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.

“Just wanted to let you know that your “things I taught Richard Sorin” videos

added a lot of strength to my left hand block weight training. Thanks man,

good stuff, simple yet very effective. Rick Giese”

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:

“Some good news – I picked up my 40lb blob today in both hands.

Something I couldn’t do until I signed up on your site. I’m also a lot

closer to closing my #3 COC.”

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

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.

If you’re interested in Grip Training, you are going to need a Loading Pin.

There’s just about no way around this fact.

These imperative items can be bought on-line easy enough and they will be shipped to your house within a few days.

The Ninja Star Tattoo left Mike’s Bank Account Punched Out

But if you are strapped for cash and broke worse than Mike Tyson, then you might need to pursue another option, because these things can be pretty expensive…

Grip Strength Tool: The Loading Pin

One of the tools that many people who train for Grip Strength routinely use is a Loading Pin. This is used in order to put the weight plates on and then it is connected with a carabiner or S-hook to whatever implement it is that you are using for that session.

There are many types of Grip Training Tools that use Loading Pins:

• Rolling Thunder Handles
• Hub Lift Devices
• Vertical Bar Devices
• Pinch Block Devices
• One Hand Lift Device

…And the list just goes on and on.

I literally have like 4 loading pins in my gym. Some of them ALWAYS have weight on them because I keep my warm-up weights for certain lifts, like the Rolling Thunder right on them.

Other Loading Pins get used for other specific purposes, such as loading pins of different heights that I use for changing the distance I pull.

Because Loading Pins are so important, I want to show you how to build your own loading pin for NOTHING compared to the prices often seen on-line.

Now, here’s the story behind this Loading Pin.

In March of this year, I released Home Made Strength II: Grip Strength Edition, which shows you exactly how to build your own set of Grip Training tools from scratch, and one of the items was a Loading Pin.

Hundreds of people gobbled up this On-line DVD (you download it to your system, kind of like Netflix, only you keep the video and can watch it whenever you want) and started making their own stuff and saved a bunch of money while also arming themselves with the tools they needed to turn their hands into legal weapons.

One guy who picked up the product and really took action building the stuff was Justin Burns. He went through the list of equipment like a windstorm and built most of it right away.

Then a few days after he bought HMS2, he emailed me and shared with me an even easier way to build your own loading pin.

I asked him if he’d be willing to share the plans with the Diesel Universe, and he wholeheartedly obliged. Check it out…

How to Build a Loading Pin

Equipment Needed to Build a Loading Pin

• 10 inch nipple (1.5 inches)
• 1.5inch cap
• 3/8 eye bolt
• 1.5 inch floor flange
• Steel epoxy

Tools Needed to Build a Loading Pin

• Hand drill
• 3/8 drill bit
• Pliers

Procedure for Building a Loading Pin

• 1)First thing you need to do is take the cap and find the center of it, then using your drill, make a 3/8 hole (if you have a vise this would be the best time to use it)
  

  Once that is done, take your eye bolt, put some of your steel epoxy on the threads and put the eye bolt through the cap, tightening the nut with your pliers to make the two pieces one unit

• 2) Take your 10 inch nipple and your floor flange and put the steel epoxy on the threads of the nipple and then twist the floor flange onto the nipple

  When that is done it will look like this:

  

• 3) Thread the two assembled components together and you’re done. You have yourself a loading pin no welding needed.
  

BAM! There you go, DIESELS.

It can’t get much easier than that. Now, if you don’t have a drill, then call around to your friends and find somebody that has one. Think of somebody who’s really handy and builds stuff a lot. This is a snap for them.

Go buy them a beer or bring them those video tapes you borrowed a while back and before you leave ask them if they can help you build a loading pin. Chances are they love building stuff so much they will jump at the ability to pull their tools out.

For more awesome ideas on how to build your own Grip Strength Training Arsenal, check out Home Made Strength 2 – Grip Strength Edition.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

After three long months, World’s Strongest Hands Series 2011 is complete.

In case you are not familiar with WSH, it started in 2010 with a 4-leg series of contests for a cumulative score. This year was the second time it was held, and there were three Legs you could attend to accumulate as high of a score as possible.

The Legs were held on August 16, September 11, and October 8 and on each leg there were 4 events. The Vulcan Gripper and the Two Hands Pinch were held on each leg and then each event was rounded out by two out of three possible Grip Topz apparatus, the Shallow Hub, the Stub, and the Half Penny.

After the dust settled, I am proud as hell to be able to say that I finished number 5 in the Open Class (over 82.5 kg bodyweight). This was a complete surprise to me, as my first two legs went very poorly, especially in the Two Hands Pinch, due to extremely humid conditions, and my standing going into Leg 3 was down around number 10.

Here are the top 5 in the Open and Light Classes:

At Leg 3, the events were Vulcan Gripper, Two Hands Pinch, Hub and Stub. Below are write-ups and video clips from each event.

Vulcan Gripper

Going into Leg 3, my top close in competition and in training was Level 17, but with the fortune of a good quick set on my third attempt I was able to hit an all-time best PR on the Silver / Black Dip Spring with a Level 18 close.

Below, is a quick video of several of the attempts from all of the competitors. Take note, as you watch the video and you will see, Jim Storch, USAW-certified Olympic lifting coach, competing in his first ever Grip Contest after many years of competition in Olympic Lifting and Powerlifting.

Two Hands Pinch

At Leg 1 and 2, the humidity conditions were repulsive for the Two Hands Pinch event. At Leg 1, I had forgotten to run the dehumidifier and at Leg 2 I ran it but it was so hot out and with so many people in such a small place, the Pinch Plates felt soupy.

I vowed there would be no humidity issues for Leg 3!

Prior to the Pinch event, we assessed the inside feel versus the outside feel and with a slight breeze and comfortable temperature, we decided to open the garage doors. Soon, the Two Hands Pinch device began to feel like its old self.

Instead of grabbing it and thinking you were trying to pick up a freshly caught Pickerel, it felt gritty and rough like so many contests of the past where the Pinch Gods looked down on me and smiled.

After the coin flip to see whether 54-mil or 58-mil would be contested first on the Pinch, we got started. The 54-mil group went first and many guys put up their first ever numbers on the European Adjustable Pinch device. One athlete, Sean Kovacic, traveling from Ontario Canada, got his first taste of Pinch Pr and Pinch Pain, as he posted a personal best, while also watching the apparatus slip out of his hands with absolutely no warning at all.

Soon, it was time for the 58-mil group. I chose to take part in this group for the first time ever, since my first competition on the 2HP since 2005. Shortly after Leg 2, I saw in training that 54-mil just was not feeling right. Testing out 58-mil brought about numbers about 20-lbs higher, so I continued training on it for the next several weeks, one time posting a legal lift in training of 240+ lbs which general means I am good for well over 250-lbs in competition.

For my first attempt, just to be safe and make sure I got on the board, I started out light at 235-lbs. That familiar feeling of radiant tension pulsating through my body as I compressed into the Pinch and continuing as I levered it up through action at the hips came back and I knew it was going to be a good day. I immediately requested 15 more pounds for my second attempt and 250-lbs felt just as good as I brought the Euro up to the target bar and controlled it back to the floor.

On that pull however, I had something happen that I have never had happen on the Two Hands Pinch before – I ripped the seat of my pants out. I opted not to change them, figuring that the rip would not phase me on my second try. A new record-weight of 265-lbs exactly was loaded on the device and I made my way to the platform. However, upon lifting the implement clear of the ground, I heard another loud rrrrrrrrrrrriiip, which slightly threw me off and the massive 265 came crashing back to the ground.

Now it was time for re-grouping. Now it was time for a wardrobe change. I sprinted from the gym, through the lower level of my mansion, up the many flights of stairs and up to my dressing room. There, my hair stylist was taking in some Angry Birds on her Smart Phone. I asked her to leave so that I could change into some sweats and she took off, flinging yellow birds at green pigs.

Now, when it comes to competition attire, my friends, I do not take things lightly. The shorts I was wearing that ripped were the off-white cargo pants that I was wearing in June when I went to Sorinex and in July when I set the record at 120-kilos. These dockers have become rather special to me, so in losing them to a wardrobe malfunction, I knew I had to choose wisely the pair of shorts or pants that I would go into battle with for my last attempt.

I knew there could be no other pair of competition pants to choose than my amazing fleece sweat pants which I was wearing when I first broke the record in 2009 and when I broke it again last year at World’s Strongest Hands 2010 Leg 4.

After pulling on these loyal threads, I took a breath to mentally prepare, told my hair stylist she could come back to her table, and marched back down stairs to the Den of Iron where I would make my final attempt.

As you can see, I came very close to completing the lift. I have watched this clip over and over and the only technical flaw I can pick out is that my speed to the cross-bar slowed tremendously. This tells me I need to do more speed work in my training, which is one of the things that has helped me tremendously over the years. In fact, I show a lot of this speed work in my DVD, The Road to the Record. It’s amazing that the same handful of tactics have continued to pay off for so many years.

Below are some of the attempts that I got on film of the other competitors. As you will see, the Two Hands Pinch is one of the most exciting events, and one that the crowd often gets the most crazy about.

You’ll also see, above, Daniel Reinard set the first of his World Records of the day for his weight class, 82.5-kg and under.

Shallow Hub

The next lift was the Shallow Hub, which is one of the Grip Topz. Normally Hub Lifting is a weakness for me, but with this device I have had some pretty outstanding results. I have been able to move my numbers up at each leg, and I even took a shot at the World Record on this lift, although I did not get it.

Daniel Reinard, from San Francisco, actually set a new World Record in this lift in the 82.5-kg and under class as well.

Stub

Testing Key Pinch, an ultra narrow form of pinching where the thumb squeezes against side of the index finger, the Stub is a piece of +/- 5/16″ steel roughly 1.5 inches long. It is very difficult to get a grip onto, but I think I have figured it out, as I showed my members at The Grip Authority, when I first started training heavily with them.

As you can tell, Leg 3 of WSH was an awesome experience. With the conditions nearly perfect for both humidity and temperature on a normally unpredictable Fall Day, many competitors were able to set new PR’s on multiple events.

For me, the next competition will be December 10th, 2011, at the Gripmas Carol in Zanesville Ohio. I have already begun training specifically for the event, and am ratcheting the intensity of my Two Hands Pinch training up a couple of notches because I am gunning to move the record up again, since I will not have the pressure of having to run the contest to any degree, like with WSH.

Also, I plan on continuing my focus on Gripper training for the next couple of weeks as I would like to have another go at the MM3, which I am all paid up for but have not tried since November of 2009, I believe.

If you competed at World’s Strongest Hands, share your experience in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. Check back later in the week for more video clips of some additional feat of strength challenges that we tried later on following the event!

P.P.S. The methods I used to break the record on the Two hands Pinch have continued to work over the years. If you want to jack up your thumb strength and get your own run for the record started, check out this documentary and employ the techniques yourself!

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

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