My New Dumbbell

My New Dumbbell
I mentioned last week that I was heading down to Toledo to pick up a custom dumbbell... Here it is: a plate-loaded Inch Dumbbell Trainer.

I've always enjoyed lifting thick-handled dumbbells.

Let me tell you about this one" you see, some folks has tried to make thick-handled dumbbells in the past and use a technique called "sleeving" where gradually larger pieces of pipe are welded over top of each other.

In most cases, that works just fine, but the issue with the Inch Dumbbell is that that the "real" Inch Dumbbell has a handle 2-3/8 inches in diameter while pipe only comes in 2 inches or 2-1/2 inches diameter. They also tend to make the handle area too narrow which ends up banging against the wrist, which isn't a good feeling at all.

In any case, this dumbbell is made of one solid piece of stainless steel. We took a 2-1/2 inch diameter length and lathed the handle down to the required 2-3/8 inches exactly. The plate-loading area was further lathed down to 1.95 inches to all plates will fit, and each section is 8" long, leaving plenty of room for my hand, as well as the plates.

Needless to say, this one's a work of art.

I don't plan on making these available as an ongoing product but if the demand is great enough, we will just have to see. I sense a lot of good workouts with this one...

Join Our New Functional Hand Strength Facebook Page

Join Our New Functional Hand Strength Facebook Page
As the old song goes, the times they are a-changin' -- Join us in the 21st century by sprinting on over to that new fangled thing called Facebook and sign up for our new Functional Hand Strength page.

How I Play the Game

You can look around the Internet these days and see it - but it's always been this way. People talking about tips and tricks and shortcuts to Strength Success...

Of course, there's a right and wrong way to train but that's the incorrect mindset to have and let me tell you why. When trying to accomplish a goal, there is only what is necessary and what is relevant, all else is a waste of time.

And lots of people waste lots of time trying to figure out shortcuts instead of correctly applying their time and effort into what it takes to get stronger. So my feeling is that instead of spending time trying to figure out "tricks and shortcuts" of the game, my philosophy is to just play the game better than anyone else.

That's to say, simply do the simple, basic (although possibly mundane) things that make the greatest difference in terms of Success.

You know what they are. You know exactly what they are...

Its just a matter of "doing it."

Take hand gripper training for example. You would be amazed at the lengths that people go for "tricks and shortcuts" for closing the big grippers.

I have seen folks close a gripper with two hands, hold it with one and then announce to the world how strong they are. Ive seen folks heat up grippers with a blowtorch, or put it in a vise in or put it on the ground and step on the handle over and over to try to weaken the spring.

Bear in mind a lot of thought has gone into these tactics.

Evidently "just getting stronger" involves too much time and effort for many folks.

Funny thing is, it always does...

I say focus on just getting stronger every single workout - then there's no excuses...

The Benefits of Climbing Rope

I was always interested in climbing ropes and thought they would make an interesting addition to our product line - the grip strength benefits should be obvious - Well in just two and a half short years we are now the top online climbing rope dealer in the world - thats right, we sell more climbing rope than anyone, and consequently, know more about climbing rope training than anyone else.

We are "THE" place for climbing rope info, if you are interested in rope climbing, you came to the right place.

Now, a few of the important things to keep in mind for training with climbing ropes are:

1) To make sure you have the correct rope for your training
2) To make sure your rope is attached safely and securely

There are several different options as far as ropes go but today I am only going to cover one -- but one of the most important: the diameter of your climbing rope.

We currently feature two different diameters for our climbing ropes: 1-1/2 inch and 2 inch.

Now, a lot of people call us up telling us that they are "real strong" and want to start climbing ropes. They want to start at the very top because they are "so damn strong" so they want to go with the 2 inch diameter right away, even if they have no previous climbing rope experience.

Heres the thing: 1-1/2 inch climbing ropes are more than enough of a challenge for even for the toughest of elite athletes.

Above all else, we want to have a rope you can actually climb.

Once you master that climb you can progress by climbing without your feet,holding your legs straight, two ropes, wearing a weighted vest, upside down etc.

And, of course, you can climb as many times as you need to in order to get a great workout (it wont take much.)

All in all, the 1-1/2 inch climbing ropes are going to be the perfect choice for just about every athlete and training program, especially if you are dealing with high school athletes which is often the case with these climbing ropes.

Now, I wont beat around the bush - climbing a two inch rope is quite a feat.

If you think you are up to the challenge we can certainly oblige and help you out with the finest 2 inch diameter climbing ropes in the business.

Keep in mind that we are getting close to the tipping point for our
climbing ropes this Holiday season. These ropes are manufactured by hand and do take time to put together.

We still have time, but if you want to build "crazy monkey climbing Strength" we will need to place the order with our manufacturer asap.

Heres a link to our climbing rope page: Manila Climbing Ropes

Captains of Crush Hand Grippers:

The Captains of Crush Hand Grippers
Here at Functional Hand Strength, we want to offer our customers the very best in grip strength training equipment which is why we feature the Captains of Crush hand grippers by Ironmind.

These are the best grippers on the market and we are very proud to make them available to you.

Today, we want to let you know about the variety of resistances available in these grippers.

We offer ten different levels of resistance:

Starting with our Guide gripper, which gives you 60 lbs. of resistance. Keep in mind that your average, run-of the mill, sporting goods store hand gripper is going to give you only about 25-35 lbs of resistance. Plus, they are usually built with cheap plastic and will surely breakdown over only a short time.

So the Guide will give you a good workout right off the bat.

Combine the Guide with our Sport (rated at 80 lbs.) and the Trainer (rated at 100 lbs.) and you have a good starting point to work with. If you're a beginner to grip training, we highly recommend going with this set of three grippers.

These three hand gripper provide an excellent progression for those just starting out.

From there, our grippers are numbered from the #1 gripper and up to the #4 gripper in increments that will help you progress. The #1 gripper is rated at 140 lbs; the #1.5 is rated at 167.5 lbs. and so on all the way to the #4 gripper, rated at a whopping 365 lbs. of resistance.

Not many venture into the higher echelons of the Captains of Crush grippers, but if you have closed the beginner grippers, you should move on to our intermediate combo pack.

This includes our #1, #1.5 and #2 grippers. On top of that, we also have an advanced combo pack, which included the #2.5, #3, and the #3.5. Past that is a place only a handful of people in the world have reached: the #4 gripper.

This is the ultimate grip strength achievement.

So whether you are just starting out, or have been training for years, you will find the right resistances with our Captains of Crush line of hand grippers.

Want to learn more? Click here to read our Captains of Crush Buyers Guide.

Flash The Office Dog

Flash the Dog, doing his thing


When Flash isn't catching tennis balls,
he's catching some Zzz's