Hub Training

[DoctorOfCrush]

So I finally have a way to do some hub training, but I realized pretty quickly that I don't know how to structure a workout routine.  Do most go for heavy singles? Somehow do reps? Just do holds for time? 

Any help with structure or progressions is much appreciated. 

[Buccos1]

With the Hub, I found the less I did, the more I progressed.  One session every 4-5 days, and minimal reps-per-set.  Minimal overall volume too.  I always tried to hit the next number up.  There were a lot of failed attempts, but, ultimately, a PR.  That was the mindset: all-out and it will fall (or rise!).  

I have tried holds and different variations-none of which did much for me.  Once the pinching base is set (at least for the Hub), it's always there.  I've messed around with it the past year + (nothing too serious) and still have maintained a good percent of my old max.

[Jose Cabrera]

Holds worked very well for me,  i agree with Carl in regards to how the strength with hub work stays. Havent trained it in forever but the strength hasn't budged. Play around see what works

[James Fuller]

If you ever do some Hub Lifting using a Deep Dish plate, I've got a technique that may help.

[Hubgeezer]

My input is only concerning the IronMind Hub. Got my first one May, 1999. Could get 32 pounds on it at that time. Worked up to 65 pounds around 2002. Got to 70 pounds in 2005. Eventually more than that over an 8 or 9 year period.

What I did early on was very different than what I did later.

Never did holds. Always did high pulls, If the bottom of the pin was not well past my knee, I didn't consider it a rep. Never changed that style. For me, it was nothing like a deadlift, but a jerking high pull activity.

Early on, I believed in high reps. Part of that was to toughen the fingers, get those fingers used to the fingernails being squeezed so hard they are penetrating the skin, at times even bleeding (not oozing blood, just up to that point). Can't say I have had that sensation in well over 12 years, even when taking a year or two vacation from the Hub. That work was done early on to, as I said, to toughen the fingers. So I would get to a weight and keep trying to lift it over and over and over again until it went up, or started regressing. That is not something I do any more, that was when I was just building up. So I would do 4, 5 reps at one weight, then add 2 1/2 pounds, or 5 pounds, and do it again. Lots of reps. Probably did that for a year. Used to do it two times a week.

Once I became "experienced"? Just once a week. Might do 3 reps at light weights, 40 pounds, 45 pounds, then go to doubles, then go to singles. About 10-14 reps each hand total, including failed attempts. That would be plenty for me. After a nine month layoff, I started a month ago. There is a Hub competition in San Jose in May. I don't want to embarrass myself again by getting beat (which I was in 2015 pulling a paltry 59 1/2) as I was 10-0 in contests using the "claw" method (including beating Mike Burke in 2013) prior to that competition.

I think that once you advance to heavier weights, it's hard for the fingers to recover and hard to work it more often than once a week. It could be "age" on my part, but I suspect it is the heavier weights. If you are doing 40 pounds for reps it is much less stress on the fingers than 60 or 65 pound singles.

My approach is self-taught. Never listened to anyone else on the subject. Wasn't interested in listening to anyone. Why? Because no one cared about the IronMind Hub until the "Crushed to Dust!" thing started and they changed the texture to a "crinkled" one instead of a smooth one. Since then, there are lots of great hubsters. Have no idea why I seem to be the only one on the planet that can do more on the "old" does-not-hold-a-speck-of-chalk version than on the popular newer version.

My biggest respect goes to the guys that do "real" hubs, with shallow plates. I never was any good at those.

Hope this was helpful and not just rambling...

[bencrush]

45 minutes ago, Hubgeezer said:

My input is only concerning the IronMind Hub. Got my first one May, 1999. Could get 32 pounds on it at that time. Worked up to 65 pounds around 2002. Got to 70 pounds in 2005. Eventually more than that over an 8 or 9 year period.

What I did early on was very different than what I did later.

Never did holds. Always did high pulls, If the bottom of the pin was not well past my knee, I didn't consider it a rep. Never changed that style. For me, it was nothing like a deadlift, but a jerking high pull activity.

Early on, I believed in high reps. Part of that was to toughen the fingers, get those fingers used to the fingernails being squeezed so hard they are penetrating the skin, at times even bleeding (not oozing blood, just up to that point). Can't say I have had that sensation in well over 12 years, even when taking a year or two vacation from the Hub. That work was done early on to, as I said, to toughen the fingers. So I would get to a weight and keep trying to lift it over and over and over again until it went up, or started regressing. That is not something I do any more, that was when I was just building up. So I would do 4, 5 reps at one weight, then add 2 1/2 pounds, or 5 pounds, and do it again. Lots of reps. Probably did that for a year. Used to do it two times a week.

Once I became "experienced"? Just once a week. Might do 3 reps at light weights, 40 pounds, 45 pounds, then go to doubles, then go to singles. About 10-14 reps each hand total, including failed attempts. That would be plenty for me. After a nine month layoff, I started a month ago. There is a Hub competition in San Jose in May. I don't want to embarrass myself again by getting beat (which I was in 2015 pulling a paltry 59 1/2) as I was 10-0 in contests using the "claw" method (including beating Mike Burke in 2013) prior to that competition.

I think that once you advance to heavier weights, it's hard for the fingers to recover and hard to work it more often than once a week. It could be "age" on my part, but I suspect it is the heavier weights. If you are doing 40 pounds for reps it is much less stress on the fingers than 60 or 65 pound singles.

My approach is self-taught. Never listened to anyone else on the subject. Wasn't interested in listening to anyone. Why? Because no one cared about the IronMind Hub until the "Crushed to Dust!" thing started and they changed the texture to a "crinkled" one instead of a smooth one. Since then, there are lots of great hubsters. Have no idea why I seem to be the only one on the planet that can do more on the "old" does-not-hold-a-speck-of-chalk version than on the popular newer version.

My biggest respect goes to the guys that do "real" hubs, with shallow plates. I never was any good at those.

Hope this was helpful and not just rambling...

This was like a master class on the IronMind Hub!  I am seriously thinking about asking for one for my birthday after reading this.  Thanks, Mike! 

[DoctorOfCrush]

No absolutely it was

35 minutes ago, Hubgeezer said:

Hope this was helpful and not just rambling...

No not at all!  It shows that, much like grippers, my attack now is going to differ from my approach as I get more experienced, and necessarily so.  I think that I might just have to experiment with a few things such as alternating max and dynamic days. When you did reps, did you reset, just take a breath and go, or tap and go? 

 

On March 27, 2016 at 5:49 PM, Buccos1 said:

With the Hub, I found the less I did, the more I progressed.  One session every 4-5 days, and minimal reps-per-set.  Minimal overall volume too.  I always tried to hit the next number up.  There were a lot of failed attempts, but, ultimately, a PR.  That was the mindset: all-out and it will fall (or rise!).  

I have tried holds and different variations-none of which did much for me.  Once the pinching base is set (at least for the Hub), it's always there.  I've messed around with it the past year + (nothing too serious) and still have maintained a good percent of my old max.

Did you have a set number of failures you would give yourself in any workout?  Did you ever drop back down and just hit quality singles at the last successful weight? 

[Hubgeezer]

Doctor, I think I always reset, no wait, just re-gripped.

 

 I would fail as many as 8, 9 , 10 times.I would drop down just so I finished with a win. A few reps at most.

 

As a result of this, the repeated failures, I somehow actually believed that I learned how to tap into adrenaline. I am sure that is impossible, but I really believed I was doing it. It only worked that way when I would get all lathered up with the failures, going into a real zone of concentration and focus. Dr. Strossen, when I explained it to him, had some name for it I had never heard of, and said "it can be quite powerful". Whatever it was, wish I could do that with grippers or the Axle. Managed to get there doing one inch vertical bar years ago.

[Buccos1]

11 hours ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

Did you have a set number of failures you would give yourself in any workout?  Did you ever drop back down and just hit quality singles at the last successful weight? 

Typically, I'd go until my fingers were bleeding, or at least with the repeated loss of skin.  (This was in such instances that I would miss my top attempt on a given day.)  I would get so mad, that I would keep hitting the weight, with longer intervals between, to recover as much as I could.  

There were no set number of failures, but if I thought I was getting too messed-up, I'd call it a day with the Hub, and move onto something else.  With other lifts, I am much more careful to not "get in my head," with misses and such.  But, with the Hub, it really didn't seem to matter.  I guess thinking that I wasn't dealing with hundreds of pounds, I didn't approach it like some of the power lifts.  I just had an "attack mentality" with it.  

Another thing with the Hub:  When I first started out, I used a weird technique, in that I would "bombard" it, all-in-one-motion.  I would set the handle with my off-hand, and then, in one-motion, drop down and grip, then pull.  I think I was able to get up to around 65lbs. this way, but started really messing my fingers up over time.  Then I ended up switching to the "claw style," which was a lot less taxing on the fingers/hands.

 

[Hubgeezer]

24 minutes ago, Buccos1 said:

Typically, I'd go until my fingers were bleeding, or at least with the repeated loss of skin.  (This was in such instances that I would miss my top attempt on a given day.)  I would get so mad, that I would keep hitting the weight, with longer intervals between, to recover as much as I could.  

There were no set number of failures, but if I thought I was getting too messed-up, I'd call it a day with the Hub, and move onto something else.  With other liftsam much more careful to not "get in my head," with misses and such.  But, with the Hub, it really didn't seem to matter.  I guess thinking that I wasn't dealing with hundreds of pounds, I didn't approach it like some of the power lifts.  I just had an "attack mentality" with it.  

Another thing with the Hub:  When I first started out, I used a weird technique, in that I would "bombard" it, all-in-one-motion.  I would set the handle with my off-hand, and then, in one-motion, drop down and grip, then pull.  I think I was able to get up to around 65lbs. this way, but started really messing my fingers up over time.  Then I ended up switching to the "claw style," which was a lot less taxing on the fingers/hands.

 

It's kinda weird...this looks like something I could have written, especially the "attack mentality" being unique to this implement. The setting with the off hand, something I have never mentioned or spoke of, absolutely, yes, same thing for me...

[DoctorOfCrush]

Thank you guys so much for all of the input. I really hope I can get into the attack mentality you guys have mentioned because I've always been a huge headcase with the larger compound movements. 

This is more of a technique question, but when you guys lift what I call 'old school' style (i.e. not claw), do you use your finger pads or finger tips?  I'm thinking that I would like to try getting good at both the old school style and claw, maybe even in the same workouts like working up to a heavy single with old school then pushing past that with claw.