When I first began delving into Strength and Conditioning literature after I got out of college, I was given a copy of a strength training documentary about Werner Gunthor called, L’heritage d’une carriere, by my friend Dan Cenidoza
At the time, I was reading a lot of the materials from the NSCA, and even though they were much more geared toward strength training than the bodybuilding magazines I read in college, even the NSCA manuals did not prepare me for the type of training I would see in this video.
To my dismay, I somehow lost my copy of the tape and had not watched it in years, but I was able to find it recently, in its entirety on YouTube. (more…)
I hope you are kicking ass so hard in the gym that the PR’s are paying you to take it easy on them.
First off, I am sorry for starting the earthquake earlier this week. I was working Two Hands Pinch using some black-hat, ninja-style, Outlaw-Diesel methods of training and it accidentally slipped out of my grasp.
The weight was so tremendous that it set off a tectonic plate collision in the Richmond, Virginia area. Jay DeMayo tried to take the credit, but he is not the one to blame.
Sorry, Washington Monument
My bad about the damage to the Washington Monument. I’ve heard they’ve been looking for a reason to shut that thing down anyway, so I guess I did them a favor.
(In all seriousness, I hope everyone is safe and that damages can be taken care of soon.)
Anyway, I wanted to share a video with you guys that I took last Saturday in Scranton PA at the USA Powerlifting Nationals.
I went down to watch my buddies, Paul Tompkins and Mike Turpin compete. Paul and Mike have submitted a lot of videos to my Weekly Grip Challenge, so i wanted to go down and give them some support!
According to Paul, he lifted 451 in the Bench, 644 in the Squat and 655 in the Deadlift, totaling 1750.
Mike got 358 in the Bench, 391 in the Squat and 557 in the Deadlift, totaling 1306. Awesome job guys.
I also wanted to mention that Mike Turpin is developing some of the nastiest forearms I’ve ever seen. He showed me his freaky Brachioradialis and I had nightmares for two straight nights. According to Mike, he has done no direct forearm work from this. It has all come from Grip Training, like Gripper work, Pinching, and lifting Hex Head Dumbbells by the Head.
So there’s yet another reason to start Grip Training if you haven’t already done so. The time under tension packs serious muscles on your lower arms!
Also, Mike told me that several months ago, Paul attempted a near-600-lb Deadlift and could get it nowhere near lockout. Judging by the fact that I watched him pull 659 with EEEEEASE, the Grip Training must be paying off.
Mind you, these guys are doing a variety of stuff. They are trying the challenges I put out each week and they are doing some other stuff on their own. Hitting the hands from multiple angles like this has improved their General Grip Strength tremendously.
Mike says he used to not be able to close a #1 Gripper, and now he is mashing the #2 each workout. Also, between his lifts and Paul’s there was about a two-hour break in the action, so Turpin, another buddy of mine, Mike Puchalski, and I went out to my car and did some work with the Vulcan-2 that I had for Puchalski. If memory serves, Mike toyed with the Level 10 like he was reading a newspaper on the toilet, and that is with the new Silver Black-Dipped Spring. AWESOME. I can’t wait to see what he can do at World’s Strongest Hands on September 10th. If you are in the neighborhood, you should come by. It is going to be a good time.
Who Wants a Vulcan 2 Gripper?
Speaking of Vulcans, I am completely sold out right now, but I am looking to get another order around. If you are interested, please post in the comments section below. The Vulcan V-2′s cost $99.
I am also looking to bring in some extra Orange Springs that are quite a bit lighter than the standard Silver Black-Dipped Springs. Also, I want to get some Thumb Screws thrown in as well.
All I am looking for is for you to post below that you are interested and I will add you to the list. Please do so as soon as possible so I can get with David Horne. This time, I am keeping one of the sets of Thumb Screws.
OK, DIESELS, that’s it for now. My new Grip Training Freak, Eric Loyd is coming over soon and we are going to work on the Vulcan, Two Hands Pinch, and maybe even try bending a horseshoe.
Random Ramblings from Jedd
Please read this post and put in your thoughts / comments in the comment box below…
Hello Diesels.
As I have posted before, I am a huge baseball (and especially New York Yankees) fan. I watch them every chance I get. I stay up to date on the Yankees’ rumor mill, trades, signings…all of it in-season and out.
However, putting all that drama aside, I also like to study what they do for strength and conditioning, and what other industry leaders are saying about strength and conditioning for baseball. I have a handful of baseball players that come to train every so often, and I like applying the stuff I learn to the training I do with them, plus I try to apply it to my own training. Although I will probably never play baseball again, I do indeed suit up for Slow Pitch softball during the summer and enjoy playing to the best of my ability because it is fun as hell and it is a good break from the “hardcore” training I am normally doing in the gym. (more…)
One of the simplest ways to build and test your Grip Strength is with Deadlifts – pulling big weight off the ground. The One Arm / One Hand Deadlift is an awesome variation with many benefits…
The Goblet Squat is an outstanding alternative to the Back Squat that you can use from time to time in your training in order to mix things up and enjoy a bit of variety. It is most often performed with a dumbbell or kettlebell, but odd objects can be used as well.
The Goblet Squat was invented by the world-renowned speaker, author, accomplished athlete, and all-around strong dude, Dan John.
