alecStewart1 Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 Intro Thought I'd start a training log that some of you more experienced gripsters can bully me on. Muddling over in my mind a little bit and thinking about past experience with grip training as well as training overall, I've come to the following conclusions. I benefit vastly from rest/deloading I definitely can't do super high intensity stuff too frequently Anything that promotes blood flow or adds more movement to my routine is great for me As of writing (9th Sept., 2024) I'm currently trying to get rid of sciatica on my left side, so luckily I can't go too crazy with weightlifting, which means I can do some more grip/bending things. It also means (quasi-)isometrics would be really beneficial to do as well. Goals Currently the main things I'd like to work on are: - Improve pinch grip overall, with coin lift being the measurement of success - Double-overhand bend the IM Red Nail or something close to it - Work on Double-underhand bending - Improve horseshoe bending - Maxmize finger/thumb extension, abduction and adduction, with the Logan lift and rubber band finger extensions being some measurement of success - (Tentative) Improve pronator and supinators My coin lift is around 45 pounds at the moment, and I'd have to double check the hardest nail/bar I've bent but I believe it was something I've gotten from Devin Hoover at EatChalkGetBig around the ~400 pounds mark. For double underhand it might be difficult as I have a ton of bending stock to get through, but I'm unsure if any is easy enough to start double underhanding. Horseshoe bending I can use Robert Baraban's horseshoe trainer I bought awhile ago and need to dust off, as well as use some of the shoe's I already have. Finger/thumb extension, abduction and adduction is something I've wanted to do more often to save my hands in the future, and doing ye ol' rice bucket and finger bands will help a lot here. Adduction is the weird one, and so you could say the logan lift kind measures adduction of the fingers. The logan lift kind of hurts, though, so it can't be something I go hard on. It's not the level of tearing a deck of cards (which I can only do half a deck and then my fingers start to not feel great), but it's definitely pretty uncomfortable. I would also like to get a wicked strong pronator and supinator muscles, but then I might be piling on too much for myself. Plan I generally work out 2-3 days a week. That's not from laziness, but from getting used to living with your future spouse, the gyms being a bit further away, planning a wedding, and realizing my CNS can get gassed pretty quick. 2 days for training arm lifts like the coin and logan lift seem optimal along with other forearm exercises, and 1 or both of those days including bending makes sense. These can obviously be mixed in with regular workout days. A third day of grip related training would be doing the "restorative" stuff, a.k.a. the rice bucket and any myofascial release that can be done. In fact it might be good to do the rice bucket and myofascial release on my arms after the days I go climbing. Climbing doesn't actually tire out my forearms, more so...the skin on my fingers and hands, if that makes sense. Sometimes certain holds do hit the muscles in my hands/fingers to where they do tire out a bit, but they usually aren't sore the next days. Part of making a log is to keep myself accountable, as well as to get feedback. I'll try to remember to post on the days after I work out! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted September 11 Author Share Posted September 11 Date 09/10/24 Exercises Finger extensions: 5 or 6 sets with the white Ironmind "Expand Your Hands" bands for 30-40 reps with differing movements (expansion, finger abduction, on pinky and thumb only) Coin Lift: 6 sets to a max of 17.5kg/38.581lb of varying reps, 2 sets at max for the day weight for 2 and then 1 rep Dog Biscuit Wrist Roller: 20 pounds for 8 sets Logan Lift: 6 sets of 10 second holds at 12.5kg/27.558lb at various position on implement Pronation and Supination with belt and padding: 8 sets for 30-35 reps at 4.5kg/10lb Sledgehammer Ulnar and Radial holds: 6 sets held roughly at parallel to the ground for about 30 seconds EZ bar reverse grip curls: 3 sets for 15 reps at 27.216kg/60lb EZ bar wrist curls: 3 sets for 30-35 reps at 36.287kg/80lb Overall thoughts Felt nice to just do grip stuff. I did some myofascial release on my lower body and upper and lower back with a padded PVC pipe and it seemed to help with the sciatica. Hands a little tired today but should be fine if I let them be for the next workout. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted September 11 Share Posted September 11 NICE WORKOUT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted September 13 Author Share Posted September 13 Date 09/12/2024 Exercises Logan Lift & Finger Walking (first time) 8-10 sets (didn’t keep count) of increasing weight up to 65 pounds, differing position with 2-3, 3-4, and 4-5 fingers 8-10 sets( didn’t keep count) with a sledgehammer (upside down) and a 10 pound olympic barbell weight, going until I felt like I couldn’t. The Payne Holds & Pony Pinch 4 sets of 15-30 second holds, minimal chalk, with 15 pounds. 4 sets of 15 reps with the Pony Pinch Kit from CannonPowerWorks Pronation & Supination Holds 3 sets of 30 second holds for both pronation and supination with 20 pounds Thoughts Got to the gym late from doing work stuff, so didn’t get to do as much as I would have liked. Thought my hands would be hurting from doing two days of the logan lift, but so far they don’t feel too bad. Thought I could get to a max but it seems like I couldn’t quite get there. Finger walking was interesting. I definitely want to do it more. The Payne sucks, but it’s a good key pinch exercises. The Pony Pinch Kit is great, and it helps get that dynamic pinching in. I think the isometrics for pronation and supination will be really useful in the long run. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted September 16 Author Share Posted September 16 (edited) Date 09/14/204 Exercises Bouldering - 5-ish problems, flashed about 2 them and struggled with the rest. Steel Bending - 4 bars, 2 successes (w/ suede wraps) 2 fails (1 with attempting with canvas wraps, one with suede) Coin Lift Holds & Pronation & Supination w/ Padding - 4 sets, 30 holds on coin lift with 17.5lb - 4 sets, 25-30 reps with 12.5lb Thoughts Starting to get to more difficult problems with bouldering. The gym I go to lists the difficulties as VB-V9 or something, I’m getting up to V2s, V3s and some easier V4s. The harder problems are more about /how/ you move and position your body on the wall. Bending was frustrating today. I got a 40d and 5/16" brass rod (both I got from Devin Hoover) with some suede wraps that haven’t been beaten up yet. I tried to use canvas wraps again, and I only found myself frustrated with wrapping them. Coin lift and pronation and supination was good. I like using a towel to "pad" the belt I use for these exercises, keeps better tension throughout the exercises. Edited September 16 by alecStewart1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted September 16 Author Share Posted September 16 Date 09/15/24 Exercises Rice Bucket - Several movements, roughly 30 seconds each movement for each hand (bucket isn't quite wide enough) Thoughts I like the rice bucket stuff. I made sure to do finger abduction and adduction, and also swivel my fingers around in the rice (I forgot the technical name of that movement). Hits the area right between the knuckles, which is slightly uncomfortable in the moment but I feel like it's an area not directly targeted much. We'll see what it does for my hands over the next month or two. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted September 18 Author Share Posted September 18 Date 09/17/2024 Exercises Coin Lift 5-6 sets to max weight of the day (40-42.5lb), 4 sets of 3-4 reps with 30 pounds Logan Lift Holds, Sledgehammer Ulanr & Radial Deviation, Pronation & Supination w/ Padding 4 sets of 1 rep of 15 second holds at 30lb 4 sets of 25-30 reps with a 10 pound sledge 4 sets of 25-30 reps with 17.5 with padding Thoughts Coin and Logan lifts are starting to click more for me. Getting used to how it should "feel" to do a proper lift. Didn’t get as much weight as I wanted on the coin lift, which was a bit frustrating. Granted, a bunch of guys at the gym wanted to try it out, and pretty much all of them couldn’t even do the easy 30 pounds I was doing after getting to the max weight of the day, so that’s something I guess. Logan lifts are still uncomfortable on the fingers, given that I don’t have huge baseball glove hands, but oh well. Pronation and supination with the belt is definitely going to have to stay at 15 pounds max for a minute in order to properly feel the squeeze in my pronator and supinator. The extra 2.5 pounds with the padding makes it just enough to not quite have the focus on those muscles at the peak of the movement. Sledgehammer ulnar and radial deviation is always nice, but I definitely need to make doubly sure I’m not too far away from the head of the sledge to make sure the movement feels about 90% on those ulnar and radial muscles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted September 18 Share Posted September 18 NICE ONE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted September 24 Author Share Posted September 24 Meant to update this before the day, but I got married this past weekend so I might struggle to remember what I did the last workout Date 09/19/2024 Exercises Logan Lift & Finger Walking Logan Lift, some number of sets for 1-3 reps up to a max of the day of 90 pounds. Finger Walking, 10 pound sledge for as long as I could go The Payne Holds 4 sets at 10-12.5 pounds for about 30 seconds w/ walking Pronation and Supination w/ Padding 3 sets of 25-30 reps at 12.5-15 pounds Thoughts I can't really tell what the max will be for the Logan Lift for me. I did feel a little twinge in my forearms after doing the max lift, so I decided to just stop there and not risk giving myself tendonitis right before my wedding. Finger walking still sucks, but I think it's going to be really useful. The Payne also sucks, but it's a good wide key pinch tool. After I get my coin lift and Logan lift up, I want to get up in weight on the Payne. One thing with the pronation with the belt is that I can't figure out the best motion to really maximize the contraction of my pronator muscle. I'll have to experiment some. The supinator feels easy to hit in comparison. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 2 hours ago, alecStewart1 said: Meant to update this before the day, but I got married this past weekend so I might struggle to remember what I did the last workout ... Congratulations! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 congrats man 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted September 25 Author Share Posted September 25 My workouts are going back to the time under tension stuff my trainer is having me do, as my sciatica seems to have calmed down. I'll have to pick and choose the grip/forearm exercises more so I'm not at the gym for so long. I'll also spare everyone here and not list out my entire workout session, just the grip stuff. Date 09/24/2024 Exercises Globe Lifts 6 sets of 10 second holds at ~25-30 pounds Block Pinches 4 sets of 1-2 reps at ~50 pounds TUT Hammer Curls, TUT Sledge Ulnar Deviations, 2 Handed Sledge Levers 5 sets of 45 seconds with 25 pounds 5 sets of 45 seconds with 10 pound sledge, roughly 4 inches away from the head of the sledge 5 sets of 1 rep with 10 pound sledge, swapping hand positions Thoughts Glad my sciatica has ~92% gone away. I forgot to bring my bag with the loading pin and implements, but my globe implement was in my car and the gym has loading pins as well as a pinch block, so I worked with what I had. I forget how nice globe implements are for grip. I generally try to grab them more on top, like I’m trying to pick up a basketball, as opposed to if I was grabbing a barbell or dumbbell (kind of). I having done the pinch block in awhile, and I’m reminded how much it sucks to not have bigger hands. Oh well. It never crossed my mind until recently that you could do sledge levers with two hands, and stacking it on top of doing hammer curls and ulnar deviation makes it harder than I thought. I want to start doing some of the sledgehammer conditioning (thanks for sending that PDF over, Mike), but I have to get used to the "decelerations" as the gym I’m at now doesn’t have any tires that aren’t for wagon wheel/tire deadlifts/continental presses. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted September 30 Author Share Posted September 30 Date ════ 09/26/2024 Exercises ═════════ Coin Lift ───────── • 5-6 sets up to top set of 2-3 reps of 35 pounds Finger Extensions ───────────────── • 4-5 sets with changing finger positions of about 30 reps each Coin and Logan Lift Walks, Pony Pinch Kit ───────────────────────────────────────── • 5 sets, 20 pounds on coin and 27.5 pounds on Logan Lift, walked for about 30-40 yards • 5 sets, 20-25 reps Pronation and Supination w/ Padding ─────────────────────────────────── • 1 set as many reps as possible with 12.5 pounds Thoughts ════════ Not a ton to say here. Felt good getting up to lifting 35 pounds for more than 1 rep. I liked doing the sort of offset carry/walk with the coin and Logan lift implement. Looks odd but it’s a nice switch up of things. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted September 30 Author Share Posted September 30 Date ════ 09/28/2024 Exercises ═════════ The Payne, Wrist Roller, Grippers, Kettlebell Presses w/ Forward and Backward Grip ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── • 6 sets of singles leading up to top set of 27.5 pounds, failed at 35 and 30, 2-3 sets at 20 pounds for 2 reps. • 6 sets of however many reps (I don’t count them), 2 sets were at 20 pounds, 4 sets where at 25 pounds • 6 sets of varying weights, last set was 25 reps with the CoC Trainer, max set of the day was with a filed Standard Silver rated at 88 pounds for 3-4 reps. • 5-ish sets of 3-5 reps with 15 pounds on the forward grip, 20 pounds on the backward grip Anvil Snub, Pronation and Supination w/ Padding w/ Blood Flow Restriction Bands ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── • 4-5 sets of triples, doubles and singles, last set was about 20-25 pounds for 1 rep and 1 rep hold for 20 seconds • 4-5 sets of 25-30 reps with 12.5 pounds Thoughts ════════ The Payne sucks, but I’m feeling like I’m getting to where I can do 30 pounds with it. It’s getting that skin tight against the implement that’s annoying to figure out. I like the regular wrist rollers, I should probably do it more often and try to figure out how to count “reps” with it. I forgot how much I simultaneously like and hate grippers, probably due to my hands being just too small for to be perfect finger length for being a beast with them. I think I’d like some more filed ones, although probably only one that’s around the rating of a CoC Trainer, as the Trainer is just great for doing reps and warming up with. I remember seeing the kettlebell presses with the odd forward and backward grip in Mastery of Hand Strength, and that’s yet another pair of exercises in the every growing list of “I should do these more often” that I imagine we all have. I forgot how much the anvil snub kind of hurts at times with how small it is. Can’t remember what I ever maxed on it, but I feel like 20 or 25 pounds was difficult at some point and now it’s not. Been thinking about utilizing the BFR bands every now and then for exercises I do lighter weight with, just to see the results. More like an every other week thing than every other training session, as I hear you can’t go crazy with them. Maybe for pronation and supination it could lead to getting a strong and massive pronator and…well, a larger upper forearm given where the supinator is located. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 Date ════ 10/01/2024 Exercises ═════════ Coin Lift ───── • 6 sets, 4 sets leading up to last 2 sets of 1-2 reps at 17.5kg/38.58lb The Flask and GD Iron Grip 90 Pinches ─────────────────── • 6 sets of multiple reps, last 2 sets were 1-2 reps at 60-62.5 pounds • 6 sets of 12-15 reps at the lower setting at the second widest handle width Ulnar and Radial Deviation, Sledgehammer Side Swings w/ Deceleration, Pronation w/ Padding and Supination ────────────────────────────────────────────────────── • 4 sets of 15-20 reps, last set and last rep with 20 second hold • 4 sets of 5 reps, making sure to decelerate at end of motion • 4 sets of 25-30 reps, last set and last rep with 20 second hold Thoughts ════════ Got my new toys from Cannon PowerWorks (thanks, Matt) and I thought I’d try out the Flask. Definitely deceptive compared to just a regular pinch block. Didn’t intend for this day to be so pinch heavy, whoops. I really like the GD Iron Grip. Genuinely a cool grip tool. I’d probably recommend it and the Ivanko adjustable gripper to people who don’t want to end up hoarding tons of grippers and don’t want to work to stuff like getting certified on a CoC no. 3. The pinch extensions are great, definitely going to use this for one-handed dynamic pinches and the Pony Pinch Kit for two-handed dynamic pinches. I’d like to do more movements with sledgehammers, I’ll have to figure out how to incorporate it more. Now that the wedding is over, I want to and need to reorient my routine during the weekdays and weekends, so maybe in doing so I can figure out where to put in sledgehammer conditioning on the weekends. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 34 minutes ago, alecStewart1 said: Date ════ 10/01/2024 Exercises ═════════ Coin Lift ───── • 6 sets, 4 sets leading up to last 2 sets of 1-2 reps at 17.5kg/38.58lb The Flask and GD Iron Grip 90 Pinches ─────────────────── • 6 sets of multiple reps, last 2 sets were 1-2 reps at 60-62.5 pounds • 6 sets of 12-15 reps at the lower setting at the second widest handle width Ulnar and Radial Deviation, Sledgehammer Side Swings w/ Deceleration, Pronation w/ Padding and Supination ────────────────────────────────────────────────────── • 4 sets of 15-20 reps, last set and last rep with 20 second hold • 4 sets of 5 reps, making sure to decelerate at end of motion • 4 sets of 25-30 reps, last set and last rep with 20 second hold Thoughts ════════ Got my new toys from Cannon PowerWorks (thanks, Matt) and I thought I’d try out the Flask. Definitely deceptive compared to just a regular pinch block. Didn’t intend for this day to be so pinch heavy, whoops. I really like the GD Iron Grip. Genuinely a cool grip tool. I’d probably recommend it and the Ivanko adjustable gripper to people who don’t want to end up hoarding tons of grippers and don’t want to work to stuff like getting certified on a CoC no. 3. The pinch extensions are great, definitely going to use this for one-handed dynamic pinches and the Pony Pinch Kit for two-handed dynamic pinches. I’d like to do more movements with sledgehammers, I’ll have to figure out how to incorporate it more. Now that the wedding is over, I want to and need to reorient my routine during the weekdays and weekends, so maybe in doing so I can figure out where to put in sledgehammer conditioning on the weekends. Theres so much you can do with a sledge, what's your goals? As far as conditioning if you're talking hitting a tire, thats a great exercise one of my favorites.. I'm actually going to throw thhat back into the mix one of these days. But be careful I found if I did too much too frequently my grip sessions would suffer a bit, sometimes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted October 3 Author Share Posted October 3 15 hours ago, Blacksmith513 said: Theres so much you can do with a sledge, what's your goals? As far as conditioning if you're talking hitting a tire, thats a great exercise one of my favorites.. I'm actually going to throw thhat back into the mix one of these days. But be careful I found if I did too much too frequently my grip sessions would suffer a bit, sometimes. Mainly I'd like to use it for GPP. I mean, it would also be cool to be able to throw around and beat up tires with a 15-20 pound sledgehammer with ease, but baby steps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 2 hours ago, alecStewart1 said: Mainly I'd like to use it for GPP. I mean, it would also be cool to be able to throw around and beat up tires with a 15-20 pound sledgehammer with ease, but baby steps. Man its wicked fun snd I think you'd get up there fast with them.. I got up to doing 20lbs swings with one hand, but only for like 10-20 reps per side. I have a 30lbs one and it's a beast. Light ones are great too because you can strike faster. One word of advice be careful what you strike should you decide to use one for work. I've hit stair treads thinking they'd break only to have the sledge bounce off and smack my face. All that energy had to go somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted October 4 Author Share Posted October 4 (edited) Date ════ 10/03/2024 Exercises ═════════ Logan Lift and Filed Grippers ───────────────────────────── • 5-6 sets for 2 reps, switching between pinky and thumb being the outermost fingers, top set being 70 pounds ( roughly RPE8 ) • 4-5 sets for 5-ish reps with my 2 Standard Silver grippers, ~3 sets with the one rated 88 pounds and ~2 sets with the one rated 93 pounds Flask and Coin Lift Carries ─────────────────────────── • 5 sets of walking for about 30-40 seconds back and forth, flask at 30 pounds and coin at 25 Ulnar and Radial Sledgehammer Static Holds and Pronation and Supination w/ Padding ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── • 3 sets of 30 second holds with 7 pound sledge • 3 sets of 30 reps, 15 pounds for both Thoughts ════════ The Logan lift is going well. Feels like my adductors are actually getting stronger, I think? It’s nice to get back into the grippers. Haven’t used them in the minute and it’s feels pretty satisfying that I’m starting to get up to being about to rep with close to 100 pound ones. I have to spread out when I do them, though, as I know my hands can get pretty worn out from doing too much gripper work. Getting better at the pronation and supination, or at least getting my arm in the correct position to actually target both. Edited October 4 by alecStewart1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 Nice work, keep it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecStewart1 Posted 5 hours ago Author Share Posted 5 hours ago Been meaning to update this. Gave myself some pretty bad tendonitis in my wrist extensors, and got some in my calf as well from doing some conditioning. Last week was doing fascial release and isometrics. Getting back on the bandwagon today. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Blackwell Posted 5 hours ago Share Posted 5 hours ago 6 minutes ago, alecStewart1 said: Gave myself some pretty bad tendonitis in my wrist extensors, and got some in my calf as well from doing some conditioning. That's not fun man, I feel you 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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