The Diesel Injection: Functional Feat Strength

This is a guest post by Jedd Johnson, fromDieselCrew.com. Jedd’s passion is Grip training, has competed in more grip strength contests than anyone in the US, and produced multiple resources on building world class hand strength, he is THE Grip Authority.

A lot of times when people learn that I enjoy doing feats of strength so much, they think it is a waste of time. After all,what possible carryover could tearing a deck of cards or bending nails have to sport? Surely it would make more sense train with specific grip equipment like grip machines, grippers, plate pinches and thick bars than trying to tear decks of cards, rip phone books, and bend steel, right? Don’t be so quick to dismiss feats of strength. They actually have much more benefit than meets the eye. In fact, I’d go as far to say that doing feats of strength is a good way to cross-train for Mixed Martial Arts. Now before you slap a collar and elbow tie-up on me, let me explain. We know the SAID principle (Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands). This means the body will get stronger and better at doing whatever it is subjected to. In other words, if an athlete does sprints, he should get better at sprinting. We also know that specificity is important in athletic training. In other words, in order to improve at a skill you must practice that skill and the more specific the better carryover. What these principles tell us is that in order to get better at MMA, the athlete should practice the various martial arts, including the holds, strikes, defense and conditioning levels. But is doing MMA work the only way to get better in the ring? Obviously not, or fighter wouldn’t be doing bodyweight conditioning, lifting weights, hill sprints, heavy bag work, and all of the other training that takes place outside the MMA ring. In MMA, to a degree there is an element of viciousness, mental toughness, pain tolerance, and other intangibles. These qualities are why feats of strength are perfectly suited to supplement MMA training.

Viciousness Feats of strength are not easy, especially top level feats. You have to be willing to go further in your training and in your efforts in order to complete some feats, especially card tearing. In order to rip, tear, bend, break and mangle, you have to be willing to destroy. Whether it’s a deck of cards, a steel bar, or your opponent’s arm, you have to be a little bit different between the ears.

Mental Toughness If you give up at the first onset of difficulty, you will fail miserably in the octagon. The same thing can be said about any feat of strength. Many feats take months of training to gain the strength and technique to accomplish them, and just like an MMA fight, they require many minutes of straining and fighting in order to be victorious.

Pain Tolerance If you shut down under pain, you should get out of MMA right now, and you should forget about doing a lot of feats of strength. Although not the same as getting kicked multiple times in the thigh by your opponent, feats of strength do beat you back:

    Tearing Cards can wreck your fingertips and finger nails When ripping phone books, if your hand slips off, you feel a full body tremor from the recoil When bending nails, your fingers get crushed under the pressure and the wrists are forced into stressing positions When bending horseshoes, the sharp edge of the shoe is driven into the thigh to be used as a fulcrum

Position Specificity In MMA, you have to be able to withstand being put in precarious positions. You get craked on, twisted, and compressed, and then you have to bounce back and be able to deliver the same beating on your opponent. One feat that can put you in some pretty strange positions is Bending Horse Shoes. The initial pull on the horse shoe requires you to reach down and around your side and almost twist yourself into a pretzel shape, and then begin to open up the horse shoe. Many Mixed Martial Arts contests can be won by choking your opponent out, either by placing part of your arm or other part of your body on or near your opponents throat and blocking air and circulation, or by grasping the opponents gi and tightening it so they can not breathe or free themselves. The movement pattern of tearing a deck of cards is very similar to choking a dude out, and the positioning of the hands on the deck of the cards is very similar to clenching a gi. MMA Fighting requires Grip strength and endurance. If you can’t maintain control of your opponent because your grip is failing, then you are in for some trouble. This is just like tearing a thick catalog. Unlike a phone book that can be turned to dust in seconds, the catalog is made of better quality paper that is tough to compromise. Getting the whole way through a catalog requires more of a man, just like entering the ring demands more of its competitors. As you can see, feats of strength aren’t just for showing off. They are a way to cultivate your mind, making you more ferocious, while they give you hands and lower arms strong enough to give you control in the ring and on the mat. If you are interested in building Grip strength, I can get you there.

Check out my new website, The Grip Authority. I’ll help you accomplish all of your goals. Until then, all the best in your training, -Jedd- Jedd Johnson is a co-founder of Diesel Crew, LLC and has competed in numerous strongman competitions and grip strength contests. He owns the World Record in the Two Hands Pinch with 256.04-lbs and has accomplished many other feats of grip strength.