Mobster training diary

should make good reading this.

What's 'Weaver stick'?

I like this one. It's me using 600kg (I'm using 620 at the mo) with a pair of Zulu Glove knee wraps on the leg press.

ORIGINAL: Neb

should make good reading this.

What's 'Weaver stick'?

A leverage exercise designed to test the wrist strength. Do a quick google search. The rules are on David Horne's site. It's the one grip event we can wear a wrist wrap on because it pulls on the joint. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj00vwO5mI4 shows a aussie doing a forward weaver and a reverse weaver.

cheers....any good for forearm growth do you think? it looks as though it may?

Doing those for reps like?

Sure. But do them old school style. Take a plate loaded dumbbell and only add weight to one side. Remember it does not need to be heavy. You'll be holding the other end of the dumbbell where the weights go. Work forward and reverse.

brilliant!

Thanks for that. Going to add that for sure, seems like a great idea.

Cheers

Tip of the day: do not land on ass when weighing close to 21stone. It ****ing hurts. I'm gonna have a bitch of a bruise in the morning!

Tuesday am
V strange session. Both grippers and pinch were a little off. That said many pints of Guinness were drunk over the day yesterday (my daughter, her hubby and the in laws were down for the day). A little warm today and I think I'm sweating the effects out.

So I have two options baring in mind I did the following (see below) either go mad and do a zillion reps on the grippers or come back and do pinch again later. We'll see.

Grippers
B/H: VG L1 x 6 reps@, VG L7 x 3 reps@,
L/H: RB240ip x 1 rep, BBGM x 1 rep, CoC3 x 4 x 1 attempts (all VVN). Also trying to use 20mm block as per comp rules
R/H: BBE x 1 rep, CoC3.5 x 1 rep,

2HP @44 mm
set x 6 reps, plus 30-kilos x 3 reps, plus 50-kilos x 1 rep, plus 70-kilos x 1 rep, plus 72.5-kilos x 1 rep, plus 78-kilos x 3 attempts. All dead in the water.

Gripper stupidity
L/H: RB240ip x 13 X 1 reps
R/H: BBE x 12 X 1 reps and 1 VVN.

The two hand pinch is a resurrected old fashioned feat of strength. It used to be the case that one could test it by taking a pair of matching in weight Olympic plates and turn them smooth sides out. Then using one hand or two 'pinch grip' them and pick them up. The attached photo of me is from a few years ago when we used to use small plates. The set up now is called a 'euro pinch' and has two outer metal plates and inner rubber spacers which can be taken out, put in, etc to adjust the width.



This one is a nice close up from David Horne's site which shows exactly what I mean.

And this is a 'beefbuilder' gripper animated image of one being shut.



Although strictly speaking the animation does not show the handles touching as per the rules so no slacking those of you thinking of giving them a go!!

great journal mobster.

where can i get my hands on a 'beef builder'

Cheers MMA. That brand comes from www.wwfitness.com a US based company. We sell, via drop shipping, the Robert Baraban brand, the Ironmind 'Captains of Crush' brand and the Heavygrips brand (we're the only UK seller with that many brands for sale). I would sell Beefbuilders but I'd have to import them etc. I'm also looking to sell another new brand by our mates at London Kettlebells. The Beefbuilders are made by the original gripper maker Warren Tetting (he pretty much knows all there is to know about grippers).

Tuesday pm
2HP @ 44mm
worked to 72.5-kilos loaded (longer p[in so total weight was 94.5-kilos) for 20 x 1 reps. Very close to puking and I just know I am gonna be ****ed tomorrow. Super tough workout.

Ok, I've 15 mins to spare so... a little on the gyms I use.

The Whey Gym and Gymnation
When I first came to Gloucester I had certain priorities. I arrived Friday but was unable to move in to my gaff until Saturday am. On Sunday I rang a couple of gyms and went and looked at one. It was very clean, tidy and so on and was, at the most, 5 minutes walk from my house. But the biggest dumbbells were all of 30-kilos and so that went off the list. The second I called was Gymnation (google it for a bit of background in a BBC news piece). I said 'what's the biggest dumbbells you have?'. 70-kilos came back the reply... I then says 'can I use chalk' and young Richie goes 'rub your hands on the floor there's plenty there ha ha' so off I went for a look.


A pic of gymnation. Neville looks on while Malcolm spots Louis on thick bar incline bench

Two power racks, a proper 45-degree leg press (I paid for a longer loading pin), thick bar... and old school. I'm able to go round leg pulling, urging people to get another rep, work hard myself and so on. I'd say I've made a name for myself and it's great! Plus because I managed to get myself involved in some small way in local projects, the charity fire engine pulls, etc they let me train there for free. One major thing, which is a little thing to me but can be well 'not allowed' at many gyms is my adding weights to the stacks of some machines when working out. You'll have one lad using a cable machine and doing pressdowns with 30-pounds and me next to him using the stack with 45-kilos pinned on it. I got one complaint and was able to show them the breaking strain of cables etc online is far higher than I'll ever use. After that... no problem.

The whey gym
One advantage of having a nice lease on a decent space is using it how the hell you want (subject to complaints ha ha). So ours is one of the better equipped strongman training facilities in the UK. Power rack, lifting platform, lifting logs and thick bars, 1000+ kilos of plates, dumbbells to 80-kilos, atlas stones from 50 to 251-kilos, a 400-kilo tire... loads and loads. The most recent additions include 3 donated machines. A 145-kilo stacked leg extension, a 140-kilo stacked lat pulldown and a 100-kilo stacked leg curl (cheers Lee Powell IFBB Pro)

There's a few photos in the hardcore training part of Our gallery Click and check it out Dunkster, a former gym user of ours, has a load of training videos Dunks youtube account We've added more kit and rearranged it a bit since then.

Great pics keep em coming!

I'll dig some more out in a mo.

Righty ho here's one. It's a rather untidy (half the bleeding time ha ha) corner.


The dumbbell rack has an assortment of bells as can be seen. Of note is the 'baby Inch' (53-kilos thick handled), 'Inch' dumbbell (78-kilos and both belonging to Nick McKinless) and my Millennium dumbbell.

Then there's a bench press bench (I don't like it preferring to use an adjustable bench I had made many years ago in the power rack), the seated press bench (for sale - none of us like it but it was part of a job lot of off eBay). A dipping frame, assorted specially made bars leaning over on the right and more. One feature worth a mention is what all old hardcore gyms used to have but seems to have died a death in most - our records / challenge board. It's divided into three sections. Bog standard lifts (squat, press and the like), strongman (stones, yoke, etc) and grip (pinch, rolling thunder, v-bar). Visitors try to get their names on it, regulars see how they compare and so on. On another door we have a smaller panel and that has targets for the year, competitions and the like.

More to follow.

A slightly bigger view. This time tidier and taken a day before our 'whey power challenge'. We'd built the platform (8 x 4's with 16mm rubber mats on top) and swept up and so on. The idea was some of the visitors through the year would bring their girls up, we'd have a day lifting (squat, bench, deadlift, press and pinch (grip)) and then we all go for an Xmas meal (23 all told - big ass mo fos as well - should have seen the looks we got in town).

Final one today. This one is off MT member Laurence 'Table Tennis' (or TT) Shahlaei working what is for him at BSM level a weak lift. Now MT member Evertonfc had been down late last year and pushed 160-kilos in weights (about 190 in the hand) for a rep. Lozza, as we also call him, is doing 1 of 3 reps here with 162.5-kilos loaded or 192.5-kilos in the hand on the Conan's wheel / Viking Press set up.

It's between a machine or leverage press and a barbell. You can lean into it so do not have to control it on that plane but it can move to the sides but is easier, all things considered, than a barbell press of the same weight.

Just seen this and thought you'd want me to share it with you...

ORIGINAL: Mobster

ORIGINAL: Tomazi8

thats huge got any pics ? are you looking at competing in bbing ?

Pics yes (see below). Taken last year and with the same weight on the stack (105lbs plus 45-kilos).

BB? No. Far too fat. I do what I am good at. While I am, without doubt, a big chap now I'm not suited physically to being a bodybuilder. I also like me food.

You've put on a hell of a lot of mass since we met in 2001 mate!