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Eric Milfeld Is In The Well!


Bill Piche

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Here is some background on Eric in the Grip World:

Grip Contests

U.S. Grip Championships 2013

74k Class: 1st

83k Class: 1st

Show of Hands Grip Cup

2006 1st

2007 1st

2008 2nd

2009 2nd

2010 2nd

2013 3rd

Metroplex Mayhem

2009 3rd

2010 2nd

2011 4th?

2012 2nd Overall (1st 82.5k class)

Gripmas Carol

2007 2nd

Ronnie Coleman Grip Challenge

2011 2nd

2012 1st

Bending

The Steel Slayer Showdown 2009

1st

Powerlifting (dozens of contests over a 25 year period)

best raw gym lifts: squat 515x2, bench 335x2, deadlift 625x2

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Hi Eric,

I'll get the ball rolling by asking a few questions:

You've been grip training now for a good number of years...was there a turning point somewhere in your training where things really started to take off? (perhaps you started training a particular aspect of grip more consistently or perhaps you introduced a particular exercise?)...or has it been a pretty steady climb to where you're at?

What does your current training look like? How do you balance the different aspects of your training?

Thanks!

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Hi Eric,

Thanks for doing this.

How did you first get into grip? And when you first started what was your favorite part of grip to train and has it changed to something different now a days?

Thanks.-Tom

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I've always been amazed at your pinch strength and you are one of the highest over-body-weight-ratio pinchers (if that makes sense).

Can you talk about your approach to training pinch and details such as:

1) plate preparation and chalk

2) choosing a width

3) approach to finger and thumb placement

4) training programming (reps? go heavy? etc..)

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Eric, I was amazed to watch you at Nationals - after losing so much weight - being so dominant. How were you able to essentially "starve" yourself, while remaining at near peak strength levels? Which event, if there was one, was the hardest to stay strong on after dropping down? Thanks in advance.

Edited by jvance
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Your 50+ reps on BW (200#?) axle is one of the beastliest videos ever seen.

I've been trying to approach that number, and have gotten into the 30s now, but do you have any insight/tips/background about this challenge?

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Hi Eric,

I'll get the ball rolling by asking a few questions:

You've been grip training now for a good number of years...was there a turning point somewhere in your training where things really started to take off? (perhaps you started training a particular aspect of grip more consistently or perhaps you introduced a particular exercise?)...or has it been a pretty steady climb to where you're at?

What does your current training look like? How do you balance the different aspects of your training?

Thanks!

Hey John, no, I can't say there was ever a turning point in my training once I had dialed in my technique. Naturally, my rate of progress has slowed over the years to the point where some lifts have not seen an improvement in years, but for years I was making consistent, steady progress. I attribute this to having long since discovered how my body responds to strength training before ever focusing on grip, specifically.

At the moment, my training is in a short and sweet all-around maintenance mode. I've been hitting the Sorinex Saxon bar and some sort of revolving handle deadlift weekly, as well as grippers on an alternate day. On the pinch and thick bar day I start the workout with weighted chinups and log press. Grippers are preceded by deadlifts one week and squats the following.

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Hi Eirc,

Thank you for taking the time to do this. This is a pretty awesome forum for information. I have a couple questions.

1. You are one of the original badass benders, which many current 'grip guys' may not know about, and was even before my time bending. Do you have a couple of bends that you are most proud of and do you currently still bend? How did you make the transition from bending to grip? Do you think wrist style bends have a place and future in grip?

2. Do you have some tips for increasing one's axle numbers, especially when overall strength is not the limiting factor. I've actually been experimenting with very high reps - i.e. 100 or more in under a half an hour, and I wonder if you think there will be some carryover to a max lift. Do you think Axle training is the most productive aspect for a beginner to focus on?

3. Is there a way you organize gripper training, either periodization through the year, or shorter term, so that other hand training doesn't interfere with it.

4. What is your opinion of and hope for the future direction as grip as a sport? How do you think it will grow and what form would you like to see it take, perhaps local and regional grip leagues? - like in bowling - or do you see it more of a singular national body. Do you think a greater standardization of implements is possible and necessary?

5. What is your favorite aspect of grip to train?

Thank you in advance!

Mike

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Hi Eric,

Thanks for doing this.

How did you first get into grip? And when you first started what was your favorite part of grip to train and has it changed to something different now a days?

Thanks.-Tom

You're very welcome, Tom.

Back in 1990 I became intrigued by the advertisements for for the Captains of Crush #3 in Powerlifting USA magazine. Richard Sorin was featured in the ad as the only man to have ever closed it. I figured with some training I might have a shot at closing it. My grip was pretty good from all the deadlifting I had done and I would occasionally work up to near 900 pounds in the power rack with no straps. I also periodically performed timed holds grasping the lips of my 100 pound plates. But boy was I humbled by the gripper when it arrived. I can't really blame it on lack of setting ability, as I instinctively taught myself to set over the course of a day or two and use that same technique to this day. My best effort was getting the handles to within a nickel's width. That's width, not thickness! Lol. After training it for a couple of months I gave it up, believing it to be an unattainable goal. Looking back, I suspect that #3 was not an easy one, as my gripper performance was much improved when I tried again over ten years later.

Surfing the web in 2002 I stumbled upon The Grip Page (forerunner to our current board), which rekindled my interest in grippers. I ordered the #1 and got 8 reps the first day. Then I ordered the #2 (calibrates at 112 pounds) and had to spend nine months training to shut it. Another three months and I shut my first #3 (calibrates at 141 pounds). From there it went to bending and all other grip disciplines. Hosting on-line contests I named The Gripboard Grip Bash here on the board, shortly after joining, with all sorts of different events, kept me well rounded and the progress steady.

Over the years my favorites changed something like: grippers, pinch, nail bending, horseshoes, to today where I have a group of favorites whom I love equally like my own children. Lol. Reverse bending, Saxon bar, and rotating thick bar handles are probably the events I have the most fun training.

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I've always been amazed at your pinch strength and you are one of the highest over-body-weight-ratio pinchers (if that makes sense).

Can you talk about your approach to training pinch and details such as:

1) plate preparation and chalk

2) choosing a width

3) approach to finger and thumb placement

4) training programming (reps? go heavy? etc..)

Thank you, Matt.

1) I've done a good bit of experimentation with surface prep. At one point I even suggested allowing for the use of water spray bottles to get the moisture just right on the apparatus. Doing this, by the way, can normally produce the ideal texture on day's when the humidity is less than ideal. My Euro pinch performance, for example, can vary by as much as twenty pounds on any given day depending upon temperature and humidity conditions. For contests, I like to towel-dry the apparatus, apply chalk, and then pat away the excess. My hands, I coat heavily with chalk and then slap away the excess.

2) Width selection I think has to come down to trial and error for the individual. That being said, I've noticed that my ideal width has slowly widened over the years by at least 1/2".

3) I'm very methodical when securing my grip. But again, much of this is personal preference. Here's how I approach the Euro set-up. Standing back behind the device a bit, I will place my thumbs in position with my hands pressed firmly together with one another. I lock my thumbs in this spot and then stretch my thumb webbing up and over the top of the device. If done right, this normally hurts a little bit, especially on a sharper edged Euro. So, at this point with my fingers still sort of loose and dangling, my thumbs and webbing are locked in tight. I then step forward and straddle the Euro as I lean it forward. Now I position my fingers and visualize digging my finger tips through the steel. All my muscles are tight and locked: pecs, lats, traps, abs, biceps... I'm also thinking about trying to wrist curl the device towards me, thereby distributing even more of the weight into my fingertips. When I'm completely tight and and have just started applying maximum hand squeeze I lift, using only my legs. I also try and maintain as much elbow bend as the weight will allow. It should probably go without saying, but I take a breath and hold just before I pull.

4) This is the trickiest question to answer for me, personally. I train instinctively and have never been able to follow a predetermined program for long without the need to deviate. My training is most easily described in generalizations. I like heavy weight, low reps, and normally one, two, sometimes three working sets. Now with pinch in particular, a lot of this is dictated by skin condition. My pinch suffers dramatically if my skin isn't fresh (supple, not dried out, not cracked). That being said, I've done my share of marathon pinch training sessions with a group of guys, but that's mainly for fun. But I suspect these sorts of sessions are actually a good thing to do, sparingly. When I start getting stale I will switch to high reps for a while or give up pinch altogether.

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Eric, I was amazed to watch you at Nationals - after losing so much weight - being so dominant. How were you able to essentially "starve" yourself, while remaining at near peak strength levels? Which event, if there was one, was the hardest to stay strong on after dropping down? Thanks in advance.

Thank you so much, Jon!

At Nationals I doubt anyone was more surprised by my performance than I was. Losing weight, not to mention trying to maintain strength, was the single greatest physical challenge of my life. I was often so starved and dizzy at work that I literally had to lean on something for support. This was probably not the healthiest endeavor I ever undertook. But it was an experiment of sorts for me and I think I learned a little bit, and surely made some mistakes. It took many months before I felt like I had completely recovered. It sounds funny, but it took an emotional toll as well. I'm only recently feeling like myself again. I felt drained and unmotivated for months. But I certainly don't regret the overall experience. I enjoyed it in a very real sense. '

Workouts were almost supernatural experiences. I would come home after driving my truck for twelve hours totally exhausted and lifeless, fantasizing about what I would do to a cheesecake, only to somehow tap a hidden reserve that provided just enough energy and motivation to attack a workout. It was really weird. After a set, I would sit lifeless in my chair, unable to even pace and psyche myself up like I normally would. Then I would slowly drag myself up to the platform in my garage and tap into something that lasted not a second longer than my final rep's completion.

All my lifts suffered. Grippers the least, followed by thick bar. But pinch really took a hit. My Euro was off by thirty pounds. Some workouts indicated I would only be good for low 180s in the pinch at Nationals.

As to exactly how I did it? My stubborn, thick-headed willpower has to factor significantly. I was obsessed. Diet, training, records, Nationals... it was ALL I thought about leading up to the event. It was borderline mental illness. I'm only half-joking, too. Even my sex drive all but vanished. My testosterone level probably took a significant hit. But like magic, after nearly killing myself the last couple of hours before weigh-in running up and down the street, spitting, running the heater in my car to the point where I could no longer sweat, I recovered. I drank about two gallons of water, gorged on honey, energy bars, and peanuts and was probably twenty percent stronger than I was just before weigh-in within the first hour.

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Your 50+ reps on BW (200#?) axle is one of the beastliest videos ever seen.

I've been trying to approach that number, and have gotten into the 30s now, but do you have any insight/tips/background about this challenge?

Thanks, Yori. Wow, you're getting up there in the reps!

Well, Paul Knight told me about the challenge I think about a week or so before we went to Jason English's gym to try it. So, I had no event-specific training under my belt for it. Of course, I've always trained deadlifts and hit thick bar on a regular basis. My mental approach as I walked up to the bar was a departure for me. It was like an anti-psyche. I strived to stay calm, relaxed, almost zoned-out. My thinking was this would prevent me from gassing prematurely and save my mental intensity and focus for when I really needed it: the last twenty reps. It seemed to work for me.

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Hi Eric,

Congratulations on all your achievement's, (50+reps on the axle at your bodyweight is amazing, I hope I get to that level one day)

How many days a week do you train grip?

What grip feats are you most proud of?

Have you tried pinching your bodyweight 10 times?

And how much do you weigh right now?

Thanks bro!

Edited by grip monsta p
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Hi Eirc,

Thank you for taking the time to do this. This is a pretty awesome forum for information. I have a couple questions.

1. You are one of the original badass benders, which many current 'grip guys' may not know about, and was even before my time bending. Do you have a couple of bends that you are most proud of and do you currently still bend? How did you make the transition from bending to grip? Do you think wrist style bends have a place and future in grip?

2. Do you have some tips for increasing one's axle numbers, especially when overall strength is not the limiting factor. I've actually been experimenting with very high reps - i.e. 100 or more in under a half an hour, and I wonder if you think there will be some carryover to a max lift. Do you think Axle training is the most productive aspect for a beginner to focus on?

3. Is there a way you organize gripper training, either periodization through the year, or shorter term, so that other hand training doesn't interfere with it.

4. What is your opinion of and hope for the future direction as grip as a sport? How do you think it will grow and what form would you like to see it take, perhaps local and regional grip leagues? - like in bowling - or do you see it more of a singular national body. Do you think a greater standardization of implements is possible and necessary?

5. What is your favorite aspect of grip to train?

Thank you in advance!

Mike

Thanks, Mike!

1) For double overhand bending it might just be the 500 pound 80D nail I bent in front of Paul Knight in, I believe, 1.25" wraps. At that length (roughly 8") your leverages are far less than ideal for the kink. A lot of very accomplished benders struggle with 8" stuff. For reverse grip bending I'm most proud of the 5.5" grade 8 bolts I bent, also with 1.25" wraps. They're fairly short, they flex, and don't soften up during the bend. Just an all-out effort throughout the range of motion. Horseshoes: the St. Croix Plain Regular I certified on, also with 1.25" wraps. Nearly three minutes of 101% total upper body exertion. You're on top of the world when you complete a super hard horseshoe.

I'm not still bending, but I do enjoy the occasional reverse grip bend for fun. And I do intend to acquire some stock in the near future and push the reverse grip again. It's definitely the safest form of bending, which is a big plus for me, as I've grown a little more sensitive to injuries over the years.

Actually, grip preceded bending for me, by maybe a year. I think I started bending in 2003. I would always train both disciplines simultaneously, but normally with a focus on one or two goals. Grippers were often hurt by my bending, but otherwise it all seemed to go hand in hand.

Reverse grip bending is a great hand and wrist strength test for contests, but... Reverse grip bending was a mainstay for several years in grip contests. But the monetary cost of supplying stock, the hassle of cutting and calibrating all the stock, not to mention finding stock in all the necessary incremental jumps in difficulty was a contest unto itself. I think it fell out of favor just because it was such a hassle to contest properly.

2) You'll definitely want to train the axle itself for best results. I've always relied on specificity of training in all my strength pursuits. Personally, I've almost never seen improvements in any lift as result of adding an assistance movement to my routine. But that's just me. And that's not to say you sometimes don't get stale and need to train a different exercise altogether.

I only do really high reps for a mental and physical break, or just for fun. But again, everyone's different and responds differently.

I would say that axle, and thick bar in general, is the best all around grip exercise. It's not necessarily always my favorite, but yes, it would be an excellent place for a beginner to start.

3) Grippers are the one event I would struggle with in training. My results were frequently unpredictable. From workout to workout I couldn't be sure how I would perform until I started warming up. And almost anything can impede your gripper progress. For me, and a lot of guys, best results were obtained training grippers exclusively, save some pinch thrown in. A few things that helped with my consistency: starting the workout with deadlifts, working out very late in the day, training grippers no more than twice a week, and doing mainly singles. And as an exception to my rule of not performing assistance exercises, I found that that training choked grippers would help.

4) My best realistic hope is that grip could become at least as organized as the other major strength sports. Right now I think we're lacking the sheer numbers of participants to make it happen. I don't mean to be pessimistic, but I think that's the cold reality of it. So, yeah, because we are so small in numbers at the present, one national body is probably best for us. Standardization of implements is, of course, critical, but more of the promoters need to be on the same page for this to advance.

5) My favorite aspect of grip to train has changed frequently, and often cycled back around. Right now I'm really enjoying the Saxon Bar. I like that it's a pinch exercise and is performed like a standard deadlift.

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Thanks for the response Eric! Your story about your transcendental journey to Nats was pretty awesome :cool

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Eric you have a great pinch. How often do you train this lift? Any tips on 1 hand plate pinch strength would be appreciated too. thanks!

Thank you, James.

I typically train some sort of pinch weekly, sometimes twice a week. If I do hit it twice I might do something like blobs the one day and Euro on the other. I figure thick bar is sort of like a pinch variation, anyways.

There's really nothing I do differently in approaching the one hand variety. It's normally heavy weight, low volume, and high intensity. The feel of one hand versus two is vastly different, so here especially, specificity of training is crucial. But I might use this as an opportunity to get on my soapbox about something. All of my strength training programs from day one over the past 33 years have been utterly simple and painfully boring in structure. My philosophy and approach can be expressed in a few sentences, not an article, much less a book. The one key ingredient to all the improvements I've made were not the result of lengthy and complicated pre-planned routines. For example, I took my deadlift from 200 pounds at a bodyweight of roughly 100 pounds when I was thirteen to 617 pounds at a bodyweight of 181 when I was twenty-one following only one routine. It's almost comical in it's "unscientific" approach, but I simply worked up to one heavy single or double every week. That was it! I would do rows or pullups just because, but nothing else. Hardly the kind of routine I could write a book about. To a certain extent, the reps I did, in my case one or two, were secondary to what really mattered: a child-like enthusiasm and excitement about picking up a really heavy bar off the floor. A starving desire to achieve something. Mutliple sets of of sub-maximal weight didn't excite me, so I didn't do it. Supplemental movements were not what I wanted to be good at so I didn't do them. Ever since I read about Paul Anderson and saw a picture of him sumo deadlifting in a copy of the Guinness Book of World records when I was in fourth grade I've been fascinated by and envious of superhuman strength. I strongly believe that fascination and the desire to excel and the love of a particular strength movement is far more important than secret, complicated routines. My approach has always been to pick a lift I love and perform it with maximal weight for one, two, or three reps every week or so. On my off days I would day dream and obsess about the five pounds I was going to add to the bar next workout. I wanted tangible improvement every week. I wanted to leave the gym knowing I was stronger because I had demonstrated it by lifting more than I ever had. I was probably the only guy in the gym training that way, but I also made the most improvement, while being one of the few to never use "supplements" of any kind. I realize this sort of intensity, especially with a taxing lift like squats or deadlifts, is unsustainable forever. I also know different people respond differently to variations in sets and reps and cycling and rest periods, etc. What I'm harping on is simply a key ingredient I often see missing: a love of lifting to lift, as opposed to devising all sorts of exercises and round about routines to get better at a lift, without actually doing the lift because it's fun and your whole day will be ruined if you didn't do a little more weight than the week previous.

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Hi Eric,

Congratulations on all your achievement's, (50+reps on the axle at your bodyweight is amazing, I hope I get to that level one day)

How many days a week do you train grip?

What grip feats are you most proud of?

Have you tried pinching your bodyweight 10 times?

And how much do you weigh right now?

Thanks bro!

Thank you, but your recent videos are amazing ME!

Typically, I train grip twice a week. But I seem to have some flexibility with this number. For a long time I was training more like five days a week, while at other times I was making good progress going only once.

I'm most proud of my 230 pound Euro Pinch pull, 189 pound parallel-choked gripper close, and the 500 pound double overhand bend of an 80D spike I mentioned previously. Oh, and of course my performance as a whole at Nationals this year. There's probably others that don't come to mind at the moment.

No, I haven't specifically tried to pinch my weight ten times, but now you have me wondering if I ever have without realizing it... I need to train up to that and give it a go!

I currently weigh 185.

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