If you would have told me two years ago that it would make sense to train lifts that build up the Beach Muscles, like the Bench Press, in order to improve your Crush Grip and close bigger grippers, I probably would have laughed in your face.

But, when I was talking with Paul Knight, official IronMind 3.5 closer and unofficial IronMind #4 closer, and he told me that is what I needed to do in order to spur improvement with my Gripper Training, I said, “OK brother, thanks for the advice.”

Paul Knight, certified IM #3.5 closer
and closer of several #4′s over the years

When someone who is the best in the world at something tells you what he does to improve, you NEED to try it out for yourself, in my opinion.

And that is what Paul is – one of the best in the United States at Grippers – if not the WORLD.

Yesterday, I released PUSH and CRUSH, a workout based entirely upon Paul’s teachings.

It is named PUSH and CRUSH because of the pairing of Upper Body Pushing exercises like Bench Press, Military Press, etc, with CRUSH Grip exercises.

This workout is on sale for $17 this weekend only and then the price goes up, so make sure to pick it up today = > Get PUSH and CRUSH.

All the best in your training.

JeddSimilar Posts:

• New Gripper DVD – CRUSH!
• Comparing Vulcan Gripper Strength Ratings to Torsion Spring Gripper Strength Ratings
• Thoughts on Variety, PR’s, and Momentum in Training
• DVD Review: CRUSH – Total Gripper Domination
• Great Tricep Finisher – Improve Pressing Power

My goal is performance, that is what I can lift, rather then looking bigger. Although I’m tall I’m not a very big guy. At 6’2″ I tip the scales at about 185 right now. The biggest I’ve ever been was just over 190. Since a lot of what I do is bodyweight training adding mass doesn’t really help with those goals. Thus I choose to stay small. But I also like to lift heavy stuff.

It’s because of my size that I commonly hear the phrase, “You don’t look strong.”

But what does strength have to do with looks? For the average person the appearance of muscles means strength, but that’s only a piece of the puzzle if you want to become truly strong. In fact it’s not even near the top of the list of necessary things. And just because someone is muscular doesn’t necessarily mean they’re very strong either.

How do you get stronger without adding lots of muscle? There’s a few ways.

A muscle can learn to contract harder without the cells being any more in number or size.

Use your mind to access more of the strength you already have.

And the main method I want to talk about today. The muscles are just one of the things that are used in lifting. Sure they get the spotlight and all the publicity, but for the super strong you’ll want to focus elsewhere. I’m talking about the tendons, ligaments and bones themselves. Supports and partials are two ways to train them.

Supports

Did you know that famous strongman Louis Cyr (whom a movie is being made about right now) back lifted more than 4000 lbs? If you don’t know what the back lift is, its a support where a platform is placed across the back. The legs and arms are straightened to lift the weight only about an inch or so. This was also a favorite of Steve Justa. This position is sometimes held or just done quickly.

Louis Cyr Back Lifting

Think about this for a second. If you tried to support that weight what would happen? I don’t know about you but it’s likely my bones would break under such a load. Perhaps your femur my snap or more than likely a joint would give out. Yet in working up to this feat Cyr was able to handle massive weights. I’m not sure if this made his bones any thicker in dimension but certainly denser and stronger.

There are several old-time lifts called supports because you support the weight rather then lifting it. Though often in order to hold a support you need to do a lift to get it in place which requires a short range lift. Here’s a list of a few of them besides the back lift:

Leg press support (like in a leg press machine but just supporting the weight. Some of the old-time strongmen would support a plan of wood on their legs which people would sit on while they laid on their backs)

Overhead support (This was a favorite of John Grimek and it is said he worked up to supported 1000lbs in this position. They would support a barbell from chains hanging off the rafters and then lift it up into the support position.)

Standing support (Think of the top position of a squat with the barbell across the shoulders. Just try this with a heavy weight and whatever you’re use to squatting will feel very light in comparison.)

Wrestler’s bridge support (This is a personal favorite of mine as a neck strengthener. Get in the wrestler’s bridge position and lift a barbell or have someone sit on you to add resistance.)

There’s many more possibilities. You could do a one arm overhead support or a zercher squat support. Use your creativity.

Anton Riha is shown here supporting 1400 lbs in quite the standing support.

The bones are much stronger at supporting weight then the muscles are in lifting, especially through a full range of motion. Which brings me to the next subject…

Partials

Partials get their name from doing a partial range of motion instead of the full range done in most lifts. Depending on what range of motion you work these in, you’ll typically be stronger than the full range.

These are also great for people engaged in any sport or martial art. How many sports involve even parallel squats? Very few. Instead you can get stronger just in the top quarter range of motion which will translate over to more speed, bigger jumps, etc.

(As a side note the full range of a lift is quite arbitrary in some cases. A full range deadlift is only about half the available range of motions for the muscles involved. For a true full range of motion you’d have to be on a platform with your arms going down much lower than shin level.)

Look, full ranges of motion are great. I highly advise you to do them. But if that’s all you do then you’re missing out on some of the best training possible to strengthen your connective tissues and bones. If you only ever lift the comparably light weights that you need to for full ranges then you’re not going to build these areas to as great of a degree as you possibly could.

You can work different partials like a quarter, half or three quarter squat. You can make even smaller jumps doing progressive distance training. There are many benefits and different ways to use partials.

One of the simplest in my opinion is working the top quarter range of motion like in this rack pull here, a recent PR for myself. You can not only use really heavy weights but partials tend to be even safer than full ranges of motion.

This can be done with any exercise though they’re typically done with the big compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press and sometimes rows.

Supports will not add muscle because the only work they’re doing is to support keeping the bones in place. I suppose for a completely untrained individual they’d get that effect, but not for your average trainer.

With partials it will depend on how you train them. More reps and volume could add muscle. But if you do them in my preferred way, working at high intensity, you’ll get stronger but without much size.

All of these lifts will strengthen your bones, tendons and ligaments. You don’t need to do them all. Just pick one or a few to start with. As with everything you’ll want to build up to this slowly. Don’t’ go too far too fast as you body may not be ready for it. But you may surprise yourself in a short time just how much you can handle.

For more information check out my newest book Deceptive Strength available here. Right now you can grab it along with a bunch of bonuses.

-Logan Christopher-

Similar Posts:

• How to Build Muscle – Massive Shoulders
• The Kettlebell Bottoms Up Press
• Wrist Pain and the Bench Press
• Wrist Pain on the Bench Press: How to Avoid and Address It
• Top 5 Simple Muscle Building Tips – Essential Mass Building Exercises

…Distance Running.

49.4-lbs in Chain
Just Prior to My Run

While I have done distance running in the past, the last time I actually remember doing it is around 1998 when I was still playing baseball at Mansfield University.

And really, I am not sure all those “counted” because for many of them, the Seniors on the team would lead our group of pitchers out behind a patch of evergreen trees and have wrestling matches with us underclassmen.

I still remember challenging the biggest pitcher on the team to a “match,” thinking it was all going to be fake, but before I knew it, he picked me up, slammed me to the ground and put me in a cradle, along the lines pulling both traps and rhomboid muscles in my upper back so bad I could barely throw…

Anyway, you might be wondering why I would go from no running for over a decade to running consistently multiple times a week for the last couple of months…

The reason is because in July I am signed up for something called a Warrior Challenge.

This Warrior Challenge consists of 4 individual events. I am not sure of the exact order, but I know that there is the following:

• a Mile Run on the Beach with a 40-pound Ruck Pack
• as many burpees as possible in 2 minutes
• as many Pull-ups as possible
• There is also supposed to be a mystery challenge that could be anything…

So, when I found out about this in March, I stepped on a scale and I was 279-lbs. With a 40-lb Pack, I’d be tipping near 320-lbs and I just didn’t think there was any way possible my back, knees, and ankles would be able to handle it, so I decided I needed to start running and clean up my diet in order to get into condition for this challenge and lose some unneeded excess weight.

Now, since I live in Pennsylvania, there are no mile-long beaches to train on. There are a few spots I know of where there is sand near lakes or creeks, but nowhere near long enough to get me ready for a mile run.

Plus, I was DREADING having to jog on the road. Just thinking about it made my knees hurt.

So, I developed another work-around that is allowing me to get as ready as possible for the Warrior Challenge – Field Running.

Behind my house there is a giant field. It is just grass as far as you can see, but there are also hills and of course the occasional woodchuck hole.

I thought about it, and that terrain seemed to be to be the perfect location for me to get my running work in. Not only does it have rolls, slopes, and inclines in it just like a beach could have, I thought it would be perfect for my back, knees, and ankles, because I would be running on the grass, which would reduce some of the shock and jarring of running.

In April, I started out with bouts of jogging with walking intervals mixed in. When I first started, I could only make it 3 minutes before I was out of breath, thinking I was going to collapse. But I have progressed, much quicker than I anticipated by the way, to longer jogs and fewer breaks for walking.

In addition, in May I started adding chains to my body in order to start mimicking the wearing of the pack. I started out with about 25-lbs of chain. Then, last night, I bumped it up to 49.4-lbs of chain.

This is how awesome your body is and how well you can progress if you stay consistent…

When I started, 3 minutes of jogging nearly killed me, and then I had to mix in a 1 minute walk after every 1 minute of jogging. Last night, with nearly 50-lbs in chain on shoulders, I was able to jog for 5 minutes, then walk for 1 minute, then go 4 minutes jogging, with a 1 minute walk, 4 minutes jogging, 1 minute walking, and then finished with a 4 minute jog.

Is it easy? Hell no. Do I love it? No way. But am I happy I am doing it? Absolutely.

I am 100% confident that I will be able to complete the Warrior Challenge in July and I am enjoying seeing the improvement in both my conditioning and the distance I am covering each time I go out.

Now, taking on the extra cardio ONLY would be absolutely insane. Along with this, I have also completely re-done my diet and I am eating cleaner than I ever have before. The improved eating, which I cover here in another recent post, has also seemed to allow me to train more often than I have in years. most weeks I am getting 4 solid sessions and sometimes 5, whereas for the last year or so I was only getting 3 good sessions in.

What’s my weight now? Well, my coach has asked me not to weigh myself the rest of May, and instead look at inches, so I have taken them along with some “Before” shots, and will compare the information once June hits.

The good news is that with all of this weight loss, I have noticed ZERO loss in strength, which was one of my worries. The other major worry was losing a bunch of muscle, which is what happened when I trimmed down in 2008 when I turned 30, but I think I am doing a much better job with my eating and training this time and less of that is going to take place.

If you are in the same boat I am and know that you want to attain some fat loss, whether because you have some kind of challenge coming up, because Summer is coming and you don’t want to be the Fat Guy/Gal, or if you just want to feel better, then stay tuned DIESELS!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. My Strength Training Workouts are very similar to what Smitty covers in AMD. If you are looking for a program to help you put on muscle and take off fat, this is one you should check out: Accelerated Muscular Development:

Similar Posts:

• Grip Training Using Kettlebells
• Lose that Holiday Weight Gain, the Circuit Training Way!
• Strongest Strength Coach / Challenge Yourself
• Fast Conditioning with Kettlebells and Chains
• Backyard Cardio

First named by Richard Sorin, the Blob is 1/2 of a 100-lb York Dumbbell.

Ever since Richard challenged himself to try to lift the Blob, grip enthusiasts have marveled at it and tried to obtain their own for their collection in order to test their strength and to develop the hand power to match one of the most well-known feats of grip strength.

Several years ago, we as a community discovered that there are actually more than one type of Blob, a fact that derived from Richard, himself. Soon we came to realize that the original style of Blobs, now known by the moniker “Fatman” due to its larger profile and wider slopes.

Of course, when something is rare, that means its price increases.

And of course, if the price on something increases, someone will be around to capitalize.

Over the years I have heard stories of people being told they were getting the rare Fatman original-style Blob, only to find out later they had a Next Generation, and overpaid severely.

I have also seen several videos where someone will lift a Blob and claim it is a Fatman, when in reality, they are making an incorrect claim, generally accidentally or due to lack of awareness.

With that in mind, I recently made a video showing all of the different types of Blobs and Blob-like implements that I have in my collection, as well as a couple of tools that are on the market for training to lift Blobs.

In the video below you will see a Fatman Blob, Next Generation Blob, Blob Clone, Blobzilla, Stronger Grip Blob, and a PDA Blobette. Unfortunately, I do not own a Blob50 or a Blue Blob, but I mention them in the video and cover them with pictorials in my The Different Types of Blobs Article.

I hope you enjoy the video and that it helps you discern what type of Blob you are buying if you seek one via an on-line purchase, or through an in-person encounter.

Video on The Different Types of Blobs

If you are looking for a Blob Trainer, you can get a Stronger Grip Blob here.

For many of you out there, finding a Blob, understanding the difference between them, and knowing how they all compare is of very little importance.

For many of you, all that stuff doesn’t matter because you already have a Blob and have no plans of getting another one.

Instead, the only thing you care about is lifting the damn thing!

And for you, I will be having something VERY SPECIAL coming your way. This Summer I will be releasing How to Lift the Blob, the Definitive Guide to Blob Domination.

Whether you’ve just attained a Blob and want to get on the Fast Track to lifting it, or if you’ve had one for years and have been slapping yourself in the head out of frustration with it still being stuck to the ground, this ebook will be for you.

If you want to stay up to date on developments surrounding the Blob ebook, make sure to add your best email address to the form below.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

• DIfference Between Blob Types
• Grip Training: The Fatman Clone Block Weight
• 39 Reps with the 50-lb Blob
• Grip Strength Training – Block Weight Lifting
• Gripping Against Time: Taking Blob Training to the Next Level

Dave Batista – BIG TRAPS

A common body part that lags behind other body parts is the traps. Many lifters I have spoken with have asked if I know any good ways to build the traps up besides normal shrugs. Today I will share that with you, but first let’s look at what the traps are designed to do.

Functions of the Traps

The traps, or trapezius, (so-called because altogether the three sections of the muscle are shaped like a trapezoid) is a muscle with many functions. While they are most visible at the top of the shoulder, they also extend down the back.

There are 3 segments of the trap, each with a different responsibility.

Image Source: Wikipedia

1. Upper Trap: Primarily responsible for elevating the shoulders and shoulder blades. Secondarily responsible for pulling the shoulders and shoulder blades back.

2. Middle Trap: Primarily responsible for pulling the shoulder blades together.

3. Lower Trap: Primarily responsible for pulling the shoulder blades down.

Now, when it comes to “building big traps” most people think of the section of the traps above the collar bone and shoulders. Dave Batista, pictured in the image at the top of the page, had some of the biggest traps I have ever seen in all my years as a wrestling fan.

Classic Trap Building Exercises

The classic exercise for building big traps are Shrugs and their variations. These are usually done with a barbell at the front of the body or with dumbbells at the sides of the body.

However, just because Barbell and Dumbbell Shrugs are what “everybody does” doesn’t mean everybody loves them.

Here are a few reasons why Barbell Shrugs and Dumbbell Shrugs fall out of favor with some trainees. Maybe you agree…

1. Barbell Shrugs, when done in front of the body, can be hard on the back if you have back injuries, especially when you start getting into serious weight.

2. Barbell Shrugs can also be done behind the body, but they can be uncomfortable on the shoulders and can force poor posture.

3. Dumbbell Shrugs are a fairly safe alternative, but some gyms are limited in their heavy dumbbell sizes and may not have loadable dumbbells that can be used to go heavier.

4. Because Dumbbell Shrugs are often done with lighter weights, you can find yourself doing very high rep sets in order to get the feeling that you have accomplished some effective muscle-building stimulation of the traps.

Because of all of these things, and possibly others you can think of, today I am going to show you one way you can intensify the Shrug to help build bigger traps.

In my garage gym, the heaviest matched dumbbells I have are 100′s. For anything higher than that, I use my loadable dumbbells and 25-lb plates. However, it is hard to do Shrugs with 25′s on loadable handles because the plates roll up your thighs, so to keep the movement legit, I have to stick with the 100′s until I get bigger dumbbell pairs.

I have gotten to the point now where I can perform upwards of 20 reps with my 100′s, and it doesn’t even feel like I have stimulated the traps unless I have already pre-exhausted them with another movement, like High Pulls. Unfortunately, those are tough on my back, so I don’t do them that much.

Instead, I have found a way to make the traps work even harder on every single repetition of the Shrug. You see, as listed above, the upper two portions of the trapezius are involved in pulling the shoulders back, as well as elevating them.

If you perform a shrugging movement, and then combine that with pulling the shoulders back, you will feel a much more solid contraction when you combine both movements. Even though the change is subtle, it has a big effect.

Try it now, even without weight in your hands and you’ll feel the difference.

Now, you can obviously just pull your shoulders back while you shrug in order to engage the traps differently, but I have found that there is a better way to accomplish this by combining bands with the exercise.

Watch the video below to see exactly what I mean.

Band Resisted Shrugs to Build Bigger Traps

So, as you see in the video above, the heavy band resistance makes you fire the traps and other musculature of the upper back intensely. This creates a movement that hits the traps in a much different way to help build them better.

Putting it Into Action to Build Bigger Traps

If you try this, I encourage you to start out with light dumbbells and band tension. This way, you can get used to the feeling of this movement, which is much different from a normal Shrug. Then, over the course of a few short sets, work up in weight and tension.

Also, you can play with the point the band is rigged to the structure. Since shooting this video, I have movement my anchor point higher for an even better feeling with this movement.

I think you will be surprised how much harder it is to perform Shrugs in this manner compared to just holding dumbbells. To give you an idea, I can Shrug the 100′s for more than 20 reps, and have yet to hit 15 reps with the blue bands on without taking a rest period mid-set.

Suggested Trap Building Workout

Barbell Clean or Log Clean – 6 Sets of 2
Overhead Lifting (Military Press, Dumbbell Press, or others) – 4 Sets of 3
Horizontal Band Resisted Shrugs – 4 sets of 10 to 12
Grip Training: Open Hand – Work up to a Max, then perform 10 doubles with 70 to 80% of Max

For more training tips, make sure to sign up for my free updates delivered right to your inbox, below:

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Similar Posts:

• How to Do Rows for a Bigger Stronger Back
• Back Off! Massive Muscle Building for Your Back
• How to Build Muscle – Massive Shoulders
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