Rick Walker Posted July 9, 2004 Share Posted July 9, 2004 I recently watched Jedd Johnson causually pull around 180 pounds on the rolling thunder at the Diesel Compound in Sayre, PA. he was not even warmed up, just walked over to it, grabbed it, and hoisted it. This weight is (or was?) a pr for him. He had not done any rolling thunder or thickbar work in awhile. The only thing he had been doing on a constant basis was 1-armed farmer work with 200+ pounds on a 2" (or bigger?) solid, non revolving handle. He said it had helped his rolling thunder tremendously. My next goal is to hoist the Inch, and I want to do it at the diesel contest. I know I need to hammer my wrists, and I am doing so in some new, creative ways. Besides major wrist work, I am going to give the solid handle some quality time as well. I have a 2.5" diameter piece of piping that I put a chain through and hang weight off of. Of course, it doesnt spin, and there is a tremendous amount of pressure in my fingers and thumb. Whats everone's experiences and opinions on the non-revolving thick bar as it transfers to the Inch and the rolling thunder? Rick Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted July 9, 2004 Share Posted July 9, 2004 I have an assortment of non revolving handles from 2" - 3" in diameter and love using all of them although I haven't done it in some time. I trained with a 2.5" handle for a couple months and found that you can work your hands several different ways with it. I did notice an increase in my RT lift, but not until I started lifting the 2.5" handle from the top so that my fingertips were pointing straight down. It is a lot harder to lift like this and I think it helped build up my thumb a bit. When I would curl my fingers under the handle and lift, a lot more weight would come up and it would fry my fingertips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted July 9, 2004 Share Posted July 9, 2004 I have long been using a non revolving 2 3/8'' handle. I call it a non Rolling Thunder. I can lift about 120 lbs more on this than on the revolving handle. It has the affect of making the RT lift seem a fair bit lighter as your body gets used to the much heavier load. This handle is identical to the RT apart from being fixed . I am not talking about a dumbbell handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobsterone Posted July 9, 2004 Share Posted July 9, 2004 Short answer = good. Any thick bar work, that works the thumb well, will help the RT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Walker Posted July 9, 2004 Author Share Posted July 9, 2004 Okay fellas, I did this lift today. My best roling thunder is right around 160 or so on a good day. I first used a 2.5" diameter piece of piping. I ran a chain through it and attached it to my homemade loading pin. It isn't exactly non-revolving as it would be if it were the handle of a farmer bar. The piping does move around and if the chain slips, it can catch you off guard and roll on you like a RT. I worked up to 185-pounds with the 2.5" piece of pipe in both left and right hands. The interesting part is, my right hand is a good 20-30 pounds weaker on the actual RT then my left? I tried 195 a number of times but could not lock it out. Dropped down to 190, same result. So, my 2.5" bar PR is 185+10 pounds loading pin. Dropped to the 2" piece of pipe. Of course, I pulled more weight. Here is a photo of my 205-pound lift: 205 And another of my PR lift of 215-pounds: 215 Both photos were shot a tad early as both weights were locked out and held for the picture. Again, this is not including the 10-pound loading pin. Underneath the 100-pound plate is a 25 and a 10. Afterwards, I worked a little pinch by passing 2-25s around my back 21 times, then 16 times. The thick bars seemed to really hit my wrists and hand well, and I think they will prove themselves to be productive in my quest for the Inch db. Rick Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Edgin Posted July 9, 2004 Share Posted July 9, 2004 Great work Rick. If you ever get a set up where the bar will not rotate at all, I wouldn't be surprised if you pulled 1.5-2x what you normally pull on the RT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted July 9, 2004 Share Posted July 9, 2004 Before I owned an RT, I used a piece of 2 3/8" PVC pipe with a strap fixed to it. I worked up to 270lbs on this. I will not say how much on the RT itself out of respect for rule #4. Using a fixed handle I have approached 400 lbs. All training was singles until failure once a week. http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups...5240Aut0552.jpg http://www.cyberpump.com/albums/album02/abf.sized.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Too Tall Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 (edited) Thick bar is the way to go to increase the RT. I have big hands though, which makes it a little easier for me to make gradual improvements on the RT. I like to do double overhand thick bar holds for time, because it really taxes the thumb, and double overhand heavy single lockouts from the power rack with the thick bar. Thats basically all I do to increase my RT max. Hope this helps. Edited July 10, 2004 by Too Tall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Walker Posted July 10, 2004 Author Share Posted July 10, 2004 Nice implements Oldguy! Nice freakin' lifting as well!!!!!!! I got 185 on the 2.5" pipe and chain. This is not including the 10-pound loading pin. I hate to say it, but to your giant freakin' hands, that thick bar IS NOT a thickbar! Thanks for the pictures- Rick Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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