Update on the limited quantity of Vulcan V2 Grippers I have left.
If you have never bought anything from me in the past, rest assured I do not mess around with these orders. I keep everything organized to the best of my ability and aim to mail everything out either the night I get the order or the very next day. I’ve received some very nice feedback from some of the people who have purchase Vulcan Grippers and Wrist Developers from me, and I thought I would share some of that with you right now:
From Andy Thomas (recently bought a V2): “I got a Vulcan V2 from Jedd on this order I believe. Great gripper, quality product, great seller as well. If you train grippers at all, you need one of these. I put it off for a long time due to the price, but I am now kicking myself for not getting one sooner. Great piece of kit.”
From William Mollett (recently bought a V2): “Thanks for the great service I received, and I will make future purchases off you.”
I really appreciate the feedback, guys, and I look forward to doing business with you in the future.
Speaking of the future, I do plan on getting in a small order of Orange Springs, Black Springs, and Thumb Screws. I am in the process of making that order with David and Elizabeth at World of Grip, right now.
If there is additional interest in more V2′s once these ones are gone (which will probably be this week), or Wrist Developers, let me know by leaving a comment below with your email address and I will be glad to follow up with you.
In the video above, I mentioned that I have 5 Vulcan V2′s left – that is no longer accurate. One of those is already reserved for a friend who is traveling outside the country, and two have already been sold since I uploaded the video to YouTube, so these are going quickly.
The IronMind Axle is the thick bar implement sold by IronMind Enterprises. It is just under 2-inches in diameter. The Deadlift on the IronMind Axle was an event in contests quite frequently up until 2011.
Past Training History with the Axle
My memory is a bit foggy as to the Exact years but I am going to try to pin them down. I believe it was 2008 when I set my all-time high-water mark in the Axle Deadlift with (I think) 396-lbs. So close to 400-lbs, yet so far away, and I just kept drifting further from that point. In 2009, I lifted 394 at the beginning of the year and then at the end of the year could only manage the high 380′s.
I was slowly but surely getting worse and worse at this lift for no good reason whatsoever.
As I mentioned, the lift took a back-seat to other events through much of 2010 and 2011, at least in the contests I attended.
Then, out of nowhere, something crazy happened. I lifted 408-lbs on the IronMind Axle, and uploaded the video last week.
IronMind Axle 408-lbs
As you can see, the weight shot up off the ground and got past my knees and once I felt that, I knew it was all over. Knee height is usually like my point-of-no-return, in that if I can get it to my knees, I can usually finish the repetition.
A lot of people over the years have watched me struggle with thick bar lifting in contests, despite my large hands, so when they saw me accomplish this mark, many asked me what I changed in order to be able to accomplish this.
Progress on the Axle
Here are some of the things I have been doing to which I credit my Axle Deadlift progress.
Thick Bar Training Frequency
With my selection for the Mighty Mitts competition at the Arnold Classic this year, I knew I would have to face the incredible Sorinex Monster Bar, which is a 500-lb Axle with globe-like heads. Due to my lower back injuries, I have not done a great deal of deadlifts from the floor in the last 6 months, so i knew I had to start doing some more.
I chose to work with the sumo deadlift style because I find although I can lift less weight this way, it seems to be better for my back. I also chose it for its shorter lift stroke and its emphasis on the hips, which I am weak on.
I am also continuing my steadfast work on the Inch Dumbbell. My progress in that has been continuous, although never fast enough for my liking. Regardless, my confidence is growing as I continue to work hard on it.
The Big Change
Many of you are aware that I hold a record in the Two Hands Pinch in Grip Sport. You also know that I chased that damn record for nearly 5 years before finally attaining it. In order to get it, I had to change my way of thinking and the way I trained for it…
Looking back on my historical thick bar training, especially my Axle training, there was a common recurring thread: load on the weight, do a single, load on more weight, do a single, add more weight and fail and keep on trying for a single, all the while failing in the upper weights.
Probably no less than 50 times over the last 5 years I have followed that same pattern where all I did was add a few pounds to the Axle per attempt, do a single and then add some more and try another single. While on one hand, you could probably count the number of times in the lat 5 years that I worked lower intensities for more reps and different tempos.
Insanity, as they say, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So why should I continue doing the same stuff I had always done and all of a sudden expect my numbers to go up? I decided I would no longer work any singles. All my work sets would be done with the objective of hitting triples and my PR’s would be based around them, ONLY.
I started this new approach to the Axle on 12/31/11 and by the first week in February, I had already broken the 400-lb barrier.
This of course, is not all I have been doing.
Specialized Thick Bar Auxiliary Work
I knew that if I wanted to see progress in my Thick Bar Training, that I needed to mold it to look more like what I was doing for Two Hands Pinch. With that, I chose some auxiliary thick bar work that would mimic the auxiliary work that I have done routinely for the last couple of years in my Two Hands Pinch training.
Now, as much as I would love to put this all down here on this site, I am not going to. In order to see what all I have been doing, to get this recent explosion in thick bar strength, you need to join me at my Grip Training Instructional site, TheGripAuthority.com.
The entry that I am working on there at the TGA site involves exactly what I have been doing. I filmed an entire workout – plus I show you exactly how to set up everything. Here is what is included:
Axle Work Sets: You will see every work set that I do, as I nearly set yet another PR! Plus I explain exactly why I choose the loading that I do, technique, and tracking too.
Auxiliary Lift 1: In this portion, I show a slight modification I use on the axle, modifying the lift slightly to make it more difficult
Auxiliary Lift 2: This is a pre-exhaustion technique I have been using to strengthen the thumb in order to reinforce the open hand position of the axle deadlift.
Auxiliary Lift 3: I show an awesome piece of home made grip equipment that goes further in strengthening the hand specifically for thick bar lifts such as the axle and the Inch Dumbbell.
This has all worked very well for me, and I can’t wait to get it out there for my TGA subscribers to see how it works for them as well.
I’d love to work with you too. I’ve worked with lots of people over the years and I strive to help them all with their particular goals. Join TGA today for just $7 and you can see for yourself.
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
Next Generation vs. Fatman Blob
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.
DIFW – Double Inch Farmer’s Walk
Lifting two Inch Dumbbells at the same time and then walking with them.
I have done a few short walks with two Inch Dumbbells. This one took place in December before I took John Eaton’s Inch Dumbbell to Chris Rice’s place so that he could train on it. Big Thanks to John Eaton for letting me borrow it for a few months.
It was great getting some practice on two Inch Dumbbells while my second one was away for a while with Ryan Pitts and Adam Glass. Adam sent mine back in early January and its handle is much slicker than both of the ones shown above, and the DIFW’s have not come as of yet. Texture on the handles is an incredibly important element of the lift, especially if you do the lift level.
I am drilling this hard and frequently as often as I can as it is the first event at Mighty Mitts.
So who is going to the Arnold and who will bee checking out Mighty Mitts? Post below in the comments.
I have had lots of questions from people wanting to know exactly what braced bending is and what is covered in the Braced Bending DVD, so I wanted to answer some of those questions right now.
Here is some information about the practice of Braced Bending and our DVD.
Braced Bending Information
There is a lot that is involved in Braced Bending. Below is a list of common questions about Braced Bending. The list of questions and answers about Braced Bending below is really just scratching the surface. Our DVD goes into much more detail than this and covers much more information as it gets into the instructional portions and technique demonstration within the DVD.
What is Braced Bending
Braced Bending is the act of bending steel, tools, or other odd objects through the use of your hands and the rest of your body, except your feet (the feet are used for what is called Scrolling).
In this DVD, we show you the basics of Braced Bending, as well as many specific Braced Bending techniques. This DVD is packed with instruction, running nearly 2 hours of solid information, and no fluff or filler.
What Feats are Included in Braced Bending?
Braced Bending includes but is not limited to bending all of the following types of objects:
Short Bars: These are steel bars that usually 14-inches or shorter.
Mid-length Bars: These are steel bars that are usually 14 to 30-inches in length.
Long Bars: These are bars that are 30-inches or longer.
Wrenches: There are a LOT of different kinds of wrenches available to bend, combination wrenches, tappet wrenches, and adjustable wrenches, just to name a few.
Hammers: Framing hammers are the most commonly bent style of hammer, and many types are bendable.
Spikes: There are many types of spikes out on the market, especially if you include bolts into this category, along with nails. Their difficulty can vary quite a bit depending on the manufacturer and other variables.
What are the Basics of Braced Bending?
Wraps: The ends of the bars, tools, and other objects that are bent can often be very rough and possible cut you, so they are often wrapped as a means of protecting the skin. These are generally made out of suede, cordura, or towels.
Gloves: For some feats, such as Hammer bending, it can be almost impossible to wrap the object with wraps. In these cases it is more common to wear gloves in order to protect the hands.
Pads: Since these feats require you to press the object against a part of your body, padding is often used. Beginners will often use additional padding until the areas of the body toughen up.
Materials to Bend: As you can see there are many things you can bend, once you know how. Being able to bend a variety of objects of varying lengths and thicknesses will make you a more well-rounded bending machine.
Knowledge / Technique: Obviously brute strength will only get you so far. Knowing the proper techniques for Braced Bending makes an incredible difference in your bending success. That is especially where our Braced Bending DVD comes in.
On top of covering all of the above information in complete detail, Mike and I also take you through the proper Warm-up Techniques, Strength Training Movements, and other measures you can take to be a great bender, while remaining injury free.
Mike and I also have a little something special planned for those who pick up the DVD before January 26th, so make sure to check this out right now: How to Do Braced Bending.
Make sure your order your copy of Braced Bending today in order to take advantage of the special bonus offer and start your bending journey on the right foot!
