anson Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Recently i was explaining to a co-worker my hobby of training grip, bending nails, etc. He said that grip training sounds like an "underground movement". Here's a definition of underground that i found: any avant-garde, experimental, or subversive movement in popular art, films, music, etc. (as modifier) example: the underground press example: underground music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octogen Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 I guess grip training could be considered an underground movement in the fitness world. Its certainly experimental and very different from the mainstream and as for subversive well everyone i've talked to about grip has been fascinated with bending and stuff. So do we agree on a secret handshake now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Hansford Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 No one wants to shake hands with me anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 It is beyond the fringe as they used to say. A sub culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zevich Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Do we need a secret password? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Loaf Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Grip training is DEFINATELY underground, but with more exposure, it can easily becoiem mainstream....b ut im not so sure that would be so cool. if everyone was doing all our cool stuff, it wouldn't seem so special anymore to pull out a big gripper or blobs to show an unsuspecting "strong guy"! MEAT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianders1 Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 The first rule of Grip Club: There is no Grip Club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobsterone Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 I have seen clubs that can be gripped - do I win £5.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gripmeister Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 RE: "Do we need a secret password?" A secret handshake seems more appropriate!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Walker Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 True strength training in general is an underground movement. My wife and I went for a little Sunday drive yesterday and I was talking about the awesome training session I had the day before with The Crew. My wife and I have done a lot of driving. We have been all over the place by car because, I just love to drive. (Our furthest to date is Saint Paul) But, in all my travels, I have never once seen a bunch of dudes outside flipping tires, hoisting stones, or pressing logs. Never. If I did, I would certainly stop and join in, or at least say "Hello" and chat awhile. People driving by my house see this every day. No one ever stops, they usually speed up. Yes...we are an underground movement. And, as long as grip and strength training stays "hard" and "painful" we will reamain that way. Rick Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Cenidoza Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Without the possibility of money or fame, grip training will never be mainstream. I like that a lot. I was explaining that to Jess on the way home from Jersey last weekend. She commented that all of the people she had met were really cool. Being that we're all in this for the fun of it, and not a paycheck, there are no big egos in the game. Everybody has the common interest of grip strength, which gives us a topic of conversation to discuss with a certain degree of passion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digdogz Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 'Underground' in the sense that 99.9% of people have no idea why we do what we do! Many people I speak to almost view it as some kind of weird pastime that warrents no seriousness. They don't know the joys, "I find weights so mundane" they say, but to me the next gripper up is something far from humdrum................... its THE challange I choose. Digz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nagual Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Yeah. I usually get a puzzled and almost derogatory expression, and the question "Why?" It might be the times we live in, where everything is supposed to be up for immediate satisfaction, and if strength training is to be regarded as worth while, it's only because of it's cosmetic aspect. Few people seem to understand the satisfaction of challenging oneself and overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnOBrien Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Why? Because I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SqeezeMasterFlash Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Definitely underground, it for no other reason than the blank stares I get and the never ending "Why would you want to do that?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 I can't tell people how cool grip training is, but I can try to show them! Saying that you bend nails is one thing but showing them how you fold a 60d in a few seconds says a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SqeezeMasterFlash Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 I had that experience this weekend. Some friends from college were over and had heard I did weird stuff. They wanted to see and after a few nails decided there must be some sort of trick to it. One friend mimicked my technique exacly and pushed until his nose bled, but didn't put the slightest kink in the 60d. After the nails I did a phone book and was determined to be "a freak with too much time on his hands". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FbaLLPlaya_53 Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 "Why would you want to do that?" (quoted by SqeezeMasterFlash) I always hear that from people, and it gets old pretty fast...grip training is underground and I hope it stays that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaster Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 I was just part of a Relay for Life team that walked all Friday night. I wanted to stay up all night so I brought some nails to keep me awake. They are portable and get my blood pumping. I really didn't want anyone to see me, but one girl did and asked what the hell I was doing. After I told her she called me a wack job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 The first rule of Grip Club:There is no Grip Club The LAST rule of Grip Club: If this is your first night here at Grip Club, you have to squeeze a gripper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milkbone Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 "One friend mimicked my technique exacly and pushed until his nose bled, but didn't put the slightest kink in the 60d. " There is nothing funnier than someone thinking you are doing a "magic" trick and trying to duplicate it. LOL, what a riot. I would have paid good money to see that ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJones Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 I think Rick hit in on the head - what we do is painful and difficult and will therfore be forign to most people. When people ask how I train - I just say grip training and move on unless they press for more info - usually not worth the effort to explain something they cannot understand. Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octogen Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 People i've met are either fascinated and want to know more or they think i'm a bit weird. At the Sydney fitness expo I did some bending demos and got a pretty good response from strength coaches and members of the public. Even a couple of girls tried it! I'm no monster nail scarer but I think after people tried some little bits of 3/16" or easy 1/4" they appreciated the intensity required to kill something harder when i did a bolt or a blue for them. The best part was asking the huge Bodybuilder in the next booth if he wanted a go and seeing him scuttle back inside behind his stack of protein powder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Piche Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Most people just think I am weird. Ok, weirder than most. The blobs and gripper work at lunch help with that reputation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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