Post by Steve Gardener on Aug 24, 2010 8:50:16 GMT
NB: Mod, please let it have a few views here then move it to the appropriate place.
As I have mentioned before on MT I was recently sent two items by Charles Rinaldi of Ultimate Grip. I knew Charles through his selling of Heavy Grip Grippers and met him and an assistant when working at the Bodypower Expo a few months back. Charles asked if I would like to give the items the once over and let me know what I thought. What follows is an edited version of that (800+ words in the original). The two items are a 'Forearm Bar' (made in the USA by Monster Bars) and a pair of 'Fatgripz' (tm). It should be made clear I received no payment although I am allowed to keep the items after (together over £100+ worth).
Well of the two I LOVED the Fatgripz. You can buy them from my mates at ULTIMATE GRIP (www.ultimategrip.co.uk) who sent me the products to begin with.
The idea behind them is that you have an easy to add or remove attachment of sorts which instantly allows you to thicken bars, dumebblls, barbells and handles. Made from very thick rubber, about 5-inches long by 2 and a 1/4 inch thick (as is) they are slit down one side and you either open them up and push them on or slide them onto a bar. I was able to get them over a 48mm scaffold bar we use for chinning and they were still usable (I do not recommend leaving them that far open for long periods of time). Thick bars and handles make you work harder so you squeeze more and that makes the other muscles being worked work harder too. Google what famous powerlifter Dave Tate thinks about them.
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. I rated them as 9.5/10. I'd have rated them 10/10 but they aren't treated with an anti-bacterial chemical (however the parent sites recommends washing in them in warm soapy water).
If you buy a set, let Charles et al know it was me that sent ya!
The forearm bar... I rated far, far less. It seemed like an expensive bit of kit for something I can EASILY do with a bar etc and although I was able to work my extensors (tops of the forearms) well enough I could not find a comfortable angle which suited me. It might well be that the older, bigger etc I have got the less flexible my wrists have become but even so... anyway 4/10.
As I have mentioned before on MT I was recently sent two items by Charles Rinaldi of Ultimate Grip. I knew Charles through his selling of Heavy Grip Grippers and met him and an assistant when working at the Bodypower Expo a few months back. Charles asked if I would like to give the items the once over and let me know what I thought. What follows is an edited version of that (800+ words in the original). The two items are a 'Forearm Bar' (made in the USA by Monster Bars) and a pair of 'Fatgripz' (tm). It should be made clear I received no payment although I am allowed to keep the items after (together over £100+ worth).
Well of the two I LOVED the Fatgripz. You can buy them from my mates at ULTIMATE GRIP (www.ultimategrip.co.uk) who sent me the products to begin with.
The idea behind them is that you have an easy to add or remove attachment of sorts which instantly allows you to thicken bars, dumebblls, barbells and handles. Made from very thick rubber, about 5-inches long by 2 and a 1/4 inch thick (as is) they are slit down one side and you either open them up and push them on or slide them onto a bar. I was able to get them over a 48mm scaffold bar we use for chinning and they were still usable (I do not recommend leaving them that far open for long periods of time). Thick bars and handles make you work harder so you squeeze more and that makes the other muscles being worked work harder too. Google what famous powerlifter Dave Tate thinks about them.
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. I rated them as 9.5/10. I'd have rated them 10/10 but they aren't treated with an anti-bacterial chemical (however the parent sites recommends washing in them in warm soapy water).
If you buy a set, let Charles et al know it was me that sent ya!
The forearm bar... I rated far, far less. It seemed like an expensive bit of kit for something I can EASILY do with a bar etc and although I was able to work my extensors (tops of the forearms) well enough I could not find a comfortable angle which suited me. It might well be that the older, bigger etc I have got the less flexible my wrists have become but even so... anyway 4/10.
