Post by Andy Freeland on May 17, 2013 3:18:14 GMT -5
I was going throug some old pics and found some of when I used to do a LOT of grip work (before I started pulling). I never really noticed at the time because it took a while and with slow progress you don't realise what kind of shape your body gets into until you get out of shape and look back as pictures from that time. I though I'd share these with the grip guys. I just had a back surgury recently so I can't pull for at least a year and decided to pick up my grippers and started at the beginning of my old grip routein. Here is a shot of when me and my buddies first crushed our first 60 penny nail (1/4" cold rolled steel, 6" long).
I:\Misc Pics\DSC01455.JPG
One of the dudes on the gripboard told me to start off with a 60 penny, but he meant to say 20 penny, it was a typo. He told me we should have it in a day or two. So we grabbed some 60 Ds and went to work. Man, we couldn't budge thoes bastards but the dude said we should have them in a day or two so we banged it out for a good 5-6 hours passing it around and got nowhere. The next day we knew we had to get it or we were just puzzys you know? We got a 30 pack and and worked those 60s till they were not only crushed to regulation, which is 2", we crushed them parrall just because we were so pissed it took us so long to do something that was supposed to be entry level. I sent the dude a pic of the closed steel the next day and to say the least, he was surprised. Turns out, the 60 takes most people 4-6 months, and some never get it and quit there. We were pretty stoked, took 2 weeks for our hands and skin to heal but we went after it full bore after that. 2 months later we were bare handing the 60s. For the record I maxed out at 3/8" CR @ 6". Worked on her for a year, never got her in one session but I got er' boy. (Yes, I really bent on this same piece of steel every day for a year before I finished her off, grip is an addiction just like pulling). Double wraps, leather were used. Could smash a red in IM wraps in 8 seconds at the time. GAZZA!!! You grip heads know that beast.
The gripper guys will recognize that upside down "L" shaped indention at the base of my thumb pad in that pic (My hand is the bottom left).....that's where you set the gripper, and when you have a permanent "L" shape like that you know I had been doing some heavy gripper work at the time. And FYI, the hand on the bottom right is Whitney Cravens, we started pulling together. His first tournament he won Novice Nationals in Tahoe, then came back the next year and won Amature Nationals in Tahoe. Sick natural talent, and a fierce competitor.....just a winner flat out. Wish I could have kept him motivated, there aren't many people who have done that. He would have done well.
Anyway, I was working with COC grippers which have heavy knurling and tear your hands up. By the time you are closing the 2, 2.5, 3, and 3.5 (Or 4 if you are one of 2-3 men on the planet, maybe more now it's been a while since I checked in but at the time there was only 1 person who had a #4 close in full view on camera, the grip KING....MR. Paul Knight. He actually entered some AWing events a year or so back but haven't heard anything since. Heavy gripper training is counter productive for AWing becuase your maximum crush strength requires your wrist to be bent slightly backward, no go for pulling of course). The knurling builds multiple calloses on the skin inbetween each joint.....and of course the typical callosses at the top of the palm, then 2-3 sets down from there. Basicly, your whole hand turns into a callous. If you smack your ol' lady...you kill her haha, ok not funny, bad joke. You also build a thumb pad muscle that looks crazy....when mine was pumped it had big ol fat veins running through it. Outside of the grip world, you don't see crap like that. This pic was taken without a pump, couldn't find one with a pump:
I:\Misc Pics\DSC01479.JPG
So anyway, been board out of my mind after major back surgery and can't do shiz so I figuered I'd share some old grip stories.
Edit: Hmmm, sorry about the pics, very confusing and i'm not too bad with computers. Any advice on how to post them?
I:\Misc Pics\DSC01455.JPG
One of the dudes on the gripboard told me to start off with a 60 penny, but he meant to say 20 penny, it was a typo. He told me we should have it in a day or two. So we grabbed some 60 Ds and went to work. Man, we couldn't budge thoes bastards but the dude said we should have them in a day or two so we banged it out for a good 5-6 hours passing it around and got nowhere. The next day we knew we had to get it or we were just puzzys you know? We got a 30 pack and and worked those 60s till they were not only crushed to regulation, which is 2", we crushed them parrall just because we were so pissed it took us so long to do something that was supposed to be entry level. I sent the dude a pic of the closed steel the next day and to say the least, he was surprised. Turns out, the 60 takes most people 4-6 months, and some never get it and quit there. We were pretty stoked, took 2 weeks for our hands and skin to heal but we went after it full bore after that. 2 months later we were bare handing the 60s. For the record I maxed out at 3/8" CR @ 6". Worked on her for a year, never got her in one session but I got er' boy. (Yes, I really bent on this same piece of steel every day for a year before I finished her off, grip is an addiction just like pulling). Double wraps, leather were used. Could smash a red in IM wraps in 8 seconds at the time. GAZZA!!! You grip heads know that beast.
The gripper guys will recognize that upside down "L" shaped indention at the base of my thumb pad in that pic (My hand is the bottom left).....that's where you set the gripper, and when you have a permanent "L" shape like that you know I had been doing some heavy gripper work at the time. And FYI, the hand on the bottom right is Whitney Cravens, we started pulling together. His first tournament he won Novice Nationals in Tahoe, then came back the next year and won Amature Nationals in Tahoe. Sick natural talent, and a fierce competitor.....just a winner flat out. Wish I could have kept him motivated, there aren't many people who have done that. He would have done well.
Anyway, I was working with COC grippers which have heavy knurling and tear your hands up. By the time you are closing the 2, 2.5, 3, and 3.5 (Or 4 if you are one of 2-3 men on the planet, maybe more now it's been a while since I checked in but at the time there was only 1 person who had a #4 close in full view on camera, the grip KING....MR. Paul Knight. He actually entered some AWing events a year or so back but haven't heard anything since. Heavy gripper training is counter productive for AWing becuase your maximum crush strength requires your wrist to be bent slightly backward, no go for pulling of course). The knurling builds multiple calloses on the skin inbetween each joint.....and of course the typical callosses at the top of the palm, then 2-3 sets down from there. Basicly, your whole hand turns into a callous. If you smack your ol' lady...you kill her haha, ok not funny, bad joke. You also build a thumb pad muscle that looks crazy....when mine was pumped it had big ol fat veins running through it. Outside of the grip world, you don't see crap like that. This pic was taken without a pump, couldn't find one with a pump:
I:\Misc Pics\DSC01479.JPG
So anyway, been board out of my mind after major back surgery and can't do shiz so I figuered I'd share some old grip stories.
Edit: Hmmm, sorry about the pics, very confusing and i'm not too bad with computers. Any advice on how to post them?
