Blob Training

Here in Wyalusing, PA, there has been some serious training going on.

This is the kind of stuff that will scare most people.

One point of focus for us has been working with the Blob. The Blob is a type of Block Weight, a weight or object shaped like a Block that you lift in a wide, open-handed, pinch grip.

Why Perform Block Weight Training?

Block Weight Training is an EXCEPTIONAL way to train the hands due to the wide open position it creates. This makes your whole lower arm work harder, especially the thumb, but the wide position also works the fingers and wrists thoroughly.

For more information on Block Weight Training, check out my ebook => Lift the Blob

Here are a few recent highlights from some of the Blob Training that has gone down.

50-lb Fatman Blob to 50cm with 60-second Time Limit

For the recently ended Grip Monsters Challenge, the challenge was to lift a 50-lb Blob to a 50-cm platform for as many repetitions as possible in 60 seconds. I did this a few times. I didn’t really hit my potential for what I can do in this though, because my left thumb had a nasty split in it for at least two of my sessions.

Luke Raymond Hits a Blob & 5-Tens Combo Feat

Luke has been challenging himself more and more with his grip training. Here, he takes a couple of solid attempts at lifting a 50-lb Fatman Blob, then he combines a 50-lb Next Generation Blob in one hand with 5-Tens loose pinch in the other hand.

Blob Lifting Terminology

In case you are not familiar with Blob Lifting terminology, here is a short list of key terms you should know:

Fatman Blob: The original style of York pill-shaped Blobs. These Blobs are a bit wider and have a more rounded edge than later models. Although seemingly a small detail, the additional slope makes lifting them quite a bit more difficult.

Next Generation Blob: The style of Blob York produced some time later, after the Blue Blob. The Blue Blob was slightly narrower and had less slope. The Next Gen had an even narrower profile and still less slope.

Loose Pinch: Pinching done with plates that are not supported in anyway, such as with a pipe. In the video above, 5-Tens Pinch (with smooth sides of outside plates facing outward) is an example of Loose Pinch.

Stay tuned for more clips on Blob Lifting.

If you are looking for tips on how to improve your Blob Lifting, be sure to check out my ebook, Lift the Blob.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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