Building Great Grip Strength

 

Our hands can be either deadly weapons, smooth & peaceful or they can be used to build & destroy. Training the hands creates powerful entities that can determine where our strengths and weaknesses lie. The building blocks of developing a powerful grip showcase what we are capable of in certain aspects of life whether it be sports, law enforcement, carpentry or blacksmithing. 

My aspirations for developing grip strength was what I struggled for years developing the nerves in my right hand from the meningitis. After learning a few things from the old-time strongmen later on in my life in my 20's, it was apparent that I keep up the various methods of these men of strength. For years I did various feats from bending steel to ripping phonebooks to levering hammers and other cool stuff and I'm proud that I was able to do those things; now in my 30's, some things changed, I can still do some feats but my attention is more on keeping my hands healthy and strong for the long haul. 

Keeping the hands supple and flexible is a must as we age because as we get older, we run a higher risk of developing arthritis and bone spurs in the fingers and wrists. We may not need an extreme amount of strength as we age but have enough to still do things without pain and nerve damage. Finger Gymnastics is one of the very best courses that helps you prevent problems in the hands such as Carpal Tunnel and the other two points I made here, simple exercises that are very effective in developing the strength, agility and suppleness not just in the muscles or nerves but also the tendons and ligaments. Weak tendons and ligaments won't get you very far.

To really understand certain aspects of strength, training with a thick bar can show you some realities of how strong your grip is. You won't be able to lift as much weight as you normally would with a regular bar but that doesn't mean you can't get strong in that area. One of my favorite things to do in my training is taking the Fat Gripz and attaching them to the handles of the TNT Cable System and really tackle exercises that not only hit the muscles I'm working but also challenge my grip in the process. It's tough work and you don't need to do much to feel it. Just attach them to a pullup bar or a kettlebell and notice a huge difference in your strength, balance and the need to squeeze hard with a vengeance just to work an exercise. 

When it comes to weights per se, I like to really test my grip with heavy hammers such as my Epic Sledgehammer or Thor Hammers. These bad boys will make you humble as hell when it comes to grip strength. The handle on the Thor Hammers are thick enough to where even exercising them like clubs takes a good amount of balance and your hands will be tested. In the video above, I demonstrate doing the bottoms up press with the 30 lb Thor Hammer. You've heard of the Bottoms Up Press with a kettlebell, that's quite a movement or hold as it is but this is a different style of gripping and balancing, you have to almost pinch the ball at the bottom of the handle and shift your body differently than usual. It can be dangerous and is a unique skill to do. 

There are a great many ways to train the hands but the reality is, if you don't train them properly or take good care of them, they can lead to problems in your future and if you're in a job where you're required to use the hands for specific tasks, you don't want to be useless. It's also one thing to get them calloused and toughening them up, many laborers, farmers and those who work in manual labor have some tough hands but very few know how to also take care of them and many have huge problems later in life just picking up a pencil or a mug. 

Condition the hands to develop strength that lasts and creating awesome suppleness and flexible in the fingers and wrists where they can be nearly injury proof. The Indestructible Body is another great course that teaches this. Be safe, get strong and kick ass. 

Are Aesthetics Really That Important?

 Having a beautifully pleasing physique can do a lot for you and it shows the work you have put into the training you do; but does it have any real significant importance? Don't get me wrong some of the best athletes in the world have incredible bodies but how long does that physique even last, a few years, a decade or maybe even a month who knows. Hard work does pay off but even the most pleasing physique can have damaging effects especially if you use performance enhancers or just heavy doses of steroids. 

Just because you have a great body, doesn't always mean you have other attributes to back it up. Here's an example, Alexander Karelin was arguably the greatest Greco-Roman Wrestler of his time maybe even ever and had one of the most powerful physiques that would make the Old Timers' jaw drop and has accolade after accolade of accomplishments but yet in his very last Olympic Match, he got beat by a farm boy who didn't look like he can make it a mile without dying and practically came out of nowhere. Rulon Gardner was so conditioned that despite his looks, wore down the Russian beast and won a gold medal for the good ole USA.

You don't have to look like a classic bodybuilder in order to be a badass. George Forman, Ed Strangler Lewis, Butterbean, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Paul Anderson and others never really had good looking muscles or had abilities other athletes had but they were practically superhuman in their field and made an impact that leaves them in the legendary status to this day. Aesthetics have their place in certain areas but rarely today you have guys with awesome bodies that have the strength, agility and endurance to back it up. 

My physique changes from time to time as you have seen with results from doing Hill Sprints, Isometrics and other things but I know realistically I don't have the desire or the will  to develop a pleasing body, I just want to be healthy and conditioned that even in my later years I can still go and be able to do things. A physique isn't going to save your ass in the long run but conditioning will. This doesn't mean you eat everything under the sun and expect to be in awesome, it does take eating good food to get the most of your training as well but stop trying so hard to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger or think that just because you look like a million bucks you think you can outwrestle someone or hit a homerun 500 ft or even run the 100 yard dash in under 9 seconds, be realistic but also strive to be the best version of yourself because remember, there's only one YOU!!!

When The Animals Call

 Our energy levels vary from day to day and we don't always know when those will dip or just have a moment of pure adrenaline. Some days we'll feel like crap and have various mood swings where we can feel happy one moment and all of a sudden do a 180 and be an ass. We're human, it happens and it's part of our nature. Some days are better than others and we just have that bundle of energy. Having that kind of energy shouldn't go to waste but neither should be at an excess.

Exercising is without question incredible for productively getting that energy out. Even if you're in a bad mood and just need to find a way to get rid of it, training can definitely help beyond just getting physical, it could also relieve stress from an emotional and mental stand point as well.

Whenever I need a pick-me-up or have that excess energy or just find a way to chill out, I turn to the animals and just play my animal dice game. It changes my state of mind completely and puts me in a better place to think clearer and feel better all around. Life is hard at times and its important to find the good and positive things that make life interesting. Moving around like an animal has this power to channel stress in ways certain methods can't match, that doesn't mean other methods are crap and what you do makes you feel better and changes your mood should be in your arsenal. 

When the animals call, I go until it's time for me to stop. At times it's only a few minutes but those few minutes can change an entire day. The crawling, the jumping, the walking and the balancing all put things into perspective and harness a strength to be better, to prevent negative things from entering your mind and release endorphins that make the world feel easy to be in. 

Get the most out of the stress you want to get rid of or use what's possible to get that excess energy out so you'll feel more clear headed, be able to sleep better, better control of your breathing and letting things flow. When the animals call, try answering every now and then, you'll be surprised what you'll find out.  

End Of The Road On Hill Sprint Training For Now

 Since May 17th, I wanted to see what I can do doing Hill Sprints and it was a joy to do and I loved it but I don't have the drive to do them for a while. The reality is, it's a 15-20 minute walk to the Hills I was running on and getting there, doing some kind of warm up, sprint and than walk back was putting some stress on my shin and ankles and needed to stop. 

Sometimes you need to change things up to avoid injuries and when you get burned out or have had enough, it's important to not force yourself into something you don't put your heart into. Now if I was less than 10 minutes away walking there, it be no problem but since day 1 of walking again back in '05, it can be difficult for me to walk for an extended period of time without feeling some kind of discomfort which has led to pain at times. 

My results from training on the Hills are pretty good and after about close to 2 months, I've put on some muscle and although I weigh practically the same, my shape is different and lost some fat. It has given me some fresh perspective on what it takes to train with intensity and fortitude to push myself to a different level. Although the runs were short, each sprint taught me how to handle my footing, determine speed and explosiveness during the duration and practice solid rest time for optimal performance. 

On Friday, I was doing 20 second sprints and the distance was roughly the same but the very last one, for some reason the distance was further than all the others and I was pushing hard on the others. When you're determined to find out what you're capable of, you can do things you didn't expect to do. These last results are from June 14th and yesterday. 

When I was sprinting, I would think of myself as the Flash or the legendary Walter Payton, just exploding upward and giving everything I had. That's one of the true aspects of this kind of training, there's more to it than just shooting up a hill. I don't know what I'm going to do next but for the next phase of training, it can lead to anywhere from Hindu Burpees to another chapter of carrying, step ups, animal workouts or whatever comes to mind. It's just a matter of what I make of it to get the most out of. 

Wrestling In Mongolia

Throughout mankind there have been many different styles of wrestling or grappling. In certain regions of the same country, you can find various styles of wrestling and what it pertains to the culture of that region. In today's age we understand the concepts of Freestyle & Greco-Roman Amateur Wrestling, Catch As Catch Can, Folkstyle, some understanding of Kushti or Indian Wrestling and others but how often have you read about a style that is centuries old but rarely talked about such as Mongolian Wrestling?

From our history books, the most famous thing about Mongolia was the rise and fall of Genghis Kahn, the legendary warrior and general of quite arguably the greatest army that conquered nearly the entire world. Did you know that many of his soldiers were incredible wrestlers and highly skilled archers? The reason he chose many wrestlers because they were the embodiment of strength, skill and durability. Archery as you may have guessed was one of the greatest form of weaponry that dates back thousands of years used in War & Hunting. 

Mongolian Wrestling or Bokh (meaning Durability) is a folk style of grappling where in order to win, your opponent's body other than his foot must touch the ground. The match has some Judo & Greco-Roman elements to it but there's no pins or submissions and it's mainly open weight classes and no time limit. In Mongolian Culture, Wrestling is king. It's one of the "Manly Skills" that includes Archery & Horsemanship (In other words the Trinity of the seemingly unstoppable Kahn Army).  Wrestling events were common during the Qing Dynasty that was from 1646-1911 I believe.

Cave Paintings that date back around 9000 Years (7000 BC) in a Mongolian Province show a match that was surrounded by crowds. Bokh has appeared on Bronze Plates as well within the ruins of the Xiognu Empire. Originally a Military Sport, it was intended to showcase the Strength, Stamina & Skills of recruited Troops. Kahn & other Emperors supported the sport to the degree that today, a Festival called Naadam is the continuing tradition of the art of Bokh.

The competitions are tournament style and has a long list of competitors that one tournament can last about a couple days. The top ranked wrestlers are given titles from their places in the tournament which are.....

Sum Falcon

Sum Elephant

Aimag Falcon

Aimag Elephant

Aimag Lion

National Falcon

National Hawk

National Elephant

National Garuda

National Lion

National Champion

National Surge Champion

National Wide Champion

National Grand Champion

These are the titles out of at times 1000 Wrestlers (But mainly over 500). The Naadam takes place in July every year, the largest competition is the National Naadam in Ulaannaatar which houses the largest number of wrestlers. Two other Classes of the Naadam (Aimag & Sum) are on the bases of Mongolian Administrative Divisions. 

It is quite a site to how important this festival is to many guys who compete. The training these guys go through is pretty insane (what wrestling training isn't insane) and their diet is mainly of meats. A lot of competitors have powerful legs and although they don't have muscles that stand out like a bodybuilder or athlete we're use to seeing, they still have some serious strength and endurance. Some matches only last a few seconds but others can go quite a while but in the end, the moment you fall to the ground it is over. 

To get a glimpse or the idea of how these wrestlers train, compete and utilize the philosophy and culture, here are a few videos to check out. One of the videos is a music video by The Hu that opens a Naadam Festival.