matek's training log

[matek]

DU 

1" singles
- CRS 9/32" x 7" (warmup)
- CRS HEX 7mm x 6"
- Stainless bolt 5/16" x 6" 
1 hit, felt great. 
- DR SK95 7.6mm (~"N") x 7" 
- C45 7mm x 6"

1.3" singles 
- CRS 5/16" x 6.5" (warmup)
- 35CrMo-A 5/16" x 7"
Last time this took me almost 5 mins because I did it too late into the workout. This time, only one, looong hit. I'm quite satisfied with this. 
- CRS SQUARE 7mm x 7" 
- 304H increased carbon stainless 5/16" x 7" 
I hate this material so much words can't describe . Normal 304, 316, 303, I really like actually but this is straight from hell. Phil and Alex know my pain. 
- CRS 21/64" x 7"

1.7" doubles
- Triangle G5 "Edgin" 5/16" x 7" - took me about 10 mins with a rewrap
I don't like bending in doubles recently because I messed up my wrists too many times using doubles (never in singles). But today I felt strong in singles, so I gave it a shot. I couldn't do it in 5 mins, but that's ok. I should've recorded this but I was like "I won't get it anyway". Wrist were ok after, but no more doubles today, I already felt like I was pushing my luck with this fight. 

 

[matek]

DU

1" singles 
- CRS 9/32" x 7" (warmup)
- CRS HEX 7mm x 6"
- CRS 5/16" x 7" 
Milestone; this is the first time I've done this in these wraps. Took me multiple hits, but it's ok. 50 degrees.
- DR SK95 7.6mm (~"N") x 7" 
- C45 7mm x 6"

1.3" singles 
- CRS 5/16" x 7" (warmup)
- 35CrMo-A 5/16" x 7"
- CRS 21/64" x 6.5"

1.6" doubles 
Thinner than my usual doubles, but wider.
- CRS HEX 5/16" x 7" (not FBBC, harder stock)
- CRS 9mm x 7"
46 degrees. I could have bend it further, but I started to feel my left wrist after the second hit, so I stopped there. 

I think I'm peaking now, regardless of wrap thickness. This intensive DU cycle is paying off. I should give the 8.8 cert a shot soon.

Merry Christmas everybody!

 

[Blacksmith513]

1 hour ago, matek said:

DU

1" singles 
- CRS 9/32" x 7" (warmup)
- CRS HEX 7mm x 6"
- CRS 5/16" x 7" 
Milestone; this is the first time I've done this in these wraps. Took me multiple hits, but it's ok. 50 degrees.
- DR SK95 7.6mm (~"N") x 7" 
- C45 7mm x 6"

1.3" singles 
- CRS 5/16" x 7" (warmup)
- 35CrMo-A 5/16" x 7"
- CRS 21/64" x 6.5"

1.6" doubles 
Thinner than my usual doubles, but wider.
- CRS HEX 5/16" x 7" (not FBBC, harder stock)
- CRS 9mm x 7"
46 degrees. I could have bend it further, but I started to feel my left wrist after the second hit, so I stopped there. 

I think I'm peaking now, regardless of wrap thickness. This intensive DU cycle is paying off. I should give the 8.8 cert a shot soon.

Merry Christmas everybody!

 

Merry Xmas to you.

 

Congrats on that milestone. Good luck on the cert.

[matek]

44 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said:

Merry Xmas to you.

 

Congrats on that milestone. Good luck on the cert.

Thanks a lot, Joe!

[matek]

Short, but very tiring "workout"

- DU (doubles)Horrido Class 8.8 "OF" bolt 5/16" x 7" - timeout
This is the first time I could do this. But unfortunately, I managed to bend it to only 34 degrees within 5 mins. After that, I rewrapped and finished it in one hit to 45 degrees. It's a fail, but a sweet fail. It bleeds. It bleeds heavily. 
My left wrist hurts now (as expected..),but if it recovers soon, I will destroy this bolt for the cert. 

For fun, here is a picture of my 8.8 failures (I keep these as a reminder):

 

[Blacksmith513]

2 hours ago, matek said:

Short, but very tiring "workout"

- DU (doubles)Horrido Class 8.8 "OF" bolt 5/16" x 7" - timeout
This is the first time I could do this. But unfortunately, I managed to bend it to only 34 degrees within 5 mins. After that, I rewrapped and finished it in one hit to 45 degrees. It's a fail, but a sweet fail. It bleeds. It bleeds heavily. 
My left wrist hurts now (as expected..),but if it recovers soon, I will destroy this bolt for the cert. 

For fun, here is a picture of my 8.8 failures (I keep these as a reminder):

 

None of those are failures... You got stronger each attempt. 

[Viking]

On 12/27/2023 at 2:28 AM, matek said:

- DU (doubles)Horrido Class 8.8 "OF" bolt 5/16" x 7" - timeout

8.8 is going down. It's in your grasp now you know what it takes! Looking forward to it!

[matek]

I'm back. I just had a month break from every kind of training. 

I will shift my focus from DU bending toward general training (in a commercial gym), but I'll have one or two grip days per week (bending included). Also I'm excited to get back to gripper training, because that was the main reason I started training anything grip-related. 

So today was just a "recap" session, I just did what I felt doing. 

- 3x1 IM CoC #3 (unrated) MMS RH 
- 3x1 IM CoC #3 (unrated) choked to 27mm LH 
Around ~150 RGC, I'm still ok for MMS. It's ok, hopefully I will get back to the ~160 range soon. 

- 2x LH front reverse bending 1" wraps CRS 9/32" x 7" 
- LH front reverse bending 1" wraps CRS 9/32" x 6.7"
- DU bending 1" wraps CRS 9/32" x 6.7"
- DU bending 1" wraps CRS HEX 7mm x 7"
- DU bending 1" wraps Grade 8 bolt 1/4" x 6" (490lb batch from Devin)
- Heslep bending 1" wraps CRS 1/4" x 7"
Both reverse and DU were ok. I tore the skin of my left pinky, but this was expected in these wraps after the break.  

- 1x5 KWN40 blob RH
- 1x7 KWN40 blob RH
- 2x1 KWN50 blob RH
When I trained blobs regularly, I still didn't get the 50lb one all the time. Then I don't train pinch for a few months and I lift it no problem. I don't get grip, man. 

- 3x3 15kg/33lb plate curl RH
- 3x3 15kg/33lb plate curl LH

[Blacksmith513]

8 minutes ago, matek said:

I'm back. I just had a month break from every kind of training. 

I will shift my focus from DU bending toward general training (in a commercial gym), but I'll have one or two grip days per week (bending included). Also I'm excited to get back to gripper training, because that was the main reason I started training anything grip-related. 

So today was just a "recap" session, I just did what I felt doing. 

- 3x1 IM CoC #3 (unrated) MMS RH 
- 3x1 IM CoC #3 (unrated) choked to 27mm LH 
Around ~150 RGC, I'm still ok for MMS. It's ok, hopefully I will get back to the ~160 range soon. 

- 2x LH front reverse bending 1" wraps CRS 9/32" x 7" 
- LH front reverse bending 1" wraps CRS 9/32" x 6.7"
- DU bending 1" wraps CRS 9/32" x 6.7"
- DU bending 1" wraps CRS HEX 7mm x 7"
- DU bending 1" wraps Grade 8 bolt 1/4" x 6" (490lb batch from Devin)
- Heslep bending 1" wraps CRS 1/4" x 7"
Both reverse and DU were ok. I tore the skin of my left pinky, but this was expected in these wraps after the break.  

- 1x5 KWN40 blob RH
- 1x7 KWN40 blob RH
- 2x1 KWN50 blob RH
When I trained blobs regularly, I still didn't get the 50lb one all the time. Then I don't train pinch for a few months and I lift it no problem. I don't get grip, man. 

- 3x3 15kg/33lb plate curl RH
- 3x3 15kg/33lb plate curl LH

Glad your back and hopefully fully rested.

 

Grip doesn't make sense, thats for certain.

Thats a strong plate curl. I just started... I can do the 20lbs plate with my left, but not my right... I really like how this hits the wrists, fingers, thumb and bicep.   But i'm starting light with this one... 

 

Edited February 2 by Blacksmith513

[matek]

5 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said:

Glad your back and hopefully fully rested.

 

Grip doesn't make sense, thats for certain.

Thats a strong plate curl. I just started... I can do the 20lbs plate with my left, but not my right... I really like how this hits the wrists, fingers, thumb and bicep.   But i'm starting light with this one... 

 

Thanks Joe!

Yeah if you do it strict, it's a killer exercise. And it gets hard super fast, it's very deceptive if you've never tried it. 

[Blacksmith513]

2 minutes ago, matek said:

Thanks Joe!

Yeah if you do it strict, it's a killer exercise. And it gets hard super fast, it's very deceptive if you've never tried it. 

Yup, my left wrist doesn't seem to have a problem.. My right hand wants to bend back.

But the plan is to keep it super strict... The weight will go up in time. 

[matek]

Grippers - RH
I've decided to do something similar to what I did when I was at my strongest with grippers.

- 4x3 Standard Adjustable W set to RGC~130, 20mm block set, 3-sec hold on last rep
- 3x1 Filed handled Standard Adjustable Ti set to RGC~135, 30mm block set
+ I set my unrated GHP #8 twice to parallel (didn't even attempt to crush, just set practice)

Wrist Developer 2 in IMPs - LH front 
Long time since I used the WD2...
CROM spring
- 1x14 Level 9 (2-2)
- 1x5 Level 11 (3-2)
- 1x2 Level 12 (3-3)
- 1x20 Level 10 (2-3)

 

 

[matek]

Inch trainer - LH 
- 1x3 58.3kg/128.5lb level lift (part of the warmup)
- 2x1 60.8kg/134lb level lift, 2 sec hold on top 
- 2x1 63.7kg/140.4lb level lift 
- 1x1 63.7kg/140.4lb slight tilt lift 
- 1x1 63.7kg/140.4lb tilt lift 

Blobs - RH 
- 1x4 KWN40 (21.5kg/47.4lb) lift (part of the warmup)
- 3x1 KWN50 (50.5lb/22.9kg) lift
- 3x2 KWN50 (50.5lb/22.9kg) assisted lift

DU bending 
1" single wraps 
- CRS 9/32" x 7" (part of the warmup)
- C45 7mm x 7" 
- DR SK95 7.6mm (~'N') x 7" 

1.3" single wraps
- CRS 5/16" x 6.7"  (part of the warmup)
- CRS 21/64" x 6.5" 
- CRS SQUARE 7mm x 6.7"

Order was all over the place. 

 

[Londonjoseph]

Sicknasty!

[Blacksmith513]

58 minutes ago, matek said:

Inch trainer - LH 
- 1x3 58.3kg/128.5lb level lift (part of the warmup)
- 2x1 60.8kg/134lb level lift, 2 sec hold on top 
- 2x1 63.7kg/140.4lb level lift 
- 1x1 63.7kg/140.4lb slight tilt lift 
- 1x1 63.7kg/140.4lb tilt lift 

Blobs - RH 
- 1x4 KWN40 (21.5kg/47.4lb) lift (part of the warmup)
- 3x1 KWN50 (50.5lb/22.9kg) lift
- 3x2 KWN50 (50.5lb/22.9kg) assisted lift

DU bending 
1" single wraps 
- CRS 9/32" x 7" (part of the warmup)
- C45 7mm x 7" 
- DR SK95 7.6mm (~'N') x 7" 

1.3" single wraps
- CRS 5/16" x 6.7"  (part of the warmup)
- CRS 21/64" x 6.5" 
- CRS SQUARE 7mm x 6.7"

Order was all over the place. 

 

Now thats a session right there. Great job man

 

Do you find with the Blob it takes you longer in between sets? My blobtop takes longer than any other lift i do I think.  The weird part say i'm stuck at 18lbs.... If I load it to 20lbs and do a few negs or bounce it, chalk my hands up, rub them fast and clap.. 18lbs goes up like nothing.. Then i might get stuck again a set or two later and i gotta do the same.  Then theres times I blow through my sets and times that sucker aint moving.  

 

Blobbing is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.

 

 

[matek]

12 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said:

Now thats a session right there. Great job man

 

Do you find with the Blob it takes you longer in between sets? My blobtop takes longer than any other lift i do I think.  The weird part say i'm stuck at 18lbs.... If I load it to 20lbs and do a few negs or bounce it, chalk my hands up, rub them fast and clap.. 18lbs goes up like nothing.. Then i might get stuck again a set or two later and i gotta do the same.  Then theres times I blow through my sets and times that sucker aint moving.  

 

Blobbing is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.

 

 

It definitely helped that I did several different things so the rest periods were naturally longer. So yes, I perform better if I have like 5-6 mins rests between sets. This sounds like a lot of rest but if you do other stuff during the rest periods, you won't even notice. 
I mentioned this in the past, but another thing is that blobs are so light (compared to a deadlift, etc.) that it's hard to take them "seriously". In my head, I know that it's going to be hard, but I really have to concentrate to let me body know that *ok here we go this is a serous lift*. Maybe this is individual and other don't have this, I don't know. 
Also, for me, it's similar to the WD2 in a sense that if I overload first (going heavier), I perform much better on lighter stuff than I would without overloading first. This helps with grippers as well, but I noticed a big difference with blobs. It doesn't really work that well for thick bar, at least for me. This is another reason why I want the KWN55 btw.

And I'm still figuring out how much chalk I should use. Too much is obviously a bad idea, but sometimes I know I had to do the lift assisted because I didn't apply enough chalk on my fingertips. 
I also mentioned this before, but super-fine chalk is bad for blobbing, especially if you use a lot. It "fills" my fingerprint and makes it smooth. Same with blobs btw because those have a texture as well (except special alloy blobs, like the Heller blob). Friction Lab's Unicorn dust felt like baby powder (=slippery) to me for blobs. Btw I have relatively sweaty hands, maybe that's a factor as well. 

[Blacksmith513]

15 minutes ago, matek said:

It definitely helped that I did several different things so the rest periods were naturally longer. So yes, I perform better if I have like 5-6 mins rests between sets. This sounds like a lot of rest but if you do other stuff during the rest periods, you won't even notice. 
I mentioned this in the past, but another thing is that blobs are so light (compared to a deadlift, etc.) that it's hard to take them "seriously". In my head, I know that it's going to be hard, but I really have to concentrate to let me body know that *ok here we go this is a serous lift*. Maybe this is individual and other don't have this, I don't know. 
Also, for me, it's similar to the WD2 in a sense that if I overload first (going heavier), I perform much better on lighter stuff than I would without overloading first. This helps with grippers as well, but I noticed a big difference with blobs. It doesn't really work that well for thick bar, at least for me. This is another reason why I want the KWN55 btw.

And I'm still figuring out how much chalk I should use. Too much is obviously a bad idea, but sometimes I know I had to do the lift assisted because I didn't apply enough chalk on my fingertips. 
I also mentioned this before, but super-fine chalk is bad for blobbing, especially if you use a lot. It "fills" my fingerprint and makes it smooth. Same with blobs btw because those have a texture as well (except special alloy blobs, like the Heller blob). Friction Lab's Unicorn dust felt like baby powder (=slippery) to me for blobs. Btw I have relatively sweaty hands, maybe that's a factor as well. 

Definitely, it’s hard to take serious when I’m only lifting (right now especially) 17-20lbs.

The cool thing about the blobtop and other Loadable blobs is since it’s on a pin I can use my other hand and grab the underside of the bloptop and really smoosh it into my lifting hand.

 

Yoi definitely don’t want too much chalk. Getting the proper amount, really rubbing your hands together fast and clapping a couple times makes my hands tacky and I’m good to go. There’s so much technique.

Same goes for the wrist developer like you said. Which by the way now that I’m not bending over levering im going to catch up to you. 

 

 

[matek]

3 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said:

The cool thing about the blobtop and other Loadable blobs is since it’s on a pin I can use my other hand and grab the underside of the bloptop and really smoosh it into my lifting hand

Have you tried assisting the lift by touching the blob(top)'s side? So not the under the implement. In my experience, it's better for progression. 

5 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said:

Yoi definitely don’t want too much chalk. Getting the proper amount, really rubbing your hands together fast and clapping a couple times makes my hands tacky and I’m good to go. There’s so much technique.

I know.. and sometimes it's like "huh I lifted it? why, suddenly? I was sh|t in the previous set"

8 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said:

Same goes for the wrist developer like you said. Which by the way now that I’m not bending over levering im going to catch up to you. 

Come at me 

[Blacksmith513]

7 hours ago, matek said:

Have you tried assisting the lift by touching the blob(top)'s side? So not the under the implement. In my experience, it's better for progression. 

I know.. and sometimes it's like "huh I lifted it? why, suddenly? I was sh|t in the previous set"

Come at me 

No I haven't, you mean for like doing negs? Or keep assisted the whole time..

Exactly and you want to try and recreate that feeling every lift.  Thats why challenging and pushing yourself is important every week.. If you get used to the weight  or that sure your gonna lift it, your going to get relaxed and not get in that mindset... 

I'll see what I can do.. Don't worry it will be a long while.

[matek]

3 hours ago, Blacksmith513 said:

No I haven't, you mean for like doing negs? Or keep assisted the whole time..

Doesn't matter. You can do the lift part assisted on the side, and the negative part unassisted. 
But the idea is that even if you don't want to, it's easy to assist too much if you're touching the bottom of the blob. 

I was surprised how much it helps to touch/hold one of the sides (with just one finger). That's when I realized my main problem is the sideways "rotation". I'm trying to lift the blob in a straight line to minimize this, but it takes a lot of practice.

My wife told me I'm lifting the blob with my arm and back too much, and she think I should lock my arm and do all the work with my legs. Maybe she is right, because this would help keeping it in a straight line. Anyways, just thinking aloud

Edited February 9 by matek

[Blacksmith513]

2 minutes ago, matek said:

Doesn't matter. You can do the lift part assisted on the side, and the negative part unassisted. 
But the idea is that even if you don't want to, it's easy to assist too much if you're touching the bottom of the blob. 

I was surprised how much it helps to touch/hold one of the sides (with just one finger). That's when I realized my main problem is the sideways "rotation". I'm trying to lift the blob in a straight line to minimize this, but it takes a lot of practice.

My wife told me I'm lifting the blob with my arm and back too much, and she think I should lock my arm and do all the work with my legs. Maybe she is right, because this would help keeping it in a straight line. Anyways, just thinking aloud

I've never really done an assisted lifted but makes sense. Definitely less assistance with touching on the side.

 

Your wife is right I believe. I think and finding out you literally want to just grip the implement in the most efficient way and lift with your legs.

[matek]

Forearm/wrist recovery

- 3x45 wrist curls, black band
- 3x40 reverse wrist curls, purple bad

- 3x2 ulnar deviation rolls with the Twist yo Wrist replica, 10kg/22lb
- 3x2 radial deviation rolls with the Twist yo Wrist replica, 10kg/22lb

- 4x15 chained pronation handle, 16kg/35.3lb, both hands 

And the obese Nessie after:

[Blacksmith513]

2 minutes ago, matek said:

Forearm/wrist recovery

- 3x45 wrist curls, black band
- 3x40 reverse wrist curls, purple bad

- 3x2 ulnar deviation rolls with the Twist yo Wrist replica, 10kg/22lb
- 3x2 radial deviation rolls with the Twist yo Wrist replica, 10kg/22lb

- 4x15 chained pronation handle, 16kg/35.3lb, both hands 

And the obese Nessie after:

looking huge... Did you bulk up some more over the winter?

[matek]

Just now, Blacksmith513 said:

looking huge... Did you bulk up some more over the winter?

Thanks!
No, but while I wasn't training for a month, my protein intake was as usual, so I don't think I lost muscle. 
I gained ~4 lbs during the holidays, but now I'm the same weight I was before the break. 

[Blacksmith513]

7 minutes ago, matek said:

Thanks!
No, but while I wasn't training for a month, my protein intake was as usual, so I don't think I lost muscle. 
I gained ~4 lbs during the holidays, but now I'm the same weight I was before the break. 

Crazy, between that pic and your vid with the WD yesterday... You look like you put on even more muscle...