Developing The Crushing And Healing Hand

[John Knowlton]

Nice work

way cool gripper collection 

[DoctorOfCrush]

9 hours ago, John Knowlton said:

Nice work

way cool gripper collection 

Thanks! It’s (not so) hard to believe it’s already up to 40 grippers. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/3/23:

Double KB Press: 36kg/hand [1, 2, 3] x4 (12 working sets)

Behind-the-neck Press: 40kg x 10, 10, 7/3 (press/push press)

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workouts 6/4/12:
AM
A. Seated RGT cable row: Attempt at 45kg x5
B. Flask curls (2-hand): 10kg x 5, 8, 8
RGT: 45kg x5, 47.5 x5; 42.5 x 3 sets of 5; 40 x 5, 5, 15 (!)

The seated RGT cable rows just weren't happening. I attempted with both hands and barely got 1 rep either side. Not sure if it was the early morning or what. I'm probably done with this variation now. Instead of just dropping down, I converted to standard RGT deadlifts. I bumped up to 47.5 after 45 felt pretty good/easy, and I honestly should have probably gone up a little more. The drop down sets felt much lower in RPE, and I converted the final set to an AMRAP. I changed the Flask curls to 2-hand because it's so hard not to swing when doing 1-hand. It'll take some getting used to. 

PM
Squat: 110kg x3, 112.5 x3, 115 x3
Deficit deadlift (double overhand w/ straps): 100kg x6, 110 x6

Once again, the deficit included ~3.25" platform plus oly shoes. I should have done more weight in hindsight because the RPE was 6-7, but it was only my second time doing the movement, so I kept it a bit lighter. 

Edited June 5, 2023 by DoctorOfCrush

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/6/23:

A. Flask, 2-hand: 60kg x5, 62.5x5; 56.25 x 3 sets of 5; 52.5 x 5, 5, 11
B. Dip: +20kg x 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1; BW x10

I previously did 62.5kg x6 (the night two weeks ago when I ripped my thumb web), but I haven't pinched since. I attempted 65 x5, but it wasn't happening. We'll see next week on the triples. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/7/23:

Squat: 115kg x3, 120kg x2
Deadlift (double overhand w/ straps): 155kg x3, 162.5kg x2

I had a ~13 hr day at work, so I wasn't feeling great going into this workout. Plus, I didn't get to start until 8:45 pm. The plan called for the 120kg squat and 162.5kg deadlift to be 1-2 reps, so I was somewhat worried before I started that I wouldn't hit the reps. However, I felt better and better during my warmups. In the end, the RPE felt 7-8 range on the double, and I was genuinely surprised. I feel like I could've hit 4 on the squats. I probably had a solid triple in me on the deadlift while maintaining form. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

 

Workout 6/9/23:

Grippers

Right:
       MMS Singles: GHP7 (143) x 1 make, 2attempts; CPW Spectrum 300N (144) x 1 make; CoC 3(146) x 1 attempt
       MMS Doubles: GHP6 (126) x 2, 2, 4
       MMS Triples: CoC 2.5 (121) x 3, 3, 5

Left:
       MMS Singles: Coc 2.5 (128)x made 3 of 4 attempts
       MMS Doubles: GG4 (115) x 2, 2, 6 
       MMS Triples: GHP5 (109) x 3, 3, 5

Progress in a few different spots tonight (reps wise). I realized that I had not attempted my 300N in a long while, so I took a crack at it. So much easier than the GHP7. Just night and day with the narrower spread and shorter ROM (bigger handles). 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/10/23:

Double KB Press: 36kg/hand [1, 2, 3] x5 (15 working sets)
Behind-the-neck Press: 40kg x 10, 10, 10 (press/push press)

Moving up on the BTN press weight next week now that I got 10 reps on all 3 sets. Probably 45kg. Gotta hit 4 reps on the 36kg bells next week too...

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/11/23:

Squat: 122.5kg/270lb x4 
Deadlift (double overhand w/ straps): 115x4, 120x4, 122.5x2

Heavy squats and light deadlifts. This was the last heavy squat day of the cycle, and I’m very pleased with the outcome. It called for 1-4 reps, and I got all four. I have been using 125kg as my max this cycle, and this my estimated 1RM at 134kg now. Video below. They get pretty dive bomb-y, but that’s near max effort for you. I use the band on my ankles to prompt me to keep driving my knees out. It’s not a lot of weight, but it’s a lot for my weak legs and long femurs. 

Didn’t get to my RGT today, but I plan on doing it tomorrow. 
 

 

[John Knowlton]

Nice squats

[DoctorOfCrush]

6/13/23:

AM

RGT: 

53.75kg x3

48.75x 3, 3, 5L/6R

43.75x 3, 3, 12L/14R

thumbless drop set 30kgx12

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/14/23:

Deadlift (double overhand, w/ straps): 165kg/364lb x3

Plan called for 1-4 reps. In hindsight, I should’ve done four. I think I have it in me, but I’ll let you all be the judges (video below). I think the third rep was a little hard, and I’m just not used to pushing my deadlift, so I had a brain fart and bailed on attempting the fourth rep. 3 reps puts my estimated 1RM at 175, and 4 reps would have put me at 180. I’m debating between 175 and 180 as my number to use for my next cycle. 

Thoughts?

 

[John Knowlton]

NICE good form

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/16/23:
Double KB Press: 36kg/hand [1, 2, 3, 4]x1, [1, 2, 3] x4 (16 working sets)

Changed it up a bit this week. I usually grip on Fridays, but I am hoping a few grippers will arrive in the mail tomorrow, and I want to try them out, so I swapped my gripper and press workouts. Also, I didn't want to do this press workout after a full day of work, so I did it from 5:30-6:30 this AM. It went pretty well. My posterior chain was not firing fully on one of the sets, and I over-pulled with my upper back/trap, so I have a bit of a tweak in my neck now.  Feels like I slept on it funny. Started to do my behind-the-neck press, but I just didn't have anything left since this was done essentially fasted. Still glad I hit the set of 4 reps for the first time. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/17/23:

Grippers

Right:
       MMS Singles: CoC 3 (144) x 2 attempts; GHP7 (143) x 1 make, 1 braced make
       MMS Doubles: CoC 2.5 (128) x 2, 2, 3
       MMS Triples: GHP6 (126) x 3, 3, 4

Left:
       MMS Singles: CoC 2.5 (128)x 2 makes, 2 braced makes
       MMS Doubles: CoC 2.5 (121) x 1 attempt; GG4 (115) + bumper, 1 full turn x 2, 2, 3
       MMS Triples: GG4 (115) x 1 attempt (2 reps); GHP5 (112) x 1 attempt (2 reps); GHP5 (109) x 4

Well I spent the morning working on my weight plates (see below), and I didn't think it would affect my grip that much, but it did. My top end strength just was not there. I was kind of bummed because I really thought I would close a 3 for the first time ever, though I kind of cheated by just buying a new lighter one (144). Thankfully, my rep work went well and I made some advances there. I think I'll de-load on Friday as I am with the rest of my lifts. I think I'll do everything one step down (singles with the doubles gripper, doubles with triples gripper, etc.). 

So I have two sets of Weider kilo metal plates that I bought off of FB marketplace on two different occasions. One set was painted at some point different patterns of blue and orange, and the other was just black with white lettering. I've used them for years, but I have always wanted for some time now to strip the paint, clean off all the rust, and paint them the standard colors. Well after findings little windows of time of the last 3-4 weekends, I finally completed my project! It involved a lot of paint stripping, angle grinding, sanding, cleaning, and painting. In total, I re-did 22 plates totaling 230kg/507lb. Here are some of the before and afters (I couldn't put all of them because anything over 4MB got rejected on upload):

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by DoctorOfCrush

[DoctorOfCrush]

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/20/23:

Squat: 100kg x 4 sets of 6
Deadlift (double overhand): 135kg x 2 sets of 6

This is week 6/6 of the program. I opted to repeat week one, which was one of three options. This was a little tougher than I wanted it to be, but oh well. Comparing it to the first time I did this workout, I didn't use straps on the deadlift this time, but I also didn't do rolling handle work in the morning like I did last time . My days are a bit off, but I'll probably do the second workout on Thursday before starting over with my new maxes on Sunday. 

[John Knowlton]

NICE WORK

Your weights look awesome, nice job

[DoctorOfCrush]

1 hour ago, John Knowlton said:

NICE WORK

Your weights look awesome, nice job

Thanks! It took way too long, and I know they’re just going to get beat up and chipped, but I had to do it. 
 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/24/23:

Tested out my Rolling Grip Thingy max and did some de-load gripping. After that I played with some one-hand flask but wasn't 100%. 

RGT: 
20kg x8
30 x5
40 x3
50 x1
55 x1 (matched PR on L; PR on R)
55 x1
57.5 x1 (PR)
60 x1 (PR)
61.25kg / 135lb x1 (PR)

60 was legit on both arms. Nice, paused lockout. That's a 5kg PR on the left, 7.5kg on the right. I got a brief lockout on the right with 61.25kg on the right. Definitely a training make, and a 8.75kg PR for the right. Couldn't get it with the left. 

MMS:
Right: Coc 2.5 (130) x1; Coc 2.5 (121) x2; GG4 (115) x3
Left: Coc 2.5 (121) x1; GG4 (115) x2; GHP5 (109) x3

Flask, one-hand: 
20kg
25
30
32.5 miss, both hands, two attempts
31.25 

Barely made 31.25. I'll try some other time when I haven't already done other gripping. 

Kind of a crap de-load week. I had a nice plan for each day, but it kind of fell apart with work going the way that it did, family obligations, and one particularly terrible night of sleep. On Wednesday night, I went to sleep at ~11 then I woke up wide awake, mind racing at 3 am. Couldn't get back to sleep, so I just got up, worked on a few things around the house until around 4:30 then just went to work for the day. At any rate, I was useless from a workout perspective both Thursday and Friday. 

Now that this week has finished,

AFTER A DECADE OF MEDICAL TRAINING I ONLY HAVE ONE MORE WEEK TO GO!!!!

Starting July 1, I'll start my position as an attending hematopathologist at Vanderbilt.  It hasn't really sunk in just yet, but I've had fun this week moving things into my new office. Maybe once it really hits me it will automatically add a few kilos to all my lifts. 

 

[Douglas Carney]

6 minutes ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

...AFTER A DECADE OF MEDICAL TRAINING I ONLY HAVE ONE MORE WEEK TO GO!!!!

Starting July 1, I'll start my position as an attending hematopathologist at Vanderbilt.  It hasn't really sunk in just yet, but I've had fun this week moving things into my new office. Maybe once it really hits me it will automatically add a few kilos to all my lifts. 

 

Congratulations!  That's a huge accomplishment!

[DoctorOfCrush]

38 minutes ago, Douglas Carney said:

Congratulations!  That's a huge accomplishment!

Thanks! It feels like it has both flown by and crept at a glacial pace at the same time. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workouts 6/25/23:

First day of the next 6-week cycle, and it was pretty brutal. 

AM
RGT (all sets per hand): 
50kg x6
52.5x6*
47.5 x6, 6, 8
42.5 x 6, 6, 10

*Got the 6 with my left, but I only got 5 with my right

PM:
Squat: 107.5kg/237lb x 4 sets of 6
Deadlift (double overhand w/ straps): 145kg/320lb x 2 sets of 6

These squats were super tough.  It didn't help that it was 90+ degrees with insane Nashville humidity this afternoon. The gym is air conditioned, but it's a little room off the carport that doesn't have a thermostat, so it gets a lot hotter than the house where the return and thermostat are. At any rate the last set of squats was pushing an RPE 8-9 on rep 6. Not an absolute grinder, but very tough. The last set of deadlifts was around RPE 7-8. For this cycle, I am going to limit my strap usage on the deadlifts to only the workouts that follow RGT work if I can. Not looking forward to Wednesday with the sets of 8. I remember it being straight up cardio last go-around. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 6/27/23:

A. Flask, 2-Hand: 
60kg x6
53.75 x6, 6, 10
48.75 x6, 6, 6 with hold on last rep (7 sec)

B. Dips: 20kg x 1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1 ; BW x12

Strap wrist extensions: 2.5kg x20/hand; 5kg x12/hand, 15/hand

Kind of wish I had looked back at previous workouts before doing the 60kg set.  I didn't realize I did that as a top set the last time I did 6's. I would've at least gone for 61.25 for my top set. Oh well. Played around with the hold. I really don't want to rip my thumb web again, and I am trying to decide whether the last set AMRAP or hold is more risky. 

I kept the strap wrist extensions light to somewhat rehab my right elbow.  I've always dealt with medial epicondylitis on the right and left for years which comes and goes (better with @Jedd Johnson's e-book for sure), but I've been dealing with some lateral epicondyle pain on the right for the first time over the past few weeks. It's undoubtedly from the fact that I have recently started taking pinch seriously. Doing lighter wrist extensions before and after certain work (especially pinch) has been helping. 

[Jedd Johnson]

1 hour ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

Workout 6/27/23:

A. Flask, 2-Hand: 
60kg x6
53.75 x6, 6, 10
48.75 x6, 6, 6 with hold on last rep (7 sec)

B. Dips: 20kg x 1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1 ; BW x12

Strap wrist extensions: 2.5kg x20/hand; 5kg x12/hand, 15/hand

Kind of wish I had looked back at previous workouts before doing the 60kg set.  I didn't realize I did that as a top set the last time I did 6's. I would've at least gone for 61.25 for my top set. Oh well. Played around with the hold. I really don't want to rip my thumb web again, and I am trying to decide whether the last set AMRAP or hold is more risky. 

I kept the strap wrist extensions light to somewhat rehab my right elbow.  I've always dealt with medial epicondylitis on the right and left for years which comes and goes (better with @Jedd Johnson's e-book for sure), but I've been dealing with some lateral epicondyle pain on the right for the first time over the past few weeks. It's undoubtedly from the fact that I have recently started taking pinch seriously. Doing lighter wrist extensions before and after certain work (especially pinch) has been helping. 

Thanks for your purchase.

If Rick's rehab section hasn't done the trick, then I strongly suggest you go back to my book and try some of my stuff as well, especially the rubber band work.  Good luck