Developing The Crushing And Healing Hand

[Douglas Carney]

12 hours ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

...

Later in the day: 2.6 mile walk and a couple of hours in the pool fighting having water wars with 6-7 year old girls

...

Sounds like a great day with the girls!

[DoctorOfCrush]

2 hours ago, Douglas Carney said:

Sounds like a great day with the girls!

Oh yeah it was. It was a 7-year-old’s birthday party, and I was the obligatory enemy for the water war in the pool. Lots of pool noodle water cannons and flipping/capsizing rafts. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 8/11/24:
A. Grippers: Test week for MMS
     Right hand: 132, 137, 144 (2 misses), 150 (miss), 144, 146 (miss)
     Left hand: 121, 128, 132 (4 misses), 137 (miss), 132 (miss)

B1. Bench press: 95kg x3 | 97.5 x3  | 102.5kg / 225lb x3 

B2. Overhead press: 69kg x3 | 72 x3 | 77kg / 170lb x3 
________________________________________________________

Plate pinching: Pair of 10kg x 3/hand | +2.5lb x 2/hand | +5lb x 2/hand
                           Pair of 15kg + lavender band assistance x 1/hand
________________________________________________________

A. Flask holds, 1-hand: 28kg x 6s/hand, 10s,  12s

B. Dynamic pinch, 2-hand w/ grip machine: red bands x20 | +6kg x 18, 18
________________________________________________________

A. Isometric pinch pulls, 2-hand: 3 sets of 5 seconds

B. Towel hangs: BW x 5 seconds | +10kg x 5s | +20kg x 5s, 5s
________________________________________________________

A. Standing barbell finger curls: 20kg x 15 | 40kg x15 | 50kg x 3 sets of 10

B. Dynamic pinch, 2-hand w/ grip machine: red bands+6kg x 18, 18, 18 (+drop set w/ red bands x15)
________________________________________________________

 

Phew! Trying out a lot of stuff here. 

Grippers went alright. I was pleased to get a close in the 140s once again! I actually gave 150 a real run for its money. I think I missed 132 on the left by the slimmest of appreciable margins. Below also shows you how close I got on 137 on the left. That is the same distance as all of my other attempts at 132.  I seem to be able to bring a range of gripper strengths to a very similar endpoint, and this makes me think that I really need to work on that very end range of the close. Like the last 1/8". I'm thinking it's time to incorporate a little BTR training. I'll play around this week with my filed grippers to see what I can make work. 

Plate pinching went well. I was feeling strong with the 10kgs with added weight, but the pair of 15kgs still didn't really budge off the ground. I'll keep playing around with them as I make the 10kgs harder and reduce the amount of assistance I utilize on the 15kgs. I've got two band strengths below the one I used today. 

Those finger curls burn. I love it. I'll probably stick to a lower weight next week to keep the reps up a bit higher. 

 

(I added freeze frames to the vids to make it easier to appreciate the sets and closes or near closes)

Standard Fe 137 attempt

[DoctorOfCrush]

Finally received "5/3/1 Forever" late yesterday, and, man, that thing is dense. 275 pages of program after program. I finally decided on a program, supplemental exercises, and assistance exercises, and I spent time today either figuring out maxes of movements I haven't done in a while or figuring out setups for various exercises I haven't done. 

I'm going to stick with the same 4 days/week because that has been working for some time now. Here are the movements I chose to work with:

Main movements:
Squat, deadlift (double overhand), bench press, overhead press

Supplemental movements:
Front squat, SLDL, neutral grip bench press (multigrip bar), incline press

Assistance movements:
Push: Parallette decline pushups, tricep extensions
Pull: Dumbbell rows, pullups, banded pull aparts
Single leg/core: Weighted step ups, decline weighted situps, kettlebell swings

I'll plan on doing crush and pinch (my current grip focuses) on Sunday and Thursday. 
________________________________________________________________________________________

Workout 8/13/24: Testing the waters
warm-up, Agile 8, box jumps 3x3
Front squat: 20kg x5 | 60x3 | 80x2 | 90 | 100 | 110 | 115 | 120kg / 265lb
Neutral grip bench press: 30kg x10 | 70x5 | 90x2 | 100kg / 220lb x2
Incline press: 20kg x5 | 40x5 | 60x3 | 70kg / 154lb x6 
Weighted step-ups: worked up to 16kg x 10/side
Parallette decline pushups: set of 20

Post-workout dog walk: ~1.4 miles

- It's been a long time since I have done front squats, but I was shooting for 120kg because that puts me at a respectable 80% of my back squat 1RM of 150kg. 
- For the neutral grip bench press, I could have hit a third rep if I pushed, so I'll use an estimated 1RM of 105kg. 
- Incline press was new to me, and I didn't yet trust the setup. I could've hit another 2 reps for sure, so 70x8 would put me at an estimated 1RM of ~85-87kg, but I'll just use 85kg. 
- The weighted step-ups consist of me holding a kettlebell in the rack position of the contralateral arm compared to my stepping leg. Challenges the midline stability a bit more. 
- I had planned on doing at least sets of 20 on the parallette pushups, so I just needed to confirm that was reasonable, which it was. 

Overall, this was fun. I'm glad I took time to do this as opposed to just guesstimating (though these are almost all identical to what the guesses in my head were ). 

(It's not the prettiest rep, but I won't be using weights anywhere near this for my actual work sets throughout the cycle)

 

 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Easy conditioning: Outdoor walk 5.44 miles in 1hr 40min. Take the windows when you get them. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Testing week continues! Today's goals included seeing where I stand on plate pinching and 2 hand pinch. Also, I finally broke down and bought a hand dynamometer (GD Dyno 200), and I also wanted to test out my max on that. I was pretty pleased!

Dynamometer:
     Right: 212.9lb / 96.6kg | 207.7/94.25 | 205.1/93.05
     Left: 205.7lb / 93.35kg | 201.1/91.22 | 200.1/90.8

Plate pinches (all done on 2x10kg + added weight: 20kg, 22.5, 25.25, 26.7*, 27.95*, 29.3**
* Make on right, lifted but not to lockout on left
*Make on right, no lift on left

Flask, 2-hand: 40.5kg, 61, 71

2HP wasn't happening. I went into today with sore thumb webs, so I think that contributed, but so did doing both the dyno and plate pinches. I was hoping that plate pinches would just warm me up for the 2HP, but it didn't pan out that way. This was nowhere near my best (81.45kg from March). Oh well. 

For the plate pinching, it seems I am making progress. I finally weight my steel plates (they're all over the place), and my lightest 15kg plates together weigh 30.65kg. However, they are a bit wider than the 10s (3 inches together), so I still have some work to do.

I went for 3 attempts on the dyno separated by 3-5 min rest, and like I've read from others, my first attempts were the best. 

     

 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 8/18/24:
A. Grippers:
     Right: MMS top set / PTP set: MM1 replica 157 attempt (~1/4")
                20mm: Standard Pt 115 x 6, 6
                38mm: Standard Cu 106 x 7 (<1mm off of 8 reps)
                Filed click closes: Standard Adj. Fe at ~4th x 10
                Silver Bullet: IM 3 155 x 5 seconds
     Left:    MMS top set / PTP set: Standard Fe 137 attempt (~2mm)
                20mm: Standard Cu 106 x 7, 8
                38mm: Standard Au 96 x 7 (<1mm off of 8 reps) 
                Filed click closes: Standard Adj. Ag flush x 13
                Silver Bullet: Standard Fe 137 x 11 seconds
      2-Hand Grip Machine: worked up to 1RM - 2 red bands + 80kg

B1. SLDL w/ straps: 80kg x5x5

B2. Overhead press: 47kg x 5 | 54x5 | 61kg / 134lb x5, 5, 8

_____________________________________________________________

A. Static pinch: a few easy reps at 2x10s as warmup
           Flask, 1-hand holds: 28kg x [right- 7s, 7s, 9s] [left - 6s, 7s, 7s]
B. 2-hand dynamic pinch, grip machine: red bands x 20 | red bands + 6kg x 18, 18, 23 --> red band drop set x20
C. Pushups: parallette decline x 20, 20, 15/3/2
                      regular x 20, 15/5
D. Band pull aparts: purple band x 5 sets of 15

_____________________________________________________________

A. Barbell finger curls: 40kg x 15, 15, 18
B. Reverse wrist formulator: 5kg x 12, 12, 20

stretching

 

Brand new cycle, which means lots of stuff to figure out. There was a lot that I under- and overestimated. 

Strength movements:
For 5/3/1 variants in general, you have to choose a number of supplemental movements and assistant movements. I chose SLDL for deadlift supplemental, and these first week weights were a joke. At the end of a few a sets I would throw in 1-2 bent over rows because the weight was so light. I'll stay the course for now though. For those in the know, I'll be using the Rhodes 5x5/3/1 template for my main movements and FSL for my supplemental work. 

The overhead press will probably prove to be a bit challenging based on how the AMRAP set went. Based on the weights coming up for the other main movements, I expect to get more than 8, but we'll see. 

I underestimated both the push assistance (pushups) and pull assistance (banded pull aparts). I felt strong on the parallettes, but I burned out. Going forward, I'll do regular pushups until I can knock out all the sets of 20 unbroken. I have always considered bands as tools for stretching/warmups/recovery, but I got a nice burn going using them! Given I spent some time tinkering with other stuff, I didn't do the prescribed single leg/core assistance, but I will in the future (5 sets of 10-15). 

Grip:
The MMS attempt on the 157 felt stupid hard. I hope to start chipping away at that distance. My 20mm strength wasn't at the same level as previous (based on the end of last cycle's volume portion), but the 38mm sets were comparable. I liked using the filed handle on my Standard Adjustable set. It's also nice to finally put this set to use. I suck at filed sets, so I expect these will help. 

I established an approximate 1RM on the grip machine so that I can use it for some supplemental crush training that I plan to do on Thursdays. I'm going to use this cycle to determine if additional crushing helps, hurts, or doesn't impact Sunday training. 

Pinch training will be oriented to working up to 2x35kg pinching as well as doing supplemental work to see if it has an effect on my 2HP. Various movements will be done on Sunday and Thursday along with crush. 
 

[Douglas Carney]

1 minute ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

Workout 8/18/24:
A. Grippers:
     Right: MMS top set / PTP set: MM1 replica 157 attempt (~1/4")
                20mm: Standard Pt 115 x 6, 6
                38mm: Standard Cu 106 x 7 (<1mm off of 8 reps)
                Filed click closes: Standard Adj. Fe at ~4th x 10
                Silver Bullet: IM 3 155 x 5 seconds   

Nice Silver Bullet hold.  Did you use 2.5KG...more...less?

[DoctorOfCrush]

8 minutes ago, Douglas Carney said:

Nice Silver Bullet hold.  Did you use 2.5KG...more...less?

Yes, I keep a 2.5kg weight attached to it. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Easy conditioning: outdoor walk, 1.84 miles, 32 min

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 8/20/24:
Deadlift (double overhand w/ straps): 112.5kg x5 | 130x5 | 147.5 / 325 x 5, 5, 12
rest
A. Incline press: 47.5kg x 5x5
B. Dumbbell bent over rows: 70lb x 5 sets of 12/side
C. KB swings, 1-arm: 20kg x 5 sets of 10

A. Pullups (2-3 second dead hang): 5 sets of 3
B. Tricep pushdown (cable, straight bar): 30kg x 10, 10, 8, 8, 8

Main movement est. 1RM: 212kg
Total push assistance: 44
Total pull assistance: 75
Total SL/C assistance: 50
Goal: 50-100 for all

This workout took a while. It was a total of 30 working sets between all workouts and took me 1:52 to get through (including warmup). A big chunk of that was recovering from the deadlifts. I've got to get used to those deadlift AMRAP sets, which suck (I imagine squats will be the same on Saturday). I went into this workout having only eaten 2-300 calories and minimal water (only coffee really), so I think that contributed to my poor recovery after deadlifts. I was just feeling a bit woozy and couldn't get my HR down. 

For all of the other supplemental/assistance work, I'm trying to keep things in the 2 reps in reserve ballpark, and I really tried to keep every rep at the highest quality possible. If I can keep my ego in check, I'll recover better and last longer with these cycles. I may do something different for single leg/core work, but I chose KB swings off the bat because I just love them. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Easy conditioning: outdoor bike ride, 5.93 miles, 32:30

[John Knowlton]

way cool

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 8/22/24:
A. Front squat (no sleeves or belt): 67.5kg x 5x5
B. 2-Hand crush, grip machine: 52kg x 5 sets of 10 (65% of 1RM)

A. Bench press: 62.5kg x5 | 72.5x5 | 82.5/182 x5, 5, 12 (est. 1RM of ~116kg)
B. Band pull aparts: purple x 5 sets of 15
C. Dynamic 2-hand key pinch, TTK: 37lb x 10, 10 | 29lb x 28, 22, 25
D. 3-finger strap loading pin curls: 5kg x15/side | 10kg x 4 sets of 12/side

A. Pushups: 3 sets of 15
B. Weighted step ups: 16kg x 3 sets of 10/side
C. Flask curls, cable machine: 5kg x12 | 7.5kg x 12, 20

Phew, still have to work on my conditioning. The last bit of superset work was supposed to be 5 sets, but I gassed out and stopped at 3. Hopefully I can build up to completing all the work. 

I want to use Thursdays to increase my grip volume, and here is the reasoning I currently have for the movements I chose:

2-hand crush on the grip machine: I don't expect this to have direct carryover to grippers, but I wanted to hit my flexors from a different angle without the same skill involved as with grippers. More brute strength. I am hoping that it serves to be complimentary and not detrimental to grippers on Sunday. I'll keep an eye on it. I'm progressing it in a percentage-based fashion with 10s, 8s, and 5s. 

Dynamic 2-hand key pinch on the TTK: Thumb web and thenar eminence hypertrophy. 

3-finger strap loading pin curls: Trying to tax/directly target my weaker fingers in a closed/crush position

Flask curls on the cable machine: This is done in a kind of football hike fashion. I'm trying to mimic the Saxon wrist curls I see a lot of strong folks doing. This may take som tinkering to get the right feel. 

 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Easy conditioning: outdoor bike ride, 6.3 miles, 30 min

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 8/25/24:
A. Grippers:
     Right: MMS top set / PTP set: MM1 replica 157 attempt (closer than last week; see picture)
                20mm: Standard Pt 115 x 10, 8, 8
                38mm: Standard Cu 106 x 7, 5, 5
                Filed click closes: Standard Adj. Fe at setting 3.5 x12
                Silver Bullet: IM 3 155 x 6 seconds (+1s from last week)
     Left:    MMS top set / PTP set: Standard Fe 137 attempt (about the same as last week, but better paused set)
                20mm: Standard Cu 106 x 7, 5, 5
                38mm: Standard Au 96 x 8, 6, 6 
                Filed click closes: Standard Adj. Fe at setting 4 x16 
                Silver Bullet: Standard Fe 137 x 13 seconds (+2s from last week)

B1. Squat: 82.5kg x5 | 95x5 | 107.5 x5, 5, 6

B2. Overhead press: 50kg x 5 | 58x5 | 65kg / 143lb x5, 5, 9

_____________________________________________________________

A. Static pinch: built up to 2x35lb with right hand!!! Got it off the ground ~6 inches on the left
           Flask, 1-hand holds: 28kg x [right- 10s, 8s, 8s] [left - 8s, 7s, 8s]
B. 2-hand dynamic pinch, grip machine: red bands + 6kg x 25, 25, 15 --> red band drop set x25
C. Pushups: 5x20
D. Band pull aparts: purple band x 5 sets of 15

_____________________________________________________________

A. Barbell finger curls: 40kg x 18, 18, 18
B. Reverse wrist formulator: 5kg x 15, 15, 15

stretching

Long workout! I balked yesterday with my workout.  I started squatting, but something just felt off. I was afraid I was coming down with something because the girls just got over strep throat, and now my wife has it.  It's just a matter of time...

So today I figured I could at least make up for the missed squats even if I didn't do the supplemental and accessory lifting. My compromise was not pushing the squats super hard. I just did one more rep than I absolutely had to rather than a true AMRAP. In an all-out set, I would hope to get ~12-15 at that weight. 

I was pleased with how far down I could take down my M1 replica. Inching closer. For my rep sets, I've decided that I will establish the first set as an all out set, then use the remaining sets to hit an RIR of 2 rather than pushing to true failure on every set. I was also happy to find that I advanced in almost everything meaning that my added Thursday grip work did not greatly affect my recovery. 

I PINCHED MY 35's! This was my first time trying them out since I just got them, and I really didn't expect to do this given that I can't currently do my 2x15kg plates. I guess I just underestimated how hard my kilo plates are for being slick and wide. These weigh in at 15.9 and 16kg. Huge shout out to @Jedd Johnson for his plate pinching e-book and to @Ben Helms for posting about the Gold Standard Challenge and lighting a fire under my butt ha. 

 

 

[Ben Helms]

3 minutes ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

Workout 8/25/24:
A. Grippers:
     Right: MMS top set / PTP set: MM1 replica 157 attempt (closer than last week; see picture)
                20mm: Standard Pt 115 x 10, 8, 8
                38mm: Standard Cu 106 x 7, 5, 5
                Filed click closes: Standard Adj. Fe at setting 3.5 x12
                Silver Bullet: IM 3 155 x 6 seconds (+1s from last week)
     Left:    MMS top set / PTP set: Standard Fe 137 attempt (about the same as last week, but better paused set)
                20mm: Standard Cu 106 x 7, 5, 5
                38mm: Standard Au 96 x 8, 6, 6 
                Filed click closes: Standard Adj. Fe at setting 4 x16 
                Silver Bullet: Standard Fe 137 x 13 seconds (+2s from last week)

B1. Squat: 82.5kg x5 | 95x5 | 107.5 x5, 5, 6

B2. Overhead press: 50kg x 5 | 58x5 | 65kg / 143lb x5, 5, 9

_____________________________________________________________

A. Static pinch: built up to 2x35lb with right hand!!! Got it off the ground ~6 inches on the left
           Flask, 1-hand holds: 28kg x [right- 10s, 8s, 8s] [left - 8s, 7s, 8s]
B. 2-hand dynamic pinch, grip machine: red bands + 6kg x 25, 25, 15 --> red band drop set x25
C. Pushups: 5x20
D. Band pull aparts: purple band x 5 sets of 15

_____________________________________________________________

A. Barbell finger curls: 40kg x 18, 18, 18
B. Reverse wrist formulator: 5kg x 15, 15, 15

stretching

Long workout! I balked yesterday with my workout.  I started squatting, but something just felt off. I was afraid I was coming down with something because the girls just got over strep throat, and now my wife has it.  It's just a matter of time...

So today I figured I could at least make up for the missed squats even if I didn't do the supplemental and accessory lifting. My compromise was not pushing the squats super hard. I just did one more rep than I absolutely had to rather than a true AMRAP. In an all-out set, I would hope to get ~12-15 at that weight. 

I was pleased with how far down I could take down my M1 replica. Inching closer. For my rep sets, I've decided that I will establish the first set as an all out set, then use the remaining sets to hit an RIR of 2 rather than pushing to true failure on every set. I was also happy to find that I advanced in almost everything meaning that my added Thursday grip work did not greatly affect my recovery. 

I PINCHED MY 35's! This was my first time trying them out since I just got them, and I really didn't expect to do this given that I can't currently do my 2x15kg plates. I guess I just underestimated how hard my kilo plates are for being slick and wide. These weigh in at 15.9 and 16kg. Huge shout out to @Jedd Johnson for his plate pinching e-book and to @Ben Helms for posting about the Gold Standard Challenge and lighting a fire under my butt ha. 

 

 

AWESOME!!! Nice work brother!!

[DoctorOfCrush]

17 minutes ago, Ben Helms said:

AWESOME!!! Nice work brother!!

Thanks! One step closer to Silver, but I haven't tried to hub them yet. The hubs seem pretty darn wide...

[Jedd Johnson]

Nice path control on that plate pinch bro!

[DoctorOfCrush]

5 minutes ago, Jedd Johnson said:

Nice path control on that plate pinch bro!

Thanks! Time to get the reps in on these 35s and start deloading some 45s! Love all the tips and progressions. 

[Ben Helms]

23 minutes ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

Thanks! One step closer to Silver, but I haven't tried to hub them yet. The hubs seem pretty darn wide...

Those 35’s have a clear coat thats super slick but if you can get some chalk to stick i bet you could hub it! Westside chalk sticks well on those clear coat plates

[DoctorOfCrush]

9 minutes ago, Ben Helms said:

Those 35’s have a clear coat thats super slick but if you can get some chalk to stick i bet you could hub it! Westside chalk sticks well on those clear coat plates

Good to know. I'll fiddle around with it on Thursday probably. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 8/27/24:
Deadlift (double overhand w/ straps): 122.5kgx5 | 140x5 | 157.5/347lb x 5, 5, 11 (est 1RM of 218kg)

A. Incline DB bench press: 55lb/side x5x5
B. Rolling Thunder lat pulldown: 20kg x10/side, 12, 12 | 23kg x 10, 10
C. Ab wheel: 5x5

Tricep push down (cable, straight bar): 30kg x 5 sets of 10

This week felt a lot better than last week. The deadlifts did not zap me like they did then. It probably helped that I waited to start until after 8 PM, so it wasn't still 96 degrees like it was right when I got home from work. Deadlifts went pretty well. I would've been pretty happy with 8-10 on the AMRAP set, so 11 was a nice surprise. 

I switched over to DB incline press because setting up the barbell variation with my current home gym setup is just a pain in the a$$, and it limits what I can superset with the movement. I am just going to take the weight I was supposed to do on the barbell and divide by 2 for my progressions. As for the lat pull downs, I used the Rolling Thunder not because it is my favorite rolling handle but because it allows for maximum ROM. I'm trying to test the waters with how much grip work I can sprinkle in and not hurt progress on my main goals (crush and pinch) and not aggravate injuries. These gave me a nice forearm burn/pump at this lighter weight and higher reps. 

It's been forever since I messed around with the ab wheel, and I'll probably regret it over the next couple of days. . . 

 

[John Knowlton]

killer deadlifts, 

[DoctorOfCrush]

Workout 8/29/24:
A. Front squat (no sleeves or belt): 72.5kg x 5x5
B. 2-Hand crush, grip machine: 56kg x 5 sets of 8 (70% of 1RM)

A. Bench press: 67.5kg x5 | 77.5x5 | 87.5/193 x5, 5, 8
B. Band pull aparts: purple x 5 sets of 15
C. Hub: attempts at 35lb plate: NOPE
              GlobTop: up to 10kg w/ left hand and 10kg + 5lb on right hand

Didn't get to start tonight until later than usual, so I couldn't do everything planned, but I still got some work done. 

Kind of crapped the bed on the bench AMRAP set. Not sure what happened because the second set felt strong. Always next week. 

The 35lb plate didn't budge on the hub lift. I've got work to do. It is quite wide at 5 inches across, and the GlobTop is almost the exact same diameter and feels very similar when I use only my fingertips, so I will probably use that to aid in building up. I haven't done much hubbing (probably less than 5 legit workouts), but I'm wondering if it is like what I have heard about pinching where training narrower will help with wider but not the other way around. if that is the case, I will probably train on both the GlobTop and IM hub while I also find ways to deload the 35lb plate a little bit. Something to strive for!