BJones Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Gripboard, How does humidity effect decks of cards? I know that humidity will make phone books tough - same thing for decks of cards? Also - is tearing decks of cards considered good training or does it fall more into the "stunt" category? The load it places on the fingers and the stress of "clamping" down on the deck really works the hands in a different way. The reason I ask is some decks I go through very well and others are a struggle - is this just variability in the cards or humidity or me?? Thanks in advance Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bballdad Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Good question. I have wondered the same thing the other week..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Steve Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Used cards will suck up humidity like crazy, you know the ones sitting around with a rubberband on them. I have found this out the hard way when I was first starting out. The air in my dungeon is so wet somethings that I have stalactities forming. This is where I keep all my toys o'pain and I have found that the cards do soften up and can be harder to rip. The best bet is to keep them in a dry place if you buy in bulk as I do. A friend of mine Tommy, keeps his in an oven at about 200 degrees for about 1/2. Hehehe Man, I am bad! No kidding a side, buy fresh packs before each workout. This will keep things about the same. You will get to a point in training cards were it won't matter what brand you use, because you will be stronger than the cards. I have found the strength to be as the following: mavericks at dollar general to be a good learning deck these are a 1$, used casino cards 1.50, aviators 1.80 to 2.50 good step up, bees, bicycles and the other 3.00$ cards do these cards in a secs. you will be at the top of your game. Dolphins at the dollar store are beastly. Also to help keep cards dry wrap them in duct tape in the pack, two to three layers should do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJones Posted March 25, 2004 Author Share Posted March 25, 2004 Steve, Great to hear from you! Hope you are doing well. Great info on the cards - For a minute there I thought I was losing it! I am using the Maverick $1 cards and just ordered a case which should be in today. I am going to keep them in a ziplock bag to help them stay dry. I am finding when they are "wet" - the tear ends up low and at an angle - then about half way through it goes down further and is almost like tearing a corner out of the deck. Thanks again - and a further question - How do you fit card tearing into your training? Occasional - just to keep the skill or is it a focus? Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerbjr Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Another thing I have noticed is that when I am training pinch grip really hard my card tearing suffers. I tend to overtrain somewhat easily and my first hint to back off is that the cards begin to get tougher to tear. Also watch your form, a slight deviation in form will also make the cards harder. Personally I now rip just when I feel like it, when I first started I tore 1-2 packs a day. Also if you are not already start working on quartering and eigthing the decks, gives you more bang for the buck...Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Johnson Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Thanks for the quality post, Steve. When an experienced soul like youself takes time to help us new guys, it really means a lot. -Jedd- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
climber511 Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 (edited) Dolphins can be humbling! I had done several decks of Mavaricks, and a couple Hoyles, then grabbed Dolphins and got my butt kicked. Beware...... I also got ahold of a deck with no name on them from K-Mart that was pretty tough. Edited March 25, 2004 by climber511 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJones Posted March 25, 2004 Author Share Posted March 25, 2004 Thank you Steve and everyone - being very new to this I am finding out a great deal. Kirb - you may be on to something - between the pinch grip and "wet" cards I amy just be over the edge. We will find out later today - grippers and some bending later. Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Steve Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I do something until I master it then it just becames natrual. Do it until you can not do anymore then add duct tape. Yes, I have a sick way of thinking. Always make things hard on yourself then when you come back around the next time hard becomes ez. This thing about some other part getting weak is a misnomer. If one trains all aspects of grip then everything should get stronger together. Once I master something it stays and gets stronger. Can go months without blob lifting and lift it. Went 4 weeks without ripping, ripped better and faster, just trained everthing else like a crazy mad man. If people think they are getting weaker then they will get weaker. I call it a bad day and go on with training. Train like it is the last training day of your life everytime and nothing will get weak. Jedd anytime Bro. your the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bballdad Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Thanks alot Big Steve and everyone for their input. It does really help us new guys alot to learn what you guys have already experienced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FbaLLPlaya_53 Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Steve, Very good advice on how you said, train like it was the last day of your life. Next training session I will do that. thanks man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerbjr Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Just want to clarify my post so that I am not misunderstood. When you train, train all out or stay in bed, anything less will result in medicore if any gains. But just like bench, if you max out 7 days a week you aint gonna grow unless you are a freak. I am not trying to take anything away from what Steve has said, 1 because i agree with it for the most part, 2 he is THE MAN, and 3 he can rip more cards than me using just his thumb and pinkie finger. I think what you may be experiencing is that your body is not fully recovered from some of your pinch training, making the cards a little tougher. does that mean you are weaker? no. Does that mean you shouldnt train that day? Heck no. I often pre-fatigue my pinch before I rip cards to make it tougher, then when I hit them fresh I kill em. But like any other training you can do too much and you got to listen to your body, and everybody has a different tolerance level...Brett you are doing incredible for someone new to this stuff, keep up the good work...Also another thing that has worked well for me is adding cards to the deck every week, just 1 or 2 to micro load, my body doesnt seem to even notice for the most part and I am closer to getting 2 decks.....B Kerby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJones Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 Steve, Thanks - Got fired up by your post - "like it was the last day of my life" - and nailed a bending PR - a 5-1/8" (just under) - blue nail. Kirb, No worries - I was right with what you were thinking. As I like to say - you can train everyday - as long as you don't train the same everyday - So instead of being tough on myself I changed focus and hit a bending PR. Great tip on adding a card one or two at a time - once the decks are going down a little easier I will start doing that. And Thanks for the encouragement - my kettlebell training allowed me to step into the grip training with a little bump ahead - Man this stuff is fun!! Thanks Gentlemen. Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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