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Matt's Log
33 year old male.
Height: 169cm
Bodyweight: 87.4kg (28/6/18)
Longish torso and wee legs. Untrained and not an athletic gene in my body. Never touched a barbell, but I did dick around with dumbbells and a kettlebell several years ago with no results whatsoever. I am weak AF and not accustomed to anything you could describe as physically hard work, aside from occasional long distance hill walking. My job is sedentary and has a weekly changing shift pattern, but I will get the required sessions in over the next 3 to 4 months. I will have to train very early AM or after 10pm.
The gym is a standard globo gym with one power rack with a hard platform. There's also a squat rack but it's directly on soft rubber floor tiles. One bench. There's a new, lifting focused gym opening in town at the end of August so I just need to hang on til then.
I've been putting this off for about 2 years, as I am lazy and vain and don't want to look stupid. I recently listened to an interview between Jocko Willink and Jordan Peterson and I have accepted I desperately need to sort myself out, as it were, so here goes!
9/7/18
SQUAT 3x5 55kg
PRESS 3x5 27.5kg
DL 1x5 75kg
11/7/18
SQUAT 3x5 60kg
BENCH 3x5 30kg
DL 1x5 80kg
13/7/18
SQUAT 3x5 65kg
PRESS 3x5 30kg
DL 1x5 110kg
DL: Not thinking, I loaded 110kg instead of my planned 80. It felt great, so I just went with it. My eyes bulged and I turned purple. Probably a bad idea, anyway. My grip opened on the last rep, but I managed to keep the bar in my hands and set it down.
16/7/18
Bodyweight: 92.4kg. I'm eating just over 4,000 cal/day.
17/7/18
SQUAT 3x5 70
BENCH 3x5 45
DL 1x5 90kg
DL: Grip opened up mid work set, but I still managed to retain the bar by hooking my fingertips underneath it and praying.
19/7/18
SQUAT 3x5 75kg
PRESS 3x5 32.5kg
DL 1x5 100kg
DL: I pushed the bar deeper into the thumb web, which felt more secure but I could feel the skin bunching across my palms as I pulled. I squeezed the shit out of bar and kept my grip. I guess my excessively sweaty hands and relatively short fingers means I should just buy some chalk.
23/7/18
SQUAT 3x5 77.5kg
BENCH 3x5 50kg
DL 1x5 110kg
Bodyweight: 94.4kg
Last edited by Matt Jackson; 07-24-2018 at 02:33 PM.
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Welcome. Indeed, get some chalk. Check out online coaching. There is a SS coach in London if you live there but if not try online SS coaching. A check in from time to time can help you make safe progress.
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Cheers. I ordered chalk from Amazon but it didn't arrive, so my grip gave way again today.
SQUAT 3x5 80kg
PRESS 3x5 35kg
DL 1x5 120kg
PRESS: I feel like I could increase the weight a lot now I've figured out the bounce.
DL: Left hand grip opened up on 2nd rep due to sweaty hands and/or weakness. The weight felt easy to pull otherwise, but I had to give up after 3rd rep.
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Have you tried either the hook grip or the reverse grip? I cannot usually get past the 140kg. mark without using one or the other.
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Welcome,
add accesory stuff for grip - forearms regenerate fast but also loose gains fast. I also have grip issues but i got chalk now and it helps if i dont forget it. As for training grip - i just hold 60-80% of DL weight in my hands as long as i can for set of 4. Usually starts 1 min and ends in 30 seconds. I use short breaks so it doesn't take too long. I combine that sometimes with overhand curls so entire forearm gets trained. At the end of the session my forearms are swelled so that i cannot grip towel and locker key correctly Highly recommend those. In the end you will have to use hookgrip so learn that also on warmups - your thumbs will hate you at first, but you will get accustomed to it.
Have fun!
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I'm back at the beginning again, but back when I was pulling heavier weights I did a lot of farmers carries. Those and holding my top sets of deadlifts at the end for as long as possible.
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Thanks for the advice. I will furtively chalk up and also try the hook grip next time and if my hands crap out again, I'll do some grip work in the gym.
Is this thing a waste of time and money? The Vise Gripper™ | Iron Woody Fitness | Fitness Equipment
As I have gone 33 years without seeing any other barbells up close, I don't have any frame of reference, but the "knurling" on these globo bars is basically a smooth and decorative pattern. By the look of it, it has been completely worn down by friction which is surprising as the gym has only been open for 1 year.
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Judge it by sharpness - sharper = better. If there is no other bar then hook grip will be your best friend Down the road perhaps some straps. As to this fancy stuff - i don't use it any of that so i cannot comment on usefulness.
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I believe that the best training for grip is to do the deadlift with whatever form works.
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28/7/18
SQUAT 3x5 85kg
BENCH 3x5 55kg
DL 1x5 110kg
SQUAT: Now the weight is moving up I can really feel the benefit of getting deep enough to produce the bounce upwards. Right elbow is sore when I get under the bar with proper grip and tight back.
DL: Easily completed my warm up sets DOH. I repeated the 110kg work set but this time tried experimented the hook grip and alternate grip. I also made some DIY straps cut from cheap nylon webbing material. I preferred the hook out of the two grip styles, and for the last two reps used the straps. I think this will be the way I overcome the fat handed/short fingered grip problem for a while.
As the gym was packed (Saturday), a staff member immediately clocked my attempt to chalk my hands. Chalk will have to be reserved for antisocial hours training sessions only.
I also bought a pumice stone for the first time in my life and attacked my hands with it just prior to the session, and that helped a lot.
Last edited by Matt Jackson; 07-29-2018 at 01:22 AM.
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