Time to get caught up a little bit on This Week in Grip.

Incidentally, I created a Playlist for the Podcast, so if you’re new to the show, you can start right from the beginning and get caught up: This Week in Grip Complete Playlist

Episode 66 – Hand Shake Power & Rich Williams’ 560 Axle

Episode 67 – Joe Sullivan and the Cross Canada Grip Challenge

Episode 68 – Follow Up on Rich W & What’s the Deal with Plate Flipping?

Episode 69 – Jujimufu & Tom Visit

Episode 70 – What is the Inch Dumbbell???

All the best in your training.

Jedd

How Jedd Got Started in Grip Start

Lately lots of viewers on my YouTube Channel have been asking lots of great questions in the comments section of my videos.

I love it!

I have a whole list that continues to grow and I plan on answering all of them.

Here’s the first of many…

Question: Jedd, how did you get involved in Grip Training?

Check Out My Complete Diesel Crew Product Catalog

Join My Grip Instructional Site

Become a Member of My Grip Coaching Program

This Week in Grip Podcast

This Week in Grip – Episode 60 – Grip Feats From July

This Week in Grip – Episode 59 – Northeastern Grip Challenge

This Week in Grip – Episode 58 – A Legend, Lifts & a Lighter

Get Started with Grip Training and Feats of Strength Today
Grab This DVD Set and Go Full Steam Ahead!

This Week in Grip

This Week in Grip is the (nearly) weekly podcast show that Allen Heineck, Riccardo Magni, and I do on YouTube. In This Week in Grip, we discuss the latest things going on in the sport of grip, as well as feats of grip strength that we see posted on-line, grip training topics, grip q&a’s, oldtime strongman feats, grip certifications, grip world records, and much, much more.

Please be sure to subscribe to the channel and click the bell for notifications on your mobile device. Also, if there’s any commentary or questions you’d like to put forth, please do so in the comments section under the video, and we will do our best to cover and answer them in the upcoming shows.

Specifically, we are wondering what you feel are the Top Feats of Grip Strength that you saw go down in 2018. Please post your thoughts!

Episode 37

Episode 38

Episode 39

This Week in Grip

Let’s finally get caught up on all the past episodes of This Week in Grip.

Episode 33

Got totally skipped by accident, and we’re not gonna go back and re-do it!

Episode 34

Episode 35

Episode 36

Thanks for watching and all the best in your training.

Jedd

This Week in Grip

Still playing catch-up on the episodes of This Week in Grip that I’m behind on.

This Week in Grip – Episode 30

This Week in Grip – Episode 31 – Part 1

This Week in Grip – Episode 31 – Part 2

This Week in Grip – Episode 32 – Part A

This Week in Grip – Episode 32 – Part B

I hope you enjoy them.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

I am really behind on posting episodes of This Week in Grip, the podcast show where Allen Heineck and I cover the latest in the grip world, including Grip Sport, Oldtime Strongman Training and Feats of Grip Strength, as well as other topics closely related to Grip Training.

We also recently added Riccardo Magni to our regular TWIG Team.

Below, you’ll find episodes 27, 28 and 29. I hope you enjoy them. Be sure to subscribe and don’t be afraid to share your favorite episodes with your friends.

This Week in Grip – Episode 27

This Week in Grip – Episode 28

This Week in Grip – Episode 29

I’ll have more episodes of This Week in Grip posted here soon. I don’t want to overload you with TOO MUCH of a great thing.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

This Week in Grip

Allen Heineck and I talk about the latest events in Grip Sport, Grip Training, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Modern Day Oldtime Strongman, and other Feats of Strength.

Beginner Grip Training: Basic Thick Bar Work

This is the latest installment in my Beginner Grip Training series. Up to this point, I’ve already touched on Plate Pinch Grip Training, and Gripper Training, but did you know that even if you don’t have a single piece of grip strength training equipment, you’ve got perfect access to in just about ANY gym around?

It’s true – you can work Thick Bar in your next workout, and this video shows you how.

Thick Bar Training in Any Gym

What questions do you have about Grip Training, Thick Bar Work, etc? Leave a comment below – I’d love to hear from you.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Since January of this year, I’ve been teaming up with Allen Heineck, one of my long-time members of TheGripAuthority.com & Team Napalm on a (near) weekly podcast on GRIP, called This Week in Grip.

I’m a bit behind in posting those episodes, so I want to go ahead and get caught back up right now.

This Week in Grip – Episode 11

This Week in Grip – Episode 12

This Week in Grip – Episode 13

This Week in Grip – Episode 14

This Week in Grip is getting a lot of good, positive feedback. I really appreciate it!

As much as I’d like to continue adding in the videos for each feat, I literally just can not do it anymore, because it has been taking so very long.

My plan right now is to keep peppering in a few stills of some of the stuff that’s harder to envision, and some of the key moments from the week, and especially highlighting other gripsters around the world.

Please keep on using the hashtag #ThisWeekInGrip on your social media posts so Allen and I can continue to find the feats we miss, and connect with more and more gripsters that are out there!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Stay Tuned for a New Grip Training Workout, Coming This Week!

Allen Heineck and I have been chugging along like a steaming locomotive with This Week in Grip.

Unfortunately, I fell behind in posting them on the site.

So, let’s get caught back up! Here’s episodes 9 & 10.

This Week in Grip – Episode 9

This Week in Grip – Episode 10

We will most likely be taking a week off this weekend, as I will be traveling back from FitCon 2017. I’ll be trying to get as much video as possible, so be sure you subscribe to my YouTube Channel <= Click That Link and Subscribe Today.

Grab Your Tickets for Big J’s FitCon 2017:

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Today’s question comes from Norm, and it is about Mace Swinging.

“Hi Jedd
I picked up your Home Made Strength Online DVD. I’m very happy with the product. My only question is whether the exercise where you swing the mace around your head should be used as a warmup, main strength move, or finisher? -Norm-“

Thanks for the note, Norm. Mace Swinging is a lot of fun, plus is is very versatile, so I put together a quick article for you.

In addition, I just talked with Ryan Pitts, and he just set up a special discount code just for my subscribers.

From Ryan Pitts at Stronger Grip Enterprises:

“I have been making the handles on some of the maces loadable at request of customer. I will give this upgrade to anyone who uses your diesel5 code. They get 5% off and a bonus $25 value of loadable handle, giving the mace an extra 10-16 lb capacity depending on what kind of media and length of mace they order. -Ryan Pitts-“

To get your own Mace with the custom adjustable-weight handle, use this link:

Special Diesel Crew Link for Custom Handle Maces

Be sure to use the code => diesel5 <= when you check out to get 5% off and get a cool adjustable handle.

The Benefits of Mace Swinging

Maces: Multi-Purpose Tools, Perfect for Warm-up, Strength Work, or Finishers

Is the Mace best used as a Warm-up device, a Strength Movement, or as a Finisher?

The Mace can actually be used for all three of these purposes. Allow me to detail each one…

Mace Training as a Warm-up

When done with a light weight, Mace Training can be a great warm-up for the upper body.

The shoulders, biceps, triceps, and the lower arms get used under light loads very fluidly with Mace Swinging, and this promotes blood flow to the area, lubricating the joints, making them feel good, especially after a long day where you are stuck in a chair or something like that.

In addition, the over the shoulder and behind the head movements of Mace Swinging open up the thoracic region of the torso, which can help you lift heavier later on in the workout.

Maces as a Strength Movement

You can also test your strength and coordination with heavy mace swinging.

I had a giant mace / club made several years ago that I call the Demolition Club.

Here’s a post on the Demolition Club.

It’s literally a giant artillery shell with a handle and it weighs 89lbs. The handle is super thick and there is no ball at the end of the handle, you not only must get your core, torso, and shoulders ready to go in order to swing this thing, but you grip must be ON too.

So, you can load a mace up heavy, especially shot-loadable ones like Ryan Pitts makes here, and keep the repetitions lower for a very challenging strength movement.

Maces as a Finisher

I, generally, use my mace training as a “finisher” of sorts the majority of the time.

During periods where I have no contests to train for, or if I am looking to burn some extra calories, I use Mace Swinging as “Upper Body Cardio,” at the end of the workout, doing a handful of sets for maximum repetitions.

Generally, I will wear some kind of gloves with these, in order to prevent blisters. Plus, my hands have to work a bit harder, so I get a good Grip Strength Challenge out of it.

I even like to do some “Sprint-Style” Mace Swinging, where I try to rip off 20 repetitions as fast as possible for 4 to 6 sets.

So, really, depending on what you want to go for, Mace Swinging can be a great multi-purpose form of training.

I like the shot-loadable Mace that I have, and you can also buy plate loadable ones too.

Good luck with your Mace Training, Norm.

Jedd

P.S. Don’t have a Mace? I gotcha covered:

You can buy a sweet shot-loadable mace here.<= Use code Diesel5 to get 5% off

This year at the NAGS Championship, the annual championship for North American Grip Sport, there will be a new event introduced, the Pinch Block Curl.

This event is a hybrid event, meaning it will test more than one discipline of Grip Strength.

It primarily tests wrist strength, just like a Plate Curl does.

It also tests thumb strength in having to pinch lift the Pinch Block Curl apparatus and keep it steady in the hand throughout the range of motion, and finger strength to support against the leverage.

On top of that, there is a requirement for a strong and mobile forearm.

With all of these facets of ability being tested, this event will be very interesting to watch indeed.

Diesel Power Products, my new equipment branch, is supplying the Pinch Block Curls for NAGS Championship, and they are now in production.

In fact, you can buy one here in my store: NAGS Pinch Block Curl.

This piece of equipment, while sure to become a hit within Grip Sport, just as the Sledge Hammer Choke has, will also prove to be useful in training for one of the most enigmatic feats of Grip Strength that is out there – The Plate Curl.

The Plate Curl is just like what it sounds – you pick a weight plate up by the rim and attempt to curl it, just like you would a dumbbell, with bicep strength. This lift, of course, demands tremendous wrist, finger and thumb strength in order to complete it, especially when moving beyond the 25lb/10kg plate to the 35lb/15kg and the 45lb/20kg plate.

For a quick demonstration of how the lift will be performed at NAGS, watch the video below.

Demonstration: How to Perform the Pinch Block Curl

For a quick video on how a Plate Curl is performed, watch the video below, a demonstration from the Grip Strength Challenge I used to hold here on the site.

How to Do Plate Curls

To get your Pinch Block Curl shipped to you as quickly as possible, order today => Pinch Block Curl (PBC)

All the best in your training,

Jedd

There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather…

With the recent cold snap, I sent out an email to my subscribers about training in the cold.

Of the dozens of people who have written me through email and Facebook regarding the cold, perhaps Guy Hall’s email said it best.

“Hey Jedd. When I was cold weather training with the Canadian Forces they had a saying,“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing and tools.” -Guy-

I couldn’t agree more brother!

You are never properly dressed without the right lid on your head.

And if you are hitting your workouts outside or in an unheated garage, and are wearing some silly trucker hat or baseball cap, it’s time for an upgrade – and I’ve got you covered.

Now in stock, new DIESEL CREW beanies

The price is $16 plus shipping and I’ve got about 10 in stock.

Orders in the United States:

For orders outside the US, please contact me through email, and I will get you an accurate quote.

All the best in your training. Stay WARM, DIESELS.

Jedd

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Get PUMPED UP For Your Next Workout

I am always on the lookout for Grip Training lifts and challenges that can be performed without having to buy specialized Grip Training equipment, only what you will already find in a commercial gym. I was introduced to a great example of a Grip Strength Challenge that requires no special equipment by my Canadian friend, Eric Roussein. It is called a Key Pinch Rim Lift.

This called a Key Pinch Rim Lift, because you grip the plate by the rim using a Key Pinch Grip. The Key pinch is where you force your thumb against the side of your bent index finger, as if you were gripping a key.

Key Pinch Position

Why Key Pinch is Important to Your Training

There are many reasons why this form of training can be of importance to you. Let’s look at some of them.

• Strength Training: The thumb serves to reinfornce many grips you take in lifting. Especially in lifts such as the Deadlift and other pulling movements (Pull-ups, Barbell Rows), the thumb assists the fingers in static grips to enable bigger weights to be lifted and assists in holding endurance.
• Firearms / Shooting: The thumb serves to enhance your grip on the handle of the firearm, assisting you with a steady hold and solid aim
• Grappling / MMA: The thumb is often a weak link in hand-to-hand combat, allowing opponents to break free from your grip. An powerful thumb keeps them in your grasp and in your control.
• Injury Prevention / Recovery: A stronger thumb is generally more resilient against injury, and if you do jam a thumb or injure it in another way, a stronger thumb should bounce back quicker and be able to still exert more force while injured than a weaker one.
• Gripper Training: When working with Grippers, the thumb and especially muscle of the thumb pad acts as a foundation for the back handle of the gripper, preventing sliding, keeping it in place, and shortening the pull distance the fingers must cover with the front handle

These are just a few examples of how thumb strength and thumb pad size can assist you in your athletic endeavors. Now, let’s look at how to perform Key Pinch Rim Lifts.

How to Perform a Key Pinch Rim Lift

You apply the Key Pinch to either the outside rim or the inside rim, which is also often call the hub. When you do this, you are ready to perform the Inside or Outside Key Pinch Rim Lift

 
Inside Key Pinch Rim Lift                          Outside Key Pinch Rim Lift

Once you have your Grip set-up you are ready to give these lifts a go. Naturally, if you are new to Grip Training, don’t worry about trying to tackle a 100-lb plate right away. Instead, start with a 25-lb plate, then 35, then 45, etc. You just might be surprised how challenging the Inside Rim Lift is even with a 35-lb or 45-lb plate, because of the very narrow grip position.

Outside Key Pinch Rim Lift

This was the original version of the lift that Eric Roussein introduced, done by gripping the outside rim of the plate.

Eventually, JT and I decided to try the lift from the center rim, when he got very easily, but I did not get until a session or two later

Inside Rim Lift

It took me several tries with varied rest periods, but I finally got it. The narrow position like this felt very awkward and tough to get a good grip on the plates.

Once I got this, I felt like I could have driven my thumbs through a Zombie’s eye sockets and squeezed its eyeballs so tightly they would have turned to diamonds!

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As you can see, these are types of grip training that do not require heavy investments in equipment. Most gyms already have weight plates that you can use to perform Rim Lifts on.

Any questions on how to perform the Rim Lift or how to train/load it, be sure to leave a comment below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

As if the dozens and dozens of medieval Grip torture devices I already had in my collection were not enough, one day about 5 years ago, I was looking for a tool that I could use to take my thick bar training to another level of insanity.

Singles and doubles weren’t enough anymore. I wanted to be able to train thick bar dynamically for reps after reps after reps, by picking up a thick big-handled beast and swinging it around with speed and power.

What I had in mind would create not only tremendous thick bar lifting strength, but also hyper-gravity eccentric loading that would test my fingers to the maximum capacity.

And, I wanted to be able to train both hands at the same time.

Alas, I could not find what I was looking for anywhere on the market, so I reached out to my good friend, Chris Rice, who had a way of taking my crazy ideas and turning them into reality by using very simple tools and materials.

What he came up with is something that turned out to be one of the absolute most brutal ways to train not only the hands for incredible grip strength, but also the glutes, core, legs, arms and shoulders all at the same time.

This device is called Napalm’s Nightmare.

While my mind does not dream up the “nightmarish” acts that Patrick Bateman did
(movie: American Psycho), I am capable of thinking of some pretty
DASTARDLY Grip Training Devices, such as Napalm’s Nightmare

Napalm’s Nightmare

Napalm’s Nightmare is the realization of my truly sick and twisted mind. Napalm was the pyromaniac wrestling character I pitched to WWE back in 2001, who would celebrate victories by lighting his hands and arms on fire. While they did not think that was as good of an idea as I did, at least the name gets to live on with this device.

This grip training tool combines the rotating effect of the IronMind Rolling Thunder Handle with the dynamic swinging nature of the Kettlebell. It is attached to a loading pin with weight added, making it fully adjustable for trainees of any strength level. ANYONE can benefit from this device in the way of GRIP STRENGTH and full body strengthening.

Next Level Napalm’s Nightmare Lifting

As often is the case, when one insane individual meets another, things can go much further than what the first maniac intended. While I designed Napalm’s Nightmare to be used in one way, others have taken my brainchild and produced even more sinister ideas.

Darrin Shallman, a long-time member of The Grip Authority, took the premise of Napalm’s Nightmare and has pushed the envelope of what is possible to new heights. Not happy with submaximal weight lifted for long durations of time, Darrin has begun testing the limits of Napalm’s Nightmare lifting with maximal lifts.

Here is Darrin showing Napalm’s Nightmare who is boss.

Darrin Shallman – Napalm’s Nightmare Deadlift – 320lbs

Take note, in case your speakers are busted, Darrin is only 157-lbs and his hands are about 7.5″ in length. This is a tremendous lift that only a true Sick Grip monster would attain.

Mike Rinderle – Napalm’s Nightmare Deadlift – 328-lbs

My brother from another mother, Rindo, also has posted some tremendous lifts with the NN. Here is 328. His training with this tool of grip sickness is even more intense because lives in an apartment above two elderly folks, so he has to set everything down as quietly as possible so he doesn’t wake them up every day.

Napalm Jedd Lifting Napalm’s Nightmare

After watching these two Sicko’s going for their max, I had to try it as well. I worked up to 315 for a nearly full lift. It’s not counting the loading pin – who knows it might be 320 total. That kind of stuff doesn’t matter until we get to the platform. In training, i am all about feeling the BURN brotherrrrr.

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As you can see, Napalm’s Nightmare is a lovely piece of home made equipment that has many benefits and many uses. To top it all off, for younger lifters or ladies who are just now beginning to get the Grip Fever, the rolling outside PVC handles can bee removed to expose smaller, yet still thick and Grip Power Producing handles.

Want to make your own Napalm’s Nightmare handle? It’s easy. Just check out my Home Made Strength 2 <=Click that link, brother. HMS2 - Grip Strength Edition will show you how to build a slew of Sick Grip Gear, plus you will learn how to use it to build Monster hand Strength.

“I Got a Fever. And the only cure is MORE THICK BAR.” – Rick Walker

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Pick up Home Made Strength: Grip Strength Edition (Digital Video) Today

I just released a brand new DVD today, called Napalm Pinch: How to Dominate the Two Hands Pinch.

This DVD is comprised of all my best information for training on and excelling at the Two Hands Pinch.

From understanding the proper technique, proper hand preparation, correct tension production, and more of the subtleties that are too often skipped over, this DVD will take your training up a notch, without having to put in more effort.

How is that possible you might ask?

SIMPLE.

It’s not about putting in endless hours in the gym doing all kinds of volume and a hundred different drills.

It’s about doing the handful of drills that actually work.

In short, this DVD will help you train SMARTER in order to bring up your lifts.

On top of all that, I’ve got some pretty cool BONUSES that I am offering this week ONLY.

Check out the announcement in the video below to find out about these cool bonuses.

You can pick it up here: Napalm Pinch DVD.

Don’t forget the cool bonuses:

• Free Coaching Call
• DVD Package Contest

All the best,

Jedd

This Spring I have begun adding a great deal more pulling movements into my training, especially types of Deadlifts.

In the past I would only perform Deadlifts or other pulls from the floor once a week in order to avoid a back injury, but these days I am trying to do more pulls from the floor, but from different heights.

Using the Farmer’s Walk handles has been great for this because there is not such a need to reach so far down to the ground in order to grip the weight and pull, as in a normal barbell deadlift.

In one recent video, I decided to see how much I could pull on the Farmer’s Handles.

Below is the video…

Max Effort Deadlift with Farmer’s Handles

I weighed the implements and they are 17-lbs. My max pull was with 310-lbs added per implement, so in total it was 327-lbs per hand.

After posting the video, my friend Nate Brous asked if I’d be willing to run a little experiment. How much would Fat Gripz affect the amount I’d be able to lift in a max effort pull?

I had never seen anything like that done, and I thought it was a pretty cool idea, so I decided to give it a try in my upcoming workouts. Here are the results…

Max Effort Farmer’s Handle Deadlift with Fat Gripz

In this workout, I pulled 257-lbs per hand with the basic, blue Fat Gripz handles. I was pretty surprised that I immediately lost 70-lbs on the deadlift, but given that Fat bar work is my absolute biggest struggle in Grip Training, it does make some sense.

Max Effort Farmer’s Handle Deadlift with Fat Gripz

In this session, we used the Fat Gripz Extreme Handles, and amazingly enough, my grip dropped nearly another 70-lbs! This time I got 197-lbs per hand.

How Do the Fat Gripz Models Compare in Size

Comparing the sizes of Fat Gripz Extreme (Orange, Left) and Fat Gripz Basic (Blue, Right)

Results of the Experiment

So, here is a rundown of the data:

Week 1 Regular Grips: 327 pounds per hand
Week 2 Fat Gripz: 257 pounds per hand (21.4% drop from Week 1)
Week 3 Fat Gripz Extreme: 197 pounds per hand (39.8% drop from Week 1, 23.3% drop from Week 2)

Naturally, I am not a Research Scientist, so there are some flaws to this “experiment.” First off, my Farmers Handles have duct tape over the gripping surface, because they are too heavily knurled for my liking. Over time, the duct tape has cracked and rolled and the adhesive residue has crept somewhat to the outside layer. So, they could have actually helped me on the Week 1 pulls, I suppose. It also could have hindered me though, because the tape is rolled up and seems to turn when in your grip.

Next, the training that took place on days prior to the days I shot these videos was not controlled. In other words, I may have not trained the day before shooting on some of the days so my hands would have been fresh, or I might have hit a killer grip workout the day before and my grip may have been a bit worn out.

Either way, despite these subtle inconsistencies, I think this experiment is still fairly accurate to show you what you can expect as far as reductions in pull numbers for lifts such as this.

It’s also important to note that in no way am I warning you NOT to buy Fat Gripz. I am not saying, “Oh No – don’t use Fat Gripz Handles because your numbers will go down.” Not at all.

Actually, this experiment just shows you that the two Fat Gripz handle will do their job – they will make your hands work harder and strengthen your grip.

Remember, Fat Gripz falls under the category of Open Hand Training because most people can not get a locking grip between their thumb and fingers. Open Hand Training is the BEST way to train your grip for increasing your general hand strength. In other words, if your hands are just plain weak, training with Fat Gripz can help you.

I plan to continue cycling through these three lift Farmer’s Deadlift variations in the coming months. It has been great getting more pulling in. My body responds well to pulls from the floor as far as muscle building and strength are concerned. So, you will see this topic revisited again in the coming months.

For now, get your Fat Gripz Handles here.

Any questions, leave a comment below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Want to Build Your Own Grip Equipment?
Check out Home Made Strength Grip Edition

Globe Gripz

A few weeks back, I was contacted by a company about reviewing their equipment. It was called Globe Gripz, and at first I thought I would not be impressed, but reviewing equipment is fun, so I agreed.

Globe Gripz are very similar to other dense rubber, instant thick bar grip attachments that are on the market, with one major exception – they are round.

Aside from that, everything else is pretty much the same about the devices themselves.

Below, I have a video that covers my complete review of Globe Gripz.

Globe Gripz Equipment Review

Like many round-handled tools that are on the market, the Globe Gripz are too strong for my mutant hands, so I do not use the Globe Gripz that much. However, I have added them to straight-bar curls several times and they work perfectly. I have not done barbell curls in years due to the wrist pain and elbow stress that they cause, but with the Globe Gripz added, I don’t feel any of that.

Without a doubt, until they come out with a larger version, I think these would be best suited for smaller-handed individuals (less than 7.75 inches from wrist crease to tip of longest finger).

You can get your set here: GlobeGripz.com (non-affiliate link)

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Grip Sport and Grip Training are just plain awesome. The equipment that is used to develop a world class grip ranges from plain to extravagant, from simple to complex, and from basic to scary.

One of the scariest pieces of training equipment that exists is the Inch Dumbbell. Its scariness comes from many things. First and foremost is the fact that its weight and size will intimidate you. They will get into your mind and make you think before even touching it that you probably do not have any chance to lift it.

Then, once you try to lift it, several times in succession, and watch it merely spin out of your grip and never leave its original spot, it starts to work its way into your head even deeper, down into your psyche, and it owns your thoughts and haunts your dreams until you cross paths with it again.

I am one of the few who owns an Inch Dumbbell, and one of the very rare who owns two. I have owned these pieces of iron for nearly 10 years and to this day they still give me heart-ache and frustration.

Occasionally, I will mark my progress with my Inch Dumbbell training by shooting and uploading a video to YouTube and just about every time someone stumbles onto the video and ask questions like “What is the Inch Dumbbell?” “Why is the Inch Dumbbell so Hard to Lift?” and many other things.

In order to help bring some clarity to the situation, I shot a video describing exactly what the Inch Dumbbell is and discussed some of the history of the dumbbell, and other important pieces of information around it.

Of course, as always happens when you try to put an informational video like this together, you miss certain points or leave certain things out, so I will be adding the pertinent information here in an effort to make everything as complete as possible.

Naturally, if you have any further questions, let me know by leaving a comment and I will tackle your question at a later date.

Basics of the Inch Dumbbell

Thomas Inch: The Inch Dumbbell is named after the famous performing strongman, Thomas Inch (1881 – 1963), who was born in Scarborough, England. Inch would take this and other challenge dumbbells with him in his act and challenge many a by-stander to lift it, with the great majority never breaking it from the ground, just as is the case today in most cases.

Important Note: The Original Inch Dumbbell designed by Thomas Inch is now owned by Kim Wood. So now, any Inch Dumbbell that you see will be a replica.

Statistics of the Dumbbell: The Inch Dumbbell weighs 172 lbs, 9 oz. and has a handle with is 2.38 inches in diameter and 4 inches in length. Replica Inch Dumbbells often have a handle that is slightly thicker, 2.47 inches in diameter, but can of course vary in dimensions slightly. Regardless of the variation, all Inch Dumbbell Replicas are hard as hell to lift. If you have never witnessed an Inch Dumbbell, a soda can is a close indicator of the handle size. The Original Inch’s handle circumference is 7.5 inches with most replicas being closer to 7.75, while a soda can circumference is about 8.25 inches. For more info on the Inch Dumbbell, check out the great article at the BodyBuilding.com website.

To truly understand the dynamics of the Inch, they can’t be just read off a piece of paper or website page. They must be seen in action. With that, I give you my Inch Dumbbell Movie, where I discuss the Inch Dumbbell and its defiant nature in detail.

The Inch Dumbbell

Stay tuned for the Inch Dumbbell Training DVD coming soon. Add your email below to make sure you’re notified the instant it comes out:

Feat Objectives with the Inch Dumbbell

In the video above, I show a feat where the Inch is lifted with cans on the globes. This is an advanced feat of Grip Strength. Below, I will list the common feats associated with the Inch Dumbbell.

One Hand Deadlift: The principle objective with the Inch Dumbbell is to lift it to a full deadlift, one handed. This means that you have tremendous static open hand strength to be able to control the action of the dumbbell long enough to pull it to the erect position.

Double Inch Deadlift: This is the next step up, and if you can do this, it shows that your grip is evenly balanced in both hands for the most part.

Inch Deadlift with Cans on Globes: As mentioned in the video above, being able to stand up with the Inch Dumbbell in hand while also being able to keep cans balanced on the globes shows that you have extreme control over the rotation of the dumbbell, plus the cans force you to keep it level, which is a much more difficult way to lift it. When lifted with a tilt, other factors come into play making the lift easier.

Double Inch Farmers Walk: It’s one thing to lift something up. It’s another thing altogether to pick it/them up and walk away with them. This has been one of the main events in the Mighty Mitts contest for several years, although this year it seems to have been taken out for a slight change.

Inch Clean and Press: One of the ultimate goals for anyone who toils with the Inch Dumbbell is to one day clean it to the shoulder and then press it overhead. This, after all, was the main challenge Thomas Inch had for those who took their tries on his challenge dumbbell. To this day, there have been some who have cleaned the Inch to their shoulder and then further either pressed it, push-pressed it, or jerked it overhead one-handed, including Mark Henry and Ryan Green, two of which happened in the early 2000’s when I was first learning about Grip.

As a natural progression to the Clean and Press, the Inch Dumbbell can also be “continentaled” to the shoulder and then pressed, push-pressed, or jerked it overhead. A continental involves pulling the Inch Dumbbell off the ground one handed and then using the body one or more times to assist in getting the Inch to the shoulder in order to launch it overhead. I recently watched Matt Brouse do this on Facebook. Awesome.

Below are some of my best efforts with the Inch Dumbbell trying some of the various feats shown above.

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Inch Dumbbell Single Hand Deadlift: Inch Hustles

In this clip, instead of carefully approaching the Inch and digging in the grip, I move over to it and try to apply the grip more quickly in order to replicate the rush of a medley even in a grip contest.

Related Article: Thick Bar Strength Training Methods

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Double Inch Farmer’s Walk (DIFW)

In this clip, I set a PR of about 8 feet in what can probably best be called a Double Inch Dumbbell Shuffle…

Related Article: Double Inch Farmer’s Walk Progress

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Inch Dumbbell with Cans on Globes

This is something I was just recently able to accomplish. It’s hard to deadlift the Inch with the cans on them without hitting the cans on my leg or the crotch of my pants, so I generally need to pull my arm out away from my body in sort of a rowing motion.

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Inch Dumbbell Continental

This is a feat that I have rarely trained. There’s no real reason, except that I train for so many other feats. Even with the assistance of the body to get the dumbbell to the shoulder, this feat is still tremendously difficult.

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Bi-Polar Training: Inch Dumbbell with Kettlebell Flip

This is a feat I’ve never seen anyone else duplicate, or even try for that matter. Here, I lift the Inch and hold it while I forward flip and catch a 95-lb kettlebell, a feat in itself I’ve only seen done by a handful of awesome strength enthusiasts.

Related Article: Inch Dumbbell Feats of Strength

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These are just a handful of my most impressive Inch Dumbbell feats. In some ways, they are top of the line, but in others, they pale in comparison to what some of the other greats in the world are doing. Surely, there is much more to come in both my Grip career and theirs, and surely the limits will continue to be pushed beyond what they are now in all directions.

Stay tuned for the Inch Dumbbell Training DVD coming soon. Add your email below to make sure you’re notified the instant it comes out:

All the best,

Jedd

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Are You Training to Lift the Inch Dumbbell? This DVD Will Help You:

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Improve Hand Strength for Strength Training and Sports

The hands and lower arms are often a forgotten aspect of a well-rounded strength training program, and they also are something that can hold us back from attaining what we want to accomplish if we fail to train them properly.

 

Thick about it this way…

Don’t think hand strength is important in sports?

• Try tackling a player on the football field with weak hands.
• Try holding the basketball in the paint with weak hands or fingers.
• Try maintaining control over your opponent on the wrestling mat without a good grip.

All of these things involve a great deal of general body strength in order to be successful, but if you grip is weak, then you might as well forget about all of them.

The same can be said for pulling movements like the Pull-up and the Deadlift. While both of these movements are mostly limited by the strength of the back and arm muscles, a weak grip will also be a hindrance.

Even pushing movements like Overhead Lifting and the Bench Press can be very affected heavily if you have weak hands.

With all of this in mind, it is important to include Grip Training in your routine regularly.

When speaking of Grip Training, there are several common questions that often come up…

• How much training should I do?
• When does it become too much?
• Should I buy a bunch of equipment in order to train my grip?

These are questions I am asked all the time, but the answers truly come down to what exactly your training goals are. You can’t write one program and have it work for everyone.

Instead, when I work with my clients and coach the the members of my site, The Grip Authority, I try to offer examples of movements and exercises that are high impact, meaning that you get a lot of benefit out of them regardless of your individual training goals.

One High Impact Grip Training Movement is Plate Pinch Around the World’s.

This movement is often overlooked but it is actually a fantastic movement for ANYONE to include in their training.

Here’s why:

1. Open Hand Movement – The best Grip Training movements for complete hand strength involve an open handed position. This is beneficial because since you can’t close your hand around the implement, you have to fire your first two fingers (the strongest ones), the last two fingers (the weakest ones) and the thumb very hard in order to complete the lift.

2. Full Body Engagement – Just as Muscle-ups, Hand Stands, and even Deadlifts require coordinated strength generation from very large portions of the body, so do Around the Worlds. At first glance, this lift may look like something that hits the hands only, but it actually will leave your wrists and forearms, biceps, shoulders, lats, back and glutes tired, if you do it the right way.

3. Endurance Based – Many Grip Training drills involve just picking something off the ground, but Around the World’s are different. With this drill, you have to be ready to put forth effort for anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds, depending on the intensity (% of 1 Rep Maximum) you are training.

4. Bonus! – You probably already have ALL THE EQUIPMENT YOU NEED to do this lift, which means you can save your money and put toward Detailed Grip Training Instruction.

I could go on about why you should do this movement, but instead, let’s look at How to do Around the World’s.

The movement is so named because you will be picking up two plates (from 25 to 45-lbs) positioned together smooth-sides-out in a Pinch Grip (thumb opposing the fingers) and working all the way around the plates.

Below is a video clip of myself and some people who traveled to my location to find out more about Grip Training for a day.

One of the main drills I put them through was Around the World’s, because it requires your whole body to work together as a unit. Observe:

Keys to Watch For:

Full Body Engagement: Notice as you watch the video how the legs and glutes are brought into play in order to transition grips placed on the plates. It is not an easy thing to control 90-lbs in your hands while keeping your body limp! You have to keep your core braced and fire the hips repeatedly in order to propel the plates upwards and shift them around…

Hand Speed: Take note that the movement involves a series of rapid firings of the body and the hands. Transitioning quickly around the circumference of the plates helps you keep moving steadily, while fumbling around will cause you to drop the plates and have to start over.

Concentration: Around the World’s also require hand-eye coordination. You’ve got to make sure you move far enough on the plates to make progress around them, but not too much, because you might miss and drop the plates. Take note that I continually cue the guys to involve the lower body. Newer trainees will become engrossed in executing strength with their hands and forget about keeping the rest of their body active. They will either relax their lower body and crumble or stiffen too much and not get the spring needed.

Loading: One plate combination may be too light for some trainees, while the next one up is too heavy. One easy way to load them further is with chains, as you can see done in the video. Chains are usually incorporated in lifts for the benefit of Accommodating Resistance, but in this case they are used as a way to increase the N-Planar Force demands of the lift, randomizing the movement of the implement.

Execution: Most trainees will be more comfortable executing this lift in just one direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Don’t fall prey to this trap – make sure to work both directions.

As you can see, there is much more to this lift than you may have first thought. This is exactly why I consider it one of my High Impact Grip Training Movements.

Training of this nature no doubt will increase your performance in the Strength Game or with Sports.

If you are serious about strength and performance, then check out The Grip Authority. All aspects of lower arm strength are covered, in order to take your grip strength from being a liability you worry about to being an asset you are glad to have.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. Have you checked out the Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales? If not take a look right here.

Just about every single product I’ve ever put out is discounted, with several other packages already set up for even further savings.

Don’t waste time though. These sale prices are only available until 10PM EST tonight.

I have been contacted by many of you again recently about ordering in more of the World of Grip Equipment, such as Vulcan Grippers, and the Wrist Developer seems very popular right now as well.

Well, after being out of stock of two of their flagship products for quite some time, the Vulcan V2 and the Wrist Developer, I have been informed by Elizabeth Horne that they expect to be stocked back up and ready to ship out orders within 2 to 3 weeks.

This means that if you pre-order your equipment now, most of you can have your World of Grip equipment within 3 to 4 weeks.

Now, you can go to my World of Grip ordering page and pre-order your equipment at a discount.

Here are the prices on the most common World of Grip equipment I get in:

Vulcan V2 Grippers: pre-order: $99 (regular $109)

The V2’s are currently out of stock, but the Hornes are expecting to be able to ship orders out within about 2 to 3 weeks. This batch of V2’s will be painted Green.

Wrist Developers: pre-order: $99 (regular $109)

The Wrist Developers are just coming back into stock now. The image above shows the previous design. I will post an image of the new design as soon as I get one from David and Elizabeth at World of Grip. The new WD’s are expected to be ready to ship within about 2 to 3 weeks.

Extra Springs: $19.99
V2’s and WD’s come with the standard Black Spring (or equivalent), but lighter Orange and even lighter White springs can be ordered for each device.

Thumb Screws: pre-order: $25 (regular $29.99)
I actually have a few of these sets in stock, but will be listing them at the pre-order price of $25.

Setting Blocks: $7.99
These are the devices to measure 20-mm and 30-mm set depths for when using the Vulcan Grippers during contests and for certifications. The 20-mm and 30-mm Setting Blocks have become a standard for regular torsion spring gripper training (such as IronMind Grippers and Tetting Grippers as well).

Want other equipment from World of Grip? I am open to getting other pieces. The ones above are simply what I get each time. If there is something else you are interested in, let me know, and I will be glad to look into it.

Any questions, let me know. Email me or leave a comment below.

Thanks,

Jedd

Click the Banner below to make your World of Grip orders – Thanks!

One of the things I like to do is get my hands on some of the pieces of equipment out there and go over them, looking at their Pro’s, Con’s, advantages, disadvantages, etc, and shooting review videos. Over the course of the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to review several cool pieces and I have several more to do once I get the time.

For now, I want to post them here in case you missed them when I uploaded them originally, plus I will add in a few more details about each one.

Fat Gripz Extreme

I know you have heard of Fat Gripz. You can’t go onto a site with Google AdWords and not see them advertise these days. However, you may not have seen that FG also is coming out with an extension of their product line called “Extremes” that are even larger in diameter, making them an even bigger challenge for your Grip Strength.

Wrist Developer

I recently got comments on my YouTube channel asking what the cool piece of equipment was we were using in one of the contests. It is the Wrist Developer from World of Grip. Their design is being overhauled and I hope to be getting more of them in for re-sale in time for the holidays. Leave a comment below if you are interested in picking one up.

Hand Yoga

From the Manus company, this is a piece designed specifically for training the extensor muscles. This is very similar to another piece on the market, but this one works MUCH better than the other one. I was happy to see it function properly, but with its strength level, it is just too light for me. I will stick with my #84 Rubber Bands.

There are still more reviews to come. Companies contact me quite often. The next piece I will shoot is called the Perform RX Ball Security System. Pretty cool stuff, this is a piece of strapping that attaches directly to a football or basketball and allows you to train for grip strength using sport-specific equipment in similar fashion to the way the equipment is used on the field & court.

That is coming soon. For now, make sure to subscribe to my channel and don’t forget to sign up for email updates.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

One of the things I like to do is get my hands on some of the pieces of equipment out there and go over them, looking at their Pro’s, Con’s, advantages, disadvantages, etc, and shooting review videos. Over the course of the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to review several cool pieces and I have several more to do once I get the time.
For now, I want to post them here in case you missed them when I uploaded them originally, plus I will add in a few more details about each one.

Fat Gripz Extreme

I know you have heard of Fat Gripz. You can’t go onto a site with Google AdWords and not see them advertise these days. However, you may not have seen that FG also is coming out with an extension of their product line called “Extremes” that are even larger in diameter, making them an even bigger challenge for your Grip Strength.

Wrist Developer

I recently got comments on my YouTube channel asking what the cool piece of equipment was we were using in one of the contests. It is the Wrist Developer from World of Grip. Their design is being overhauled and I hope to be getting more of them in for re-sale in time for the holidays. Leave a comment below if you are interested in picking one up.

Hand Yoga

From the Manus company, this is a piece designed specifically for training the extensor muscles. This is very similar to another piece on the market, but this one works MUCH better than the other one. I was happy to see it function properly, but with its strength level, it is just too light for me. I will stick with my #84 Rubber Bands.
There are still more reviews to come. Companies contact me quite often. The next piece I will shoot is called the Perform RX Ball Security System. Pretty cool stuff, this is a piece of strapping that attaches directly to a football or basketball and allows you to train for grip strength using sport-specific equipment in similar fashion to the way the equipment is used on the field & court.
That is coming soon. For now, make sure to subscribe to my channel and don’t forget to sign up for email updates.
All the best in your training.
Jedd

DIESELS!

Variety and Convenience.

These are two things I am always looking for in my training.

Having Variety allows me to constantly be challenging myself in the gym with new and different pieces of equipment. This keeps the gains coming and the PR’s piling up.

Convenience is very important to me because I have limited space for training and don’t want to waste time setting stuff up and breaking stuff down. I want to get in, get the work done, and be able to get out of the gym and enjoy my time with my family.

Maybe you are like that too?

Well, I’ve got a buddy named Ryan Pitts. Maybe you have heard of him. He runs a company called Stronger Grip Enterprises.

Ryan has put out a brand new grip training equipment system, called the Modular Grip System.

The Modular Grip System is a training equipment kit with loading pins and interchangeable parts.

This means that it will allow you to train various aspects of grip strength with a small collection of tools.

The MGS, as it is called, comes with two loading pins and various plug-in style handles which attach to these loading pins. Let’s run down the handles that come within the system:

1. Two Hand Pinch (normally $59)
This is a steel implement that attaches to the loading pin and allows you to train open hand strength and thumb strength, two very important aspects of grip which have carryover to all sorts of athletic activities and sports.

2. Plateau Buster Handle (normally $149)
This is another steel implement that is used to train true support strength. The handle is about 1 inch in diameter, meaning just about everybody will be able to wrap their hand completely around it and strengthen the grip for deadlifts and other pulling movements.

3. A 2 3/8-inch Vertical Bar
This device allows you to train in an ulnar deviated open hand position. You’ve probably seen vertical bar training before, but if not, think gripping a giant office
water bottle by the neck, or trying to pull a 2 and 3/8 inch thick horseshoe stake out of the ground. This joint orientation is also very similar to pulling on a long rope. Awesome for serious hand strength.

4. Thick Burger Grip
This is pretty much a new device for me, but it is very similar to block weight training. The Burger Grip is pill-shaped. Imagine lifting a giant aspirin tablet.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

If you’re looking for a good set of equipment that is going to last you a long time, then this could very well be perfect for you.

I own all kinds of Ryan Pitt’s Stronger Grip equipment and it is all top notch.

In terms of workmanship, much of Ryan’s equipment BLOWS AWAY his competitors in terms of quality and aesthetics, plus they are built to last.

Looking at the new design, I think this version of the Plateau Buster will be even better than the first version for dynamic training such as swings, because the plates will be loaded vertically instead of horizontally.

I still use mine to this day for heavy two-handed swings because I can actually get both hands on the handle fully, something most people are unable to do with kettlebells.

I hope Ryan puts up records lists for this equipment. I know it is always fun to see how much you can pull on new pieces of equipment, but when there are public listings available on sites like his, it makes it even more fun and allows you to challenge yourself for years down the road as well.

So, make sure you check out the Modular Grip System from Stronger Grip. Right now it is just $199 for the whole package. That is less than the regular total for the Plateau Buster and Two Hand Pinch handle.

If you get the MGS right now, you will essentially get the Vertical Bar and Burger Grip handles for free.

Enjoy and all the best in your training,

Jedd

P.S. Ryan has indicated that he is working on other prototypes that will be coming out later as additional plug-in handles for the Modular Grip System. So that means even more goodies to come!

DIESELS,

Happy Labor Day. I hope you get the chance to enjoy some nice time with your friends or family. I made sure to get up early as usual and get some work done before enjoying the beautiful day.

I also got in a session with my only personal training client, Mark. He loves training, so I never have a problem working with him. He comes in, kicks his own ass, and loves every second of the training I put him through.

I thought I would take the time to answer some questions I have gotten recently. I figured I’d start with the hardest one to answer/admit.

Q: Jedd, what ever happened to your muscle-up goal? I remember something you posted a long time ago but haven’t seen anything since.

A: The truth is, I have not trained the muscle-up in quite some time. It just got to be too big of a pain in the neck to set everything up. My old squat rack was extremely light, so I had to load all this extra weight on the other side to keep it from tipping. In one workout, I buggered up my shoulder a bit, so I avoided the movement for a while. I was still hitting the same heights once it was feeling better though, so the time off didn’t really hurt me or hinder my progress.

Then, I came to realize that if I ever did complete the muscle-up, I’d probably either crack my head open or break my neck on the ceiling. It never registered how close I was coming to the structure above, so when I was training it, I was moving the cage over to the car-portion of the garage. One thing led to another and I began bagging the training. That was late 2010, so it’s been almost two years.

What I have been continuing to do is many versions of Pull-ups. I have used many different handles, added weight, changed tempos, etc. Below is a video of me working on the Rogue Fitness Dog Bone. This thing is sick. The only thing tougher to do Pull-ups on is the Globe.

I have used the Dog Bone for my Pull-ups several times over the last few weeks. This is unlike conventional Pull-ups or Chins in many ways:

1. Open Hand Grip: You can’t help but build hand strength with this device. You can’t get a wrap around the handles because they are so large.

2. Intense Chest Compression: Your upper arms end up adducted and it brings in the pectoralis muscles in much more than regular pull-ups/chin-ups.

3. Wrist Component: Having the hands on top of the globes like in the video lights the wrists and forearms up like a Christmas tree. If your wrists are a weakness in your sport, you should try this piece out.

I could only do two reps when I first started hitting these. Now my best is 6 reps with no weight added, and I have already moved up to adding a 25-lb plate, as you’ll see in the video.

I love doing Pull-ups and Chins, and I will eventually master the Muscle-up. But for right now, I am enjoying the Rogue Equipment too much. After trying them for about a month and a half, I am perfectly comfortable recommending them. Check out their catalog here.

Someone said they heard that Rogue’s equipment was of crappy quality. I don’t see how they can think that, judging by what I have used. While it isn’t covered in chrome and is more Johnny Cash style of equipment, I don’t see any flaws with the gear and I see no weak points. Every indicator is that this stuff will last for a long time.

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This next question was not asked directly to me. It was on the Gripboard. But, I have been asked this question many times so I thought I’d post it here as well.

Q: [I want to get better at Double Overhand Bending.] But, for now, reverse bending with the bar at or above shoulder height seems to be considerably easier than any other style. Especially with the bar in close to my shoulder.

My question – is this considered a legit form for bending or is it considered sloppy or cheating? Am I wasting time continuing to kink in this manner? Is it smarter to transition to DO sooner rather than later?

A. First off, let’s just quickly define the major bending techniques.

Double Overhand Technique

There is Double Overhand where the hands are placed at the end of the bar/bolt/nail. The hands are positioned between a pronated and neutral position, then the ends of the bar are bent down into an inverted U-shape.

Double Underhand Technique

There is Double Underhand, where the hands are placed at the ends of the bar, but now they are oriented between supination and neutral, then the bar is bent into a U-shape.

Reverse Style Bending

Finally, there is also Reverse style, where the hands are oriented in neutral and then slightly deviated, with one hand “overhand” and the other “underhand.” A completed bend is when the angle of the bar reaches 40-degress and there is usually a time limit involved.

Each of these styles have their own benefits and shortcomings. Double Over and Double Under can be used to bring more upper body strength into the execution, which generally leads to bigger bends. Reverse, however, is one that is much more “pure grip strength,” testing the wrist and forearm more intently, although not entirely.

However, if you have mobility issues and are unable to get into the positions, then you will also be unable to benefit from the two power positions. Some people, like the person who asked the question, then must find other ways to start the first part of the bend, called the kink.

One of the main guys that got me inspired to try bending back in 2002/2003 was Pat Povilaitis. He said that he used to get bends started with Reverse until his shoulders and torso loosened up enough to get into a good position for the DO Kink. So, that is what I did as well for the first few years, eventually bending a Red Nail with a Reverse Kink and then a DO finish.

So, I was in the same boat as the person who asked this question.

Is a Reverse Kink cheating or sloppy technique? No way. Actually, for most people, Reverse is much harder that DO or DU, so getting the bend started with Reverse and then transitioning to a stronger style to finish is no problem whatsoever.

During the time where you need to use both techniques in order to fully bend a nail, it is a good idea to work on figuring out what is keeping you from getting into the DO Power Position. Are your arms so big that they don’t allow you to bring the bar up high? Are your shoulders so tight that you can pull them back? Are your pecs and biceps too tight? Is your upper back weak? Are your triceps tight? Is it a fascial issue?

All of these are possible explanations why someone would have trouble getting into the DO Power Position. Addressing these issues will help you get into the position.

However, my friend, Jason Steeves, pointed out that there are limitations in the height you can bend the bar in most cases. The writer mentions bending the bar at or above shoulder height. The cut-off for most bending lists are head height. This is something to watch.

The reason there is a cut-off, I believe, is to limit the engagement of the lats in the bend. This keeps the emphasis on wrist strength. By practicing the technique and focusing intently on the lats, you can still get them involved in the bend. However, the most important point here is that if you are bending for a certain list or certification, you should practice the way you will be required to bend for that list. Some lists require the use of very small pads, limiting the amount of force that can be exerted into the ends of the bar. Others require very thin wraps, reducing padding and heightening the factor of pain tolerance.

However, in my experience, if you perform a Reverse Bend and keep the bar above your head the entire time without arching your back, the bend seems much harder. That could just be me though. I know if I paint something with my arm straight up in the air for more than ten seconds, it feels like my arm is going to die. This has been ever since the late 90’s long before I ever tried bending, strongman or any other non-conventional training methods. I am left only to blame this issue on bad genetics and playing baseball…

For more detailed Bending Technique instruction, you should check out my Nail Bending eBook. It breaks every one of thee techniques down for you, plus it covers some other lesser common bending styles.

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This last one comes from YouTube. I put up a video about a year ago where I talk about increasing deadlift grip, and I mentioned that Fat Bar Training is not always the best way to go about it. I got the following question:

Q: So are Fat Gripz a waste of money then?

A: Fat Gripz are absolutely NOT a waste of money. They allow you to turn dozens of exercises into thick bar exercises almost instantly without buying or building axles or thick handle loadable dumbbells. Plus, I think they will survive an atomic bomb blast, so they are a safe investment.

My point in that video was this. If your grip fails when doing Deadlifts, you need to train specifically for improving your Deadlift Grip.

The Deadlift Grip (for most people) is an alternated grip on a thin bar. In most cases, the time under tension requirement for the pull overwhelms your grip endurance. For most people, this means they need to train holding more weight for longer periods of time, or you need to finish your deadlift faster so that you don’t reach your grip strength endurance threshold.

In many cases, when people train with a thicker bar, the size difference is so substantial that it trains the hands in a slightly different way. Obviously, the same muscles are being worked, but the orientation of the hands and loading are different. Going from a one-inch bar to a 2-inch or even 2.5 or 3-inch bar could end up being too big of a size difference to get good carryover back to deadlifting on a regular bar.

Aside from working with a heavier barbell to load the hands specifically, I also suggest wearing some leather work gloves while deadlifting in that video. This increases the perceived size of the bar. The bar itself doesn’t change, but the fact that the glove material sits between your fingers and the bar keeps the fingers slightly more open so the bar seems slightly larger. The same effect can be gotten by wrapping a towel over the bar and gripping it, but it slipped my mind to mention this because I was driving. You can see the video I am talking about here.

Will thick bar training improve hand strength? Absolutely. It is a great way to train for general hand strength. However, I think the best way to bring your deadlifting support strength up is by doing work of a more specific nature.

That’s all for now. I was going to answer more questions, but this post got big in a hurry, so I will make sure to answer more down the line. Feel free to leave comments with any questions you might have.

Stay tuned for future posts. Sign up for my free newsletter below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

DIESELS,
Happy Labor Day. I hope you get the chance to enjoy some nice time with your friends or family. I made sure to get up early as usual and get some work done before enjoying the beautiful day.

I also got in a session with my only personal training client, Mark. He loves training, so I never have a problem working with him. He comes in, kicks his own ass, and loves every second of the training I put him through.
I thought I would take the time to answer some questions I have gotten recently. I figured I’d start with the hardest one to answer/admit.
Q: Jedd, what ever happened to your muscle-up goal? I remember something you posted a long time ago but haven’t seen anything since.
A: The truth is, I have not trained the muscle-up in quite some time. It just got to be too big of a pain in the neck to set everything up. My old squat rack was extremely light, so I had to load all this extra weight on the other side to keep it from tipping. In one workout, I buggered up my shoulder a bit, so I avoided the movement for a while. I was still hitting the same heights once it was feeling better though, so the time off didn’t really hurt me or hinder my progress.
Then, I came to realize that if I ever did complete the muscle-up, I’d probably either crack my head open or break my neck on the ceiling. It never registered how close I was coming to the structure above, so when I was training it, I was moving the cage over to the car-portion of the garage. One thing led to another and I began bagging the training. That was late 2010, so it’s been almost two years.
What I have been continuing to do is many versions of Pull-ups. I have used many different handles, added weight, changed tempos, etc. Below is a video of me working on the Rogue Fitness Dog Bone. This thing is sick. The only thing tougher to do Pull-ups on is the Globe.
I have used the Dog Bone for my Pull-ups several times over the last few weeks. This is unlike conventional Pull-ups or Chins in many ways:
1. Open Hand Grip: You can’t help but build hand strength with this device. You can’t get a wrap around the handles because they are so large.
2. Intense Chest Compression: Your upper arms end up adducted and it brings in the pectoralis muscles in much more than regular pull-ups/chin-ups.
3. Wrist Component: Having the hands on top of the globes like in the video lights the wrists and forearms up like a Christmas tree. If your wrists are a weakness in your sport, you should try this piece out.
I could only do two reps when I first started hitting these. Now my best is 6 reps with no weight added, and I have already moved up to adding a 25-lb plate, as you’ll see in the video.

I love doing Pull-ups and Chins, and I will eventually master the Muscle-up. But for right now, I am enjoying the Rogue Equipment too much. After trying them for about a month and a half, I am perfectly comfortable recommending them. Check out their catalog here.
Someone said they heard that Rogue’s equipment was of crappy quality. I don’t see how they can think that, judging by what I have used. While it isn’t covered in chrome and is more Johnny Cash style of equipment, I don’t see any flaws with the gear and I see no weak points. Every indicator is that this stuff will last for a long time.

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This next question was not asked directly to me. It was on the Gripboard. But, I have been asked this question many times so I thought I’d post it here as well.
Q: [I want to get better at Double Overhand Bending.] But, for now, reverse bending with the bar at or above shoulder height seems to be considerably easier than any other style. Especially with the bar in close to my shoulder.
My question – is this considered a legit form for bending or is it considered sloppy or cheating? Am I wasting time continuing to kink in this manner? Is it smarter to transition to DO sooner rather than later?
A. First off, let’s just quickly define the major bending techniques.

Double Overhand Technique
There is Double Overhand where the hands are placed at the end of the bar/bolt/nail. The hands are positioned between a pronated and neutral position, then the ends of the bar are bent down into an inverted U-shape.

Double Underhand Technique
There is Double Underhand, where the hands are placed at the ends of the bar, but now they are oriented between supination and neutral, then the bar is bent into a U-shape.

Reverse Style Bending
Finally, there is also Reverse style, where the hands are oriented in neutral and then slightly deviated, with one hand “overhand” and the other “underhand.” A completed bend is when the angle of the bar reaches 40-degress and there is usually a time limit involved.
Each of these styles have their own benefits and shortcomings. Double Over and Double Under can be used to bring more upper body strength into the execution, which generally leads to bigger bends. Reverse, however, is one that is much more “pure grip strength,” testing the wrist and forearm more intently, although not entirely.
However, if you have mobility issues and are unable to get into the positions, then you will also be unable to benefit from the two power positions. Some people, like the person who asked the question, then must find other ways to start the first part of the bend, called the kink.

One of the main guys that got me inspired to try bending back in 2002/2003 was Pat Povilaitis. He said that he used to get bends started with Reverse until his shoulders and torso loosened up enough to get into a good position for the DO Kink. So, that is what I did as well for the first few years, eventually bending a Red Nail with a Reverse Kink and then a DO finish.
So, I was in the same boat as the person who asked this question.
Is a Reverse Kink cheating or sloppy technique? No way. Actually, for most people, Reverse is much harder that DO or DU, so getting the bend started with Reverse and then transitioning to a stronger style to finish is no problem whatsoever.
During the time where you need to use both techniques in order to fully bend a nail, it is a good idea to work on figuring out what is keeping you from getting into the DO Power Position. Are your arms so big that they don’t allow you to bring the bar up high? Are your shoulders so tight that you can pull them back? Are your pecs and biceps too tight? Is your upper back weak? Are your triceps tight? Is it a fascial issue?
All of these are possible explanations why someone would have trouble getting into the DO Power Position. Addressing these issues will help you get into the position.
However, my friend, Jason Steeves, pointed out that there are limitations in the height you can bend the bar in most cases. The writer mentions bending the bar at or above shoulder height. The cut-off for most bending lists are head height. This is something to watch.
The reason there is a cut-off, I believe, is to limit the engagement of the lats in the bend. This keeps the emphasis on wrist strength. By practicing the technique and focusing intently on the lats, you can still get them involved in the bend. However, the most important point here is that if you are bending for a certain list or certification, you should practice the way you will be required to bend for that list. Some lists require the use of very small pads, limiting the amount of force that can be exerted into the ends of the bar. Others require very thin wraps, reducing padding and heightening the factor of pain tolerance.
However, in my experience, if you perform a Reverse Bend and keep the bar above your head the entire time without arching your back, the bend seems much harder. That could just be me though. I know if I paint something with my arm straight up in the air for more than ten seconds, it feels like my arm is going to die. This has been ever since the late 90’s long before I ever tried bending, strongman or any other non-conventional training methods. I am left only to blame this issue on bad genetics and playing baseball…
For more detailed Bending Technique instruction, you should check out my Nail Bending eBook. It breaks every one of thee techniques down for you, plus it covers some other lesser common bending styles.

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This last one comes from YouTube. I put up a video about a year ago where I talk about increasing deadlift grip, and I mentioned that Fat Bar Training is not always the best way to go about it. I got the following question:
Q: So are Fat Gripz a waste of money then?
A: Fat Gripz are absolutely NOT a waste of money. They allow you to turn dozens of exercises into thick bar exercises almost instantly without buying or building axles or thick handle loadable dumbbells. Plus, I think they will survive an atomic bomb blast, so they are a safe investment.
My point in that video was this. If your grip fails when doing Deadlifts, you need to train specifically for improving your Deadlift Grip.
The Deadlift Grip (for most people) is an alternated grip on a thin bar. In most cases, the time under tension requirement for the pull overwhelms your grip endurance. For most people, this means they need to train holding more weight for longer periods of time, or you need to finish your deadlift faster so that you don’t reach your grip strength endurance threshold.
In many cases, when people train with a thicker bar, the size difference is so substantial that it trains the hands in a slightly different way. Obviously, the same muscles are being worked, but the orientation of the hands and loading are different. Going from a one-inch bar to a 2-inch or even 2.5 or 3-inch bar could end up being too big of a size difference to get good carryover back to deadlifting on a regular bar.
Aside from working with a heavier barbell to load the hands specifically, I also suggest wearing some leather work gloves while deadlifting in that video. This increases the perceived size of the bar. The bar itself doesn’t change, but the fact that the glove material sits between your fingers and the bar keeps the fingers slightly more open so the bar seems slightly larger. The same effect can be gotten by wrapping a towel over the bar and gripping it, but it slipped my mind to mention this because I was driving. You can see the video I am talking about here.
Will thick bar training improve hand strength? Absolutely. It is a great way to train for general hand strength. However, I think the best way to bring your deadlifting support strength up is by doing work of a more specific nature.
That’s all for now. I was going to answer more questions, but this post got big in a hurry, so I will make sure to answer more down the line. Feel free to leave comments with any questions you might have.
Stay tuned for future posts. Sign up for my free newsletter below.

All the best in your training.
Jedd

I am starting to enjoy doing reviews of grip training equipment as well as other forms of training equipment. Sometimes when I do the review I think of brand new ways to use the equipment in my training that I hadn’t thought of before.

One piece of equipment I enjoyed reviewing a lot was Pop’s Grip Machine, from Sorinex. This is because a good friend of mine, and someone whom I respect very greatly, Richard Sorin, personally wrote me and invited me to review it.

Of course, I could not wait to check this thing out, because I have seen a lot of the equipment that Sorinex produces, and even beyond Grip Gear, they make some of the highest quality equipment that is available.

I recently got the opportunity to shoot my review video of Pop’s Grip Machine and I was not disappointed. As always, they have taken the normal guillotine-style grip machine and innovated it, making it even more challenging and effective.

See what I mean in this video:

If you would like to find out more about this awesome piece of equipment, then check out Sorinex.

For more of my Grip Equipment Review Videos, check out my Equipment Review Playlist on YouTube, and be sure to subscribe.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

I am starting to enjoy doing reviews of grip training equipment as well as other forms of training equipment. Sometimes when I do the review I think of brand new ways to use the equipment in my training that I hadn’t thought of before.
One piece of equipment I enjoyed reviewing a lot was Pop’s Grip Machine, from Sorinex. This is because a good friend of mine, and someone whom I respect very greatly, Richard Sorin, personally wrote me and invited me to review it.
Of course, I could not wait to check this thing out, because I have seen a lot of the equipment that Sorinex produces, and even beyond Grip Gear, they make some of the highest quality equipment that is available.
I recently got the opportunity to shoot my review video of Pop’s Grip Machine and I was not disappointed. As always, they have taken the normal guillotine-style grip machine and innovated it, making it even more challenging and effective.
See what I mean in this video:

If you would like to find out more about this awesome piece of equipment, then check out Sorinex.
For more of my Grip Equipment Review Videos, check out my Equipment Review Playlist on YouTube, and be sure to subscribe.
All the best in your training,
Jedd

I am working on some awesome things that we will be soon announcing. In fact, these are some of the biggest things I have ever worked on.

Working on these projects has been taking up a lot of my time recently, so I have not had the chances to sit down and write as much as I like.

However, I have had the time to do some more equipment reviews. Below are some videos I did on some of the excellent grip training equipment from Rogue Fitness.

Take note, Rogue is always expanding their equipment selection, so this is not all that they offer, but I must say I like the way they are going because some of this equipment is similar to the training we have been doing at Diesel Crew for years.

Rogue Fitness Equipment Review 1 – Straps, Carabiners, Grandfather Clock

I am about two degrees short of being a horder. It is probably best to call me a disorganized pack rat. For years, I had a couple of sets of straps in my gym that I use for attaching to things when carabiners didn’t fit, such as Rolling Thunder handles onto my pull-up bar. I lost those things so many times it isn’t even funny. Rogue has developed their own special system that accommodates for this, as shown above. Also, their grandfather clock is just like the vertical bar handles we trained with for years back in the mid-2000’s. This type of hand positioning gives you a great added variety to your grip training.

The handles I am referring to are in the Diesel Video below. We used to do a lot of brainstorming back in the day on equipment that we could sell, but because we had no way to mass-produce stuff, we never acted on any of our ideas. It is good to see them being put out there for the masses to enjoy. I think other companies have produced similar handles as well.

Go to 2:35 to see the handles I am referring to.

Rogue Fitness Equipment Review 2 – Dog Bone, Globe

Look, I am going to say it right now – I love both of these pieces of equipment. My right wrist was pretty messed up when I was doing these and each rep felt like my hand was going to pop off, but the combination of coolness and challenge level with these two implements is awesome. The open hand positioning combined with gross forearm recruitment is intense with these two implements.

Also, if you own Advanced Forearm Training for Baseball, you’ll see the resemblance between the Globe and the Orb Pull-ups in my manual. Rogue was using their heads though and made the Globe light-weight while still being large and challenging to hold.

In the past, I have used my 95-lb Kettlebell. What a pain in the ass neck that is to hang – especially when you can’t find your rigging straps like I referenced above.

I hope Mike Rankin from Drexel sees this video, as I put in a reference to the Spider Monkey, just for his benefit.

Rogue Fitness Equipment Review 3 – Cannon Balls, Pinch Block, Bipolar Training

In the video above I show some of the other gear using some basic and more advanced drills. In the video above, I tried to give you some out-of-the-box ways to use this gear, instead of just the same old lift-it-up-and-hold-it types of lifts. The Rogue gear allows you to do a lot of different things with it, and if you use your head you can probably come up with some of your own creative ways to torture yourself.

Well, I hope this info has been helpful both as a way to familiarize yourself with some of Rogue’s catalog as well as some ways you can train your grip that are different from the same old conventional means.

Any questions, leave a comment below, otherwise, you can check out the rest of Rogue’s catalog here: Rogue Fitness.

Jedd

P.S. I have been asked by some to do equipment reviews of other equipment, and I am reaching out to the companies to see if they will work with me. Feel free to leave a comment below if there is anything you’d like me to look into for you.

P.P.S. I also have a very cool new piece of equipment from Sorinex that I am extremely excited about. I will hopefully get that video up next week, so make sure to sign up for updates through my newsletter below: