A deloader for BlobZilla

Here's the deloader I built this past weekend so I can start really training to lift BlobZilla.  I built it to work with my power rack but you could always just attach it to an overhead beam in the garage or back patio as well, or make a 2x4 frame.  Here's a couple pics of all the parts I used to build it.

Here's the list:

-one 5" long 2x4

-2 hooks to hang the pulleys on

-2 pulleys for 3/16" cable

-2x3/16" clamp sets for the ends of the cable

-one 10" length of coated 3/16" cable (cable length will vary depending on how high your pulleys will be mounted)

-4x18" lengths of chain

-4 quick links-to attach the chain to the eye bolts

-4 eye bolts

-2 medium sized carabiners

-1 piece of 1x6x12" wood for the blob platform.  This was just a piece I had lying around but you can use whatever you want for the platform.  I'll experiment with a piece of rubber matting to see if I like it better.

-a 1" or 2" loading pin to hold the weights.

Instructions for the build:

Drill 4 holes in your platform material and attach the 4 eye bolts.

Attach the 4 lengths of chain to the eye bolts using the quick links and clip the upper ends of all 4 chains in the carabiner.  Now pull the chains taut and measure the total height from the floor to the top of the carabiner (You will need this measurement later).

Screw the 2 hooks into the bottom of the 2x4.  I went in 18" from the ends so it would fit nicely inside my power rack but you can go any distance you need to.  Just make sure that it's wide enough so that the weights won't come down on top of you when you're lifting the blob.  Also make sure the hooks are pointing out because the pulleys will pull in toward the center and will pull off the hooks if they are backward.

Next slide the pulleys onto the hooks (this is the easiest step of the whole process)

Attach a 3/16" clamp set to one end of the cable and tighten it down nice and tight so it won't slip.

Slide the straight end of the cable through both pulleys;  this step is important because if you attach both clamp sets first you can't fit the cable through the pulleys.

Before attaching the second clamp set to the cable you need to determine how long the cable needs to be.  To do this I attached the carabiner to the one end and clipped it to the loading pin.  I then pulled the other end of the cable taut and stood up with my hand in the full deadlift position with my hand in a fist.  Mark the cable where the knuckles of your fist are and subtract the total length of the chains that you measured earlier.

Attach the clamp set to the end of the cable with the bottom of the loop being where your mark is.  Now clip the platform and chains to the cable with the carabiner and put the blob on it.

Add some weight to your loading pin and lift if up to clip it onto the carabiner.  Lift the blob to full lockout and  if the loading pin with weight touches the floor before lockout then adjust where the clamp set is on the blob side to shorten it a little.  If you did your measurements correctly it should be pretty close.  If no adjustments are needed cut off the excess cable with bolt cutters and start Blobbing!

Here's a quick video of my deloader and BlobZilla in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZoKKwBuO6k

Training updates, etc

Just a quick update as to how things are going. Garden is coming along. Got the gate posts in the ground for the new fence and picked up the remaining steel for the rest of it yesterday. About half of the expanded garden plot has been double-dug and planted with some late winter crops like lettuce, broccoli, beets, cauliflower, spinach, etc. No spring stuff in the ground yet. Gotta love the Tucson winters with it already in the 80's some days here.

Training wise I have shifted gears. The plan I was working off of was a bit more than my current recovery abilities were capable of handling. The high tension levels of the above 90% gripper closes were also exacerbating shoulder tightness issue and upper back / neck tightness problems. So I took a few days off and reformulated a new plan. Training more often at a lower intensity level and lower volume. Added in alot more stretching and active shoulder rehab work to try and get my problematic left one good and loosened up as well as pain free before I damage it more. Will be mostly GTG and Ladders for awhile to see how this plays out based on the ideas behind this. It is pretty low daily volume per exercise in one workset but single workset stuff has worked for me before. In addition to adding the active shoulder rehab work in, I have added overhead press and bench which I haven't done much of since early 2012. Still hopeful to get an over 40 yrs above 400# bench again before I'm too old and broken to do it.

Starting point on the Bench was 5x135 on Monday and 5x95 on the Seated Overhead Press. Low percentage lifts both of them by the feel. Doing the lifts each day and trying to add a little weight til I hit my 5RM.

Weekend update

Just a quick update on the weekend. Boy am I sore today. I did manage a bit of training Friday night, some hub and pinch work mostly. But much of the rest of the weekend was spent working on the garden.

I am preparing to put up a new steel fence around the garden and so getting the area prepped is paramount. Saturday we rented a gas powered concrete saw and I cut a concrete walkway for where the gate is going to be as well as cutting up some of the excess concrete to make it easier for removal. Got all that concrete removed and moved a bunch of dirt to level out the ground. Also we got a few more plants in the ground as well as getting the new Blueberry bush and Strawberries planted into their new containers. Still have quite a bit of double digging to do in the garden to add manure as well as removing grass runners and roots. I think I'm just about half way done with that. Looking forward to getting the first couple of posts for the fence set in sometime this week. Then getting the rest of the steel needed ordered.

In other news I tried to do some more gripper work yesterday but cut it short. Still too sore.

It's been ages since I posted here.

 Gonna try to start posting again. Work and kids have kept me pretty busy but it's looking like it will be a good year this year. Lots of interesting grip equipment projects to build, interesting projects at work and kids are growing fast and learning fast. Also getting the garden back in shape for the spring. Woohoo!

Stuff I'm chasing training wise right now:

Get back to 180#+ on grippers but with 20mm block set. I peaked out at a 194# #4 close in the 2013 AZ Cactus Grip comp and had a very near miss at a 199# #4.

110Kg+ on the 2HP this year is a goal. Currently hitting around 100 to 102.5kg in testing.

Trying to bring up hub a bit on my new plate mount hub device. I like it so much better hard mounted to the plate vs the IM one. Current best is around 75# RH and 60 LH

Thinking I may start playing with some plate curl as well but nothing started yet.

Got a new thickbar DB handle planned that I'm very excited about. Gonna be solid cast iron and mimic dimensions of Inch Replica DB. Will be custom making some special cast iron plates for it that have the spherical globe DB outer profile and are solid plates unlike the typical Oly plates. Stock is purchased, I just need to find time to start machining it again.

Make some more progress on the High Tech Advanced Gripper project.

Finish the production tooling for the LightUp Gripper project and make next prototype.

Build a new steel fence around the garden. Gonna do a nice wrought iron gate too I think.

Finish double digging the Garden for spring planting.

Build first prototype for new pinch implement.

Finish ebook on thickbar training program.

Anyway, some stuff on my mind to work on this year. Will try to update as I make any damn progress.

5-21-2012 update

BW was 236.1# over the weekend. Had a nice training session on Friday which included an Inch DB lift and Hub lifts at 70# and 72# as well. This weekend I cut down a couple of large cedars we had in our front yard and cut them up into firewood size pieces. Got most of the resulting logs and debris cleaned up. Got a little sunburned and tuckered too in the process with the 100deg+ temps. Glad its nearly done though. Unfortunately the trees were planted too close to the house many years ago and had started lifting the house and causing cracks and doors to not close properly among other issues. They will be missed but hopefully we can get some new trees planted further away from the house. possibly a nice walnut or macadamia nut. In the garden we are starting to get our first tomatoes of the season. Yum!

5-15-2012

Just a quick diet update. Still going strong. BW was 237.4# this morning.

5-9-2012

Finally broke under 240# a couple days ago. BW this morning was 239.2#. Lunchtime training went well yesterday with finally a full Inch DB lift and reps on the GHP #8 gripper, etc. Looking forward to more weight lost and more PR's in the near future.

5-1-2012

So a little over 5 weeks into the Primal diet now. Body weight this morning was 240.1#, so getting close to dropping under 240. That is really exciting for me! On a similar note I've dropped about 10# over the course of the month of April and about 19# since the beginning. Big initial drop was mostly water weight I'm sure. Training continues to go well. I tested on 1H Circus bar DL, 1H axle DL, and hub lifts yesterday. For the most part I had improvements of around 10% with the Hub being closer to 14% improvement over the course of the month despite the weight drop. Still gonna take it easy on benching for awhile longer to work on shoulder rehab. These were how the lift tests shook out yesterday.

1 hand Circus Bar DL (2 3/8")
RH 154# (had a little more in the tank)
LH 144# (Max effort)

1H Axle DL
RH 206# (more in the tank)
LH 185# (Max effort)

IM Hub lift
RH 70.2# (Max effort)
LH ~ 53# (Max effort, I think maxing on other 2 lifts affected this some)

4-25-2012

Just a quick update on the progress of my weight loss. This morning my bodyweight was 241.2#, nearly 18# down in a little over a month. Still feeling great and clothes getting looser. Sunday, Tim and Zac came over for a morning workout. It was a good one and I am still feeling it today. I managed a double on my GHP #8 gripper from parallel set as well as some good thickbar work. Looking forward to the next training session. Probably tomorrow at lunch.

4-20-2012 updates

Today I believe is Day 30 of me being on the Primal diet. Everything is still going very well. I feel great and weight is still dropping. This mornings weigh in was 242.9#. I started taking measurements and skinfold testing about 10 days ago and it looks like I've actually gained some muscle just during the last 10 days in addition to the fat loss. The measurement show it in a couple places as well. So that is a good sign that I'm not losing muscle in this rapid weight loss that I am having.

On the workout front I have been mostly focusing on my thickbar weaknesses since the grip comp a month ago. My thickbar has been improving as has pretty much everything else I have tested lately. Bench I have not been pushing though and instead have been working on my problematic shoulder with some rehab type exercises. I also reduced the frequency of the benching and lowered the weight while upping the reps. Most recent workout I hit 275x8 so still not too bad. Hoping to lift the Inch replica DB again soon. I have not tried it since starting the thickbar focus work but the stuff I am doing should directly affect my strength on it. I will test it again at the conclusion of this training cycle. I tested on the IM hub in warmups yesterday and pulled 67.7# which was a good 5# increase over my previous best so that is pretty exciting. This also means the training plan is working well I guess. Anywho, that is all I got today. Have a good one!

4-5-12

Day 15 of my Primal Blueprint challenge. BW was 245.8# this morning. for those that are counting that is 13.2# down in 15 days and it seems like pretty much all fat that is missing from the way my clothes are fitting and the measurement changes. Yesterday I tried my first Intermittant Fast of the program. I was a bit apprehensive about this because I'm a big guy and I had a pretty high intensity workout yesterday at lunch. Usually in the past I was getting hungry about every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Not the case anymore. Right at the end of the workout I had a banana to refuel my glycogen reserves ( I know a sweet potato would have been better but did not have one prepared ) then about 45 min later at 1:30pm I had a bowl of Bison chili that I had made earlier in the week. I didn't eat anything for dinner, just drank water when I got thirsty. Never got hungry either. This morning I got up still not hungry which was pretty exciting! Made a huge scramble with 1/2# ground bison with Emril's essence seasoning, salt and pepper, 1 kosher brat, Diced Carrot, 2 mushrooms diced, broccoli, onions, and 4 eggs. Topped with half an Avocado and some salsa. Yummy! Ended up being over 18hrs on the fast and no hunger! Would not have ever imagined this possible!

4-4-2012

Day 14 of the Primal Challenge. Was 248.0 this morning which is 11# down from starting point 2 weeks ago. Very happy with this. Had a nice brief workout today at lunch time. Was a bit rushed but still hit most everything I was hoping to hit. Did some bench until Left shoulder began to show a bit of irritation. Worked up to 5x295, 5x295, 3x295. Did a bit of Grippers, just enough to get a video of closing the GHP Lvl 8 from parallel set and a close miss with the 1.5" block. Will post the Vids later after I get a chance to pull them off the camera. Then did some thickbar work which is the focus right now. Was a good bit stronger on the thickbar than last workout 5 days ago. That is a good sign. I'll post actual numbers on this the next time I max which may be a few weeks. Just doing worksets for now and sticking to the plan. But within 2-3 weeks I think I will be capable of full DL's on the Inch DB again.

- Aaron

4-3-2012

Day 13 of my Primal Blueprint challenge. BW was 248.2 this morning. Feeling pretty good today but I had a few days since the last entry with some low carb flu symptoms. Not too bad. I had to read up on this a bit and found much good info out there. Apparently this happens with some people when their metabolism is switching from being primarily carb based to using more fat oxidation sources for energy. In the process of looking up this carb flu thing that I had seen mention of on the Primal boards I found some pretty good info on Metabolic flexibility. I've seen this term bandied about much but figured it was just some buzz word for a new diet. Turns out that is not the case and it relates to how easily a person can and to what degree switch between a "sugar" burning metabolism and "fat" burning metabolism. There is more to it than that as well but my summary stops there.


Haven't had much time to do much in the way of regular workouts lately. Trying to get the spring garden planted even though I am late. Little bit of thickbar here and there as I walk by the bar but that's about it.

3-27-2012

Day 6 of my Primal Blueprint change. Was 250.9 BW this morning. I feel better each day. Did a brief training session at lunch. Haven't benched in a couple weeks since the Push/Pull meet I did earlier this month. I did a 375 Bench at the meet and was pretty happy with that. Still hoping to get back to 405 or better again before I hit 40. Left shoulder still a little sore and I need to up my mobility work to take care of that I'm sure. So workout was short and light just to see how it felt. Also did some thickbar work with the 2 3/8" Circus bar as Jason calls it. I like the name so I'm gonna stick with it. I think I'm gonna work thickbar more for a few weeks since its been lagging a bit and see if I can start getting full pulls again on the Inch replica DB.

Bench
10x135
5x185
4x225
3x285
5x285

Grippers RH
3x#2, 3xBBGM, 1xEE, 1xGHP L8

Circus Bar 1H DL
LH 3x86, 1x130, 0x140, work sets
RH 3x86, 1x130, 1x140, work sets

3-26-2012

So far so good on the new Primal diet. I've been sticking to it and feeling better each day. BW is down to 252# right now. This is the lightest I have been since I started tracking my weight with the Wii fit 2 1/2 yrs ago. High weight was 275# around beginning of October last year.

I had a fairly active weekend although no weight lifting. Lots of walking, working in the garden, and some sprints yesterday. In fact I think I tweaked my left quad a little on the sprints. It sure is fun getting older.

Hoping to get Tomatoes planted soon. I'm double digging the winter cover crop in on the main bed right now. A neighbor who also gardens was nice enough to plant extra of the seeds I gave him and grow up the starter plants. He just dropped off a big tray full yesterday and they look great.

I'm Baaack!

I took a posting hiatus while trying to finish getting everything wrapped up for the AZ Cactus grip contest. The contest went well and everyone had some great performances. My new 2HP setup seemed to be a hit as well as some of the other gear I built and I'm really happy about that. So I will be trying to get back into the groove of posting training, projects and updates.

First update is that I will be attempting to go Primal with my diet for the next few weeks. I had considered Paleo in the past but never really made it part of my lifestyle. I've had alot of health issues in the last year or so that I am hoping this change will address. Much more so than weight loss, although that would be nice too. A recent post by Ryan J. Pitts at StrongerGrip put the bug in my mind to check this out again. So I purchased the Primal blueprint 21day total body transformation for my Kindle and a couple cook books from amazon after checking out the marksdailyapple blog.

This morning I had my 2nd meal of the program and I have to admit it was awesome and I still feel sated and in a great mood hours later. That is just not normal for me. I'll let you guys know how it is going as I make it through this. Breakfast this morn was a 3 egg omelet with bacon, sauteed mushrooms, onions, broccoli and avocado. Cooked the eggs in the bacon grease and topped with fresh salsa. OMG!

Btw starting weight was 259# today.

- Aaron

01-17-2012

Did a bit of gripper work on Saturday the 14th, and Monday the 16th. Here is the Deload Bench and 2HP from yesterday. Got some good work in with the Blob. Sore today.

Bench
10x135
5x185
3x5x205

2HP Euro 48mm
3x60
3x110
3x5x160 touch and go

Blob
RH x3, x3, x4
LH x1 + 2 Negs, x0, Neg, x1, Neg, x1

Inch DB Drags
x3 Each Hand

Blob Swings RH

Reverse Blob
RH x1

Standing Press behind Neck
10x 45

01-13-2012

Did some DL work lunchtime on the 13th. First time in awhile. Followed 5-3-1 parameters mostly.

DO Oly DL
5x135
5x210
5x245
12x275
10x185
10x185

Training 01-12-2012

Did a bit of Lunchtime work on the 12th and some gripper work on the 11th that I did not record. Anywho, here is the stuff from the 12th. Very happy with the top sets on Bench and 2HP. My forearms were sore for a few days after that.

Bench & Pinch Supersets 43minutes

Bench
10x135
5x185
3x225
3x275
2x295
2x315
3x315
10x225 Close Grip

Grippers
#2x1
E3x2
F3x1 RH

2HP Euro 48mm
110x3
160x3
180x3
200x3
210x3
220x3
220x3
220x4
180x10

Training 01-09-2012

Did a quick lunch time Bench workout yesterday. Little bit of TNS grippers as well.

Squats
12x135

Bench
10x135
5x185
3x225
8x275
6x275
5x225 Close grip

Grippers TNS
#2x1 BH
BBSM@1/4x1 BH
E3x1 RH with a little help getting fingers on handle.

Training 01-06 and 01-08-2012

Had a big session on Sunday and a few guys came out for it. Martin came down from the Phoenix area, Zac came out, Tim and another guy came down from Oro Valley as well. For me it ended up being a fun testing session. Nothing Max effort, even though some of the thickbar attempts were over my current strength levels. A bit sore still from the volume of good work put in. Friday was just a quick 5 min gripper workout in the evening.

Friday 01-06-2012
Grippers
#1, #2
Mini-reps
E3 6sec RH
E3 6sec RH
E3 6sec RH
E3 6sec RH
Cant remember LH Either BBSM@1/4 or E3 and similiar times.

Sunday 01-08-2012
Squats
45x10, 115x10

Grippers
#1x10, #2x10

2HP Euro 48mm
110x3
160x3
210x2 +1
230x1

Saxon Clean
130x3
150x1
180x0 Missed catch

Saxon Bar Bent Over Pinch Rows
200x5

Inch DB Negs
4x1 BH

45# Hub
Flips

Blob
2x1 RH
0x LH
1x RH
1x LH

Pair 45# plate pinch DL
4x RH
0x LH
1x RH
1x LH
1x RH
1x LH

45# plate curl
RH

Axle 1H DL
0x213 Just below knees RH
1x213 Neg BH

Axle Clean and Press
1x213 slight knee dip on press

Axle DL
1x335
0x385 broke off ground couple inches

2" Vbar
1x200
1x245
0x270 1"
reps/iso holds with 210

4P's
3x2x66#

SW handle
80#x5
105#x5
3x 1x 105# 10sec hold into negs

Canvas Farmers lifts
3x52
3x72

Grippers
#1x10 LH
#1x20 RH

Axle DL
10x213#

Finished the Training room remodel finally

We had a good hard push over the long holiday weekend and finally finished the training room remodel. It came out good. Still need to build a workbench and move everything back in but here is a video of how it came out. Final tally was Bricked in an old unused exterior door (double brick), furred out walls and insulated, drywall, added a couple outlets, Hand plaster finished, replaced window single pane with Double pane on side window and made new window frame due to wood rot, hand made craftsman style trim on windows, replaced exterior door, door frame, and surrounding framing, made custom the brick mold trim for the opening outside, relocated switches and boxed in casement window sills with wood over the original brick, paint, and cut stall mats to fit, Took almost 8 months of spare time. Hopefully it will look like it is original and that I never touched it.

01-04-2012 training

Quick Bench and Pinch lunchtime workout.

Bench
10x45
10x135
5x185
5x225
6x275
5x275
8x225 Close Grip

2HP Euro 48mm
5x60
3x110
3x155
3x175
3x200
3x220
3x220
7x177

Gripper
5x#2 BH

12-29-2011 Training

My last training day of 2011 and pinch was feeling good so I decided to do a test weight at 242 in between my worksets. It came up no prob and tried to get a 2nd rep with it 20sec later but barely broke it off the ground. Real happy with this. Was sore for a few days after.

Bench
10x45
10x135
5x185
3x225
3x275
4x3x295

2HP Euro 48mm unless otherwise noted
3x110
3x154
3x177
3x199
3x220
1x242 (2nd rep 20sec later just broke off the ground)
3x220
3x220
Saxon 2HP 15x180
0x220
1x220
Saxon 2HP 7x180

Hands Smoked, RH thumb joint tender before workout and all through it. Iced it afterwards.

12-25-2011 training

Just getting caught up on some of these workouts. This one was from Christmas Day, which proved to be interesting. About midnight or a little before Christmas morning I woke up with my gut feeling a little weird. Well within 20 minutes I had projectile vomiting and firehose butt at the same time. Stomach flu. That lasted for a around 6 hours and then I was able to rest some. Did grippers later that afternoon to stay on schedule but was still feeling pretty weak.

Grippers
#1, #2x4
LH #2 18sec Mini-reps, 16sec, 18sec, 2" set #2x3
RH #2 18sec Mini-reps, BBSM@1/4 18sec, 18sec, 2" set #2x7

Later #2 2" reps x 10 RH -> #1 x 12
#2 2" reps x 5 LH -> #1 x ?

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