Extensor Work

[kyle102887]

Hey I need something to work the extensors is there anything I can build to work them also I already know about the sand stuff and I don't like that idea I want something plate loaded. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.......Kyle

[gerryg]

You can buy the Outer Limits Loops from ironmind.com or get a pickle jar,fill it with sand,put your fingers inside and lift.

[odin]

You can lever plates with your fingers as described in MOHS.

[blobue]

Hey Kyle,

I've been toying with the idea of using an old plastic peanut butter jar and attaching an eyebolt to the bottom so I can use a loading pin to add weight. Sort of like the jar with sand minus the glass breakage and able to add as much weight as you can handle.

Brian

[Davekline]

Glass + High intensity workout = Broken glass + Injuries

Glass is a great material. It's cheep to make, recyclable, is non-toxic, and non-biodegradable. But it has no place in sports.

[kyle102887]

Glass + High intensity workout = Broken glass + Injuries

Glass is a great material. It's cheep to make, recyclable, is non-toxic, and non-biodegradable. But it has no place in sports.

Good point, also does anyone know where I could get the same thing as the outer limits loop with the loading pin and carbiner for a cheaper price it is $60 before shipping all together!

[David Ostlund]

You can use several rubberbands. Also, how come you're opposed to sand in a bucket? It works very well and is inexpensive.

[kyle102887]

You can use several rubberbands. Also, how come you're opposed to sand in a bucket? It works very well and is inexpensive.

1. Hard to judge strength gains

2. Don't have space to keep indoors

3. Don't feel like messing with it

That's why if you really did want to know.

[Cunny]

I've been thinking the same.

A way of making a device that would allow the extensors to be worked as intense as a gripper.

[Monte Cristo2]

This is a post I put up on another thread that relates:

There used to be a product advertised in Powerlifting USA called "HandStraps" that could work the extensors. It was a book that was a plan on how to build and use them.

This product could work both flexors and extensors. I have not seen it on the net or

in more recent Magazines. I don't know if they are still in business.

Basically, a pair of well fitting leather work gloves are slit on either side of the fingernail

postition and sewn loops of narrow (about 1/2 inch) nylon strapping are put through the slits. The slits go through top and palm side of the glove and are the same width as the strapping. The loops can be moved to either side and are long enough to attach weight

by another longer strap to the weight plate or loading pin. The loops are moved in either direction depending on which side of the hand/wrist/forearm you are working.

A thumb loop can also be installed in the same way and would be used to work the thumb seperately.

For extensors you pull the tip loops through to the palm side attach the weight to the

loops and open and close your hand. The advantage of this device over EagleLoops

from IronMan is that the fingers can be worked either individually or together or in any pairing you desire and in either direction and attached to the glove there is less chance of slippage. Also, as the weight is basically attached at the finger tip, so you don't need as much weight.

[Cunny]

John Beatty

would you be intrested in making something like this if there was enough intrest?

[Clay Edgin]

You can use several rubberbands.  Also, how come you're opposed to sand in a bucket?  It works very well and is inexpensive.

1. Hard to judge strength gains

2. Don't have space to keep indoors

3. Don't feel like messing with it

That's why if you really did want to know.

1. Sure there is. The farther you put your hand into the bucket and open it, the more sand you have to displace so that means that your hand is working harder. When you get to teh bottom of the bucket, fill it up with more sand!

2. You don't have room for a 5 gallon bucket anywhere? If not, I guess it could double as a kitty litter box...

3. Then why ask for advice?

[foggymountainmuscle]

Balance weight plates on the back of your fingers. I myself have worked up to a 20Kg plate.

Reverse hub lifting with the weight plates, just like the jars.

Finger walks, and reverse finger walks.

I love the outerlimit loops, it's become one of my pet lifts. +15Kg off the ground! Woohoo!

Don't forget the extensor of your thumb!

Opening and closing your hands as hard and fast as possible is great too. Try to go for 30 seconds to a minute and try to break your previous number of closes.

[kyle102887]

3. Then why ask for advice?

Well Clay I said in the starting post that I don't like the sand idea and that I wanted something plate loaded like something that was a substitute for the outer limits loops IM sells, but at cheaper price because the outer limits loops with the loading pin and carbiner is like $60 not including shipping plus I only want one but they try to sell you a pair of them which I don't want.

[tspinillo]

Kyle,

If you have few bucks, you can put together a loading pin with parts

from the plumbing aisle at Home Depot.

Threaded Pipe

Flange

End Cap

Get a few washers, nuts, and eyebolt.

Drill a hole in the end cap, secure the eyebolt.

Screw the cap and flange on and you are done.

You may even find these pieces in your garage or a friends,

everybody has a box of junk laying around.

T

[ianders1]

I wish that there was a reasonably priced way to progressively train the extensors, but for whatever reason no one's come up with one. I think about this a lot because I think my weak extensors are to blame for a lot of the problems I have with my hands.

Kyle, don't count out the sand, though, it works better than you'd think, and it's a $4 (or $5 with lid) solution from Home Depot. If you don't have the room, just buy the lid and keep it outside. Just make sure to get "Play Sand".

There's also another device you may be interested in:

http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/gripsaver.htm

It's $17.95 + S&H. I posted about it here a few months back, and got the following feedback from climber511:

I wrote about it a while back in one thread or another - I've been a rock climber for 20 years now and the gripsaver is a neat little tool, it's too easy for strength training but it fit's the hand well (much better than rubber bands) and works well as a warm up tool and does a decent job on the extensors. I use it as part of my overall program for hand and forearm balance and/or therapy - kind of like dexterity balls.

Ironmind, Tetting, John Beatty, et al - there is definitely a need and a desire for some kind of plate-loaded extensor tool - are you listening? To quote Metolius' Site:

Try to find an exercise product that exercises the muscles that open and spread the fingers and the hand.  They are almost non-existent.  The few we have seen do not resist the opening of the fingers through a full, natural range of motion.  Extension is CRITICAL because we have over-developed flexor muscles.  This kind of imbalance is the root cause of many climbing injuries.

[Davekline]

Well here's my idea of what the device should be. A desk top machine using a selectorized weight stack. Due to the small muscels involved 1 pound increments are needed, maybe even 1/2 pound. The five fingers would be placed against individual contact pads which would then be pushed apart against the loaded resistance. Negative resistance would also be provided.

Hey, Aurthur Jones (Original Owner of Nautilus),

Gary Jones (Hammer Strength),

or anyone else, make this machine.

[Roark]

One idea I used involved a pec deck- the type with flat pads (not round).

Stand facing the machine. Make a fist against each pad. Then moving only your fingers, force the pad to move as your hand opens.

Start very light- you may need microloading, and you'll have to experiment to determine the best 'angle' at which your fist should meet the pad.

Or, start with straight fingers and perform negatives by allowing the pad to close your fist- obviously you have to move the stack off itself as a beginning point for negatives.

Clip your fingernails before trying this.

I know it sounds silly, but you may find it beneficial.

Be ready for some strange 'What in the blazes is that idiot doing' expressions!

[crushjunior]

Take a rope, tie a dumbbell to your fingers and extend away. Then you know how much weight you are using.