Image Source: Adriane Blewitt

Hello DIESELS! I have a very special feature today. I am interviewing Adriane Blewitt, who recently became the first woman to certify on the IronMind’s Women’s Captain fo Crush certification for the Number 2 Gripper.

Enjoy the interview!

Adriane Blewitt, First Woman to Certify as Captain of Crush

Jedd: Adriane, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and your athletic background?

Adriane: Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of Diesel Crew, Jedd! I frequently check out the site for training ideas and I enjoy the discussions of the contributors.

My background in athletics has been focused on track and field and the throwing events. I graduated from Ashland University and had the majority of my strength education from my collegiate coach, Jud Logan. I was an athletic but wimpy 140lb. kid going into college and by the time I finished my eligibility I had a better understanding of conditioning, periodization, and technique in the weight room. I also earned 13 NCAA Div. II All-American awards that included 7 National titles and 6 Runner up honors.

I had the golden opportunity to continue to train with Coach Logan for the 2004 Olympic Trials and I maintained my US. Top Ten ranking. Coach Logan was a major influence in my quest for the Olympic Games. In my career, I have also trained with Charles Poliquin and then with John Godina. It was an eye opener how different their training is but the end result is always successful.

Jedd: Many women think that serious training with weights will make them bulk up and become unattractive, but you have proven this myth wrong for years. How did you get involved in strength training?

Adriane: Strength training and throwing go hand in hand. I could always move well but it wasn’t until I gained 20lbs. my first year that I understood what “mass moving mass” meant. I was fortunate to have great teammates and training partners to push me, encourage me and motivate me. I found that my weight gain and muscle development inspired me even more.

I put the hard work in and I could physically see the changes and experience the success in my throwing. In my opinion, some women are intimidated with the weight gain because they see the weight as a number on a scale instead of a measurement of strength. I still watch what I eat, take my vitamins and keep an eye on the scale only because I know that if I can get my body weight up to 180lbs. it will bring me closer to my goal of the Olympic Team.

Image source: BTiellSports.Blogspot.com

Jedd: Please tell us a bit about the strength sports you have competed in.

Adriane: Track and field built the base of my strength and competitive spirit. In training, I spent most of my time in the weight room but Coach Logan was also very creative and included alternative training methods for our group. Truck pushes, tire flips and grip training always made it into the program. However, my training for the highland games demanded a little more consistency with the inclusion of the offbeat plan.

Jedd: I know you have been a dominant force in Women’s Highland Games for many years. Could you please tell us what the Highland Games are?

Adriane: The Scottish Highland Games is a competition of up to nine events as a demonstration of strength and athleticism in early history. Today these events are still contested in the spirit and tradition of the Scottish heritage and entertainment.

The kilted athlete will throw stones for distance, weights for distance, weight for height over a bar, Scottish style hammer toss, the recognizable caber toss and then use a pitch fork to toss a sheaf bag over a bar for height. The games may offer 5 or more of these events and the athlete must compete in all the events scheduled. Most competitions are held at festivals or gatherings and can be found all over the world.

Jedd: What titles and other accomplishments have you attained in the World of Highland Games?

Adriane: I am very proud to be a two-time Women’s World Champion and the current world record holder in the 28lb. weight for distance at 50’11”. I am the first person, man or woman, to throw over 50 feet in the heavy weight event. I share the world record for the spinning weight for height event with Mindy Pockoski at 19’. I earned the World Caber Tossing Championship in Scotland at the Callender Games in 2010 and 2011 and won the overall Championship in Fergus, Ontario and Pleasanton, California.

Jedd: What other sports do you readily partake in? What do you have an interest in trying in the future?

Adriane: I love to train but in my off-season I love to golf. I started golfing when I was 8 and plan on golfing until I am 80. It would like to get with Ingrid Marcum and figure out the bobsled someday…

Jedd: How did you find out about Grip Strength and Grip Training, and especially about the Women’s Cert for the IM CoC #2 Gripper?

Adriane: My first experience with CoC grippers was my second year in college in 1999. A teammate bought a #1 and #2 and I can recall closing the #1 after a few weeks. Coach Logan started incorporating more fat bars, wrist exercises and pinching to enhance our hand, wrist, and forearm health. This type of training was essential for a shot putter.

Andrew Durniat passed the word to me as soon as the CoC #2 certification was announced on the IronMind online forum. I have trained at his gym in Wooster, Ohio a few times and he knew how close I was to finally getting it. Since the printed announcement in current issue of Milo I moved to Irmo, South Carolina and began training at Athlete’s Arena at the Sorinex showroom. Richard Sorin was very supportive in my quest and urged me to get on it as soon as possible.

Left to Right: Rich Williams, Adriane Blewitt, Richard Sorin, Donnie Thompson
Image Source: Adriane Blewitt

Jedd: Have you found that your performance in Highland Games has improved since implementing regular grip training into your routine?

Adriane: Grip strength definitely helps performance in the heavy events. Handling the implement and holding on throughout the movement can be challenging for weak hands but the endurance for up to nine events, three or more attempts at each event can take a toll on even the strongest hands. Regular grip training improves my strength endurance throwing and lifting.

Jedd: What kind of Grip Training do you do most regularly?

Adriane: I was pretty fortunate to train in places with fat bars, fat handle dumbbells, plate loaded pinch equipment and grip specific extras. Grip training was easy to incorporate in workouts. However, when I was coaching at a small university, I had to provide the equipment myself. I got creative and pinched plates, used grippers, squished silly putty, crinkled newspaper and finally used my prize money from my first Highland Game Championship to buy myself an Apollon’s Axle. I loaded up the axle for presses and auxiliary work. I now train in the gripster’s paradise in Sorinex with every piece imaginable with an impressive collection of blobs, Forearm Factory, multi-width thick bars, ropes, and things I haven’t even tried yet.

Image Source: Adriane Blewitt

Jedd: How did you train for the #2 Cert? Did you have to specialize on Grippers in order to reach the level of crushing grip strength in order to certify?

Adriane: My fiancé, Joe Wilson, set up my training for the #2 certification. He helped Richard Sorin recertify on the #3 and started me with the basics. We have every level gripper at the gym so I began with the guide to relearn hand position and set up for the credit card set. I chatted with Dr. Randall Strossen at the Pleasanton highland game and we discussed the difference between placing the card from the bottom of the handles with the hand supinated or keeping the hand semi-supinated and placing the card perpendicular to the handles. I continued to work reps at each level gripper with the new set.

Gripper progression with at least 2-3 minutes between sets:

• Guide (x10 reps)
• Sport (x10)
• Trainer (x10)
• #1 (x6)
• #1.5 (x6)
• #2 (x4-6)
• #2.5 (x2)

I would go through this series one time twice a week. Occasionally I would go for 5 second closes with the Trainer or #1 following the workout. I closed the #2 consistently by my fourth workout. I found that I had the hand strength to achieve the close but I needed the practice and reps for proper set to certify an official close. I used the IMTUG once in my training. They turned out to be an afterthought but I think I will incorporate them for my next block of grip training.

Jedd: What would you tell other women who are interested in one day certifying and getting their name alongside yours as a Women’s Captain of Crush?

Adriane: DO IT! There are so many women out there performing amazing strength feats that are not recognized. I appreciate the continued support IronMind and Dr. Strossen has for female athletes and it is great to see the encouragement from the strength world. I would tell women to take advantage of the valuable information on training sites like DieselCrew.com. The information is out there, find a gym, train at home, do what you can to achieve. Guys dig strong chicks.

Adriane, thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview, congratulations again on your accomplishments and all the best in the future with your training and competitions. I hope to see you at a Grip Contest sometime soon!

Jedd

P.S. I have an article by Adriane that I will be putting up very soon on the Highland Games, so stay tuned, DIESELS!

I have been continuing to work toward improving my Double Inch Deadlift with plans to progress to the Double Inch Farmer’s Walk.

Last week I was able to pull a solid deadlift and even got a good pause at the top before the bells overtook my thumb and ripped the Inch out of my hands…

I recorded some of the tools and methods I have been using to bring my thick bar strength up when I wrote about the double inch dumbbell deadlift last week.

The methods I covered in that post involved solely use of the Inch Dumbbell itself, however that is not all that I have been doing on a regular basis. I have also been using two pieces of training equipment, which I am sure you have heard about – Fat Gripz and Grip 4orce Handles, quite frequently.

Until now, of the two tools listed above, Fat Gripz has probably gotten much more notoriety, but I think that the Grip 4orce handles are going to get more attention very soon.

First off, I want to say right off the bat that I like both of these handles. They both go on and off dumbbells or barbells so quickly that they add next to no time to your workout. You can literally put them on and perform a set of one lift and then pull them off and put them on something else for a superset / giant set

However, I feel the Grip 4orce handles are equally impressive, but in a different way. I see them particularly powerful tools for building thumb strength.

So I probably just lost you right? You’re probably thinking, “How can a thick bar trainer help with thumb strength?”

Well, here is why Grip 4orce builds thumb strength…

When you put the Grip 4orce handles onto dumbbells and curl them, in order to keep them on the handles, you have to squeeze not only your fingers tightly, but also the thumbs must fire throughout the range of motion and continue to adjust pressure in order to keep the G4‘s secured on the dumbbell handle.

What People Don’t Realize about Thick Bar Training

What many people do not realize about thick bar work is it actually requires a substantial amount of thumb activity, especially if you do not flex the wrist while you perform the thick-bar lift.

In other words, when you lift a thick bar, such as an axle, in a double overhand grip, if you keep your wrist in extension, you will have to apply pinching strength onto the bar in order to lift it. If you flex your wrist more, then you shift the emphasis more to the wrist and forearm flexors, and also more on the fingers and less toward the thumbs.

The same is true for lifting the inch dumbbell. If you goose-neck your wrist (if I do this, I get a terrible pain in my wrist and have for years) the thumb does not come into play.

However, if you have your wrist in extension when you lift the inch dumbbell, then you essentially have to “Pinch the Inch” in order to lift it.

Pinching the Inch

This is how I have done it for years – I Pinch the Inch Dumbbell in order to lift it because if I flex my wrist to take emphasis away from my thumb it hurts immensely, almost like an electrical shock through my wrist.

This is also why it is even tougher for me to lift the Inch Dumbbells with them sitting outside my feet as compared to straddling them. When they lie outside my feet, my wrist goes even more into extension, requiring even more effort from and emphasis on my thumbs.

Back to the Grip 4orce handles. I first got a set when I wrote the owner, Jim Hartman, about sponsoring the 2011 National Grip Sport Championship. He sent me a pair to review and a few sets for the prize package at Nationals.

The first thing I did with the Grip4orce handles was to put them onto the dumbbells for my next workout that involved curls, and I noticed how much they work the thumbs right away. The next day, my thumb pads were very sore, much more so than any Two Hand Pinch or Block Weight workout I had recently. In fact, I would compare the feeling to a Volume Workout of Dynamic Pinch, using a Pony Clamp or TTK.

I feel the reason that Grip4orce training feels so much like dynamic pinch is because when you use them on curls, your thumb is acting dynamically the entire time, adjusting the force it is creating throughout the strength curve of the curling range of motion.

I have been using Grip4orce handles on every set of curls I have done since June, and I absolutely love them. They hit my thumbs, they work the fingers, and my forearms feel completely wasted after 3 to 5 sets of curls because they too have to work harder in order to keep the handles secure throughout the curling motion.

I continue to use Grip 4orce handles on every set of curls I do, and my Inch Dumbbell lifting continues to go up. I have even seen improvement in my gripper work, nearly credit-card closing a #3 for the first time ever this week.

I strongly suggest you add these to your equipment collection today. If you currently do curls in your training, this will make them even more worthwhile, and if you are not currently doing curls, then this just might give you a reason to put them back into your routine. They certainly have done that for me.

Get your Grip4orce handles here => Buy Grip4orce Handles

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Check out this video from ESPN Sports Science, showing Gray Maynard, UFC Fighter.

Especially look for the Grip Strength Measuring Device that they use in the video, called a dynamometer.

The Dynamometer

The device that Maynard squeezes in the video is called a dynamometer.

While I am sure that Maynard has a fantastic Grip, one thing to take note of is that the numbers that come off a dynamometer can be very dependent on the set-up you use.

For instance, the way the handle is positioned, whether you set it properly, and how your arm positioned, can all have an effect.

Handle Position
The dynamometer (at least the one I used for years) has an adjustable handle, so you can test grip strength at very wide and very narrow settings.

Setting the Dynamometer
Positioning the handles properly in your hands can enable to pull a much bigger number on the device.

Arm Position
Whether your elbow is at your side or straight out in front of you as well as whether you keep your forearm in neutral or if you supinate during the squeeze can dictate synergistic muscular involvement during the crushing action and have an effect on the number you get.

I don’t want to take anything away from Maynard in regards to his Grip. All I am saying is that with a different test of grip strength, the comparison could have been much different. Obviously the dude’s grip is fantastic or else he would not be able to move up the rope that quickly.

I am glad to see something like Grip Strength get a focus in such a main-stream program.

Hopefully next time they test grip strength, they will use some torsion spring grippers or even the Vulcan Gripper for the Gripper Training.

Speaking of Gripper Training, I need to update you on the Gripper Training DVD I have been working on…

Gripper Training DVD Update

I have been working my ass off on the Gripper Training DVD, which I started talking about several weeks ago.

I had said before that I was close to releasing it, but as I went through it, I realized a few things…

I realized that there was more to be shot.

I wanted to cover more detail on Gripper training for you.

I wanted to give more viewpoints and more angles.

I wanted to make it seem like you and I were in the same room, training together, like I am coaching you to a new PR.

This thing is getting to be pretty damned AWESOME, and I know you are going to love it once it comes out.

In fact, while I wrote this quick post, I even thought of a couple more things to include in it.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

P.S. Want to learn to do feats of strength? Then join me in Baltimore: Feats of Strength Workshop

This is a guest post by Matt Ellis at Primal Athlete Training Center. To follow up with Matt on this article, or to bounce other ideas off him, send Matt a note at Matt@PrimalATC.com

The Fingers are the Last Part of the Body that Touches the Shot – They HAVE TO BE STRONG!

No matter what event you throw, the last thing that touches the implement is your hands and your fingers.

In the Shot Put, Discus, Javelin, and Hammer you need to have the implement in your hand as you begin your throw and release. As a track coach or athlete, you use proper form and technique that allows your entire body to work together as one cohesive unit. There can be no weak points.

Unfortunately, with many throwers, the hands and fingers become those weak points.

How many times have you seen a shot putter move through the circle with so much power only to watch the shot bend back their fingers and leave them clenching on to their wrist in pain? After almost 18 years involved in the sport of track and field, I have seen it far too many times.

As a thrower, you need to focus on getting the entire body stronger and more explosive. Every thrower out there understands the clean and press, bench, squat, and deadlift. Every thrower uses dumbbells and plyometric movements.

How many actually train their grip?

Every athlete who trains with me at Primal Athlete Training Center works their grip after every session. This doesn’t mean they stay after for an extra half-hour banging out rep after rep of multiple movements. Every day they select one grip exercise and perform that exercise for three sets. Usually this only adds 5 minutes to the end of their training.

The video below outlines some of the most common grip exercises throwers should do as part of their training. These exercises use very basic equipment that can be found in any high school or college weight room, any “big box” fitness chain, or in any homemade garage gym.

Keep in mind, any of the grip exercises in the video can be altered to be tougher. You can make dozens of grip exercises from the 6 that I show in the video.

Here is a list to help get you started:

• Two-Hand Plate Pinch
• One-Hand Plate Pinch
• One-Hand Behind the Back Plate Pinch
• Plate Pinch Farmers Walk
• Hex Dumbbell Holds
• Hex Dumbbell Hold Farmers Walk
• Hex Dumbbell Hold Clean
• Hex Dumbbell Hold Clean and Press
• Hex Dumbbell Hand to Hand Pass
• Two Hand Plate Crusher
• One Hand Plate Crusher
• Plate Crusher Static Hold
• Heavy Kettlebell (or Dumbbell) Holds
• Heavy Kettlebell (or Dumbbell) Farmers Walk
• One Hand Bottoms Up Press
• Two Hand Bottoms Up Press
• One Hand Bottoms Up Clean
• Two Hand Bottoms Up Clean
• One Hand Bottoms Up Clean and Press
• Two Hand Bottoms Up Clean and Press

So there you have it. Great grip training for throwers that can be done in just 5 minutes a day at the end of a typical training session. No special equipment for you to buy. All you need is what you have lying around at home, at the gym, or in your high school or college weight room.

The last thing that touches the throwing implement is your hand and fingers.

Eliminate the chance of injury and make your hands and fingers strong as steel. In a sport where the difference between first and second place can be an inch, you need every advantage you can get.

About the Author…

Matthew Ellis, Owner, Primal Athlete Training Center, www.PrimalATC.com

Originally from Coventry, RI, Matt learned the meaning of hard work at an early age growing up on a small ranch owned by his father and mother. Hauling 50 and 100 pound bags of grain, cutting and stacking firewood, loading hay bales, and walking with full 10 gallon buckets of water quickly became part of his daily chores.

Matt decided to leave his position at M-F in 2009 to pursue his love of training athletes. He opened Primal Athlete Training Center in 2010. Matt has an aggressive, blue-collar style to his training that improves strength, endurance, and explosive power in all athletic movements.

Need Grip Strength Equipment but Don’t Have Much of a Budget?

Check out Home Made Strength – Grip Strength Edition

Hello DIESELS!

I am writing a quick post because I have been working with David Horne, Grip Legend, on a project recently and it is all coming together, now!

I will be having a load of Vulcan Grippers sent to me next week!

If you are not familiar with the Vulcan Gripper, I will give you some information on it.

The Vulcan Gripper was designed by David Horne. It is a fully adjustable Gripper that can be set at strength levels ranging from around a Trainer / Number 1 Gripper from IronMind to way up above a #4.

There are a few adjustable grippers on the market, but this one is the preferred one by most serious Grip Strength practitioners because it replicates the force curve of a torsion spring gripper very well.

The Vulcan with a Torsion gripper on top – the handles match almost perfectly

For instance, the Ivanko Super Gripper and ViseGrip Gripper are adjustable, but their force curve does not match up to a torsion spring gripper. The Vulcan actually matches up very well.

There is another aspect of the Vulcan that I like in particular. The handles do not have any knurling. Because of this, you can do a LOT more volume in your training with it because your skin does not get pummeled by the knurling that is on most torsion spring gripper handles.

I was speaking with Paul Knight one time. Paul is a guy with one of the best Crushes in Grip Sport, and he said that the lack of knurling on the Vulcan actually made his knurled handle Gripper strength even better, and it makes perfect sense. Even with the lack of knurling, you still can get a good bite on the Vulcan handles, but when you go back to torsion grippers, you get even better bite!

The other advantage of the Vulcan, and this is perhaps the most important, is that you won’t need to buy so many Grippers in order to train a wide spectrum of strength levels. That can get pretty expensive, especially if you buy them one at a time. With shipping most grippers are about $30 apiece, so four of them bought separately is $120.

The Vulcan cost only $97, a substantial savings.

The Vulcans are being shipped to me next week. You can pre-order yours right now.

If you order by 8/6/11, you will get a free video showing how to train with the Vulcan Gripper for Complete Crush Grip Domination. This video will show you everything you need to know about adjusting the spring, getting a good set, progressing in crush strength, and how to set up your own program.

The Vulcan Gripper is also the gripper that is used in the World’s Strongest Hands Series, which starts up on August 13. With this contest becoming an annual endeavor, the Vulcan could potentially come a staple in many more competitions down the line.

The new Vulcan Gripper, the V2

The Vulcans that are coming are the new design, the V2, so if you are a Gripper Collector and already have a V1, you can add this one to your collection.

If you are wondering about whether the two versions function differently, they do not. The new Vulcan is simply laser-cut, so the look is a lot cleaner, but they both have the same smooth action and powder coat.

In fact, the V2′s are being used in the World’s Strongest Hands Series this year, along with the V1′s, so if you want to get in on the action, here is your chance!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. If you need a lighter Spring, I have a small quantity of Orange Springs that are lighter than the standard issue Silver and Black spring. These are $19.99 plus shipping.