Today I finally bought my first weight vest. I wore it for 3 hours straight away to test it out. Its only a 40 lb model so this was not challenging although I was glad to get it off by the end.

I intend to add steel shot to the vest over time and increase the weight.

Finally after many months I am seeing a huge pay off in my Bench Press from grip training. I normally do my Bench work on a machine as I don’t have a training partner.

I like to train alone so thats the way it must be. So the stack on my bench machine has 96 KG max. I stack 20 KG plates onto the machine to add weight.

So several months ago I thought I was doing good benching 300 lbs. Yesterday I did 4 reps with 387 lbs. My goal is 400 lbs by the end of the year which should be easy given its only July. My 387 was after 5 sets ranging up from 300 lbs. The odd thing is I don’t feel any stronger than I did months back and honestly apart from my hands and forearms I don’t think I am.

The other trick I know for bench is to squeeze the traps all through the range of motion both up and down. Also you want to do serious stretching with a stick and with swinging arms between each set.

Many of us western strength athletes are shocked when we discover that most of our precious exercises were in use hundreds of years ago in China.

Weight vests, kettle bells, wrist rollers, progressive resistance, all of these and much more are actually part of Kung Fu conditioning. So Kung Fu is a great adjunct to weight training and bodybuilding as practiced in the west.

In addition to the muscle building we have honed in the west the Chinese developed knowledge of electro physiology in the form of the meridians and points that western science did not discover.

They also developed methods for developing the bones and tendons to withstand the rigors of warfare.

Personally I am now 5 months into a daily Iron Palm regime, training to smash objects with my bare hands. I am being very careful to avoid arthritis and damage. Daily I apply Chinese Dit Da Jow liniment. Soon I will begin internal medicine to aid recovery also. I am adding Iron Arm conditioning for my fore arms and in a month will also begin Iron Shirt Chi Kung to condition my entire body.

On top of this I do my regular weights and jump rope cardio. So it makes for a busy schedule.

Joe Decker certainly is publicized as the worlds fittest man. His website is at http://www.gutcheckfitness.com/About_Joe.html

Joe is a super fit dude but is he really the worlds fittest ? I seriously doubt it. Paddy Doyle an ex paratrooper from the UK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Doyle is also making a similar claim.

Well lets face it within certain careers such as elite military units, forestry lumberjacks etc there are many individuals that are super fit. Far beyond the norm even by athletic standards.

The Guiness book of records sets a standard and records it for all to see.

Paddy Doyles feats include:

* A two mile swim
* Weightlifting 300,000 pounds in a single session
* A 12-mile run
* A 12-mile walk Carrying 25 lb back pack.
* A 110-mile bike
* 1,250 press ups (push ups)
* 3,250 sit-up crunches
* 1,250 star-jumps (Jumping Jacks)
* 20 miles rowing
* 1,250 standing hip flexors {Lifting 10 lb weights}
* 20 mile cross trainer

Other records include:

* 1,500,230 push-ups in one year {World Record}
* 1,940 back of hands pushups in one hour {World Record}
* 29,850 fullcontact straight arm punch strikes in 1 hour {World Record}
* 932 sit ups with a 50 lb weight on chest in 30 mins {World Record}
* 1 mile run carrying a 40 lb back pack 5 mins 35 secs {World Record}

Its very impressive and Decker can boast of similar prowess. Both guys have books that can give you something to start with in your own quest for super fitness.

Myostatin suppression holds much hope for us muscle heads and we can be assured that in the near future a means will be found to exploit this gene and suppress its expression.

If you do a little research on Google you will come across Wendy the Wippet – a Myostatin deficient dog & no doubt some photo’s of Belgian Blue cattle.

These animals are so muscular because their bodies lack expression of the Myostatin gene which prevents muscle growth. Some humans also lack this gene and are exceptionally strong, lean and muscular.

The fact is that a human fully developed like these animals might carry 4-8 stone more muscle than a normal human athlete. Really most of us would be better off with just 3-4 more stone.

Anything more than this can cause tendon problems & “maybe” overburden the internal organs but this is to be proven.

Several supplements have been released claiming to suppress Myostatin such as brown seaweed & MYO-T12 which contains processed fertile egg yolks (hens lay eggs even without sex). Both of these contain follistatin which suppresses myostatin. However the body can not absorb the follistatin. Both products are hogwash and I strongly recommend you do not waste your money.

The good news is that research has proven heavy weight training does temporarily lower myostatin levels. Even better protein taken both before & after workouts further lowers myostatin and allows the body to grow.

More research will tell us the exact protein mix that is most effective. For now forget the bogus egg yolk supplements and take quality proteins before and after training.

I had a serious attack at Iron Palm many years ago when I was in the army and doing a bit of kick boxing and stuff.

The years passed and I let the training slip only doing it sporadically. Back then I did manage to break a marble slab, these days I am just getting back into it so am not trying to break anything.

I feel its an excellent adjunct to grip and forearm training as most iron palm proponents do not possess great grip strength and most people with great forearm power are not iron palm.

There are lots of great sources of information online for iron palm these days. I prefer to train on concrete but just bought a bag and filled it with a 4 meter chain.

Concrete feels better – its solid and it vibrates. However the bag is better for the back of the hands.

I have also found a multitude of dit da jow formulas and suppliers. 10 years back all this was harder to come by.

So my present crush on the gripper is 250 lbs. In 3 months that may be 270 lbs. By then with daily practice I should have iron palm also. Then Its just a matter of continuation.

The dude at www.ironpalm.com can crack a coconut with the back of his hand. This for me I feel would take 2-3 years to accomplish if I combine it with a grip & forearm program also (and an inhuman dedication). Coconut breaking is quite an accomplishment.

His series of videos is available for about $20 us each. There are many Iron Palm courses now.

William Cheung & Brian Gray also offer programs as does Thomas Keen.

Popular Iron Palm Book

Heres a simple program:

Get some dit da jow off the net or from a Chinese Herbal Shop.

Find a waist high concrete wall or flat steel surface and simply slap the surface for several minutes with the liniment on your hands. Don’t slap hard just as hard as possible with no pain or discomfort.
Do the heel of the palm, knife edge and back hand also.

Do this for several minutes on each strike 3X per day using the liniment also.

Its actually quite relaxing to stand there slapping away although my neighbors think I am crazy.

I don’t train my knuckles & in the army they told us not to strike with them. You can however do fingertip pushup’s and everything involved in grip training. Backhand strikes will condition the knuckle also.

Another thing thats popular is hot and cold water dips for the hands. I have not tried stabbing my hands into a bucket of rice but Lee Hayward recommends this as part of his grip training so I may try that soon.

After a few months you will be able to break stuff. Its quite simple.

You gotta get this stuff if you are serious about grip & hand training – Its the secret liniment used in iron palm and iron fist.

Its not secret at all really and I got mine at the Chinese herb shop 3 minutes walk from home.

Its great for preventing or treating tendinitis and rheumatism.

I also picked up an Eagle Catcher for finger training – no where near as good as the super gripper but an excellent device anyway.

Its a shame they don’t come with varying spring strengths. I have a feeling the attachments on this would snap with stronger springs. This means it will be used for isometric timed holds.

I just got my Iron Woody Super Gripper in the mail today. It does not come with any information on the grip poundages of the spring positions but there is a free program online with this information.

There are applications for IVANKO, Iron Woody & Hammar sports :

http://www.angelfire.com/ar/mathgod/sg/supergripper.html

I have four extra springs & have no idea how much force is the maximum but the software will chart it up to over 400 lbs with 3 springs. Even just two springs can achieve 250 lbs.

Hers a pic of me & my new super grippers…

I also got a set of five heavy grips about a month back & can nearly mash 250 lbs. But that last 7 mm seems to be the problem – the super gripper can be used to do partial reps on that final squeeze and I suspect the final squeeze of a wrist curl works the same muscles & tendons.

Finally I went to the hardware store and bought some thumb clamps to work my thumbs and fingers.

My goal is to close 400 lbs and I am doing additional forearm training such as hammer curls, reverse curls, pinches and weighted pull ups in addition to my regular training program.

Man for all these years I neglected grip & hand strength. In the time since my last post I have been quite consumed by it. Well let me tell you it is the secret key that can give you a strength edge.

Most folks don’t do grip training – if you have 2-3x your present grip all your other weights can go up big time.

Yet because the muscles involved are small its easy to increase the weights and resistance.

There is also a bunch of different equipment you can use – get a set of quality hand grippers off ebay. You want from 150 lbs to 300 lbs or so.

I also ordered an ivanko super gripper which is still in the mail. These things go to over 400 lbs which is an awesomely strong grip.

I will be releasing a book on grip training real soon.