If you thought squats and deadlifts were rare, well grip work is rarer still

In the old days, the lower arms would have been developed through work filled days. Swinging axes and hammers. Loading horses and carts. And wielding swords and shields.

Activities like these developed lower arms entwined with rope thick muscles and veins.

But today that type of work rarely exists. And as a result, most are left with wimpy looking forearms, and slender hands.

Don’t feel bad if you’re not currently training your lower arms.

When I started training, all I ever heard about were wrist curls. Most didn’t do them, and those who did, tacked them on to their workout as an afterthought.

That’s because the mainstream muscle comics rarely, if ever mention anything else.

But after seeing Mel Gibson’s forearms in his most recent movie, I figured things got to change….

That movie got me thinking…

I thought about the guys I’ve seen in the gym with impressive builds. Big upper arms. Thick backs. Full chests. And even massive thighs.

But I could only think of two guys who had forearm development and grip strength equal to the rest of their body.

I can now remember thinking that most guys never really looked ‘manly,’ and this is why. They were missing lower arm development…

I think a lot of it had to do with wanting ‘beach muscles’ more than anything else. I also think part of it was lack of knowledge…

So here are a few interesting ways to beef up your lower arms, and develop real gripping power…

Get your hands on some old newspapers and magazines. Once you have a good pile, start tearing through them.

As you get stronger, try to tear more and more pages at a time.

Another fun ‘party trick’ that’s also one heck of a grip workout is tearing decks of cards.

This can get expensive, so here’s an option:

Get you hands on some cardboards boxes and cut a series of rectangles the size of playing cards. Stack them on top of each other, and tear through them.

Although not exactly the same as a deck of cards, it’s close enough. And it’s much easier on the wallet.

Heavy duty hand grippers are great, too.

And don’t forget about your thumb. An exercise for this area that I’ve mentioned before is pinch gripping.

Wrist curls can be effective too, if you use a heavy enough weight, and really squeeze the bar.

Another wrist builder is leverage bar work. Sledgehammers work pretty good here.

One of the easiest ways to develop grip strength is to simply avoid using wrist straps as much a possible.

I’d limit them to max lifts only. And even then, train your grip to handle heavier and heavier weights without using straps.

OK, that’s more than enough to keep your hands busy…

Get serious about you grip training.

Treat them like a big compound movement, and you should make great gains…

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

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One thing you don’t hear about too often is the effects of training on the mind.

That’s right; muscle isn’t the only thing that gets stronger when you push yourself in the gym.

Hard training will lead to a ‘mental upgrade’ of sorts…But the key words are ‘push yourself.’

Lollygagging ain’t gonna cut it.

Neither is pumping out a few sets of concentration curls or leg extensions.

And plopping one’s behind down on the recumbent bike, and lazily peddling for 20 minutes definitely won’t either.

That’s why I believe you don’t hear much about this. Getting stronger mentally from training requires real work.

You need to push yourself beyond your current comfort zone. And that can be a hard sell.

But if you’re not willing to push yourself to new limits, you’ll never, and I mean NEVER realize your potential.

That’s because your true potential lies on the other side of ‘comfortable.’

In fact, I guarantee that you can lift more, or go further and faster than what you currently do. And I’m not talking about getting stronger over time.

I’m talking about right now. Your body can do more than what you think it can. But your mind is acting like a speed limiter on a car’s engine.

I’m not saying that you have to push yourself of risking death from exhaustion. That is possible. But unlikely when going for one more rep or yard.

Yep, Crossing over can be a brutal, not always though. But it’s necessary if you want to tap into, and develop your true strength.

But don’t let this scare you off…

As you challenge yourself, your mind adapts and gets stronger. Before you know it, pushing yourself isn’t such a big deal.

You’ll go from wanting to cough up both lungs, and feeling like you’d hack up a third if you had one…

To thinking ‘this sucks..’

To ‘BRING IT!’

It’s true…

As you see the results from your training and grow stronger, your mindset will change.

Instead of avoiding or fearing the effort, you’ll welcome it…

And why wouldn’t you? Once you get a taste of the results, you’ll want more, I guarantee it…

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

PS: The right meal plan will support your efforts in the gym, and give you the energy and strength you need to boldly go where you’ve never gone before (yeah, I just said that…)

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A few days back, I covered some tips Tommy Kono shared in an interview.

Today, it’s all about body leverages.

Some people are naturally suited for certain exercises over others. The length of your limbs and torso make a significant difference in your lifting.

Shorter arms are preferable for benching, and longer ones for deadlifting.

When it comes to squatting, shorter legs provide a natural advantage.

And shorter people in general tend to have an easier time squatting than taller ones. At least that’s what I’ve been told…

I can remember when I started squatting at the gym.

A bunch of guys were saying not to worry if I didn’t have much squatting strength. It would be due to my height.

One guy in particular, who I’ll call ‘Mike,’ was real vocal about this.

Now, I don’t think Mike was trying to be negative or do any harm. One look at him and I understood where his advice was coming from.

Big Mike was really loud, a bit of a jokester, and was overall a really nice guy. He was also around 6’4” and had a thickly muscled upper body…

Unfortunately, that’s where the ‘show’ ended…

He always wore those horrible ‘bodybuilding pants.’ You know the ones I’m talking about. They look like something straight out of the carnival.

He must have had a closet full of them, because he always wore them. I’m talking ALL of the time.

One day in the changing room, I learned why…

Mike was a “Tank Top’ bodybuilder. The guy had a pair of legs on him that would make a stork jealous. If anyone needed to squat, it was Mike.

Needless to say, I didn’t pay attention to any of those guys.

I saw enough guys over 6 feet who could squat plenty of iron. And the last thing I wanted was to be forced into dressing like I was about to run off with the circus. (No offense Mikey…)

I stuck to my guns, and bit by bit, upped my numbers.

Personally, I do believe having ideal body proportions for a lift is beneficial. But I also believe that it’s possible to ‘personalize’ your form to get the most out of your body.

I also believe that combined with old fashioned hard work, finding the ‘sweet spot’ in your ‘personal’ form go a long way in making up for poor leverages.

NEVER GIVE UP…

If you find your squatting is suffering from poor body leverages, acknowledge it. And don’t beat yourself up for it. (it’s not like you had a say in how you were put together at the factory)

See if you can adjust your form, and maybe even your range of motion. Doing so can make squatting safer and much more productive.

If you’re still having a hard time, keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming email.

I’m going to be sharing a few tips to help you perfect your squatting form, and boost your gains.

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

PS: There’s not much out there like squats that can boost your appetite, and just plain make you hungry enough to eat a whole herd of horses.

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I promised some training safety tips in a previous post about the tragic accident at the Vancouver Olympics…

And here are the first batch…

First up, barbells…

This is the most used piece of equipment in the gym, and the most neglected.

They get picked up and slammed around day after day. And most think that they’re just a simple piece of iron.

But Olympic barbells have rotating sleeves, and they require some maintenance.

Besides the occasional lube job, you need to make sure there ain’t any’ screws loose.’

In particular, I’m talking about the bolts that are visible at the ends. You need to check and make sure these are nice and snug.

I once used a bar like this, and as I was performing a set of cleans, the sleeves, the part where the weights slide on, started to come off of the actual bar.

That could have been a real problem if I didn’t catch it, especially if I was doing something overhead, like snatches.

Dumbells also need to be checked.

The ‘pro style’ you see in gyms, the once made up with 10lb exercise plate, they sometimes have a bolt on either end that can come loose.

If they’re the ‘hex style’ bells, make sure the welds are solid, and there isn’t a chance for the ends to come off of the handles.

If this happens while you’re training it can lead to a serious boo boo. Just imagine a dumbell coming apart as you’re doing pullovers…

Can you say reconstructive dental surgery? Ouch…

Power racks, if your gym has one, need to be checked too.

These take a ton of abuse. Make sure it can handle it.

I’ve seen many models that are only rated for 750lbs, 750 might sound like a lot, but many guys are able to do at least lockouts with hat weight, if not more.

Make sure the bolts and welds that hold the rack together are tight, too.

I’d also cheek the ‘safety rods/pins.’ Ideally, you should be able to lock them into place somehow.

I was once doing heavy hip lifts and calf raises using a hip belt.

The barbell came down on the pins pretty hard a few times, and this caused one of them to slide out of the rear upright. Luckily the weight was under me, so I simply squatted down and rested it on the floor.

This could have been a really ugly situation if I was doing real heavy partial squats.

If those pins come out of place, where the heck are you going to put the barbell?

Not the end of the world it you’re only using 100 pounds over your max weight. But when you’re using double your max or more, you can end up in some real trouble.

In all likelihood, something’s going to get damaged. Either your gear, the gym, or you…

The above isn’t meant to be a scare tactic, or get to you all paranoid. It’s meant to allow you to continue to train all out in relative safety.

Remember when you’re injured, you’re not getting stronger.

And getting stronger is the name of the game…

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

PS: Combine training safe, smart and hard with the proper meal plan, and you’re almost guaranteed to reach your goals.

Learn more about eating for peak performance and gains right here…

The other day I watched Mel Gibson’s new movie with some friends and family.

There was always something about Mel…

At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I’m going to say it anyways…

He always seemed much more ‘manly’ than a lot of other actors…especially the powder puffs we got running around on the big screen today.

One could argue it’s the roles he plays. Max Rockatansky, William Wallace, or Martin Riggs. All testosterone driven; with a little crazy to boor.

Yes, Mel definitely has that glint in his eye. And the fact that he has to shave from his collar bone to just below his eyeballs is ‘manly’ too…

He’s also an Aussie… And I don’t know if it’s the water down there or what, but it’s about the only place producing male actors that can’t be confused with the fairer sex.

(No offence to flaming metrosexuals, but I’m getting a little tired of watching androgynous ‘superheroes’ kick CGI butt on the silver screen.)

I’m getting off track….

Looking at Mel, I started to figure it out.

Yes his personality, look, and overall demeanor are what make him ‘manly.’

But there was one thing in particular…

I noticed that he had his sleeves rolled up. I then remembered that he tends to do that in most of his movies.

Then it hit me…

Proportionally speaking, Mel’s got some pretty beefy forearms. They’re also not shaved, which helps reinforce the fact that they’re attached to a ‘Man.’

He also has a set of hands to match. Nothing crazy, but it adds to the ‘look.’

‘What look?’

The look of strength. The look of power. The look of masculinity, as it was known ‘back in da day.’

I believe that at a subconscious level, we’re wired to recognize certain physical traits.

Modern society may have been programmed to go wide eyed at the sight of a ripped six pack. But when we see ‘real strength and power,’ we instinctively recognize it…

And that includes thickly muscled hands and forearms.

Thing is, manual labor has all but disappeared in modern society..

This means most people have woefully underdeveloped lower arms. But it also means that a fearsome set of forearms will stick out that much more.

But training for the sake of getting attention isn’t my thing. Training for results is. And grip training will lead to all kinds of results if done properly.

But the workplace isn’t the only area where manual labor has gone extinct.

I’ve never seen anyone train their grip in the gym I used to go to. Absolutely no one. Zilch. Zip. Nada.

The most I saw anyone do, were a few perfunctory sets of wrist curls slapped on to the end of their workout. That’s it…

But we’re going to change that…

You and me are going to bring back grip training to the ‘mainstream’ with a vengeance.

We’re going to scare the fake tan right off the ‘Chicken Wing Forearm Brigade.’

And we’re going to do that by putting in as much effort into our grip work as; they do in matching their training ‘outfits.’ (that’s a lot of work)

I’ll be back in the next day or two with some very interesting exercises  for your grip.

In the meantime, gather up any old newspapers, magazines, and cardboard boxes. You might want to book some horse riding lessons too.

Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything in the next few days.

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

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I debated if I should mention this…

After putting some thought into it, and allowing some of the shock to wear off, I decided talking about it would be the best thing to do…

I also believe that there’s an important lesson for people like you and me…

On Friday, February 12, 2010, Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili, died in a horrendous luge crash at the Vancouver Olympics.

I watched the video, and couldn’t help thinking about how unfair this was.

How he was only 21 year old, barley getting started in life…

About his family, and the words of his father, stating how he wanted to throw his son a wedding feast, and instead ended up with a funeral…

His country and teammates, as well as the impact it had on the ‘Olympic spirit.’

But what really ticked me off, was what appeared to be a lack of safety measures in the design of the track

I, by no means am a luge course designer…

Yet, before the accident happened, I could tell that the corner where it took place was a death trap.

And if I could see it, how the heck did the professionals who designed it miss it?

But as angry as this can make a person, I can’t help but have compassion for the designers.

This will be something that will haunt them for the rest of their lives…

No matter how you look at it, it’s a tragedy.

That being said, I strongly believe we can learn from it. And that is what made me want to send this out.

It is extremely easy to overlook something in the heat of the moment.

That’s why I strongly feel it’s important to check and double check your gear and footing before you start your workout.

You should also check it as you train, in between sets.

You don’t need to get crazy about it. Just make sure whatever it is you’re using isn’t going to end up causing an accident.

I know some might be thinking this is a bit overkill. They’re not going 90 miles an hour down an ice coated track.

But trust me; speed isn’t the only thing that kills. An injury can happen in a blink of an eye, even during much slower paced activities.

And as I’ve said before, injuries set you back in more ways than one. They kill your progress and motivation, and potential even you if they’re bad enough!

Staying healthy so you can continue to attack you workouts is crucial for maximizing your gains and performance.

I have a lot more to cover, too much for one message…

I’ll give specific things to look out for. And doing so should lower the chances for an accident big time.

So, I’ll break it up into multiple parts and have them posted over the next week or so.

May Nodar rest in peace, and God Bless his family.

I also wish all of the Olympians in Vancouver, a safe competition.

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

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OK, let’s take on some of the areas Mr. Kono mentioned from Part 1…

If you’re calves are tight, you won’t be able to get enough ankle flexion. This ends up throwing off the position of the barbell in relation to your ‘center line.’

To compensate, the lower back tends to round over. If not, you’re likely to end up on your keister.

Another area that needs to be flexible to hit rock bottom with proper form, are the hamstrings.

Inflexibility here makes it difficult to put the hips in the proper position. This leads to the same thing as tight calves, rounding of the lower back.

Tight calves and hams seem to be more common that tight quads. But stiff quads can cause problems too.

Another spot that I haven’t seen as many flexibility issues are the hips. What I have seen is cramping from maintaining proper hip position in the rock bottom position of the squat.

The problem here seems to be more of a strength issue than a flexibility one.

Regardless of the reason, when the hips cramp up, they tend to move out of position in an attempt to relieve the discomfort. As you’ve probably guessed, this leads to the rounding of the lower back.

As for the strong back arch, there are a few reasons for maintaining it, not least of which is injury avoidance. I’ll cover the other reasons another time.

But right now, if you’re not flexible, you need to work on it.

Doing a regular stretching routine is a good idea. And I’ve also found the following to help…

After warming up, and without any weights, simply squat down as far as you can go while maintaining proper form. Go a tiny bit further so you’re feeling a good stretch, and hold it for time.

If you keep this up, you will eventually notice your range of motion increasing while still being able to maintain proper form.

Stick with it…

Learning how to squat properly, then attacking the exercise with everything you got will lead to some of the best gains of your life…

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

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I’ve been talking quite a bit about squats lately…

If you’ve read my articles on JC Hise’s success with squats, you’ll know why.

But as I’ve discussed before, there are conflicting opinions on how low you should squat.

To me, it isn’t ‘either or.’ It ain’t that simple, as they say…

I believe depth needs to be adjusted on a personal basis. And one of the biggest factors is the rounding of the lower back.

This happens for a few reasons, which I promised to cover. And I’m delivering on that promise now…

What we’ll cover here is flexibility, or rather, the lack of it.

If you’re reading this thinking, ‘Flexibility, I don’t need no stinkin’ flexibility. I just want to lift big weights.’ Keep on reading…

If you’re stiff as Frankenstein, you’ll probably have some issues in the squat. And I’m not the only one saying this…

When asked what a beginner needs to focus on in the Olympic lifts, Olympic weightlifting legend Tommy Kono replied with the following:

‘…a strong back arch, loose shoulders and flexible hips, knees and ankles.’
‘
This applies to squatting as much as it does to the snatch and clean.

This is because the alignment of the lower body and back in the bottom position of the snatch and clean; are practically identical to the squat. This is why weightlifters squat as much as they do.

For the sake of keeping this message relatively short, I’m going to cut things off here.

Tomorrow I’ll be back, and will cover some of the areas Mr. Kono mentioned in greater detail.

I’ll also share a simple; but effective exercise that helps improve squatting form and depth.

Until then…

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

PS: IF you’re serious about squatting and the gains it can give you, you need to follow a solid meal plan. Get the facts in an easy to follow step-by-step method……

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I received some response to my message from the other day.

It was titled ‘The Most Worked Muscle in the Gym’ in case you missed it.

It’s a bit of a mixed bag of mail, which makes it all the more interesting…

Some people agreed with me wholeheartedly.

Some admitted to having verbal diarrhea, and we’re making a conscious decision to change for the better…

Others really appreciated ‘sharing a personal story.’ Whatever it takes to help you out. And I’ll share more of them in the future.

Other wanted to know if my father ‘really had ‘a moustache like Stalin, and a temper like Tony Montana?’…

He sure does…’For real?’…For real…

Then there were the critics…

‘I think you are disrespectful for referring to your father as ‘The Moustache’.

Luckily, we live in a place where each is entitled to voicing his opinion. And like a certain orifice, we all have ‘em

‘Are you anti social?’

If I was anti social, would I be sending out these messages to people?

‘You take your training too seriously.’

Don’t fool yourself, you’re either 100% dedicated or not. I choose 100%… If you consciously decide to take it down a few notches, that’s fine. To each his own. But you must be conscious of it.

Don’t trick yourself into thinking you’re giving it ‘your all’ when you’re only giving 50%.

‘You can’t be serious about no talking.’

I didn’t say absolutely no talking.

That being said, talking while training is like a form of day dreaming. I’m not against talking when it’s appropriate. But for the most part, it’s done way too much.

And I’m not the only one who feels this way…

Reg Park would cover the mirrors while training and work like a mad man. He was totally focused on the work at hand.

Arnie was known for his antics while in the gym. But he was also known for ‘flipping the switch’ when it came time to attack the weights.

Remember his line about imagining his biceps the size of mountains, and being able to lift tremendous weights with them? There ain’t much talking when you’re doing that…

Brooks Kubik also talks about a ‘no talking rule’ while training…

He recommends keeping the gab focused on the task at hand, namely getting in a good workout, encouraging your training partner, and focusing on setting new PRs…that’s it!

So no, I’m not the only one who believes in little talk, and focusing on what you’re doing.

Try this out, and focus all of your energy and attention when you’re going through a set. And that goes for bar bending single rep sets, or super high rep endurance sets.

If you haven’t already been doing this, I promise it’ll lead to new gains in size and strength….

GO FOR IT!

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

PS: Work your jaw muscles the way you should be, chewing high quality foods in the proper amounts and rations to maximize gains in the gym.

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It’s been a while since I mentioned the power rack, and that ain’t tight….

In my opinion, the power rack comes second only to the barbell, it’s that important.

Unfortunately, few people know this…

You see, the power rack is a causality of present day; mainstream fitness.

Most people don’t even know what one is, let alone how to use it properly. And the fact that most gyms don’t have one doesn’t help either.

Unfortunately, the power rack was very short lived…

Many men who built freight train strength did so with primitive; homemade gear. Over time, the ideas these men used eventually evolved into the power rack.

Problem is, by the time the rack started making its way around the country, spandex and designer water was just around the corner

Hard core strength training was losing ground to ‘The Pump,’ bellbottoms, and aerobics classes funkin’ up the place to Boogie Oogie Oogie…

But the truth is, combining the power rack with a barbell and plenty of iron is THE ticket to maximizing your strength and size.

Not only that, it helps you do so on your own if necessary, and in relative safety…that’s hard to beat.

But using the rack requires work, plenty of hard work. It also calls for using our noggin’ too.

I want to dig deeper into this, but it’s going to need more space. It’ll be best to break it up into a few parts over the upcoming week or two.

In the mean time, check and see if you have a rack in your gym. If you do, you’re in luck.

I highly suggest doing your big lifts in there, especially the bench. (I’ll touch on this in an upcoming part)

Get comfortable with it. If you want supreme levels of size and strength, you’re going to be spending a lot of time in there.

Even if you don’t, I still think using it is a good idea because of the added safety if provides.

OK, that’s enough homework for today. Make sure you get to using it as soon as possible.

I’ll be back soon with more about this lost and forgotten treasure…

…’Get down, boogie oogie oogie…get down…’ what!? Like you don’t find it catchy…

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

PS: I’ve always said that hard training requires serious nutrition. And the power rack, properly used, will provide you with some of the most demanding and rewarding work that you can do…but you have to eat right….

Make sure your meal plan is up to the challenge…

To learn more, go here NOW