OcUK Health Seekers: Post your progress pics

Syla5 said:
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LiE has trained for 8 years, the differences to the average joe will not appear massive and both are impressive, except one is fully tended and probably just after a session along with some decent colour, while the other is relaxed.
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Lie - You look phenomenal there! Brute force, you inspire and motivate me buddy :cool:
 
LiE said:
It's all that strap work that makes his form arms tiny :p
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you are right to some degree m8 ive done a lot of strap work over the years only really recently with the invention of liquid chalk (thats right isnt it? they invented it a few months ago....) havei started gripping at the higher end.

In fairness and modesty though, why do we all say straps are ok? Because why should grip limit back development. And if i say so myself my back isnt small even if my forearms lack an inch. Ill take that trade.
 
Ultra_Extreme said:
you are right to some degree m8 ive done a lot of strap work over the years only really recently with the invention of liquid chalk (thats right isnt it? they invented it a few months ago....) havei started gripping at the higher end.

In fairness and modesty though, why do we all say straps are ok? Because why should grip limit back development. And if i say so myself my back isnt small even if my forearms lack an inch. Ill take that trade.
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I understand the point - the guy who coaches me keeps trying to persuade me to use straps when lifting to concentrate on the muscle groups being worked... it's the difference between an Olympic lifter (what I try to focus on) vs. a body-builder. Is there a [I[right[/I] way? And which is it?

To me, it's a weakness in the lifting chain: if I can't grip 130kg or whatever, how am I supposed to lift it? I'd never be allowed to enter a lifting competition with straps, so...
 
mrthingyx said:
To me, it's a weakness in the lifting chain: if I can't grip 130kg or whatever, how am I supposed to lift it? I'd never be allowed to enter a lifting competition with straps, so...
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Precisely my way of thinking. The same applies in using a belt too.

I think once you hit a national standard for specific lifts, then the picture changes. You can use these tools in order to get those extra kilo's in.

But personally? I'll stick with raw thank you.
 
Surely grip wouldn't limit back strength if you never used straps and trained it well if necessary?

I know my lifts aren't huge, but my grip never failed me on deadlifts up to ~140kg, and that was without chalk!
 
Fluttershy said:
Surely grip wouldn't limit back strength if you never used straps and trained it well if necessary?

I know my lifts aren't huge, but my grip never failed me on deadlifts up to ~140kg, and that was without chalk!
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It limits back SIZE but maybe not strength. The back is a vast muscle group capable of lifting some of the biggest weights a human being can move. The forearm and grip strength is probably one of the most genetically limited body parts. This combination leads to an imbalance and basically the decision will come down to the individuals goals.

If you want a big back use straps for weights you cant grip and progress back independent of grip. If you want to be a competitive powerlifter then do extra grip work to try and keep grip and back strength in line, its pretty simple. You can always increase forearm size at a later date which i will be doing.

And for those wondering my forearm flexed at widest point is 14.5 in
 
Fluttershy said:
That makes no sense to me. If your back strength isn't limited by grip, size shouldn't be because you can grip the high weights? They go hand in hand in that respect surely,
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Strength and size? What planet are you on m8? people half my size lift lots more than i do. Size comes from hypertrophy which comes from repetition. Gripping a weight for a competetive deadlift is very different to gripping a weight for a long period whilst performing movements. Sure if you train your grip up very well so that its beyond your back strength then you can grow your back fine. But in reality your back will always vastly outperform your grip when pushed.
 
Why would you let grip strength get in the way of back development; it makes no sense to me. Use straps if you want... or don't. Nobody cares unless you're powerlifting surely.

I'm sure UE can bring his forearms up at some point. A lot of things like this come down to an individuals goals.
 
i think some of the confusion with beginners is that on the one hand experienced lifters will bemoan use of supportive gear as it can weaken the lifting chain (as mrthingyx suggested) and in general im fully supportive of this idea. But grip is a different beast, if it fails you simply drop the weight harmlessly, if your back snaps or you pop a disc your lifting is done for good.
 
DarkShadow said:
Precisely my way of thinking. The same applies in using a belt too.

I think once you hit a national standard for specific lifts, then the picture changes. You can use these tools in order to get those extra kilo's in.

But personally? I'll stick with raw thank you.
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The same does not apply to using belts. People wrongly use belts for all kinds of more dangerous reasons.

Don't fall into the eaw4lifebro trap though mate.
Ultra_Extreme said:
It limits back SIZE but maybe not strength. The back is a vast muscle group capable of lifting some of the biggest weights a human being can move. The forearm and grip strength is probably one of the most genetically limited body parts. This combination leads to an imbalance and basically the decision will come down to the individuals goals.

If you want a big back use straps for weights you cant grip and progress back independent of grip. If you want to be a competitive powerlifter then do extra grip work to try and keep grip and back strength in line, its pretty simple. You can always increase forearm size at a later date which i will be doing.

And for those wondering my forearm flexed at widest point is 14.5 in
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You've blamed genetics before, but have you done any grip training since this last came up?

If the answer is "no", you know the type of person you are in danger of sounding like... ;)

Yes, you can limit your back development by being limited by grip. However, your grip can catch up very quickly with the right work. People are far too quick to decide that their grip is weak, strap up for everything, and end up massively retarding their grip development.

I still use straps for some things (Kroc rows, DB split squats...), but my grip takes enough of a pounding from everything else for it not to matter.
 
but grip exercises suuuuuuck you'll be telling me to do calves next! ;)

I know your right ive dodged grip work for a long time every time ive done concentrated grip work ive injured my wrists, im doing a lot more raw now so i think ill catch up and even out. just out of interest what are your forearm measurements? and also LiE if your reading yours would be interesting too. I dont think 14.5in on an arm with 17.5 upper arms is so bad i just didnt 'swan' the pose in the pic.
 
Specific grip training could have it's own seperate God damn day if you wanted to do it properly :p

As you say though UE, you've started doing a lot of exercise you used to use straps on strapless now, so you'll no doubt see some improvement eventually.

My wrist have always been tiny, but it's the least of my worries at the moment.
 
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