nArKeD Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 I had given up all hope of getting it this week and then the postal lady knocked at my door. She's an elderly woman and complained that the box was too heavy for her to lift. My spirits were instantly lifted. I ran barefoot in the rain to her truck (not entirely clothed as well) and success. A box from FBBC. This box only contained my adjustable pinch block and squeezers (collars), I will add a thick handled dumbbell review (I got a full set :naughty:) to this thread after I get those (he said his welder had fallen behind). Oh... it also had my t-shirt Well first thing you'll realize about the adjustable pinch block is just how cool it is. I mean... you don't need any other weight other than the loading pin/bucket and maybe a few coins when you get to super-wide pinch gripping (as in training for the blob). I couldn't even break it off the ground with all 14 extra plates attatched (5.5" wide). Curious, I took it over to my scale. Holy ****, the thing tipped the scale at over 40 pounds. It's kind of slick, but that can be remedied by the chalk in my stocking come Xmas or some athletic tape. This thing is awesome for pinch workouts. It's good for every type of pinching from 1/4" to 5.5" (in my case). A definite plus is the incremental resistance brought on by such a product. I can add stuff to my bucket oz's at a time. This is going to be my tool of choice from now on, come maximal strength days. There's been a lot of promoting block weights on this forum as of late, and I definetely agree that block weights are an outstanding tool for improving hand strength. But, not when it comes to maximal strength training. For one, the jumps in resistance are pretty high, and the weights are expensive. Secondly, to lift more you have to widen your grip. Thus you aren't strengthening your pinch grip in the entire ROM. I love the block weights for explosive exercises and certain endurance exercises, but to progress in max. strength they aren't my favorite by a long shot. This thing is built to last. You don't have to worry of any "wear and tear" whatsoever. I also had a great experience w/ John. Everything met my expectations despite the limited descriptions/pictures on the webpage. He was always available by e-mail and is a really upstanding guy who isn't going to screw you on shipping (damn near 100 lbs in total for 60 bucks shipping over half the country away). It took me under a minute to change the width of the block, so it's pretty quick in adjusting. That's the good, now here's the bad. It's pretty expensive. It'll cost you 70 or 80 bucks for the whole shebang (w/ extra plates) once it reaches your door. If you're really tight on money you'd probably be better off making a bunch of different sized pinch blocks from wood (that's a whole lotta pinch blocks for the same kind of adjustability). And if you're like me, you have too much junk already to be able to justify so much useful clutter (what with the softball, baseball, grippers, and raw iron aleady occupying a large portion of the garage) . I wrote this primarily because I didn't see a lot of FBBC feedback on the forums already. Hope I don't upset anyone or sound like a vacuum salesman. Oh and the T-Shirt is pretty nice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAMMERHEAD Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Thanks for the review! -HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nArKeD Posted December 14, 2003 Author Share Posted December 14, 2003 The bolts that come with it are only good for 13 extra plates though. That's not a big deal for me as I can't even fit my entire hand on w/ 13 extra plates. You could buy some longer screws/bolts if you wanted it wider. Although I don't see that being an issue (I wasn't able to secure it w/ the nuts when I attempted the lift the extra 1 plate but I was balsy enough to give it a go). Time to go look at the blob dimensions and some HGH (to grow my hands of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 70 or 80 bucks for all that steel plus a little bit of machine work isn't bad at all. Truly an 'original'idea by a new company.i haven't bought anythin in a long time but this piece has peaked my interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinslater Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Doesnt seem unreasonable to me at all. Im looking forward to getting one. John makes some awesome products. Austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nArKeD Posted December 14, 2003 Author Share Posted December 14, 2003 I just discovered an easy way to widen it up without adding the major weight. Go down to the hardware store and buy some more nuts for the screw. Those will allow you to widen it up without making the thing so damn heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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