Various Blobs in Richard Sorin’s personal collection. (L to R) The first Blob, The first Blob’s sister head, and the Blue Blob.

Fatman Blobs & Next Generation Blobs

As I have covered here many times in other posts, the Blob is one of the most exciting types of Block Weights available with which to train.

Popularity + Scarcity = Big $$$

Their popularity growth, combined with their scarcity, has generated some pretty amazing prices in recent transactions that I have become aware of.

Unfortunately, any time you have something with a training benefit, and a collector’s value, there will be people who will do one of the following things:

1. They will claim to have something they don’t and try to charge too much money on purpose

2. They will think they have something they actually don’t and charge too much money by accident

I have heard of cases where people were told they would be buying a Fatman Blob, but in actuality, they end up with a Next Generation Blob and are extremely pissed off.

I have also been asked countless times what the difference is between a Fatman Blob and a Next Generation Blob. So I put together this short and simple video that will show you the easiest way to tell whether or not the dumbbell in question is an old York that will produce Fatman Blobs or Next Generation Blobs.

How to Tell the Difference Between Fatman and Next Generation Blobs

This is the absolute quickest way to tell if a York Dumbbell is the original style (Fatman) or the Next Generation variety – the USA stamping on the York head. If you see it, it’s NOT a FATMAN!. If it is blank on that side, the it is a FATMAN.

The numbered side means nothing. The number side will not have the stamp, so if you are thinking of making a purchase, this is the quickest way to tell.

Aside from the USA stamp, there is also a difference in handle size that if you have a micrometer, you can check for. The Original Style Fatman York Dumbbells will have a handle that is roughly 1/16″ smaller in diameter than the Next Generation Blobs. So, if you have a tape measure handy, you can check this way as well.

If you have no tape measure, and the York side is not present, it is going to be tough for you to tell which type of Blob it is. The only other way to really go about doing it is by feel. On the Next Generation Blob, the side of the Blob that had the handle in it will be a bit flatter than that same side of a Fatman. This is why the Original Style Blob is called the Fatman, because it bulges more than the Next Generation Blob.

There is also an even more rare type of Blob out there, called the Blue Blob. I have only ever seen one of these at Richard Sorin’s Srinex Facility. It is an obvious blue shade, so there is no reason to turn this dumbbell over to look.

So, in review, this is what to look for:

1. On the York side, if it says USA on the bottom, it is Next generation. No USA, then it is an Original-style Fatman Blob.

2. If the handle side is slightly smaller than another Blob of the same weight, it is most likely the Fatman variety.

3. If the handle side of the head bulges more, the it is a Fatman.

I hope this has been helpful for you to tell exactly what it is you might have, and also in case you are posed with a possible purchase sometime down the line.

Got a Blob?

Got a Fatman, Blue Blob, or Next generation Blob? I want to do a post down the line called Blobs Around the World! Get a picture of yourself lifting the Blob, just holding the Blob, your Blob collection, etc., and I will post it up here.

Send me your pictures by February 28th and I will have the post up the week of March 5th. Also include a 100-word description or so telling us how you got your Blob and any other cool training stories.

Thanks and all the best in your training.

Jedd

Each and every day I get new visitors to my site. If you are new, I want to welcome you.

Please take the time to put your email into one of the boxes to the right. You can get some of my free reports, sign up for the RSS feed, and get email updates every time there is a new post.

I want to share with you some of the most popular videos I put up last year.

I looked at all of my videos on YouTube that I uploaded last year and grabbed the top 10 most popular ones and pasted them below.

As you will see, I have three main focuses in my training.

First and foremost is Grip Strength. I work to develop as strong of a Grip as possible for the Grip Contests I compete in and because I have seen the benefits of a strong grip in my other training. Also because I love Grip Training and Grip Sport so much, I love talking about it here on the site, sharing my experiences and helping others succeed.

Next, I love Strongman Training, both Strongman like the competitions involving Atlas Stones, Log Lifting, and Odd Objects, and Strongman style training involving Feats of Strength such as Bending Nails and Tearing Cards.

Finally, I do a great deal of training with the objective of building muscle and strength. While I am not the biggest, most muscular, or strongest, I am very well rounded and understand the proper technique of lifts and want to make sure readers do lifts correctly and safely so that they can enjoy their training and see benefit.

It’s really all about helping others succeed in their goals. Much of what I post is based on questions I get from readers who are shooting for goals and want to know how to get there. Helping you attain your goals is awesome for me, so keep me posted on your journey.

So, again, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter and make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, so that you are always up to date on what is going on here at DieselCrew.com.

Now let’s check out 2011′s top videos – Enjoy!

#10 – How Often Should You Train with Grippers

Grippers are easily the most popular form of Grip Training and one of the biggest events at Grip Competitions. Unfortunately, there is not nearly as much good information about Gripper Training as there are people trying to sell them, so I put out this and many other Gripper Training videos last year.

Check out the post here on Diesel: Gripper Training Questions

#9 – Slim Lever – Grip Strength Challenge for Slim the Hammer Man

Of all of the Grip Strength Challenges I ran last year, this one was perhaps the most special, because it was devoted to Slim “the Hammer Man” Farman, who was recognized by being inducted into the York Barbell Hall of Fame Last Year. The Slim Lever is a very intense sledge hammer lift, and if you can do it by the rules described in the video below with a 16-lb hammer or heavier, then you are the freakin’ man!

Check out the post here on Diesel: Slim the Hammer Man Farman

#8 – Full Body Tension Movement – Camel Clutch (posterior chain)

For this one, I wanted to figure out a way to replicate some of the effects of the Glute Ham Raise, if you don’t have one. This variation is something that someone can do to blast the posterior chain until you save up your loose change to get the real thing.

Check out the post here on Diesel: Innovative Posterior Chain Training

#7 – Backwards Blob Lifting

See more Blob Lifting Videos

#6 – Build Muscle Mass and Strength – How to Do Rows the Right Way

I hate when I see exercises being done incorrectly on the web. It’s one thing to do them incorrectly if you have been training for many, many years. However, when new trainees see long-time veterans doing movements on-line incorrectly and they try to replicate that form, the new trainees can get hurt pretty badly. Since Rows are such a beneficial movement, I wanted to put this one out there and people seemed to get a lot of value out of it.

Check out the post here on Diesel: How to Perform Dumbbell Rows

Those are 10 through 6 for the year’s most popular videos. Check back later in the week for the rest of the 2011 Top 10 Most popular Videos.

Make sure you are up-to-date. Sign up for updates in the box below.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

The video below shows the first time I ever lifted the Blob by the Face.

The Blob Face Lift Grip Position

Lifting the Blob by the Face, or a Face Lift, involves turning the Blob over so that you must spread the fingers out and hook over the edge in order to lift it (as shown above).

This feat, for me, was something that I had to work long and hard on. Aside from specifically training on the Blob, in order to train my hand to be strong out in that position, I also taped a 25-lb plate to the bottom of an old rusty brake rotor. Once that got too easy, I put duct tape around the gripping edge of the rotor in order to make it tougher.

Still, even with a consistent training approach, it took me a very long time to be able to do this feat, so when it came up, I was pretty excited.

If this is the first time you’ve seen this crazy PR video, let me explain what is going on.

I am a HUGE wrestling fan and love watching old wrestling from the 70′s, 80′s and early 90′s. I have a sizeable collection of Classic Wrestling Videos, and I am always trying to expand it.

One of my favorites from this era was the Ultimate Warrior, and he was FAMOUS for cutting insane promos.

Here is an example of some of his promos. As you watch, check out the 0:44 to 1:04 section, as this will be fairly similar to what I say in my video clip.

I was watching a LOT of Ultimate Warrior stuff during the time this video was shot, which I’d estimate to be January 2005, because my hair is short and I am wearing the beard that Triple H eventually stole from me.

Obviously, I didn’t spout the promo as a word for word match to what the Ultimate Warrior said, but I don’t think Ultimate Warrior even used to get the right word-for-word himself.

As you can tell, I had tons of support from my buddy, Brad Martin, whom you can hear slaying the cheers. It’s hard NOT to perform well in that kind of an environment. Boy, do I miss those days…

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year, all!

All the best in your training,

Jedd

With all of this talk recently about Block Weight Training, such as Blobs, Fatman Blobs, Fatman Clones, and the Iron Grip Monster, it can be pretty easy to think that you either have to spend an exorbitant amount of money in order to develop Grip Strength through block weight training, or you have to completely ruin one of your perfectly good dumbbells by cutting one of the heads off.

However, this is just not true. In reality you can get a similar open hand training response by training with the regular dumbbells you already have. This opens up a completely new chapter of Block Weight Training that I like to call Inverted Dumbbell Training.

Inverted Dumbbell Training

Inverted Dumbbell Training is simply lifting a dumbbell by standing it up on one end and then gripping it by the end in the air. This type of Block Weight Training allows you to use the dumbbells you already have without any cutting or other time-swallowing tasks.

How to Perform an Inverted Dumbbell Lift

The video below will show you exactly how to perform an Inverted Dumbbell Lift:

Key Points About Inverted Dummbell Lifting

• Dumbbells come in many shapes and sizes, and the paint job will also vary. Paint condition can be a huge factor in lifting a dumbbell.
• An attempt should be made NOT to put the fingers or thumbs into the numbering or lettering of the dumbbell in order to maximize the challenge, however, using the print on the dumbbell as a training means is fine as long as it does not become a crutch.
• Be careful with very wide dumbbells. Wide open hand positions can injure the thumb’s soft tissues, which can be very hard to bounce back from. It is best to thoroughly warm up the thumb in order to keep it safe.
• Watch out for your toes. Any block weight, and especially an inverted dumbbell can come slipping out of your hand quickly. Don’t break a toe.

Biggest Inverted Dumbbell Lifts

Inverted Dumbbell Lifting is not really an event in Grip Sport by itself, however, they have shown up in a Medley here and there. To my knowledge, a 55-lb Dumbbell is the largest I have seen lifted in this manner. That is what I lifted in the video above, but I am not yet able to dominate it very time I try. I know I have also seen Andrew Durniat do this on a different dumbbell, and I think Brent Barbe got it as well.

Application into Your Training

Because of my goals of complete Block Weight Domination, I tend to try to go as heavy as possible 90% of the time when I do this lift. Using this movement in an athletic program or a general hand strength improvement program is not necessary though.

It can be just as effective at building beneficial grip strength by performing lifts with a lighter dumbbell and then adding weight, such as a chain wrapped around it or attached with a magnet, and then performing reps, or doing hand to hand transfers, hulas, or figure 8′s.

As awesome as Block Weights are, and as much as I love them, that does not mean the only way to get those benefits is with Single Dumbbell Heads. Inverted Dumbbells will get you these results very well, too.

Any questions, leave a comment below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Looking for other ways to train for thumb strength specifically? I love Grip4orce Handles and use them frequently in my training. Check them out through the banner below.

The year was 2004 and the month was March. I believe the day was a Thursday and that we had wings for dinner.

The only pic I can find of my buddy Rick: Rick Walker, Don Pope, and Napalm

On this awesome day in DIESEL history, Smitty and I went to Rick Walker’s place the day before the Arnold Classic. We were going in order to attend an event called Night of Strength, sponsored by Atomic Athletic. We had no idea what to expect at Night of Strength, so we hit stuff hard at Rick’s.

We didn’t realize that Night of Strength would end up being the biggest 3 hours of Grip and Bending ever known to man.

I distinctly remember the pain in my left hand from carpal bone misalignment was killing me by the end of this session. I still get this pain occasionally, but I know how to fix it now, so it doesn’t affect my training. Also, from all the wide pinching, both of my thumbs were throbbing and wanting to fall off. They were so tired I don’t think i could have hitch-hiked a ride home if my life depended on it, but it was worth it to enjoy the day with good friends and train grip hard.

We did so much Volume on this day that by the time Night of Strength rolled around the next night, I was destroyed. I distinctly remember failing miserably over and over on the Original Fatman Blob repeatedly while watch guys like Sean Dockery bust it off the floor repeatedly. It’s hard to believe it would be over 7 years until I would take a try again at the Fatman.

So here is the video. The music is by Systematic and it is called “Beginning of the End.” They had an album that came out in like 2000 or something like that. I saw them open for Cold, Stain’d and Godsmack and picked up a two-song disk with this and the song, “Dopesick” on it and played like every day for like 6 weeks.

Tim Narducci in the Captain Morghan Pose

I remember the lead singer, Tim Narducci, looked about 7 feet tall with a big bald head and played the entire set with his foot up on an amp, sort of like Captain Morgan. Dude looked so freakin big I bet he could lift the Inch Dumbbell.

Back to the video… Let’s look at some of the stuff you are going to see:

• Lots of failures on the Inch Dumbbell – horrible, embarrassing failures
• Lots of stuff with Five Tens – both loose and with a loading pin
• a little bit of Six Tens – hideous failures and loading pin lifts
• 8 Fives (I think we were the first ones to do this because at the time there was debate as to whether it was even possible)
• 37.5-lb Blob – Not sure why I put that in the video
• 50-lb Next Generation Blob – Rick and I made this thing look like a little bitch
• Two-35′s Pinch (tried doing a clean lefty – my left hand was a better pinching hand at the time, but I had epicondylitis so bad in my forearm that I just could not make the clean happen)
• Double Anvil Step-ups (each about 110 to 120-lbs)
• Windmill Lift where I anyhow’d a barbell with about 100-lbs overhead and then reached down and picked up a Blob

Most of the feats in the video are marked, but if there’s anything I missed, just leave a comment below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd