Prep:
Primal Move
Rolling
Hip and Ankle Mob

24kg TGU x 3+3 (same side then switch)

Double 24kg Single Leg DL x 3+3 x 3sets

Airborne Lunge x 3+3 x 3sets

24kg Snatches
3+3 x 3sets
5+5 x 5sets
8+8 and 10+10

Finished with more rolling and an awesome stretch from Jon Engum I found on Facebook earlier today. Video is below.

Snatches felt crisp and effortless, no wrist issue so I was able to get back to some normal reps which makes me one happy dude!

Had a quick training session yesterday combining some of the movements I have been working on. Took it easy, not trying to be to wiped out for the weekend.

Prep:
Foam rolling/Stick work
Hip flexor stretch/brettzel
Primal Flow Warmup
16kg TGU stretches + Armbars

Circuit x 2rounds
24kg TGU x 1+1
24kg SLDL x 5+5
BW Chin-ups x 5
Double 24kg Front Squats x 5
Double 20kg jerks x 5

Finished with Indian Clubs, rolling, stretching

I have been working on more and more body weight drills and am excited to have such a skilled ninja like Logan provide some step by step instruction on a very challenging progression.

Check out his site here http://www.lostartofhandbalancing.com/

Thanks again man

Enjoy!

Pressing Up Into a Handstand

There are few bodyweight skills more impressive then pressing up into a handstand effortlessly and being able to hold it steady as long as you desire.

While this is no easy skill, it is certainly within the reach of anyone willing to work up to it, devoting plenty of practice over time.

To start with we’ll be doing the easiest bent arm press, known as the frogstand press. In this move you start in the frogstand position and press up until you’re in a handstand.

This was the first handstand press I learned, and is easier then other form. Depending on your flexibility certain straight arm presses could be easier for you, but that’s a whole other subject.

A big mistake I see people make is to try to press up into a handstand is that they cannot hold a handstand yet. This is like trying to run before learning how to walk. Not very smart in my opinion.

Spend the time learning to STAND on your hands. This means not walking, or stumbling around, on your hands, but gaining the ability to stand solidly. If you can hold a handstand for 10 seconds out in the open you’re good to go (of course I would advise to keep working on lengthening that time as well).

If you need more information on how to do this then I recommend you go to my website for detailed articles and videos that will get you started.

Assuming you can hold a handstand http://www.lostartofhandbalancing.com/articles/how-to-do-a-handstand/ we’ll start working on the frogstand press.

1. Start in the frogstand position. This is also called the knees on elbows stand. From here your arms are bent approximately 90 degrees. This position doesn’t take much strength because your bodyweight is supported by the forearms with your knees on the elbows.

2. Starting tipping forward so your face comes closer to the ground. Don’t allow your arms to bend any more than they currently are. Keep them locked in that place. As you tip forward your knees will come off the elbows.

3. As you start pressing up with your arms your knees and hips will begin to unfold as well.

4. Lockout your arms in the proper handstand position. Bring the legs together and straight and point the toes to complete the handstand.

5. From here you can hold the position or start any other hand balancing skill.

Key Points

What you want to avoid is to shoot your legs up quickly to try to get into the handstand. While this may add momentum and make the pressing part harder, it is better to keep it all under control. It will also be much easier to get into the balance for the handstand if you don’t explode into it.

When done slower it will take more static strength as your arms and shoulders must support your weight and then raise it up.

What also happens often is that the legs are shoot out and not enough up, this brings you down immediately in an under balance. Even when going slowly you must make sure to un-curl the legs upwards and not in front of you.

Making it Harder or Easier

The method I first used to work up to this movement was to do negatives. Start off in a handstand and lower down into the frogstand under control. It’s easy to fall into the position, especially that last little bit, but by going slowly you’ll build the strength and control you need.

Once you can do the positive portion of the frogstand press add the negative. Then try repeating it for reps. My current best is four complete repetitions. See if you can beat me.

Logan is an experienced physical culturist that started his passion for gymnastics from his high school time.

You can read the knowledge he shares with us on his personal website where you can learn things like how to do a backflip and many more.

Prep:
Foam Rolling
Primal Flow
Cross Crawls

24kg Getups x 1+1 x 5sets

235lb Deadlifts x 10 singles

Finished with open kneeling Indian Clubs

22 hour fast today

Have added a bit of new load slowly and things are still feeling great. Working with a 1 day on 1 day off approach. Lower body focus tomorrow…excited to Deadlift

8/29/12 – Training
Prep:
Foam an Stick work
Rolling and Crawling
Hip flexor stretch an Ankle mob
Brettzel
Primal movements and Cross Crawls

Getups
20kg x 1+1
32kg x 1+1
28kg x 1+1

Cossacks

Superset of
16kg-20kg Dbl MP x 5
8kg-12kg Chin ups x 3(belt)
12kg Pistols x 2+2
5 sets(alt load each set)

Swings
24kg 1 Hand x 5+5 x 6sets
28kg 1 Hand x 5+5 x 4sets

Finished w/ Z, Soft rolls, Bar hangs

Been awhile since I posted.

First things first if you haven’t seen the new Batman Movie…Go see it! Incredible! Saw it at the true IMAX Theatre a few days ago and going to see it again tomorrow.

We have expanded the studio at Kettlebility. More toys, more space, more classes, more clients, more trainers. Been an amazing year so far!

I continue to train 4-5 days a week alternating between 2 workouts. An upper body focus and lower body focus.  Still resting the wrist from a few lifts but all in all I would say its very close to being healed. I am looking forward to going a bit heavier soon. Feeling good, working on tons of mobility and stretching, primal movements(more on this soon) etc.

Here is Yesterday’s training 8/16/12 – half volume this week…starting new program Monday

Prep: Z-health, Hip and Ankle Mob, Brettzel, Crawling
Indian Clubs in Open Kneeling and Cossack position
16kg TGU Stretches + Armbars

24kg TGU x 2+2 (same side then switch)

HLR Practice (more to come on this)

BW Pistols x 3+3
Dbl 16kg SLDL x 3+3
Air Bourne Lunge x 3+3

225lb Barbell DL x 7 singles

Superset
Dbl 16kg Front Squat x 5
16kg Half Snatch x 5+5
3 sets

Side Walk w/ Pushup x 5+5 (these are awesome!)
40lb Ez Reverse Curls x 10

I hope everyone’s training is going great this summer!

Going to do my best to stay more consistent on these updates.

Enjoy the sun! Cheers

Still working around my wrist injury but able to plenty and for that I am grateful. Had a great lower body workout yesterday and a super upper body focus today. I have been working with mostly 24kg or Double 24kg. Wrist is improving, just slowly.

Here is what went down

Prep: Z-Health, Brettzel, Bar Hangs, Hip and Ankle Mobility

16kg TGU Stretches and Armbars

TGU
24kg x 1+1
28kg x 1+1
32kg x 1+1 (first time trying this in awhile)

Double 24kg Jerks x 5reps x 10sets

Finished w/ Open Kneeling Indian Club work.

I hope everyone’s training is going well, and you all are enjoying the start of summer!

More to come.

I hope you enjoy, apply and benefit!

Check out his site, the links are below.(you will find some massively strong action there!)

Want more grip strength with your KB training?

It’s no secret that kettlebells are useful to increase hand and grip strength.

Maybe you have even experienced some benefits yourself?

Are you interested in getting greater results?

Oh boy another article on grip training! Well pay attention. I am not one of these newbies who just closed their captain of crush #2 for the first time.

My name is Adam Glass. I am 29 years old, I live in Minneapolis. At 6’2” and 218 lbs, I am acknowledged as one of the best grip athletes in my weight class and as having some of the strongest hands on the planet for the things I do. I excel at heavy partial pulls, fatbar lifting, and pinching. I am a certified Captain of Crush, a very good steel bender, and I believe I am the best in the world at tearing decks of poker cards. I teach people to do this kind of stuff. Everyday.

My success is the result of proper training, dedication, and being willing to change things when they were not working. If you are willing to apply yourself, you may find you can do every single one of the things I have done.

Do you know what one of the keys was to my hand strength foundation?

Kettlebell training!

I have been lifting kettlebells for the better part of the last decade. I think they are great, BUT it is not accurate to say kettlebell training alone allowed me to get where I am at now. There had to be some modifications, and that is what this article is about. I don’t want you to stop doing anything, I want you to make a few little changes. They will be high pay off ff you are willing to experiment and do some new things.

Grip Strength and Kettlebell Training

Grip strength is an area of interest with many kettlebell lifters and trainees. Those of you who enjoy high rep sets of snatches and swings know the incredible forearm popping pump that comes with the rapid loading of the tendons from these outstanding total body movements. The primary lifts demand finger endurance and a sustained hook position.

It doesn’t matter if your KB training is centered on endurance or fat loss, you are going to experience  the limitations of grip at some point. Maybe it is when you attempt to move on to a heavier bell, or when you look to increase your rep cadence.

So we know this will happen, how can we make this situation better?

I will tell you what will not work well – adding more and more support grip work. That is the most common advise I see passed around when this question comes up. Frankly that advise sucks, and it gets people hurt.

What is the problem?

KB training employs a tightly closed hand position, which grip focused athletes call “support grip” or holding grip. The hand is not moving, the weak point is the strength and endurance of the finger flexors from a fully flexed position. The hand is very strong in this position.

The problem is this is only one of many hand positions and motions of the hand. The only other motion that is commonly used in KB training is an open hand with slight wrist extension at the top of snatches and pressing motions (depending on who teaches you the KB kung fu).

Let me ask you a question; what happens if someone ignore their shoulders and back and only bench presses? That’s right! They become a mullet. Well, that and their posture is terrible. Shoulder pain, rotator cuff pain, mid spine pain. I for one will pass on all of those!

What is wrong there? Too much benching?

NO! The problem is not TOO MUCH. It is TOO LITTLE

Too little rowing. Too little overhead, Too little adduction. 

If the trainee adds in those, we find they can typically INCREASE how often they press now as they achieve greater proportionate balance. Amazingly even a moderate amount of movement in the other directions will bring about rapid improvement.

So back to the KB grip. The problem is not actually the tight fist support grip, nor is the solution to do MORE support grip with a closed hand. .

So what can you do? Look at your hand right now, the solution is at the tip of your fingers.

The Basics Of Grip Training

We can look at the structure of the hand and classify exercises according to position and motions.

The first function you use is support grip, which you KB lifters know well.

The fingers and thumb are flexed around an object and held in position. In terms of gross weight moved- support grip is the strongest quality of hand movement which allows the most quantity of weight moved. When you do swings, you are using the support grip.

The next form of the hand is closing, or crush grip

This is what people are doing when they squeeze a torsion gripper such a captain of crush. The crushing strength of the hand is inferior to its gross supporting strength. I will add from examination of my personal training, and the training of other accomplished grip athletes: A powerful crushing grip does not automatically equal a strong support grip. It’s really a specific quality. I know some people who routinely one hand swing 48 kg bells for sets of 25-30 reps without breaking a sweat who struggle to mash a COC #2. They are not weak people, they are simply untrained to that task.

The opposite is true as well – closing tough grippers does not equal exceptional hand endurance…unless the task is closing grippers. It is that specific.

HOWEVER – if you add in some crushing, you will likely find a benefit to your support grip. That is provided you continue to train both characteristics.

Specific to kettlebell trainees, I believe more crushing strength is the lowest pay off for more grip strength. Most people figure out that crush gripping the bell burns out the hands faster, allowing you to do less work. The support grip used in KB training is a softer type of hold. Heavy gripper training in particular is very intensive on the recovery systems of the body and demanding on the tendons. Add in crush grip training at your leisure, but cut back if you find your hands are excessively sore or tired from it.

The third form of the hand uses the forceps power of the thumb in the pinch grip

When we look at pinching, we find dynamic pinching and static pinching. The closing and holding strength of the thumb plays little role to the support grip, especially a closed hand support such as when you hold the kettlebell.

Do you know what that means?

Pinch Training is critical for your hand health!

Back to our bench pressing mullet friend. He is always doing the same motion, he ignores the opposite patterns. He starts having some problems. He then begins to train the balancing movements, and presto he finds not only does he feel better, but his bench begins improving.

A moderate amount of pinch training will be a big pay off for you. The objective here is to make you better with KB’s not turn you in to a grip athlete. You will only need to add in a minimal amount to see a large return.

Ok you sold me, what do I need to do?

I am going to recommend 3 very easy to do pinching movements. Try them out, and do these twice a week after your primary work load. You will not manage too much volume, so take it easy on the reps and load. The key thing here is training the motion which you currently are not getting rather than working towards a huge pull.

Two of these can be done with a hex dumbbell. Hex bells are VERY common, and are actually awesome to have around. The shape of the bells allows you train these two movements which are great for thumb strength.

Two Hands Neutral Grip hex Lift and Two Hands Hex Curl

Watch this video

This is a power house hand strength movement. Very Simple, I know. Simple doesn’t mean ineffective. Very simply – try this out.

One hand plate bouncing

This is a great way to build your dynamic thumb strength, the motion of squeezing the thumb towards the fingers. It also requires very little resistance.

Take a few small plates, try out 3-4 5 lbs plates or 3 – 10 lbs plates and stack them on a platform about waist height. Sandwich them smooth side out and place one hand on top of the stack. Your fingers will be on one side, your thumb on the other. Now pinch them and lift them 1 inch off the platform, then set them down fast and immediately pinch again and lift. Do this over and over. You will be getting many reps per set. The key is the rapid gripping and regripping of the plates.

Do not drop the plates on yourself. Be safe about it.

This will help with my kettlebell training?

Yes it will. Even a moderate amount of thumb training will increase your support grip.

If you could increase hand strength by 15% over the next 4 weeks, how many more reps would you get in your swings and snatches each training day? How would that extra work total up at the end of the next 3 months?

Compounding interest!

Try this out. It will make your hands healthier and stronger. I can tell you one for certain – not a day has past in which I was not finding a use for a stronger grip. I have not had too many situations in life where a 500 lbs squat was the fix, or where a big bench would have helped. I find stronger fingers and thumb make life easier. From pickle jars to cleaning out garages, I am never sorry my hands are strong.

Adam Glass is chief trainer for Movement Minneapolis and competes in both Grip Sport and All-Round weight lifting. He has trained thousands of people to build strong healthy hands. You can learn more about grip training at www.IndustrialStrengthGrip.com and his training blog www.AdamTGlass.com 

Unfortunately a few weeks back I injured my right wrist doing some heavy double pressing….not totally sure what the cause was. Over use maybe…I did tweak it about a week before the injury teaching the clean in class and demoing “what not to do” but it seemed to recover fine. Regardless I have pushed hard these last few weeks working around my injury but have yet been able to get back to my training loads and volume.

Some important lifts still cause pain which include the Tact Pull up, Snatches, One Arm Swings, and Cleans. Also anything over a 32kg in the rack or press really puts stress on the wrist and it fatigues quickly. I have come to the decision of waiting till next year to obtain my RKC Level 2 Certification. Tough choice for sure, I took some time to reflect on this and feel it is my best option to wait.

I want to attend, learn, and pass.

I am still training hard, working with a bit lighter load, less volume and focusing on 1 or 2 lifts a training session. Wrist continues to improve each session so for that I am grateful! I have some new goals in mind for this year and will continue to work on owning that 40kg press.

Sometimes you just have to be patient…

Was really looking forward to going, meeting the great people who are working just as hard to pass this cert. I appreciate everyone’s motivation in the online world..you all will be in my thoughts as you rock the RKC2 this month!

Much More to Come!

Hmm, Lets try that again. WordPress ate my last post it seems….

Double Bell Ballistic Focus Complex

Swing Sandwich(great name by Max Shank!)

Double Swings x 2-3-5reps
Double Cleans x 2-3-5
Double Snatches x 2-3-5
Double Swings x 2-3-5
Push Ups x 1-2-3
-Repeat 3-5 Rounds(rest 1min between rounds)

Example:

Swing x 2
Clean x 2
Snatch x 2
Swing x 2
Push up x 1
-rest a sec, shake it out, then 3′s, shake it out, then 5′s = 1 Round

Pick bells you can easily swing 10x

This could also be done with a single bell(more reps..yes please!)

Train Safe, Enjoy!