Experiment

[yodajaeger]

I have already apologized for what I said in the heat of the moment in a previous post.

I think most of us have done similar things here, I know I have

No problems man

[cberg]

Sorry I had missed the post where you apologized. I have a lot of respect for bends that are done in minimal wraps and I think single wrap bending should be done more in contests instead of double wraps all the time. However some people will always prefer double wraps and some will prefer minimal wraps and I don't think either should ever be eliminated. I really enjoy watching your barehanded bends I guess I just got a little offended with a few of the comparisons that were made earlier. your recent 5/16'' CRS bend is a great bend. Keep doin your thing man

[AdamTGlass]

I'll continue to only train in double wraps. With the exception of Gazzas videos with single wraps, I'm more impressed with Paul Knight bending a BKOAB in double wraps than I am with somone bending an IM Red nail in IM pads.

CaptianCrush has the best video-picture thing in his post--the guy doing the spitting dinosaur thing makes me laugh every time i see it. If i could find that video i would keep it on my computer and watch it every time i was pissed off, and it would instantly make my day.

[stump]

I have already apologized for what I said in the heat of the moment in a previous post.

I think most of us have done similar things here, I know I have

No problems man

Thanks man

[stump]

Sorry I had missed the post where you apologized. I have a lot of respect for bends that are done in minimal wraps and I think single wrap bending should be done more in contests instead of double wraps all the time. However some people will always prefer double wraps and some will prefer minimal wraps and I don't think either should ever be eliminated. I really enjoy watching your barehanded bends I guess I just got a little offended with a few of the comparisons that were made earlier. your recent 5/16'' CRS bend is a great bend. Keep doin your thing man

Thanks man.

I too believe that different wraps have thier place in different peoples training.

[TKtheGreek]

the results of this ground breaking experiment will change the world of bending forever. Thank you for your incredible insight and advice stump!!!

Moderator Edit

Edited May 19, 2009 by EricMilfeld

[bencrush]

Yes, I believe I can bend a huge shiny in double wraps. Do you believe that you and Chad are mythical!!!!or untouchable!!!!

Nope, we're definitely not mythical or untouchable. There will be many guys who duplicate our best bends in the near future. You might even be one of those in time. I've commented favorably on some of your bends recently. But for a guy who is really still a beginner in terms of bending accomplishments, you did the equivalent of challenging Tyson in his prime to a fistfight a few months after realizing you could knock out some neighbor kids and/or some decently gifted adults. I don't even mean myself. I mean Chad. Chad is a monster. With that kind of horsepower, his ability to bend in even thin pads is going to eclipse pretty much anything you can dream of right now. I guess I should say "probably eclipse..." Anything is possible.

Show me a Huge Shiny vid in double pads and I'll congratulate you like a man. Heck, I'll send you a Huge Shiny with a seal on it if you'd like to make me eat crow. It has happened before. It could happen again. Or duplicate my recent Huge Shiny in Ironmind pads and I'd be a lot more likely to not poke at you for thinking you're as strong as a super elite bender - when you're probably much farther from his strength than you can honestly comprehend right now.

Think of it this way. A lot of guys would good-naturedly (and not so good-naturedly) poke at you if you were on a powerlifting board and did your first 315lb bench press (which is a good lift) and then said that you were as strong as one of the 800lb equipped benchers - without their bench shirt. This is very similar in my opinion.

I'm really not such a bad guy. I have taught my fair share of guys how to bend, and I'm more proud of teaching myself. Having humility and being grounded in reality are two good things also.

[bencrush]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojx7H1LQzFM...re=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7FwOPhg69w...re=channel_page

Do those and get back to us.

Thanks Adam! Those bring back good memories...of when I was weaker, lol!

[bencrush]

I never really compared myself to anyone anyway. Somebody else did it for me.

"My point is take away your double wraps and you will be where I'am at!"

You were replying to Chad and that seems like you were comparing yourself to his strength. Take away those double wraps and all of a sudden Chad would be reduced to being at your level of strength. Your level of strength is probably pretty good right now by the way, because a 5/16"X6" CRS is a good bend. However, depending on the steel brand, and grade, you could be sooooooooooooo far from being strong enough to bend a Huge Shiny. National brand CRS is super soft. SteelWorks is pretty decent stuff. Bend a Huge Bastard super easy and then you have a shot at bending the Huge Shiny. Although the two are far from being similar poundages.

[bencrush]

Gazza,

As has become our custom, I'm disagreeing with you on a bending topic, haha!

The issue I called Stump on is pretty clear by my other posts. Yet you took it as a call to defend your bending strength. That's kind of bizarre since - in effect - Stump was referring to anyone who uses double pads, or possibly anyone who has ever used them. You've used thicker pads than the ones you currently use and showcase. You've used lots of different pads.

So when you take away your double pads, Stump is as strong as you. That's far from reality and everyone knows it. Everyone but Stump apparently.

It's not even a stab at Stump's honor. Simply telling someone that what they've said is absurd to the extreme.

If he had said to my buddy Josh that he (Stump) would be as strong as Josh on the grippers if Josh didn't use a set - there would be laughter and some quick replies about stepping out of the dream and knocking on reality's door. This isn't any different really.

Stump, your bends are good. I like watching you bend. I like your videos. My comments aren't anything at all to do with not liking YOU. You seem to be very driven with your bending goals and the desire to get strong radiates off of you. Both great things. Channel that into wanting to learn everything you can about bending. In a few years, if you become an elite bender (you might before this time period), you will probably look back on your original statement with a mixture of mild embarrassment and amusement at your innocent ignorance of the levels of strength in this "sport."

Sometimes it's good to be humbled! For almost every person on this board there is someone else that can humble them by performing their pet feat better, harder, faster, whatever. I've experienced that a lot at contests and at other grip meetings. It's good for you. There is a lot to be learned by the comments - both positive and negative. Because some of the guys responding to your posts are elite benders. You're probably getting the picture that a lot of the elite benders use thicker pads than the Ironmind pads or the ultra-small pads that some of the more hardcore benders use.

It's a numbers game. The super-elite benders who happen to be great with small pads and train with them exclusively are not really that numerous. Gazza, Pat, probably some other very good ones. It's arguable what constitutes being a thin-pad bender, because who knows what thickness of pads they trained with the first year, two years, three, etc. They might very well have built their strength base with fat pads and then were able to demonstrate that strength with thin pads due to more of a hand conditioning/toughening regimen than an actual increase in strength.

Have these guys used fat pads? Probably. Did they gain more strength in the long run than they would've training solely with thin pads. Debatable, but I think they'd say they would have built up the tolerance over time to bend whatever they can in fat pads with their favored thin pads. That's not likely to happen in reality, but it's a hell of a goal I guess.

I've compared them before, but the pad argument reminds me of the old "Deep Set vs No Set" arguments that used to rage all the time. Most of the #3 and above closers that I talk to are big proponents of the parallel set and if you ask enough people who have trained with both of those sets - it becomes clear that most of these guys make better gains (getting stronger on BOTH ranges) when focusing more training time with the parallel set than the no set.

Same for fat pads. Or more accurately - pads that are significantly thicker/more padding than the Ironmind pads. How do you know you've got enough horsepower to bend a Huge Shiny if you've never bent one in thicker pads. I've heard that probably a dozen times where guys say they've got the strength to bend "X" elite piece of steel, but they're (paraphrasing) "working on their hand conditioning."

Meanwhile, while they are "working on their hand conditioning," the guys that are incorporating thick pad training into their workouts are suddenly becoming quite familiar with what they ARE or are NOT strong enough to bend. Building top-end strength is great, and so is hand conditioning. Seems like it's all the time that a thick pad bender is able to bend a Red Nail in very few (or the first) attempts with Ironmind pads - after becoming strong enough to bend a Shiny or other equivalent in thick pads.

From one bender to another: if you use both fat pads and thin pads in your training you will make better gains. Even the guys that have said they never have any interest of bending with fat pads (like those who perform for an audience) would be wise to incorporate some thicker pad bending for several reasons. #1 would be they could bend more frequently with less chance of injury to their hands. #2 would be they can bend bigger and harder steel. Thus overloading the specific strength that a bender needs. This really isn't rocket science man and there are enough guys bending and relaying their training (sometimes not publicly) that it's pretty simple to find out what methods of training work efficiently, and which methods are great if you're into taking forever to get strong enough to bend an Edgin.

Also, start looking back at all the posts and threads where guys said they were ONLY going to bend with thin pads. Have they stuck to their word? Have they sky-rocketed up the bending lists, using only thin pads? Have they left any mark? You will find some who have and most have either stopped bending or some who are still laboring along about the same level they were months ago.