If you would have told me two years ago that it would make sense to train lifts that build up the Beach Muscles, like the Bench Press, in order to improve your Crush Grip and close bigger grippers, I probably would have laughed in your face.

But, when I was talking with Paul Knight, official IronMind 3.5 closer and unofficial IronMind #4 closer, and he told me that is what I needed to do in order to spur improvement with my Gripper Training, I said, “OK brother, thanks for the advice.”

Paul Knight, certified IM #3.5 closer
and closer of several #4′s over the years

When someone who is the best in the world at something tells you what he does to improve, you NEED to try it out for yourself, in my opinion.

And that is what Paul is – one of the best in the United States at Grippers – if not the WORLD.

Yesterday, I released PUSH and CRUSH, a workout based entirely upon Paul’s teachings.

It is named PUSH and CRUSH because of the pairing of Upper Body Pushing exercises like Bench Press, Military Press, etc, with CRUSH Grip exercises.

This workout is on sale for $17 this weekend only and then the price goes up, so make sure to pick it up today = > Get PUSH and CRUSH.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

The Blob

First named by Richard Sorin, the Blob is 1/2 of a 100-lb York Dumbbell.

Ever since Richard challenged himself to try to lift the Blob, grip enthusiasts have marveled at it and tried to obtain their own for their collection in order to test their strength and to develop the hand power to match one of the most well-known feats of grip strength.

Several years ago, we as a community discovered that there are actually more than one type of Blob, a fact that derived from Richard, himself. Soon we came to realize that the original style of Blobs, now known by the moniker “Fatman” due to its larger profile and wider slopes.

Of course, when something is rare, that means its price increases.

And of course, if the price on something increases, someone will be around to capitalize.

Over the years I have heard stories of people being told they were getting the rare Fatman original-style Blob, only to find out later they had a Next Generation, and overpaid severely.

I have also seen several videos where someone will lift a Blob and claim it is a Fatman, when in reality, they are making an incorrect claim, generally accidentally or due to lack of awareness.

With that in mind, I recently made a video showing all of the different types of Blobs and Blob-like implements that I have in my collection, as well as a couple of tools that are on the market for training to lift Blobs.

In the video below you will see a Fatman Blob, Next Generation Blob, Blob Clone, Blobzilla, Stronger Grip Blob, and a PDA Blobette. Unfortunately, I do not own a Blob50 or a Blue Blob, but I mention them in the video and cover them with pictorials in my The Different Types of Blobs Article.

I hope you enjoy the video and that it helps you discern what type of Blob you are buying if you seek one via an on-line purchase, or through an in-person encounter.

Video on The Different Types of Blobs

If you are looking for a Blob Trainer, you can get a Stronger Grip Blob here.

For many of you out there, finding a Blob, understanding the difference between them, and knowing how they all compare is of very little importance.

For many of you, all that stuff doesn’t matter because you already have a Blob and have no plans of getting another one.

Instead, the only thing you care about is lifting the damn thing!

And for you, I will be having something VERY SPECIAL coming your way. This Summer I will be releasing How to Lift the Blob, the Definitive Guide to Blob Domination.

Whether you’ve just attained a Blob and want to get on the Fast Track to lifting it, or if you’ve had one for years and have been slapping yourself in the head out of frustration with it still being stuck to the ground, this ebook will be for you.

If you want to stay up to date on developments surrounding the Blob ebook, make sure to add your best email address to the form below.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Earlier this year, Matt Ellis and I released our first DVD together, Grip Training for Track and Field Throwers.

Since then, our DVD has been helping Track and Field Coaches and Athletes understand how important the hands are to their throws, as well as how to train the hands effectively to improve performance and stay injury free.

Recently, I received the following feedback from Bill Piche. Bill, aside from being a pioneer in Grip Strength, is also a studied Track and Field scholar, having coached his two kids in Track all their lives. Both have put together impressive careers, and at least one of them is now competing at the collegiate level. Both Bill’s kids, Ryan and Amanda, are pictured to the right.

Here’s what Bill writes:

“A missing link in the strength training program of many athletes is grip strength. In the throws in track and field, hand strength is of utmost importance. But, many coaches neglect training grip.

Needless to say, I highly recommend “Grip Training For Track and Field Throwers.”

Bill Piche

Gripboard.com“

Thanks so much for the kind words, Bill!

To make this DVD even more accessible in the Digital Age, this video is available not only in hard copy DVD format, but we also provide streamable options as well, so you can watch the video on your smart phone, ipad, or your other preferred devices.

If you’d like to pick up a copy of Grip Training for Track and Field Throwers, you can do so by clicking the image of the DVD to the right.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

DIESELS,

Last week I was in New Jersey at a workshop. Several of us split the costs on a big apartment house, and I was one of the last guys to get there.

As always, even with GPS guidance, I found a way to get lost…

At one point, I thought I was at the right house, so I stumbled out of my car in the pitch-black dark to go knock on the door.

It was hard to walk for some reason, and to my surprise, the lawn and driveway were covered in sand from the hurricane that hit last year.

When I finally got there, I opened the door and this is the first thing I heard:

“I’ll never be able to close this damn thing,” and then there was this loud THUD on the table, the sound of aluminum handles and a steel spring against mahogany.

I knew exactly what was going on – this fella was trying to close a gripper!

I could tell he was super frustrated and seething in anger at failing to close the gripper in front of all these other dudes

This was something I’d heard so many times from guys who are new to grippers.

They train so hard and want to close them so bad, but the handles just won’t touch.

Some of the guys in the room I knew. Others I did not, so we got the introductions out of the way, and I went up to the guy who was squeezing grippers. His name was Roger.

“What’s the matter, brother?” I asked him.

“I have been working on this thing for 3 weeks, and I swear the handles are no closer now than when I broke the gripper out of the package. I don’t know how you can close a #3.5 when I can’t even close the #1…!”

I paused for a second and just looked at him smiling, waiting for him to get a couple of breaths in him so he could calm back down and hear what I was about to ask him.

Finally, when the rage was gone from his eyes and his pulse had slowed a bit, I let him have it.

“Roger, I feel your pain brother.”

“What do you mean, Jedd?” You’re smashing 3.5′s.

Yes, that’s true. NOW. But when I first started I couldn’t close the #1 either.

“WHAT?” said Roger…his eyes got all big like someone just told him Santa Claus was fake. “But someone told me on-line that all the people who have ever closed anything higher than a #3 were able to close the #1 right from the beginning…”

“Not true, dude,” I said in complete truthfulness.

“Nope – it took me about 3 weeks of squeezing that thing as hard as I could before I finally was able to close it. Then one day, it was like everything lined up right and when I squeezed, I could feel the knurling on the insides of the handle grinding like someone was dragging a sewer great on a sidewalk.”

“Really?” asked Roger.

“Yes,” I said, “And I bet there’s a chance you can close that gripper right now if you just play around with the placement of the gripper in your hand. Would you like to try?”

“Yeah man, let’s do it,” Roger said.

So, I grabbed the gripper out of his hand and placed it in mine. I showed him how he had the gripper in his hand (see the picture below).

Back Handle TOO Far Back

“You see Roger, with the gripper positioned like this, so deep into the back of the hand, the fingers have to pull the handle all that distance in order to get the handles to touch.

When you squeeze it like that, it will make the feat harder for EVERYBODY.

Back Handle in Good Forward Position

BUT – if you place it further forward in your hand, then when your fingers squeeze against the front handle, they don’t have to pull so far toward the back of the palm and you get much more horsepower over the distance of the sweep.

Left: Gripper Too Deep, Finish Effort Much Higher. Right: Gripper Forward, Finish Much Easier

“See the difference?” and I squeezed it one more time with each variation.

“I think I understand,” said Roger. “I can tell it’s easier for you because it shuts so much quicker when you position it forward in your hand.”

“You got it, man. Now you try,” and I handed the Gripper over to him.

Roger took the gripper and placed it in his hand the way he normally would and saw what I meant. The back handle was pointing towards his wrist and he could see just how far back his fingers would have to move in order to close it.

Then, he slid the back handle forward, so it set more in line with the crease in the middle of his palm.

He got his fingers onto it and squeezed as hard as he could, and I could hear the handles smash together so loud, it was like the first time I closed the #1.

Roger, sensing victory, squeezed as hard as he could, like he was trying to flatten the handles, feeling the glory of his first #1 gripper close and the PoweR of a new PR.

When it comes to closing grippers, yes, you have to have strong hands. However, when you combine that hand strength with the knowledge of the proper technique to use with them, your gains accelerate faster than you could even imagine.

Gripper training doesn’t have to be filled with frustration, staring at the same 1/8 of an inch between the two handles every time you squeeze the handles down. With the right info, you can dominate grippers in a hurry.

If you want to understand all the true technical secrets of Gripper training, get CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination today.

When you know what you are doing wrong and how to correct it, the gains come MUCH quicker.

Let me know how awesome it feels the first time you feel those handles grinding together.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

I actually write articles for many sites and written publications as well. I thought maybe it was finally time to start keeping track of them…

To begin, I have a new article appearing in My Mad Methods Magazine’s April/May 2013 Edition: Grip Wise: The Essentials of Grip Strength Training.

MMM is a cool magazine, covering many types of non-conventional training: kettlebells, clubs, maces, bodyweight, parkour, etc.

The April / May Edition is dedicated to Strength Training. I was honored for them to reach out to me, and I put together a HUGE article for them.

My Mad Methods comes in both digital and printed versions. Get your subscription going today: Subscribe to My Mad Methods.

Here’s an Ad Clip from My Mad Methods…

Again, this is a very cool magazine. Much more interesting to me due to its coverage of training that I enjoy, than the many bodybuilding magazines that are on the shelf. If you like non-conventional training, this might be something for you to check out.

All the best in your training.

Jedd