Guest Scott Clayton Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 Since I started training with Heath, we've been beating up our hands pretty bad. Sometimes 3, hard heavy workouts a week together, plus what ever little stuff we do on our own. I'm gonna drop the intensity down a little for awhile, but I'd still like to do a few grip workouts a week. What kinds of programs are you guys on? How many diferent grip exercises do you do per session? per week? How hard do you train? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bseedot Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 I sure don't have the experience that some guys here have, but here's my take. For as much as lower arm training seems to be the same as full-body strength training, it's so very different for me. I don't follow a set program for lower arm work. I really pay attention to what my hands and forearms are telling me and go by that, both in exercises performed and in the intensity of those exercises. I been having one or two days of complete rest per week lately and I usually don't do more than a couple of exercises per session. One thing I've found when working on wrist strength: barbell wrist curls use the least crushing strength (as opposed to wrist roller or lever bar work), which is important for me, as I'm saving that for grippers right now. Hope I've been some small help. BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Clayton Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 Thanks. I'd never thought about the wrist curls being easier on the crushing muscles than the wrist roller. On the barbell wrist curls, do you let the bar roll all the way down your fingers? Do you go off your knees or a bench? This is one exercise I've never really been too comfortable with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bseedot Posted July 7, 2001 Share Posted July 7, 2001 Hi Scott- I don't let the bar roll all the way down my fingers. I actually use two different ranges of motion. One starts at parallel, the other I go a little little below (I don't use the full range of motion on the descent). I just set the safety pins in my rack to the proper height. I straddle my bench and lay a 2x6 wood board at the end for something sturdy and hard to rest my forearms on. One of the reasons it doesn't work my crushing muscles too much, I think, is because I use an open thumb grip (i.e. what one shouldn't use when bench pressing). My lever bar work is with the Ironmind lever bar, which is 2" diameter, and I do my wrist roller with a thick nylon strap that I wrap around the end of my barbell- also 2" diameter. Both seems to really tax my crushing grip more than I'd like right now. The open thumb really seems to make a difference. It's just me, but I'd treat finger curls and wrist curls as a separate movement. Probably the best wrist exercise for me, that I forgot to mention before, is the plate curl. Also very little crushing involved. What makes you uncomfortable about the barbell wrist curl? If you want pics of anything I've described, let me know, I'll send them your way. BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Clayton Posted July 7, 2001 Share Posted July 7, 2001 Thanks for the response. It's not that I'm scared of the wrist curl, it's just that I haven't ever done it consistantly. Your set up sounds pretty good though. How do you use your lever bar? I've been hanging my arm over the side of a bench and raising and lowering from there. Also I rotate my hand from knucles up to knuckles down holding the bar. How much weight can you use on the bar? I've been plugging away with about 10 pounds. Do you do any supporting work? Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bseedot Posted July 8, 2001 Share Posted July 8, 2001 I actually haven't done the lever bar in months, but I just stood, arm straight against my side, and lifted to the front, then swtiched and lifted to the back. If you have Brookfield's Mastery book, it's what he's doing with the axe. I was only using about 7.5 lbs to the front and maybe double that to the rear for 10 reps. I haven't really experimented much with it. I've been thinking lately about holding it out in front of me and just cutting small circles, maybe 8"-12", in the air with the end of the bar. Not sure if that makes sense, but it will involve just a small amount of wrist bending. I don't know if there's a name for it but here's an illustration of what I mean: Pick up a pen and hold your arm straight with the pen pointing at the center of your monitor. Now, without bending your elbow or rotating your shoulder, trace a circle around the perimeter of the monitor. Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about trying. I think that my wrists are probably my weak link right now so I don't want to use too much range of motion until I get them stronger. The only direct supporting work that I do is the farmer's walk. Because the handles are almost 3" diameter it is also a crushing movement as well, and a pinching movement right before I drop them. Occasionally, I'll do barbell holds. Indirectly, I do bodyweight chins (bw is 236 lbs.) for reps and weighted chins for singles or doubles. My side bend weight is decent at 110 lbs for 10 reps. Early next year I'll begin doing heavy shrugs as well. Because of a back injury I have to be careful with heavy supporting work though, unless I hang from my chinning bar. What are some good supporting exercises of which you know or that you like to do? BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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