Odin's Grip Journey

[Griparn]

Good luck with the lifts tomorrow! You have a good lift in YOU Im sure.

Intresting to see your overall strength increase. The chins/pull ups looks to have improved a lot!

[Teemu I]

Looking forward to hearing the results!

[LAINE SNOOK]

Here is my: 3 Month Evaluation: Full Body Workouts

Here's some panorama Inch progress pics:

"unloaded" through 12/31/07

+10 lbs. on 1/9/08 and 1/20/08

+25 lbs. 2/17/08-3/26/08

all together

Tomorrow is my first scheduled "unloaded" work this year. It may take me 2-3 unloaded workouts to see where I really am, I may drop it early a few times just out of habit, haha.

I think the explosive lifts with added weight are making my hands stronger, don't know yet how much it has helped the actual Inch work-but it's a fun challenge to keep attaching weight to it.

Gumpster, the Inch doesn't really bother my back at all. I'm more concerned about hurting myself when I'm moving it around than when lifting it. I just think of it as a very large blob to conquer. My back feels very "young" if that makes sense, yoga helps some. My shoulders are "old" comparatively, regular bench hurts them a lot. Lifting it slowly feels wrong/weird-maybe that'll come later.

I want to get a full lift of course, but any progress is good. it is just a matter of time, effort and consistency. I would consider 10 inches (mid-shin) a very nice pull if I can get that in the next 2-3 workouts.

Good luck, let me know how it goes - pull hard and squeeze tight and you will be it's master. Don't give it ANY respect.

Laine

[Chuckie B.]

Bob,

Pull like he**, your it's master.

[John Eaton]

Can't wait to see how the Inch pulls go!

[bigmatt]

You will have it soon!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!

[odin]

Thanks for the support everybody, it means a lot to me. :rock

The workout tonight was one of my two worst-feeling ones since I started. It happens, but you need to show up whether you win or lose. I might have (barely) had my best unloaded pull ever, but thought I'd get higher. I kept dropping it about ankle high or a little higher RH and worse LH.

I was so pumped up and excited last night that I had a hard time getting to sleep, but did get a good nap today because i get off work early on Wednesdays.

I'm hoping my poor performance was due to still getting over my illness, residual overtraining, or because I did some Blob work 3 days ago after a long time away from pinch. I spray-painted the Inch a few days ago because it didn't even look like an Inch anymore (lots of weird colors and bald spots), but don't think it made much difference grip wise.

I will do two more "test" workouts, likely on the 26th (a Saturday) and then May 7 (a Wednesday).

[Griparn]

Bad days happends and I like your writing "you need to show up whether you win or lose".

But still it seemed to be a PR, right?

[odin]

Bad days happends and I like your writing "you need to show up whether you win or lose".

But still it seemed to be a PR, right?

Thanks Griparn, it wasn't terrible (looked like about 7 inches or a little more based on the video stills and holding a yardstick next to my leg today to help guess the height it reached). I just feel like I will have about 2-4 more inches in me on a really good day at this point in my training. I think once I can get consistent pulls to the mid-shin area, I've got to be pretty damn close strength-wise-any opinions on that?

What I meant by "you need to show up whether you win or lose", was that I need to give a report in my training log on how I do whether I meet my targeted goal on any given day or not. It is easy to report "I set another PR, whohoo!" but more difficult to report when I fall on my face.

I'm used to setting solid PRs nearly every Inch workout in some respect, so that made it tough to swallow. What I need to realize is that when you reach a more intermediate to advanced level (for you) in any type of training, the happy fun days of endless PRs come to an end and there will be some plateaus followed by unexpected huge leaps in strength.

I did a KTA-like Inch & Inch-related barrage over about a five day period at the end of last month and had said earlier that there may be some residual fatigue that will lift between the first and second "test" workout, and hopefully some of the strength I've built will be expressed. I believe in periods of planned overtraining followed by backing off a bit, and go by instinct a lot as well.

I don't have any idea how close I am to a full DL, but as long as I can keep addressing my weaknesses and lifting the dumbbell a little bit farther each month, one day I will stand tall with the Inch in hand.

Edited April 17, 2008 by odin

[Teemu I]

Bob, I would bet there's more in the tank. Beeing familiar with the planned overtraining, I think the strength gains just come with a delay compared to regularly doing singles and resting a good while between workouts. I think I'm currently experiencing the same thing as you are? By that I mean, that I have a feeling the strength is somewhere under there, hidden, and it takes time for it to come out as the cumulated fatique slowly lifts off.

[odin]

4/19/08

Pullups: BW+32 lbs.x5 reps

Chins: BW+32 lbs.x5 reps

Parallel Grip Pullups: BW+32 lbs.x5 reps

Lower back was tight, so I didn't do any rowing.

Finished with blob and some pinch work. Noticed I'm stronger at 60 mm. than 44 mm. and that 49 mm. felt about the same strength as 60 mm.

I posted the following in Teemu's log, but it relates to my training:

Sometimes I think hand power is limited due to something being out of place or an injury that is developing-perhaps the body is instinctively "putting on the brakes"? My hands felt weak during Wednesday's Inch workout. On Thursday when I was running to catch the train my lower back tightened up, nothing severe, but like a mild sprain that lasts for a few days. I'm going to do some more yoga and other work that will help the area and see if that was the culprit. Maybe something in another part of your body is keeping you temporarily "stuck" as well?

[odin]

4/20/08

Wrist Curls: 135 lbs.x 11 reps| 145 lbs.x 5 reps|145 lbs.x 5 reps

Reverse Wrist Curls: 85 lbs.x12 reps|85 lbs.x11 reps|85 lbs.x8 reps|

Plate Curls: 25 lbs.x 5 reps RH. 3 reps LH|25+5 in platematesx2 reps RH. 0 reps+2 FR LH|25 lbs+7.5 in platemates.x0 reps|

Levering, pronation, supination

[bencrush]

Some damn good lifting Bob!

[jad]

good wrist workout! I noticed you're getting some guns in the latest Inch+40# vid!

[odin]

Some damn good lifting Bob!

Thanks Ben! I have made pretty good progress in my compound movements.

My last wrist workout was actually a "deload" one. I backed off from direct wrist work for a while due to some ligament issues felt while pinching and wrists not feeling "smooth" a couple weeks ago during warmups (a warning sign I've learned to listen to). I think I had 135#x22 wrist curl reps in my last good wrist workout.

good wrist workout! I noticed you're getting some guns in the latest Inch+40# vid!

Thanks Josh! That should be "plate wrist curls" NOT "plate curls" in my last workout (4/20/08), I'm working towards your 35 pound level (your 35#x2 full reps is the best PWC video for weight and form I've seen).

I didn't notice my arms getting bigger, but thanks-must be mostly from the OH presses and chinning work along with gaining a little weight. My wife said my forearms were looking bigger, and actually has told me to roll up my sleeves if they are not already rolled up. I'm lucky to have a wife who encourages me to work out and eat more (most of the time).

Edited April 21, 2008 by odin

[DAN PRAYDIS]

4/19/08

Pullups: BW+32 lbs.x5 reps

Chins: BW+32 lbs.x5 reps

Parallel Grip Pullups: BW+32 lbs.x5 reps

Lower back was tight, so I didn't do any rowing.

Finished with blob and some pinch work. Noticed I'm stronger at 60 mm. than 44 mm. and that 49 mm. felt about the same strength as 60 mm.

I posted the following in Teemu's log, but it relates to my training:

Sometimes I think hand power is limited due to something being out of place or an injury that is developing-perhaps the body is instinctively "putting on the brakes"? My hands felt weak during Wednesday's Inch workout. On Thursday when I was running to catch the train my lower back tightened up, nothing severe, but like a mild sprain that lasts for a few days. I'm going to do some more yoga and other work that will help the area and see if that was the culprit. Maybe something in another part of your body is keeping you temporarily "stuck" as well?

i think your right bob a couple years ago when we got our inch yea we should of been lifting it by now but things come up and health issues well anyway before we got one we were using a 2inch bar with up to 200lb and slightly over to lift it to our knees we thought we would be able to lift the inch being it was 170 lb when it came how wrong we were but i think we were doing better then by using the smaller bar for a full movement than just trying the bigger handle i think once your body gets use to real heavy full movements the weakest link will let you down first looks like you are filling in all the gaps good luck the inch will fly this year

[odin]

4/19/08

Pullups: BW+32 lbs.x5 reps

Chins: BW+32 lbs.x5 reps

Parallel Grip Pullups: BW+32 lbs.x5 reps

Lower back was tight, so I didn't do any rowing.

Finished with blob and some pinch work. Noticed I'm stronger at 60 mm. than 44 mm. and that 49 mm. felt about the same strength as 60 mm.

I posted the following in Teemu's log, but it relates to my training:

Sometimes I think hand power is limited due to something being out of place or an injury that is developing-perhaps the body is instinctively "putting on the brakes"? My hands felt weak during Wednesday's Inch workout. On Thursday when I was running to catch the train my lower back tightened up, nothing severe, but like a mild sprain that lasts for a few days. I'm going to do some more yoga and other work that will help the area and see if that was the culprit. Maybe something in another part of your body is keeping you temporarily "stuck" as well?

i think your right bob a couple years ago when we got our inch yea we should of been lifting it by now but things come up and health issues well anyway before we got one we were using a 2inch bar with up to 200lb and slightly over to lift it to our knees we thought we would be able to lift the inch being it was 170 lb when it came how wrong we were but i think we were doing better then by using the smaller bar for a full movement than just trying the bigger handle i think once your body gets use to real heavy full movements the weakest link will let you down first looks like you are filling in all the gaps good luck the inch will fly this year

Thanks a lot for your input Dan, that confirms some of my thoughts. I think I'm going to try some one-hand Olympic bar DLs next time after my DO DL workout. I think I can handle 225+ with no problem; I was talking to John on the phone about that the other day. Standing up with the extra weight should develop some of the muscles used in the full motion ROM and be a good confidence builder.

Some type of ~inch-width pinching, thick DB FW and/or isometric (TTK?) timed holds at near-Inch width perhaps so I develop a bit of wide holding endurance to "fill in the gaps" as you say without being as hard on the body as Inch holds and negatives. Perhaps some thick DB cleans and other thick DB work whenever possible as well.

My back is feeling about 80% better than yesterday, improved more last night than any time since I felt it was out of whack last Thursday. It really seems to have changed my mental attitude today to feel quite a bit better and to have some more hope about lifting strong again. Yesterday I was really feeling down because while my back wasn't really hurting very much at all, it was hard to walk normally because it just felt "wrong". I rarely have any lower back issues. I'll do some more Yoga tonight w/ back focus (cobra, locust, plow, etc).

[lifesnotfair]

Thanks Josh! That should be "plate wrist curls" NOT "plate curls" in my last workout (4/20/08), I'm working towards your 35 pound level (your 35#x2 full reps is the best PWC video for weight and form I've seen).

Where is this video!?!?

[odin]

4/22/08

Did lots of Yoga over the last few days w/ back focus (cobra, locust, plow, etc) as well as abdominal work.

4/23/08

Reverse Wrist Curls: 85 lbs.x14 reps|85 lbs.x12 reps|85 lbs.x11 reps

Reverse Curls:(thumbless) 85 lbs.x7x7x7

Levering (mostly front to nose, probably 8 lb. sledge-weighs 10 lbs, on scale, but I imagine they go by the weight of the head). Left elbow still touchy with this.

Pronation/Supination

DH Wrist Developer: Used with IM bands, increasing bending-related prehab.

OH Resistance Extensor Work

IM Band Extensor Work: Red band is now weaker than blue.

4/24/08

Yoga: 1 hour

OH Resistance Extensor Work

Back is feeling good again.

4/26/08

Inch Workout: 7 sets of 2 attempts. I had my best RH "unloaded" pulls so far today. I'll just post a few pics in my blog <click here for pics>, don't feel like editing video now. I believe the fatigue from my planned overtraining is lifting, and hope to see even more improvement next time. I will make another video if I show noticeable improvement in the next couple of Inch workouts. Unfortunately, my LH pulls were not as productive due to thumb pain. I may do two or more unloaded workouts before I start another 3-month cycle that will likely include some attempts from a platform.

Finished with some pulls from the mini-tramp without bouncing the weight first and pulled some well past knee height. Also did some attempted holds/negatives from the top and lower parts of the ROM (held better than ever at bottom).

[kinselbj]

Hi Odin, I find your log fascinating. When you do one handed deadlifts, do you use the hook grip? I do one armed snatches and I use the hook grip but for training the grip I am thinking a regular grip would be more beneficial? Any help would be great, Barry

[odin]

Hi Odin, I find your log fascinating. When you do one handed deadlifts, do you use the hook grip? I do one armed snatches and I use the hook grip but for training the grip I am thinking a regular grip would be more beneficial? Any help would be great, Barry

kinselbj, With the Inch I can't get anywhere near touching my fingertips together, so I just hang on for dear life.

I've never tried a hook grip on a regular barbell and I think I only tried one handed deadlifts with an Oly bar once or twice several years ago. Anson Castelvecchi recommends some use of the hook grip; he feels it develops a different aspect of hand strength but I forgot exactly what he wrote/said.

I've never needed anything but double overhand on regular DLs, the rest of my body lags behind my hands.

[t-wehner]

Hey odin, just saw your new pict's, and great job. you even mention that your overtraining is wearing off, so the best is yet to come hopefully.

hit those one hand oly dl's definately. they are fun, and so are carries with the BB (one hand farmers)

take care man, and good luck

[Teemu I]

Clear progress, not too long to go anymore! Great work!

[Griparn]

Great training Odin! The videos and still shots are really good when measuring progress. Thanks to you and some other people I started filming my training too and I think it's one of the best training tools I have.

[odin]

I forgot to add that on 4/23/08 I did:

OH Press: 120 lbs.x4 reps|120 lbs.x3reps|120 lbs.x3reps (back was still a little tight, so I didn't do any real intense efforts)

Hey odin, just saw your new pict's, and great job. you even mention that your overtraining is wearing off, so the best is yet to come hopefully.

hit those one hand oly dl's definately. they are fun, and so are carries with the BB (one hand farmers)

take care man, and good luck

Thanks T-Dog, I'll try to do some of the 1H DLs for sure.

Clear progress, not too long to go anymore! Great work!

I hope so Teemu, thanks, would love to see you try the Inch after your recent RT improvements.

Great training Odin! The videos and still shots are really good when measuring progress. Thanks to you and some other people I started filming my training too and I think it's one of the best training tools I have.

I appreciate the compliments, thank you Griparn. The feedback from video can be very important when training, especially with the Inch.