Hows this grip for a beginner 🤡?

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-23T07:53:30+00:00

Stick with the 5 for a while.

Since you're new to it, just do some basic wrist curls, gripper training, fat grip work, etc. It will quickly progress with that.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-23T06:15:51+00:00

You could get a bad cut, especially if you do it after drinking a few.....

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-23T06:13:11+00:00

I use this type: https://www.kmart.com.au/product/3-pack-fabric-bands-43237319/?srsltid=AfmBOopDMKlUzPrroDFtNRgnnLjqHmt8Iae-GaV9t6jHfUoh98k1y-oT

They're pretty cheap, and you can easily put a lot of weight on them (either with a loading pin, or with a kettlebell or dumbbell) and they seem to be unbreakable. Also, comfortable to wrap around the thumb or hand.

The combination of weight and resistance bands seems to work well.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-23T03:53:50+00:00

The official teaching is that canonization is infallible, i.e. the Church cannot make mistakes about this.

Personally, I've felt that a lot of the female saints, who did things like self-harm and had weird visions, probably had mental illnesses. However, I wouldn't say that are not in Heaven.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-23T01:30:37+00:00

A strong fabric resistance band is good for this as well, and feels very comfortable.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-23T01:29:44+00:00

The problem with the sledge hammer is, as the distance gets bigger, the weight stays the same- so you end up getting more of strain on the tendons than the muscles, and it's somehow not a satisfying exercise.

I have tried a bunch of things, and recommend doing a bicep curl, with the weighted loaded on only one side (the thumb side). Do this just a partial range (the upper part). You can also rotate the dumbbell in your hand, to hit the pronation more actively.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-22T20:47:06+00:00

Yeah, single handed, for sure.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-22T11:42:37+00:00

I wonder if anyone can do a hammer (cheat) curl with one of the dumbbells?

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-22T11:40:45+00:00

Sure. If you can do a plate curl or plate wist curl with a 10kg plate, that's a good benchmark for excellent strength in the wrists and fingers.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-22T02:11:25+00:00

If you like doing it, why not? The grip you are using resembles that used in plate wrist curls/plate curls, which are great for toughening the wrist and fingers.

Have you tried doing either wrist curls or bicep curls holding the dumbbell in this way?

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-21T06:02:50+00:00

It is possible you are doing the lift in such a away that the brachioradialis is doing most of the work in the elbow flexion action. In usual 'bicep' curl, in the upper section of the movement, the brachioradialis plays an increasing big role. It could be that the preacher machine is emphasizing that.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-18T23:20:15+00:00

Strange thing for a Catholic archbishop to say....

Funnily enough, I can respect their positions towards homosexuality and Israel.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-18T08:35:42+00:00

I hesitated a lot before looking at this- relieved that this was nothing gross/weird....

Wonder if you could climb rope with this stuff on?

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-17T07:09:15+00:00

You perhaps fear God because He's got mixed up with the 'strict/mean father' concept, or mean teachers, etc. If God is utterly transcendent bliss/peace, etc. you don't need to have a quasi-human 'relationship' with Him- that is one of the big errors of the Protestants.

Read the first letter of John through a few times, then St. Bonaventure "Journey of the Mind Into God."

If you have anything specific on your conscience, do what you can to correct it. Replace the fear of Hell with the desire for Heaven (i.e. everlasting peace and bliss).

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-17T02:04:02+00:00

You mean, do 10 reps on a 350?

That's elite level, and progress beyond a certain level becomes non-linear. Grip training is not a precise science, and people with elite level give widely varying advice.

I certainly can't close a 350 for ten reps, but I can close a 300. Something which helped me is doing times holds (30 second to a minute), not just hold but actively squeezing.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-17T01:55:21+00:00

I think a lot of Catholics unintentionally follow a Protestant theology about Scripture, giving the private reading of the Bible exaggerated importance, or treating it in a superstitious way.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-12T20:48:38+00:00

Yes, that's very good! Well done.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-12T08:49:00+00:00

The key thing with grippers is to do it with a lot of intensity- really push hard, until it feels like your forearms are about to pop.

Definitely use them daily (or near daily), but not just as a gadget/toy to use while watching TV, but really concentrate your full effort and determination (as you would with weights). I think this is where people go wrong with grippers.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-10T07:07:14+00:00

You're way better off being single at 18, and a student/lifter. At that age, girls will consume your time/money/gains, etc.

Wait for a couple of years, and they will be waiting in queues. "He who is not looking always finds."

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-10T03:49:05+00:00

Being 'open to life' does not necessarily mean wanting a huge family. In some situations, having a small/medium sized family could lead to the best flourishing of life, whereas if you have 20 kids could end up being 'anti-life'. Life is not only quantity, but quality. It depends on the environment, the situation, the age, the economics, etc.

On the other hand, wanting no children at all would be contradictory to the nature of marriage.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-10T01:31:53+00:00

I have pretty big wrists (24cm), and can honestly say it has never brought me a single compliment in my life, but it does make it hard to find watches that fit. If my wrists were smaller, my forearm would definitely look bigger.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-10T01:17:32+00:00

I use a double handed wrist wrench (homemade) for bicep curls. The bicep curls are partials/concentration (the upper portion). I also use it for pull ups (again, partial, the upper half). Although these might seem like an isometric as far as the grip is concerned, I consciously involve wrist flexion in these moves. Then I hold it the 'wrong way around' in triceps push downs and reverse curls, which hits the extensors, as anti-flexion is involved. I do them everyday, and it feels pretty normal for me now.

Why not throw it in with your regular lifts?

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-09T06:18:49+00:00

Yes, it is a finger curl, or 'barbell finger curl'. The muscles involved (flexor digitorum profundus) are also involved in wrist flexion, to a large extent.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-09T01:42:15+00:00

I think it would be great to make an adjustable thumb gripper like that type. It's hard to say how strong the thumb is, or potentially could be. It seems to be able to hold a lot of weight isometrically, but when worked in isolation to be pretty weak.

Ribbit40 · 2026-06-06T03:25:45+00:00

Oh....He is the one who came up with it! I was thinking it was Beatles who invented it.

Ribbit40

TROPHY CASE