout planned for today, but unfortunately we had snow and freezing rain last night. I had to come into work and spend 4.5 hours trying to scrape up frozen slush. It was not fun, and I feel totally thrashed...I'm going to put it down as "cross training"

[vikingsrule92]

Nice workouts Matt!! Man hearing you talk about shoveling slush really makes me appreciate living in Arizona

If you can get a Huge Bastard that far maybe you should try a Big, I bet you could take it down when your hand heals!!!

[neilkaz]

Nice workouts Matt!! Man hearing you talk about shoveling slush really makes me appreciate living in Arizona

If you can get a Huge Bastard that far maybe you should try a Big, I bet you could take it down when your hand heals!!!

Yeah..no kidding about scaping ice off, and I've trashed my wrists doing that several times. Hope your's is OK.

.. neilkaz ..who will be following this log

[matthcarl]

Nice workouts Matt!! Man hearing you talk about shoveling slush really makes me appreciate living in Arizona

If you can get a Huge Bastard that far maybe you should try a Big, I bet you could take it down when your hand heals!!!

Enjoy that AZ weather. Reminds me of my boss, who flew out to Antigua this morning and left us short handed. The deadbeat. I hope he gets sunburn.

Thanks for the comments guys. I do plan to try the big bastard, maybe next Saturday. I was just too lazy to cut one down last time. I don't think it's anything serious with my hand...I've had this minor pain before. A little rest and I just come back stronger.

I said shoveling was going to be my workout for the day, but after a nap I'm feeling restless. I think I'll drag my lazy carcass of to the gym after all. Neil, I appreciate you reading my log. I've seen yours and it looks like you have a lot more experience than I do.

[matthcarl]

OK, back from pumping some iron. Here's the report:

Squats:

5x135, 10x225, 10x235, 10x245

Not bad, but squats reveal my greatest weakness: I am fat and out of shape. I can lift the weight easily, but after 10 reps I'm puffing like a steam engine.

Seated Calf Raise:

6x45, 15x90, 15x115, 15x140

I have huge calves already, so I guess I don't take training them seriously.

Bench:

5x95, 10x135, 10x135, 4x155 (failed set)

My upper body has always been a lot weaker than my legs. I had someone spot me so I could try 155. Nope.

DB rows:

10x60 3 sets rh, 2 sets lh

Too much too fast. I Was planning to do a couple more exercises, but after the rows I knew I was done and I'd better go home.

Weight after workout: 207.2 lbs.

Edited February 2, 2008 by The Writer

[The Chuck]

Keep at it Matt! It'll be good to meet you in Mass at the TPS event in March! Hopefully Neil can make it out too, we've missed meeting each other a couple times already....

[neilkaz]

Keep at it Matt! It'll be good to meet you in Mass at the TPS event in March! Hopefully Neil can make it out too, we've missed meeting each other a couple times already....

Neil is hoping to make TPS, but this is spring break and I think the family is crying for a vacation, but I may be able to arrange to be in RI at my sister's for a while so is an easy drive to Boston area.

Nice squatting, Matt..and keep benching and it will improve !

[matthcarl]

Just back from the gym and feeling it. I don't think squats and bench on the same day are a good idea, so I started a new program, as tweaked by me. Today was chest/tris/grip. I'm putting some of the stuff out of order (for example, the pinches were mostly between other sets) but it is less confusing below.

Bench - 115x8, 125x8, 135x4, 135x3 (had to rack and reposition the bar), 115x8

I might have still been a little tired from benching on Sat, but waded in anyway and struggled a bit.

Incline Bench - 95x8, 105x8, 95x8

Felt tougher than it should have

Pec Fly machine - 120x8, 100x8, 80x8

Not sure I like this machine. Shoulder rotation felt weird and had to keep dropping weight.

Close grip bench - 45x10 (fast), 95x8, 95x8, 95x8

These sets were pretty easy. I have always noticed I could do alomost as much weight close-grip as regular

Rope pull-downs - 100x8, 110x8, 150x6, 120x8

I tried the 150 for fun because that's as high as the machine goes. They were a little ugly, so I went to 120 for another set.

behind the neck db extensions (both hands on db) - 50x10, 40x10, 45x10

Pinching - tried 2 25's one handed. Got about a foot of air RH (which is a pr) and couldn't move them LH. Tried 2 45's 2 handed, and got them off the ground, but not a full deadlift. Then did 2 35's 2 handed, 3 sets of full DL and hold for 20 seconds.

Wrist Exercises - 3x10x70 regular, reverse, and finger curls. Also did 5 reps strict curl on the 70 lb bar for fun.

Tried to one hand clean and press a 75 lb. DB. Got it up RH, though not sure it was a full lockout. Cleaned it LH and knew it wasn't going up. My goal is to hit 100 this year. I also did a single rep curling a 25 lb. plate (thumb inside) with each hand, though I'm not sure the form was great.

Just as I was leaving the gym, the president of the bank I work for walked in and we exchanged greetings. I figure it can't hurt to work out at the same gym as the boss

In other news, I just got a cheap video camera and I've been fooling around trying to figure out how to work it. The ligting in my place is terrible...I'll probably have to wait until daylight, but hopefully I'll post a few bending vids before the end of the week.

Later,

[matthcarl]

Keep at it Matt! It'll be good to meet you in Mass at the TPS event in March! Hopefully Neil can make it out too, we've missed meeting each other a couple times already....

Neil is hoping to make TPS, but this is spring break and I think the family is crying for a vacation, but I may be able to arrange to be in RI at my sister's for a while so is an easy drive to Boston area.

Nice squatting, Matt..and keep benching and it will improve !

Thanks guys and hope to see both of you there. Neil, where in RI? I'll be staying at my Dad's place in Attleboro, just over the state line. I don't know if it would be practical, but we could think about riding up together.

[matthcarl]

Forgot to add my weight after workout: 206.2 lbs.

I'm also going to track my "vital stats" just for comparison. I won't update that regularly, but I want to see if there is any dfference.

Neck - 17"

Chest - 43"

Waist - 36"

Hips - 40"

Thigh - 26"

Calf - 18.25"

Upper arm - 16"

Forearm - 13.5"

All measurements are approximate and prone to error as I did them on myself with a soft tape.

[neilkaz]

Thanks guys and hope to see both of you there. Neil, where in RI? I'll be staying at my Dad's place in Attleboro, just over the state line. I don't know if it would be practical, but we could think about riding up together.

If I can go, and I doubt I'll know for sure for a month as the family wants a warm vacation, I'd be in Pawtucket, just a couple miles from Attleboro so it would be easy to ride together.

.. neilkaz ..

[matthcarl]

Yesterday: did a little gripper work, but nothing serious. Missed closing the #2 RH. Haven't been able to get it at all lately.

Today:

Tried for a new PR on the 1H DL. Got 245 up, but it was kind of shaky and not sure it would have counted under contest rules. Tried 345 on 2H overhand DL, and failed.

Went into regular program for the day

Low Pulley Rows - 70x8, 120x8, 100x8 (had a tough time figuring out what weight to use)

Lat Pull Downs - 3 sets of 8 @ 90 lbs (I hate this exercise)

Bent Over Rows - 95x8, 105x8, 105x8

Shrugs - 225x6, 185x8, 185x8

Barbell Curls - 65x8, 75x4, 65x8 (for some reason my forearms were feeling tight and made the curls tough)

Hammer Curls - 30x8, 25x8, 25x8

I finished off by attempting a clean and press with a 60lb DB in each hand. I got the weight overhead, but it wasn't a strict press.

Weight after workout: 206.4 lbs.

Oh, and one piece of GREAT news...I got permission to bring my V-bar into the gym to train. I'll be starting that next workout.

[neilkaz]

Nice job on the 245 1HDL !! Based on that, I really think your pinching will improve.

Keep after that #2, as I think you'll want to shut one at TPS.

Re: Lat pulldowns, it seems you do more weight and don't complain about rope pulldowns..so mind over matter and try 10 reps next time.

Re: shrugs...this is something I must add to my own workouts.

Re: V-bar...you have a 1" or 2" ? Be prepared that 1" may wrip some skin on your palms, hands when it slips, if you aren't used to it, or it may not. I don't have issues with that, but some others do.

Stay strong .. neilkaz ..

[big nasty]

Forgot to add my weight after workout: 206.2 lbs.

I'm also going to track my "vital stats" just for comparison. I won't update that regularly, but I want to see if there is any dfference.

Neck - 17"

Chest - 43"

Waist - 36"

Hips - 40"

Thigh - 26"

Calf - 18.25"

Upper arm - 16"

Forearm - 13.5"

All measurements are approximate and prone to error as I did them on myself with a soft tape.

Man you got some calf's

[matthcarl]

Thanks guys. Heh. When I started lifting I was using some of Arnold's routines. I remember his saying you should try to get your calves up to the size of your biceps. (I think he had 22" biceps and 20" calves at his peak). For me that sounded like a joke. Still does.

I don't know what it is with lat pull downs. Maybe I'm doing them wrong, but 90 was hard. The rope pull downs are a tricep exercise, and have never bothered me.

I was getting close to the 2.5 at one point, but it's not looking good for TPS.

I have a 1" Vbar, but I haven't had much chance to train it. My PR is 220+bar last summer. I haven't had a problem with skin tears on my hand at all, and I'm hoping to avoid them. My hands are pretty leathery from the other lifting/bending I do.

Speaking of bending, my hands were feeling great, so I tried taking some video of a bastard bend and 1/4" square. Didn't quite come out well, but hopefully I'll post them later. Right now I'm having trouble uploading them to youtube.

[odin]

I don't know what it is with lat pull downs. Maybe I'm doing them wrong, but 90 was hard.

Matt , you might want to work on pullups or chins. Lat pulldowns-I'm not sure why you'd want to do those unless you're working towards doing pullups/chins-and you could always do the negative part of the movement if you can't do pullups/chins yet.

The lat pulldown machine seems like an inferior way to do chinning-type movements, but I hate it less than the Smith Machine I guess, nothing is worse than that for forcing natural movements into an unnatural groove.

Edited February 6, 2008 by odin

[crobb1320]

Yeah Matt,I hear ya on the lat pulldowns,I gave them up and do over hand chin/pull ups,They seem to be way more effective and if I am having a bad day I will do them one hand overhand and the other underhand and switch them each set.Give it a try for a few weeks to see what you think.

[matthcarl]

Thanks for the advice on the pull-ups. I doubt if I can do many, even singles, but there's noting like practice.

[crobb1320]

Thanks for the advice on the pull-ups. I doubt if I can do many, even singles, but there's noting like practice.

Just do as many as you can for a few sets,before you know you'll be bangin out 5 sets of 10

[odin]

Thanks for the advice on the pull-ups. I doubt if I can do many, even singles, but there's noting like practice.

Just do as many as you can for a few sets,before you know you'll be bangin out 5 sets of 10

My wife tried doing negative chins for a few workouts at my suggestion, then one day she decided to try the full movement and did 4-5 pretty good reps. It doesn't take long to improve on them.

[matthcarl]

Thanks for the advice on the pull-ups. I doubt if I can do many, even singles, but there's noting like practice.

Just do as many as you can for a few sets,before you know you'll be bangin out 5 sets of 10

My wife tried doing negative chins for a few workouts at my suggestion, then one day she decided to try the full movement and did 4-5 pretty good reps. It doesn't take long to improve on them.

I think my main problem with pull-ups is that I'm a lard@$$. I'm trying to lose a few (dozen) pounds, so maybe that will help.

[crobb1320]

Thanks for the advice on the pull-ups. I doubt if I can do many, even singles, but there's noting like practice.

Just do as many as you can for a few sets,before you know you'll be bangin out 5 sets of 10

My wife tried doing negative chins for a few workouts at my suggestion, then one day she decided to try the full movement and did 4-5 pretty good reps. It doesn't take long to improve on them.

I think my main problem with pull-ups is that I'm a lard@$$. I'm trying to lose a few (dozen) pounds, so maybe that will help.

I say go for it man.I am not saying I can do 5 sets of ten(I wish),My sets on a good day are more like,7,7,5,5,4.But when I started a few months ago it was like 3,2,0 and thats it.

[matthcarl]

Today's training has gone quite well. This morning I had a great bending session. I did the big bastard, 6" square, and a 6" G8. I got all on video and I'll post the links separately, if my computer stops acting up. Today of all days I'm having Internet connection problems

I also went to the gym and did a little v-bar lifting. I went up to 180 with each hand without chalk, then chalked up an did 205 with each hand. I also got 215 with my left, but not right. I think my right hand takes a little more abuse when I bend and I wonder if that's why. Ordinarily I'm much stronger righty.

I did squats as well:

135x5, 225x8, 245x8, 255x8, 275x8.

After that I tried pinching 2 45's, and they came up so easily it was a joke. I did it again with hardly any effort. I wonder if this is another example of squats helping with grip by warming up te body or something. Anyway, I guess Im going to have to find a small bar to load more ono the 45's if it's not going to be a challenge anymore.

I did a few other random exercises, but I'm too lazy to put them in. I did try some pull-up negatives and yeah, I need work.

[crobb1320]

Is that 2- 45 pinch with one or two hands??