Fatman Blobs & Next Generation Blobs

As I have covered here many times in other posts, the Blob is one of the most exciting types of Block Weights available with which to train.

Popularity + Scarcity = Big $$$

Their popularity growth, combined with their scarcity, has generated some pretty amazing prices in recent transactions that I have become aware of.

Unfortunately, any time you have something with a training benefit, and a collector’s value, there will be people who will do one of the following things:

1. They will claim to have something they don’t and try to charge too much money on purpose

2. They will think they have something they actually don’t and charge too much money by accident

I have heard of cases where people were told they would be buying a Fatman Blob, but in actuality, they end up with a Next Generation Blob and are extremely pissed off.

I have also been asked countless times what the difference is between a Fatman Blob and a Next Generation Blob. So I put together this short and simple video that will show you the easiest way to tell whether or not the dumbbell in question is an old York that will produce Fatman Blobs or Next Generation Blobs.

How to Tell the Difference Between Fatman and Next Generation Blobs

This is the absolute quickest way to tell if a York Dumbbell is the original style (Fatman) or the Next Generation variety – the USA stamping on the York head. If you see it, it’s NOT a FATMAN!. If it is blank on that side, the it is a FATMAN.

The numbered side means nothing. The number side will not have the stamp, so if you are thinking of making a purchase, this is the quickest way to tell.

Aside from the USA stamp, there is also a difference in handle size that if you have a micrometer, you can check for. The Original Style Fatman York Dumbbells will have a handle that is roughly 1/16″ smaller in diameter than the Next Generation Blobs. So, if you have a tape measure handy, you can check this way as well.

If you have no tape measure, and the York side is not present, it is going to be tough for you to tell which type of Blob it is. The only other way to really go about doing it is by feel. On the Next Generation Blob, the side of the Blob that had the handle in it will be a bit flatter than that same side of a Fatman. This is why the Original Style Blob is called the Fatman, because it bulges more than the Next Generation Blob.

There is also an even more rare type of Blob out there, called the Blue Blob. I have only ever seen one of these at Richard Sorin’s Srinex Facility. It is an obvious blue shade, so there is no reason to turn this dumbbell over to look.

So, in review, this is what to look for:

1. On the York side, if it says USA on the bottom, it is Next generation. No USA, then it is an Original-style Fatman Blob.

2. If the handle side is slightly smaller than another Blob of the same weight, it is most likely the Fatman variety.

3. If the handle side of the head bulges more, the it is a Fatman.

I hope this has been helpful for you to tell exactly what it is you might have, and also in case you are posed with a possible purchase sometime down the line.

Got a Blob?

Got a Fatman, Blue Blob, or Next generation Blob? I want to do a post down the line called Blobs Around the World! Get a picture of yourself lifting the Blob, just holding the Blob, your Blob collection, etc., and I will post it up here.

Send me your pictures by February 28th and I will have the post up the week of March 5th. Also include a 100-word description or so telling us how you got your Blob and any other cool training stories.

Thanks and all the best in your training.

Jedd

Similar Posts:

• 39 Reps with the 50-lb Blob
• Grip Strength Training – Block Weight Lifting
• Grip Training: The Fatman Clone Block Weight
• Misses are Just Warm-ups – Part Two
• Double Blob Farmers Walk

The only pic I can find of my buddy Rick: Rick Walker, Don Pope, and Napalm

On this awesome day in DIESEL history, Smitty and I went to Rick Walker’s place the day before the Arnold Classic. We were going in order to attend an event called Night of Strength, sponsored by Atomic Athletic. We had no idea what to expect at Night of Strength, so we hit stuff hard at Rick’s.

We didn’t realize that Night of Strength would end up being the biggest 3 hours of Grip and Bending ever known to man.

I distinctly remember the pain in my left hand from carpal bone misalignment was killing me by the end of this session. I still get this pain occasionally, but I know how to fix it now, so it doesn’t affect my training. Also, from all the wide pinching, both of my thumbs were throbbing and wanting to fall off. They were so tired I don’t think i could have hitch-hiked a ride home if my life depended on it, but it was worth it to enjoy the day with good friends and train grip hard.

We did so much Volume on this day that by the time Night of Strength rolled around the next night, I was destroyed. I distinctly remember failing miserably over and over on the Original Fatman Blob repeatedly while watch guys like Sean Dockery bust it off the floor repeatedly. It’s hard to believe it would be over 7 years until I would take a try again at the Fatman.

So here is the video. The music is by Systematic and it is called “Beginning of the End.” They had an album that came out in like 2000 or something like that. I saw them open for Cold, Stain’d and Godsmack and picked up a two-song disk with this and the song, “Dopesick” on it and played like every day for like 6 weeks.

Tim Narducci in the Captain Morghan Pose

I remember the lead singer, Tim Narducci, looked about 7 feet tall with a big bald head and played the entire set with his foot up on an amp, sort of like Captain Morgan. Dude looked so freakin big I bet he could lift the Inch Dumbbell.

Back to the video… Let’s look at some of the stuff you are going to see:

• Lots of failures on the Inch Dumbbell – horrible, embarrassing failures
• Lots of stuff with Five Tens – both loose and with a loading pin
• a little bit of Six Tens – hideous failures and loading pin lifts
• 8 Fives (I think we were the first ones to do this because at the time there was debate as to whether it was even possible)
• 37.5-lb Blob – Not sure why I put that in the video
• 50-lb Next Generation Blob – Rick and I made this thing look like a little bitch
• Two-35′s Pinch (tried doing a clean lefty – my left hand was a better pinching hand at the time, but I had epicondylitis so bad in my forearm that I just could not make the clean happen)
• Double Anvil Step-ups (each about 110 to 120-lbs)
• Windmill Lift where I anyhow’d a barbell with about 100-lbs overhead and then reached down and picked up a Blob

Most of the feats in the video are marked, but if there’s anything I missed, just leave a comment below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

• DIfference Between Blob Types
• Grip Training: The Fatman Clone Block Weight
• Grip Strength Training – Block Weight Lifting
• 39 Reps with the 50-lb Blob
• Hope – from a Coach

Maybe one of the best things about a grip contest is the post-contest feats of strength challenges.

It can be rare enough finding someone in your area that shares the interest in grip training that you have – it can be even more rare that the person is at or near your level and can push you.

However, I know anytime I hold or travel to a contest, I will always get the chance to try new things and challenge myself in ways I have never been before.

After Leg 3 of World’s Strongest Hands, we all got a chance to relax and try a few feats.

First off, let me go over some of the things and people you are going to see in this video:

1. Daniel Reinard – This dude is a pure friggin’ monster at Grip. He is in the light weight class (under 82.5-kg). His genetics may indeed hold him back from getting up to 250+ in the future, but if he were to focus on diet differently and change some focus in his training (he is a climber) I can see him getting up to 220 and beating us all! I the videos from Leg 3 of World’s Strongest Hands you’ll see he set a couple of world records, both on the Two Hands Pinch and the Shallow Hub Lift.

2. Mike Rinderle – This guy is just the opposite. Instead of putting weight on, Rindo is peeling it off with some wiser food choices and activity level changes. Now, he is not doing extra cardio. No, instead he is embarking on an all-out steel bending marathon of back-to-back bending days and not only bending some of the hardest horseshoes on documentation, but also various other bending feats and showing that high-level feat of strength training not only burns calories but also has the ability to improve Grip Strength. He is the only guy that had a consistent Two Hands Pinch throughout the three Legs of WSH here at my place, getting in the high 180′s each time if memory serves, and taking an extra lift on something very close to 200-lbs. He maintained this consistency regardless of the moisture conditions at each leg AND with very little specific Grip Training – remember, pretty much all this sick freak does is bend stuff.

3. John Eaton – Made the trip down from Cuyler, NY. John has some of the most naturally strong hands on the East Coast and I have no doubt would beat me in most competitions if he were more dedicated. By training more consistently, he could bring up his weaknesses. He is right with me in Grippers, which seems to be the only thing he has trained. Also, after several years in grip, he still has work to do on his technique. He increased his pinch by about 10-lbs with a simple tension trick I covered with him. Practicing little things like these could make him a force to be reckoned with in the coming Grip Season. He also was able to pull off a feat with the Fatman Blob that I still to this day can not do and it is really starting to piss me off!

4. Bob Sundin – Bob actually passed out during his last attempt on the Vulcan Gripper, the first event of the competition. This episode really had an effect on him, obviously affecting his performance on each of the three following events, but Bob did not complain at all, he just kept chugging forward with a good attitude and supporting each of us at the competition. Bob was finally able to clear the cobwebs once the feats of strength took place, and it was good to see him get involved and show some of the things he was capable of.

5. Sean Kovacic – Sean is one of my subscribers at TheGripAuthority. He is still new to the sport of grip but go some excellent experience on the events and is more knowledgeable of the strategy that goes on during a grip contest now. He also got involved a bit with the feats and said he readily enjoyed himself at the event.

6. Jim Storch – My buddy from New York State. I have trained with him dozens of times. He couldn’t stick around for the feats, but I am confident he will be able to do well if he sticks with it. He has ordered a Vulcan and is dying to find out more.

Feats of Grip Strength Videos

Blob plus Weight

The first feat we all did was a challenge that Reinard and I came up with several weeks ago on the Gripboard – a Blob Plus Weight Max Lift. We took a Next Generation Blob and added weight to it by use of small weight plates and either thin, strong rope or high quality boot strings.

I eventually won the challenge with a lift of the Blob plus 20 Pounds.

The Glob

The Glob is half of a 60-lb Globe Dumbbell. read about it here: The Diesel Glob. It has proven to be a pretty hard feat. Until Leg 3, I was the only person that has ever lifted it that I know of. Not anymore…

I was trying to do a strict side lateral, but there was quite a bit of momentum involved. This is the first time I tried lifting this after I’d already been hitting other stuff hard and it actually felt a lot easier, maybe because my hands were more limbered up.

Fatman Blob Face Lift

The Face Lift of the Fatman Blob (lifting it while turned on its side) has long evaded me, but i was able to get it pretty easy on this day…

Fatman Blob Scoop

…however one feat I still can not fathom is the Scoop. Eaton does it with ease and I can not figure it out. I must be doing something wrong. It is crazy how just a slight variation of a lift can become so much harder for one person and so much easier for another (Eaton can not Facelift the Fatman).

Fails and Trash Talking

And of course, as always it is fun to talk some serious smack to one another, pick on people when they fail and poke fun at people when they act like tough guys and then struggle with the feat they are so flamboyant about.

Grip Contests are great times. Not only for the competition, but also for the comraderie. Grip Get-togethers are much the same as well. If you guys ever get the chance to go to one, I seriously encourage you to go.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

• First Blobs. Now Globs? WTF???
• DIfference Between Blob Types
• Double Blob Farmers Walk
• Grip Nationals
• 39 Reps with the 50-lb Blob

After learning about this, Blob and Block Weight lifting have been the most fun types of training I have done over the course of the last almost ten years.

Block Weights

Block Weights, by definition, are any block-shaped weight that can be used for wide open hand pinch training. Here are a few types of Block Weights:

• Blobs (Fatmans, Next Gen’s, Legacy’s, Blob50′s, etc)
• Dumbbell Heads (severed, broken or cut heads of a dumbbell, especially Hex Blocks)
• Chunks (pieces of iron, steel or stone that are shaped like Blobs/Block Weights)
• Globs (dumbbell heads from globe-shaped dumbbells)
• Scale Weights (block-shaped weights with handles used in industry for calibrating scales)
• Weight Plates (somehow attached to form a solid structure, i.e. 6-tens duct taped together)
• Dumbbells (inverted and lifted by the ends)

To illustrate some of these types of Block Weights, aside from just York Blob implements, check out the following video.

My Block Weight Collection (circa Sept. 2009)

As Original-style Fatman Blobs and Next Generation Blobs become harder and harder to find, it has become much more common to see people training their wide open hand pinch with other types of Block Weights, especially Hex Blocks.

Since making the above video, I have continued to expand my Block Weight collection.

I recently expanded my collection once again, adding another half 120-lb dumbbell Hex Block. This one was sent to me by a pro wrestler named PITT from the Carolina region. You have seen PITT before. He has submitted many videos for the Diesel Grip Strength Challenge.

The new Hex Block came in this week. So I immediately attacked it and applied Napalm Theory #1 to it – MISSES ARE JUST WARM-UPS.

Half 120-lb Hex Block Lift

Here’s a funny story – PITT sent this to me in a Flat Rate Box, but he emailed me and told me that just in case the mailer box broke, he first encased the Block in an old car battery box with a note on it, saying “If found, deliver to Jedd Johnson, the guy with the coolest beard in Grip,” or something along those lines.

Sure enough, the only thing I received was the car battery box, the note, and the Block Weight. Had he not put it in the internal box with extra duct tape and the note, I might never have gotten this block weight, so make sure you do something similar if you plan on shipping anything heavy like this in the future.

I plan on continuing to expand my Blob and Block Weight collection. I am on the look-out for my own Original Style Fatman Blob, more Hexes as they come, chunks, and I also really want to start getting more Hex Head Dumbbells to pinch by the head, inverted style. I find some of these to be even tougher to Pinch Lift than some cut-off hex-head block weights.

If you get the opportunity to add Block Weights to your collection, DO IT. This type of training is beneficial for open hand grip strength, regardless of whether it is a York, Hex, or other piece.

Also, if you have any cool Block Weights in your collection, I’d love to see them. Take some pics or upload a video to YouTube and send it to me with a write-up.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Sign up for Grip Strength Training Tips and a Free 8-Week Grip Training Program:

• The Simplest Form of Block Weight Training
• Grip Training: The Fatman Clone Block Weight
• DIfference Between Blob Types
• 39 Reps with the 50-lb Blob
• Wild Card Qualifier – Two Hands Pinch

Hello DIESELS!

Earlier this week, I posted a video of myself doing my second ever Double Inch Dumbbell Deadlift, and first one I was able to get on film. (Thanks to everyone who dropped a comment of congratulations!)

What I wanted to do was cover a few things that I have been doing to work towards developing the grip strength to do this feat after so many years of training on the Inch.

Sometimes when you work on something for years, you can get complacent, which I think I have been doing for a while, but by thinking outside the box and using some OUTLAW strategies, I am starting to see progress I am happy with.

I have really been wanting to do this feat for quite some time and last Winter I really started working my ass off to get it done. I implemented the following things on a routine basis to spend more time in the open hand position.

1. Nearly All Pull-ups on Rolling Thunders, Often with Weight Added

I generally do pull-ups every single week on my back days, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to work in more open-handed training.

Remember, the SAID principle, which is used in the Strength and Conditioning Field…

Specific
Adaptations
(to)
Imposed
Demands

What this means is your body will get better doing at what you throw at it. Since, the Inch Dumbbell is a thick bar implement, there is open hand grip strength cross-over from using RT’s for pull-ups.

Normally, I do pull-ups on RT’s in the rep-range of 8 to 12 reps, but I don’t have any of those video, so I posted this clip where I do a single with a 95-lb KB hanging from my waist.

2. Lots of Suitcase Inch Dumbbell Lifts

There are three main ways to pick up the Inch Dumbbell: Straddled with the wrist in neutral, Straddled with the wrist pronated, and Suitcase-style, positioned outside the feet. For me, Straddled + Neutral is the easiest way for me to lift the Inch, Straddled + Pronated lies in the middle and I historically STRUGGLE to even lift it.

Since a Farmer’s Walk with the Inch Dumbbell would require picking the dumbbells up in a Suitcase Position, I have been doing a lot of work lifting the Inch outside my body.

Here is a clip from video where I was just plain dominating the Suitcase Deadlift with the Inch Dumbbell.

3. Inch Dumbbell Hustle Lifts

The last thing I have been doing a lot of recently is what I call Hustles. I started doing these primarily because I wanted to develop the grip strength necessary to be able to lift the Inch in a hurry for medleys. I found very quickly that this method left my fingers and thumb MUCH more tired the next day, so I have continued doing them.

You might be asking yourself…

How Do I Apply This Information to My Training?

Most of you do not have an Inch Dumbbell Replica so you may be wondering how this can be applied to your training. Let me explain a few ways.

1. Try incorporating your goal implement or something very similar into other methods of your training. For instance, if your goal is to develop the hand strength to pinch two 45′s, you could try performing rows or shrugs while pinching something of a similar size (SAID Principle)

2. Try modifying the position from which you lift the implement. If you are working toward developing the grip strength to lift the Blob, then take note of how you usually set up to make your attempts. You can move the Blob outside of your body, like a Suitcase Deadlift, or you could change the distance you pull the implement, among other position changes.

3. Try working with a less-than-optimal set-up. Normally when I lift the Inch, I make sure to synch my grip in tight. By not doing this, it make the lift a small percentage more difficult. This can be applied to any grip strength feats, even Grippers. Don’t take the time to get the set perfect every time. Rush it a bit or even purposely leave a finger off…

These tactics have all seemed to work pretty well for me. They represent the great majority of work I have done to improve performance on the Inch.

If you want to build your own Loadable Thick Bar Handle, I can show you how to make one for about $7 or so. Just check out my On-line DVD, Home Made Strength II and I will show you how to build your own grip equipment. It will take you about 20 minutes to put together and you can be training on it this weekend.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Similar Posts:

• Making Hard Feats Look Easy – The Inch Dumbbell
• Bi-Polar Training: Inch Dumbbell Plus Kettlebell Flip
• Home Made Equipment to Help Lift the Inch Dumbbell
• Most Popular Videos of 2011 – Part 2
• This Week’s Challenge – Sledge Hammer Deadlift