I’ve recently come to know that some people do not realize that I run another website called The Grip Authority, so I wanted to make a post here to talk about what the Grip Authority is, what you can find there, and also to share some feedback I have gotten from some of my subscribers I work with there.

The Grip Authority originally started out as a page where we talked about the benefits of Grip Strength training, since back when we first started speaking at seminars no one really knew what Grip was or why it would be important to talk about training for hand strength.

Now, fast forward about 8 years and all kinds of sites speak specifically about Grip Training and why it is important to do so.

Unfortunately, many of those sites provide the same recycled content, advice and exercises.

In the summer of 2009, I decided I was going to take Grip Strength instruction, Feat of Strength execution, and Grip Sport Preparation to a whole other level and began plans for turning the Grip Authority website into an affordable monthly membership site for those who wanted to work with me toward their goals.

I launched The Grip Authority in January of 2010. Since then I have covered a wide variety of topics that have included very common topics such as Gripper Training, Nail and Steel Bending, and many varieties of Pinch Training, plus other lesser known types of training such as Anvil Lifting.

Nearly 100% of the content I provide is by request of the subscribers in one way or another. For instance, with each new member, I ask them for their top three goals and with this information, I am able to provide content for them that will help them accomplish what they want to where Grip Strength is concerned.

For example, one of my most recent subscribers is a woman trainer from California who is gunning for the Big 6 Feats of Strength: Braced Bending, Non-braced Bending, Phonebooks, Cards, Horseshoes, & Nail Driving. I am preparing a coaching video specifically for her on her short steel non-braced bending technique.

Another feature that I have begun including on a monthly basis is a coaching call recording. I take questions from the members throughout the month and compile them for an mp3 that the members can download and listen to at their convenience. It’s all about helping them attain their goals.

TGA has very little Hair Metal content, unfortunately…

Now, not all of the stuff is made in direct response to what the members are looking for. Sometimes, I bring reports back from trips I take or seminars I do and share my experience, especially if I am training with someone and a technique I use is an eye-opener for them.

For instance, in a trip I took in July of this year, I was swapping stories with Richard Sorin and showing him some stuff with the Blob. I showed him some hand placement and training techniques that I use with Blob and Block Weight Training and afterwards Richard said, “I just learned more in 15 minutes about Grip Training that I have learned in the last 15 years.”

That was an awesome trip that I enjoyed immensely and to hear that I impressed the original Blob lifter with my knowledge made me feel great, so I instantly came back from that trip and shot video of the same techniques I shared with him and I called it “Things I Taught Richard Sorin,” so that my subscribers could benefit from it and put it from action.

I got some feedback on that segment from one of the members, Rick Giese, shortly after posting that segment.

This has proven to be a huge topic over time, because Block Weight Training is major aspect of many people’s training. Block Weight Training is one of the most beneficial (and yet simple) forms of Grip Training, and there are some things you can do to get a bit better grip on a Block Weight. This can lead to doing a few more reps in Block Weight Deadlifts or Cleans and can really increase your results.

Another of my most recent subscribers, Kyle Lapinsky, said after just a few days of being on the site:

If you are looking to improve your grip, I can help you get there. You can join today for just $7 at http://www.thegripauthority.com.

By now, I have nearly 100 posts on various topics and am able to get people jump-started toward their goals because I keep things much more organized these days. I also started a Private TGA group on Facebook a few months ago for the members to be able to react with one another, share PR’s they’ve accomplished, send in questions for coaching calls, and discuss training topics.

It remains a work in progress, but I am very happy with how it has progressed as well as how much I’ve been able to help people improve.

If you’d like to check it out you can sign up for a 10-day trial at http://www.thegripauthority.com.

Looking forward to working with you towards attaining your goals.

Jedd

The coolest thing about putting together products for all of you is the feedback that I get. Here is a note from Chase Scott, who recently picked up CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination.

  Jedd,

Once again, CRUSH was great. Even though I am a Grip Authority member and follow all of your stuff, I still learned a tremendous amount from the dvd. A big thing for me was my set for the Vulcan 2. I noticed a huge difference in my next workout just trying to nail the technique. This dvd will help anyone but I would have to say that if someone is just starting out or somewhat new to grippers, they NEED to get this dvd. I can see how it could easily take months or even years off one’s learning time. I think most people would agree with me that I wish I had this video when I first started. I wouldn’t have so many bad habits to break and I could have saved a lot of time on trial and error. As usual, thanks for putting together an awesome product that is easy to follow and offers something for everyone.

Chase

When I started this project, it began just as a bonus video for those who were buying Vulcan Grippers from me, but before I knew it I had put together the Ultimate Gripper Training Resource.

I continually added to this video over the course of two months in order to make it as complete as possible. Still, as complete as it is, it does not drag on. The DVD is a little over two hours worth of material that is broken up into Modules so that you can focus on one aspect of Gripper Training at a time.

The video also contains close-ups and slow-motion clips, especially in the very important technique sections to ensure that the learning points are clear and well understood.

If you want to be good at Grippers, then feel free to just bounce around and try things here and there and learn by trial and error.

But if you want to cut to the chase and start going in the right direction, right now, then pick up CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination.

Click the Banner Above

All the best in your CRUSHing,

Jedd

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

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

Inverted Dumbbell Training

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

How to Perform an Inverted Dumbbell Lift

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

Key Points About Inverted Dummbell Lifting

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

Biggest Inverted Dumbbell Lifts

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

Application into Your Training

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

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

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

Any questions, leave a comment below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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

I got into Grip Training in 2002 when I was introduced to Grippers by a friend named, Rick Walker. From Rick, I learned about training to close big Grippers and different feats of strength like tearing cards and bending nails. At that point, all I wanted to do was rip one deck of cards and I was willing to do anything I needed to in order to accomplish that feat of strength.

Soon, Smitty got a #1 Gripper from IronMind. I thought squeezing Grippers was a bit boring at the time, so I didn’t get my own right away. Instead, I just raced Smitty to closing the number 1 at the gym and while we rode in the car. We nearly wrecked the first time I closed it while riding in the passenger seat…

“YOU CLOSED IIIIITTTTTT!!!!” he said as he swerved back into his lane, avoiding two or three cards in the process. I’ll never forget that day!

I eventually tore my first deck of cards, but it wasn’t until I began practicing all forms of Grip and Wrist Strength training.

Once I came to understand that strengthening my hands in multiple dimensions was so important for ripping a deck of cards, I continued doing it and I also began seeing my performance in other more traditional movements as well, such as the Bench Press, Overhead Work, Squats, and of course Curls.

As I got more interested in developing stronger hands for lifting purposes, I began getting more and more interested in Grip Sport as well and before I knew it, I had half a dozen grippers. Soon I was buying them from others who had extras or who had bought them in a rush, but really had no idea how to train with them and figured the best thing would be to just unload them on someone else.

I’ve lost count of how many times I have seen grippers for sale on-line because people just gave up training with them, their drive burnt out, their interest dwindled down to nothing, mainly because they were sick of beating their heads against a wall trying to make progress with them.

When I first found out about Grippers, there were three main companies making and selling them and one other company was getting out of the business.

The three companies that were going strong were IronMind, Beef Builder, PDA, and the other company was Lemley.

IronMind, I am sure everyone reading this has heard of. I would say they are the most widely recognized name in gripper training with their Captains of Crush line. They, as well as Beef Builder, are still around and going strong. PDA, Piedmont Design Associates, went out of business in 2004 if I remember correctly.

The other company, Lemley, produced left-handed grippers, meaning their springs were wound in the opposite direction of the Grippers we have today. This was fine, but the problem was that after 50 to 100 closes, the glue holding the handles would fail and the handles would come off.

Then in 2004 or 2005, another style of Gripper came on the scene, Heavy Grips. They are still around and are being sold on countless sites all over the internet. Resellers and drop shippers love these grippers because they come in a nice large set with lots of options to choose from. The problem with them, in my opinion, is their spring. Somewhere along the lines they changed their springs and got weaker. When they first came out, their 300-lb Gripper was about equal to an IronMind #3. Once they went to the new shinier springs, the strength levels changed.

As the years have gone by, many more Gripper manufacturers have popped up. Robert Baraban makes a large variety of Grippers, even varying the handle spread for smaller handed individuals. NutritionGeeks.com began marketing their own gripper line, the T-grippers, made by Warren Tetting, the same person who makes the Beef Builder line. Nowadays, even GNC has jumped into the Gripper Market, selling their own Grippers at their stores, which I believe are modified Heavy Grips Grippers, although I am not 100% sure.

The gripper companies and lines that I have mentioned here are nowhere near a complete list. These are just a few examples of Torsion Spring Grippers, the kind with the knurled handles and the twisted spring. When you throw the adjustable grippers and the coil spring grippers in there, the number of grippers available gets even larger.

My point is not to point out the sheer number of types of grippers on the market. I will get to my point in a moment though…

Think back to the last time you bought a tool, like a handsaw. How about when you bought your last car? How about your last computer / laptop / or other electronic gadget?

What was it that came with each and every one of those things to help you be sure you were able to use them properly?

That’s right – an OPERATOR’S MANUAL.

Now, think back to the last time you bought a Gripper. Did it come with an operator’s manual? Or how about even a guideline of instructions for use?

No, it probably didn’t. In fact, I don’t know of any Grippers on the market that do come with instructions on how to progress with them. No instructions on how to set them in your hand, no advice on the best way to train with them and no guidelines as far as what to expect or how to succeed with them.

This is where I come in.

I have designed the next best thing when it comes to Gripper Training, my new On-line DVD, CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination.

After working on this for the last several weeks, and reworking it until I was happy with it, it is now ready to go.

This Piece is TWO DISKS!

Check out everything CRUSH has in it:

Module 1 – Bulletproofing the Hands and Lower Arms

Nothing will set your Gripper training behind worse than having injuries. I will show you the Preventive Measures to do now in order to keep injuries away and keep the gains coming.

Module 2 – Types of Grippers

I cover many types of grippers and show their differences, strengths, and weaknesses so you can understand what you have and in order to make wise purchases down the line

Module 3 – Gripper Training Basics Everyone MUST Know

Here I cover the basics of grippers, their terminology, techniques, and help lay a solid foundation for your gripper training.

Module 4 – Supplementary Training: Strength from Start to Finish

Closing a Gripper requires you to move the handles through three stages: the Set, the Sweep, and the Finish. When you watch this module, you will discover how to build strength through all three of these individual parts of the close.

Module 5 – Supplementary Training: Addressing Weaknesses

Many trainees do not realize the role that individual parts of the hand can have in closing Grippers. In this section you will understand why each part of the hand is important and how to make them strong and powerful.

Module 6 – Advanced Training Techniques

Once you have developed a strong foundation in Gripper training, you may want to challenge yourself even further. In this section, you will learn ways to take your Gripper work to the next level in order to develop upper levels of crushing grip strength.

Module 7 – Other Important Gripper Training Concepts

In this section I will cover with you additional concepts you can start building into your training to accelerate your progress and strength gains. These are concepts that are often skipped, missed, or ignored by new Gripper trainees.

In addition to the basic program, I have also included several bonuses for the electronic version only.

Module 8 – BONUS Gripper Training Program

During the Spring and Summer of 2011, I developed a Gripper Training program that produced more “Personal Records” for me than anything I have ever tried. Up to this point, I have showed this Gripper Training Program only to my On-line Coaching Clients and V.I.P. Customers, and it has gotten overwhelmingly positive reviews. This Program is completely free when you pick up CRUSH today.

Module 9 – BONUS Gripper Strength Rating System Demonstration

I will take you through the Gripper Strength Rating Process on one of my Grippers in order to show you how Grippers are rated in Grip Sport. This is a very interesting process and will serve to educate you on real, tangible, numeric classifications for Gripper Strength Levels.

Module 10 – BONUS Top 10 Gripper Training Mistakes

I gave this video away for free during the pre-launch period, but I am including it in the bonuses for those who did not see them.

Module 11 – BONUS Top 3 Gripper Training Myths

This video was given away as a follow-up to the video above only to those who subscribed to my Gripper Training Tips Newsletter.

CRUSH is a culmination of every bit of hard-hitting instruction I have learned and developed over the years related to Gripper Training.

If you are serious about your Gripper Training but need some direction, or if you thought it was hopeless to master the grippers you bought months or even years ago, but gave up due to lack of knowledge, than you better check this piece out.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Hello Diesels!

In just a few short hours, CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination will be available.

But now is the time to discuss the winner of the Free DVD Essay Contest.

The rules were simple. Write an essay with 100-words or more describing why you should win a free copy of the CRUSH DVD.

There were many entries – 40, to be exact, and they included many names I recognized from past emails, purchases, Facebook, YouTube, and more, as well as many new names I have not seen before, which was cool. Thank you to all who participated. For such a small window of just 24 hours, I thought the response was pretty darn impressive!

Within the essays, I was impressed by the wide array of background each of you come from. From Martial Artists, to Strength Enthusiasts, to Teachers, it was AWESOME to see such the diversity.

Of course in a contest such as this, it is tough to decide on a winner and it would be the easy way out to just do a random drawing, but I said I was going to choose a winner, and that is what I am going to do.

As I had said previously, the winner would be the person who deserved it the most, and with so many deserving people, I decided to choose the person whose essay conveyed, in my eyes, the most passion in their essay.

With that in mind, my choice is Mike Watson. I chose Mike because when I read his essay about his love and drive for wrestling, it really resonated with me and I saw similarities with how I feel about the sport of Grip.

Below is his essay:

“First off I need help getting my grip power up for wrestling. I love wrestling more then anything, and nothing has been able to stop me from doing this sport, which I love. The key things you need in wrestling is: grip, neck strength, speed, technique and endurance. Each part is very important, grip is essential for performing moves and starting off in the match. I have wrestled in Japan for almost 3 years before I had to come back to the states. This sport means the world to me. It keeps me out of trouble, keeps my grades in check, keeps me fit and keeps me disciplined. People can talk about why they want it, but they don’t live and breathe something everyday. If you love something as much as I do, you would understand why I want help with my grip. Wrestling isn’t a sport, you don’t play wrestling. Wrestling is a lifestyle and you respect your opponent and yourself. It isn’t a game its life, and life isn’t something you play with. Thank you for your time to read this I hope I get this DVD would help me in my wrestling career in life.”

Mike, I thought your essay was great. Thanks for posting it and make sure to send me your address so I can get the DVD to you.

There were many other great submissions. Thanks again to everyone who posted.

All the best in your training.

Jedd