Speed has multiple factors that can be built upon to create a faster athlete. Some of these factors can be influenced and others cannot, in this article we define these factors to help you understand how to improve hockey speed.
Why Hockey Players Should Be Squatting
Squatting is deemed as one of the best exercises for lower body strength and overall muscle development. Younger athletes can especially benefit from squatting, this movement will help increase range of motion (when performed properly) and build leg strength with stability for the future. When squatting there should be an effort to achieve full-depth, this will ensure for optimal growth and strength gain.
Hamstring and calve contact should be made to ensure full-depth is being achieved. The chest should remain tall without the lower back rounding. Toes angled slightly out, while driving the knees out to create a hole to sit into. Head is in a neutral posture, and arms are tight enough in on the bar to create a shelf with the traps for the bar to sit on (this picture is a high-bar Olympic styled squat).
So why should hockey player squat? Let alone go to full-depth?
Most bang for your buck: by achieving good form in a full-depth squat you're creating the most response possible in the muscles being worked. When you cut depth out you lose stimulus in muscles being targeted, for example, you'll miss out on musculature used to create increased hip drive from the bottom position. In short, the deeper the squat the higher the neuromuscular response will be; facilitating the most muscle fibers being stimulated.
Joint stability: there's no debate that being able to maintain good posture with weight on your back will increase joint stability. The ankle, knee, hip, lower, mid, upper back, etc. will all benefit by handling weight through various ranges of motion. In hockey the back and lower body joints are in constant stress from skating and taking hits, stronger joints will help prevent injuries and instabilities. In hockey you're constantly hunched over skating, stronger (lower back/hip) joints will help improve your athletic posture and strength.
Mobility: the best way to mobility/flexibility is to keep your mobility and flexibility. When you perform squats to full-depth you're putting yourself into positions that may not be achieved without weight. This will result in adaptation and will help increase your mobility to create the correct postures through the squat. Hockey players usually have tight hips from skating, squatting can help increase hip mobility by going to full-depth.
Increased vertical jump/sprint speed aka explosiveness: we know vertical jumps and sprints all require aspects of power. Full-depth squats will help you do both of these better by facilitating more muscle fibers being worked, like stated above. This will have a crossover with your skating, the increased ability to produce power, the faster the ability you can skate/move.
Those 4 points are all an athlete can dream of: increased muscle/strength, reduced injury, stronger joints, more power, improved mobility. Squatting is a tool that shouldn't be overlooked, the earlier you start the better off you'll be for the future. If you're new to squatting and don't have access to proper coaching-check out the two videos below, the first is a video from Mark Rippetoe on back squatting and the second is from Charles Poliquin with tips on front squatting.
Making Movement Better
In a previous article we discussed the commonality every professional and elite-level athlete possesses. That of course was the accumulation of training years, a simple concept that states: the accumulation of time spent working and practicing a skill, the better/higher reward will be for the future.
The concept itself is simple, but what goes inside those years to create that accumulation? Is there another key that elite-level athletes possess? The answer is...yes, that is their movements patterns.
Every athlete that has ever had great success in their trade all have fundamentally developed movement patterns. These are the way one moves their body through time and space, but they don't just move, they move in a way that creates an optimal response. A huge key to success is learning this skill at a young age, the best athletes/lifters are those who understand their body. They pickup verbal cuing faster, they adapt to movements quicker, they create better ways to facilitate a response from the task at hand, and they possess body awareness.
At Institute 3e we make movement patterns a huge focus for our youth athletes; but why? Like discussed in our age-specific training article, there are points in an athlete's life when learning certain skills become almost impossible. We use animal flow with our younger athletes to improve their movements patterns and here's why...
Locomotive skills - these are skills that can only truly be developed at young ages, this is the ability to coordinate limbs together in an optimal way (ex: crawling, running, skipping, animal flow movements, etc). An athlete who doesn't understand their body and how it specifically moves will have a harder time picking up on sport-specific movements and lifting patterns.
Body awareness/propreoceptiveness - this is understanding where your body is at any point in time, an athlete will understand how to move to create an asked response. For example: if an athlete is back squatting they understand why and where they're moving the bar, they can quickly grasp what they should be feeling and how to move to achieve the best results.
Improved mobility - the best way to stay mobile and flexible is to never lose mobility and flexibility. Animal flow demands the body to move in different ways to stretch and improve the body, which will carry over to other athletic aspects.
Range of motion increase - maintaining flexibility and mobility is important, but so is improving them. Animal flow will do so by creating a specific movement demand that may not already be possessed by the athlete, aka increasing their range of motion.
More coachable - as an athlete grows their demands become greater and more in-depth. A coach needs them to do progressively harder tasks as competition becomes greater, if you understand your body and move to your best ability-you better believe you'll be easier to work with. There will be no time wasted teaching basic movements, you already possess them.
The bigger picture - if there's one point to be taken away from this article, it's being able to see the bigger picture. Once certain ages/times of development have passed, certain skills are near impossible if not completely impossible to learn. Development needs to start at young ages, while you think its just another youth focused drill; you're wrong. Every bit of time practicing these skills at young ages act as bricks, these bricks create entire athletic foundations. Younger athletes are especially important, it's easy to learn a movement, it's hard to understand a movement.
No Belt, No Straps
When we work with athletes we don't use weight lifting belts, nor straps. Like everything, there's a time and place for both, although, we have reasoning for not employing these for our athletes. If you use belts and straps-hear our reasoning out and try avoiding them for a few lifts.
Belts are often used by elite olympic lifters, powerlifters and bodybuilders. There focus is to help maintain compression through the abdominal area (stomach) and to help prevent injury when working with heavy loads (usually 85+% maximal weight) by taking some of the force off of the body. We choose not to use them for our athletes and here's why...
Foundational strength - most of our athletes are building their base of strength, using a belt could hinder their natural growth.
True numbers - a belt might enable an athlete add more weight than their body is ready for, this will then lead to misinterpreted 1, 3, 5, + rep loads.
Back/core growth/strength - the back/core need to have a base of strength before anyone should be worried about finding their maximal weight. By not using belts your back and core will learn to support weight on their own (and grow faster).
Non-transferable - in most athletics it's not realistic that there will be a compressional force on the abdomen when performing, using a belt in the weight room could take away from lifting/performance carry over.
Risk/Benefit - when pursuing true 1 rep maxes there is always a risk of injury, most athletes don't need to find TRUE 1 rep maxes. Their max without a belt should be the max used to assess other reps.
Belts have their time and place, for most athletes they're unneeded-it's a safer/better bet to build strength without them, especially in younger athletes. In regards to straps there is a littleuse for them in our gym, but we have a strong case as to why we don't employ them in 99% of cases.
Grip strength - grip is a limiting factor, meaning you can only handle a weight your grip can handle. Always strapping up to make a lift will hinder grip strength and improvement, which a hockey player needs.
Forearm/hand growth - constantly strapping up will take away from natural growth of the forearm/hand musculature. When you're constantly holding a stick and having others test your strength on the puck you need a strong grip.
True numbers - not using straps will help keep you true to what needs work, this usually being grip!
When building a solid base of strength you'll benefit more by avoiding the constant use of belts and straps. The back and core need to be strong, especially in hockey-you'll have better gains by not relying on a belt. Vice versa a hockey player needs a good grip, straps can hinder the growth and strength of a grip.
The Commonality Every Elite Athlete Possesses
There's one commonality that every elite athlete possesses, it's something that could be argued as the most important aspect to their success. This commonality is called...accumulation of training years.
We stress this concept so often to our athletes and their parents-if you want future success you have to put the time in now. Accumulation of training years is the concept that all of the years/time spent practicing your skill will lead to the best/optimal athletic result. Think about every pro athlete you follow, how often do you hear them say, "Well I started when I was 14." You don't. They start young, they practiced forever and put in the work, which correlates to their success.
No athlete plays a sport not wanting success for their effort, which is why we push for younger athletes to start learning basic concepts early. The picture below shows our table of critical age periods of trainability - this table illustrates which age level will benefit from different forms of training. Every age has their optimal times to learn different skills. For example, think about a skill like coordination and a midget aged athlete - if a midget didn't take the time to develop coordination at a young age it's incredibly hard (if possible at all) to catch up to someone who started when they were 5.
A lot of times younger athletes don't realize how much the drills and practice is building towards their success, every time they're in the gym it's building their foundation. As trainers it's easy to see which athletes started at a young age, even when we're teaching exercises/lifts athletes don't have previous experience with.
For example, teaching a back squat - if you took two athletes, one who's been in the gym and worked their flexibility, body awareness and understands basic movements and the other none of the prior, 10/10 times the athlete who understand basic concepts will learn and develop the move faster. This again can be linked back to accumulation of training years, it's the lump sum of training/athletic experiences that weighs heaviest on future success.
Every concept learned and worked on will correlate to an advanced future concept. Body awareness is linked to better lifting (understanding movements/verbal cues), basic plyometrics correlate to explosive power/strength, the list goes on forever...
Athletic success has one commonality, it's the total amount of time spent practicing and training your trade. Start working today to build your future, every day counts.
Institute 3E In-Season Training Ideology for Older Athletes
There's no question that in-season and off-season training styles should be different. First of all, in-season the goal is to perform your sport optimally and to keep that high tempo through the season. Along with performing optimally it should be a goal to maintain the strength and size gained in the off-season.
If in-season the goal is to play your sport at your peak and you took the same training methodology we use in our off-season training it would do harm than good. The body wouldn't be able to repair and recover in time to perform optimally every time you were on the ice; you world more than likely inhibit growth. This being said there are a few training variations we implicate with our older athletes for their in-season training.
- Frequency - we recommend for older athletes to lift twice a week. This is an ideal amount to maintain muscle without frying the nervous system and leaving an athlete lethargic or sore for the majority of the week.
- Compound movements - every in-season lift we perform focuses on a compound movement as the first exercise. For example, a squat, deadlift, Olympic lift or bench/overhead press will be the initial focus. The compound movements are how we gain the most muscle, when in-season they're also how we maintain the most muscle. Along with this they're a great sign for checking and maintaining one's strength levels.
- Work : Rest ratio - a good in-season lift will have emphasis on the rest an athlete is getting in-between sets. If reps are lower, rest is higher to allow optimal performance and to avoid burnout.
- Volume - lifts are made to be shorter and to hit a majority of muscles, when skating 4+ times a week a 2-hour lift can severely deplete the body.
- Intensity - in-season intensity of lifts are dictated by the volume (reps). This means let the reps dictate the weight, constantly missing reps and going as heavy as possible will impede proper maintenance/growth.
An example of an in-season (functional hypertrophy, maintain size) lift would look like this....
- A. Back squat, 5-7 reps, 40X0 tempo, 4 sets, 2 minute rest
- B1. Chin-up, 6-8 reps, 30X0 tempo, 4 sets, 90 second rest
- B2. Incline DB Bench Press, 6-8 reps, 30X0 tempo, 4 sets, 90 second rest
- C. GHD, 8-10 reps, 30X0 tempo, 3 sets, 90 second rest
The main concern of this lift is to perform the back squat to the same caliber you did in the off-season. If you can, then it's a good sign that your strength and size is being maintained. The remaining lifts are for maintenance of other facets of strength, usually focusing on multiple body parts since frequency of lift days are kept lower.
Bantam and Midget Training
This post will cover our training methods we perform with our bantam and midget aged athletes. A lot of parents become worrisome when their child begins to lift at this age, they fear stunting of growth, injury, etc. At Institute 3E we utilize age-specific training, these are points in an athlete's life where they'll be most responsive to different forms of training.
When your son/daugher lifts with us, the programs and movements they perform are made to create a strong foundation (progressive to their skill level) and to aid them for more elite lifting as they get older.
There is a term in the strength and conditioning world called, Accumulation of Training Years–an essential piece to an athlete's continuous success. What this means is an athlete that has multiple years training and working on their skill will be better and more prepared than those who don't. This is why learning fundamentals and building a base of strength is so important for this age of athlete–with higher level play and college approaching you don't want to be left behind by the more experienced.
The aspects of training we focus on with the bantam and midget aged athlete are...
Speed (reaction time)
Strength endurance
Maximal strength
Explosive strength
As an athlete gets older it will be harder for them to keep up with an elite level player who's had years of experience in the gym. For example, if you're planning on playing juniors and you've never truly back squatted before–you're going to get passed up by someone who's squatted the past couple of years. While they're adding weight and getting stronger...you're working on learning the movement, gaining the mobility and building a base of strength.
Speed (reaction time) is a huge component we work on at this age group, this aspect goes hand-in-hand with explosive power and strength as well. We'll perform exercises such as, plyometrics (broad jumps, box jumps, vertical jumps), Olympic lift progressions and various team-based exercises such as indian arm wrestling.
Strength endurance is a key to building an athlete's base of strength, this involves performing a movement for multiple repetitions. It builds the capacity of muscles to handle a larger workload (i.e.more reps) while maintaining the strength of doing so. Examples of this are any strength movement with more than 5 reps (back squatting for 8 reps, incline benching 10 reps, chin-ups max reps).
Maximal strength and explosive strength while different in many aspects work together in unison in a lot of cases. For example, you won't be able to create a maximal strength effort without some form of explosive strength, vice versa. With a built foundation of basic strength the muscle will be able to handle heavier loads (i.e. less reps, heavier weight) and be able to create more explosiveness. Examples of these aspects include: plyometrics, lower reps-heavier weight movements (a 3-5 rep deadlift) and exercises involving critiqued tempos (holding a front squat for 2 seconds at the bottom, then exploding up).
An athlete's time at this age should be spent building a good base of strength, this will help improve their performance and keep them ahead of their competition. Higher levels of play call for more speed, strength and endurance–our programs will help prepare your athlete for just that. To get a better idea of the images above check out the video below!
Peewee Training
In a recent article we discussed mite and squirt training, this article will entail training for the peewee aged athlete.
In the athletic and strength training world there is something called, "accumulation of training years." In summation this explains that the more time spent training or practicing a skill, the easier it will be to develop as time passes with a better pay off. We realize this and construct programs that are tailored to your athlete's specific age and skill.
The aspects we focus on with the peewee aged athlete include...
General coordination
Flexibility
Speed (reaction time)
Speed (movement frequency)
Strength endurance
As time goes it becomes increasingly harder for some skills to be developed by an athlete, if not prefaced at an early age. For example, if a younger athlete can't perform 5 consecutive push-ups, then it will be tougher for them to transition to more advanced lifting and a higher level of play as they age.
General coordination, flexibility and speed (reaction time) are all keys for elite athletes to develop at young ages. For these aspects we use animal flow (advanced), basic tumbling/advanced tumbling, beginning dowel training, tennis ball drills, advanced agility drills and many more. We also explained these three more in-depth in the mite and squirt post.
Speed (movement frequency) is an aspect that has an athlete focus on their ability to maintain a pace with a time demand. It helps preface the athlete by combining cognitive and speed aspects, it develops one's ability to gauge and develop different speeds on cue. Examples of drills we use here are jumping drills, advanced agility/speed drills, various tennis ball movements, jump rope drills and animal flow into tumbling (frog stands/hand stands).
Strength endurance is an increasingly important skill as your athlete ages, this is their ability to maintain a level of strength over an amount of time. Every athlete should have a base of basic strength at this age, this will facilitate their future transition to advanced lifting. For strength endurance we focus on a lot of bodyweight oriented exercises like, pistol squats, push-up drills, chin-ups, rope climbing, peg board and many more.
When your athlete trains with us it's more than just going to an off-ice session. It's investing in their future, their future of growth and athletic development. There are aspects of athleticism that become increasingly harder to learn with age, don't miss your athlete's opportunity for optimal growth. To get a better idea of the images above check out the video below!
Mite and Squirt Training
When parents hear about their athletes training at this age they become worrisome of things usually heard from others (possible stunting of growth, injury, etc.). This article will illustrate our age-specific training methods and how we help facilitate your athlete's growth–not inhibit it.
There is something in the athletic and strength training world called, "accumulation of training years." This means the more time spent training and practicing skills, the more results and progress you'll see as time passes. Basically, the more time put in now–the better the end pay off.
We have three aspects we focus on with your mite or squirt, these are...
General coordination
Flexibility
Speed (reaction time)
These are all key fundamentals to a young athlete's growth as he/she develops, certain things like coordination become increasingly hard to develop as you age. This being said, the work we do is done to increase the efficiency of your athlete's abilities as they grow. We're priming them for an easier transition to future training and higher levels of play.
General coordination is done through things like animal flow, tumbling drills and various balance drills we've constructed. These drills also teach body awareness something so key for the athlete whose sport has multiple demands.
The best way to stay flexible is to never lose it. Younger athletes already have a tendency to be naturally flexible, this is key for developing good habits for their future. We work on improving what they already have and incorporate body awareness aspects.
The aspect of speed we focus on is more than doing sprints and making your athlete run ladders (anyone can do that). We realize that reaction-time speed is something that is harder to learn as you age, we focus on combining multiple aspects of different skills into one. Examples include, tumbles to one-leg getups, animal flow with frog stands (tripods), beginner jump drills and many more.
When your athlete trains with us it's more than just going to an off-ice session. It's investing in their future, their future of growth and athletic development. There are aspects of athleticism that become increasingly harder to learn with age, don't miss your athlete's opportunity for optimal growth. To get a better idea of the images above check out the video below!
Post-Activation Potentiation
The theory and practice of Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP) revolves around prepping the nervous system for heavier maximal loads. This is known as Post-Tetanic Facilitation, this states if you lift a heavy amount usually a single, double or triple-you'll be able to lift a heavier amount with a higher rep range (ex: you'll be able to lift a heavier 6 rep after a heavy single, as opposed to just doing 6's) or create more power if you're doing a plyometric. In summary it's the method of priming the nervous system by creating a more effective neural drive.
When working with our athletes we facilitate this into the programs of some of our most elite players. They don't realize it at the time, but they're practicing a method that has long been used to create power and strength increases in a plethora of athletes. Hockey players have a demand for strength and speed in their game, thus making our form of PAP a useful tactic for increasing both at once.
An example of PAP we use with our athletes...
A1. Back squat - 3 reps, 40X0, 10 sec rest, 8 sets
A2. Depth jump - 6 reps, X, 4 min rest, 8 sets
Another example might be...
A1. High handle sled push - 10 meters, X, 0 sec, 10 sets
A2. Sprint - 10 meters, X, 3 minute rest, 10 sets
This example includes a heavy strength movement (3 rep back squat) and a plyometric (depth jump), both effective for hockey players. We combine these movements to increase a player's recruitment of muscle fibers when producing power. It's important to point out the rest time in-between each set--make sure to take a longer rest after the second movement when practicing PAP. The reason for this is the increased demand on neural drive, the body needs adequate rest to keep performing at an efficient rate.
PAP can be an effective change up when increasing one's strength/power production. It can be used combining different movements other than the one's used above (ex: 1 rep back squat, followed by a 6 rep back squat). It's also important to note that this method should be used sparingly, it's taxing on the nervous system and should be used strategically with your in/off-season schedules--this will help avoid burnout or any form of strength backtracking.
Important takeaways
- Use sparingly, there's a time and place in everyone's training program when PAP could be more or less effective.
- Allow adequate rest time.
- Combine movements that benefit and facilitate well together.
- If you're new to lifting this method won't benefit you as much as an advanced, trained athlete.
6 Movements to Build a Monster Grip
Grip strength is one of the most important components in all areas of sports. Whether it be staying strong on the puck, handling a baseball bat, squeezing a ball or wrapping up a tackle—all of these require a strong grip. Younger and older athletes both can benefit from strengthening their grip, younger will build a base and older will build from what they’ve already developed (which might illuminate weak areas).
Grip is one of the limiting factors when it comes to lifting and performing. A limiting factor is something that will physically stop you from progress, even though other factors might have the ability to progress. In translation, you have an extremely strong back that will allow for a heavy deadlift, although your grip strength is lacking and you can’t hold the weight you’re trying to lift. While your back is willing and capable, you physically can’t because of your lack of grip strength. This is why it’s key to build your grip, your body can only progress if every part of it is in sync working together.
“What about using straps?”
While these are great for handling heavy weight, straps often play a role as a crutch to an athlete. While there are exceptions to using straps, avoid them when performing normal lifts, they shouldn’t be a go-to.
What we’ve done at Institute 3E is observe over the course of the years what exercises and movements build the best grips. These are movements we practice with our athletes and movements that will allow for growth at any age or athleticism.
1. Rope Climbs.
Why? Rope climbing is great because it requires a pulling movement, stabilization and coordination. Not only does climbing a rope require the strength to hold your body weight, but it requires a strong grip to stabilize on a moving object.
How? If rope climbing is out of the equation for you and you simply can’t perform the movement, perform rope holds. Work on holding your body weight up with a set count, for example holding your body up for a 30 second increment—work your way up until you’re able to climb.
Remember. When climbing the rope try to work your way up to climbing without legs, this is a true feat of upper body and grip strength. Also, when climbing use your feet as a tool not a crutch, the use of feet shouldn’t be the only reason you can climb. Lastly, don’t slide down the rope when at the top, this not only will burn your hands, but half of the battle is continuing the climb on the eccentric (down phase) part of the climb.
- Peg Board.
Why? While the peg board isn’t common at most gyms, it’s an amazing tool for building at athlete’s grip and upper body strength. It requires you to maintain a fixed grip on the peg that can support your bodyweight and upwards momentum.
How? Peg board like rope climbing is a skill that needs to be trained, it’s not east to perform your first try. If you can’t climb without risk of injury, do peg holds. Hold yourself up on the board with fixed arms and grips—do this for an amount of time until you can climb on your own.
Remember. To perform the peg board only when you’re ready and capable to climb on your own, it’s always a good idea to have someone with you as well. Keep your upper body tight so you avoid swaying and completely losing control of your position when climbing. Also, avoid using your feet to help push off and climb the wall.
3. Fat Grip Chin-up/Pullup.
Why? FYI: A chin-up is when your palms are facing you, pullups your palms face away and arms tend to be a little wider. These are a fundamental movement, but offer massive amounts of growth. When doing either of these movements with fatter grips your forearms and hands will be forced to do more due to the inability to wrap your hands and get a firm grip.
How? A primary goal for both of these movements is being able to do multiple reps with your bodyweight getting full ROM (range of motion). This means you have long arms on the eccentric part (down motion) and getting your chin above the bar when pulling yourself up. The full range of motion should be your main goal with this exercise, once you’ve achieved multiple reps with bodyweight move to adding weight around your waist.
Remember. This movement is useful when performed properly—don’t rush to adding weight around your waist if you can’t do reps with long arms and chin above the bar. Also, normal bars can be used to progress and build your strength to fatter grips, if you can’t do fat grips, don’t fret and start on normal bars.
4. Fat Gripz Deadlift.
Why? The deadlift itself is a feat of strength, when adding a fatter grip it changes the complete dynamic of the lift. It no longer relies on brute strength to pick up the bar off the ground, it requires a strong grip to even get the bar moving. If you’re curious about your grip strength with a heavier weight, try deadlifting with fat grips.
How? It’s key to remember when performing this deadlift that we’re going to have a “clean” grip. This means both palms are facing down, we’re not doing the offset grip—offset increases chance of a torn bicep and will hinder symmetrical forearm development.
Remember. Form matters. If you’re not comfortable with deadlifting to begin with, start without using fatter grips, once you’ve perfected the form you can begin to experiment. This movement isn’t about your ego, don’t be surprised if your deadlift drops a substantial amount when switching up to a fatter grip. Take it slow and make sure you’re performing the proper lifting mechanics—good form is the quickest way to grip progress with this movement.
5. Snatch Grip Deadlift.
Why? While this movement could be argued about it’s place on the list, there’s no denying that gripping a barbell snatch grip style requires a strong grip. With a wider grip we won’t have the same strength as something more conventional. The reasoning is our hands don’t have the same amount of surface area to apply force on the bar, along with the fingers having less ability to wrap in a hooking motion.
How? The snatch deadlift will force you to sit a little lower than a conventional deadlift, solely for the reason it wouldn’t be optimal to leave out your legs in the lift (your back would be to rounded). This being said, with the legs and back being able to work in sync the amount of weight that’s lifted can only match what the grip can handle.
Remember. If you can’t perform an obscene amount of weight, it’s okay. When you pair this exercise with other grip focused lifts you’ll progress quickly, the snatch grip requires a different dynamic when applying force to a bar. Along with the normal fatter grip deadlift, don’t let your ego dictate the mechanics of this lift!
6. Farmers Walks.
Why? Farmers walks are possibly one of the most effective ways to test your grip strength. You’re supporting a high amount of weight on each arm and walking a set distance. Not only do you have to have the strength to lift the weight, but you have to maintain good posture as well. The walk adds extra tension on the grip to maintain a fixed stable position during movement.
How? When performing farmers walks it’s key to remember that posture is important, if the weight is pulling your chest down or causing you to stumble—it’s too heavy. If you’re not used to this movement, start a little lighter and add weight/distance as you get stronger and more competent.
Remember. If the actual farmers walk bars aren’t a resource for you, use barbells or dumbbells they both can be used to achieve the movement. Progress at your own speed and don’t be afraid of calluses, they’re a small price to pay for building a beast grip!
These forearm building movements are great to add to any lifting arsenal. Keep your eyes open for another article featuring more grip based movements in the future. And always, if you have any questions or concerns ask away!