Saturday, December 05, 2009
Shaolin Grip TrainingHow do Shaolin Monks build their incredible levels of grip and forearm strength? ...with the simple wrist roller. Of course, this fellow prefers to do his wrist roller training while standing on large water jars (to increase the range of motion) and using a stone padlock for the weight.
Labels: Chinese Stone Lock, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Shaolin Monks, wrist roller, Wrist Roller Training
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Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Wrist RollerThe Wrist Roller is quite versatile for such a simple piece of equipment. You can perform heavy "singles" times holds, extended range training, "reps" and any number of other methods to build forearm strength. Look for a complete course on wrist roller training some time in the near future.
Labels: Equipment, Forearm Strength, Grip Training, Grip Training Equipment, wrist roller, Wrist Roller Training
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Saturday, September 19, 2009
Iron Palm TrainingAnother interesting martal art training method is to build up hand strength and conditioning by driving them into sand... then rice... then gravel... then iron shot. As the size and density of the striking material increases, the hands follow suit. Keep in mind that this is simply another form of progression, the principle behind all successful physical training.
Labels: Grip Training, Iron Palm Training, Shaolin Monks, Training Techniques
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Monday, July 13, 2009
Steel Bending"The Amazing Samson" Alexander Zass engaging in a bit of steel bending. Though is is certainly not for everyone, steel bending can be quite a workout, one that can make you very strong in some very unusual ways.
Labels: Alexander Zass, Amazing Samson, Bending Feat, Feats of Strength, Full Body Strength, Grip Training, Steel Bending, Wrist Strength
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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
Monday, June 22, 2009
John Grimek: One-Arm Barbell SnatchMany people have ascribed John Grimek's well-rounded physique to the fact that he was very well-rounded in his training. He pressed, he squatted, he trained his grip, he used the wrist roller, he even trained upside-down. Here's Grimek performing a one-arm barbell snatch with 145 pounds - a feat that you will rarely see these days.
Labels: Barbell, Grip Training, John Grimek, one arm snatch, Press, Squat, Wrist Roller Training, York Deep Dish 45 Pound Plate
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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
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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
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Test Your Grip!Are You Strong or Weak? ~ Don't be a wimp ~ Test Your Grip! To be a true 'strong man' you need a strong set of hands. That's as true today as it was back in the 1920s when machines like this could be found at fairs and carnivals all over the country. You won't find many of these machines these days but you still want to be able to measure up when necessary so it pays to always train your grip.
Labels: Grip Machine, Grip Strength, Grip Tester, Grip Training, Grip Training Equipment
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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
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Mystery GripperI've seen this style of gripper before but this particular version is a new animal. In all my collections of old magazines and the like I have never seen this one advertised. This gripper is built extremely heavy and the springs themselves are some of the largest I have ever encountered, not to mention that is is quite a bit tougher than any other grippers like this that I have tried. I would estimate this one to be around the #2 gripper level.
Labels: Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Gripper Training, Hand Gripper, Hand Strength Equipment, Spring Gripper, Spring Hand Gripper
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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
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Professor A. N. ShaikhProfessor A. N. Shaikh of Pakistan was an expert at pinch gripping. Here he does a 'clean' to the shoulder with a 75 pound smooth weight plate in the early 60s. Not bad, I don't know anyone who could duplicate this feat these days. This record stood until his 18-year old son came along and bested it with a lift of 81 pounds.
Labels: Barbell Plate, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Pakistani Strongman, Pinch Grip, Pinch Lift, Professor A. N. Shaikh
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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
The Wrist RollerWho uses the wrist roller to build forearm strength? Chinese Olympic weightlifters are one pretty good example (among many). This picture comes from an old training course. Despite its simplicity, the wrist roller is one of the most effective grip exercises there is.
Labels: Forearm Strength, Forearm Training, Grip Training, Grip Training Equipment, Olympic Weightlifting, wrist roller, Wrist Roller Training
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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
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
George Jowett: Anvil Lifting"...Talking about feats with an anvil reminds me of a particular feat that I performed impromptu which takes a great amount of confidence as well as strength. It happened at one of the times that I picked up an anvil by the horn in a smithy shop, and after that stunt I pressed the anvil to arm's length by lying it on its broadside upon the flat of my hand, which is not as easy as it sounds. After I had done this I put the anvil on the floor on its base.George Jowett
We began to talk about various anvil feats being so difficult because of its awkward unbalanced construction. One man remarked that it would be some stunt to balance the anvil on the hand upside down. That meant the face would rest on the hand and the heavy wide base on top. Somehow I conceived the notion I could do it, and accordingly I took hold of the face with my right hand, and with the help of the left arm got the weight to the shoulder.
Despite the wide base and the bad balance caused by same and the horn, I not only succeeded in balancing the anvil by its face, but pressed it to arm's length, to the amazement of all. I have done it many times since, and for this volume I performed the same feat, thinking it might interest my readers. The anvil weighed one hundred sixty-eight pounds..."
The Key to Might and Muscle, Chapter 9
Written in 1926
Labels: Anvil Lifting, George Jowett, Grip Feat, Grip Training, Odd Object Lifting, The Key to Might and Muscle
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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
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Joe KinneyTHE Man when it comes to grip strength is Mr. Joe Kinney from Bean Station, Tennessee. In 1998, he became the first man to close the Ironmind #4 Gripper and did so in a manner that has never been duplicated before or since; it looked easier than a Trainer as he slammed the handles shut. Pictured above is how Joe "opens a beer" - by squeezing the can until explodes!
Labels: #4 Gripper, Bean Station, Grip Master, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Ironmind Gripper, Joe Kinney, Tennessee, Tennessee Strongman
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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
Friday, July 04, 2008
 45 Plate Hub Curl | Rocky Erickon of Chicago, Illinois performs an incredible feat of grip strength: a hub "lift" and curl of a pair of old York Barbell "deep dish" 45-pound plates. Lifting a 45-pound plate by the hub is impressive, but Rocky takes it to a whole new level with this feat. |
Labels: Barbell Plate, Curl, Exercise, Finger Strength, Grip Exercise, Grip Feat, Grip Training, York Deep Dish 45 Pound Plate
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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 16, 2007
Iron Man Hand GrippersThere are advertisements for hand grippers going back as far as 1901, but the tradition of the heavy-duty steel hand grippers began in back in 1964 when Warren Tetting's grippers first appeared in the pages of Iron Man Magazine.
These grippers challenged many strongmen and there were four Strengths: "Light", "Heavy", "Extra Heavy" and "Super Heavy". Only the strongest hands could close the "Extra Heavy" gripper and it is unknown weather anyone actually closed the "Super Heavy" gripper level.
The Iron Man Grippers would be advertised for the next 79 issues and eventually became the inspiration for the Iron Mind Captains of Crush Grippers.
Labels: Forearm Strength, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Gripper Training, Hand Grippers, Iron Man Grippers, Strongman Equipment, Tetting Grippers, Warren Tetting
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
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The Super GripperSometimes it hard to believe that the Super Gripper has been around since 1940. You used to see ads for it in Strength and Health and Iron Man Magazine. Interestingly, the design has remained largely unchanged since it was introduced -- and more importantly, it has helped build thousands of stronger grips and forearms since then.
The above ad is from an Iron Man Magazine from the early 1970's.
Labels: Forearm Strength, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Strongman Equipment, 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
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Whitely GIANT Power Grip!| My friend Sarah found this cool old-time hand gripper in an antique shop somewhere in Michigan and snapped it up for a few bucks. – What a steal! There's no date on this gripper but I’ve seen the design before in a lot of old magazines (see right from 1926.) The one above is in mint condition (including the box) and still a pretty good challenge with all six springs. If you need a more modern grip challenge, check these out: Ironmind Hand Grippers |  Oldtime Ad |
Labels: Advertisement, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Strongman Equipment
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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
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