I'm thinking about straps for the heavier sets.

Should I be reading Kyle's shirt thread?

Your hands will get used to it in a few workouts.

yeah, that could happen too.

I'll play it by ear I guess. I'd hate to rip up my skin to a point where I have to lay off for a while.

This bar is like a cheese grater. Its awesome for squatting & benching. It feels good for DLs too, until the weight gets >400 and the reps get >1.

heavysingles4life

I use self-stick tape for my thumbs. I assume you're using a hook grip so there's a decent amount of pressure on your thumbs.

lol, I like that idea....

Nat - no, I've never been able to make a hook grip work. The place where I feel like the skin is going to rip is on my hands - below the fingers and between the thumb and finger.

No blisters today, but the weight is going to go up on this program. Maybe bigger callouses will form or something.

Hook grip takes time to adjust to, did you give it awhile?

I've never been able to get one rep with it. The second knuckles on both my thumbs dont bend much, so its nearly impossible for me to get into position in the first place. I could be doing something wrong, and I havent put much time or effort into it, but it might be physically impossible for me to use a hook grip.

why so gung ho about the hook grip? is it en vogue or something? Pulling 500+ with a hook grip sounds ****** as hell.

I'm not all that interested in the hook. I think my grip is plenty strong enough for what I can lift. It didnt give out when I picked up 585 with the trap bar. Those handles are quite a bit fatter than the straight bar too. If grip gets to be an issue, I'll use straps temporarily and work on my grip.

The thing I'm concerned about is doing reps with 400+ and ripping the **** out of my hands on this new bar.

Strange, might need to drop in weight and have someone coach you. Or maybe it's some muscle adhesions in your hand

I don't think it's a matter of being en vogue. It's a matter of what's a stronger grip. I think the downside to the hook grip is that it decreases grip development from deadlifts. I'm a noob and my deadlift has surpassed my conventional grip ability.

Also, every compotent Oly lifter cleans with hook grips so it can't be that bad for pulls.

My thumbs feel like they're on a cheese grater using hook grip on the bars at my gym. Somehow they never get torn to **** though. Might have to look into that tape that Nat posted.

/derail

If it makes any difference, the rec for that tape came straight from Pat Mendes

(I was bitching about my hands during some pulls)

cool

N,

Yeah, because you have no choice in oly. In PL, hook grip Is used by maybe 5% of competitors (pulling from my ass and id be surprised if it's even that high) and even less in the general training population.

I've hook gripped every single weight throw I've taken in that last decade, which is....a lot (tens of thousands imo).

I've seriously used the hook grip in the gym probably less than five times in that same time frame.

Gah I can't believe I spelled competent wrong. I hate typos.

Also, I will defer to you guys on the grip thing especially since the concern seems to be tearing up hands, not holding onto a bar.

I think the best advice is just not to be a pussy about it.

That's your advice for everything not that there's anything wrong with it, but....

I just dont want to wind up in a spot where I cant lift for a while because I rip a patch of skin off my hand. Callouses are fine. Getting the hands tough enough to handle it is fine. Temporary pain or DOMS is fine. Creating a situation that keeps me from training is not fine. I've done that kind of stuff too many time before.

lol, good point, avoiding injuries doesn't seem to be my strong suit.

Seriously though, I've only torn a callous one time ever deadlifting, and it was very minor and certainly didn't stall my training at all. And, yes, using 'cheese grater' type bars too. Which coincidentally is why I think my shins bleed so easily every DL workout. Damn DL bar. Throwing on the other hand, I've torn chunks that no amount of superglue and tape have fixed.

lol superglue & tape to fix that stuff, awesome.

1/12

didnt time soft tissue stuff.
7:34 - mobility warm up - skipped x band walks and calf stretches, did only 5 walking spidermans on each side
7:51 weights

bench press
55*15*2, 145*10, 195*5, 235*3, 255*3*2

chins - neutral grip
7, 7

blast strap fallouts
my lower abs were still sore from the last time I did these on Jan. 8. I need to keep doing them on a more regular basis because I think my abs need to get stronger and in better shape.
10, 10

tall kneeling PNF D2 Flexion
25*10*2

tall kneeling cable lift
25*10*3

My upper body feels better when I do these core exercises. They are good.

dips supersetted with blast strap rows
10, 10
10, 10

flye EQI
15*60

lat EQI
15*60

Done 8:59

cha,

can you talk about the EQI work some? Only thing I found on youtube was this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pH6C29Ksik

How is it different from a regular DB flyes? Is it static work? Hard to tell from the vid.

+1 on the EQIs. I've read about them a bit on Robertson's site I believe, and have done Lat EQIs a couple times (already noticing improved shoulder mobility) but I still feel like I can't tell if I'm doing them properly.

Yes, its static work, and that video is basically what I do for the flye ones, but I do them on a foam roller.

The lat ones you hold the dumbells straight up over your head.


http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/...ay-to-stretch/

One additional cue I've been doing is to try to pull the lower part of my shoulder blades down and in.

Mike says EQIs are good for the shoulders and what I'm feeling is better stability of the small muscles holding the shoulder blade in place.

Actually my comment about my upper body feeling good from the core exercises - I was referring to the PNF D2 flexion and the tall kneeling cable lift. Those just make my posture improve. Everything just feels like its in place better when I'm doing these.

http://www.youtube.com/robtrainsyste.../3/tFgQnGfU44g

http://www.youtube.com/robtrainsyste.../4/i97Tk2LaKWY

I got a set of CHAINZ!

1/14

7:55 rolled hammies & glutes
8:25 rolled everything else
8:55 mobility warmup
9:18 weights

12.5" box squats with 45 lbs of chains
55*8*2, 155*5, 195*3, 245*2 reps*10 sets (weight not including chains)
90 seconds between sets, feet wider than I've done before. I am trying to get more hip action into my squats so I spread my meet out with the box. I think it worked as I could feel the hip drive during the lifts. I think I'll be feeling it tomorrow as well. This felt a bit like cardio because of so little rest.
10th set video link


KB swings
12 swings followed by 60 seconds on treadmill at 2.2 mph per set
44 lbs * 2 sets, 62*3, 70*2/ tired

flye EQI
15*30

lat EQI
15*30

MB slams
15 slams followed by 30 seconds on treadmill at 2.2 mph per set
7 sets

done 10:31, tired, lol cardio