Month: November 2020

The strongest hands I’ve come across have been on laborers.

This has led me to view gym advice for grip as terrible.

Every laborer built their hand strength up with lots of work daily, in gym terms massive time under tension, massive volume, and high frequency.

I own the 100-350 set of Heavy Grips grippers.

Sometimes I can close the 200, and I can rep out with the 150.

For awhile now immediately before laying down to sleep I attempt the 200 right handed with varied results from doubling a solid close to being a good inch from a close. I then give the 150 a good squeeze with each hand, and lay down.

Having went to the gym earlier in the day, and not wanting to lift outside in the dark I decided to have a fun session with the grippers.

I started with partials and negatives with the 200.

Then I repped out the 150, followed by repping out the 100.

Then I switched hands.

That was the first drop set.

Five minutes later I did a second drop set where I allowed some rest switching hands with each drop in gripper size, additionally doing the 100 inverted to end.

It was fun for me, I got a good pump out of it, and it was easy as can be logistically.

Despite literature saying not to train grippers like this, I think to truly get the 200 consistently, and to then advance from there, I’ll keep getting more and more reps with this approach.

There are anecdotes on forearm forums saying this approach worked for them, and this is how I’ve always treated pressing via pushups.

Do enough volume and the body builds top end strength.

Relatedly as a teenager I’d watch the Jean Claude Van Damme movie “Bloodsport”, turning it into a workout doing lots of reps of calf raises, and with the 100# gripper.

I’d even got my buddy in on it once.

Make training fun, and you’ll do more of it.

Do more of it, and you’ll get more results.

Persistence & Tenacity

An Ode To Burpees :

A burpee, by being muscularly engaged cardio, is worth more than the sum of all it’s parts, it’s worth more than the aggregate flops, pushups, and squats.

In and of itself is a full body workout.

I’ll finish gassed, I do have a good way to go as far as jogging between reps, and picking up the pace.

Jogging in place ; that’s how I end, I jog the last minute or minute and a half in place, then hit two or three extra reps with a jump and double stomach hit on the final rep to end.

Still doing pushups additionally, the burpee has me doing bodyweight squats.

I find myself somewhat addicted to them.

Stomach hit. Toe touch. Hands up.

If I can’t come up with anything else to do, I may as well burpee.

Very few will join in on them, it’d be cool to have a crowd doing burpees, but I’m okay doing them myself.

I find them meditative, during the time I’ll go somewhere.

It’s both in and out, I notice everything, and when it’s time for another rep I do it.

An interval timer counting down works for me.

I could do them for speed, but I prefer the timer, treating it as a short work : rest sprint type conditioning.

I get why prisoners do massive amounts. I get it. I do them.

Ending with trx rows makes it a real solid workout overall.

The variant doesn’t matter.

I’ll consistently do the stomach hit, toe touch, hands up style without a jump.

Pick one.

Go burpee. Consistently.

Persistence & Tenacity

Overhead Squats As Weighted Shoulder Dislocates :

This month of November I’ve been putting weight overhead daily.

A few times now I’ve not made it to the gym, not wanted to set up much equipment, instead pressing in the yard with a set of 50 reps.

Start at the naked bar, adding 5lbs the next time around.

After a set of 50 rep barbell presses you’re going to want to stretch your shoulders.

A dowel would be nice, but that’s at the gym.

Bingo! Overhead squats.

The positioning required is like using a weighted dowel.

Really let the bar go back, and you’ll find your shoulders well stretched.

You just need an empty barbell.

People overthink mobility. The overhead squat covers it (amongst other things).

Persistence & Tenacity