2 Bending PR's 5-31-08

Braced Bending:

24" x 1/2" HRS, 3 min. 42 sec.

This bend destroys my previous braced bend
of 36" x 1/2", but I've gotten quite a bit stronger
since then. The last bend was 4-13-08, so it's been
about 6 weeks.

Reverse Bending:

6" x 1/4" G2 bolt completed in 30 seconds total.
Ever since I got the hang of DO bending I haven't
been doing reverse as much and I'm thinking the lay-off
from reverse bending has helped. Tried a 5" and was
already out of steam. I did wobble it though.

Notes: Extremely happy with both bends. My bending
has come a long ways since April 19th, 2008 at the
Show of Hands Grip Cup. A Big Thank You to David

Horne for listing my braced bend on his website.

Fixing to go do a few sets on my RP Trainer and
my Thumb Roller and call it a day.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Zerchers, Sledge & Suitcases 5-28-08

Zerchers:

set 1- 5 reps, 86.8 lbs.

set 2- 5 reps, 106.6 lbs.

set 3- 6 reps, 136.0 lbs.

set 4- 3 reps, 155.8 lbs.

Sledge Hammer #20:

4 sets-20 reps

Partial Deadlifts w/ Steel Suitcases:

set 1- 4 reps, 173 lbs. each hand

set 2- 3 reps, 173 lbs. each hand

RP Trainer:

10 singles, R&P fingers

10 singles, I&M fingers

MS Gripper:

10 singles each hand

Thumb Roller:

8 sets, 4 sets each way- 1-1/4 lbs + peg

Contrast Baths:

5 hot & 5 cold, ended with cold

Notes: This workout was intense with the Zerchers
and sledge hammer. I'm 50 lbs. away from my goal
on Zerchers.

Grip felt good with the Steel Suitcases. I have the cases
setting on cinder blocks and I lift from that height. They're
easier to lift now.

Overall? Great , Strong workout.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Bending & Biceps

DO Bending:

Warm-up- IM Yellow

Attempt- G2, 5/16" x 6"-failed

G5 bolt- 1/4" x 6" got to 115 degrees in
5 minutes. Finished it off later on in workout.

G2 bolt- 1/4" x 6", easy

G2 bolt- 1/4" x 5" with IM pads only, *PR*

Reverse Bending:

1/4" x 7" HRS both right & left hand as anchors
Felt strong at reverse today. Should have tried 6"

Bicep Curls w/Fat Bar:

set 1- 10 reps, 36.6 lbs.

set 2- 10 reps, 54.8 lbs.

set 3- 10 reps, 66.0 lbs.

set 4- 6 reps, 86.8 lbs.

Curling is weak. Hope to be over 100 lbs. for reps
within 2 months.

Wrist Curls w/ Fat Bar:

4 sets, same weights as Bicep Curls.

Felt strong on wrist curls. Could have easily went
heavier. These are great on my Fat Bar (2- 1/4" dia.)

Notes: Overall, great workout. Felt great! My bending
is getting better by the session. When I can consistently
kill the 6" x 1/4" G5, I'll start working on the G8.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Zerchers + Sledge Hammer = Endorphins

Today I did a workout that increases strength, endurance, and cardio.

I did Super Sets with Zerchers and #20 Sledge Hammer Swings

Zerchers:

set 1- 5 reps, 86.8 lbs.

set 2- 4 reps, 106.6 lbs.

set 3- 3 reps, 115.6 lbs.

set 4- 2 reps, 136.0 lbs.

#20 Sledge Hammer Swings:

4 sets- 20 reps

Notes: I started with the sledge swings and in between
each set of Zerchers I did the sledge swings (Super Sets).

If you really want to work your cardio and get strong at
the same time, this is the workout to do. It's Awesome!!!

I noticed after I finished the workout I had a endorphin
high for several hours.

I also noticed that this workout loosened all my joints up
and got rid of some stiffness I've had for the last several
days.

I'm probably going to be doing this workout several times
each week. I want to gradually increase the sets to around
10. I also would like to be able to get 5 reps on the Zerchers
with my body weight (205 lbs).

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

5-23-08, Workout

Crushdowns:

G5 bolt 6" x 1/4" without heads pre-kinked to 2-1/4"

5 hits got it to under 2"

Note: Thanks to Ben Edwards for this training
suggestion to help my crushdown strength. It
works Ben!

Fat Bar Wrist Curls:

set 1- 10 reps, 66 lbs.

set 2- 10 reps, 75.2 lbs.

set 3- 10 reps, 86.8 lbs.

RP Trainer:

6 sets of singles, R&P fingers

6 sets of singles, I&M fingers

MS Gripper:

10 singles each hand

Card Tearing:

30 cards

Contrast Baths:

6 hot & 6 cold, ended with cold. Really helps soreness.

Notes: Felt pretty good today. The pad on my right hand
is tender from bending. The pad under the pinky finger at
the bottom part of hand.

Right forearm is getting better, but not 100% yet.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

G5 Bend 6" x 1/4"

Thought I would see how my bending felt after a lousy workout
Sunday.

No warm-up. Got it to 100 degrees and couldn't finish the crush.
Sunday, I couldn't have moved this bolt.

I'm going to start using my #4 gripper to help strengthen my
crush down by crushing down on the handles from chin position.

I'll try some more bending this weekend. Don't know what I'm
going to start out on just yet.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Deadlifts & Grip, 5-20-08

Deadlifts:

set 1- 86.8 lbs. - 5 reps

set 2- 175.2 lbs. - 5 reps

set 3- 224.4 lbs. - 3 reps

set 4- 244.2 lbs. - 1 rep

set 5- 175.2 lbs. - 5 reps

All sets done with my 2-1/4" Fat Bar
Used alternate grip, no thumbs.

Plate Loaded Grip machine:

set 1- 59.6 lbs. - R&L, 10 reps

set 2- 65.4 lbs. - R&L, 10 reps

set 3- 70.0 lbs. - R&L, 10 reps

set 4- 75.8 lbs. - R&L, 6 reps

set 5- 81.6 lbs. - R&L, 3 reps

RP Trainer:

6 sets of singles R&P fingers

6 sets of singles I&M fingers

Contrast Baths:

5 hot and 5 cold, ended with cold.

Notes: Reducing workload helped a lot.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Rest Day & Change of Plans

Rest Day:

Today is a rest day from a lousy workout yesterday.
Today is also the day I'm making a change in my training
plans due to a nagging injury in my upper right forearm
and to spur potential new levels of strength.

A Thank You goes out to Adam Glass, David Horne and
Ben Edwards for their ideas and suggestions that may help
my progress.

In the last few weeks I've paid special attention to the
exercises that irritate my right arm. These exercises
are:
1) Heavy Grippers

2) Pinching Block Weights

3) Front Levering

4) Any reverse curling action

To prevent further injury and irritation I'm making the following
changes until no further irritation:

1) Plate Loading Grip machine replaces Grippers

2) Thin (1/2") Pinch & Thumb Roller replaces Block Weights

3) Seated Fat Barbell (2 -1/4" dia.) Wrist Curls replaces Levering

4) Rubber Band Finger Extensions replaces any reverse curling action.

Hopefully the change up will also stimulate new levels of strength, growth
and healing.

I will still use the RP Trainer because it doesn't irritate my injury.

I will limit the 1" V-Bar to twice a month and see if it causes irritation.

The same thing with my Rolling Thunder, I will use it as always unless
it causes irritation. This will aslo give me a chance to see if the V-Bar or
the Rolling Thunder is causing further problems. If so, I'll substitute another
exercise for these also.

In future postings I will update my readers of my progress with these changes.
Hopefully, others may benefit from my postings on this issue.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Horrible Workout- 5-18-08

Everyone has them and I had one today even after a 3 day rest.
Everything I did I was weak at.

Bending:

Warm-up- HRS, 7" x 1/4" w/ IM wraps

Attempt G2 Bolt, 6" x 5/16"- 3 degrees

IM Blue, w/ IM wraps, felt harder than normal

60D Dull w/ IM wraps-failed. Wrapped a layer
of suede on wraps and got it pretty easy.

Stopped the bending at this point because of
frustration.

Grippers:

Warm-up- Trainer, 10 reps, R&L hand

Super Master w/ parallel set-failed R&L but
forced it shut each time.

IM #2- 3 sets, singles, R&L

Master- 3 sets, singles, R&L

IM #1- 15 reps, R-hand
12 reps, L-hand

RP Trainer:

3 sets, singles, R&L

MS Gripper:

3 sets, singles, R&L

Narrow Pinch 1/2"

1 set, 10 reps

Rolling Thunder:

5 sets, singles, R-hand, 115 lbs.
L-hand, 100 lbs.

Thumb Roller:

3 sets each way, great pump on thumbs.

Leverage Club #12:

10 reps each hand

Contrast Baths:

4 hot and 4 cold, last one cold.

Note: Overall a really bad workout. Seemd like everything
caused minor aches and pains. Felt weak at bending for sure.
Grippers felt okay, but I've done better.

Next few workouts I'm decreasing poundages and difficulties
on all feats. Higher reps seem to help the body heal.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Workout, 5-15-08 - Zerchers

Zercher Deadlift/Squat Combo:

set 1- 70 lbs.

set 2- 85 lbs.

set 3- 85 lbs.

Note: This is the first time I've ever tried Zerchers.
Adam Glass suggested this on GripperMania as a
kind of recovery workout from grip or an injury.

I really like this exercise. I deadlifted the weight, then
squatted down and set it on my thighs. Put both arms
underneath the bar in a curl position and then stood up
and that was 1 rep. I ended the set with a deadlift.

I felt really good with this lift. It seems to work everything.
I could have easily done more weight, but as always, I'm
cautious with a new lift. Next workout I'll start out at 100 lbs.
and go up each set. I'll also do 5 sets instead of 3.

A special thanks to Adam Glass for sharing this great exercise.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

5-14-08, V-Bar Workout & *PR*

1" V-Bar:

set 1- 132.6, R&L hand

set 2- 161.8, R&L hand

set 3- 183.2, R&L hand

set 4- 195, R&L hand

set 5- 200.8 L-hand *PR*
failed R-hand

Bending:

IM Yellow-IM Wraps x 2

IM Blue- IM Wraps x 1

Notes: No bending till Sunday. Going after the
G2 5/16" x 6"

Pads on hands felt fairly tender. Might have gotten 200 lbs.
right handed if I would have waited a couple more days.

Not much tonight, but that's what I had planned.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Workout- 5-13-08

Thumb Work:

RP Trainer- 5 singles each hand

Leverage Block Wrist Curls- 3 sets, 12.5 lbs.

1/2" Pinch- 2 sets, 10 reps, 31.4 lbs. each hand

Lever Work:

12.2 lb. Leverage Club- 3 sets, 8-10 reps, Front & Rear

20 lb. Sledge Front Lever:

set 1= 5 reps with 6" handle, R&L

set 2= 3 reps with 8" handle, R&L

set 3= 1 rep with 10" handle, R&L

Grippers:

TNS IM #1- 3 singles each hand

IM #2 R&P finger force close and hold right,
failed left.

IM #1 R&P finger close right and left.

DO Bending:

2- 60D Shiny's

1- IM Yellow w/IM Wraps only. *PR*
Painful on index fingers. Trying to
toughen fingers for IM wrap bends with this
method.

Thought I would do several easy bends every other
day to fine tune my technique. I will keep doing this
as long as I feel strong on them days.

Rolling Thunder:

*PR* right and left handed

Right= 121.6 lbs.

Left= 110 lbs.

Dexterity Balls:

Used 2 golf balls

Vitamin C:

1000 mg. in a powder form mixed with water.

Note: Didn't do a whole lot of any one exercise.
Just enough to stay tuned and loosened up. Felt
great!

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Home Made Thumb Roller 5-10-08

Saturday, I made a "Thumb Roller" from PVC, fittings,

string, black duct tape and an S-hook.

I hold the handles and roll the center piece back towards

me and then the next set I roll it away from me by pushing

upwards with my thumbs.

This works my thumbs better than anything I've ever tried.

Period!

Hope you like it.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Bending PR's - Workout 5-11-08

left to right, G5, IM Blue, 5/16"G2, 5" 60D, 5" IM Blue

Grip:

Warm-up with IM Trainer

MS Gripper-8 heavy singles

RP Trainer-8 heavy singles, R&P

RP Trainer-8 heavy singles, I&M

BB-Master, 3 singles, R&L hand

IM #2- 3 singles, R&L hand

RB 260N attempt R&L hand failed but forced shut.

Bending:

*PR*- G5 bolt, 6" x 1/4"

I got it bent to 90 degrees real quick. It took

about 90 seconds for the crush down. I killed

it today!!!

IM Blue-easy

60D shiny cut down to 5". Got to 90 degrees quick, but

ran out of steam. Couldn't finish it. I think fresh, no problem.

IM Blue cut down to 5". Got to 90 degrees really quick. Couldn't

finish. Fresh, I could kill it. I need to work on my crush down.

5/16" x 6" G2 attempt. Wobbled it to about 3 degrees. Fresh, I

might get it. This will be my first attempt next bending session.

Standing Fat Bar Presses:

3 sets, 10 reps, max weight 90 lbs.

Standing Fat Bar Curls:

3 sets, 8-10 reps, 70 lbs.

Thumb Roller: (New device I made from PVC)

3 sets forwards, 2.5 lbs. + peg

3 sets backwards, 2.5 lbs. + peg

This device works the thumbs like nothing I've ever

used before.

Contrast Baths:

5 cold & 5 hot, ended with cold

I felt really strong on my bending. My right elbow/forearm

tweek is getting better. I'm slowly getting back to heavy gripper

training again.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

5-07-08 Workout

Grip:

MS Gripper- 8-10 singles (Heavy)

RP Trainer- 8-10 singles & hold shut,
force shut on failures.

TNS #1 gripper, 5 singles each hand

Tested strength of ring and pinky fingers.
Closed & held shut #6 TUG

1" V-bar:

set 1- 132 lbs. R&L

set 2- 162 lbs. R&L

set 3- 172 lbs. R&L

set 4- 186 lbs. R&L

set 5- 198.8 lbs. L, missed R
*New PR* for left hand

1/2" Pinch:

3 sets, 10 reps R&L 28.2 lbs.

IM Rolling Thunder:

3 singles, R&L- 115 lbs.

Leverage Club #12:

10 reps R&L, front

3 sets, 8-10 reps, R&L, rear

Contrast Baths:

6 times hot, six times cold.
Last dip cold.

Stretch:

Fingers, wrist and forearms

Note: Felt good overall. Card tearing was weak, so I skipped it.
Right outer elbow is still irritated when doing heavy grippers. Hope
it heals soon.

Teemu's routine for grippers seems to produce the best results I've ever had so far.
Thanks Teemu!!!

Stay tuned and stay Strong!

5-06-08, REST

Rested today.

Got some killer suede from Paul Knight so I can make some decent
wraps now.

I have a feeling after what Paul shared with me tonight, that G5
bolt won't have a chance Sunday. We'll see!

Dexterity Balls:

Used 2 golf balls and 2 large (0.6k) steel balls.

Extension bands:

Used IM white and different rubber bands

Contrast Baths:

5 hot and 5 cold, ending with cold.

Stretching:

Stretched forearms, fingers and wrist really good.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!

Quick Update/Bending Tonight

Bending Update:

I did a little more bending than I expected to.

The G2 bolts I bent were 5" x 1/4" not 6".
Pretty easy. Bent 2 of them.

Tried a IM Red Nail just to see if I could move it.
NOPE!!!

I thought I try a G5 6" x 1/4". I got it bent to 17 degrees
and was pretty much give out. I think fresh I can get it.

We'll see next time

Stay tuned and stay Strong!!!

Workout- Fat Bar

Military Press:

3 sets, 8-10 reps
90 lbs.
I felt like I could have strictly pressed 20-25 lbs. more.
I'll try more next time. Feeling it out day.

Standing Barbell Curls:

3 sets, 8-10 reps
60 lbs.
Could have curled more easily. Just making sure I didn't
trigger any tendonitis.

Note: Just for fun I thought I would see if I could deadlift
200 lbs. on this Fat Bar and I failed. About the time it left
the floor it rolled out of my thumbs.

Kept going down in weight until I hit 176 lbs. Got it! My
short term goal is 200 lbs.

I use an overhand grip. No wrist curling. That's cheating.
Straight up pull with grip strength.

Bending:

DO bending with some IM Yellows. Trying to perfect my
technique before moving to the grade 5 bolts.

IM wraps with a 5" x 4" piece of suede as a inner lining, then
the IM wraps last. Seems to work for me. Outside diameter
of the completed wrap is 1- 1/4"

Fixing to go try some G2 bolts 6" x 1/4".

Stay tuned and stay Strong!

"Goerner The Mighty" A Look Back

I thought I would turn my rest day into a look back at one of the strongest
men of grip and possibly of all time.

If you've been involved in grip strength for any time at all, sooner or later the
name Hermann Goerner comes up.

In this short article I'll mention some of his most stupendous feats of grip
strength ever performed.

Goerner was born in Haenichen near Leipzig on April 13th, 1891 and was the
youngest of 3 children.

Goerner begin lifting weights at 10 years of age and during the years 1911-1913,
Goerner was the leader of a Strong Man Trio. The members consisting of Hermann
himself, his brother Otto and a friend named Otto Brauer.

The feats i'm about to mention come from Edgar Mueller's book, Goerner The Mighty,
published by the Vulcan Publishing Co. in 1951.

Goerner's Grip Feats:

Probably, Goerner's most famous lift was his right-hand Dead Lift with barbell.
On October 8th, 1920, Goerner lifted 727.5 lbs. from the floor to the fully erect
position.

Two-Hands Curl with barbell: November 4th, 1932 Hermann curled with two
hands a barbell weighing 242.5 lbs. from dead hang, without any body swing using
sheer arm power.

Four Finger Two-hands Dead Lift: This lift was made using the first two fingers
of each hand only. Hermann lifted 595 lbs. on November 30th, 1933, in Leipzig.

Right-hand Pinch from outside of foot: 111 lbs. 2-3/8" thick. July 10th, 1934.
Keep in mind Hermann didn't specialize in pinch lifting at all and according to Edgar
Mueller, Hermann could have easily done more. He held the weight for several seconds
before setting it down.

A few more feats worth mentioning out of the hundreds mentioned in the book are:

Writing his name on a chalk board with a 110 lb. kettlebell hanging from his thumb.

On June 2nd, 1912, Hermann ran 100 meters in 18.4 seconds while carrying a 110 lb.
kettlebell in each hand.

Hermann tore 110 playing cards in half in exactly 1 second.

Snatched 231 lbs. with his arms crossed.

It should be stated that he was the only strength athlete in the world who, over a period of twenty years, could do at anytime of the day or night a Two-Hands Clean and Jerk of
330 lbs. on his Stage Barbell without warming up! This barbell had a shaft diameter of 2-3/8".

In his prime, Hermann weighed 265 lbs. and was 6' 1" tall.

It's worth mentioning that the author of the book, Edgar Mueller was the most dedicated
of record keepers. He was very accurate of his recordings and if he said it happened, it
happened. He documented nearly all of Goerner's feats.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief journey back in time to (in my opinion) one of the strongest
humans to ever live, Hermann Goerner.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!

Grip, Levering & Card Tearing

Grip Workout:

RP Trainer, ring & pinky finger- 6 sets, hard singles

Index & middle finger- 6 sets, hard singles

MS Gripper, 10 sets, medium to hard singles

IM Rolling Thunder, 6 sets, singles, max. 115.8
right & left hand


Levering Workout:

#8 Sledge- Front, 19" handle, 5 reps, R&L

22" handle, 3 reps, R&L

25" handle, 1 rep, R&L

#20 Sledge- Back, 2" handle, 8 reps, R&L

4" handle, 4 reps, R&L

6" handle, 1 rep, R, miss left

1/2" Thick Pinch Lifting:

set 1- 25 lbs. 10 reps, R&L

set 2- 30 lbs. 10 reps, R&L

set 3- 30 lbs. 10 reps, R&L

set 4- 2 fingers, 25 lbs. R, miss L

Card Tearing:

Deck 1- 30 cards, under 30 seconds, fairly easy

Deck 2- 35 cards, nearly 3 minutes, hard to finish

I've noticed that card tearing really works the hands
hard. That's why the second deck is always tougher.
30 cards felt easy this workout because I tore them first
and then the 35 card deck. I'm anxious to see if the 35 cards
next workout will be easier becasue I'll try them first.

I add 5 cards to last deck I tore, each workout. When I reach a
stack that I can't tear, I'll back off several cards until I can tear it.

Bought and calibrated some more olympic plates today for
my new thick barbell. I now have 2-45's, 2-35's, 2-25's,
2- 10's, 4-5's and 2-2.5's

This should be sufficient for a 2 -1/4" thick bar. I'll be thrilled
when I have to buy more plates for this monster.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!

Rest & Calibrated Plates

Today was a rest day. Well not exactly.

I calibrated all my weight plates and all
my grip devices that you attach weight
to before lifting.

Now I know exactly the poundages I'm
lifting.

I was surprised at how much weight plates
vary. I had a 2.5 that weighed 3 lbs. I had
2-25's, both weighed less than indicated.

All my 10's weighed more than 10 lbs.
Same with my 5's, all weighed more than 5 lbs.

Stay tuned and stay Strong!

Dead Lift workout w/ thick bar

Got my new 2- 1/4" thick bar from Michael Strassburg today.

This bar is awesome and made to my specifications.

It's 5' long, 2-1/4" diameter shaft with square ends for olympic
plates and custom made collars.

Dead Lifts:

Set one: 120 lbs. 3 reps

Set two: 140 lbs. 3 reps

Set three: 140 lbs. 3 reps


Lever Side Bends:

One set: 20 lbs. 10 reps each side


1" V-Bar:

set one: 115 lbs.

set two: 145 lbs.

set three: 155 lbs.

set four: 165 lbs.

Card Tearing:

set one: 25 cards

set two: 30 cards

Thick bar works grip big time. Great for thumb strength!

1" V-Bar Notes Ben Edwards shared with me helped a lot!

Card tearing is getting easier by the workout.

Still resting from grippers.

Stay tuned and stay strong!

My own Blog

Greetings,

Just started my own blog today. This is exciting!

I will be posting my training journals here so others may
benefit and experiment.

Stay tuned!