Fatgripz

As per an earlier post this week I said I'd be reviewing two products. Well of the two I LOVED the Fatgripz. You can buy them from my mates at Ultimate Grip (click the link) who sent me the products to begin with.

They are easy to take on and off, solid and do what they claim. However, as I am a 'grip guy' I'm gonna be used to thick handles so I took them to the other gym I use (Gymnation, Alfred St, Glos) so that the typical gym user, unfamiliar with both the product and thick bar/handles, could give them a spin.

They LOVED them too! Comments like 'feels like 15 more pounds on the bar' and 'oowwww000 that burns' (in a good way) came.

While they aren't cheap at £40.00 a pair plus P&P they should last a long old time and Charles at UG tells me that he hopes to bring down the price if the volume allows him a better deal with the parent company he imports them from.

If you buy a set, let Charles et al know it was me that sent ya!

Product tests and reviews 1

I'll be reviewing and testing equipment for www.ultimategrip.co.uk (manufactured by www.monsterbars.com made up of a pair of Fatgripz (tm) and a Forearm Bar. I took some photos and may have some initial thoughts to include in my review for UG

Click or double click on the images to see massive versions of them
A pair of Fatgripz on our 400kg tyre.One added to an 80-kilo pro-style dumbbellThe forearm bar as it comes (note push pin)And assembled in seconds

Fat bars... any good or what?

NB: I have a vested interest cos I sell them here.

Right that's out of the way onwards. Fat bars... any good or what?? In a word - yes. If for no other reason than the old adage of 'change being as good as a rest' you'll get something out of training with the above Tricep V-Bar handle. In some movements especially where you press (either upwards a la pressing, benching etc) or downwards (dips, tricep work and so on) they have the advantage of dispersing the weight more evenly and over a wider area. When you get 'silly strong' or are bigger than most standard bars can press into the hands something awful and in certain lifts be properly uncomfortable. In my own gym I had my dipping frame handles beefed up from the usual 1-inch to close to 2-inches thick. Now I enjoy, when i use them, far less strain and discomfort than I would if they were the usual size.

On pulling movements not only do you get many of the features mentioned above but a hand and grip workout to boot. Literally, for some, just hanging on for grim death happens when the bar gets a little bit bigger and thicker than usual. Look at the massive differences 600+lb deadlifters have when trying Ironmind's Apollon's axle and similar equipment. Most become 330-350lb deadlifters at best.

You can, of course, train on them as frequently as any other equipment in the toolbox but I'd suggest either a short period leading up to a competition which includes said equipment just to become used to it or, better still, a rotation through the year.

Give them a try. You might not actually wanna thank me, what with it being a bastard of a workout, but you will feel the difference.