Odin's Grip Journey

[odin]

Take a look at this photo from the gallery. Minibands for deloading the Inch

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?autocom...si&img=5736

Thanks tspinillo, that looks like a nice setup. My first instincts were to do negatives/drop it (adding extra weights with magnets when I'm getting closer), bounce it, or help with the off-hand.

Realistically, I may have to do a modified breathing squat/weight gain program to add some overall body strength. My body is so far behind my hands; hands don't get tired at all doing DO deadlifts with an olympic bar. Also, my hamstring, calf, and hip flexibility is poor.

What concerns me when looking at the GB Inch DL list, is that Rick Walker and Tommy Heslep are not listed. Rick always seemed to do everything he set his mind to and of course Tommy is superhuman. I believe both owned an Inch, at least for a while. With this in mind, my dream to lift it may be chimerical...I'll let you know more after I feel it in my hand

Edited October 6, 2007 by odin

[odin]

BW 157.0

Didn't do full workout today, only played a bit with a couple of full 50 York Blob DL RH (LH lousy today) and then moved on to blob face lift attempts with the 47.5 and 50 while cutting grass and pulling weeds between sets.

Best effort was breaking a 47.5 York blob off the ground facelift-style an inch or two. PR

50 Blob is just a little bit bigger, but feels way harder, got excited for a minute after the miss w/ 47.5 and kept trying the 50-should have kept trying the 47.5 i guess (actual weight varied on the scale between 47.4 & 47.6).

Edited October 7, 2007 by odin

[odin]

Sunday 10/7/07

Did red IM band on and off all the way to Atlanta and back, it is getting pretty easy now (extensors were weak two months ago).

Did multiple Inch attempts w/ Roger, broke the ground a few times after he corrected my hand position.

Tried a few futile Blob attempts

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Monday 10/8/07

Did red IM band plus green band (at the same time, same hand) during meetings.

Couldn't resist playing with Inch again.

Lifted Inch DB Replica about one inch RH several times and about 1 mm. LH once. Did several lifts w/ hand at first and then finger touching the bell to stop rotation. Tried to hold at top. It was very FUN!

Used 3" DB, almost broke ground w/135 RH, rattled w/L, did negatives w/ 135 and then 155 lbs.

I think I'm doing pretty well since I've done about a 1/2 dozen thickbar/thick dumbbell workouts in my entire life.

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Tuesday 10/9/07

Did light shot rotations throughout day

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Wednesday 10/10/07

Tried to reverse order of the first two movements, usually I start with reverse wrist curls out of respect for my L elbow and extensors:

Wrist Curl: 45 lbs.x20 reps, 65lbs.x5 reps, 85 lbs.x5 reps, 100lbs.x33reps, 100lbsx27reps

Reverse Wrist Curl 50 lbs.x35reps, 50 lbs.x20 reps, 50 lbs.x15 reps

Reverse Curl (thumbless grip) 50 lbsx20 reps (had to pause a few times to complete)

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Thursday 10/11/07

IM Magic Circle Squats: 58 lbs. (empty weight)x5 reps, 78 lbs.x5 reps, 100 lbs.x20 reps

situps

Messed around w/ pinch for breaks during yard work

Pinched two 25s with each hand and then two-handed with four 25s to warm-up, felt harder than two 25s, easier than three 25s.

Pinched three 25s RH (easy lift and hold) but couldn't break ground LH

Two 45s RH nothing happened, LH less than nothing. Will have to do a bunch of negatives and bounces and focus on this for a good while if I ever want to achieve two 45s. My pinch seems to get better the wider I go, within reason. MAybe I'll need to pinch something very thin, like a flat cookie sheet w/ a hole drilled in it? Not sure yet.

Felt like I almost broke ground w/ three 45s two-handed, but it felt heavy and a bit awkward

Broke 47.5 blob about 6 inches or so off ground RH (will have to check video) PR. LH can do w/ light finger touch

I think the 47.5 blob face lift will come if I focus on it for a few weeks, 50 feels ridiculously hard still for some reason.

In a way, I think face lifts are more reliable/consistent to repeat once achieved, it feels like the weight is less likely to slip because of the way my finger joints can lock onto the edges of the block weight.

Edited October 13, 2007 by odin

[t-wehner]

You have some nice pinch lifts going for you. Keep up the good work.

intrested in seeing how fast your able to lift the inch, good luck and happy lifting

[odin]

You have some nice pinch lifts going for you. Keep up the good work.

intrested in seeing how fast your able to lift the inch, good luck and happy lifting

Thanks T-Dog! I really have no idea how long it will take. I heard somewhere that John Eaton broke the ground about the same distance as me on his first try, and then fully DL it after 2 or 3 more opportunities that occured over the next several weeks/months (that account may be wildly inaccurate, i'd assumed he'd lifted it on his first attempt-it seems everything comes pretty easy for him in grip).

If someone knows any anecdotes about how it usually goes towards getting a full DL if you can get air under the Inch on your first try

Edited October 13, 2007 by odin

[odin]

Lost the end of my last sentence somehow...

If someone knows any anecdotes or personal experiences about how it usually goes towards getting a full DL once you can get air under the Inch, please let me know.

[odin]

10/12/07

Tried three 45s again two-handed, felt like they'd go, but no.

Did two handed pinch using two 45s and a four-pound pipe.

94 lbs. x2 reps

114 lbs. x2 reps

134 lbs. x2 reps

146 lbs. x0 (arggh!)

Did negatives with one hand and two 45s

Did negatives with 50 lb. blob by the face, not going up well with other hand assist, seems way harder than 47.5.

Tried to catch 28 lb. shot put face down, no catches.

TTK cooldown 10lbsx5reps+7.5 lbs.x10 reps+5 lbs. x20 repsx15 reps (did one-handed, same scheme each hand, no rest)

Edited October 13, 2007 by odin

[odin]

Mobster's opinion, he ought to know:

opnsysme

I tell you what , you lift off the ground even an inch, and you have my respect.

Mobster:

If you can lift it an Inch and then do the same but hold it for time... then you'll eventually do a full range dumbbell deadlift - it becomes just a simple matter of time and effort.

When I lifted it and the other bells both in training and showing off I did partials, plate loaded, part reps and full reps. The difference between me and someone who does it an inch is only time - nothing more.

I've been doing searches about Inch training today and answered one of my questions, makes me feel even more confident that I'll pull a full DL. I needed to read that, because I think I caught a cold or flu (get exposed to a lot of bugs working with people struggling with homelessness/ addiction issues). Just rested and read today.

[odin]

BW 158.8

I've been sick for almost a week with an URI/ear infection, but have 3 days of antibiotics in me, so I have the itch to train tonight.

Deadlift (DO w/ 25 lb. plates for >ROM)

warmup sets+ 195 lbs. x3 reps, 215 lbs. x 3 reps, 235x3 reps (doesn't really feel any easier than the lovely 2" axle I tried at Scott's, body is the weak link, not hands)I had more in the tank, but have had some weird pain in the hip area that went away during the week off from training, so didn't want to tweak it again.

took the Inch outside, another workout within the workout, but pleasurable considering the alternative

warmup w/ 3" DB (BH): 60 lbs.x2 reps 90 lbs.x2 reps

Inch: still experimenting with hand placement

did 4 go-rounds (I'm doing the Inch like it's just another Blob to master, try 2-5 reps, then rest 5-10 minutes and try again):

LH: moved it a little bit

RH: think I got a good two inches of air with a couple of tries, felt pretty good.

(wonder how much neuromuscular learning takes place w/ this type of lift as I have very limited thickbar experience?)

Finished with Inch bounces on mini-tramp. Fun!

[odin]

Saturday 9/20/07

L shoulder hurt during warmups, almost feels like a slight separation-so I just did a few light presses, rows and cleans.

Experimented with mini-tramp using 2x45 plates, Blob by face, and Inch Dumbbell (got used to it being in the air in my hand and fighting the rotation). Works great for the Inch, springs a little too stiff for lighter work.

Looked at my Inch training video from 9/19, was as good or better than I thought.

Was working on an Inch training FAQ and the whole area for miles around lost power as I was copying and pasting (using Abiword instead of M$ Word so no auto-save), and I lost some arranging/editing/cleanup work. Will have to finish that later-thought I might as well share the info I'd searched for.

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Sunday 9/21/07

BW 156.8 lbs.

Reverse Wrist Curls: 50 lbs.x38 reps, x22 reps x20 reps, x15 reps, x15reps

Wrist Curls: 45 lbs.x20 reps., 65 lbs.x5 reps, 85 lbs.x5 reps, 100 lbs.x24 reps 120 lbs.x5 reps

Wrist curls didn't feel good today, so I didn't push too hard. Must be tired from the Inch workouts.

Reverse Curls (thumbless): 55 lbs.x14 reps

Finger Curls: 120 lbs.x10 reps 170 lbs.x10 reps 190 lbs.x10 reps 210 lbs.x6 reps

(I've only tried these a couple times before, seemed pretty easy).

Heavy shot rotations.

[odin]

Did IM bands and shot rotations occasionally when i had breaks or meetings.

Left shoulder has been randomly rolling and clicking the last couple days, mild pain, can't point to when i hurt it exactly. Did situps, leg raises, and BW jumping squats to start the workout.

Started out trying 3x25 with the idea that I was going to see if i could add five or more pounds with magnets, but could barely break the ground RH and nothing LH (I don't usually have any trouble with this RH, easy lift for me ever since I got the old Yorks).

Changed course and did tramp bounces with 3" DB using 152 and then 172 lbs. What I did is push down with both hands and pull up one-handed as high as possible, and then basically hang on. I did about 2 rounds of 2-3 attempts at each weight per hand and tried to overcrush the handle on the last attempt of each set. The 152 lb. reps had a much great ROM than the 172. This should make the Inch handle seem small in comparison.

Was able to break the 50 lb. blob about a foot off the ground after this, which made me happy. Two 45 lb plates wouldn't budge.

I also did tramp bounces with two 50 lb Blobs, 50 lb. Blob by the face, and 45 lb plates. Finished with attempted palms-down catches of the 28 lb. shot put, actually caught/slowed a few tonight.

Keep writing "teh" instead of "the" lately. It is driving me nuts, maybe it is grip-related.

Edited October 24, 2007 by odin

[odin]

10/25

BW 159.8

Did some yoga at home between gripper attempts. Haven't been using grippers much, so I thought I'd see where I am. Did about 7 attempts with each hand.

RH: CCS and no-set the #2, but not grinding handles.

2.5 was about 3/8" to 1/4" away.

RB 210 felt so sweet in my hand, pleasantly heavy and wonderfully sharp knurling. Surprisingly, I was 1/8" or less away, felt like I could have closed it if I hadn't been doing all the Inch and 3" DB training recently (or maybe that's what helped). I think that's the best I ever did with the RB210.

LH: CCS #2 then went back to #1 due to elbow (not hurting, but grippers irritate my elbow sometimes).

Overall, it felt like my sweep was quite strong but my close was even weaker than usual.

10/26/07

Today I did a lot of extensor work during meetings using hand resistance only. Did yoga with our clients in the afternoon.

I still don't know if my L elbow and L shoulder will be ready to bend by Gripmas. I wonder if a complete pass is scored lower than bombing out or if I'm better off just bending a white nail. I'm going there to learn, but would like to give a good showing even if it is a last place one.

I had a dream the other night that everyone else had no problem knowing when it was their turn and what the rules were, etc, at Gripmas, and I didn't know what was going on. There were all sorts of weird devices in the medley, including one that was full of water and had to be lifted without losing any water to count, and my hands got all wet and I couldn't lift anything else. I was upset because i didn't know that setting the Inch on a phone book would allow you to bypass that part of the medley, and I said "like this!) and after drying my hands I fully DLd the Inch and slammed it down on the top of the other medley items in frustration. I was laughing when I woke up.

I'm not sure if I will train tonight or not. My wife is at work for a few more hours. I think I'm going to take a nap on the couch with Odin the black cat and hopefully have a better Gripmas or Inch-related dream while I'm deciding what aspect of grip calls out to me tonight, if any.

Edited October 25, 2007 by odin

[odin]

Thursday 9/25/07

Quick workout.

Finger Curls: 170 lbs.x5 reps 220 lbs.x5 reps 240 lbs.x2 reps

Reverse Wrist Curls: 50 lbs.x40 reps

Wrist Curls: 95 lbs.x5 reps, 125 lbs.x5 reps (building up slowly on this exercise)

TTK (two-handed, pushing with both thumbs): 25 lbs.x3 reps, 32.5 lbs.x1 rep, 37.5 lbs.x1 rep, 40 lbs.x1 rep, 42.5 lbs.x1 rep, 25 lbs.x20 reps

(partials reps- lighter weights some were full, heavy weights very small movement)

[odin]

IM Magic Circle Squats: re-weighed @68.8 lbs. unloaded, scale may or may not be accurate-(had mistakenly posted it was 58 in my last workout with it). I will round down to 68 lbs. for log purposes.

68x5 reps

88x5 reps

113 lbs.x20 reps; some 'good-morning' type action, will keep weight the same and work on form next time. am doing these 'breathing-squat' style BTW.

Inch Replica:

Found out that I cannot drive my legs and hips into lifting the Inch when my legs are rubbery after leg work, will have to make a note of that. I've noticed that my better attempts use more leg and hip strength. Did a couple of rounds and then cut grass for about 30 minutes and took a 10 minute rest after that before trying again.

I felt better, albeit still a little weak-legged, but think I pulled a couple as high as my shoe tops. I literally seem to be improving by about an inch per week.

I tried a few video views that showed both sides of the bell, and on some lifts the back of the bell was coming up much higher than the front, which surprised me, I would have guessed the front was coming up higher if anything. My hand is in the middle and not touching either bell, so maybe I'm putting the DB too far forward in my stance? I will have to review the videos after I get them into the computer.

Edited October 28, 2007 by odin

[Alawadhi]

Did you try to hold it at a full deadlift position (the Inch dumbbell)?

Edited October 28, 2007 by Alawadhi

[odin]

AM BW: 156.8

Did you try to hold it at a full deadlift position (the Inch dumbbell)?

Yes Alawadhi, but not for very long, more like a drop. I will upload to youtube and send you the link if you like.

Did about an hour of work with the IM red band during church, alternating hands. Did some manual extensor resistance as well, concentrating on thumbs.

Inch Dumbbell

• Did 3 sets of 3-4 attempts, will have to look at video, some felt pretty good, perhaps because my legs weren't fatigued.
  

Block Weight Face Lifts (Yorks, blob-shaped):

Couldn't break ground w/ 47.5 York, so I backed off and did:

• 45 and held it for a long time (too long in retrospect)
  

• RH 45+2.5 in Platemates (PR)
  

• RH 45+5 attached (broke ground)
  

Mini-tramp (no pun intended)

• -Did some mini-tramp work with the Inch Dumbbell; tried to work on both bottom and top portion of lift, basically negative work while fighting rotation and doing a few overcrushes. Feel like I'm getting better at this, did some bounces with extra weight and it felt lighter afterwards.
  

• Bounces and overcrushes with the 3" DB loaded to 175 lbs
  

• Face-lift bounces with 50-lb Blob, not too much elevation
  

• Face-lift bounces with 47.5-lb blob, about a foot of elevation
  

• Bounces with one 50-lb Blob in each hand, and a few negatives/drops
  

Finished workout with a few attempted catches of the 28 lb. shot, caught a couple.

Edited October 29, 2007 by odin

[odin]

Started w/ a couple of attempts with50 lb. Blob, felt weak, broke off ground once RH. Don't know why this felt so easy at the end of August/early September. Blobs felt slippery. may need to wash.

• Inch Dumbbell Mini-tramp bounces:
  

Did about ten sets of 3 reps bouncing the Inch Dumbbell; tried to work on both bottom and top portion of lift, basically negative work while fighting rotation and trying to hold it at the top of the movement. Great improvement today, am actually holding it for a second or two at the top, body seemed to tire and weight dropped before my hand turned a few times. I might try to find a high platform to try partial lifts. Turn seems greatest at the bottom of lift and less at the top.

• Bounces with 50-lb Blob:
  

about a foot of elevation, didn't count sets/reps

• Bounces with 52.5-lb hex:
  

about a foot of elevation, didn't count sets/reps

Did the Blob/Hex bounces with both regular style and last 3-finger/David Horne style. I think if I can get the David Horne style down it will give me a chance to pull it on some days when I might otherwise not. Blobs are so much about feel, and I think it would be nice to have a couple different ways to grab them. The David Horne style reminds me a bit of face lifts, seems a bit easier to get a consistent feel due to the ability to place the palm in an advantageous position.

[odin]

Monday 10/29/07

Forgot to add that I tried an easy curl bar to see if it would help w/ the elbow irritation I'd gotten even with an empty Olympic bar. Did 35 lbs. x20 reps for BB curls and standing triceps extension, no problem then or now w/ elbow.

Tuesday 10/30/07

Did many reps using red IM band during meeting

Quick workout (all using Olympic bar):

Wrist Curls: 45 lbs.x20 reps, 95 lbs.x5 reps, 135 lbs.x5 reps, 135 lbs.x5 reps (touching knees with knuckles, cocking wrists at top)

Reverse Wrist Curls: 50 lbs.x42 reps

Thumbless Reverse Curls: 55 lbs.x22 reps (have to remind myself to breathe on these)

Overall energy is good. Left thumb was slightly tweaked the first time I tried the Inch, feel it a little bit only when I squeeze something with thumb nearly touching index finger, ok wider than that. L shoulder hurts even during wrist curls. L elbow improving slowly, feels better during heavy shot rotations but still can't toss heavy things hand-to-hand. Training with the Inch is making me feel strong and confident in a new way.

[Alawadhi]

Nice workout

[Jonathan McMillan]

Bob,

I got a pair of Tommy Kono's elbow sleeves and used them for a few months on all my barbell work (after irritating my elbows at GGC). It seemed to really help stop me re-irritating them.

Jon@han

[odin]

Bob,

I got a pair of Tommy Kono's elbow sleeves and used them for a few months on all my barbell work (after irritating my elbows at GGC). It seemed to really help stop me re-irritating them.

Jon@han

I think I need a sleeve for my left arm from my fingertips to the shoulder. I'll check Kono's sleeves out. Right now my L shoulder is the most annoying part of my body, it even hurts to put on a sweatshirt.

[odin]

DO Deadlift: warmup including yoga between sets+

180 lbs. x3 reps, 225 lbs. x 3 reps, 275x1 rep, 295x1 rep,

(finished with a 225x10 reps cool-down, could have done a few more, but left hip told me it was plenty). Used 45s instead of 25s, felt a lot easier.

Still had some in the tank, but wanted to stop with a successful lift. I believe 295 is the most I've attempted in about 25 years (never have had good enough health to train regularly over the years: UC, asthma, and other health issues). I did 405 at 162 BW at that time, but I can't remember if it was reversed or DO grip, not that it would matter much for me. I think I'll try 305 or 315 next time if warmups feel good.

If I can do 295 or more on the DO Axle at Gripmas, I would consider that a success for my first contest. As long as I can keep getting my body stronger, I will be ok, doubt my hands will fail before my body. MC squats and DL kay have contributed to my vastus medialis muscles finally surpassing my first Dorsal Interossei in size; I'm in danger of losing my heroin-chic physique.

I'm going outside now to do some more gripping.

Edited November 1, 2007 by odin

[odin]

Inch DB Mini-Tramp Bounces:

-Did several sets of two low bounces BH (for lower part of movement) and two higher ones (for finish and hold at top, fighting rotation.

-Added up to 30 lbs. on a couple of sets to make unloaded reps feel easier down the road, doesn't feel too bad.

-Did another 2 sets with 12 extra pounds on the thumb side (6 extra pounds on each bell) to give more rotation to fight.

I am treating the Inch as a big Blob to conquer, I am finally seeming to grasp the fact that it will always turn, am not surprised anymore, and am finding that:

-squeezing at about 90-95% with my hand

-flexing my wrist and hand extensors really hard as a unit (kind of like how I flex the palm and extensors as a unit during good Blob lifts) and

-holding my wrist straight or perhaps with a minute cup/cock is fighting the rotation.

-I can hold it at both the top and a few inches of the ground (top seems a lot easier, upper back seems to tire first if anything).

Playing around between sets broke the ground nicely with a 45 lb. LH blob facelift and got good air with RH 45 facelift with 5 lbs. attached (Inch makes other things feel light).

52.5 Hex, Double 50 Blob and 50 Blob Face Lift Mini-Tramp Bounces

-52.5 hex is starting to feel almost liftable, think I will get it after I remove the hammertone slime. It seems to be helping my fingertip strength to repeatedly bounce and squeeze it.

Finished workout with a few attempted catches of the 28 lb. shot, caught several and did a few DLs BH.

Edited November 1, 2007 by odin

[burkhardmacht]

I'm curious if Your Inch training will lead You to the Inch lift. I like Your attitude to take the challenge as if You were training for a huge Blob!

[odin]

I'm curious if Your Inch training will lead You to the Inch lift. I like Your attitude to take the challenge as if You were training for a huge Blob!

Thanks Burkhard and Alawadhi. I need to approach the Inch with confidence and boldness; I've seen too many men who are much stronger than me give up too soon.

Finger Curls 135 lbs,x5 reps, 225 lbs,x5 reps, 245 lbs.x3 reps

Wrist Curls: 95 lbs.x5 reps, 140 lbs.x5 reps

Reverse Wrist Curls: 50 lbs.x43 reps (sloppier than usual, stopped a few times)

Thumbless Reverse Curls: 60 lbs.x14 reps

Two-hand Pinch using Two 45 lb. Plates: 92 lbsx1rep, 112 lbs.x1 rep, 132 lbs.x1 rep, 137 lbs.x1 rep, two negatives with 162(help on lift-off from wife, thanks Maricel)

One-hand Pinch; Mini-Tramp Bounces with Two 45 lb. Plates: 4 sets, multiple bounces until fatigued, can't hold much at top yet (think I'll DL the Inch before DLing two 45s-not much confidence yet with the 45s, 35s are not a problem and I've had success in using negatives with the object I want to lift plus extra weight at times)

new: IM Hub: worked up to 25 lbs, plus Oly loading pin and device; did negs w/ 30, have never done any hublifting except unsuccessfully with 45s. Humbling, consolation is that it was done after everything else. Clean hands or chalk, no difference.

Tried to see if purple was easier to read for sets and reps.