Gripper Training And Strength And Conditioning From Dublin, Ireland

[kinselbj]

I had a gripper session tonight and I did the following with both hands:

Trainer--3x3

#1--2x3, 1x1

#2--1x1

#2.5--2x1--missed the first attempt on my left due to a lack of concentration but nailed it on the second attempt.

#3--I nailed it with the right hand easily and with a wide parallel set. I had a video but I deleted it by accident. Incredibly frustrating as it was my best ever close with the #3 and I held it shut for around 4 seconds.

However, here is my attempt with the left hand and it is getting stronger all the time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gKCWlDeveI

I will have another gripper session on Thursday and this time I will have the most perfect video of all time and I know my close will be stronger and my set wider than today's. It will be all the more satisfying when I upload the video and find out how to get the MMO.

[odin]

I had a gripper session tonight and I did the following with both hands:

Trainer--3x3

#1--2x3, 1x1

#2--1x1

#2.5--2x1--missed the first attempt on my left due to a lack of concentration but nailed it on the second attempt.

#3--I nailed it with the right hand easily and with a wide parallel set. I had a video but I deleted it by accident. Incredibly frustrating as it was my best ever close with the #3 and I held it shut for around 4 seconds.

However, here is my attempt with the left hand and it is getting stronger all the time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gKCWlDeveI

I will have another gripper session on Thursday and this time I will have the most perfect video of all time and I know my close will be stronger and my set wider than today's. It will be all the more satisfying when I upload the video and find out how to get the MMO.

Great gripper work, congratulations!

If you don't format your memory card/stick or use your camera, you might be able to recover the video. I don't have time to search much now, but this should get you started. There are a few guys on the board who are pretty tech-savvy, so don't give up yet.

[kinselbj]

Thanks Bob. I deleted the videos from my camera while it was connected to the laptop. I just used Zero Assumption Digital Recovery but I could not get the video back, only a few random images. I thought I had saved the video onto my laptop and then deleted it with the left hand one shown but I hadn't dragged it across. Oh well...At least I will have extra motivation to get an even better video on Thursday. Thank you so much for trying to help me.

[kinselbj]

Just tried again and I was able to recover a fragment of the video that show the first 7 or 8 seconds. I got all excited because I thought I had it again but for some reason it won't show the full video even though I recovered the left hand video and it shows the full thing!!!!

[odin]

Just tried again and I was able to recover a fragment of the video that show the first 7 or 8 seconds. I got all excited because I thought I had it again but for some reason it won't show the full video even though I recovered the left hand video and it shows the full thing!!!!

You might want to try a few different types of data recovery freeware, you never know what might work.

[kinselbj]

Thanks again Odin for all the advice.

I did the following in the gym today:

Overhead Squats--5x5

Drop Snatches--1x3@bar, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60--my left wrist was nagging at me a bit here, nothing serious.

Hang Power Snatch--1x3@60, 65, 70, 75 1x2@80--My last set was the best I have ever hang power snatched 80kg so I was happy enough although just under my right knee cap was bothering me slightly.

Jerk Dips--2x3@60 Split Jerk--1x3@60

Jerks from the rack--1x3@70, 80, 85, 90, 95--My last set were solid and I worked on being explosive and getting under the bar while turning my elbows out.

Front Squats--1x3@80, 90--I left it there because they hurt my right knee a bit and I listened to the warning signs unlike last time. My knee will be fine for Friday and my new knee sleeves felt great and kept them toasty.

I am going to Snatch 100kg on Friday and I have been looking forward to it for weeks. I can't wait. Tomorrow I will take my best video close yet of my #3 and save it this time and show you guys.

[raymo]

Thanks again Odin for all the advice.

I did the following in the gym today:

Overhead Squats--5x5

Drop Snatches--1x3@bar, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60--my left wrist was nagging at me a bit here, nothing serious.

Hang Power Snatch--1x3@60, 65, 70, 75 1x2@80--My last set was the best I have ever hang power snatched 80kg so I was happy enough although just under my right knee cap was bothering me slightly.

Jerk Dips--2x3@60 Split Jerk--1x3@60

Jerks from the rack--1x3@70, 80, 85, 90, 95--My last set were solid and I worked on being explosive and getting under the bar while turning my elbows out.

Front Squats--1x3@80, 90--I left it there because they hurt my right knee a bit and I listened to the warning signs unlike last time. My knee will be fine for Friday and my new knee sleeves felt great and kept them toasty.

I am going to Snatch 100kg on Friday and I have been looking forward to it for weeks. I can't wait. Tomorrow I will take my best video close yet of my #3 and save it this time and show you guys.

[raymo]

I like how you said you are going to snatch 100kg on Friday and you are looking forward to it. You are showing two important things her confidence and passion. Is this your PR if not what is your PR.

Edited August 20, 2008 by raymo

[kinselbj]

I like how you said you are going to snatch 100kg on Friday and you are looking forward to it. You are showing two important things her confidence and passion. Is this your PR if not what is your PR.

My PR is 95kg and I set that three weeks ago maybe. 100kg will be the new one after Friday, so cheers for the kind words and here's to the murky world of lifting weights you have never lifted before. What a rush!

[kinselbj]

I had two short gripper sessions today.

The first session I worked up to 2 singles with the #2.5 on both hands but they were not feeling very strong so I left it there.

I am now in the middle of my second short session:

3x3 with the Trainer

2x3, 1x1 with the #1

2x1 with the #2

1x1 with #2.5

I still am not feeling very strong so I will listen to my body telling me to leave it alone. Annoying, but obviously necessary.

[kinselbj]

This was the gym session I was waiting for the last month and a half for, and boy was it satisfying. I did the following:

Overhead Squats--4x5

Drop Snatches--1x3@bar, 40, 40, 40

1 Hang Power Snatch + 1 Power Snatch--1x2@40, 50, 60, 67.5

1 Full Snatch--1x1@75, 82.5, 87, 91--This was a little shaky and knocked my confidence back but I gave the next lift everything to fix it--94, 97, 100, 101 missed three times. I finally snatched 100kg for 5KG PR and it was smooth and very fast. I missed 101 three times because I kept worrying I would not pull the bar high enough and messing up my technique and not catching it right. I most certainly have the strength for it as the guys watching said my pull looked very fast and easy but that my catch let me down, so I need to maintain my technique with the heavier weight and trust the strength of my pull. I barely missed the second attempt.

Jerk Dips--2x3@40

Split Jerks--2x3@60

Clean and Jerk--1x1@70, 80, 87, 94, 101, 107, 112, 116.5, 120--missed it by grazing the bar off my chin--120kg--Nailed this one even though it was my worst jerk of the day and I paused for half a second at the bottom of my dip for the jerk. Another 5kg PR for the clean and jerk and I know I can go instantly higher on this lift but my snatch is the focus. I am happy to leave 125kg for another day. A 100kg Snatch and 120kg Clean and Jerk were my goals and I am very happy to have gotten them.

I am now happy to spend my next month and a half doing technique work with lighter weights as much as my coach wants. These were the numbers I needed to have before I could relax. Even though I had mostly been doing technique work with lighter weights, in the back of my mind I always wanted to see what I could lift. Now I am rid of that because getting 100kg in the Snatch was really important to me. I am lifting 4 months now and I am loving every minute of it. I am a teacher and will be starting back in school on Tuesday so I will not have as much energy as I have now so the lighter weights will probably suit me better.

[kinselbj]

Had a tiring workout in the gym today. My coach wants to increase my tonnage rather than increase my weight for the present. I did the following:

# Comprehensive Warm Up-- Overhead Squats--5x5 Drop Snatches 1x3@ bar, 40, 50, 60

# Combination Snatch--1Hang Power Snatch, 1 Power Snatch, I full Snatch-- 50kg x 3, 60kg x 3, 67kg x 3, 72kg x 3 x 3--This is very tiring.

# Overhead Squat: 50kg x 3, 60kg x 3, 70kg x 3, 80kg x 2 (x 3 sets)

# Power Clean & Jerk: 70kg x 2+1, 77kg x 2+1, 84kg x 2+1, 90kg x 2+1 (x 3 sets)

Hanging Core combo--4 windshield wipers, 4 360 rotations, 4 Horizontal extensions + 3 full vertical leg raises--2x1

[kinselbj]

I did a light sprint technique session today focusing on the A-march, graduating from a walking, to a skipping and then to a running A-march. I finished off the session with two light 40 metre sprints and 15 minutes of stretching. After attending a two hour course I then swam for 15 minutes and alternated the sauna, steam room and jacuzzi with cold showers in order to aid recovery. Now that I am working full time and coaching two teams as well as training myself, managing fatigue levels will be very important.

[kinselbj]

I was pretty tired today and I found it difficult to motivate myself. Because of this I found I was experiencing little niggling pains throughout my body but I ignored these as I knew they were transitory. I did the following:

Overhead Squats--5x5

Drop Snatches--1x3@bar, bar, 40, 50

Hang Power Snatch: 50kg x 3, 60kg x 3, 65kg x 3, 70kg x 3, 75kg x 3 x 2

Drop Snatches: 50kg x 2, 60kg x 2, 65kg x 2, 70kg x 2--I actually missed the second rep of 65 although the weight felt light. I put 70kg onto the bar and focused on keeping my elbows down, particularly for the second rep. It was nice to have some kind of PR so I will take it, no matter how small. My previous best on this exercise was 65kg for 2 reps so I am happy. These were the fastest and best drop Snatches of the day.

I was supposed to do a few sets of 2 cleans and 1 jerk but I was very tired so I left it at that. Now, it is very important for me to manage fatigue so that I continue to progress onwards and upwards.

[kinselbj]

I had a frustrating workout today. I was very tired but I didn't realise how affected my performance would be. I did the following:

Overhead Squats--4x5

Drop Squats--1x3 @bar, 40, 45, 50

1 hang Snatch+1 Full Snatch--1x2@50, 60, 65, 65, 70, 75--I hang snatched 80 easily and then missed it 3 times on a full Snatch despite it being a hilariously light weight. I persisted and got it fourth attempt.

3 Jerks from the rack--1x3@70, 80, 90--At this stage I called it a day.

Shocking workout but I am happy with the fact that I got three quarters of the way through it. I had an extremely busy day today, so I should have expected it. Oh well.

[kinselbj]

An excellent workout last night. Work was manic again and it was after a busy weekend but I had a good one last night.

Overhead Squats--5x5--I mixed these with step ups and mountain climbers and various other brief lower body warm up movements. They worked well together.

Drop Snatches--1x3@bar, 30, 40, 50, 55, 60

3 Snatch Combo--1 Hang Power Snatch/1 Power Snatch/1 Full Snatch--1x3@40, 50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 75, 75--I am going up slowly but surely with weight on this exercise because it is actually quite tiring.

Overhead Squats--1x3@65, 72, 77, 82.5x3--Again, the weight is going up slowly with this.

2 Power Cleans + 1 Power Jerk--First time doing the power jerk so kept it pretty light--1x3@65, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95--These weights were very light and in the clean I was working on keeping my back locked throughout the first and second pull. It is much harder on the second power clean when you are more fatigued.

After that I went for a 15 minute swim in the sea and it felt amazing. As cold as an ice bath but even more refreshing.

[kinselbj]

I had a good sprinting technique session for 45 minutes that progressed from last week and fried my legs along with last night's session. Again we worked on our hip mobility both before and after and we did a little plyometric circuit a few times which we did not do last week. Last week we culminated with 4x4 of 20 metre A-march runs; this week we did five sets.

I am now doing a gripper session as I type this so I am doing the following with both hands:

2x3 with the Trainer

1x3 with the #1

1x1 with the #2

1x1 with the #2.5--I tried to ccs the left, but the gripper slipped back. I got the right easily enough.

1x1 with the #2.5 with the left--I ccs missed by around 2 mm or so. The ccs is so much harder!

1x1 with #3 with right--I ccs missed it by around 3 mm. It is very close and I haven't had a gripper workout in a while.

1x1 with #2.5 with left--I missed it by around 3 mm again. I will get the set right, this is where I am weak.

1x1 with the #3 with right--I got it to around 1 mm and thought I got it, but ended up holding it to around 2mm. I am very close to ccs here.

On a different note, I am re-arranging my goals because the overhead press and weighted pull ups are not a priority at all at the moment so they should not be there. I need to keep setting short term goals that mean everything to me and weightlifting and grippers are those goals at the moment, with weightlifting to the fore.

[kinselbj]

I had an interesting day. I brought my school lads that I coach in for a dip in the sea for 20 minutes and I joined them of course. I had a weightlifting session an hour later and it was a tiring one. I did the following:

Overhead Squats--5x5

Drop Snatches--1x3@ bar, 30, 40, 40, 50

1 Hang Snatch + 1 Full Snatch--1x2@50, 60, 65, 72

Full Snatch--1x1@77, 82x7--We kept it nice and light and tried to drill in technique and get reps done. I need to keep my balance more forward and extend upwards with my head up to the ceiling.

Jerks from the rack--1x2 @60, 60, 70, 80, 90x5--Again, we kept it light and worked on specific aspects of my technique such as keeping my pelvis locked forward and balanced. When I explode up I need to lock my elbows out and get a shorter foot spacing at the catch of the jerk. This in turn, gets me more under the bar which will be more important with the heavier weights.

Back Squat--1x3@90, 100, 110x3--This is the first time I have back squatted in months and I kept it extremely light. Opening my hips will take pressure off my knees but my hips are not flexible enough yet. I squatted with extremely strict style and slowly too, trying to find a way to stop my knees cracking.

Glute-Ham Raise--3x5--I am shocking at this and need to improve massively.

I finished off with with a little sauna and steam room. Absolutely knackered.

[kinselbj]

I was massively fatigued today. I tried a grip workout but my hands were fried so I could barely close the #2.5. I have a massive weighlifting session tomorrow morning at 10 and I am going to get a Clean and Jerk PR and I am going to try and nail 130kg.

[kinselbj]

We had a morning session today and after a comprehensive warm up I was ready to go.

Overhead Squats--5x5

Drop Snatches--1x3 @bar, bar, 30, 40, 45

Hang Power Snatch--1x3@50, 55, 60, 67, 67, 67--These were technically good but more tiring than they would normally be.

Jerk Skill Drills with 40kg--Dips and Catches

2 Cleans and 1 Jerk @60, 70

Clean+Jerk--1x1@77, 82, 92, 100, 107, 112, I then proceeded to miss 117 twice. I missed the clean first time by not pulling straight up and whipping the elbows and the second time on the jerk because I dropped my elbows and dipped forward. Anyway, I got it third time lucky but I felt a bit silly because it is not a particularly heavy weight. I then got 121kg for a PR and nailed it. I then proceeded to miss 123 twice despite pulling the bar more than high enough, I lost it forward when trying to rack it. Very frustrating. Watching the video later, I could see my 121 was not very good and my 123 attempts were just sloppy. I was not extending upwards enough and whipping my elbows under the bar to rack it because the front squat would be easy. The clean for 121 was very fast and easy, but not as good technically as I would have liked.

Hamstring Curls on machine--I have never really done this before but I need to improve my hamstring strength. I did 6 sets of 6, 3 double and 3 single leg.

Weighted Ab Sit Ups with 10kg plate behind head--3x15

After my session I went for a swim in the sea and felt amazing afterwards. I got a 1kg PR but my technique was sloppy and I was obviously still fatigued from my hectic week. My brain says it was a good session but my heart wanted more.

[kinselbj]

A strange day today. I did not have time to train but I did foam roll my legs for 15 minutes which was nice. It was exceedingly painful.

I then had a gripper workout tonight@

2x3 with trainer

1x3 with #1

2x1 with #2

3x1 with #2.5 with left hand ccs but couldn't close it. Closed easy with right

3x1 with #3 with right. Missed ccs close by one mm but I was not feeling in the groove at all today. I think if I can have one or two more grip workouts this week I can close it and I will make sure I have a video of the close. My set is still the weak point. It is the close and then letting it back to get the card in. It is very tricky to maintain the correct wall with the thumb pad and keep my little finger wrapped around, particularly with the left. Oh well, nearly there.

[kinselbj]

I had a light but enjoyable session in the gym today.

Overhead Squats--5x5

Drop Snatches--1x3@bar, bar, 30, 40, 50

Snatch Combo--1x3@50, 60, 65, 72x3--Very light, but it was supposed to be and it was enjoyable.

2 Power Cleans + 1 Power Jerk--1x3@64, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90x3--Again light, but I focused on getting as fast a jerk as possible.

Back Squat--1x3@90, 100, 110x2--It was exceedingly light but I am trying to get my knees back into the groove. These squats were the best and most comfortable that I have done in the last few months and it felt nice. My knees don't really crack when I keep my back perfectly tight and open my hips up. I rested ass to grass for two or three second at the bottom and it felt great.

[kinselbj]

Another light but very enjoyable session this evening. I had a 25 minute cycle to the gym so my legs were nice and warmed up and I complimented this with some basic mountain climbers and quad and hamstring stretches that made my knees make no noise at all so I am exceedingly happy with that.

Overhead Squats--4x5--I really focused on keeping everything tight and locked which again helped my knees like the back squats yesterday.

Drop Snatches--1x3@bar, 40, 45, 50, 55--Again, focusing on keeping everything tight.

Hang Snatch+Full Snatch--1x2@50, 62, 70

Full Snatch--1x1@77, 80x6. I made all my snatches very smoothly. Sometimes when you are lifting weights that are that light it is very difficult to keep the same rhythm and bar flight pattern but I really worked on getting my elbows turned out another half inch and it made a lovely little difference. My consistency, despite the light weights, pleased me and my coach.

Jerk Skill Drills focusing on locking my shoulders and elbows around and getting under the bar with the correct foot distance apart.

1 Power Clean+1 Full Clean+1 Jerk--@70, 80, 90

Clean and Jerk--1x1@100x7--On the clean really focused on whipping those elbows around and under after my pull. With the jerk I focused on keeping my elbows as high as possible to keep the flight path of the bar straight and also getting under the bar with the correct distance apart. Although the weight was very light, I missed one because I brought my feet too close together as a reaction to my usual way of putting my back foot too far back.

Weighted Sit-Ups with 10kg plate--3x20--I saw Chinese lifters do these so I gave it a try and will stick to them for a while instead of my usual hanging core stuff.

I had a lovely stretch, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi with cold showers after each so I feel great now.

[kinselbj]

A short gripper workout today with both hands:

2x5 with Trainer

1x5, 1x3 with #1

1x3, 1x2, 1x1 with #2

2x1 with #2.5. I closed it with a slight set with the left and ccs'd it with the right on the first set. On the second set I missed a ccs with both hands which was very annoying.

1x1 with ccs of #2.5 with the left. I used chalk for the first time and missed it by around 2 mm. Very nearly there. Around 3mm the third rep

1x1 with ccs of #3 with right. I missed it by 1 or 2 mm the first rep and 3/4 mm the second rep.

I then got 2 reps of the #2.5 for the first time and 4 reps of the #2 with the left.

I am so close to getting my ccs of the #3 with the right I can taste it. I should get the #2.5 ccs with the left very soon too.

[kinselbj]

I had a good session today. I had to fit it in an hour rather than the usual hour and a half, so it was very tiring.

Overhead Squats--5x5

Drop Snatches--1x3@bar, 40, 45, 50

Snatch Combo--1x3@60, 68, 73, 77x3

Overhead Squat--1x2@70, 78, 85x3-- I missed one rep of 85 on my 2nd set due to lack of focus and losing my back lock.

2 Power Cleans + 1 Power Jerk --1x3@80, 88, 95, 98-- I was knackered by this stage and locked out the jerk even though it was very light.

I am gradually getting these weights up even though they are not maximums. Technique is the most important aspect of the workout.