Axle OH Press max day

12/26/11


Axle OH Press
20x10
65x5
105x5
185x1
205x1
215x0

I'm a bit disappointed with missing at 215 but I guess after so long of not doing any shoulder presses and the shoulder issues I've been dealing with anything over 2hundo is acceptable.  I failed with 215 when my lower arms got to parallel which is where the triceps start to really come in so at least now I know my weakness.  I haven't done any direct arm work in quite a while so I think I'll overcome this weakness pretty quickly once I start putting on the Gunz show again.

Christmas Eve Workout 12-24-2011

Zac came over Saturday morning and trained some Bench and Pinch with me. It was cold outside for the workout but once we got Benching we warmed up enough. The Bars and steel plates were cold enough to sting a bit though. The workout was good and I was happy with my results on both the bench and 2HP. I ended up coming down with the dreaded stomach flu around midnight Christmas morning though and boy that was a tough workout. Still recovering from that.

Bench
10x135
5x185
3x225
3x275
4x285
4x285
5x285

2HP Euro 48mm
5x60
3x104
3x148
3x192
4x207
4x207
5x207

Saxon 2HP
12x174

Bumper holds for time
2-45s 13 sec
2-35s 20sec
2-25s 30sec

Training 12-22-2011

Getting caught up on my updates from the last week. This one from 12-22. Got a nice PR on the Pinch Clean even after jamming one of my thumb knuckles a bit on the right hand on the 162# set. Tried to catch on the drop and didn't quite get it in time. The bar bounced up and bit me as a result. Prolly could have gone a bit further for the final set but the workout was cut short due to daddy duties.

Bench
10x45
5x135
5x185
3x5x205

Saxon bar Pinch Clean
5x85
3x107
2x130
2x140
2x152
1x162
1x174

12-20-2011 Bench and Grippers

Quick lunchtime workout. Grippers interspersed between bench sets.

Bench
10x45
10x135
5x185
3x230
6x275
4x255
4x255
5x255

Grippers mini-reps for time
#T, #1
#1 16sec
RH #2 16sec, BBSM @ 1/4 16sec, 16sec, 16sec, #2 20sec
LH #2 16sec, 16sec, 16sec, 16sec, 12sec

Lying tricep ext (Headbangers)
10x135

Workout 12-18-2011

Sunday's workout. Zac came over and trained with me and even Derek showed up for a bit at the end.

Squats w/ baby on back x 20

warmup circuit
3x
50x jump rope
10x 24kg KB swings per arm
Bench - 10x45, 10x115, 10x165

2HP euro 48mm
3x110
3x155
2x177
3x210 did not lock out last rep.
3x198
3x198
3x198
6x198
2HP Saxon DL
20x160

Hub transfers and flip catches 45#
a few

Blob lift RH x2x1
LH negs

Ledge Pullups
6x, 10x

25# Bumper curls
x3

Gripper TNS
#2x3 BH
E3x0 close miss
BBSM @ 1/4 x1 RH

Grippers 12-17-2011

grippers mini-reps
#1 16sec
3x#2 16sec BH

Training 12-15-2011

Time to get the training log caught back up. This was from the 15th, still was a bit sick but anxious to get back to work.

Bench
10x45
10x135
3x185
3x205
3x255
5x275
2x275
3x3x255

grippers
#T,#1,#2
3xE3
mini reps
ABBSM @ 1/4 10sec RH, 5sec LH
4x 10sec RH
4x 10sec LH
20sec #2 RH
20sec #1 LH

KB swings 24kg
10,10,10,15

Back from vacation

We made it back from vacation to Texas last week. It ended up being a pretty rough one as we all caught strep throat. The baby had it the worst and was completely miserable. 104+ fever even with tylenol and advil, wouldn't eat, drink or sleep. We ended up heading home almost a week early to get her into the doctor and more comfortable surroundings. She is doing much better now and almost back to normal eating and sleeping habits. I'm back to work today also. The other good thing that got done this weekend was getting the first coat of paint up on the walls and trim in my training room remodel. Just got to finish the paint, clean up and get the floor mats down before I can start moving things back in.

Vacation

Heading out to visit family in Houston today, then after a few days of that a family deload in Austin. I'm taking along some grippers just in case the urge strikes me.

Sunday Workout 12-04-2011

Zac stopped by for this one. Temp was around freezing, ice on stuff. I bailed out of the Squats early, just wasn't feeling it. Pinch went well, the Euro felt surprisingly grippy despite the cold wet weather. I upped my PR on the new IM hub as well. Wanted to go higher with the grippers but those were not feeling strong either so I moved on to Pinch. I'm a bit sore today like I did something, go figure.
On the training room remodel project, its moving along. One wall left to texture. Then Priming and painting the new walls and trim. I went and picked up a few additional stall mats as well. Looking forward to getting everything moved back in there.

Squats
10x45
10x140
10x220

Grippers
#T, #1, #2
E3x2
F3x1 RH
Avg3 x 1 LH
EEx0 TNS RH
EEx1 RH
E3 x 2 LH

1HP Euro 48mm BH
1x80
1x92

1HP 2-44s
2x1x RH
2x0x LH Neg
5x1x +2.5# Negs BH

Blob
1x BH

2HP Euro 48mm
3x110
3x155
3x177
2x199
1x220
1x225
1x230
0x235
1x235

IM Hub
2x33 BH
2x0x52 LH
1x52 RH
1x57 RH
1x60 RH
1x62.5 RH

Bench
10x45
10x135
3x185
3x225
5x275
15x225

Plate curl
10x 25# bumper BH

Lying tricep ext (headbangers)
9x145

Pinch Farmers with Bumper in each hand, back to back
2- 45s black
2- 45s Blue
2- 35s Yellow
2- 25s Green

November 2011 in review

Here's an overview of some of my PR's that I accomplished in November.  I started out with some good strength and conditioning work but managed to mangle my left shoulder pretty good at the beginning of the month so that took the wind out of my sails a bit.  It's feeling pretty good now though so hopefully I'll be able to consistently add more upper body S+C work soon.

The month started off on a huge positive with a successful certification attempt with the Mash Monster level 2!!  This is a great achievement as I've been looking forward to this for a long time.

Grippers
Mash Monster level 2
Rich 3.5 choked to 11/16"
Big Nasty #4 CCS down to 1"
#2 CCS x27 reps
#2 MMS x35 reps
IMTUG 5 x22 reps righty, 15 reps lefty

Pinch
BlobZilla with 27.5 lbs. on the deloader
2x35's+13.5 lbs. added

Thickbar
Rolling Thunder-172 lbs. lefty
DO Axle deadlift-350 lbs.

Weight lifting
PL Squats-285x10
High bar squats-225x25
DO deadlifts-225x20
Good Mornings-135x12

I'm hoping my left shoulder will be feeling good enough to start doing some reverse bending again this month.  I'll start with some 60D's and probably just try to work up to doing some light volume a couple times a week without doing the crushdown.  The crush is what really stresses my shoulders and right now is much stronger than my reverse kink so I think I'll be ok not doing it for a while.

I plan on really hitting several strength and conditioning workouts each week to start increasing my work capacity and cardio conditioning.  That was my limiting factor on squats and deads for max reps.  It'll also really help with the fat cutting.  I'm also hoping that my shoulders will be good enough to let me start some light db benching so I can start training bench again soon and attack those goals as well.

Training 11-29-2011

Got in a quick Oly session today at lunch. Really gotta work on my flexibility on the oly lifts. I seem to only be able to rack a clean or snatch with a slight knee bend at most and cannot squat down without dumping after that. Supersetted Grippers, Cleans and Snatches

Lunchtime

BW Squats x 20

Grippers
#1x3 Speed
#2x3 Speed
2x Adj BBSM @ 1/4 x 3 Speed
RH
E3 x 1 Speed
Avg#3 x 1 OC 3sec
2x F3 x 1 OC 3sec
LH
E3 x 1
Avg#3 x 0 miss by hair
2x E3 x 1 OC 3sec

Cleans & Snatches (alternating sets up thru 165)
Cleans
5x45
5x95
3x115
3x137
2x165
2x187
1x209
1x231
0x255 (close miss on racking)

Snatches
5x45
5x95
3x115
3x137
2x165

DO Oly DL Sumo
1x345
1x367
0x377 (Back just not up to it today)

SLDL
25x115

Training 11/27/2011

Did a bit of training yesterday morning. Was hoping for a bit more time to workout but that just didn't happen. Happy with the bench increase, but dissatisfied with the Squat and pinch. Had to stop mid workout to help with the tiny human then resumed approximately 1hr later.

Squats
45x10
140x10
185x6
220x15 (terminated set due to quick onset migraine)

Grippers
#Tx10, #1x10, #2x7, E3x3
RH
Avg#3 x 2
Filed #3 x 1
Easy #3.5 x 1
BBE (170) x 1
Hard #3.5 x 0 (miss by a hair)
Rest 1hr
Easy #3.5 x 3
LH
Avg#3 x 1
BBGM x 2
Easy BBE (159) x 1
Easy BBE (159) x 0
Rest 1 hr
Easy BBE (159) x 2

2 Hand Pinch Euro (48mm)
3x60, 3x110
3x155
2x177
2x197
1x209
1x221
0x231 (4" and tear of left thumb webbing)

2HP Saxon Bar
1x233

Bench
10x45, 10x140, 3x185
15x225
Rest 1hr
3x225
3x275

Lying Tricep Extension (headbangers)
10x140

Gripper Mini-reps (TUT)
adj BBSM @ 1/4
RH 28sec
LH 15sec

Just choke the foo!!

No, I'm not talking about choking anyone out in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class nor am I talking about domestic violence so put down the phone.  I'm actually talking about a form of partial range of motion training using grippers where you apply a hose clamp to the handles of the gripper in order to set them at a certain width.  This way you can train that specific range of motion without using a lot of energy getting the gripper "set" to that point.  In the past I've read a lot about the benefits of choker training and have done quite a bit of it myself (both in BJJ class and with grippers) and I've always talked about how effective they've been for me.  Over the last few days however, I've been thinking about it and started wondering just how effective and if at all it's actually been.  When I've done choker work in the past I always had good gains in strength but how much of that, if any was due to working with grippers choked and how much was due to just plain getting stronger using the other ranges of motion as well?  You see, I generally use chokers, MMS, CCS, max singles and explosive singles in my training depending on what the purpose for the particular workout is so it's hard to actually attribute strength gains to any one particular training style.  Well, over the next month I plan on putting choker work to the test, literally by doing nothing but choked training...with the exception of my warm-ups which will be MMS.  This way I'll be able to definitively determine how effective working grippers in a choker is...for me and to then see how much carry over it has to MMS closes.  I'll continue to do heavy singles, explosive singles and explosive triples but all will be performed in a choker set at different widths.

Here's a picture of Rich 3.5 choked down to 11/16":

Why is this called "Rich 3.5"?  Well, because it was loaned to me by my friend Rich so this is how I'll differentiate this particular 3.5 from my own.  Rich 3.5 measures 183 lbs. on the rgc which is 9 lbs. harder than mine so I'm hoping that working with this (in a choker of course)  will help me to get ready for the HOSS 3.5 certification from Benders Battlefield. 

Here's a choker workout I did the other day.

11/22/11

I'm going to start using Rich 3.5 (183 lbs.) in a choker to get prepared for HOSS 3.5 cert by the end of this year.  HOSS certs utilize a 1" block set and the HOSS 3.5 gripper measures 174 lbs. on the rgc so I'm hoping that being able to work up to closing Rich 3.5 with the choker set at or close to 1" will have me ready to close the HOSS 3.5 with a 1" block set.  Once I can close it set at a particular distance for 5 straight singles I'll open it up about 1/16" and work with that until I can close it there as well, then open it up again.  I'll also be using other choked grippers:  Big Nasty, my #3, #2.5 and possibly even my #2 for active recovery work.

Warm-up

Trainer x20

#1.5x10

#2x10

Rich 3.5 (choked to 3/4")

5x1-no closes either hand

Rich 3.5 (choked to 5/8")

5x1-all closes righty and very close lefty.  I'll now open it up to 11/16" for the next workout with this gripper.

Axle Deadlifts with a PR

11/23/11


Today was axle deadlift day on 5/3/1 and during warm-ups my hands were feeling so good that I decided to attempt a PR during the warm-up sets.  I also decided to try doing sumo since I've heard a few people say pulling sumo is easier on their grip using the axle.

DO Axle Deadlifts
105x3
155x3
210x3
270x1, 315x1, 350x1 (sumo) PR 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77hcnGFeSPE
240x3
270x5-grip started to give out on 5th rep.


Pullups (narrow, neutral grip with FatGripz)
2-stopped here because my left shoulder wasn't having it today.


Axle Bent-over Rows
105x5
135x5
155x5
185x5
185x5-my grip was toast at this point and I barely got the last rep.


BlobZilla (Iso's x6 seconds)
5x1

Workout 11-20-2011

I called off a group workout on Sunday morning because I was gonna be busting butt on the training room remodel and would only be able to train while the baby was taking a nap whenever that was, also because I smooshed the tip of my left thumb pretty good with a stray hammer strike on Saturday. That one actually caused the thumbnail to cut through the skin beneath it and took hours to stop bleeding completely. Its looking and feeling much better today though. Still not ready for any 2HP yet but alot better. Anywho, workout was done quickly while Nipper napped and I got a chance to test out the new bumpers on some light oly lifts.

Squats
10x45
10x135
6x185
22x210

Grippers
#Tx10, #1x10, #2x6, E3x3
RH A3x2, F3x1, EEx1, E3.5x1, E3.5x1, BBEx1, E3.5x2 H3.5x0 (1/16)
#2 mini-reps 36sec
LH A3x0 (bad set), A3x1, GMx1, EEx1, EEx1, F3x1, E3.5x0 (3/8)
#2 mini-reps 27sec

Hang Cleans
5x45
5x95
3x135
2x185
1x185

Hang Snatch
5x45
5x95
2x135

Bench
10x135
3x185
3x205
12x225

Lying Tricep Ext
10x135

Cyplenov's (bumpers)
4x80, 3x80

Shoulder Shocker
10x35 Seated plate front raise
8x15 Seated DB lateral raise
9x15 Seated DB Clean and partial press.

Gripper Workout 11-21-11

I tried something new on the grippers today. I choked my 2.5 and closed once, marked it, repeat. I made every close count to the point of grinding them when I wasn't sure if it was closed. I did this till fail on both hands. I found it remarkably easy to close this gripper while closed. Shows me maybe my weak point is my set? You dinosaurs of grip lemmie know if my thinking is correct on that cool? Anywho, here is how it went:

2.5 Choked to 1 1/2"
RHx 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1.. rest while I do left hand.. 1,1,1,1,1,1

2.5 Choked to 1"
LHx 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1.. rest while I do right hand.. 1,1,1,1,1

Never closed my 2.5 that many time before, choked or not. Felt too easy. Almost thought I was doing something wrong.

The rest of my workout is on my blog.

Z

Squats, squats and more squats!!

Squats, squats and more squats!!

11/17/11


I finally got a baseline for 225 x max reps.  Strength wise I was good for many more than 25 on the first set but my conditioning is non-existence and I couldn't breathe.  The goal is to get 40 consecutive reps with 225 so my work is cut out for me.  The last 5 reps were probably the hardest (mentally) 5 reps I've ever done with weights.


PL Squats
45x5
135x5
185x5
205x5
235x5
265x5

High Bar Squats (225x max reps)
25,10,5
Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXRB-bWLm08

I'll Just Leave This Here

http://beergripstrengthandmorebeer.blogspot.com/

Training 11-15-2011

BW was 260# this morning

Still sore from Sunday session especially the triceps but decided to get in a quick lunchtime workout and hit some pinching. Really happy with today's result. Feel like I'm getting stronger again. Also went to the Gastro doc this morning. My gut issues have been slowly getting better since my diet change and adding some specific supplements. Since I have not had an episode in the last week he wants to wait till I have another one before doing anymore testing. Got my stuff for the lab work when and if I have another episode. Been trying to hit the hot tub followed by foam rolling and stretching most nights lately and that is doing some good. Nights that I don't hit the hot tub I am still doing the other two. Lastly, today's squats had at least a few reps in the work set that felt in the right groove. Almost effortless. Gotta keep dialing that in.

Squats
10x45
10x140
5x185
20x210

Grippers
6x4x#1 explosive closes

Saxon Bar Pinch SLDL (continuous reps without setting weight down on all but last set)
4x40
3x135
3x180
3x202
3x222
3x234 with hold after reps (8sec TUT)
8x204

Rainy Day Workout

Got a chance to workout with Aaron today. This is what I remember.

Grippers
#2x 5,5,5 BH
#E3x 2 RH

5 Dimes
x2 RH
x1 LH

Blob
x2 BH
several hops both hands

Bench Press
140x10
140x10
162x10
185x7

Saxon Bar
135x7
135x8
180x5 PR
202x3 PR

Push Press
140x5

Cyplenovs
15 RH
13 LH

Real happy with the Saxon Bar PRs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON!!!!

11-13-2011 Birthday workout

Zac stopped by this morning and joined me for a nice birthday workout. Was a good one and got a few PR's. Was raining as well so that made it even better for an outdoors workout.

Squats
10x45
10x140
5x185
18x207

Grippers
10x#T, 10x#1, 6x#2, 3xE3
RH 2xA3, 1xE3.5, 1xBBE (170), 32sec mini reps #2
LH 0xA3 close miss, 3xE3, 23sec mini reps #2

Bench
10x140
6x185
3x207
12x225

Pinch SLDL Saxon
3x10x135

Saxon bar cheat curl
1x135

1H Saxon Pinch
0x135 RH (got a few inches off the ground)

Lying tricep extension (headbangers)
6x140

Thumbless Axle Reverse curls
30x 33#

Defranco Shoulder Shocker
Seated Plate front raise 35#x10
Seated DB slow clean to press 15#x10

Cyplenov's
8x80# LH
12x80 RH

11-11-11 Cardio

Kettlebell and Jumping Jacks. I did a set of KB, waited 30 to 45 seconds, then did a set of JJs, waited 30 to 45 seconds... repeat for 25 minutes timed. After each set of exercises I closed a #2 each hand. I finished remaining time with Burpees.

KB Swings 44#
x20,20,20,20,20,20,20,20

Jumping Jacks BW
x30,40,50,50,50,40,30

15 Burpees

I am so outta shape, but I feel good after this workout. Bringing diet in line slowly but surely. Not gonna stop drinking beer though. It's ok, I am only really drinking 1 every other night or so... and I try to have it with my meal around 5 or 6.

11-10-2011

Still decently sore from the last workout. Especially deep in the forearms everywhere and pecs. Been foam rolling and stretching nightly as well as about any other time I get a chance. Also doing self massage on the forearm soreness. I only had time for a very short workout today at lunch but I bettered my recent DL numbers by a bit. Looking forward to going back to Sumo style as it is ever so much more comfortable. I feel like I'm doing mostly a leaning forward SLDL with the feet Froggy style.

Do Oly DL (heels together)
10x45
6x140
3x235
3x280
2x330
2x2x352

Grippers
5x3x#1

Standing Press
9x140

Hands sore and tight? Set a PR!

11/8/11


My hands were tight and a little sore from the grip workout the day before so when I got home from work I grabbed the trainer and did a couple sets of 10 to get the blood flowing to them.  I then decided to see how many 20mm block set reps I could get with the CoC #2 and ended up setting a PR with 35 reps.  I just missed the 36th rep and I blame it on still fumbling a bit with the new block set technique.  It's getting much better than it was, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh5H-obrFFM

11-8-2011 Workout

BW was 256.6 this morning. Got a decent workout in at lunch today. Also did hot tub followed by foam roller work and stretching last night before bed. Gonna try to get more consistent with this to try and get more mobility. Pinch was good today and squats and bench were also up from last session.

Squats
10x45
10x140
22x195

2HP Saxon DL
3x135
3x180
3x202
3x215
3x227
3x232 (Did not touch ground, continuous reps)
10x205

Bench
10x140
6x185
8x225

Round the world
1x 2-20kg plates with IM loading pin through center ~ 95#

Vids

270# Pinch DL attempts

75# York - 2 Hand Plate curls

Saturday 11-5-2011

Had the opportunity to head up to Tim Struse's house and witness his historic MM7 cert followed by a bit of a workout after. Tim was strong as ever and crushed the MM7 first attempt followed by close misses on the next 2 attempts. The cert passed as well so that was pretty awesome! Afterwards I did a little bit of grippers, some 2HP and block weight pinching with him. Here are my details that I can remember anyway.

Early AM 11-5-2011

KB swings and snatches for warmup

Grippers
#T, #1, #2, E3, EE, E3.5 miss by 1/4 RH

2HP (54mm)
4x60, 4x110, 3x160, 3x180, 2x0x225 (broke off ground about 6" but could not lock out), 5x180

Round the Euro
3x (pick up with 2 hands and then go around the euro moving one hand at a time. Went around 3 times in one go)

TTK
weight unknown X bunch of mini reps

47.5# Blob negs

50# hex block weight RH, negs LH.


PM

Grippers (timed mini reps)
RH 25sec x #2, 8 sets x 10sec #2
LH 20sec x #2, 4 sets x 10sec #2

Jelly Legs/Spaghetti Arms

I was feeling a little froggy today so I decided to dust off an old total body strength and conditioning routine that pretty much turns the whole body into one big pile of jello.  It's pretty basic but very effective.  This is a timed workout so record your times and try to beat them the next time you perform this workout.  I did Jelly Legs in 13:12 and Spaghetti Arms in 11:15.  A good goal is under 10 minutes for each if you're in half way decent shape.

Here's the breakdown of the workout:

Jelly Legs--------------------------------Spaghetti Arms
Burpees-Squats------------------------Pushups-Body Rows
             1-10                                                 1-10
             2-9                                                    2-9
             3-8                                                    3-8
             4-7                                                    4-7
             5-6                                                    5-6
             6-5                                                    6-5
             7-4                                                    7-4
             8-3                                                    8-3
             9-2                                                    9-2
            10-1                                                  10-1
             9-2                                                    9-2
             8-3                                                    8-3
             7-4                                                    7-4
             6-5                                                    6-5
             5-6                                                    5-6
             4-7                                                    4-7
             3-8                                                    3-8
             2-9                                                    2-9
             1-10                                                  1-10

Start with Jelly Legs and do 1 burpee followed immediately by 10 squats.  Then do 2 burpees followed by 9 squats, etc.  Keep doing this until you reach 10 burpees followed by 1 squat then go backward until you get back to 1 burpee and 10 squats.  Only rest as much as needed with the goal of not stopping until you finish the routine.  Then rest a few minutes and follow the same protocol with Spaghetti Arms using pushups and body rows...or pullups if you can do enough of them.  You can use any combination of exercises you want, these are just what I used for this particular workout.  You can also use any number of reps so long as you use a ladder type protocol.
         
Give this workout a try and post up your times in the comments.

Lose That Fat Fatty McFatterson

Kettlebells kick my ass. I love it. Just cardio and grippers today. Again, most grip work was done between KB sets. Today was volume grippers.

Jumping Jacks
x50
x50

KB Swings 44#
x20
x20
x20
x20
x20
x20

Grippers
Trainer x10 BH

RH, #2 CCS: 3,5,6
RH, #1 CCS: 13
RH FBBC 2x Smooth CCS: 8

LH #1 CCS: 8,9,10,10,10

Well that's it for today. Jason and I are having this little contest to see who can drop down to 245 first. Deadline is March 1st. I intend to go beyond that a little, but I am looking forward to the friendly competition. Loser buys the other dude a six pack of beer winners choice! I AM DOWN! I think he under estimates how much I love beer... but don't tell him that. lol

11-3-2011

Got a nice workout in at lunch today including benching for the first time in a year based on my log entries. My shoulders did not seem to dig on it too much which is a first. But some good stretching and easing into it again should help. I didn't push it and left lots in the tank. BW was down this morning to a new recent low and I'm pretty happy about that as well. Also closed my Easy #3.5 again RH in this workout which is great after missing it last workout.

Anywho, here is what went down today. About 45-50min total.

BW 254.9 this AM

Lunchtime
Jump rope 60x, 60x

Squats (ATG)
10x45
10x140
8x162
5x195
16x195

Grippers (interspersed with Squats and Bench)
20x#T, 20x#1, 15x#2
RH
3xE3
2xBBGM
1xAvg3
1xF3
1xE3.5
3x3xAvg3
2x2xAvg3
5/8 BBM 25sec OC

LH
2xE3
1xBBGM
0xAvg3 to 1/8
7x2xE3
1xE3
5/8 BBM 20sec OC

Bench
8x140
6x185
2x6x207

Baby Huey

267.. That is the number. This doesn't work for me. I feel ok, but ya know I can see how big I am. Aaron and Russ have inadvertently encouraged me to lose weight. I am not gonna go crazy and do any extreme dieting, but I will watch what I eat more than what I do. I will also use the kettlebell that Aaron has let me borrow. It started today.

Kettlebell Swings
44x10
44x10
44x20
44x20
44x20

I rested long enough between sets to do some squeezes on my grippers. Here is what I did.

Grippers that were choked down to 1 in.
2.5x5 RH
  2 x5 LH
2.5x5 RH
   2x5 LH
2.5x5 RH
   2x5 LH

I never have used choked grippers for any serious training. I think on my heavy MMS set days I will try it for a while. I seemed to have been able to close the 2.5 with much more force since I don't have to spend extra energy trying to set it just right. All those closes you see are reps, and not singles. I have never been able to do that with my 2.5 before.

I also choked my #3 which evidently is a hard one. It was choked to 3/4".
x1 to 1/4"
x1 to 1/4"
x1 to 1/4"
x1 to 1/8" yeah bitches!

Hey, it's a big deal to me!

Z

11-2-2011

Got the new Birthday Pendlay Bumpers in last night but didn't have a chance to take a look at them until today at lunch. Turns out they shipped me the black ones instead of the colored ones I ordered. Bummer. I already talked to the company I bought them from and they will be shipping the appropriate ones. I was looking forward to using those suckers this week but oh well.

On a different note, BW was 256.4 this morning and did hot tub last night followed by foam rolling and stretching before bed. Very little soreness to speak of today which is really nice. I may have to make this a regular routine now that we got the hot tub up and running. Gonna try to do some KB swings or something tonight.

October 2011 in review

Every month I'll do a review of my progress in strength gains and body transformation as well.  I've never looked back over a previous month before to see what I accomplished strength wise.  Now that I have I see that it is a very valuable gauge, especially if I'm feeling that I haven't really made much progress.  I recommend everyone do this at the end of the month so you can see where you started and where you are now.  I'm really looking forward to reviewing the whole year come January 1st to really see where I've progressed and where I need to focus more.

Project MiniMalice is off to a good start so far.  I'm down 4 lbs. this week...don't know about bod yfat or measurements because I didn't check them last week but from now on I'll keep track of those as well.

The crowning achievement for the last 3 months was taking 1st overall in AZ @ World's Strongest Hands and 15th overall worldwide out of 124 competitors.  Not only that but setting PR's in different feats of strength after each leg was very motivational.

Strength PR's
Pinch
-2x35/2x15kg loose plate pinch
-2x35+12.5 lbs. added
-5x10 loose plate pinch
-6x10's trainer +5 lbs. added
-40 lb. hex dumbbell deadlift
-50 lb. hex dumbbell deadlift
-45# hub +17.5 lbs. added
Thickbar
-Axle deadlift 340 lbs.
Grippers
-#2.5@20mm x21 reps
-#3@20mm x5 reps
-#3.5@20mm x1 rep
-IMTUG5 x8 reps
-Vulcan level 17@20mm

Overall it was a great month for grip strength but I am disappointed to see nothing for all around strength.  I guess that's because I didn't really do much weight lifting last month.  That changes starting immediately, though.  I'm going to get back to lifting consistently as well as working hard on my strength and conditioning.  I was hoping that the Mash Monster 2 gripper would have shown up so I could add that to October's list of accomplishments but I guess it'll just be the first of November's accomplishments instead :)

11-1-2011

Quick Lunchtime workout today. Everything is going relatively well. Got an appointment scheduled with the Gastroenterologist in a couple weeks for my gut issues, got the winter cover crop planted in my main garden plot at home as well as the plot at the community garden planted with veggies, finally got the hot tub up and working after 18months or so of having it, and my new Pendlay colored training bumpers should be getting delivered this afternoon. The bumpers are my B-day present. :)

Anywho, today's workout was quick and good. Started feeling just a little nauseous towards the end which means I was in the appropriate intensity zone. Very fast paced without much time between sets. BW was 259 this am.

Jump Rope 60x, 60x

Hot water soak forearms

Squats & Grippers supersets (actually continued to superset grippers with pretty much each set of anything else all the way to the end of the workout)
10x45
10x140
10x185
10x227
BH 25x#T, 30x#1, 10x#2
RH 4xE3, 1xF3, 4xE3, 0xE3.5 to 1/16, 3x1xEE, 33x#2
LH 2xE3, 1xBBGM, 2xE3, 1xBBGM, 2x1xE3, 0xE3 miss by hair, 13x#2

Standing Press
8x140

DO Oly DL (heels together)
5x140, 2x235, 2x280, 2x3x330

Grip workout 10-29-2011

Zac and Tim came over this morning for a nice group training session. It was a really good session for me. Also wanted to welcome Russ to the blog as a contributer. Anywho, heres my stuff for the day.

Jump Rope 80x

Squats (ATG)
10x140
10x162
20x185

Standing Press
5x140
3x162
3x185

2HP Saxon Bar DL
5x40
5x130
5x180
2x225
1x247
1x257
2x0x270 (1st one almost to knees, 2nd almost to lockout)

1H Axle DL
1x185 BH
1x195 RH, x0 LH (Neg)

Axle Clean
1x195 -> SLDL x 8

2 - 45# hub farmers across the yard and back

Hub Lift
1x45# BH
1x65# BH
1x80# RH

Blob lift
RHx1
LHx0 half way up

2H Plate curl
3x75# (york 75# plate)

Cyplenov's
6x75# LH
8x75# RH

Grippers
BBGMx1 RH, x0 LH

KB swings
25kg
10x each hand every minute for 4 minutes (80x)

Thanks Aaron!

Hey everyone, Russ here.  Aaron has given me the opportunity to contribute to his blog so I'll try to add some interesting tidbits from time to time.  Aaron and Zac are already doing a great job here so hopefully I can add something of value :)

For those who don't know me, I live an hour and a half from these guys and I've been training my grip specifically for about a year and a half now with 5 months of that doing injury rehab.  Until mid August this year I pretty much only trained grippers with the odd RT and pinch workout thrown in here and there but was never consistent with anything other than grippers.  Since August I've declared war on pinch/thickbar and have seen all aspects of my grip go through the roof and now I'm pretty much addicted to working on pinch.  Then again, when you have the opportunity to train with Aaron and his bionic thumbs it's hard not to want to improve pinch...lol

Some of my most recent PR's are closing my 174 lb. 3.5 with a 20mm block set, axle deadlift 340 lbs., 2x35's +12.5 lbs. plate pinch, 5 dimes pinch and just lifted 6 dimes pinned (still can't get them loose but getting closer) and a 45# hub with +17.5 lbs. added.  I also achieved the MM1 cert in September and am waiting on the MM2 gripper to show up now to smash that as well.  Some goals I want to achieve this year are 2x45 pinch (I have to beat Zac), 6 dimes, MM2 (of course), HOSS 3.5 and axle deadlift 350#...and all this while cutting fat.

Thanks guys...train hard and have fun!

Last Three Days

I had a goal of closing a C.o.C. #3 by the end of the summer. While technically I did close Aaron's easy 3, and that was cool for me, I need to do better. At the very least I want to be able to close his average 3 by the end of the year. I am of course talking about using a MMS set. I continue to try setting my #3 which seems REALLY hard. I am getting better at setting that bad boy in my hand, but once I set it to parallel I can barely get any squeeze out of it.

Been reading a lot of posts on various forums about how people train for closing this monster. I noticed one thing many of them had in common was high volume training. I say high volume, but all I mean by that is higher than me. I have been use to only a few warm ups, and then a 5x5 at the most. Really doesn't seem like a lot when I think about it. I feel I take my gripper workouts seriously these days, and I think what has happened is my hands are finally ready for more. I feel like they can take more now that they have some good muscle built up from the last year of playing with grippers, and pinch stuff.

I have no plans on going crazy with a "Joe Kinney 4 Hour Workout", but I have proven over the last 3 days that I can take more with more frequency. Without specifics, here is what I have done.

Over the last 3 days I have closed my grippers a total of 112 times. Again, really doesn't seem like a lot, but they have been quality, serious attempts at real closes. It is also 112 closes in 3 days compared to 112 closes over 2 weeks.

#1x74
#2x28
#2.5x10

 First day was Tempo work, second was MMS, and third day was CCS. I was able to do all of these feeling strong, and without any major arm or hand pain. In conjunction with all this I have trained 2HP for the first and second day, and 1HP for the third, and made nice gains on both. I also have done my regular body strength exercises as well... bench, DL, OHP, and light squats with light sandbag work for a little cardio.

All this to say that my "staying power" seems to have increased. I was having trouble for the longest time getting a decently hard and lasting workout with grippers. I always just seemed to peter out of hand strength during what I thought should have been halfway through a workout.

I will now give the hands two days off to recover and see how they feel on Monday. If they feel decent, I will repeat the process. Gonna see if a little more volume, and frequency will get me to that #3. If 3 days in a row turns out to be a bit much I will back off to 2 and see what happens then.

Gonna make that #3 mine, and will cert on it next year.

-Z

10-27-2011 Workout

I've been dealing with gut issues for the last few months among other issues and finally got into the doctor yesterday to get checked out. Also of concern was my strength levels especially in my hands had seem to have been slowly dropping for the last few weeks and all of a sudden starting monday I experienced a major drop in hand strength. As in could only get a Trainer gripper to 1" literally kind of drop. For those of you that know what that means that is big. I got referrals to a couple specialists but he seemed to think the gut issues may be Ulcerative Colitis, and that the hand issue may be some kind of nerve impingment somewhere. I'll know more after seeing the gastroenterologist and getting the nerve conduction tests done I hope. The good news is strength levels are back up some so I got a quick workout in today. Still not where I should be but definately better. Also did some DSMO on my wrists and lower forearms after the workout to help open up the tissues. Seemed to help. Here was the workout from today and BW was 257.2 this morn.

Squats (ATG)
45x12, 140x12, 185x16, 185x12

Grippers MMS reps
#Tx12, #1x20, #2x20 BH
LH E3x1, #2x12, #1x33
RH E3x6, #2x20, #1x40

Jump Rope 80x

Standing Press
5x140, 1x185, 8x140

Workout 10-21-2011

It has been since the group workout on Sunday since I have punished my body. Not because of me being sore or anything, just too busy and lazy. That changed today.

Grippers
#1x5 BH
#2x5 BH
#2.5x2 BH
GMx2,2 Tempo BH
#2 CCSx5 RH x3 LH

Did some Bench Pressing

2HP
92x10
134x5
144x5
154x2
160x1,1

Did some hammer curls

Started doing my version of Mr. Pain Jr., but my new neighbor came out and saw me working out. I promised him a homebrew earlier in the day, and so I ended up drinking 3 beers with him. Time to eat.

Good workout, felt strong. Closed my #2.5 like it was nothing. Love the fact I can dominate it now. It's my bitch.

Z

Grippers 10-18-2011

Did a little gripper work at lunch to test something. Still sore from Sunday's training session so I didn't do too much.

Negative Accentuated Gripper work
#1x7
BBM 5/8 handles 4112 tempo + 11# Ecc x 1 BH
BBSM 5/8 handles 4112 tempo + 11# Ecc x 1 BH (LH more of a fight Ecc)
#1x5 LH, 12 RH
BBM 5/8 handles 4112 tempo + 11# Ecc x 1 BH
#1x5 LH, 12 RH
BBM 5/8 handles 4112 tempo + 11# Ecc x 1 BH

Group training session 10-16-2011

This morning I put on a group training session. Tim Struse came, as well as Zac and Paul. It was a great session and was pretty blown away when Tim did some reps with my 194# #4 gripper. Here is my stuff from the day, at least what I can remember. Everything was sufficiently smoked by the end.

Jump rope 100x

Grippers concurrent with below superset
5x#2, 1xE3, 1x#3, 1x EE, miss on F3, 1xF3

Super set squats with standing press
Squats 5112 tempo ATG
10x140
14x185
Standing Press 6112 Tempo
5x140
2x185
4x165

Blob walk RH about 10feet. broke off ground LH a couple times a few inches.

Saxon Bar 2 Hand Pinch
5x135, 3x185, 2x207, 2x227, 2x227, 2x227, 2x227, 2x227

DO Axle DL Heels together
5x130, 3x130 (Each hand 1HDL)
3x235
2x280
2x330, 2x330, 2x330

Mr. Pain circuit
Saxon bar curl 12x90 ->
Standing Bent over Wrist curls Saxon bar 8x90 ->
Cyplenovs 8x 45# Each hand
2min rest
Forkulator Ext 10x 5# ->
Saxon bar reverse Curls 5x38# ->
2"Vbar front levers ->
2"Vbar Standing Tricep extension Levers ->
Thumbless Axle Reverse Curl till bar fell out of hands

Gripper
#1x4 Each Hand

2" Vbar Hammer curls - neutral grip to really hit the brachioradialis.


Later in the day did a lesurely bike ride with wife and Kiddo.

10/13/11 Workout and Thoughts.

I couldn't help it, I had to try one of my Wee Heavy Scotch Ales. Get to that in a minute.

Punished my body for a bit today.

1HP Warmed up with 61# BH
75# x 7 BH assisted lifts then hold for time.

Tempo Grippers
RH #2x 5,5,4
LH #2x 5,5,4
RH #2.5x 2
LH #2.5x 2 Both Forced Closed Tempo Reps

After the big squeeze on the 1HP my hands really warmed up nicely. I figure I will use my 2HP as a training apperatus for pinching 2 45s. I keep ripping my webbing open on my left hand. My 2HP feels smooth and round enough on the edges, but maybe I'm just squeezing so damn hard that my hands can't take my awesomeness. Maybe not.

I really like the Tempo Gripper workout. Really makes my hands feel as if they got worked out without not being able to use them for a few days. Good stuff. Getting gains from it too!

Now on to the scotch ale. Brewed it months ago, and am suppose to let it sit until around Thanksgiving. I just can't stand it. Had to taste it. Dark brown in color with low carbonation. Malty in nose and taste with some warm alcohol feel on the tongue. Slight buttery taste that might be some diacetyl flavors, but that is acceptable in this style of beer... to a degree. Could use some more carbonation for my taste, but it is a big beer, and this may come with more bottle conditioning. All in all, I really like this beer. As it is around 8 to 9% alcohol I can store it for a much longer period of time to let it age. I have two cases of 12oz bottles, so I do believe I will let a good amount of this just chill out for a while. If you are intersted in getting a bottle of this, let me know and we'll see if we can work something out.

Zac

Fall Garden

So I've been slacking on the garden upkeep since early summer and the home garden got totally overrun with effing bermuda grass. Since its time to plant fall stuff we have started working on whipping it back into shape so we can get planting. I have already cleared out our community garden plot and prepped it for planting with a few bags of manure, 200# of builders sand to improve the drainage and 10# of earthworm castings tilled in this last weekend. Got some of the seeds picked out and a few more ordered including 3 different varieties of good garlic, carrots, radishes, beets, lettuce sugar snap peas and spinach. Yum! We are gonna do a cover crop at home once I get it cleared out in the main bed and possibly some of the other stuff mentioned above in the raised beds at home. Looking forward to some fresh veggies again!

Workout 10-11-2011

Only had time for a quick and dirty workout today. So I ended up supersetting most things. I think that combined with the slow tempo eccentrics made it a good bit more challenging. Total time about 40min

Super-setted these 4 lifts
Squat
10x45, 8x140, 14x170 (4112 Tempo)
Standing Press
10x45, 4x140, 3x170 (4112 Tempo)
Saxon Bar 2 Hand Pinch DL (with 2 sec hold at top)
5x135, 3x180, 2x205
Grippers
8x#2, 2xE3 block set slow Eccentric, F3 RH x1 (missed close by a hair and slow ecc), E3x1 LH (slow ecc)

Super-setted
Standing Press
3x170 (5112 Tempo) - Last rep very hard, meant to use 165 on these and forgot about overweight 45's
Saxon Bar 2HP DL (2sec hold at top)
2x220

Super-setted
Saxon Bar 2HP DL (2 sec hold at top)
2x220, 2x220, 2x220, 2x220, 2x220
DO Axle DL Heels touching
10x130, 3x200, 3x250, 2x300, 2x325, 2x325 (slow ecc phase on last 3 sets almost lost last rep on last set - fingertips)

Cyplenkov's
5x45 BH

2HP and Such

Finally got my 2HP together. Pulled on it today to kind of test where I might be with a non-seasoned apperatus. I pulled 152 for 3 reps, and failed at 162. I figure I could have got it all the way up as I did break it from the floor about 4 inches. Damn lack of seasoning I suppose. Of course if I were strong enough I could leave these excuses behind, and just yank the damn thing off the floor. Guess I'll have to get that way. More pulling huh? I can do that.

Did some all around strength stuff as well. My stout is looking great. That is all. Out.

Zac

Brew Day

Aaron has seen fit to give me the ability to post on this here fine blog. I have had this ability for about a week now, but I have been a lazy ass and have not written anything. This changes today.

I am in the process of getting all my brew equipment cleaned and sanitized today because after I pick up my son from school I am brewing up some beer. I bought a stout kit from my local homebrew store, and boy does it sound good. I love big, rich, dark beers, and this one promises to deliver on those attributes. At 6.5% ABV it's gonna be quite satisfying on those chilly Tucson nights we have coming up in a couple months.

I'll add some more info as it comes along, so check back from time to time.

Thanks a bunch to Aaron for giving me the pleasure to adding to your already awesome blog! I'll try not to drive it into the dirt!

Zac

Training 10-6-2011

Did a quick DL session today. Forearms are still a little sore from last weekend.

DO Oly DL heels touching
10xbar, 5x140, 3x235
2x285, 4x2x320

SLDL Slow eccentric phase
10x140

Training Saturday 10-1-2011

BW this morning 10/3 was 257.9#

Did a morning training session with Zac on Saturday. Decided to switch things up a little. Was planning on doing grippers but did a test day first before a little tempo work. Also tried a new forearm circuit I came up with. Still pretty sore from it today.

Squats (ATG with bottom pause 51X2 Tempo)
10x155, 10x155

Standing Press (bottom pause with 41X1 Tempo)
3x155, 3x155

Grippers
#T x 10, #1 x 8, #2 x 8, E3 x 3
RH F3 x 1, E3.5 x 1, H3.5 x 0 to 1/4, E3x3 41X2 Tempo, E3x2 41X2 Tempo
LH A3 x 1, EE x 1, E3.5 x 0 to 1/4, E3x1 41X2 Tempo, #2x5 41X2 Tempo

Mr. Pain the Forearm circuit
Super set of:
Bent over hanging wrist curls with Saxon bar towards you 75# (41X2 Tempo to failure) -> Wrist curls with Saxon Bar normal 75# (41X2 Tempo to failure) -> Cyplenkov's with 45# (41X2 Tempo) to failure + Negs to Failure
Rest 2min
2" Vbar front levers to failure (41X2 Tempo) -> 2" Vbar Tricep Extension with Wrist lever at top to failure (Slow Eccentric Tempo) -> Reverse Thumbless Axle Curl to failure (Slow Eccentric Tempo)
2 min rest
2" Vbar Lever Hammer Curl Club Negs - to failure

Literally could not pick up empty vbar or hold onto the empty axle bar when this was done.

9-28-2011

Decided to get a regular oly bar DL baseline today. Its been over a year since the last time I pulled so it was pretty wimpy. My back is by far still the limiting factor.

DO Oly DL Conv
5x140, 2x235
2x285
2x325
2x345 (tough)

SLDL
10x140

9-27-2011

BW was 258.8# this morning. Lowest it has been in a couple of years. Guts are feeling better too with the new diet. This will be day number 4 on it. I promised my wife that I would go at least 10 days with this very strict diet to allow my gut some time to heal. Only a few more days to go. I think I will likely stick to it longer though if the weight keeps coming off. Little bit of soreness today in the forearms but not too bad. Just the right amount and type of ache for strength building. I'm looking forward to an over body weight pinch DL now and also thinking I need to find a way to work the Axle DL's back into the rotation.

During lunch did some wrist work with the 2" vbar. A variety of different movements and didn't really track reps just feel. Also did some band extensor work.

Pinch Training 9-26-2011

Zac stopped by today during lunchtime for a bit of Pinch work. I missed my planned reps on the Saxon and I am unhappy about that. ended up doing short recovery and adding additional singles to finish up planned rep count for each set. Ripped the thumb webbing too on my LH at some point, thank you baby Jesus for chalk to rub into that bloody mess so I could finish the workout. Prolly some stuff I forgot that I did but this would be most of it. Been having terrible gut issues for awhile and finally made some fairly drastic changes to my diet a couple of days ago. So far so good and some weight loss will likely be a nice side effect. Already lost a few pounds since I was 270ish not too terribly long ago.

BW am 261.5#

lunchtime
Grippers light warmup

Squats ( Axle )
10x125
10x135 slow eccentric phase + pause at bottom of each rep

2HP Saxon Bar DL
5x135, 3x180, 2x200
3x225 + 1 + 1
4x225 + 1 -> straight into next exercise with only time to change plates.

Saxon Bar Pinch Stiff Legged DL with slow eccentric phase (did not set down for whole set)
3x180

Axle Press
10x135 very fast

Saxon Clean and Press Behind Neck
145x1 Clean + 2 Press -> 145x1 Clean + 2 Press ( back to back sets maybe 10 sec between)
30sec rest, 145x1 clean + 4 Press

Grippers
2x F3 RH 30mm block set missed 2nd close by a hair. Few Reps on #2 LH

35# plate curls
5x Each hand. LH set down and reset hand position each rep, RH was reset for last 2 reps

Saxon bar wrist curls 4112 Tempo, Empty bar 40# x 10

Thumbless Reverse curls Axle
33# x 16 Slow Eccentric phase ( Burned )

Could not move clamps/hands for at least half a minute after finishing.

9-23-2011

Yep sore today. Especially my legs from the squats yesterday. A bit sore in the arms and shoulders too. Did some extensor work today, nothing big.

Training 9-21 and 9-22-2011

Yesterday 9/21
Attempted planned gripper workout. Was not really hitting the reps and strength levels I was hoping for so I tested my toe touch ROM. Was barely past my knees so I called called it quits for the day.

Jump Rope
60, 60, 60, 60, 60

Grippers
#Tx10, #1x8, #2x6
LH E3x2 (31X2 Tempo), #2x4 (41X2 Tempo)
RH E3x3 (41X2 Tempo), E3x3 (41X3 Tempo)

Today 9/22
Redid yesterday's gripper workout with squats and presses instead of jumprope. Felt much better and gripper strength was on target. Did not quite hit the volume I planned due to time constraints but still very happy with the workout. Prolly the first time I have squatted in over a year.

Squats (ATG With Axle) (Sets interspersed with gripper sets)
10x33
10x125
10x125
10x125

Grippers
#Tx10, #2x6, E3x3
RH
  F3x1 (30mm block set)
  F3x1 (61X2 Tempo 30mm Block)
  E3x4 (41X2 Tempo)
  E3x3 (41X2 Tempo)
  E3x3 (41X2 Tempo)
  #2x13 (50mm Block set)
LH
  F3x0 (miss by 1/8)
  E3x1 (61X2 Tempo 30mm Block)
  E3x2 (41X2 Tempo)
  #2x5 (41X2 Tempo)
  #2x5 (41X2 Tempo)
  #1x13 (50mm Block Set)

Axle Behind Neck Press (Interspersed with Gripper sets)
3x125 (61X1 Tempo)
3x125 (61X1 Tempo)
10x125

Training 9-18-2011

Saturday I spent the day working on the remodel of my training room. Its been a few weeks since I have had the time to work on it so it was really nice to see some progress. Got the brick work done, and all of the drywall except for where the brickwork was occurring is up and first coat of mud and tape is done. So Sunday morning I was a little sore before the workout but most of it worked out once I got warmed up. I hit my planned numbers in the Pinch DL but it did feel heavy this time. Prolly due to the day before. Still a little sore today so prolly a good sign.

Jump rope (thoughout the workout with last set at end)
60, 60, 60, 60, 100

2HP Saxon Bar
5x135, 4x180, 1x205
5x217, 5x217

Saxon Bar Clean and Press
Clean 1x135 + 2 Press -> Clean 1x135 + 2 Press -> Clean 1x135 + 2 Press (back to back with brief pause between each)

35# Plate curl
RH 4x, 4x
LH 4x, 4x

2" Vbar front wrist raises
4x 41X2 Tempo

2" Vbar standing Tricep extension with lever
8x Each Hand

Blob Tricep Extension
15x

Some Gripper Work 9-15-2011

Did Some Cardio on Sunday 9/11/11. Walked halfway up Tumamok hill with my wife. The full hill is 3 miles round trip with 750' elevation gain and a real heart thumper for me. My wife being the badass that she is endurance wise can do this with our 26# child on her back. Me, just hauling my big ass up the hill is tough enough.

Today did some gripper work with a guy new to grip named Chad. This was his first exposure to grip work so I home he is not too sore tomorrow. I think he normally works on powerlifting and is hoping to help his DL by being able to hold onto the bar better. My grippers today felt significantly stronger which is a good sign. got all my sets at the new higher rep count and not one was to failure.

My stuff was this today:

Jump Rope 2x80x
Standing Blob Tricep Extensions
14x

Blob lifts each hand a couple

2 - 25s Plate Pinch Snatch RH

Grippers
#Tx10, #1x8, #2x5
RH 8x3x E3 Tempo 41X2 (30mm Block), #2x5 41X2 Tempo (50mm Block)
LH 8x4x #2 Tempo 41X2 (30mm Block), #1x ? A bunch 41X2 Tempo (50mm Block)

Thumbless Axle Reverse Curl
15x 33#

I know I did a few other thing to Demonstrate lifts to the new guy but nothing noteworthy enough to remember.

Training 9-10-2011 at WSH grip comp

Got in a nice training session and some good messing around lifts while I was helping with judging at the World Strongest Hands Leg 2 Grip competition on Saturday. Very happy with a number of the PR's including the Vulcan 30mm block close on Lvl 18, 260# on the Saxon bar DL, 1H pinch on the Saxon bar PR, and especially the 170# pinch clean and press on the Saxon bar. That lift is especially tough and unwieldy. My long term goal is 180# on that lift to match what Arthur Saxon is said to have done on it, with him being the namesake I named the bar after. Getting ever so much closer.

8x 50# blob standing tricep ext
Jump rope 100x

Grippers
10x #1, 6x #2, 2x E3
RH 2xEE, 1xE3.5
LH 2xE3

Vulcan 30mm block
1xLvl 15
1xLvl 16
1xLvl 17
1xLvl 18

Standing Tricep Extensions Saxon bar
8x90#

2H Saxon bar DL
5x140
2x190
1x240
1x260
5x210, 5x210

Euro 2hp 48mm
broke 240# a few inches off ground

Saxon bar clean and BNP
4x140
2x150
2x170

Saxon bar curls
4x90 (25# bumpers harder)

Grip topz
coin up to 35
stub up to 45 (not full lift)

1H Saxon Bar Pinch lifts
RH 2x1x90, 1x110, 1x120, 3x0x130 (broke off ground almost a foot each time)
LH 2x1x90, 1x110, 0x120

2" vBar rotations front
Standing tricep ext and Lever

Gripper
LH #2x4 41X2 Tempo
RH EEx5 parallel reps.

Training 9-7-2011

Rounds - Jump rope and Tempo Grippers

Gripper sets between rounds of jumprope

33.5 min total for both
10 sets of 55 rope jumps

Grippers
#1x8, #2x6
LH 2x #2x4 41X2, 5x #2x3 tempo 41X2, #2x4 -> #1x6 Wide Block Set
RH 2x E3x3 41X2, 4x E3x2 tempo 41X2, E3x1 41X2, #2x7 -> #1x8 Wide Block Set

Training day with Tim Struse

Tim was going to do his MM5 cert on Saturday so I headed up that morning and acted as his witness for the cert. Then after the cert we had a nice training session together. Its been a few months I think since we have had a chance to get together for some training and he has gotten a good bit stronger especially on grippers. He manhandled the MM5 gripper and also finally closed my Easy #4 that he has been trying to close for some time. My grippers are still slowly coming back after the layoff earlier this year and way below my peak. However I did get a couple of nice Post-layoff PR's with 175# RH, and 164# LH. Can't even remember what brand or model the grippers were now. Tim had them lined up by calibration value on the wall. After that I hit my planned numbers on Pinch and was pretty happy. Good session.

Jump rope 100x

Grippers
10x #1, 6x #2, 2x E3
RH 1x 175#, close miss at 182
LH 1x 164#, close miss at 166

2" VBar
1x 225, 1x250

2H Saxon Bar DL
5x130
5x150
8x200, 8x200

Saxon bar clean and BNP
14x130

Saxon bar curls
11x95

Saxon behind back wrist curls
13x105

Saxon reverse curls
13x55

2" vbar hammer curls
RH 11x
LH 8X

Training 9-1-2011

Time to get back on the stick on fat loss. Been feeling large and super crappy lately. Started a food journal today and did this workout during lunchtime and got a really solid sweat going. Starting weight is likely around 270#. Also results from the Chiro appt yesterday is that he thinks my neck/upper back has a sprain somewhere. Everything was locked up tight with muscle tension but with some traction, heat and active release work he was finally able to get some movement. Been icing a few times a day and doing anti-inflammatory, and it is feeling much better today. Gotta go back for another session in the morning.

Rounds - Jump rope and Tempo Grippers

35min total for both
14 sets of 35-45 rope jumps with grippers between sets

Grippers
#1x8, #2x6
LH 8x #2x3 tempo 41X2 (6th set was x2+1 bad set), #1x6 tempo 41X2 -> #Tx6
RH 8x E3x2 tempo 41X2, #2x6 tempo 41X2 -> #1x3

Pinch workout 8-30-2011

Quick Session at lunch. Had to superglue up a tear from grippers a couple days ago on LH middle finger before starting. Is still a bit tender. Also been fighting a really bad stiff neck and upper back. I can barely move my head right now. Was hoping this workout would loosen it up but it only loosened it up a little and it was not lasting. Going to see the chiro in the morning. This made the pinch pulls and clean and presses very interesting.

2 Hand Pinch Saxon Bar DL
5x135, 5x155, 7x190, 8x190

Saxon Bar Pinch Clean and Press Behind Neck
0x145, 5x140, 6x140

2" FBBC Vbar Hammer Curls (Ring Finger at bottom of chalked area)
LH 8x
RH 14x

2" Vbar front rotations (heel at bottom chalk line)
LH 7x
RH 15x

2" vbar rear levers (heel at bottom of chalk)
6x BH

Broccoli band Ext (tempo test)
20x BH 41X2 tempo (wow burned!)

Grippers 8-28-2011

Gonna continue with testing of the Tempo protocol for the time being. Hopeful some strength gains will come of it. Increased volume this session over last.

Grippers
LH 7x #2x3 tempo 41X2
RH 7x E3x2 tempo 41X2

Training session with Andrew Durniat

Had an opportunity to meet up with Andrew Durniat at his Gym in Wooster, OH while on my business trip. We had a good session and a nice discussion on training, etc over dinner. Here was my stuff, that I remember anyway.

warmup cluster
135#
DLx3 -> Clean -> Press -> BNPx5 -> Narrow Grip pullups x 4

2HP Euro 48mm
3x 110, 3x160, 3x190, 2x210, 1x230, 8x160

Plate curl RH
1x 35# bumper

Anvil lifts

1H Axle Lift York Revolving bar
2x140 BH
Neg @ 230 RH

Conv Axle DL York Bar
3x 230, 2x320

Vbar Hammer curls

Gripper Tempo's
3x E3 RH, 3x #2 LH

Pinch work 8-22-2011

Getting ready to head out of town for a few days on a business trip to Ohio. Had to squeeze this session in.

2 Hand Pinch Saxon Bar DL
5x135, 5x155, 10x180, 10x180

Saxon Bar Pinch Clean and Press Behind Neck
10x135

2" FBBC Vbar Hammer Curls (Ring Finger at bottom of chalked area)
LH 7x, 4x
RH 9x, 6x

Broccoli Band Ext
50x BH, 35x BH

Grippers 8-21-2011

Grippers Training
warmup
#2x5

Block set tempo work 1 1/8" block

RH 6x E3 x 2reps tempo 41X2
LH E3x1 tempo 41X2, 5x #2 x 3reps tempo 41X2

Training 8-16-2011

Didn't have much time today for a session but needed to get some pinch in before we go out of town for a few days vacation. Knocked this one out and man are my arms baked now.

2 Hand Pinch Saxon Bar DL
5x135, 5x155, 10x180, 10x180

Saxon Bar Pinch Clean and Press Behind Neck
9x135

Saxon Bar Behind Back Wrist Curls
14x105

Saxon Bar Reverse Curls
14x55

2" FBBC Vbar Hammer Curls (Ring Finger at bottom of chalked area)
LH 5x, 3x
RH 7x, 3x

Gripper protocol test

Testing a new protocol for grippers.

LH #1x5 tempo 41X2, #2x3 tempo 41X2, E3 x 0 ( no block set, standard MMS)
RH #1x5 tempo 41X2, #2x6 tempo 41X2, E3x1 tempo 41X1

Pinch Training 8-09-2011

Today did a little fun workout since my buddy Zac came over.

Grippers
RH 8x#2, 2x 1x F3 OC 5sec
LH 8x#2, 2x 1x E3 OC 5sec

1H Negs with 110# on Euro at 48mm

Blob walk about 15' RH, NL LH (skin tear still healing)

2HP Saxon Bar DL easy
10x135, 8x185

Saxon Bar Clean and Press Behind neck
8x135

Saxon Bar Curl
2x115

Behind back Saxon bar Wrist curls
8x115

1H Clean and Press
RH 2 - 25s pinch (mismatched sizes)

1H Axle DL
LH 3x135 high rows, 0x185
RH 3x135 High rows, 2x1x185

Axle Clean and Press Behind Neck
2x185

Axle Reverse Curls Strict
20x Bar

Hammer Curls 2" Vbar FBBC
Ring finger on bottom of chalked section
RH 5x
LH 4x

Franken-Monkey

Saw this on Hackaday and just had to share it.

Training 8-06-2011

Grippers again
8/06/2011

#2x8 BH
RH F3x1 5sec OC, E3.5x1 5sec OC, F3x1 5sec OC popped open to 1/8
LH EEx1 5sec OC, EEx1 5sec OC popped open a hair, EEx1 5sec OC popped open 1/8"

Training 8/07/2011
Grippers
#2x9
E3x1 OC
F3x1 OC

Training 8-05-2011

Grippers again

#2x8 BH
RH F3x1 5sec OC, F3x1 5sec OC, F3x1 5sec OC, F3x1 5sec OC
LH EEx1 5sec OC, EEx1 5sec OC popped open a hair, EEx1 5sec OC popped open 1/8", EEx1 OC Neg to 1/4"

Training 8-04-2011

8/4/2011

Grippers
Early AM
#1x10, #2x8 BH

11:30am
RH
#2x5
EE (159#) OC 5sec,
F3 OC 5sec (closed)
F3 Neg OC 5sec (forced in popped open 1/16)

LH
#2x5
EE (159#) Neg OC 5sec (forced in and popped open a hair)
EE (159#) Neg OC 5sec (forced in and popped open 1/8)
EE (159#) Neg OC 5sec (forced in and popped open 1/8)

1:00
RH
#2x5
F3 Neg OC (forced in popped open 1/8)
F3 Neg OC 5sec (forced in popped open 1/4)
F3 Neg OC 5sec (forced in popped open 1/4)

LH
#2x5
EE (159#) Neg OC 5sec (forced in and popped open 1/8)
EE (159#) Neg OC 5sec (forced in and popped open 1/4)
EE (159#) Neg OC 5sec (forced in and popped open 1/4)

Training 8-02-2011

Switching things up a bit on grippers and likely changing the Pinch work some starting next week as well. I tore a nice flap of skin on my Left Thumb today attempting some Blob pulls for Gripcerts.com and that is a good reminder that I may be training a little too close to my max and it is time to back the intensity / weight down some and progressively work back up. On grippers for the current training cycle I am going to shoot for a daily GTG method on Over Crushes. I took some video of the pinch work and will try to get it up later.

Grippers
#1x10, #2x5
RH 159# EEx2x1 OC 5sec
LH 159# EEx2x1 Neg OC 5sec (forced in and popped open a hair)

Pinch
2H Saxon DL
5x135, Blob picks RH negs LH, 3x185
2x235, 3x235, 235x2+1, 8x185

Saxon Bar Curl
10x95

Blob RH, Blob almost full pull LH

Saxon Bar BNP
10x105

Behind Back Saxon Bar Wrist curls
12x105

Saxon Bar Reverse curls
12x55

A few workouts and updates

Been busy the last few days with the remodel, etc so no updates here. I did finally get the outside portion of the door opening I was bricking up done though, WooHoo! Still need to finish the inside but it should be alot less hot inside than it was out in the sun yesterday. On the workout side of things, here are the last few workouts. I was starting to get a lack of progress on grippers so I decided to try and deload for a few days. May change schedule some as a result of the slowed progress. I did however close my again Easy #3.5 on the 27th though. Was hoping for a double but just could quite get it closed on the 2nd.

7/26/2011
Grippers

#Tx10, #1x10, #2x5
LH E3x2, E3x4, E3x3
RH E3x3, EEx4 E3.5x0, F3x0

LH CCS #2x3

Cut workout short since I didn't hit my numbers and had no fire

7/27/2011
Retried Gripper workout

#Tx10, #1x10, #2x5
LH E3x2, E3x4, E3x2, E3x2, #2x3 + OC
RH E3x4, E3.5x1 (missed 2nd rep by 1/8"), F3x2 (missed full closes by 1/8", 1/4"), F3x1, E3x3 + OC

LH #2 OC 10sec + #2 NEG, #2 OC, #2 Neg
RH #2 OC + #2 OC, #2 OC, #2 OC All 10sec

8/1/2011
Unplanned day

Gripper warmup
#1x7, #2x6

2 - 25# plate Pinch
pass between hands a few times.

Gripper OC RH, Neg LH, 5sec for either
BH 4x 159# EE x 1 (LH closest hold was 1/8" from close)

Pinch Workout 7-23-2011

Zac came by on Saturday and we got in a nice pinch workout. My top sets were actually about 5# heavier than I planned due to overweight 45# plates but I didn't think about it until after the workout. Also I did some unscheduled 1 rep max effort testing because it was feeling so good. I took some video but still need to pull it off the camera. Layed some brick on the remodel after that and most of the day Sunday. Boy am I sore today.

Pinch
2H pinch Saxon bar
5x135
2x185
3x230
3x230
0x280 did not break ground
1x250 long hold

Saxon bar curl
9x95

Saxon bar behind neck press
95x10

Saxon bar reverse curl
10x55#

Behind the back Saxon bar wrist curls
10x105

1x 2-25s loose plate pinch clean and press

Blob
bunch of lifts RH, Negs LH

Broccoli Band Ext
2x65x

Gripper Training 7-19-2011

Zac stopped by today during lunch to join me for some gripper training. Was a good session and decided to get in a few Negs for a change.

Grippers
#Tx10, #1x10, #2x6
LH
Easy #3x3
Easy #3x2
Easy #3x3
Easy #3x3
Easy #3x3
(Very close miss on 4th rep on some of these sets, Bad Gripper Set on 2nd set)
RH
159# Elite x3
159# Elite x3
159# Elite x3
159# Elite x3
159# Elite x3

Negs 5sec each
LH
Filed #3x1 opened to 1/4
Filed #3x1 opened to 1/4
Filed #3x1 opened to 1/4
Filed #3x1 opened to 3/8
RH
4x1x180 #3.5 all opened to around 1/4 or maybe a little more on last rep

CCS
LH #2x5
RH Easy #3x0 miss by a hair, #2x4

1.25" block
RH #2x18
LH #2x5

20min later CCS
RH Easy #3x1 missed 2nd rep by 1/4
LH Easy #3x0 miss by 3/8

Broccoli band Ext
65x, 60x

A bit of Tech

Saw this over on Hackaday. I think its pure BadAssery! A guy whipped up a band out of a few instruments and some Junk tech components like scanners, printers, solenoids, etc. Here they are playing some Marilyn Manson.

Pinch workout 7-15-2011

Had a nice lunchtime training session today. Bit of progress from last time and that is always good. Shot video of most of it as well and will add that to the post once I can process it.

Pinch
2H pinch Saxon bar
5x135
4x205
5x205
5x205
2x225 slight pause between reps for hand reset

Saxon bar curl
7x95

Saxon bar reverse curl
10x45#

Behind the back Saxon bar wrist curls
10x95

Forkulator
Ext 3x10#
Flex 20x10#

Pushups
30x

Workout 7-14-2011

Today was a light gripper training day. Just grease the CNS groove. I've been experimenting with a light heavy model and want to see how it plays out as well as some of the other protocol nuances. So far so good since about 6 weeks ago when I started back training grip again I was unable to close an Average #3 RH, and a #2 was pretty hard LH. I could still close an Easy #3 at that point (#2.8 level) but just. If my estimates are correct I should be in the mid 170's RGC range or #3.5 level currently which is a pretty nice jump RH and above an Average #3 level LH, maybe  mid 150's RGC. I hope to get back up to my top levels before the end of the Fall. My bests were 195# RH BBGE MM6 Dup, and a hair from closing my Easy #3.5 (169#). With goals for the year in grippers to close a 199+ #4 RH and 169+ LH. I think it is doable, do you? My pinch goal for the year is 125Kg on the 2HP or at the very least on the Saxon bar.

Grippers
#Tx10, #1x10, #2x6(RH)
RH E3x3, E3x3, E3x3, E3x3, E3x3
LH #2x4, #2x4, #2x4, #2x4, #2x4

Grippers 7-12-2011

Holy Crap my forearms are swole after this one. Really happy with the progress today. Wasn't sure it was a good idea to train today going into this since I was still a little sore from the Pinch workout on Saturday and the brickwork I've been doing for the Dungeon remodel. Even so nice progress.

Grippers

#T x10, #1 x 10, #2 x 4
LH 3 x E3, 3 x E3, 3 x E3, 3 x E3, 3 x E3
RH E3 x 3, 2 x Avg #3, 3 x Avg #3, 3 x Avg #3, 3 x Avg #3, 3 x Avg #3

Isometronic protocol
LH #2 x 10 + 10Sec OC +  x1 more
RH E3 x 8 + 10Sec OC +  x1 more

CCS
LH #2 x 5 + 10sec OC
RH #2 x 16 + 10sec OC

MMS
LH #1 x 40
RH #2 x 30

Broccoli band Ext
1x60, 1x50 EH 5sec hold at end of last set

Pinch work

Workout from Saturday 7/9/2011. Only had about 20 min to get everything in I wanted to hit so I just hit the basics. Before and after the workout I worked on remodeling in the dungeon. I found that I am incredibly slow at laying brick. Trying to make it too perfect I guess. Anyway Video of the workout is attached.

Pinch
2H pinch Saxon bar
5x135
3x205
3x205
4x205 with longish hold at end

Pinch hack squat Saxon bar
1x135 with long hold

Light gripper workout tonight

Hope to do some pinch work tomorrow so I went light on grippers tonight to just shake a few cobwebs out.

Grippers
#Tx10, #1x10, #2x6(RH)

RH E3x3, E3x3, E3x3, E3x3, E3x3
LH #2x4, #2x4, #2x4, #2x4, #2x4

Gripper workout

Forearm wrist flexors still slightly sore from Sunday's training but I decided to give it a go anyway to stay on schedule. Strength increases over last workout and I'm happy with that. Went for a top single to see where I am at early in the workout as well. Missed my Average #3 LH and my Easy #3.5 RH both by just a hair. They may have shut but I was unable to be sure so I'm calling it a miss. Pretty smoked after this workout and its gonna be a few days before I hit it again.

Grippers
#T x10, #1 x 8, #2 x 3, E3 x 1
LH Avg3 x 0 - Miss by a hair, 3x1x E3
RH Avg3 x 1, EE x 1, E3.5 x 0 - miss by hair, Avg3 x 1

Isometronic protocol
LH #2 x 9 -> 10Sec OC -> x1 more
RH E3 x 7 -> 10Sec OC -> x0 to 1/4

CCS
LH 3 x #2, #2 10sec OC
RH 17 x #2, #2 10sec OC

MMS
LH #1 x 25
RH #2 x 19

Broccoli band Ext
2x50 EH

Pinch workout

Zach stopped by for a training session today and we hit it hard despite the 105deg temps in the shade + monsoon humidity. Workout went really well and I think we both had some good lifts. Forearms are sufficiently smoked now. I think I forgot a few things but this is what I remember.

Pinch day
2H Saxon Bar Pinch DL
5x135
4x185
6x185
6x185 broke 7th off ground 1 foot.

1H Saxon Bar Pinch DL
3x95 RH
1x95 LH + Neg

2x95 RH + Neg
2x95 LH + 2 Negs

Standing Saxon Bar curls
6x95

Saxon bar hold extensor focus
95#

Behind back Saxon bar wrist curls
95 x bunch of reps + long hold

Hammer curls with 44# KB
4x strict RH
3x cheat LH

Forkulator
Ext 8x10# + hold
Flex 10x15 + hold

Hammer wrist work 6#

Gripper workout

From yesterday. Still sore today and should take a few recovery days before hitting it again. Testing a slightly different protocol for the next few sessions. I'm very curious to see what kind of results it will give.

Grippers


Warmup
RH #Tx10, #1x10, #2x5
LH #Tx10, #1x10, #2x4

Isometronic protocol
RH E3x5 -> 10sec OC -> next single failed at 1"
LH #2x3 -> 10sec OC -> barely moved next single -> #1x1

RGC to CoC converter app

Another piece of software I coded up awhile back. Contact me if you are interested in a copy of it. For converting between gripper ratings scales.

Over/Under Rep calculator software

I coded this up awhile back. Drop me a line if you are interested in a copy.

Evening Gripper work

Even though I did pinch earlier in the day yesterday it felt like I might have some left in the tank for a 2nd brief training session. Left hand numbers were down and after set of 10 with the Easy #3 Righty I was pretty much smoked but a good workout none the less. Forearms and hands muscles have a nice deep soreness today.

Grippers (Yesterday Evening)

RH #Tx10, #1x10, #2x6, E3x10, Avg#3x2 -> E3 - 5sec OC -> #2 - 8sec OC

LH #Tx10, #1x10, #2x5, E3x0, E3 x0, #2x8, #2 - 8sec OC

Pinch Training

Just a quick training session as I had very little time at lunch today. Still got a nice improvement over last pinch day 6 days ago.

2H Saxon Bar Pinch DL
5x135
3x185
4x185
4x185 (longish hold last rep)

Just finished a couple of PCB designs

 

Just finished a couple of PCB Designs. First one is a Microcontroller chip firmware programmer that connects via USB. Should be small enough to fit in an Altoids Tin. Luckily I was able to fine an opensource ISP programmer design that I modified to work the way I wanted. Will be ordering one up shortly. The 2nd one is a small button sized breakout board for an 8pin surface mount micro-controller. Its smaller than a dime should be useful for some upcoming small projects I have planned.

Gripper training

Knocked out a quick lunchtime workout today. Nothing spectacular, but my parallel set grippers are coming back a little. Was still just a little sore from pinch workout a couple days ago so I didn't push too hard and lowered the volume.

Grippers

RH #Tx10, #1x10, #2x5, E3x7, Avg#3x2 (missed 3rd by a hair)
LH #Tx10, #1x10, #2x4, E3x2, E3 x0

CCS RH
#2x8

CCS LH
#2x4

Morning training

Today is my daughters first birthday so I decided to get up early and get on the ball with my weight loss plan. Walked over to the park and did a light jog followed by 6 pullups and some stretching. Next did some sprint intervals. 5x 50ish yard sprints with walking or jogging between. Total time about 10 min on the sprints. Followed that up with a nice mushroom egg omlet, fresh tomatoes and some cantelope. BW this morning was 262 which is down from the 270's that I was at not too long ago.

Lunchtime Pinch training

Zac stopped by today to join me for a quick lunchtime pinch training session. Decided to try something a little different. Here is my training lowdown.

Pinch farmers for warmup
2 - 2x5x4' bars (40# each) take for a stroll. from back yard front gate to back of yard and back, 2 turns about 150'

2H Saxon bar Pinch DL
5x135
3x185
2x185 (could not lock out 3rd)
3x185 with long hold last rep

Saxon bar curl
1x115

Saxon bar Pinch hack squat
7x115

1H Saxon Bar Negs
2x1x95 EH

Veggie harvest from yesterday evening

Had a sizable harvest yesterday. Bunch of tomatoes, some cukes, peppers, carrots, etc. Check out the pic if you are into that sort of thing. The biggest of the tomatoes were about 1 3/4#, with 2 of them being over 1 1/2#. First of the Orange Ox Heart's, and Caspian Pinks ripened finally.

Gripper workout today at lunch

It sucked. My right wrist was a bit tender today and it showed on grippers. RH went from #2x19 CCS last workout to #2x8 CCS this one. LH missed #2x5 by a hair CCS. btw I was sore until yesterday after the Pinch farmers on last Thursday.

Chip programmer

Did some rework on my homebuilt Microcontroller programmer. Managed to get it into an Altoids box. Middle pic shows mainboard mounted in the mint case plus auxiliary board for programming surface mount chips and an actual surface mount micro-controller. Right photo shows it with auxiliary board installed. Not seen is my AVR MKII ISP programmer which connects to the mainboard and the USB on my computer for the actual firmware flashing. I still need to drill a hole in the tin and hot glue down the power connector, but everything else is mounted and works fine.

Pinch work

Its been a few months since I did any direct pinch work so I thought I would get back on track starting today. Nothing too crazy, just a little sompin-sompin to shake out a few cobwebs. Did some farmers walk work with a couple of 2"x5"x4' rectangular tubing implements. They are fairly thick wall and about 40# a piece. First walk was leisurely pace and prolly 150' with 2 turns. Next after short rest was long standing hold to failure, followed by more of the same. Last after a little rest was a cluster of 2H high pulls and snatches with one of these. Thumb pads felt sufficiently swoll up after all that and I called it a day. Total training time was likely under 5 min.

Trained some grippers tonight

Grippers went well, showing a little progress from last session. Still weak as hell compared to normal but I guess it will take some time to get back to form. Top sets from the session were Easy #3 x 4, Avg #3 x 2, and #2x19 CCS all right hand. Left hand best was Easy #3 x1 , #2x4 CCS. There was more to the workout than just those sets and lets just say my hands and forearms are sufficiently smoked. Also got some work done on the Sure Close Gripper lens material testing over the last 2 days. Got a couple of materials that are looking promising.

Some tomatoes picked from our garden over the last few days. There would probably be close to double the amount here but we ate them, cut them up to save seeds, or gave them away already. Also pictured are some cucumbers, yellow squash, a tiny japanese eggplant, and an enormous zucchini in front. Tomato varieties are German Johnson (large pink beefstakes that weigh about a pound), Yellow pear, Box Car Willie ( medium size around 6 oz), Stupice (small russian salad tomato), and Viva Italiano (plum type paste tomato). Tasty tomatoes for sure.

Lunchtime training

I'll admit it. I've been slacking on training for the last 3 months. I did my first gripper workout in some time a couple of days ago. I still don't quite have the fire I once did for training but maybe a little interest is coming back. My buddy Zach stopped by the house today during my lunchtime in order to taste test some of the tomato varieties from the garden. Zach is another man after my own heart being a grip guy, tomato grower and homegrown tomato connoisseur. After checking out the garden we cut into a large pink beefstake style tomato, munched on some yellow pears, etc. Also pulled a few carrots from the garden, to munch on. Every thing was super tasty.  After all that we started talking training and I pulled out some grippers for an impromptu gripper training session. I think both of us are gonna have some sore forearms tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by Big Z.

Gripper boards

First rev of gripper PCB boards soldered up and worked.