LOST ARTS: THICK BAR

You know my fat grips didn't ever really get too much love. I bought them in like 2012 and insofar I've used them as bumpers between the bar and the safety pins when I was doing rack pulls to keep the bar from getting totally fucked; did a few fat curls as well but nothing too major.

Until now. Recently I've been doing all of my assistance work with fat grips (I have to use fat grips and they are more easily accessable that axle bars/thick diameter bars, so that's why the post is focused on them). From volume pressing to chins to rowing to shrugs to curls... You get the idea. Now you could do your main work or deadlift volume with these but personally it's not my thing. This might be good for you conjugate fellas out there, dudes who just like variety, or if you just want some big skull crushing meathooks. And you need to leave the site if you aren't trying to crush a man's head in your hand Kenshiro style.

Something something you're dead

Thicker grip training has a certain strain attached to it. Your hand tendons feel sore after, and your grip on thinner bars feels like your gonna squeeze it off faster than a shit in a porta potty. Scientifically it recruits more muscle fibers. Grabbing shit hard, which you will have to when the bar you're lifting is the diameter of a soda can, increases tension in your whole body (Irradiation I think it's called). Don't believe me? Press something overhead with one arm. Then press the same weight while you squeeze the fuck out of the handle AND make a hard fist with your off hand. Dollars to doughnuts it's easier the second go around. Apparently years ago most bars were thicker than Great Grandpa Goon's thighs (that's pretty thick for those of you who don't know, which I assume is all of you). Every goddamn bar was an axle and you had to use your MAN HANDS to even warm up, if that was something you were into. Which begs the question: is that another reason your forbears had a grip 3× better than yours (real science) on average?

It was a different time, bro.

So if you happen to have thick bars, congratulations you lucky fuck you have it made, just start rowing and doing your auxiliary moves with them. But if you lift at home or workout in a 24 hour gym (I'm going to boldly assume that's the majority of us) then jump on a pair of thick bar adapters. They don't need to be name brand fat grips or whatever, but start out easy; don't go getting the Xtreme Mega Thicc Grippz first. Base level shit will do you.

Now this isn't just for dudes who use barbells or dumbbells. These are good as fuck for calisthenics dudes too. Slap them on dip bars or your chin bar (I've found that Thick Neutral Grip Chins happen to hit your biceps immensely) or even some paraletts (sp?).

I wanna hit a few caveats on how to position them when you are using them though. Make sure you are actively CRUSHING THE FUCK out of the grips when you use them to get all that Irradiation goodness and here is a little info on the positioning:

Pressing: the slits need to face in the direction you are pressing (ie, If your overhead pressing the slits are to the sky). Like so:

Strain your eyes and see that the slits are headed upwards

Pulling: the slits need to face you (ie, doing chin ups you'll be able to see them at the bottom of the rep). Like so:

Now fourth and attain Lee Priest esque forearms with a bone crushing Mac Batchelor grip.