Plate Pinching is one of the main forms of testing Pinch Grip Strength. Plate Pinching involves placing two or more plates together so that the outside plates are facing smooth-sides-out, and then lifting them in a Pinch Grip.

I’ve always wanted to be able to Pinch Two 45-lb York Plates. I’ve pinched several sets of 45-lb plates over the years, but pinching two old-school York 45′s is a feat altogether different.

I only know of two Grip Monsters who have ever pinched two old-style York 45-lb plates with one. One is Richard Sorin, shown to the right. I can only imagine how many times he had to pull the feat off so the camera man could get the shot right.

Richard Sorin is probably the only man with a great enough love for strength exploration and pushing ones own limits to even try this feat. If you’ll remember, he is also the originator of the feat of strength and definitive test of open hand strength, pinch grip lifting the Blob, which is a half of a 100-lb Old School York Dumbbell. I have tons of information on that feat of strength here on the site as well if you are a newcomer: What is the Blob?

Aside from Richard, I only know of Chad Woodall as someone who has accomplished this feat.

Slide this video to the 3:00 minute mark and watch Chad stomp a mud hole in two York 45′s:

I watched him do that again at the Sorinex Summer Strong 2011, and almost got it with a pair in each hand on one attempt. He would have been the first person any of us know of to have accomplished that feat, and he was seriously close that day:

So the way I figure it, it is time for someone else to accomplish this feat, so I have put aside all of my other personal grip feat goals and am going to be focusing on this one.

To me, this is a good goal to focus on for many reasons:

1. It is a Pinching Goal, so it will support my other goals within Grip Sport, including the Euro Two Hands Pinch, Grip Medley Demands, etc

2. It is a lofty goal, meaning I feel I am nowhere close to it right now, so it will force me to think, work, and try new things, i.e. Further Challenge My Paradigms.

3. It is Wide Pinch and Open Hand Dependent, which means it involves the same qualities as Block Weight Training, and the same benefits for general hand strength as well.

The long and the short of it is that this feat is world class and I want to do it. Grip Feats are cool, especially when almost no one else in the world can do them.

So, in order to keep myself going on this, I wanted to involve someone else. Daniel Reinard, one of the most impressive newcomers to Grip Sport in the last 5 years in my estimation, is a superstar when it comes to accomplishing feats. For his bodyweight, he just may have the best all-around Pinching ability in the world, so I did what anyone else would have done in my position.

I called him out…politely of course, after all I am a Pennsylvania Gentleman.

Aside from knowing that I want to Pinch Two 45′s so bad I can taste the rust on the old ass plates, I also know that Daniel has his eyes set on pinching two 45′s as well, so I reached out to him to see if he would be interested in an on-line challenge. His goal would be to Pinch Two Regular 45′s – mine would be to Pinch Two Old School York 45′s.

Daniel has accepted, so I went ahead and made this video to show where I am at with this challenge.

As you can see, these Two OSY (Old School York) 45′s barely even stir when I hit them, so this is sure to be an interesting ride. These are so hard to lift because they are very wide and their edges are rounded so any tilting, which would generally make pinching two 45′s easier, makes OSY 45′s slide apart.

Incidentally, in the video above, I have a small section of pipe running through the plates, to keep them from sliding around. I will focus on lifting them like this first, and then graduate to a completely loose pinch of them.

Wish me luck and make sure to subscribe to my channel to see how the training goes.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Similar Posts:

• 39 Reps with the 50-lb Blob
• Diesel Grip Challenge: Week 10
• Double Blob Farmers Walk
• Iron Master Nomination – Richard Sorin
• Woodall Grip Highlights

By Josh Mac (
Youtube Channel: Rox31313)

Hello Diesels!

In the long standing tradition of competition, the gauntlet has been thrown down once again! This grip challenge is called the Triple-Double Hub and it wont take you long to figure out why!

This one is a plate hub lift, so it makes it easier on those who don’t have a griptopz or Ironmind hub and loading pin. “What’s a hub lift?” you probably are asking.

HUB LIFTING:

The act of making gravity your bitch as you maliciously rip a steel plate from the earth by the most vulnerable part of its anatomy, its hub. Grabbing a plate by it’s nipple isn’t just a sure fire way to get noticed at your big box gym by the mirror screamers (and management), it’s also a terrific way to tax the thumb and all of the fingers.

The benefits of this lift aren’t just movie star good looks and major sex appeal. Strong hands and flanges pay dividends in the kitchen when you wife barks orders at you to open jars, or giving absolutely DEVASTATING purple-nurples, or turning door knobs with violent authority or simply holding on for dear life as Sylvester Stallone dangles you from a steel wire over an open chasm. Smooth move Gabe Walker!

The challenge won’t JUST be completing the feat, but will be judged by the heaviest plate used. Think you’ve got what it takes? Alright, lets get into it!

First, the Triple:

This refers to the three elite grip feats that are performed. They are:
1. The hand to hand transfer (lifting the plate from the floor with one hand and tossing it to the other using only its hub)
2. The hub curl (curling the plate by its hub)
3. The hub clean (lifting the plate by the hub from below the KNEES to above the head)

Now, the double:
DOING IT WITH BOTH HANDS WITHOUT PUTTING THE PLATE DOWN!!!!

Kinda like this:

This just got REAL!

Rules

-Must film plate and the weight must be visible
-No tacky or spray adhesives. (Chalk is allowed)
-Plate must not touch the ground until all 6 feats are completed.
-Lifter may not allow plate to rest on any part of the body during the lift for leverage.
-Lifter is judged by weight plate used. (10, 25,35,45 or kg plates)
-Magnet weights (like platemates) can be used to increase the weight.
- The feat can be done in whatever order the lifter wants, so long as each hand performs all three lifts without putting the plate down or letting it rest on any part of the body.
-Event is NOT timed, but in the event of a tie the faster time would obviously win.
-Video submissions should have the title: “DieselCrew Triple-Double Hub lift challenge”
-Video description must contain: http://www.dieselcrew.com/grip-strength-hub-lifting-pinch-grip

*Completion of the 6 feats certifies you as a bon-a-fide BAD ASS in my book (“My book” is imaginary and its contents can’t be verified.)

Let’s get as many submissions as we can on this. I don’t care if it’s a 5# plate, this ain’t easy!

Special thanks to Jedd for allowing me to concoct this evil feat and share it here with his readers and also for motivating me to get into grip. His weekly challenges got me off my ass and into the gym to try thing I had never heard of, and also put me in touch with others like me all over the country.

Also shout out to Jason English (Youtube channel: BigJsExtremeFitness ) for the inspiration behind this challenge.

If you haven’t seen his channel yet, get on it. This guy either knows it, invented it or forgot it and he’s been hitting grip with Paul Knight down in Texas. Speaking of Texas, He’s hosting a HUGE Grip/Powerlifting/strongman/bodybuilding/figure Expo in Red Oak, TX At Brookshires starting at 9AM on April 28th 2012. Video’s, posters, t-shirts will be available for purchase and as many sick GRIP feats as your eyeballs can handle! You’ve been warned!

Good luck, Get the video’s in!!!!!!!!

Josh Mac
Youtube: Rox31313

• Grip Strength Challenge – One Hand / Arm Deadlift
• RKC Board of Advisors
• Dynamic Pinch Grip Training
• Misses are Just Warm-ups – Part Two
• Build Sick Strong Thumbs – Diesel Grip Challenge Week 13

You’ve heard the expression, “They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.”

York Dumbbells, with their pull-shaped heads, resemble that remark very well, but many do not realize that it also describes some of their styles of lifting plates as well.

Multiple times over the last few weeks I have been contacted regarding the thickness of York Barbell plates. York plates are a popular style of plate, especially the older vintage designs.

Some of those who have contacted me live overseas and have not had the opportunity to purchase or train with York plates, so they wanted to know the thickness of pairs of the plates in order to be able to craft pinching blocks of the proper thickness in order to train for lifting them.

So, I went down to the gym this weekend and captured on film the size of a pair of 25′s and a pair of 45′s for those interested in this kind of information.

In this video you will see the measurements of the York Barbell 25- and 45-lb plates I have in my gym.

While I am at it, I thought I’d make mention of a couple of other traits about York barbell plates, especially how they relate to Grip Training.

York 25 Pound Plates

I have 4 York 25-lb plates. Of them, 3 have very heavy machining marks on the flat sides, while 1 is almost devoid of machining. Of all of the 25-lb plates that I own, the Yorks are by far the thinnest. I did not get the thickness of some of the other styles of 25′s I have, but there is a substantial difference. This difference in size and the texture of the machining on the plates combine to make a tremendous difference in difficulty between them when trying to pinch lift them.

For instance, a common for of Grip Training is Plate Pinching. This involves positioning 2 or more plates together so that their smooth sides point out. You then place your thumb on one side and the fingers on the other in a pinching grip and try to deadlift them.

You can perform Plate Pinching with pretty much any combination of plates. From pairs of plates like 2-10′s, 2-25′s, 2-35′s, and up to 2-45′s. If you can pinch two 45′s, be proud. Be damn proud.

Of course, you can also try other plate combinations, such as 3-25′s. This is a pretty elite Pinch Feat. However, with York 25′s, at least with the 25′s that I have, the texture on the plates is so prominent, I would estimate it reduces the impressiveness of the feat by at least 15% to 20%. The machining, plus the rust from use over time just gives you a better grip on the plates, not to mention how narrow they are. If you are close to pinching 3-25′s on wider and slicker plates, I bet you could probably pinch grip a set of 3-25′s from York, especially if they look like mine.

York 45 Pound Plates

As I said above, you should be proud of your pinching power if you can pinch two 45-lb plates with one hand. This is a hell of a feat of Pinching Strength. There are two main reasons why pinching 2-45′s from York Barbell is so awesome.

First off, York 45′s are much wider than two 45-pound plates from other companies’. I have combinations of 45′s where 3 of them are roughly the same size as two of the York 45-pounders. Width in pinching can make a pretty substantial difference because it requires the thumb to do a lot more work. Often, Gripsters have a sort of “sweet spot” that they they like for pinching. Narrower than that sweet spot is usually ok, because they can deal with it and their numbers don’t suffer too much, but get out wider and the numbers can really plummet, especially in one-hand lifts.

The other factor that makes two York 45′s so hard to pinch is the rounded edges of the rims of the plates. Because these points are not squared off, when you try to pinch them together, they automatically want to slide if the plates are tilted even just a few degrees. Once they start sliding, it is over and by tilting plates slightly you can engage more wrist and fingers in the lift and take some pressure off the thumbs. This is not an option when using two York 45′s.

So, as you can see, York barbell plates are a different style of plate altogether, presenting additional challenges in some ways while being easier in other ways, but regardless of the advantages/disadvantages they are still a prized possession for many people, myself included.

Got more questions? I’ll shoot a video or answer it in my newsletter. Make sure to sign up for updates today.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

The Card Tearing eBook

Build the Hand Strength to Shred Entire Decks of Cards – Click Above

• New Personal Goal and On-line Challenge
• Smooth Sides Out, Dan!
• Dynamic Pinch Grip Training
• This Week’s Grip Challenge: Plate Curl for Reps
• Muscle Building Strength Training Exercises

Last week I was able to pull a solid deadlift and even got a good pause at the top before the bells overtook my thumb and ripped the Inch out of my hands…

I recorded some of the tools and methods I have been using to bring my thick bar strength up when I wrote about the double inch dumbbell deadlift last week.

The methods I covered in that post involved solely use of the Inch Dumbbell itself, however that is not all that I have been doing on a regular basis. I have also been using two pieces of training equipment, which I am sure you have heard about – Fat Gripz and Grip 4orce Handles, quite frequently.

Until now, of the two tools listed above, Fat Gripz has probably gotten much more notoriety, but I think that the Grip 4orce handles are going to get more attention very soon.

First off, I want to say right off the bat that I like both of these handles. They both go on and off dumbbells or barbells so quickly that they add next to no time to your workout. You can literally put them on and perform a set of one lift and then pull them off and put them on something else for a superset / giant set

However, I feel the Grip 4orce handles are equally impressive, but in a different way. I see them particularly powerful tools for building thumb strength.

So I probably just lost you right? You’re probably thinking, “How can a thick bar trainer help with thumb strength?”

Well, here is why Grip 4orce builds thumb strength…

When you put the Grip 4orce handles onto dumbbells and curl them, in order to keep them on the handles, you have to squeeze not only your fingers tightly, but also the thumbs must fire throughout the range of motion and continue to adjust pressure in order to keep the G4‘s secured on the dumbbell handle.

What People Don’t Realize about Thick Bar Training

What many people do not realize about thick bar work is it actually requires a substantial amount of thumb activity, especially if you do not flex the wrist while you perform the thick-bar lift.

In other words, when you lift a thick bar, such as an axle, in a double overhand grip, if you keep your wrist in extension, you will have to apply pinching strength onto the bar in order to lift it. If you flex your wrist more, then you shift the emphasis more to the wrist and forearm flexors, and also more on the fingers and less toward the thumbs.

The same is true for lifting the inch dumbbell. If you goose-neck your wrist (if I do this, I get a terrible pain in my wrist and have for years) the thumb does not come into play.

However, if you have your wrist in extension when you lift the inch dumbbell, then you essentially have to “Pinch the Inch” in order to lift it.

Pinching the Inch

This is how I have done it for years – I Pinch the Inch Dumbbell in order to lift it because if I flex my wrist to take emphasis away from my thumb it hurts immensely, almost like an electrical shock through my wrist.

This is also why it is even tougher for me to lift the Inch Dumbbells with them sitting outside my feet as compared to straddling them. When they lie outside my feet, my wrist goes even more into extension, requiring even more effort from and emphasis on my thumbs.

Back to the Grip 4orce handles. I first got a set when I wrote the owner, Jim Hartman, about sponsoring the 2011 National Grip Sport Championship. He sent me a pair to review and a few sets for the prize package at Nationals.

The first thing I did with the Grip4orce handles was to put them onto the dumbbells for my next workout that involved curls, and I noticed how much they work the thumbs right away. The next day, my thumb pads were very sore, much more so than any Two Hand Pinch or Block Weight workout I had recently. In fact, I would compare the feeling to a Volume Workout of Dynamic Pinch, using a Pony Clamp or TTK.

I feel the reason that Grip4orce training feels so much like dynamic pinch is because when you use them on curls, your thumb is acting dynamically the entire time, adjusting the force it is creating throughout the strength curve of the curling range of motion.

I have been using Grip4orce handles on every set of curls I have done since June, and I absolutely love them. They hit my thumbs, they work the fingers, and my forearms feel completely wasted after 3 to 5 sets of curls because they too have to work harder in order to keep the handles secure throughout the curling motion.

I continue to use Grip 4orce handles on every set of curls I do, and my Inch Dumbbell lifting continues to go up. I have even seen improvement in my gripper work, nearly credit-card closing a #3 for the first time ever this week.

I strongly suggest you add these to your equipment collection today. If you currently do curls in your training, this will make them even more worthwhile, and if you are not currently doing curls, then this just might give you a reason to put them back into your routine. They certainly have done that for me.

Get your Grip4orce handles here => Buy Grip4orce Handles

All the best in your training.

Jedd

• Equipment Review: Instant Fat Bar Handles
• The Simplest Form of Block Weight Training
• Developing Grip Strength – Thick Bar Training Methods
• Making Hard Feats Look Easy – The Inch Dumbbell
• Row Variations for a Big Back and Monster Grip

If you go to a website and it talks about Grip Training and how there are only three forms of Grip, you might want to go somewhere else for your information. The Wrist is extremely important in developing a truly strong grip, especially when you consider that Grip is everything from the elbow down to the fingertips.

With that in mind, this week’s challenge is the 25-lb / 10-kg Plate Curl for Reps.

The Plate Curl should a staple in the routine of any Grip Competitor, Strongman Competitor, and really any athlete who has to have strong, injury-free wrist and fingers in order to excel. Below are some of the reasons why plate curls are so important for athletes.

Benefits of the Plate Curl

• Wrist Strength – If you are used to hitting endless repetitions in the Wrist Curl, then this movement will be a welcome change for you. It trains the flexors to fire and maintain the joint angle in a static position, so it is a perfect complement to the more dynamic wrist training movement, the classic wrist curl.
• Finger Stability / Toughness – In order to keep the plate straight, the finger flexors must also fire intensely throughout the movement. Bracing the plate in this manner is very intense, especially for the 60-second time limit. This movement strengthens the fingers in this position and makes them more injury-resistant, so this movement is great for athletes who can not afford to have their fingers messed up.
• Thumb Endurance – While the wrist flexors are doing the majority of the work here, the thumb is also recruited heavily here as well as it is hooked over the rim of the plate. This long duration flexion will test the mental toughness of the competitors
• Wrist Stability – While the wrist flexors are used in order to keep the wrist straight during the movement, the extensors are also firing synergistically in order to keep the joint stable throughout the range of motion
• Complete Lower Arm Tie-in – The best Grip Training movements for athletes in sports other than Grip are ones that make the entire lower arm unit work together all at the same time. The Wrist Curl is one of those which accomplish just that, with movement at the elbow, static contraction at the wrist and thumb, and static to eccentric contraction at the fingers.
• Forearm Size – This movement is a great forearm mass builder. The entire forearm flexor acreage is put under load with this one so a great deal of stimulation takes place. Doing this regularly can blow your forearms up BIG TIME!

Video Guidelines

To submit a video, you must use the following guidelines:

• Title: “DieselCrew.com – Plate Curl for Reps”
• Tags: plate curl, wrist strength, grip endurance, finger stability
• Description: http://www.dieselcrew.com – Grip Strength Challenge – Plate Curl for Reps

Rules

Here are the rules for this week’s Grip Strength Challenge.

1. Take a 25-lb or 10-kg plate and support it on the flat, smooth side with the fingers. Hook the thumb over the lip of the plate in order to hold it in your grasp.

2. Begin with the plate in contact with your thigh. Keeping the wrist as straight as possible, curl the plate up towards the forehead and lightly make contact.

3. Perform this lift for 60 seconds, getting as many repetitions as possible. Hand switches are permitted, as well as chalk. Wrist supports of any kind are not allowed for this challenge.

DIESELS, I will be watching form like a hawk. Keep the reps strict as possible. Any throwing of the weight using the shoulder or thighs is not allowed. If you need to set the plate down or rest at the top or bottom, that is fine, but no body momentum on this one.

Scoring

Since different weighted plates might be used for the challenge, we will use the scoring system used in the Kettlebell Bottoms-up Press Challenge, as shown below…

You do not have to weigh your plate on a scale, but you do have to show what the plate is on camera (25-lb or 10-kg) as the 3-lb difference in plates will certainly make a difference.

If you are unsure of how to perform the Plate Curl for Reps, here is a video demonstration.

How to Perform the Plate Curl for Reps

That is all there is to it, DIESELS. I look forward to your submissions. God luck with the challenge, and remember to comply with the Video Requirements or else I will come to your house and Two Hands Pinch your throat, and NOBODY wants that.

Jedd Johnson

Find out the training methods I use
to continue to increase the Two Hands Pinch World Record
each and every year!

• The Gut Wrench Hold – This Week’s Grip Strength Challenge
• Hub Lift Submissions
• Diesel Grip Strength Challenge – Week 3
• Continued Progress with the Double Inch Deadlift
• Grip Considerations for Lifting the Husafell Stone