Question about Barbell shrugs..

kingkongalong · Nov 2, 2007

When I do barbell shrugs, I cannot lift about 200 lbs without using wrist wraps with my gloves. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right then because while it does put some pressure on my wrist because its the weights pulling the strap down, it makes it immensely easier to lift. Is this a good or bad thing? When I try without the straps, my grip just goes to shit and I can't lift it at all.

Golf · Nov 2, 2007

Same thing happens to me when I deadlift. You go good for a while but then you grip fatigues and you lose control of the bar. I've never used gloves or wraps or anything like that. Just keep trying at it and eventually your grip muscles will improve like anything else in the body. Seems like you'd be compensating too much by using a helper device anyway. You could also try finding something that is very difficult to crush in your palm and keep crushing it, like one of those stress balls. 1-arm deadhangs is another simple workout of grip.

sikdogg · Nov 2, 2007

I used to use wrist straps when doing heavy lifts but noticed that my forearms looked small relative to my bis/tris. I started working on my grip strength so that i didn't have to use straps anymore. What i did was find a good pair of grippers and just squeezed on them (alternating between hands) while i drove to work and back home. I have an hour+ commute so i had plenty of time to burn. I found that over a couple of months, my forearms started to look bigger and more vascular and my grip strength improved. My routine now is 100 squeezes with the left hand, 100 squeezes with the right hand, and 100 kegels squeezes. This takes about 5-7 minutes and constitutes one set... i try to do as many sets as i can while driving... i no longer stress about traffic, i have improved my forearms/grip strength, and i can fuck my wife longer when we have sex. Talk about a win/win/win situation... :cool:

kingkongalong · Nov 2, 2007

Yea i figured my grip was something that was holding me back. So do you guys recommend I supplement with a grip exercise and still lift the same amount using the wrist straps, or drop the weight to something i can lift without the straps and do the grip exercise?

MAXAMEYES · Nov 2, 2007

kingkongalong;284148 said:
Yea i figured my grip was something that was holding me back. So do you guys recommend I supplement with a grip exercise and still lift the same amount using the wrist straps, or drop the weight to something i can lift without the straps and do the grip exercise?

If you're not specifically working your forearms and your grip strength is limiting your accomplishment of training other bodyparts then the wraps are the way to go to get the max out of those shrugs, deadlifts, lat pull-downs etc. Then work in some crusher grip exercises so yer forearms maintain pace (or catch up with) the rest of ya. Luckily forearms are difficult to overtrain, for the most part.
Have ya ever thought of gettin' a Gerard (if I'm rememberin' right) trap bar or big stacked dumbells?
Just a thought.

But don't let yer grip limit yer accomplishment of anything else.

At least, that's my take.

Good luck!

alwaystrying · Nov 3, 2007

I'm going to have to disagree....drop it down a bit, do more reps and grip that sucker free hand. DO an amount of reps that will get u ass tired, and lighter so u *WON'T* wanna drop it even though it will get really fatigued anyway. Also, go to a wood carrier and get a wood piece and make a forearm roller, these things kill, and work. Wrist curls (front, and behind you), grippers, reverse curls. 2 months and u will be stoked on it trust me, your grip will never be your limiting factor again.

sikdogg · Nov 5, 2007

Wrist curls are great if you want thicker forearms but they did little to improve my grip strength... Grippers are what really made a difference for me. Here's a link to the best grippers you will find anywhere...

http://heavygrips.com/

supermanx · Nov 6, 2007

Try natural grip, one hand turned in one hand turned out. Helped me increase a couple extra reps in deadlifting.

BazookaJoe · Dec 2, 2007

I say to hell with barbell shurgs its only a mere isloation execersie. Upright rows,bent over rows and seating pressups will work the shoulders pluss more.

MAXAMEYES · Dec 3, 2007

Funny, that "mere" isolation exercise is what kept me from being paralyzed from the neck down after a three-car-crash one morning on the highway. Everything has its purpose.

airshy · Dec 3, 2007

supermax: Try natural grip, one hand turned in one hand turned out. Helped me increase a couple extra reps in deadlifting.

This will help trememdously. In addition get some good chalk (or gloves if you prefer). people dont often realize how much hold they lose due to slippage. After your shrug workout try doing simple holds. Place the bar a few inches below where you pick it up and do an alternate grip hold for 15-30 seconds. Before you know it you will be picking up twice your body weight and this will not be your limiting factor on shrugs or back.

BazookaJoe · Dec 4, 2007

Eyes,

How do you know it was the barbell shurgs that prevented you from becoming paralyzed?

Did the doctor tell you that barbell shurgs can prevent paralysis?

Golf · Dec 5, 2007

MAXAMEYES;286845 said:
Funny, that "mere" isolation exercise is what kept me from being paralyzed from the neck down after a three-car-crash one morning on the highway.

Yes please explain.

MAXAMEYES · Dec 5, 2007

It's easy, the hyperdevelopment of my traps, spinal erectors and other neck muscles as well as the 23" girth of my neck kept it from snapping like the four grade eight bolts on my trailer hitch and the two grade five bolts of my seatback when I got hit from behind and then slammed into the car ahead of me.

I came out with three bulging discs in my neck alone and a lot of muscle tears, some nerve damage and facet problems but my central spinal cord remained intact.

Doc credits a lifetime of specifically exercising my neck as the dispositive factor. Wrestling, martial arts, with their inherent shrugs and bridging saved my ass...uhh...neck.
As an aside, in over eight plus years of shootfighting I never got choked out, even in a triangle. Thick necks come in damn handy sometimes.

BazookaJoe · Dec 6, 2007

Eyes,

Sounds like a bad accident,it's a miracle your still alive.
For the record I'm not against any form of exercise, I believe every workout benefits in some way.

I've done barbell shrugs before and got a awesome pump,but I noticed when I did the upright row workout correctly ,it gave me a better and more well rounded workout focusing on,a anterior deltiod,posterior deltiod,and trapezius pump all at once, in one motion,rather then only working the traps alone.

To each their own with respect.
Nice neck size ,keep up the good work.

Take care.

Golf · Dec 7, 2007

MAXAMEYES;287152 said:
It's easy, the hyperdevelopment of my traps, spinal erectors and other neck muscles as well as the 23" girth of my neck kept it from snapping like the four grade eight bolts on my trailer hitch and the two grade five bolts of my seatback when I got hit from behind and then slammed into the car ahead of me.

Could you explain the grade on the bolts?

MAXAMEYES · Dec 7, 2007

Golf;287318 said:
Could you explain the grade on the bolts?

Here ya go:

Mark’s Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers lists Grade 5 fasteners as 120 ksi fasteners. This means the tensile strength is 120,000 lbs per square inch. It also lists Grade 8’s as 150 ksi fasteners meaning the tensile strength is 150,000 lbs per square inch. Also, the ultimate shear strength of a fastener is typically about 60% of its ultimate tension strength. So given a certain diameter (cross-sectional area) and strength rating, someone can figure out how much load that fastener can carry in both tension and shear.

Let’s look at an example of where grade 5 and grade 8 bolts are subjected to single shear loads (winch plate reference).

Using a .250-inch diameter grade 8 fastener gives you the following shear capability:

A = Cross-sectional area of the fastener size (since bolt bodies/shanks have circular cross-sections, use area of a circle) = Pi x r2 where R (radius) = .250/2 = .125, therefore A = Pi x (.125)2 = .0491 square inches (in2)
Capability in shear = 91,000 lbs / in2 x .0491 in2 = 4468 lbs

Using the same .250-inch diameter grade 5 fastener results in the following:
Capability in shear = 75,000 lbs / in2 x .0491 in2 = 3683 lbs

That’s a difference of over 750 lbs or over 1/3 ton. In this example you can clearly see that using a grade 8 fastener has a superior advantage over the grade 5. Therefore the result is if someone is using grade 5 bolts in a shear application like the winch plate example, they will fail almost 800 lbs earlier.

Golf · Dec 8, 2007

MAXAMEYES;287325 said:
Here ya go:

Mark’s Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers lists Grade 5 fasteners as 120 ksi fasteners. This means the tensile strength is 120,000 lbs per square inch. It also lists Grade 8’s as 150 ksi fasteners meaning the tensile strength is 150,000 lbs per square inch. Also, the ultimate shear strength of a fastener is typically about 60% of its ultimate tension strength. So given a certain diameter (cross-sectional area) and strength rating, someone can figure out how much load that fastener can carry in both tension and shear.

Let’s look at an example of where grade 5 and grade 8 bolts are subjected to single shear loads (winch plate reference).

Using a .250-inch diameter grade 8 fastener gives you the following shear capability:

A = Cross-sectional area of the fastener size (since bolt bodies/shanks have circular cross-sections, use area of a circle) = Pi x r2 where R (radius) = .250/2 = .125, therefore A = Pi x (.125)2 = .0491 square inches (in2)
Capability in shear = 91,000 lbs / in2 x .0491 in2 = 4468 lbs

Using the same .250-inch diameter grade 5 fastener results in the following:
Capability in shear = 75,000 lbs / in2 x .0491 in2 = 3683 lbs

That’s a difference of over 750 lbs or over 1/3 ton. In this example you can clearly see that using a grade 8 fastener has a superior advantage over the grade 5. Therefore the result is if someone is using grade 5 bolts in a shear application like the winch plate example, they will fail almost 800 lbs earlier.

Awesome, thanks for information.

Question about Barbell shrugs..

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