Results matching “log”

Via Britt Buckingham : This.

Via Britt Buckingham : This.

This month, Run To Win and Straight to the Bar will be looking at the many possibilities when it comes to home-made training equipment. This week, I'll be taking a look at several great conditioning tools - DIY Balls.

Ever tried making your own medicine balls? Stress balls? Juggling balls? Here are a few of my favourites.

Slammable Medicine Balls

These have been made many, many times; the first one I saw was Jim's over at Lean and Hungry Fitness. Jim has the details on the technique, but here's the short version :

• buy a cheap, deflated ball from a sporting goods store
• cut the opening a little wider (a cross will do fine, about 1/2" across)
• pour in the filling (usually sand) - using a funnel - until the ball's about 3/4 full
• fill the remainder with expanding foam, seal it with duct tape and let it sit overnight
• when hardened, trim off any excess foam and retape
• the ball is now ready for use

There are other combinations of filling that are sometimes used, but this one works well.

Tornado Ball

A while ago Paul Chek and Bryan Walsh wrote about the idea of a Tornado Ball, which is really just a Medicine Ball and a short cord. Once you've made the Medicine Ball above, grab an old bag or hessian sack and try this (video via the Diesel Crew).

This month, Run To Win and Straight to the Bar will be looking at the many possibilities when it comes to home-made training equipment. This week, I'll be taking a look at several great conditioning tools - DIY Balls.

Slammable Medicine Balls

These have been made many, many times; the first one I saw was Jim's over at Lean and Hungry Fitness. Jim has the details on the technique, but here's the short version :

• buy a cheap, deflated ball from a sporting goods store
• cut the opening a little wider (a cross will do fine, about 1/2" across)
• pour in the filling (usually sand) - using a funnel - until the ball's about 3/4 full
• fill the remainder with expanding foam, seal it with duct tape and let it sit overnight
• when hardened, trim off any excess foam and retape
• the ball is now ready for use

Tornado Ball

A while ago Paul Chek and Bryan Walsh wrote about the idea of a Tornado Ball, which is really just a Medicine Ball and a short cord. Once you've made the Medicine Ball above, grab an old bag or hessian sack and try this (video via the Diesel Crew).

The Grip Master's Manual.

After analyzing my performance over the last couple of years in grip contests, I have identified grippers as one of the events I must work on. Aside from other methods I have been using to bring my crush up, I have been supplementing my normal gripper work with lots of focus on the last two fingers.

There is a multitude of ways to work the last two fingers but I want to share some of the things that I have been doing routinely to work on the last two.

One thing that I have been using is the IronMind Tug #5. The IronMind Tugs are shorter-handled torsion-spring grippers that are designed specifically with the last two fingers in mind. I will perform repetitions with the Tug #5 and holds for time, each day I do gripper work. The Tug #5 started out tough for me but after much work on it and probably due to some seasoning, it has gotten rather easy and I am considering buying the next level up in an effort to keep progressing on grippers.

Another tactic I have implemented is called choking. Choking is where you secure the gripper handles down with an object so that they are partially closed. This can be done with a PDA choker, a large washer, or a hose clamp, which is what I use. Hose clamps cost about $1.50 at the hardware store and are a very cheap yet functional option for gripper choking.

I have choked down a #1 Captains of Crush gripper to the point that the handles are parallel.

Then, I invert it, like a Tug, and make attempts to close it with only my last two fingers. I have not yet been able to touch the handles together with my last two fingers, but I am down to about a sixteenth of an inch and if I cheat the handles shut and then remove my off hand, I can hold it nearly closed.

Also, I have been working my last two fingers in a static fashion by pinching together the handles of two sledgehammers.


I normally perform timed holds with this lift, but I also like to pinch and lift the sledges and then swing the handles back and forth, perform figure eights, and twists with the sledges aloft. This is a great finisher to your last two finger training.

In the Grip Master’s Manual, a book I think anyone interested in grip strength should read, John Brookfield mentions that one of the secrets to closing heavy grippers, especially the IronMind Captains of Crush grippers, is strength in the last two fingers, or the ring and pinky fingers. He says that strength in these two fingers is what finishes off the close when making a big attempt. I fully agree.

After analyzing my performance over the last couple of years in grip contests, I have identified grippers as one of the events I must work on. Aside from other methods I have been using to bring my crush up, I have been supplementing my normal gripper work with lots of focus on the last two fingers.

There is a multitude of ways to work the last two fingers but I want to share some of the things that I have been doing routinely to work on the last two.

One thing that I have been using is the IronMind Tug #5. The IronMind Tugs are shorter-handled torsion-spring grippers that are designed specifically with the last two fingers in mind. I will perform repetitions with the Tug #5 and holds for time, each day I do gripper work. The Tug #5 started out tough for me but after much work on it and probably due to some seasoning, it has gotten rather easy and I am considering buying the next level up in an effort to keep progressing on grippers.

Another tactic I have implemented is called choking. Choking is where you secure the gripper handles down with an object so that they are partially closed. This can be done with a PDA choker, a large washer, or a hose clamp, which is what I use. Hose clamps cost about $1.50 at the hardware store and are a very cheap yet functional option for gripper choking.

I have choked down a #1 Captains of Crush gripper to the point that the handles are parallel.
Then, I invert it, like a Tug, and make attempts to close it with only my last two fingers. I have not yet been able to touch the handles together with my last two fingers, but I am down to about a sixteenth of an inch and if I cheat the handles shut and then remove my off hand, I can hold it nearly closed.

Also, I have been working my last two fingers in a static fashion by pinching together the handles of two sledgehammers.
I normally perform timed holds with this lift, but I also like to pinch and lift the sledges and then swing the handles back and forth, perform figure eights, and twists with the sledges aloft. This is a great finisher to your last two finger training.

I strongly suggest you implement some last two training if your goal is to close heavy grippers, but I will warn you that the day or two after you perform lifts that isolate the last two, your pinky pad will be sore. This pain will subside soon enough and you can speed your recovery by performing deep tissue massage on yourself, doing contrast bathing, and with thorough stretching.

All the best in your training.

"Napalm" Jedd Johnson
DieselCrew.com
Napalm's Blog

Adam Glass at work. Nice one.

Adam Glass at work. Nice one.

The weekend is definitely construction time around here - particularly where the home gym is concerned. This is my project for the afternoon; Laree Draper's Home-made Agility Ladder. Perfect.

The weekend is definitely construction time around here - particularly where the home gym is concerned. This is my project for the afternoon; Laree Draper's Home-made Agility Ladder. Perfect.