Does Fat Bar Work?

[AdriaanRobert96]

So let me reiterate this a little bit and catch myself..

What I am asking for is those of you that has been doing fat bar and or fat gripz blue or red for a prolonged period of time and seen significant forearm size increase and or strength.

Exercise could be anything from deadlifts, curls, pull ups etc..

Anything that you’ve managed to track for a prolonged time.

Only thing I’ve done was building myself up to 12 reps per set on Fat Gripz Extreme pull ups and I’ve gotten comments on my increase in mass on my forearms..

I couldn’t even do 12 reps on the bar to begin with so building up to 12 reps per set with the Fat Gripz Extreme was a big step.

I wasn’t doing any grippers back then but I have not seen or noticed any carry over to other grip lifts at all..

Again, I wasn’t doing grippers or anything else besides pinching back then so I can’t really tell.

That’s why I’d like to hear your experiences with it over a prolonged period of time.

Thanks!

[Rob McMurren]

Ive been doing daily  deadlifts with 220 pounds on a 2.5" axle for the past year.  

All reps are done without warmup, usually sets of 3, 5 or 10.  I try to get at least 10 per day.  I'm currently at 3200 reps since last april.  Every rep done outside as well.  ( i live in Canada)

On top of this i am still hittinf 1-2 dedicated grip sessions per week. 

Observations

I have gotten leaner during the past year.  My bodyweight at the start was 217-220, now im in the 211-214 range consistently without a diet change.  

My forarms have added size, (i didnt do a measurement before I started)

My thick bar strenght has gone up significantly.

 napalm nightmare numbers are up on both the 2-3/8" and the 2 " handle.  

I pulled 200 on the rolling thunder for the first time 

Have consistently lifted the inch on multiple occasions int he past month wioth each hand, (something I had onbly done a couple times left handed 2 years ago)

Traditionally i have had back isssues, but this year has been the best my lower back has felt in years. 

Mu pinch decresed at first, as I had not been focussing on it.  It is coming back now.  

I have not had any signioficant elbow issues either, which is usually my nemesis with too much thick bar

 

 

 

[AdriaanRobert96]

41 minutes ago, Rob McMurren said:

Ive been doing daily  deadlifts with 220 pounds on a 2.5" axle for the past year.  

All reps are done without warmup, usually sets of 3, 5 or 10.  I try to get at least 10 per day.  I'm currently at 3200 reps since last april.  Every rep done outside as well.  ( i live in Canada)

On top of this i am still hittinf 1-2 dedicated grip sessions per week. 

Observations

I have gotten leaner during the past year.  My bodyweight at the start was 217-220, now im in the 211-214 range consistently without a diet change.  

My forarms have added size, (i didnt do a measurement before I started)

My thick bar strenght has gone up significantly.

 napalm nightmare numbers are up on both the 2-3/8" and the 2 " handle.  

I pulled 200 on the rolling thunder for the first time 

Have consistently lifted the inch on multiple occasions int he past month wioth each hand, (something I had onbly done a couple times left handed 2 years ago)

Traditionally i have had back isssues, but this year has been the best my lower back has felt in years. 

Mu pinch decresed at first, as I had not been focussing on it.  It is coming back now.  

I have not had any signioficant elbow issues either, which is usually my nemesis with too much thick bar

 

 

 

Oh wow man that’s very impressive progress and dedication without a doubt!

First of all I am glad your back is doing better, it’s not fun dealing with that when loving to workout:/

Second I’d say even more so impressive that you pulled 200 on the rolling thunder, that’s massive strength right there

So fat bar seems to obviously add mass but even strength, more so to other thick implements.. I have yet to see if it carries over to other grip lifts or grippers.

Thank you for sharing!

[dubyagrip]

Thick bar has minimal carryover to other grip specific lifts like pinch or grippers.  I find that thick bars interfere with my recovery from grippers.  If I am training any open crush lift, I can only train it and grippers once a week due to the recovery demands.  I go to failure in both, so I might be an outlier.

Training thick bars will make you better at thick bar lifts. That's it.

[dean_redzic]

10 hours ago, Rob McMurren said:

Ive been doing daily  deadlifts with 220 pounds on a 2.5" axle for the past year.  

All reps are done without warmup, usually sets of 3, 5 or 10.  I try to get at least 10 per day.  I'm currently at 3200 reps since last april.  Every rep done outside as well.  ( i live in Canada)

On top of this i am still hittinf 1-2 dedicated grip sessions per week. 

Observations

I have gotten leaner during the past year.  My bodyweight at the start was 217-220, now im in the 211-214 range consistently without a diet change.  

My forarms have added size, (i didnt do a measurement before I started)

My thick bar strenght has gone up significantly.

 napalm nightmare numbers are up on both the 2-3/8" and the 2 " handle.  

I pulled 200 on the rolling thunder for the first time 

Have consistently lifted the inch on multiple occasions int he past month wioth each hand, (something I had onbly done a couple times left handed 2 years ago)

Traditionally i have had back isssues, but this year has been the best my lower back has felt in years. 

Mu pinch decresed at first, as I had not been focussing on it.  It is coming back now.  

I have not had any signioficant elbow issues either, which is usually my nemesis with too much thick bar

 

 

 

What percentage of your 1RM is a 220lb axle? 

What was your rolling thunder before training like this?

 

Thanks 

[John Knowlton]

Fat bar training is fun and different. It will help you get stronger 

[Stephen Ruby]

I've had excellent results using my manus grips for thick bar training, leading to significant gains in forearm size and strength. However, as Jaland has pointed out, thick bar training can be particularly taxing on the grip. To ensure a well-balanced grip, I like to train all areas including pinch, thick bar, crush, and wrist. While this approach may lead to slower gains across the board, it can be beneficial for overall grip strength.

 

In terms of specializing your training program, while there may be stigma around programs like Smolov, I have personally seen significant gains on specific lifts by dedicating myself to the program. For example, I have run the Smolov squat program three times and the Smolov Jr. bench program twice, with impressive results(I was much younger though and could focus my life more around training). Of course, it's important to note that this approach may not be suitable for everyone and injury prevention should always be a priority. 

 

[dubyagrip]

25 minutes ago, Stephen Ruby said:

I've had excellent results using my manus grips for thick bar training, leading to significant gains in forearm size and strength. However, as Jaland has pointed out, thick bar training can be particularly taxing on the grip. To ensure a well-balanced grip, I like to train all areas including pinch, thick bar, crush, and wrist. While this approach may lead to slower gains across the board, it can be beneficial for overall grip strength.

 

In terms of specializing your training program, while there may be stigma around programs like Smolov, I have personally seen significant gains on specific lifts by dedicating myself to the program. For example, I have run the Smolov squat program three times and the Smolov Jr. bench program twice, with impressive results(I was much younger though and could focus my life more around training). Of course, it's important to note that this approach may not be suitable for everyone and injury prevention should always be a priority. 

 

Yes, I feel minimal injury risk due to how much more balanced my grip is by training all aspects.  It is also rewarding to be well-rounded in competitions.  If you can finish top 3 in every event, you stand a much better chance of winning. 

It is worth the slower realization of gains.

[AdriaanRobert96]

12 hours ago, dubyagrip said:

Thick bar has minimal carryover to other grip specific lifts like pinch or grippers.  I find that thick bars interfere with my recovery from grippers.  If I am training any open crush lift, I can only train it and grippers once a week due to the recovery demands.  I go to failure in both, so I might be an outlier.

Training thick bars will make you better at thick bar lifts. That's it.

Exactly what I am feeling, it takes a toll on me aswell whenever I tried it.

I remember first time doing Fat Gripz Pull Ups, I was sore in my forearms for a week

[AdriaanRobert96]

Thanks everyone for checking in!

Seems like it’s a universal truth about the Fat Bar or Fat Gripz then.. it gets you better at everything fat bar related but doesn’t carry over too much to anything.

With that said, of course I’ll do it for balance and of course to prevent myself from being bored

Another thing that seems to be the norm is fat bar decreases gripper strength, atleast until you get into it.. and or if you do it close to gripper training.

 

[Fist of Fury]

27 minutes ago, AdriaanRobert96 said:

Thanks everyone for checking in!

Seems like it’s a universal truth about the Fat Bar or Fat Gripz then.. it gets you better at everything fat bar related but doesn’t carry over too much to anything.

With that said, of course I’ll do it for balance and of course to prevent myself from being bored

Another thing that seems to be the norm is fat bar decreases gripper strength, atleast until you get into it.. and or if you do it close to gripper training.

 

I'd say it will increase gripper strength but it's hard to recover from thick bar training. Most people can't do that, so that's why people usually get weaker at grippers if they do too much thick bar training. 

If you keep the thick bar training to a minimum it will have positive effects on gripper training. This is very difficult to do tho. Most people fail to do this and that's why most people lose gripper strength when training thick bar.

 

Having said that. Training only thick bar and not training grippers will not help your gripper strength at all. This is becasue grippers is much more technical and CNS dependant. 

However training only grippers and not training thick bar will make your thick bar stronger. That's because thick bar is not technical, it's only about strength, so if you increase your strength in your fingers with gripper training it will have some carry over to thick bar.

[AdriaanRobert96]

1 hour ago, Fist of Fury said:

I'd say it will increase gripper strength but it's hard to recover from thick bar training. Most people can't do that, so that's why people usually get weaker at grippers if they do too much thick bar training. 

If you keep the thick bar training to a minimum it will have positive effects on gripper training. This is very difficult to do tho. Most people fail to do this and that's why most people lose gripper strength when training thick bar.

 

Having said that. Training only thick bar and not training grippers will not help your gripper strength at all. This is becasue grippers is much more technical and CNS dependant. 

However training only grippers and not training thick bar will make your thick bar stronger. That's because thick bar is not technical, it's only about strength, so if you increase your strength in your fingers with gripper training it will have some carry over to thick bar.

Love how well you laid it all out, I thought about keeping fat bar at only once per week but atleast start doing some fat bar work since I do none:/

Also I’ll need to get more plates since I only have weights going up to like 50-60kg atm

I guess it’s enough to stimulate the fat bar work..

Still got 5 weeks of gripper volume and then I’ll taper down and hopefully get that #3.5 on video this time.

 

[Fist of Fury]

2 hours ago, AdriaanRobert96 said:

Love how well you laid it all out, I thought about keeping fat bar at only once per week but atleast start doing some fat bar work since I do none:/

Also I’ll need to get more plates since I only have weights going up to like 50-60kg atm

I guess it’s enough to stimulate the fat bar work..

Still got 5 weeks of gripper volume and then I’ll taper down and hopefully get that #3.5 on video this time.

 

You might have to do so little thick bar it might seem stupid. But trust me it can be very beneficial to gain some strength for grippers, especially strength in the ring and pinky finger.

I have probably (like many others) failed and done too much 100 times but I have also succeeded and done the exact right thing a few times. That's why I know it's working.

I know you will get that #3.5, don't bother with video man, just focus on getting stronger. Only time you should focus on making videos is if you want to get better at filming for certs.

[AdriaanRobert96]

40 minutes ago, Fist of Fury said:

You might have to do so little thick bar it might seem stupid. But trust me it can be very beneficial to gain some strength for grippers, especially strength in the ring and pinky finger.

I have probably (like many others) failed and done too much 100 times but I have also succeeded and done the exact right thing a few times. That's why I know it's working.

I know you will get that #3.5, don't bother with video man, just focus on getting stronger. Only time you should focus on making videos is if you want to get better at filming for certs.

I’ll have to do some trials first and see how it goes, but as you said.. a little won’t hurt

Thank you man, will do

[Rob McMurren]

23 hours ago, dean_redzic said:

What percentage of your 1RM is a 220lb axle? 

What was your rolling thunder before training like this?

 

Thanks 

My max on that axle is 365

Best ever RT was 190 about five years ago.  Have not lifted with it since then. 

[dubyagrip]

 

Wanna see the effect training thick bar has on training grippers? I only trained grippers this week. I struggled with lesser RGCs just last week.

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by dubyagrip

[AdriaanRobert96]

3 hours ago, dubyagrip said:

 

Wanna see the effect training thick bar has on training grippers? I only trained grippers this week. I struggled with lesser RGCs just last week.

 

Haha what a beast

I guess maybe Fat Bar is what I need then to go further

[dubyagrip]

1 minute ago, AdriaanRobert96 said:

Haha what a beast

I guess maybe Fat Bar is what I need then to go further

Well, I'm saying fat bars kept me from these kinds of closes.

[AdriaanRobert96]

2 hours ago, dubyagrip said:

Well, I'm saying fat bars kept me from these kinds of closes.

Oh ok so that’s what you’re saying.. I misunderstood