Bear Publishing
THE Long awaited GRIP BIBLE © will be available in a few weeks
Over 230 pages full of Grip.
Only 200 1st editions will be signed by the Authors.
1 Why Develop The Grip?
2 Grip Forging Physiology and Training Laws
3 Strength and Size Methodology: Designing a General Strength/Bodybuilding and Conditioning Programme
4 Grip Training Methodology: Designing A Grip Training Programme
5 Putting It All Together
6 Sport Specific Grip Training
7 Grip Equipment and Advice
8 Grip Feats9 Exercise Technique Guide
10 Practical Sports Psychology For Attaining Your Goal(S): ASK To GROW SMARTER
WHY DEVELOP THE GRIP?
Introduction
There are over a dozen muscles in the forearm and thirty-three in the hand, two rival pairs of these muscles rotate the forearm in opposing directions. The remaining forty-one either GRIP or move/stabilise the wrists. We are sure you have all met someone with a ?vice-like? handshake and realise just how much it subconsciously and immediately says about that person ? how much is this admired and envied? If you witness that same person in the gym or at manual labour no doubt they will be lifting some remarkable poundages, have you ever considered the bond between the hand and remarkable whole body strength?
THE BASIC PREMISE
The prospective grip forger will chase their grip goals for either one or both of the following reasons:
Heavier Weights Lifted in the Gym
> A Bigger and Stronger Body
> Improved Sports Performance
BEYOND STRENGTH AND SPORT
Grip work is beneficial to all other aspects of training and performance, but of itself it provides in no particular order:
1. Challenge
2. Competition
3. Self-confidence and self-belief
4. Enjoyment
5. Motivation
6. Self-satisfaction
7. Training variety
?To once again put the burden on the individual, allow me to instruct you to lift without the aid of hooks or straps enough so that the hands will be tough and strong when doing heavy singles. This must be left up to your own judgement. The aids in gripping are just to allow the back and other muscle groups to be properly worked to gain your ultimate in dead lifting strength.? ~ Paul Anderson, Power by Paul, 2006.
Progress in the basic strength, speed and power lifts/exercises is often held back by the crushing strength of the hands, which is as frustrating for the recreational ?meat-head? as it is for a competitive lifter or sportsperson who is using the ?iron? as a method to improve their performance in the sports arena. The following two quotes, one from the 1970s and one from the 1980s underline the forgotten secret that weight training is supposed to be WEIGHT training.
?Forearms ? ?stubborn forearms? will respond like obedient, trained seals to heavy rowing, cleaning and pressing. And just try to keep your grip on a super heavy barbell while doing a set of deadlifts, without forcing the forearm muscles to ache and grow beyond belief!? ~ Bradley J. Steiner.
?When I reached the point where I was using 350 pounds for 15 reps in the Stiff-leg Deadlift ... I used straps, rationalising their use by telling myself that I wanted to give my lower back and hamstrings a good workout without being limited by a lack of hand strength. When I made the decision to forego the use of straps and persevere until I could handle heavy weights without them, I surpassed my previous bests. In fact, the entire exercise became much more intense and my overall gains in strength and muscular size were quite unexpected. Perhaps my level of concentration was higher because I was so intent on maintaining my grip on the barbell. As neuroanatomists know, the area of the brain that exerts control over the hand muscles has a much higher representation relative to actual muscle size than other muscle groups. Although it is strictly conjecture, perhaps intense forearm/hand work heightens neural stimulation for all muscles worked during a particular movement. My experience has shown that taking the time and energy to directly stimulate the forearm musculature leads to increased ability to handle heavy weights in many exercises.? ~ THE STEEL TIP, Volume 1, Number 2, February 1985, Dr. Ken Leistner.
?When I met Scott Wilson at the Orlando International Airport in 1984, I did a double take on his forearms. He was wearing a blue sweatshirt with the sleeves cut-off at the elbow, and he was carrying two good-sized bags in each hand. You couldn?t help noticing the huge, tan forearms that looked as if they had been assembled with bunches of steel cables. I still think those were the leanest, most defined forearms I?ve ever seen.? ~ Ellington Darden, PH.D, The New High Intensity Training, 2004.
?One of my strength coaching colleagues told me that in the early ?70s during a press conference prior to a Russia versus USA wrestling competition, it was brought up that the American wrestler in the 165-pound bodyweight class could bench press 365 pounds?The Russian counterpart responded by producing two pairs of pliers and proceeded to squeeze them so hard that they snapped! After the match, the defeated US wrestler commented that when the Russian grabbed his arms, he felt as if they were locked in a vice grip and that he immediately began to lose the sensation in his arms and hands. Again, the US wrestler was certainly much stronger than the Russian from a weightlifting standpoint, but the Russian had achieved a remarkable degree of functional strength for his sport.? ~ Charles Poliquin.
THE GRIP BIBLE
Forging A Viking?s Grip Of Iron
Grip; n. Firm hold; mastery.
v. Hold tightly.
Bible; n. Sacred writings of (the Christian) religion.
Forge; n. A place where metal is worked (smithy).
v. Shape (metal) by heating and hammering.
v. Advance steadily.
INTRODUCTION TO THE GRIP BIBLE
?(Modern) Bodybuilding is THE worst thing ever to happen to strength training.? ~ Dr. Ken E. Leistner.
The abiding aim when we set about writing ?The Grip Bible?, our second training reference book, was to provide honest, useable and highly effective grip training tools and methodology relevant to strengthening the hands and developing the forearms - along with the rest of the body ? as great grip strength is useless without being able to express it FUNCTIONALLY. ?The Grip Bible? was written for any and every one regardless of their current ability, inherent potential, sporting interests or training goals.
Secondly, we very quickly realised that illustrating every single possible variant of every useful grip related exercise was an exercise in futility. So, we decided to ?spark? the prospective grip forger?s imagination. Which brings us to another important point; no one knows everything especially on a subject as huge as strength training. We have ?ferreted about? (what others term research) seeking training information from many of the respected and eminent ?Iron Game? sages, then set about experimenting, rediscovering and inventing for ourselves. As such we felt that it would be dishonourable to plagiarise their words and in so doing take credit for their knowledge and insight, therefore where possible we have quoted directly from their writings. This also provides some other respectable references for the prospective grip forger to seek out and expand their knowledge on the many aspects of strength training mentioned herein.
Thirdly, we take our responsibility as authors very seriously ? ?The Grip Bible? is no mere shelf-filler, but a compendium of everything ?grip? that WORKS ? CARPE FERRUM ? ?SEIZE THE IRON?.
METHODS OF GRIP TRAINING
The final question is what SetxRep scheme do I employ? Well, we have something better than just SetxRep schemes; we have gone way beyond that! We have nearly thirty training methods and systems that will get you started, then progress and motivate you in your grip forging endeavours.
1. Break-in Training
2. Priority Exercise
3. Build Up Sets
4. Straight Sets
5. Double S Sets
6. Consolidation Sets
7. Partials
8. Negatives
9. Hybrid Exercise
10. Higher Reps
11. Back-down Sets
12. 50% Sets
13. ?Finisher?
14. Density Sets And
15. Variable Repetition Records
16. Rest-Pause Training And
17. Cluster Sets
18. 123 Limited Training
19. Wave Loading
20. Ladder Sets
21. Jump Sets
22. Bi/Tri-Sets/Circuit Training
23. Exercise Variation
24. Light or Medium Day Exercise
25. Block Periodisation
26. Singles and Daily Training
27. Grip Specialisation
28. Multi-grip Training
29. ?Slow Cooking? Volume Training
30. Plateau Busting
EXERCISE LIST
1. Get-set Position and Deadlift
a. One-hand Deadlift
b. Conventional Deadlift
c. Romanian Deadlift
d. Farmer?s Walk
e. Log-bar Bear Hug and Wrist Deadlift
2. Power Clean/High Pull
3. Other Olympic Lifts
a. One-hand Olympic Lifts
4. Chin and Pull Up
5. Arm Curl
a. Bicep Curl
b. Hammer Curl
c. Reverse Curl
d. Zottman Curl
6. Spring Gripper
7. Odd Lifts
a. Shouldering A Barbell
b. Shovel/Torque/Haybaler Lifts
c. Grappler Lifts
8. Wrist and Finger Curl
9. Sledgehammer Swing
10. Breathing Squat/Deadlift/Clean & Jerk