Versa Gripps and A Awsome Back Workout
Back in my 20’s and 30′ I used weight belts, gloves, and wrist wraps and wrist straps. I always seemed to be dealing with nagging injuries all over my body. After I had to have a discectomy to repair a badly damaged back during therapy the physical therapist told me the danger of using these aids. How they hid your weak points and didn’t force you to evenly develop all areas. So, once I returned to the gym I never used any of them again. Since I wasn’t going to be doing squats anymore there was no need for a weight belt or knee wraps. My training was still haphazard and diet was just garbage so I never really did much more then maintain, barely. In my early 40’s I really became concerned with the joint pain and stiffness I felt in the morning. I started doing more reading on the specifics of nutrition and training and as my knowledge has grown and training/diet improved over these last few years I feel better today then I did in my 30’s. That alone keeps me focused and motivated. And discovering BB.COM has given me a place where I can go to learn from some of the best.
So where is this going? In the over 35 forum there have been several discussions on the merits of using aids or not. Having experienced the negative impacts of overuse, or improper use, of lifting aids I was inclined to take the purist stance. No aids, period. That is, until I hit the wall. In my progress pictures I could clearly see how my upper back was doing fairly well but my lower lats were lagging. I asked for some suggestions on improving them and the consensus was "Lift More Weight". So, I tried. But as had been mentioned in the discussions, your forearms just cant hold up to the heavy weight routines. They give out before your back does. So I broke down and bought the versa gripps everyone is raving about.
I used them on my back workout last week, but mostly just trying to get familiar with them. Today I was determined to really push my back. How did they work? DOMS.. forget DOMS. I was sore by lunch! I did pulldowns to the front up to 6×240lbs strict. Behind the neck lat pull downs up to 4×220lbs. then did wide grip pullups to the front, back arched and focused on lower lats, slowwwww. No way could have done these without the grips. This is where I really felt it. Awesome.
Did some cable cross over on the Lat Cable Machines for upper back, then the inside grip on the T-Bar for lower lats again. Used the grips on the DB rows, 8×105, 6×105. Was really feeling it by then. Finished with my "surfers move". I set up a bench at the cable machine `, drop the pulley all the way to the bottom, set the inlcine to about 15-20 degrees, stand on it he bench. Starting low I pull the cable across my body and up to my side while twisting. Think of a DB row but the cable is pulling downward and across your body.. This twists the lower back while allowing you to pull out your lower lats. The goal is to me stay flexible so the extra muscle doesn’t impact my surfing as much. Not that I am really all that good at surfing, thats why I need all the help I can get, lol.
So based on the soreness I am feeling in the RIGHT SPOTS, the versa gripps did exactly as advertised. Allowed me to focus on the target area and hammer it. I still will limit their use so my forearms stay strong but they are now a staple in my bag.
