Malice Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Wasn't going to work grip but my hands were real tight this morning so I banged out a few reps on the trainer to get the blood flowing and felt a lot better. Then I saw a thread on the DH forum so I grabbed the #2, 20mm block, camera and got a vid of 20mm reps with the #2. I ended up doing 3 takes cuz something would happen every time and it would get messed up so I just went with the last one even though it isn't perfect. Basically I ended up doing 3 sets of 22 reps with it. My forearms were SWOLE big time...and it felt great! I never train high reps with grippers but I might on occassion now. I posted a vid of the last set but it's not great cuz several of the reps went off camera when my daughter told me she loved me and I glanced over and said it back and when I did I lost focus of where the camera was. (If you turn the volume up you can hear me mumble something and it's me telling Megan I love her too). It's my favorite part of the vid and a big reason I posted it...even if nobody can understand what I say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 No grip today but I figured I'd post my gym debacle here. Pure Fitness was bought by LA Fitness about 6 months or so ago, right before I stopped taining for a while. Today I went back for the 2nd time since then and it was a graveyard...maybe 6 cars in the parking lot. I walked in and you could hear crickets it was so peaceful. I hand the guy at the desk my scan card and he says we don't use those any more. Asks my name and types it in the computer and...nothing. Asks my phone number and...nothing. Then he scans my card and says oh there you are. WTF?! You could've saved me 5 minutes just doing that from the start. Then he says I have to pay $10 for kids care for my daughter. I told him I paid over $180 for a year and a half of that up front. Of course he can't find any record of it and says he'll give me today for free but if we can't find proof he'll have to back charge me for the last year and 4 months at their current kids care prices which is more than Pure Fitness costs were. Again WTF?!?! So I go to work out and the douchebag comes out 4 fricking times to interrupt my workout asking stupid ass questions about my account. The last time I was in the middle of a 20 rep set of squats when he starts asking me stuff and I just ignored him so I could concentrate on finishing, prompting him to ask the same question 2 more fricking times before I finish my fricking set! When I racked the weight I was ready to bust his chops but my old trainer was walking by so I told him "Get this douchebag away from me while I'm working out." The trainer just smirked and asked him a question relating to something up front I guess cuz he left with him. I then proceed to bench to bang out a few light 5 rep sets of 225 lbs. after a warmup only to find that my left forearm is hurting again and can't safely do it, which spun me into a dimension of pissed off I've never been in. So I get my daughter and go to the trainer's cubicle to talk to him cuz I haven't seen him in a while and the douchebag comes over and says "Russ, we can't have her on the floor. She has to stay in the kids care area." I told him I'm not on the floor I'm in a cubicle by the front door and he says she can't be anywhere but the kids care area. I asked him how the fk am I supposed to get her in and out of the place then since the area he's now saying she can't be in is between the front door and kids care area? At this point I was ready to throttle this idiot. He's one of those tools who's early 20's, a buck twenty soaking wet, spiked hair with frosted tips and the worst fake tan in history...you know, typical LA Fitness front desk guy (when they can't find a hot chick to run the desk) except he's never touched a weight in his life. So I go out to my car and find my contract showing my kids care and everything being paid up through the end of June even though I've decided today was my last visit to the place. (We are getting a power rack and plenty of weights for the house ASAP). The trainer walked to the car with me when I left and when I asked why he hasn't beat the crap out of that douchebag yet he said cuz he's the general manager of the place now. Suddenly, everything makes sense. I bet within 6 months the building will be empty with that kind of person running the place. I just hope I can get some good going out of business deals on equipment. Sorry to hear about the gym experience...If I'm doing squats don't talk to me either, that's a lift that doesn't leave room for errors 2nd props on showing him the papers and that he was a douche bag not once but the whole time Hope you get your power rack and such bud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannon Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 The trainer walked to the car with me when I left and when I asked why he hasn't beat the crap out of that douchebag yet he said cuz he's the general manager of the place now. Suddenly, everything makes sense. I bet within 6 months the building will be empty with that kind of person running the place. I just hope I can get some good going out of business deals on equipment. Russ, you should have worked him over. That would have been good exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 The trainer walked to the car with me when I left and when I asked why he hasn't beat the crap out of that douchebag yet he said cuz he's the general manager of the place now. Suddenly, everything makes sense. I bet within 6 months the building will be empty with that kind of person running the place. I just hope I can get some good going out of business deals on equipment. Russ, you should have worked him over. That would have been good exercise. I should have told Megan he stole her Wooby and let her work him over for me She has a pretty mean transition from mounted ground n pound to armbar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 4/7/11 Once again is a rest day so of course I have some grip stuff to report. I'm going to really start hitting all around grip on Tuesday and I'm going to kick this 3.5's a$$ too so curiosity got the better of me and I had to see where I'm at with it. Using a 20mm block set I got down to 1/4" righty and between 3/8"-1/2" lefty. The 1/2" gauge wouldn't go but the 3/8" side did. I'm very happy with this as far as lefty goes. Not too bad righty either since it's real close to where I was before the hiatus. I'm going to get a video of it this weekend then do a weekly video update as motivation. The goal is to close it with the 20mm block set within one month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 4/8/11 Here's the video I did this morning with the 3.5 @20mm. It's not quite as close as last night, looks about 5/16" from closed but I did it without a warmup and about a half hour after waking up so it's a good "worst case scenerio" representation of where I'm at with it right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 4/9/11 Went to Dave's today to try and get a new PR on 2" vbar as well as get a baseline on the GripTopz which showed up on Thursday. Unfortunately it was cold at 50 degrees, a little humid from rain earlier and just an all around weak, shitty grip day for me. I only managed 230 lbs. (barely) on 2" vbar before I just stopped since I couldn't get any warmth in my wrists or hands and it wasn't worth the pain or possible injury. Dave on the other hand pulled a huge 30 lb. PR for 205 lbs.!! That right there made the day worth it. Plus he not only got it up but it flew up. It's on video too and I'll upload it to my youtube in a little while. My numbers on GripTopz were so shitty I won't even put them up here but at least I know where I am in relation to my goals for August in each event...shallow hub, stub and half penny. I have to say I'm surprised at the shitty build quality of the set of GripTopz I got. None of the holes line up, sharp edges and burrs everywhere and took quite a bit of work just to make them usable. Pretty much all events at WSH this year except for Vulcan are thumb strength dependent and today reinforced how weak my thumbs are. There will be a lot of TTK in my future so I can reach my goals for the 1st leg of WSH. On a side note, I placed my order for the steel plates for an adjustable 2hp and when they show up I'll order the rubber for inserts and start training on an actual 2hp device. I just hope my left forearm doesn't start hurting from it again. I know I've already said this but it's a big worry for me since pinch is one of the areas I could use the most improvement in to become a well rounded gripster. My best was 160 lbs. at WSH last year and my goal for this year is 2hundo so I need the forearm to hold up so I can put in the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 Update from yesterdays GripTopz workout...my thumb pads are HURTING today! That was definitely a killer thumb workout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinslater Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I have a elbow that I have to be careful of as well. Not sure what type of injury your dealing with but mine was medial or inside elbow. I find that if I try to "snap" the plates in half by applying pressure to the outside of my hands while 2hp it allows me to pinch pain free. I'm also stronger when I do this. Good luck bro Austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 I have a elbow that I have to be careful of as well. Not sure what type of injury your dealing with but mine was medial or inside elbow. I find that if I try to "snap" the plates in half by applying pressure to the outside of my hands while 2hp it allows me to pinch pain free. I'm also stronger when I do this. Good luck bro Austin I went to a sports therapist and he concluded it's tendonitis. He thinks I was probably going overboard with expansion bands since I was doing a set of 10 for every single I did with grippers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 Since my hands are starting to get stronger I decided to pull out my chainmail beer coozy so I don't accidentally crush a beer bottle in my hands I made this 4 or 5 years ago back when I was making chainmaile and it's made with 5/16" dia. rings from 16 gauge galvanized steel wire. It has a leather base that's held on one side by 2 rings and a snap on the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 4/11/11 #3(20mm block)-5x1-all closes righty, 4 closes lefty and the miss was from a bad set. This is a huge PR since I've only tickled the handles a couple times lefty since the hiatus and tonight I was grinding them. #3.5(choked to 5/8")-5x1-all closed righty, none lefty but real close. Once I get all closes lefty I'll open it up to parallel. TTK(pinch grip) 10 lbs.-3x10 reps To finish off I did 2 negs with 12.5 lbs. followed immediately by 3 negs with 10 lbs. Kinda like a drop set where there was no pause longer than dropping the weight. I did these with a pinch grip where I positioned my hand so that when closed my thumb was straight instead of having the L shaped bend. I figure that when doing pinch my thumb is straight so there might be better carryover keeping my thumb in the same position here. Next TTK workout I'll use the Kinney grip which will better mimic the position used on the WSH events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencrush Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Nice gripper work Russ!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Nice gripper work Russ!!! Thanks Ben! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 4/12/11 I pulled out the 8 lb. sledge and did some levering since my wrists have been bothering me lately. I did 3 sets of 10 in every direction I could think of. I'm going light right now and once I get some base strength built up I'll move down the handle and go heavier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaz Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 This is a good training log to read. Congratulations on your PR with the #3! Hey I have been trying to figure out what the "WD" is. You mentioned that it hurt your left forearm at the contest. What is WD. All I could come up with brainstorming is Wrist Developer but I don’t know what that is either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 This is a good training log to read. Congratulations on your PR with the #3! Hey I have been trying to figure out what the "WD" is. You mentioned that it hurt your left forearm at the contest. What is WD. All I could come up with brainstorming is Wrist Developer but I don’t know what that is either. WD is in fact Wrist Developer. It's one of the devices used in last years World's Strongest Hands. It's used to train for reverse style bending. It's not the WD itself that caused the injury but user error when the right handle slipped out of my hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 4/13/11 Grippers Goal gripper (3.5)-righty almost down to 3/16"! Lefty just under 3/8" #3 (20mm block)-5x1-all closed righty, none lefty. Some close some off by 1/8" #2.5 (overcrush)-3x10 seconds. My hands were tight and felt weak today. Also the meaty part of my hand on the pinky side was a little stiff and sore which was cool. Maybe from sledge levering yesterday or a combo of that and TTK on Monday. The workout itself felt weak and I think levering on a rest day isn't a great idea for recovery. I've come to the conclusion that overcrushes suck. These hurt like hell but gave a killer forearm pump so they must work good. Hopefully when I do the 3.5 vid this week it'll be about where today's attempt was. I'll do some thumb work tonight when I get home, prolly TTK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 4/13/11 Grippers Goal gripper (3.5)-righty almost down to 3/16"! Lefty just under 3/8" #3 (20mm block)-5x1-all closed righty, none lefty. Some close some off by 1/8" #2.5 (overcrush)-3x10 seconds. My hands were tight and felt weak today. Also the meaty part of my hand on the pinky side was a little stiff and sore which was cool. Maybe from sledge levering yesterday or a combo of that and TTK on Monday. The workout itself felt weak and I think levering on a rest day isn't a great idea for recovery. I've come to the conclusion that overcrushes suck. These hurt like hell but gave a killer forearm pump so they must work good. Hopefully when I do the 3.5 vid this week it'll be about where today's attempt was. I'll do some thumb work tonight when I get home, prolly TTK. Thumb work Shallow hub-did about 7 ascending sets up to a new PR by 2.5 lbs.! Stub-did 4 ascending sets up to my max. TTK (Kinney style)-5x1-negs with 12.5 lbs. Thumbs were smoked by this point. I won't be putting my weights used for GripTopz events (shallow hub, stub, half penny) because I want to keep everyone guessing for WSH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six Barrel Shotgun Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Hows TTK kinney style done? Great stuff here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 Hows TTK kinney style done? Great stuff here. Instead of all four fingers on the bottom pinch plate only the side of your index finger is. Mzke a fist, give a thu,bs up, slide your hand under the bottom plate and pull down with the thumb. It pretty much eliminates anything but the thumb. I guess I could call it thumb wrestling atyle but I first saw it on the Joe Kinney video and saw a couple other people here call it Kinney style so it kinda stuck in my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbe705 Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Hows TTK kinney style done? Great stuff here. Instead of all four fingers on the bottom pinch plate only the side of your index finger is. Mzke a fist, give a thu,bs up, slide your hand under the bottom plate and pull down with the thumb. It pretty much eliminates anything but the thumb. I guess I could call it thumb wrestling atyle but I first saw it on the Joe Kinney video and saw a couple other people here call it Kinney style so it kinda stuck in my head. like a key pinch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannon Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 I should use my TTK..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six Barrel Shotgun Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Hows TTK kinney style done? Great stuff here. Instead of all four fingers on the bottom pinch plate only the side of your index finger is. Mzke a fist, give a thu,bs up, slide your hand under the bottom plate and pull down with the thumb. It pretty much eliminates anything but the thumb. I guess I could call it thumb wrestling atyle but I first saw it on the Joe Kinney video and saw a couple other people here call it Kinney style so it kinda stuck in my head. like a key pinch. Ah okey. Gonna try that. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malice Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 4/16/11 Grippers Goal gripper attempt(3.5)-only got it down to between 5/16"-1/4" today. This was done with a 20mm block set. #3(20mm block)-4x1-all closed righty, none lefty. BBSE(BFN's)-2 sets of triple BFN's Thumbs Shallow hub-got a 5 lb. PR lefty and broke air with weight I couldn't budgy righty on Wednesday Stub-got a 5 lb. PR lefty and almost got a full lift with weight I couldn't budge righty on Wednesday. All in all it was a crappy workout for grippers but awesome for hub and stub. I always have better gripper workouts at work than I do at home like I did today but it just seems grippers have been getting weaker and weaker all week. I'm sure it's due to the extra work I've been adding for thumbs but that's a trade off I'm willing to accept. As long as my grippers don't completely go to crap altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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