Mace and Club Swinging

Originally posted March 21, 2012

Hello Diesels!

One type of strength and endurance training that almost no one practices anymore, but certainly should is Mace and Club Swinging. This sort of training has many names from macebell training, to circular training, but really what it comes down to is swinging either a mace or a club around your head and down past your back with either one or two hands.

What is a Mace?

I first heard the term mace as a teenager, studying medieval weaponry. In that context, the term mace is used to describe a medieval weapon that was a ball with spikes on it that the warrior would swing and hit his adversary with. These days, the mace is a ball on the end of a long handle, usually about 4 feet long or even longer. In fact, Indian Wrestlers would swing a mace, or gada as they would call them, for their strength training and conditioning.

One type of Battle Mace

What is a Club?

Originally, clubs were weapons of old as well. They were really any sort of blunt object used to hit someone or something in order to hurt, maim, or kill it. This was usually done with one hand. These days, clubs are used in a swinging style in order to bring about the same types of benefits as mace swinging for people such as wrestlers, baseball player, football players, firemen, police, etc.

A Medieval Ball-Headed Club – Beat some asses with this piece!

I recently found this old video clip of the greatest Persian Club swinger ever to grace the wrestling ring, the Iron Sheik, swinging his “70+ Lb” clubs and allowing other wrestlers and bystanders to try the $10,000 Persian Club Challenge. You’ll see that this form of Club, with a much different shape, is more in line with the Persian style of Club, with much more mass to wield than other thinner forms of Indian Clubs.

From the video you can tell that Club Swinging requires a different form of strength to be developed in order to be able to just get the clubs into position, let alone to be able to swing them with authority like the Iron Sheik, especially the obvious time spent in the weight room by the guys in the video who failed miserably to swing the clubs, one of them a young Jim Hellwig who would later become the Ultimate Warrior.

I thought it was so cool watching the Iron Sheik swing clubs as a youngster, that I always wanted to try it. That was the reason I first gave it a try, but now after doing it for several years, I have found that there are many benefits to be gotten from club swinging.

Benefits of Club and Mace Swinging

The benefits of Club and Mace Swinging are numerous, including:

• Grip Strength and Endurance – This movement requires you to flex and adjust the hand dynamically throughout the range of motion which tires out the entire hand as well as the full length of the forearm
• Shoulder Flexibility / Mobility – The relatively light weight of the implement is enough to stretch out the musculature slightly, improving range of motion. This is also effective as an upper body warm-up
• Core Training – Maintaining a stable core while swinging the club or mace-style implement dynamically works the abs, lats, and muscles of the back as well, again, excellent for a warm-up method or finisher for your workouts.

What is the difference between Maces and Clubs?

There are a few differences between maces and clubs. First off, Maces are usually much longer than clubs, and produce more leverage when they are being swung, even if their heads are roughly the same size and weight.

Another difference between maces and clubs are the number of hands used. Generally a mace is swung using two hands while a club is swung using only one hand. Of course if the mace is extremely light it can be used with just one hand. Conversely if a club is extremely heavy, then it may be necessary to use two hands in order to swing it.

Regardless of the weight, length of the handle, or the number of hands used to swing the club or mace, it is a very beneficial form of training for anyone who needs to have strong hands and solid grip in order to be successful at what they do.

Stronger Grip Enterprises – Mace and Club Training Tools

There are lots of places where you can get Club and Mace training tools, but one of the best I have found is Stronger Grip. I have many different training tools from Stronger Grip and I love all of them.

Stronger Grip has several different types of tools that are used for this sort of training. Many are shot loadable, which means you will have the benefit of starting out with lighter weights and gradually working up over time. Shot loadable implements are also fun to train on because they make such a cool noise when you swing them around.

Like I said, I own several pieces of Stronger Grip equipment, but by far, the ones I use most often are the clubs and maces, and I use the maces more routinely because they are a two handed implement and I am able to do more weight with them. I guess I just enjoy Mace training more.

Some quick links to the Stronger Grip equipment line of Clubs and Maces:

• Indian Clubs – The Stronger Grip Indian Clubs are the perfect size to reap all the benefits, plus, they are shot loadable making it even easier for you to maximize the benefits.
• Plate Loadable Clubs – Some people don’t like Shot because they have to have a place to keep it and it requires a bit more concentration to change weights. The Plate Loadable Clubs get you around that very easily and work just as well.
• Loadable Maces / Core Club – This is the type of Mace I have owned for several years. This piece looks great and feels even better. Get ready to not only build your Grip but also to improve your shoulder mobility at the same time.
• Monster Mace – If you are looking to really move a lot of weight around, then you want the Monster Mace. Once you start manhandling this piece of beauty around, you will be ready to challenge the Iron Sheik himself.
• Plate Loadable Mace – If you are not into shot-loadable instruments, Ryan Pitts also carries plate-loadable maces which you can use with those extra plates you have sitting around.
• The Starter Mace – If you would like to start out with something a little more manageable, the Starter Mace is perfect.

Those are just a small selection of the variety of Clubs and Maces available from Stronger Grip. Once you go to the links, check out the full spectrum of tools. You can even pick up pairs and sets at a discount!

Club and Mace Swinging Technique

Once you pick up your Clubs and Maces, come back to this page in order to practice your technique.

When it comes to swinging a Club or Mace, you must start out with the basics. If you just stay with the basics, you will be able to readily enjoy and benefit from this type of training. Of course, course there are dozens, if not more, of other ways to swing Clubs and Maces once you master the basic training.

Basic Club Swinging Technique Demonstration

This video shows the beginning techniques for Club Swinging. Take note, that other instructors may use slightly different terminology from what I use. I am not a certified Club training specialist, but I do know how to properly perform the basics of Club swinging.

Basic Mace Swinging technique Demonstration

Just like with Club Swinging, there are many different styles and varieties you can try, but you definitely need to start out with the basics. Below I get you started on the right track, and if you are feeling frisky, after you get some practice, I’ve got a couple of other Advanced Mace Swinging Techniques for you to try as well.

Advanced Mace Swinging with Modified Speed Demand

With this technique, you will attempt to get the Mace moving and keep it going as fast as possible. I chose a total of 20 reps, but you can choose any number you wish. You will see that when you put this speed demand on yourself, in order to keep improving you must focus on your rhythm and strive to get your entire body to work together. Focus on getting as much of the musculature involved as you can in order to make each repetition smooth and fast.

Advanced Mace Swinging with Modified Range of Motion

This variation I liked quite a bit, because it took some of the focus away from the lats and torso and put more of it on the arms, forearms, and hands. My hands were pumped and burning up after trying this.

Once again, start out with the basic maneuvers with your Clubs and Maces and then start adding in slight variations until you are confident and can control the tools throughout the entire range of motion.

I hope you enjoy your Club and Mace training, and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to leave a comment below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Napalm’s Nightmare – The Sickest Home Made
Grip Training Device EVER???

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.

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

If you’re interested in Grip Training, you are going to need a Loading Pin.

There’s just about no way around this fact.

These imperative items can be bought on-line easy enough and they will be shipped to your house within a few days.

The Ninja Star Tattoo left Mike’s Bank Account Punched Out

But if you are strapped for cash and broke worse than Mike Tyson, then you might need to pursue another option, because these things can be pretty expensive…

Grip Strength Tool: The Loading Pin

One of the tools that many people who train for Grip Strength routinely use is a Loading Pin. This is used in order to put the weight plates on and then it is connected with a carabiner or S-hook to whatever implement it is that you are using for that session.

There are many types of Grip Training Tools that use Loading Pins:

• Rolling Thunder Handles
• Hub Lift Devices
• Vertical Bar Devices
• Pinch Block Devices
• One Hand Lift Device

…And the list just goes on and on.

I literally have like 4 loading pins in my gym. Some of them ALWAYS have weight on them because I keep my warm-up weights for certain lifts, like the Rolling Thunder right on them.

Other Loading Pins get used for other specific purposes, such as loading pins of different heights that I use for changing the distance I pull.

Because Loading Pins are so important, I want to show you how to build your own loading pin for NOTHING compared to the prices often seen on-line.

Now, here’s the story behind this Loading Pin.

In March of this year, I released Home Made Strength II: Grip Strength Edition, which shows you exactly how to build your own set of Grip Training tools from scratch, and one of the items was a Loading Pin.

Hundreds of people gobbled up this On-line DVD (you download it to your system, kind of like Netflix, only you keep the video and can watch it whenever you want) and started making their own stuff and saved a bunch of money while also arming themselves with the tools they needed to turn their hands into legal weapons.

One guy who picked up the product and really took action building the stuff was Justin Burns. He went through the list of equipment like a windstorm and built most of it right away.

Then a few days after he bought HMS2, he emailed me and shared with me an even easier way to build your own loading pin.

I asked him if he’d be willing to share the plans with the Diesel Universe, and he wholeheartedly obliged. Check it out…

How to Build a Loading Pin

Equipment Needed to Build a Loading Pin

• 10 inch nipple (1.5 inches)
• 1.5inch cap
• 3/8 eye bolt
• 1.5 inch floor flange
• Steel epoxy

Tools Needed to Build a Loading Pin

• Hand drill
• 3/8 drill bit
• Pliers

Procedure for Building a Loading Pin

• 1)First thing you need to do is take the cap and find the center of it, then using your drill, make a 3/8 hole (if you have a vise this would be the best time to use it)
  

  Once that is done, take your eye bolt, put some of your steel epoxy on the threads and put the eye bolt through the cap, tightening the nut with your pliers to make the two pieces one unit

• 2) Take your 10 inch nipple and your floor flange and put the steel epoxy on the threads of the nipple and then twist the floor flange onto the nippleWhen that is done it will look like this:
  
• 3) Thread the two assembled components together and you’re done. You have yourself a loading pin no welding needed.
  

BAM! There you go, DIESELS.

It can’t get much easier than that. Now, if you don’t have a drill, then call around to your friends and find somebody that has one. Think of somebody who’s really handy and builds stuff a lot. This is a snap for them.

Go buy them a beer or bring them those video tapes you borrowed a while back and before you leave ask them if they can help you build a loading pin. Chances are they love building stuff so much they will jump at the ability to pull their tools out.

For more awesome ideas on how to build your own Grip Strength Training Arsenal, check out Home Made Strength 2 – Grip Strength Edition.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

This is a guest article by Brent Barbe. Several months ago, I put up a post talking about how Brent had planned to travel to Iceland to lift the famous Husafell stone. He has since gone to Iceland and returned. Unfortunately, the stone was frozen to the ground and he could not manage the lift, but he was able to see some parts of the world many of us only dream about, and he was able to develop strength in ways that otherwise he might not have tried.

Brent Barbe – Plateau Buster Deadlift

When I first started training for the trip to Iceland I tried to get in contact with as many people as I could who had already lifted the stone. One of the things they emphasized to me was, that it was extremely smooth and hard to hang on to. After a few sessions with natural stones, I found this to be true and started changing my grip training to bring up my wrist strength to help me on the lift.

Derek Poundstone carrying a Husafell Stone Replica. Check out the Wrist Angles!!!
Image via SlatersHardware.com

The first thing I did was make wrist curls the first exercise I did during every wrist workout. That way, I was sure to get the work in and be fresh while I did it. I rotated through a bunch of exercises but found that the four following variations were giving me the best gains, and were the easiest to stick to.

Climber Curls for Wrist Strength

The first exercise is wrist curls with a climber curl by Chris Rice. It has a slight angle to the bar, which allows you to hold the wrist at a more natural angle. Curls on the climber curl probably made up about 1/3 of my wrist curls since they were effective, easy to recover from, and convenient. I would just leave the bar loaded up and could hit it without having to set anything up or clear any space.

Thumbless “Cupping” Deadlifts

An exercise I worked in a good bit as a secondary exercise is a thumbless “cupping” deadlift on a thick handled dumbbell. I saw this in a Devon Larratt arm wresting video a while ago. These were good for when I had something else I was working on at the same time as my grip training. I could work on whatever, walk to the platform and make a lift, and then get back to what I was doing. Sometimes tricks like that can make it easier to get the grip training in during a busy schedule.

Thumbless “Cupping” Deadlifts

The FBBC Crusher is one of my favorite training tools. It’s a revolving handle that attaches to a loading pin. It’s the fastest handle I’ve ever used. I use it for normal thick handle deadlifts but, I also like it for wrist curls. With the majority of the wrist curl exercises you need to bend over or lean. I have two damaged discs in my lower back that can make that uncomfortable at times. With the Crusher curls I am able to get my wrist work in while standing up.

Block Weight Wrist Curls

All of the above exercises hit the wrist but, have minimal finger involvement. I started to do plate wrist curls to address this. While the plate curls did hit the finger, it’s a really big jump from a 25# to a 35#. So, I started using block weights. Jedd had featured block weight wrist curls on The Grip Authority but I never really gave them a try. After a couple of workouts I can say I’m hooked. They hit the wrist, thumb, and fingers in a completely unique way.

So, that’s the four exercises that [made up the bulk of my training]. I [made good gains] by switching things up on a regular basis, and, I [did not have] any grip issues during any of my stone training. Hopefully, you can take something from this and use it in your training to make some progress of your own.

Brent

Brent, thanks for the article. I am sure that many people who have tried to lift and carry the Husafell stone have been plenty strong enough in the back and legs to pick it up, but holding it aloft and carrying it of course very dependent on Grip Strength. Hopefully your article will help others train to be successful in doing so, and I hope the next time you go to Iceland, it is a bit better weather! Thanks again for the article and videos!

Some facts about the Husafell Stone, from SlatersHardware.com:

We received one submission for the Home Made Strength Grip Challenge, but it was a strong one.

In the video below, Brian Lederman shows he’s a man who takes action.

He’s had the DVD for two weeks and has already built AND IS DOMINATING nearly half the equipment.

Great job brother!

Brian Lederman

Brian, thanks for the great feedback on the new Phone Book Tearing eBook, Phone Book Mass Destruction!

And, since you already have Dave Whitley’s Lessons of the Old-time Strongmen, I’d be glad to send you a Diesel Crew Shirt. Please email me your shirt size and I will get one right out to you, bro!

Check out the site on Monday for next week’s Weekly Grip Strength Challenge, everybody!

Jedd

Home Made Strength Grip Challenge

This week’s Grip Strength Challenge is different from the regular.

This week’s submissions will come from those who bought the Home Made Strength II Online DVD during the introductory sale!

This is what you have to do.

1. Build one (or more) of the Home Made Strength II pieces of Grip Gear.

2. Film yourself training with it – Get Intense – Show us what you are made of!

3. Upload your video to YouTube!

4. Send me your submission!

This week, instead of just one winner, there will be 3 individual winners that win a copy of Dave “The Iron Tamer” Whitley’s, Lessons of the Oldtime Strongmen.
(more…)

Home Made Strength Grip Challenge
This week’s Grip Strength Challenge is different from the regular.

This week’s submissions will come from those who bought the Home Made Strength II Online DVD during the introductory sale!
This is what you have to do.
1. Build one (or more) of the Home Made Strength II pieces of Grip Gear.
2. Film yourself training with it – Get Intense – Show us what you are made of!
3. Upload your video to YouTube!
4. Send me your submission!

This week, instead of just one winner, there will be 3 individual winners that win a copy of Dave “The Iron Tamer” Whitley’s, Lessons of the Oldtime Strongmen.
(more…)

If this is your hand shake, then this post is for you!

This week I unleashed Home Made Strength II: Grip Strength Edition. This has quickly been scooped up by D.I.Y. Guys and Gals all over the world.

Check out 10+ the countries represented so far

(more…)

Get your copy of Home Made Strength here = > Improve Your Grip Strength.

It’s Time to Build Your Own Grip Strength Equipment

(more…)

In 2009, Joe Hashey and I created the Home Made Strength On-line DVD.

This was a downloadable, full-length DVD with the option to buy a hard copy, that showed you how to put together your own Mace, Axle, Glute Hame Raise, and many other pieces of equipment that you could use to build strength.

Here’s a review of the original Home Made Strength On-line DVD by a true brute in the strength game, Rob Russell. This dude is a freakin’ monster – he BUP’s kettlebells that are over 100-lbs. Check it out:

Home Made Strength Review from Rob Russell

 “A while back Jedd Johnson and Joe Hashey brought out the Homemade Strength equipment  video.

I bought it at the time and have made a couple of the items. Since it’s a great resource brought to us by some very knowledgeable guys who are pretty much leaders in Homemade Strength Equipment Niche, I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts on this great product.

Although there are some great free resources on the net for DIY Strength gear/Homemade Gym Equipment I think the Homemade Strength Video is well worth the low cost of $27 for the amount that it will save you once you’ve made all the low cost strength equipment from it.

Without revealing too much of what’s demonstrated in the video’s I’ll say is that the Home Made Strength equipment online DVD will allow you to train all areas of your body and develop grip, explosive power, posterior chain and upper body strength for a fraction of the cost of buying branded equipment.

The equipment I have built have allowed me to blast my glutes, hams and lower back to new levels of strength and power and the other has really assisted my grip strength and forearm power (any clues!)”



Rob Russell

Rob is a kettlebell, grip strength, strongman and throwing enthusiast based in Scarborough UK. He has been training with kettlebells for 7 years and strength training for 22. While being competitive in these disciplines he is also always challenging myself with feats of strength.

Thanks Rob for that awesome feedback! That is a killer review, especially coming from someone as strong as you.

I am putting up this post because I am currently in the process of completed a brand new DVD in the Home Made Strength Series, Home Made Strength II – Grip Strength Edition.

While the original HMS included both Full Body and Grip Strength Training Equipment to help anyone from Strength Coaches and Personal Trainers, to individual trainees, athletes, and strength enthusiasts to add to their arsenal of training equipment without having to take on a second mortgage, this one is dedicated entirely to Grip Strength Training Equipment.

What This Video is NOT

This equipment is not just garbage that you put together on Monday and end up breaking on Friday. This stuff is built to last.

Also, this is not a bunch of knock-off equipment. I have a very good working relationship with many manufacturers of top quality equipment and I would never betray them like that. Instead, this equipment is either one-of-a-kind type of equipment, enhancements to current pieces that are available, and things that simply don’t exist on the market.

Is This Video For You?

Not interested in building Grip Strength to perform feats of strength? No problem, that is not what this product is designed for.

The purpose of building this equipment is to give you more options for increasing your hand and lower arm strength in order to apply it to the rest of your training. The numbers in any lift can be enhanced by stronger hands. So if you are looking to do any of the following, this Video is going to be for you:

• Improve Your Bench Press
• Squat More Weight
• Better Grip on the Deadlift
• Get a Bigger Overhead Press
• Play Better on the Court
• Hit for More Power on the Field
• Control Your Opponent Better on the Mat
• Perform More Reps before Your Hands Tire Out
• Stronger Hands for Doing Your Job

If any of the above items are something that you need to enhance, then this video is for you.

To stay up to date on developments of this project, make sure to sign-up for my new Home Made Strength Newsletter. I am working toward moving all of my email communications to a new system, so this will be very important for us to stay in touch on the release.

So you can click on this Home Made Equipment Link or click on the banners in this post.

Thanks and all the best in your training.

Jedd

The Inch Dumbbell Replica

One of the most widely recognized feats of Grip Strength is lifting the Inch Dumbbell.

The original Inch Dumbbell belonged to Thomas Inch, a traveling performing strongman in the early 1900’s (shown to the left, photo via SandowPlus.co.uk

The Challenge Dumbbell weighed roughly 172-lbs, which isn’t too daunting of a weight. However, the difficulty in lifting the Inch Dumbbell is due to it’s significant handle size (2.38 inch) plus the fact that the handle and bells are all one solid cast iron implement. Once both bells leave the ground, the entire implement begins to turn and rip out of your grasp.

Deadlifting the Inch Dumbbell proves to be a feat that few people are able to complete on their first try.

I am one of the lucky individuals who owns an Inch Dumbbell and one of the rare people who owns two.

The first one I got several years ago from a good friend of mine, Rick Walker.

I picked the other one up from a mailman on eBay a couple of years back.

Recently, Rick has set out to conquer the Inch Dumbbell, and he shot a video of one of the implements he is currently using to train his hands to be ready the next time he crosses paths with it.

This implement is surprisingly simple to make and seems to be a great way to get it done.

The video below shows exactly how to set this device up.

As you can see, this home made implement is simple to make and is comprised of very cheap materials, yet it could very well prove to be one of the most beneficial ways to train to lift the Inch Dumbbell, because it seems to replicate the violent spin of the actual dumbbell.

I am very interested to see how Rick progresses with this set-up. I also plan on training with it to increase my thick bar strength, as I sometimes still have trouble with my newer Inch Dumbbell.  It will be a great addition to my collection of home made strength training devices.

Speaking of Home Made Equipment, The Home Made Strength On-line DVD is now one year old, so to celebrate it’s birthday, we are lowering the price $10 until Wednesday. If you’d like to pick it up at the lowest price ever, you can do so by clicking this link = > Home Made Strength Training Equipment.

Also, in the coming weeks, I will be releasing a new installment of the HMS Series, Home Made Strength II: Grip Strength Edition. This DVD will be full of implements you can put together and use to build serious Grip strength, whether you want to compete in Grip Contests, Strongman contests, or just want to increase your hand strength for the sport you play. This will also be an excellent resource for Strength Coaches who are still handcuffed by their university’s budget limitations.

I build everything right on camera, taking about 5 minutes per piece and then walk you through some of the best ways to train with it, all on pristine quality video.

This should be ready in a matter of weeks. I am in the final stages, so stay tuned.

Stay tuned and in the mean time, keep kicking ass in the gym.

Jedd

Here’s a video where I was peaking for thick bar and was able to row the Inch Dumbbell. I set it up to play just seconds before I lift it…

Check out my channel here = > Jedd’s YouTube Channel

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

As you all know, I compete in as many Grip Strength Competitions as my schedule allows.

I am a competitor and I love testing myself.

David Horne, a Grip Legend and Pioneer, from Stafford, England, is promoting the World’s Strongest Hands Series, which is a series of four legs of competition. There is a winner each leg and there will be an overall winner as well.

With this post, I am hoping to put some information out there to increase awareness of this competition, and hopefully to bring in new competitors.

This series is an EXCELLENT way for you to break into Grip competition. I would like nothing more than to have a dozen new Grip Competitors come to my facility for the next leg and see how this stuff works.

This past weekend, I had two new Grip Competitors sign up and compete at Leg 2, EJ Livesey and Mike Pachulski. Both of these guys are from The Grip Authority and loved the competition. Both off them wrote me emails immediately upon getting home after the event about how much they enjoyed themselves.

I know so many more people would love to try a Grip Comp, and with only 3 events to train and a minimal entry fee of $15, there is very little time or monetary risk involved. So, what I would like to do is go over some information about the WSH Series, and extend an invite for all to come try it out.

Here are the events:

Two Hands Pinch

World Record, BABY!

You’ve all seen my videos of both training for the pinch, and my World Record lift last December. I have loved this lift since I first tried it back in 2003. Pinching is my favorite Grip Discipline and thus I train it the most. Those two factors are probably why I have been near the top of the Pinch list for the last 5 years…

Wrist Developer

Wrist Developer

The Wrist Developer is a steel apparatus that is used to test wrist and forearm strength. Although it does not isolate those two aspects, they are the limiting factors. The spring can be moved up and down the bars using the variety of notches, making it very good for gradually increasing the difficulty. Wrist Strength has held me back for years, so I am taking this one very seriously. After all, you can’t maximize your hand strength without a solid, stable and strong wrist.

Vulcan Gripper

Vulcan Gripper

The Vulcan Gripper was designed to replicate the sweep of the old Iron Man Grippers which came out in the 1950’s I believe. The Vulcan also has the two bars with notches so that the spring can be moved around in order to modify the resistance. Crush is also something that holds me back in my placings at Grip contests. What I love about the Vulcan is that there is no knurling, so I can train it almost every day without my skin being in agony. This has always been the thing that has kept me from really ramping up the volume – sore skin.

I don’t feel that irritating skin pain with this Gripper, and what’s great is that the design of this Gripper is close enough to the Captains of Crush and Beef Builder Grippers, that one can train on the Vulcan and still ahve good carryover and results on the torsion spring counterparts. For instance, My best Gripper close in the last two years with a parallel set has been a 179-lb rated gripper. At GGC after working with the Vulcan consistently for 4 or 5 weeks, I closed a 182-lb rated gripper!

Now, to buy all of this equipment from David Horne is going to cost you, especially since it is coming from Europe. So what I am going to do below is offer up suggestions on how you can train for the competition without having the equipment and still be prepared for the platform on “game day.”

Training for the Two Hands Pinch

Two Hands Pinch Apparatus

The easiest way to prepare for this event is with a pair of 35’s or 45-lb plates placed together smooth-sides-out with a pipe run through the center hole. Plates are then added to the pipe to increase the weight.

You will probably want to put spin collars or some other type of spacer between the pinching plates and the loading plates, because otherwise your fingers will hit the loading plates and disturb your grip on the apparatus.

The actual Two Hands Pinch set-up is adjustable for different hand sizes. The outside gripping plates are made of steel and the internal plates are made out of rubber. This is not a complex set-up at all to replicate. You simply need to get two pieces of steel plating cut into the shape of a circle and get a center hole put directly into the center of the plates. This is where you will run the pipe through in order to add more weight.

For the rubber inserts, you can go to WalMart or KMart and get rubber anti-fatigue matting and cut them up into the circle shape with the holes cut out of the center.

You would not believe how much difference a few millimeters makes on this lift. Too thin and you put too much stress on your fingers, causing them to bend when you lift. Too thick, and the thing wants to pop out of your hand on every pull. Just right and it feels like your hands are suction cups, ready to defy gravity, brother!

Training for the Wrist Developer

The purpose of the Wrist Developer is to test wrist and forearm strength. When hitting an attempt on this device, you actually involve the entire upper body and I even feel it in the glutes on a max attempt.

Reverse Style Bending

Because of the large amount of muscles and joints involved in this movement, I can’t just point to one individual movement in order to prepare for this event. I think reverse style bending is one way to start. This way you get that extended effort feeling of the near-isometric action that accompanies an attempt on the WD. The WD’s handles are a bit longer than most short bends however, so that has to be taken into consideration.

Pulling the Mace Down

Another movement that is somewhat similar to the WD is Mace Swinging, especially the pull back to the order position. The short-coming there is that Mace Swinging is done rapidly with a great deal of concentric movement and the WD is a high-tension, short movement. The feeling can probably be better replicated by using a lighter mace, a sledgehammer, or other leverage tool, covering the same distance with similar joint angles.

The bottom line is the WD is a tough one to replicate without the actual equipment. Going in without touching the apparatus in training, I would suggest to prepare for the contest using a variety of different forearm, wrist and elbow strengthening movements, varying the load in order to increase the tension, while also working isometrics and near-isometrics, because that is essentially what you are doing with the Wrist Developer.

Training for the Vulcan Gripper

If you’ve got skills as a welder, you can probably design a mock-up of the device. I do not have those skills, so I have never been able to go that route. However, like I said before, the C.O.C. grippers and other options for torsion spring grippers are nearly identical.

Vulcan Block Set

The important detail to keep in mind for Gripper training, especially for the WSH Series is the set. For these competitions, in order to make sure everyone closes the handles together from a legal position, a 20-mm block has to be slid between the handles prior to closing. This prevents a deep cheat set from counting as a legal close. If you don’t have a Vulcan, just train the block set with your COC’s or whatever types of Grippers you own.

COC Block Set

However, using a block set of this nature requires more energy and coordination in order to close the gripper. You’ve got to train this set in your workouts in order to be ready for it on competition day. Just setting it to parallel and then pausing before closing it is not good enough. You’ve got to feel what it’s like to fumble around with your off-hand while holding the gripper at parallel or greater isometrically. It’s quite different.

Vulcan Death Gripper

Incidentally, Death Grip has come out with a version of the Vulcan Gripper made by Death Grip Brand Hand and Wrist Strengtheners that I can put you in contact with. Just hit me with an email and I will send you the information. There is no website at this point.

Upcoming Contests

As I said earlier on, my purpose of this post is to increase the awareness of Grip Sport itself and encourage people to try out a competition. If you are in the New England, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia area (is there a word for all these states???), you are in driving range for the competition here at my place. When I have people coming in from the outer reaches of this territory, I start the contests an hour later to give people a better chance of getting here safely. However, if you are nowhere near any of these places, Legs for the WSH Series are taking place all over the nation.

Here are the names of the promoters and the cities they are holding contests, in case you would like to try out a competition.

• Eric Milfeld – DFW, Texas
• Aaron Corcorran – Tucson, Arizona
• Adam Glass – Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Dave Thornton – Three Rivers, Michigan
• Chris Rice – Crooksville, Ohio
• Andrew Durniat – Wooster Ohio

If these areas are closer to you than my place, I can put you in contact with them in order to get signed up for an event or possibly to even arrange a training session with the equipment. Getting this equipment in your hands so you know how it feels and compares with your work-around equipment is half the battle.

The Dates of the next two legs are:

• Leg 3 – Saturday 16 October, 2010
• Leg 4 – Saturday 13 November, 2010

I hope to continue to bring you even more information that you can use to your advantage. I love the sport and hope to help it grow. Any help you can give me is appreciated.

Jedd

P.S. If you’d like to see these events in action, I loaded them all to my YouTube Channel. Just go to my channel and the first one will play, then it will give you a link to follow at the end to get the next video. There are 6 videos and they are all about 3 minutes apiece or so => Grip Contest Footage

Ultimate Forearm Training for Baseball | How to Bend Nails | How to Tear Cards | Feats of Grip Strength Explained | How to Build Your Own Equipment | How to Lift Atlas Stones | The Sh*t You’ve Never Seen | Sled Dragging for Athletes | The Road to the Record DVD

As you all know, I compete in as many Grip Strength Competitions as my schedule allows.
I am a competitor and I love testing myself.
David Horne, a Grip Legend and Pioneer, from Stafford, England, is promoting the World’s Strongest Hands Series, which is a series of four legs of competition. There is a winner each leg and there will be an overall winner as well.
With this post, I am hoping to put some information out there to increase awareness of this competition, and hopefully to bring in new competitors.
This series is an EXCELLENT way for you to break into Grip competition. I would like nothing more than to have a dozen new Grip Competitors come to my facility for the next leg and see how this stuff works.
This past weekend, I had two new Grip Competitors sign up and compete at Leg 2, EJ Livesey and Mike Pachulski. Both of these guys are from The Grip Authority and loved the competition. Both off them wrote me emails immediately upon getting home after the event about how much they enjoyed themselves.
I know so many more people would love to try a Grip Comp, and with only 3 events to train and a minimal entry fee of $15, there is very little time or monetary risk involved. So, what I would like to do is go over some information about the WSH Series, and extend an invite for all to come try it out.
Here are the events:

Two Hands Pinch

World Record, BABY!
You’ve all seen my videos of both training for the pinch, and my World Record lift last December. I have loved this lift since I first tried it back in 2003. Pinching is my favorite Grip Discipline and thus I train it the most. Those two factors are probably why I have been near the top of the Pinch list for the last 5 years…

Wrist Developer

Wrist Developer
The Wrist Developer is a steel apparatus that is used to test wrist and forearm strength. Although it does not isolate those two aspects, they are the limiting factors. The spring can be moved up and down the bars using the variety of notches, making it very good for gradually increasing the difficulty. Wrist Strength has held me back for years, so I am taking this one very seriously. After all, you can’t maximize your hand strength without a solid, stable and strong wrist.

Vulcan Gripper

Vulcan Gripper
The Vulcan Gripper was designed to replicate the sweep of the old Iron Man Grippers which came out in the 1950’s I believe. The Vulcan also has the two bars with notches so that the spring can be moved around in order to modify the resistance. Crush is also something that holds me back in my placings at Grip contests. What I love about the Vulcan is that there is no knurling, so I can train it almost every day without my skin being in agony. This has always been the thing that has kept me from really ramping up the volume – sore skin.
I don’t feel that irritating skin pain with this Gripper, and what’s great is that the design of this Gripper is close enough to the Captains of Crush and Beef Builder Grippers, that one can train on the Vulcan and still ahve good carryover and results on the torsion spring counterparts. For instance, My best Gripper close in the last two years with a parallel set has been a 179-lb rated gripper. At GGC after working with the Vulcan consistently for 4 or 5 weeks, I closed a 182-lb rated gripper!

Now, to buy all of this equipment from David Horne is going to cost you, especially since it is coming from Europe. So what I am going to do below is offer up suggestions on how you can train for the competition without having the equipment and still be prepared for the platform on “game day.”

Training for the Two Hands Pinch

Two Hands Pinch Apparatus
The easiest way to prepare for this event is with a pair of 35’s or 45-lb plates placed together smooth-sides-out with a pipe run through the center hole. Plates are then added to the pipe to increase the weight.
You will probably want to put spin collars or some other type of spacer between the pinching plates and the loading plates, because otherwise your fingers will hit the loading plates and disturb your grip on the apparatus.
The actual Two Hands Pinch set-up is adjustable for different hand sizes. The outside gripping plates are made of steel and the internal plates are made out of rubber. This is not a complex set-up at all to replicate. You simply need to get two pieces of steel plating cut into the shape of a circle and get a center hole put directly into the center of the plates. This is where you will run the pipe through in order to add more weight.
For the rubber inserts, you can go to WalMart or KMart and get rubber anti-fatigue matting and cut them up into the circle shape with the holes cut out of the center.
You would not believe how much difference a few millimeters makes on this lift. Too thin and you put too much stress on your fingers, causing them to bend when you lift. Too thick, and the thing wants to pop out of your hand on every pull. Just right and it feels like your hands are suction cups, ready to defy gravity, brother!

Training for the Wrist Developer

The purpose of the Wrist Developer is to test wrist and forearm strength. When hitting an attempt on this device, you actually involve the entire upper body and I even feel it in the glutes on a max attempt.

Reverse Style Bending
Because of the large amount of muscles and joints involved in this movement, I can’t just point to one individual movement in order to prepare for this event. I think reverse style bending is one way to start. This way you get that extended effort feeling of the near-isometric action that accompanies an attempt on the WD. The WD’s handles are a bit longer than most short bends however, so that has to be taken into consideration.

Pulling the Mace Down
Another movement that is somewhat similar to the WD is Mace Swinging, especially the pull back to the order position. The short-coming there is that Mace Swinging is done rapidly with a great deal of concentric movement and the WD is a high-tension, short movement. The feeling can probably be better replicated by using a lighter mace, a sledgehammer, or other leverage tool, covering the same distance with similar joint angles.
The bottom line is the WD is a tough one to replicate without the actual equipment. Going in without touching the apparatus in training, I would suggest to prepare for the contest using a variety of different forearm, wrist and elbow strengthening movements, varying the load in order to increase the tension, while also working isometrics and near-isometrics, because that is essentially what you are doing with the Wrist Developer.

Training for the Vulcan Gripper

If you’ve got skills as a welder, you can probably design a mock-up of the device. I do not have those skills, so I have never been able to go that route. However, like I said before, the C.O.C. grippers and other options for torsion spring grippers are nearly identical.

Vulcan Block Set
The important detail to keep in mind for Gripper training, especially for the WSH Series is the set. For these competitions, in order to make sure everyone closes the handles together from a legal position, a 20-mm block has to be slid between the handles prior to closing. This prevents a deep cheat set from counting as a legal close. If you don’t have a Vulcan, just train the block set with your COC’s or whatever types of Grippers you own.

COC Block Set
However, using a block set of this nature requires more energy and coordination in order to close the gripper. You’ve got to train this set in your workouts in order to be ready for it on competition day. Just setting it to parallel and then pausing before closing it is not good enough. You’ve got to feel what it’s like to fumble around with your off-hand while holding the gripper at parallel or greater isometrically. It’s quite different.

Vulcan Death Gripper
Incidentally, Death Grip has come out with a version of the Vulcan Gripper made by Death Grip Brand Hand and Wrist Strengtheners that I can put you in contact with. Just hit me with an email and I will send you the information. There is no website at this point.

Upcoming Contests

As I said earlier on, my purpose of this post is to increase the awareness of Grip Sport itself and encourage people to try out a competition. If you are in the New England, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia area (is there a word for all these states???), you are in driving range for the competition here at my place. When I have people coming in from the outer reaches of this territory, I start the contests an hour later to give people a better chance of getting here safely. However, if you are nowhere near any of these places, Legs for the WSH Series are taking place all over the nation.
Here are the names of the promoters and the cities they are holding contests, in case you would like to try out a competition.

• Eric Milfeld – DFW, Texas
• Aaron Corcorran – Tucson, Arizona
• Adam Glass – Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Dave Thornton – Three Rivers, Michigan
• Chris Rice – Crooksville, Ohio
• Andrew Durniat – Wooster Ohio

If these areas are closer to you than my place, I can put you in contact with them in order to get signed up for an event or possibly to even arrange a training session with the equipment. Getting this equipment in your hands so you know how it feels and compares with your work-around equipment is half the battle.

The Dates of the next two legs are:

• Leg 3 – Saturday 16 October, 2010
• Leg 4 – Saturday 13 November, 2010

I hope to continue to bring you even more information that you can use to your advantage. I love the sport and hope to help it grow. Any help you can give me is appreciated.
Jedd
P.S. If you’d like to see these events in action, I loaded them all to my YouTube Channel. Just go to my channel and the first one will play, then it will give you a link to follow at the end to get the next video. There are 6 videos and they are all about 3 minutes apiece or so => Grip Contest Footage

Ultimate Forearm Training for Baseball | How to Bend Nails | How to Tear Cards | Feats of Grip Strength Explained | How to Build Your Own Equipment | How to Lift Atlas Stones | The Sh*t You’ve Never Seen | Sled Dragging for Athletes | The Road to the Record DVD

Quick, Easy Setup for Homemade Wrist Roller

Here is a quick video showing you how to setup your own wrist roller with minimal equipment.

I saw this technique being utilized by Mike Rojas of Strong 101 Gym.

Here is the equipment you need.

Equipment

– kettlebells or dumbbells

– elastic bands OR rope *

– a power cage

– an Olympic bar

* Rope setup – if you use the rope setup, you might need some duct tape to adhere it to bar so it doesn’t slip around.  Also, when we have used the rope setup, we tied a carabiner to the end of the rope to loop around for quick change around.

The Setup

Step 1 – Offset Olympic Bar

Step 2 – Loop Through Kettlebells

Step 3 – Be Cool

Step 4 – Do Work

P.S. Fore more ideas for easy-to-make pieces of strength training equipment, check out the Home Made Strength On-line DVD. In less than an hour you can be on your way to assembling over a half a dozen new pieces of equipment = > Home Made Strength

Unique Training Equipment That is Cheap and Effective

Sometimes the motivation is there but the money isn’t.  Trainers and coaches don’t always have a big budget to go along with their big dreams.  Dreams of owning the best equipment or the best facility.

Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t always need to have the best of everything to get RESULTS.  As with every exercise having an alternative, so too is there an alternative to the fanciest equipment.

We here at Diesel have known this for years.  We’ve built athletes over the years with little to no fancy stuff.

(more…)

Keg Lifting Basics

Keg Lifting is a very fun and rewarding form of training.  Like Sandbags, Atlas Stones, and Logs, Kegs are considered odd objects.

What are Odd Objects

Odd objects are training tools whose center of gravity is unpredictable, often lying out away from the athlete.  Odd objects often have considerable bulk and gripping and controlling them is one of the primary challenges of lifting them.  While bars and dumbbells have a concise and predictable shape and center of gravity, odd objects force the athlete to react to the dynamic and unpredictable size, shape, and center of gravity of the object.

CHECK OUT THE REST OF THIS KILLER POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

Bat speed, long ball power, and bat control are three aspects of batting over which you can have better command with increased forearm strength.

In order to train your forearms to turn them into bat thrashing and ball flattening power generators, you’ve got to hit them from a variety of angles.

CHECK OUT THIS KILLER POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

DEMOLITION CLUB

A couple of weeks back, I put up a post introducing the Demolition Club. If you missed it, it’s right here = = >>What is the Demolition Club?

I have been experimenting with club and mace swinging for quite some time and recently I got the idea to have a buddy of mine put a handle on the giant artillery shell I had collecting dust for years.

READ THE REST OF THIS KILLER POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

Today, Chris Smith breaks off another piece of knowledge and shows us how to make some homemade equipment that will let you get your grip training on!

Home Made Thick Grips

Fitness can be an expensive thing, especially if you want to have your own equipment. Sometimes even a very well equipped gym can be lacking a piece of equipment that you really need or, more likely, want.

READ THE REST OF THIS KILLER POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

I’ve just got to show you this piece that I recently added to my training equipment collection.

The Demolition Club

CHECK OUT THIS POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)