goergen1
08-03-2007, 10:10 AM
The Opposable Digit
The Magic of the Thumb
By Richard Sorin
For many years I have tried many training protocols in the pursuit for the pinnacle of grip strength. I was lucky enough to be blessed with good physical genetics and a strong work ethic, but the other most important piece of the “strength-success triad” was sometimes overlooked. I was training hard, but not necessarily smart.
You see, my early success with the nutcracker type grippers earned me notoriety in this crushing-based feat, but I quickly realized the limited applications that solitary training for this crushing type strength produces. Through my 40+ years as a strength athlete, I finally realized that the entire strength and power of one’s body is terminally transferred (into the ground or object) by the feet or the hands. When the hands are the terminating appendage, they will most likely be used in a holding / static grip, or in a pinching / gathering application. Enter the thumb… No matter how strong your four fingers are, the all-important thumb completes the circle of grip power. So, therefore we must find a means to train all five fingers in unison to level of equal strength!
First off, exercises that are enhanced by thicker grips or compound grasping / lifting movements serve to train the grip without adding more exercises… very important. You only have so much time, energy, and focus to train, make the most of each lift! If you think about the old time kings of grip strength (Herman Goerner, Apollon), their overall grip prowess was built from handling large, awkward, or unwieldy implements during their everyday training regimen. None of these “Iron Game Legends”, as far as I know, “trained grip” exclusively, and only tested themselves with impromptu feats. But, rest assured, these men knew the importance of talon-like thumbs, and when called upon, the grip strength was there!
If looking to train the body for super-human’s strength, while developing a gorilla’s grip, some modern day equipment may be a big step backwards. Bolster your grip power by replacing that thin, whippy Olympic bar for a 2” non-revolving bar, dumping those ergonomic chrome plated dumbbells for the cold reality of iron that only kettlebells provide… without even having to consciously train grip! Thick pull-up bars, 1-Arm rows while holding the end of an Olympic bar placed in the infamous “Landmine” (http://store.sorinex.com/product_p/lm-2.htm) trainer, “Big Squeeze Dumbbells,” (http://store.sorinex.com/product_p/bsdh-1.htm) all instantly start to enhance the overall training effect on the body, but particularly on the hands. And as our fore-fathers of grip taught us, developing the thumb, as well as the rest of the hand, is a vital, yet overlooked, link to athletic success.
The Magic of the Thumb
By Richard Sorin
For many years I have tried many training protocols in the pursuit for the pinnacle of grip strength. I was lucky enough to be blessed with good physical genetics and a strong work ethic, but the other most important piece of the “strength-success triad” was sometimes overlooked. I was training hard, but not necessarily smart.
You see, my early success with the nutcracker type grippers earned me notoriety in this crushing-based feat, but I quickly realized the limited applications that solitary training for this crushing type strength produces. Through my 40+ years as a strength athlete, I finally realized that the entire strength and power of one’s body is terminally transferred (into the ground or object) by the feet or the hands. When the hands are the terminating appendage, they will most likely be used in a holding / static grip, or in a pinching / gathering application. Enter the thumb… No matter how strong your four fingers are, the all-important thumb completes the circle of grip power. So, therefore we must find a means to train all five fingers in unison to level of equal strength!
First off, exercises that are enhanced by thicker grips or compound grasping / lifting movements serve to train the grip without adding more exercises… very important. You only have so much time, energy, and focus to train, make the most of each lift! If you think about the old time kings of grip strength (Herman Goerner, Apollon), their overall grip prowess was built from handling large, awkward, or unwieldy implements during their everyday training regimen. None of these “Iron Game Legends”, as far as I know, “trained grip” exclusively, and only tested themselves with impromptu feats. But, rest assured, these men knew the importance of talon-like thumbs, and when called upon, the grip strength was there!
If looking to train the body for super-human’s strength, while developing a gorilla’s grip, some modern day equipment may be a big step backwards. Bolster your grip power by replacing that thin, whippy Olympic bar for a 2” non-revolving bar, dumping those ergonomic chrome plated dumbbells for the cold reality of iron that only kettlebells provide… without even having to consciously train grip! Thick pull-up bars, 1-Arm rows while holding the end of an Olympic bar placed in the infamous “Landmine” (http://store.sorinex.com/product_p/lm-2.htm) trainer, “Big Squeeze Dumbbells,” (http://store.sorinex.com/product_p/bsdh-1.htm) all instantly start to enhance the overall training effect on the body, but particularly on the hands. And as our fore-fathers of grip taught us, developing the thumb, as well as the rest of the hand, is a vital, yet overlooked, link to athletic success.