Inch Dumbbell Overhead (Photo by Joe Mugovero)

One of my main body strength goals for 2012 was improving my Overhead Pressing ability, so I really began to look at all the contributing factors to a big press. Things like a strong core, lockout strength and speed off the shoulders were some of the things I looked at most heavily, because when I was doing strongman training, those were the things I focused on most often for building the press.

However, one of the things I did not take a real close look at, at first, was my flexibility and mobility in my shoulders and torso. To my surprise, working stretching into the routine has proven to be the absolute biggest factor in my increase in pressing strength recently.

It’s kind of ironic that including the simple practice of stretching would have such a big effect. I remember watching Lee Haney videos on ESPN when I was a teenager, so it’s not like this is the first time I ever heard of the concept.

My absolute neglect for stretching and any kind of range of motion or mobility maintenance came when I started studying NSCA materials. The literature stated that if you performed exercises with a full range of motion, then there would be no worry for loss of it.

More recently, several proponents of Biofeedback/Gym Movement have even spoken of their lack of use of stretching and mobility work in their routines.

Well, here is the problem with all those organizations and belief systems, from Lee Haney, to the NSCA, to GM: they are only referring to lifting and NOT what is going on the other 22 hours in the day.

For me, and maybe some of you reading this, the most important factor for my flexibility and range of motion status (aside from sheer genetics), I feel, is my positioning during those 22 hours.

The amount of time I am in a seated position, whether it is working, driving, or just lounging around is staggering. Sometimes, it seems as though if I am not walking to or from my car, or if I am not training, then I am sitting on my ass, and getting more and more locked up.

In relationship to my pressing numbers, I posted a few weeks back how I was able to make incredible jumps in pressing strength with some stretching and soft tissue work prior to and during my pressing workout. That post is here: What’s Working Now – Improving Overhead Press.

Now, although the improvements I saw in that workout were impressive as far as the actual weight jumps from one workout to the next, the numbers were still not where I would want them because in the past I have been capable of much more.

So, I began going back through some old video clips of myself pressing, and one thing I noticed was that several years ago I looked much more fluid. These days in my videos, I walk like Frankenstein, as if my spine is fused and when I press, I have almost zero lean in the thoracic region of my back at all. In the past, my thoracic mobility was far greater and a real strength of mine, so I knew I had to do something to get back there. Once I began incorporating drills right into my workout, I began instantly seeing some good results, thus the post I mentioned above.

And once I started seeing progress, I began trying out even more movements to see what would work the best. I’ve come up with three movements that I have gotten continued good results from and I want to share them with you so you can try them.

Pipe Roll Thoracic Arch

Squat Cage Doorway Stretch

Squat Cage Shoulder Point

These three movements have proven to have the biggest benefit for me in my training, of the dozens I have tried. If you think you are lacking in the mobility department for your thoracic spine, or if you think your shoulders are inhibited in some other way, then you should give these a try.

If these drills don’t seem to do anything for you, then I encourage you to do some experimenting. We are all different and have different limitations, so in turn we will all need to do different things in order to address those limitations.

Results From 8 Weeks of Concentrated Mid Workout Stretching

Barbell Military Press – Recent PR

In recent memory, in the Barbell Press out of a cage, my best has been 215. I have gotten that number so many times I have lost count. That really irritates me, because it is about 40 lbs under my best strict press on a barbell.

Without stretching or soft tissue work, I was topping out at 215 whether I did overhead press first or if I did Bench Press first. And that little factoid irritates me because you would think that after benching the triceps would be too tired to match my best PR, but it has seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

So, here is a recent video of some new high water marks for the Barbell Press out of the cage.

Barbell Military Press – Old Working Set

I am not sure if you can tell in the video clips, but I am able to get a bit more extension in my thoracic spine in the new PR video (I could certainly feel the difference that day). In the working sets video from a few months back, I don’t get anything at all. The benefit to getting this fluidity in the thoracic portion of the spine is that each repetition feels better, and feel less like I have two baseball bats running from my shoulders to my glutes, restricting me. Being able to bend ever so slightly back near the shoulder area lets me press much easier.

Take note, I am not talking about bending the lumbar spine like a 1950′s Olympic Press, as shown above. That is something that you should try to avoid. I played Russian Roulette with that too often back in the day and have no desire to go back to it. What I am looking to improve is my thoracic spine, the mid to upper torso (shown below)

Dumbbell Military Press PR

My numbers in this had been so bad, that I was pretty much stuck at 50′s. Then with time working on my ROM and soft tissue, I was gradually able to work up to 70′s and now 85′s is becoming my new standard. Below, I hit a set of 6 with 85′s, a set which felt so easy up until the last set, it is hard to put it into words.

In the video above, I think it is a bit easier to see the extension I am getting in the thoracic spine. This video was shot two pressing workouts after the Barbell Press workout where I pressed 235.

To sum things up, although my upper back/torso issues are not so bad that I walk around with like Quasimodo or have scapular winging, I still have issues with tightness in the shoulders and lack of thoracic mobility. Like an addict with a gambling problem, it took my a long time to admit to having these issues, but now that I have owned up to them and begun addressing them, as well as seeing the results, I feel I will be able to continue to improve.

Look for more updates coming down the pike on this. Until then all the best in your training.

Jedd

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This is a combo article from me and my buddy, Mike Rinderle. Mike is Mash Monster Level 2 Certified, and rarely trains grippers due to all the bending he does, YET, has found that he maintains his gripper strength very well, again, because of all the bending he does.

**IMPORTANT** Be smart about your training. If these are new tactics, work them into your training slowly and don’t go overboard. Everyone is at a different stage of development with their CRUSH training, so be sure to train wisely, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Isometrics for Gripper Strength

What we are going to look at today is Isometric and Near-Isometric Work that you can do with your Grippers in order to strengthen the end range of the close, or the Finish.

Training the Finish of the close is important. You can have a strong set, and monster sweep strength, but if you die at the end of the range, then none of that really matters.

After all, the objective is to close the gripper, not sweep it down to 1/4 inch…

What Are Gripper Training Isometrics?

Isometric exercises involve ranges of motion during muscle contraction which are very small or non-existent. They permit maximum exertion over a very short distance (or statically). They build stronger tendons, the ability to fire your CNS more efficiently, and increased time under tension, driving strength gains.

The three types of isometrics used to increase gripper strength are static, short concentric (positive), and short eccentric (negative).

Over-Crushes

Overcrushes (static): Use a gripper that you can close and hold for at least a few seconds. Close the gripper and squeeze as hard and as long as you can.

Take note that the objective here is to squeeze like you are trying to flatten the handles together, using more force that is necessary to hold the handles together.

When you hit 15 seconds, it is time to move up a gripper level. Do no more than 3 of these per hand to prevent over-training.

Don’t just touch the handles together – squeeze with everything you’ve got until the gripper starts to open up. This is not a negative! Doing a negative after a hard overcrush can injure you, so do not try to resist the handles as they open.

Choker Closes

Choker closes (concentric/near isometric): This technique is done with the purpose of shortening the stroke of the gripper handles and focusing just on the last portion of the range. These are also generally done with explosive power in order to train the CNS to power through until the handles touch.

Get a sturdy hose clamp, tape the tops of the gripper handles and clamp your goal gripper to parallel or closer (whatever width you need to close it). Remember to perform explosive singles with this technique. Explode into the close and click the handles as fast as you can.

Wait until you recover and do another one just as hard and as fast as the last. Once the closes start to get a bit slow, or you can’t touch the handles anymore, STOP. PERIOD. This means your hands are fried and going further with this technique will teach you to be slow.

If you can get more than 5 – 7 of these then it is time to open the clamp up slightly wider or use a harder gripper next time. My gripper was too light to be effective for my crush, BUT it was the only one I had with a choker on it, so I used it for the demonstration)

Bounce Force Negatives

Bounce Forced Negatives (BFNs) (eccentric): Use a gripper one level higher than your goal gripper. Use your leg, or off hand to cheat close it and then fight to keep it from opening. When it gets to parallel, use your other hand (or leg) to force it back shut and fight again to keep it shut. Repeat one more time when it gets to parallel. That’s one set of 3. Do no more than 2 sets.

Also, this will be a bigger gripper than you are used to and if it has sharp knurling you need to not just let it spring open after the last negative gets to parallel, or you could lose some skin. Open it slowly.

Conclusion

These three gripper techniques are much more demanding on the CNS and the soft tissues of the hand, so we advise to only perform one of these gripper training techniques per workout. In other words, don’t do three sets of over-crushes, followed by some BNF’s and top it off with some choker work. That is a sure-fire way to make your progress go backwards, or worse yet, get you hurt.

Also, alternate these high-intensity techniques for best results. Each movement trains the muscles, tendons, and CNS in a slightly different way. To get the most out of these techniques, you can incorporate one of them at a time on a regular basis and see how your Crush improves, then try the next technique.

Of course, these are advanced gripper training techniques. If you don’t already have a solid grip on the basics of gripper training, then you might not be ready for these techniques.

In that case, check out my Gripper Training DVD, CRUSH, Total Gripper Domination.

CRUSH will show you how to develop a good base of training with your grippers, a solid foundation on which to build upon for the future.

There’s no reason why you, yourself, can not one day certify on Grippers. You just need the right information to get you going in the right direction.

Start out on the right foot with the solid information you need to excel with Grippers, which you will get in CRUSH.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Hello DIESELS. Last November, I did an interview with Rick Kaselj when I first heard about his program, Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body Edition, but I totally forgot about it until just now.

Rick and I released Fixing Elbow Pain this week, so I thought I would re-post the interview here. Rick really knows his stuff about recovering from injuries without surgery, pills, and endless appointments, so check it out below.

INTERVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED NOVEMBER 11, 2011

Today I have an interview with Rick Kaselj of ExercisesforInjuries.com.

I had heard Rick was taking interviews this week in conjunction with the release of his product, Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body Edition this week. I immediately contacted Rick about an interview to go over Medial and Lateral Epicondylitis (Golfer’s and Tennis Elbow), how to prevent them, and how to heal from them. You would not believe the number of questions I get about how to deal with these conditions and many others for the forearm from both Grip and Strongman Trainees. Speaking from experience, I know how bad these conditions can be because I have suffered from them many times over the years. In fact, when i first started doing Strongman Training, my medial epicondyles were so inflamed that I could not make it through a workout without ibuprofen super-doses.

Without further ado, please check out what Rick has to say about lower arm health.

Jedd: Rick, your name has been tossed around by some of the biggest names in the business. Your products have really proven to be game changers for Personal Trainers, Therapists, and Strength Coaches by using an active approach to addressing injuries and correcting imbalances. I think your methods are perfect for the Diesel Universe as well because we are always aiming to perform at a high level whether we are working toward world class grip strength, competing in strongman or powerlifting, or just trying to be as strong as possible. I truly feel your experience is going to help a lot of my readers, so thank you for taking the time to do this interview.

Rick: Thanks for the kind words. I am glad what I have to say has been able to help so many people.

Very cool to be asked to share a few things with the Diesel Universe.

A few days back I was watching some videos on your blog and my 4 year old son asked, “Can you do that, dad?”

I had to say, “No.”

He then asked, ”Can I do that?”

“Listen to what Jedd and the Diesel Crew have to say and you can.”

Not sure how the wife will like it if my son starts bending frying pans.

Okay, Jedd, hit me with your questions.

Jedd: Rick, a lot of the guys who come to my site engage in non-conventional training, especially odd object lifting such as atlas stones, natural stones, kegs, sandbags and more. One common result is inflammation of the elbow near the medial epicondyle. What is one thing my guys can do to prevent this from happening when time on the implements is so important to success?

Rick: Check out below…

What is Medial Epicondylitis (ME)?

If we look at medial epicondylitis, it is an issue with the wrist flexors (wrist curling) and some people call it “golfer’s elbow”.

Epicondylitis begins as an inflammation of the tendons but can progress to the breakdown of the tendons.

Big things that leads to ME is repeated flexion, pronation (from palm up to palm down), and valgus stress to the elbow (upper arm does not move and the forearm moves away from the body). Can you already think about the things that can be leading to this?

Okay, enough of the science mumbo jumbo. I know you are thinking, what can I do about it.

What can I do about Medial Epicondylitis?

Look at What is Causing the Problem – In your workouts are you doing to much pulling movements or bending movements (bending a bar).

Look at Your Movements – Are you using your wrist and forearms way to much when you should be using your back, legs and chest to do the movement or exercise.

Are You Putting too Much Stress on the Inside of Your Elbow – Look at ripping apart movements. For example, breaking chains.

Take a Break From the Problem – I would never say stop something but you might want to take a break from something. If you have been doing a ton of plate grip work or weighted rope pulls, maybe move over to un-weighted rope and sand bag challenges.

Massage It Out – After your workout, take some time to self-massage. You get that pump in your muscle, especially in your forearms. Take some time to rub or massage the wrist flexors to relax the muscle, help with recovery and move it from a shortened position (tight and pulling on the injury), to a relaxed one (no stress on the injury). (Jedd’s Note – This is a FANTASTIC Idea – Thanks Rick!)

Get Some Manual Therapy – There are all kinds of techniques out there, but getting manual therapy done has a lot research that supports it.

Let’s get to the next question because I know you are going to ask me about exercises to do and stretching.

Jedd: Rick, in years past, I’ve pushed too hard and developed what is referred to as tennis elbow. I get no fewer than 20 emails per year asking about how to get rid of this condition. In your experience, what is the best way to fend this condition off and if it is developed, how to get rid of it?

Rick: See below…

What is Lateral Epicondylitis (LE)?

Let me just step back and explain a few things. So, tennis elbow is called lateral epicondylitis and it was first talked about in 1882 (Wow) where they called it “lawn tennis elbow” and occurs about 10 times more frequently than ME.

Just like medial epicondylitis, it can be caused by what you do for work or from sport.

If we look at what movements causes it, we can see what unconventional strength training can lead to it.

LE occurs when performing activities involving repeated supination and pronation (rotation of the hand from palm up to palm down and vise versa) with the elbow extended (straight).

Now to what you can do about it.

What Can You do About Lateral Epicondylitis (LE)?

Some of this overlaps with ME.

Look at What is Causing the Problem – In your workouts are you doing to much kettlebell swings, pinch grip work, keg lifting or dumbbell work.

Watch Wide Grip Work – Grabbing things like a glob and a blob put the hand into a wide grip, that puts more stress on the outer part of the elbow.

Look at Your Technique – This is an extension of above. Are you using your wrists and elbows too much when your legs, back and shoulder should be doing the bulk of the work.

Tendon Strengthening Exercises – There is a lot of research backing up eccentric training for both ME and LE in order to help strengthen the tendons.

You focus on the eccentric movement with a light weight (1 to 2 pounds / maybe more for the Diesel Universe) doing three sets of 15 repetitions, three times per day where you focus on the eccentric movement of wrist flexion (ME) or wrist extension (LE).

It is not a hard exercise but it targets the problem. The negative is it could irritate things more which is normal.

I would also recommend the taking a break from the problem, self massage and manual therapy, like I mentioned above.

Jedd: Rick, this has been outstanding information so far. I would be remiss if I did not touch on one other thing. A lot of my readers engage in feats of strength like steel bending, chain breaking, and other forms of training that are hard on the fingers. What advice to you have for us all in the Grip and Bending Community for keeping our fingers healthy, especially the smaller connective tissues? (Sadly, two years ago I jammed my left pinky finger playing basketball and it still has lingering issues, so any help here is appreciated)

Rick: I’ve got to say this… So, you lift, bend, grip, pinch and throw crazy stuff but the thing that injured your finger was a 22 oz basketball. Okay.

We got to start off with the wording. “Jammed finger” does not sound manly.

You really need to say, PIP injury or proximal interphalangeal injury.

Now that sounds cool.

Here are a few things that I can recommend:

• Use taping or chalk to help prevent finger injuries when appropriate
• If you jam it, keep working on the movement of the joint
• Splinting or buddy-taping with another finger is good for less than 2 weeks
• If there is deformity in the joint, get it looked at and you may need to get some hand therapy to speed up recovery

Big thing with finger injuries, if they are not dealt with right after injury, it’s harder to fix them later on.

Jedd: Rick, again, thanks for taking some time for us. This info is going to help a lot of people, myself included. How can we find out more about addressing issues such as these, as well as other issues some of my guys might need help with, such as banged up shoulders, tweaked biceps, and possibly pec injuries? I’ve got a very broad audience here and I know many of them have underlying issues they are training through and around on a weekly basis?

Rick: Okay, I will get to answering your question, just give me one minute.

I never answered the stretching thing for LE and ME. I would do it but it would not be my focus. I would focus on the self-massage, taking a break from things that make it worse, eccentric exercise program and getting manual therapy work. Some times with the stretching, you could be making things worse, compared to better.

One more thing that I’ve got to say, if things do not get better or keep getting worse with your ME and LE, get it looked at by someone to rule out that it could be something else.

Now to my last thing. Jedd, let me wrap up with a few reference that people can refer to if they want more information on what I chatted about above.

I know this is dorky but there may be a few of your readers that want more detailed scientific info:

Freiberg A. (2007). Management of proximal interphalangeal joint injuries. Can J Plast Surg. 2007 Winter;15(4):199-203. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19554177

Hudes K. (2011). Conservative management of a case of medial epicondylosis in a recreational squash player. J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2011 Mar;55(1):26-31. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21403779

Walz DM, Newman JS, Konin GP, Ross G. (2010). Epicondylitis: pathogenesis, imaging, and treatment. Radiographics. 2010 Jan;30(1):167-84. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20083592

Jedd: Thanks for the solid references, Rick, and the awesome information in the interview.

Guys, if you would like to find out more information about preventing and recuperating from upper body imbalances, you’ve got to check out Rick’s Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body Edition. Give this thing a try, especially if you have lingering issues, have noticed things feeling differently in your upper body lifts, or if what you have been trying has not been working in your efforts to get rid of issues.

Thanks again to Rick Kaselj!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Although that thing looks like a toilet, the stamps says “Stone Lifting.”

The first time I touched Atlas Stones was in my first ever strongman competition in 2003 at Total Performance Sports. Prior to that we used Kegs in our training in order to assimilate the stone lifting technique.

Ever since that first competition, I have loved Stone Lifting. It became something I would do on a nearly weekly basis every year from the time the weather broke in April until the time the weather got too cold to train outside in the Fall every year. And then sometimes, we’d just train inside.

I was seeing some pretty good success both in training with the atlas stones and in competition, many times winning the event at the strongman contests I was competing in.

Then, around 2006, all my buddies seemed to have lost interest in doing strongman, so if I was going to train, I was going to be alone doing it. Training alone is cool and all, but it’s even cooler with buddies challenging one another and talking some serious trash.

If I remember right, I peaked on atlas stones with a lift of a 405-lb stone in the Summer of 2007, but then I didn’t really train them again until the Fall of 2009. And that was the last time I trained them…

Lately, the stones have been calling my name. Each time I walk past them, I would think to myself, “The next time it’s nice out during training time, I’m coming out here and lifting some stones.

I got down to the gym the other day – it was a day for Axle work, back, and some other stuff. I went through my normal routine of systematic warm-up, then on to Axle, and then my Grip Training.

But when it came time to train back, I was like, “SCREW IT – I’m going outside to lift those stones – that will be my back workout today.”

DIESELS, I can’t even describe in words how fun it was to get out on the stones again. It brought back so many memories of training with my friends, listening to loud music, talking smack to everyone, strongman comps, and barbecuing steaks.

I got the whole stone lifting session on film, so you will see it below.

I have no idea what the first three stones in the video weigh. They were marked at one time, but weather and the passing of time wore those chicken scratches off long ago. So, I arranged them by size and went to work.

Questions on Stone Lifting

In the comments section of the video, I received some questions, so what I thought I’d do is paste them below and answer them for you guys. Here are the first couple…

Do you ever shoulder the stones Jedd?

Sure – shouldering is a good drill to do with Atlas Stones. I like shouldering because it requires more hip explosion and is a faster movement. When you explode with hips, you are able to propel the stone upwards and create more momentum. Then, if you are quick and agile with your hands, you can usually place the stone up on top of your shoulder with just two or three quick movements of the hands.

We cover Atlas Stone Shouldering in our DVD, Stone Lifting Fundamentals, as a way to replicate the explosive qualities of the Olympic Lifts using an odd object instead of the regular bar.

I didn’t do any shouldering in this particular workout, simply because it had been so long since the last time I trained stones. I wanted to stick with the basic techniques on this occasion, but I definitely will do some shouldering soon.

Doesn’t stone lifting go against the rules of deadlifting when it comes to not rounding your back?

Yes, Stone lifting does differ from deadlifting as far as the back angle is concerned. In deadlifting, most people will tell you to avoid rounding, and I would agree with them when deadlifting. However, stone lifting is a bit different.

First off, it is almost impossible to lift a stone without modifying your back angle to a degree. This is because you have to reach your hands way down to the ground. In the deadlift, you are not reaching down that far, so it is much easier to avoid the rounding.

Second, the shape of the stone forces you to take a different grip on it. As you’ll see, the hands and forearms go down along the sides of the stone and you pick it up by both flexing the wrist to brace beneath the stone, and by clamping in with the chest, to compress with the upper arms onto the sides of the stone. This requires a forward torso angle in order to accomplish.

If you keep your torso upright while lifting stones, I think it would put a great deal of pressure on the bicep attachments, and could cause a tear.

Third, when lifting stones, most people incorporate a transitional phase in the lift where the stone is propped on the lap while a re-grip is taking place. The reason this is important to this discussion is because it may seem like a round back is being used from the point of lift-off to the point of loading (high chest), but this is slightly misleading, because while re-gripping the stone, you can also re-position your lumbar spine for a more straight to lordotic curve, which is safer on the back.

Everyone is always stressing good form and not rounding the back while deadlifting. How do you feel about that when stone lifting is the complete opposite?

Because Stone Lifting is, without a doubt, much different from deadlifting, I think it is best to work your way up slowly in stone weight, volume of stone work, and speed of stone work.

For instance, beginners at Stone Lifting should start out with very light stones, and perhaps even start with an abbreviated range of motion and then gradually work toward pulling the stone from the ground or floor. This will enable the beginner stone lifter to slowly get used to the forces and positions involved in stone lifting, which they most likely have never done with a great deal of resistance before. It will help them develop proper technique as well.

If there is any question as to proper stone lifting technique, then I suggest you pick up our DVD, Stone Lifting Fundamentals, which will show you exactly how to begin doing stone lifting with proper form.

It’s a good practice for beginners or people who have not lifted stones in quite some time to limit the volume of stone work they do. I, for instance, knew that I hadn’t done this in a long time, so I didn’t do a lot of volume with the lighter stones. I mainly used them to ready my body, mind, and CNS for the heavier stones. By limiting the volume, you are able to keep your form tight from the beginning to the end of the workout. Doing too much volume too soon in the stone lifting workout could wear out the postural muscles in the back, and then put you at risk for poor form near the end of the stone workout.

As far as the risk of hurting the back, sure, there is a chance. However, there is also a chance to hurt your back in the deadlift as well. I can tell you this, I have never hurt my back by lifting atlas stones. I have, however, hurt my back on many occasions performing the deadlift.

I did notice, while watching my footage after lifting the stones, that my hips are a bit tight to really get where I want to at the beginning of the stone pull. I like to get a little lower with the hips on the initial pull, which helps me to keep my lower back straighter.

I hope this has been helpful. There were some more questions in the comments section of the video – I have not forgotten about them – I just don’t want to overload anyone with new information, so expect another installment of questions to come along here soon.

If you like info on Strongman Training, make sure to subscribe for my Strongman Training Updates in the form below.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Worlds Strongest Hands 2012

Today, I received the official announcement from David Horne on the 2012 Worlds Strongest Hands Series, the 3rd annual installment. Below is the information regarding specifics of the contest.

Information on 2012 Worlds Strongest Hands

Date: Saturday 18 August, 2012
The 2012 WSH is a one-leg event this year. In 2010, it was 4 legs, and in 2011 it was 3 legs, but with the proximity to the Worlds Strongest Hands Gathering and other scheduling issues, it was decided to make it a one-leg event only.

Events:
1. One Hand Vulcan Gripper (V2) – 20mm block close
2. Wrist Developer
3. Adjustable Thick Bar (one hand) – GripTopz
4. Stub Lift (one hand) – GripTopz

Classes: Open, Women’s and 93k class.

We recently added a variety of weight classes to the world grip sport rankings for the men. In past years, the split between the men’s class happened at the 82.5-kg mark, but this year, the divider will take place at 93-kg.

Venue: All around the world.

I will be holding my leg in Wyalusing, PA. As more locations in North America are confirmed, I will do my best to post them here. For sure, there will be one venue in Wooster, Ohio, and in past years there have been venues to compete in Minnesota, Michigan, and Arizona. I ahve also been told that there might be a competing venue in New England.

Entrance fee: £20 GBP ($32 dollars, 25 euro)

Trophies: There will be trophies for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each class.

Rules: Video to follow

All of the individual contests within Worlds Strongest Hands take place on the very same day. However, some countries participate earlier than others due to their location on the globe. In order to allow no unfair advantages, results are not shared between promoters. All results are sent to David Horne for tabulation and then he puts out the results after the contest.

As I receive more information, I will post it here on this thread.

Additional Information on Worlds Strongest Hands

I get a lot of questions about Worlds Strongest Hands from people who want to know more about the event and the equipment used in the competition, so I want to put them here as they come in, to make this a good post to reference.

I know some questions are more common than others, so I will go ahead and put them down right now, but if you have additional questions, post them in the comments section and I will add them in and update the post.

What is the Vulcan or V2 Gripper?

This is a large, steel gripper, sold by David Horne / World of Grip, with a straight coil spring, that can be adjusted across various strength levels. The gripper is used similarly to a Torsion Spring Gripper, first setting it, then swiping a 30-mm block, and finally closing the handles of the Gripper together.

It was originally called the Vulcan Gripper, but the design was re-worked for a cleaner look and the spread between the handles was increased, so the ones that are sold now are called V2, as in Vulcan 2 or Version 2.

What is the Wrist Developer?

Wrist Developer

This is another steel device that is manufactured by David Horne / World of Grip, with a mobile straight coil spring that can be adjusted for various strength levels.

What is a 20-mm Setting Block?

Think of the 20-mm as a gauge that is used with Grippers. For instance, the gauge in the Two Hands Pinch is a horizontal bar that is set at 16.5 inches in height that must be touched with the loading bar of the Euro Pinch Device. In Grippers, we use the setting block to make sure everyone is being judged with the same set width. So, the athlete is allowed to set the handles, and then he/she must pass the 20-mm block between the handles to show a legal set depth. This effectively takes hand size limitations out of the equation with Gripper Contests, because everyone is permitted to get an advantageous set, by pre-positioning the handles with the off-hand, then they pass the block through, and then they make the attempt at the close.

What are the Grip Topz?

The Grip Topz are another series of Griplements from David Horne / World of Grip. They are all used with the same base, which serves as the loading pin for weights. Then, on top of the loading pin base, attachments are hooked and gripped by the competitor. There are many different Grip Topz attachments that test a variety of hand strength disciplines. They are very handy for accomplishing a wide range of Grip Training challenges and goals.

The Grip Topz events utilize the same gauge that is used in the Euro Pinch Two Hands Pinch Lift event, which is set at 16.5 inches.

What is the Adjustable Thick Bar?

The Adjustable Thick Bar is a new item in the Grip Topz series, which is a thick bar handle. It is has multiple thick handles that will be used based upon the hand size of the competitor. This event tests Open Hand Strength on a round device. So it is not pure support strength (static finger strength), but rather a hybrid challenge combining support and thumb strength.

David Horne has a video demonstrating this lift:

What is the Stub Lift?

The Stub Lift is one of the items from the first Grip Topz series which was used in last year’s Worlds Strongest Hands 2011. The Stub Lift is a steel bar which juts out of a flat steel plate, which you must grip with your index finger and thumb and try to lift. This event tests Key Pinch, and surprisingly enough hits the wrist a bit as well.

As time allows, I will shoot some videos showing the various pieces of equipment in action, so that you can see them and understand them even better.

How to Buy Vulcan V2′s & Wrist Developers:

Many people have written in asking about when I would be getting more Vulcan V2′s, Wrist Developers, etc.

Now that the contest is announced and the events are official, I would like to know who is interested in getting a Vulcan V2 or Wrist Developer. Please leave a comment below or email me.

Wrist Developer Training Info: I released a DVD on how to train with the Wrist Developer in February. It has gotten lots of good feedback.

From: Frank Deluca: “Jedd – I watched the vid today and it is awesome. This is one of your best instructional videos in my opinion and I have bought many of yours. Nice job.”

From: Karl M. Skjelvik: “Great stuff, Jedd. I learned a lot on technique and different ways to train with the WD. Tomorrow is a training day, and I’m gonna try it out.”

If you want to kick ass in World’s Strongest Hands in the Wrist Developer, or if you simply want to improve how you perform on the WD in your own training, then this is the DVD for you – pick it up today by clicking the image below.

Again, if you need any other information, please leave a comment below, or feel free to email me or hit me up through Facebook or Twitter.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Crank Your Wrist Strength Up a Notch with the Wrist Developer DVD