Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Medart Wrist Strength DeveloperEven back in the day they understood the importance of grip and forearm strength. This wrist developer is by the Fred Medart Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Missouri who produced gymnastic apparati, playground equipment and steel lockers. This unique piece of equipment dates to the 1920's and was built to last: it's all cast iron and oak.
Labels: Fred Medart Manufacturing Company, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Gymnastic Equipment, Hand Strength, Hand Strength Equipment, St. Louis, Wrist Developer
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, December 06, 2009
The Joe Kinney Monster GripperIn order to train for closing the Ironmind #4 Gripper, Joe Kinney created this unique piece of equipment, what he calls "The Monster Gripper."
The longer handle allowed him to force it closed allowing his to perform holds and severe negatives. Joe was able to work up to being able to hold the handles closed after cheating it shut. After being able to do so with the 600-pound resistance, the #4 felt like a toy. You can learn exactly how Joe Kinney trained with this gripper in his Get a Grip! DVD.
Labels: Get a Grip, Grip Tools, Hand Gripper, Hand Strength Equipment, Joe Kinney, Joe Kinney DVD, Monster Gripper, Negative Training
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Ironmind Silver Crush GrippersMany, many years ago, when Ironmind first started producing hand grippers, they were known as "Silver Crush" grippers and I'm sure you can see why -- chromed springs and brilliant silver handles. These grippers did not have the numbers engraved into the bottom of the handles, nor the distinctive band, and there were only three strengths: #1, #2, and #3.
Labels: Antique Equipment, Captains of Crush Hand Grippers, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Hand Grippers, Ironmind, Ironmind Gripper, Silver Crush Grippers, Spring Hand Gripper
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, August 10, 2009
Wrist Roller TrainingThe Wrist Roller is a simple but very effective method of building grip strength... and here are two other training ideas which make it even better: stand on an elevated surface to increase the range of motion or use it in a supported manner so that your arm muscles don't give out before your forearms do.
Both of these ideas were written up in The Way to Live by George Hackenschmidt written back in 1908. As a wrestler and strongman "Hack" certainly had use for tremendous grip strength.
Labels: George Hackenschmidt, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Grip Training Equipment, Strongman Equipment, wrist roller, Wrist Roller Training
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
The Baseball GripA very simple way to build your hand strength is with a simple baseball or softball. This one has been drilled and fitted with an eye-hook which allows weights to be hung from it. It's a surprisingly effective challenge.
Labels: Baseball Grip, Finger Strength, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Hand Strength, Hand Strength Equipment
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Old School Captains of Crush Hand GrippersWay back in the day, Captains of Crush Grippers came in bags like these instead of the more modern blister packs that you see today. Of course, back then, there were only four grippers: Trainer, #1, #2, #3 and #4. Grippers of this 'vintage' are exceedingly rare - if you have one, hang on to it.
Labels: Captains of Crush, Captains of Crush Hand Grippers, Grip Tools, Hand Gripper, Hand Strength, Ironmind Gripper
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Hand Grippers!Hand Grippers? Yeah... I know a thing or two about 'em. Here's a look at a bit of what's in my collection. Between my personal interests and my business interests I can say with no hesitation that I have handled more grippers than any one person in history. What's more, I'll be sharing some of the things I know very soon...
Labels: Collection, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Grip Training, Hand Grippers, Hand Strength, John Wood
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, June 07, 2009
25 Pound Sledge HammerEver seen a 25 pound sledge hammer? Now you can say 'yes' if someone else asks you that question. Note the thicker reinforced handle on this beast. This hammer is used for levering and not for clobberin' stuff - and it's a good one. You won't find these at a local hardware store, this hammer was actually imported from a foreign country.
Labels: 25 Pound Sledge Hammer, Grip Tools, Hammer Training, Levering Tool, Sledge Hammer Leverage, Sledge Hammer Strength, Sledge Hammer Training, sledge Hammers, Unusual Training Equipment
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, March 30, 2009
Bruce White's Custom Cricket Ball DumbbellLike many grip masters, Australia's Bruce White was very creative in finding new ways to strengthen his hands. In doing so, he came up with this unique challenge: a cricket ball attached to a dumbbell handle. His best performance on this piece of equipment was 190 pounds - performed while keeping the bar perfectly level throughout the entire lift. He was 49 years old and weighed less than 150 pounds at the time .
Labels: Bruce White, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Hand Strength, Hand Strength Equipment
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, May 11, 2008
| The Super Gripper is one of the classic pieces of grip training equipment and has actually been around since the early 1940s if you can believe it. The first Super Gripper was invented by a man named Daniel Marvosh of Flint, Michigan and it was advertised in the pages of Strength and Health and Ironman Magazines. This ad is from 1963. |  The Super Gripper |
Labels: Advertisement, Daniel Marvosh, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Iron Man Magazine, Strength and Health, Super Gripper, The Super Gripper
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, April 10, 2008
George Zottman Globe BarbellsA rare picture of a young George Zottman with some of his great oldtime stage equipment. Grip strength is a premium for any oldtime strongman. Gotta love those thick-handled globe barbells and dumbbells. You can tell a lot of great workouts happened with those.
The globe dumbbell in the foreground weighs 175 pounds -- and the dog's name was Sphinx. Tullus Wrtght "The American Sampson" is pictured sitting on the left.
Labels: Dumbbell, George Zottman, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbell, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Thick Bars, Thick Handle, Tullus Wright, Vintage Strength Equipment, Zottman Curl
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, March 28, 2008
| One of John Grimek's favorite grip training exercises was the wrist roller. Wrist rollers range from a simple piece of wood with a cord tied around it, to a more detailed and durable steel version -- either way a couple rolls in either direction with a wrist roller will give you a great forearm workout. We're currently working on our own version, look for it soon... |  The Wrist Roller |
Labels: Grimek Exercise, Grimek Workout, Grip Equipment, Grip Exercise, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Hand Strength, John Grimek, wrist roller
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
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