Expand Your Hands

You have been working on your grip strength for years, whether directly, using the Captains of Crush grippers or just working out. However, you have been neglecting the extensor muscles of your hands and forearms. It is now easy to remedy this problem with the Expand Your hands Bands from Ironmind. They come in an extremely affordable set, so you can use a linear progression as you work on your strength, just like you do with the major lifts.

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Elevation Training Mask

The principle behind the Elevation Training Mask is that if your body has less oxygen to work with, it will adapt to make the maximum use of the oxygen that it has available.

The Elevation Training Mask increases the resistance to air flowing in and out of your lungs. This increases the work of breathing makes it so there is less oxygen available and you have to work harder to get rid of the carbon dioxide you build up. This makes you go anaerobic sooner in the workout and at a lower power output. Just like weight vest training, once you have spent some time training in this mask, working out without it will be a breeze.

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Top of the Line Made in the U.S.A. Weightlifting Bars

When people think of high-end weightlifting bars, they usually think of bars made overseas in countries where weightlifting has been big for years. Until the past few years, they would be right to overlook America when it came to weightlifting bars. However, with the explosion of CrossFit and the renewed interest in Olympic weightlifting, American companies have put out some top-notch products.

Rogue set out to make some of the best weightlifting bars in the world. The bars are made to IWF specifications with a few improvements that really make a difference for their everyday use.

1. IWF certified weightlifting bars have a center knurl. This really only makes sense if you are planning to use the bar for back squat. Whether or not you need a center knurl for back squat remains controversial, but there is no mistaking that a center knurl will chew up your neck during cleans, especially high rep cleans in a CrossFit workout. We felt that a bar this specialized should be as well suited as possible for its intended use and should not make compromises to give questionable benefit for a secondary use.

2. Most high-end Olympic weightlifting bars are chrome plated. While this protects them from rust, it makes them slick. Manufacturers somewhat compensate for this by changing the knurling texture, but it can not be overcome completely. Our Olympic weightlifting offerings are zinc coated, either bright or black for a more secure feel. Zinc coatings also offer better rust protection than chrome. The zinc coating allows us to give the bars an understated knurling texture that is not found on other brand’s bars.

3. Most of the top end weightlifting bars have 4 needle bearings per sleeve. We have 5 top of the line German needle bearings per sleeve, to ensure that we have some of the smoothest rotating sleeves available.

Add to all that 185,000 PSI tensile strength spring steel for a perfect whip that rivals the best bars in the world, and snap ring construction on the perfectly machined sleeves and you have one of the best bars in the world, made in Indiana for a bargain price.

Coach Burgener’s Signature Bar is finished in bright zinc. Its sister bar, The BlackJack Bearing Bar has a shaft that is finished in black zinc for those that prefer the chalky feel of black zinc and the way it wears over time.

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Rogue “Ohio” Lifting Straps

Your body has a feedback loop that will not allow you to deadlift a bar that your hands cannot grip, even if you are otherwise strong enough. Of course, you should work on your grip, but you do not want to limit your strength gains while your hands are catching up.

The Rogue “Ohio” Lifting Straps let you move heavy weight without worrying about your grip.  The material for these straps is made in New England and the strap is sewn in Ohio.  This is one nice high-quality American made strap designed for years of use and abuse!

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Rogue Pull-up Systems

Often it can be difficult to find a decent place to do pull-ups whether you workout in a home gym or own your own commercial facility. Most of the off the shelf products just do not place the bar far enough from the wall to kip properly and do movements like bar muscle-ups.

The Rogue P-3 and P-4 pullup systems offer an easy to install, but incredibly sturdy brackets that can be used to make anything from single pull-up bars in a garage to a wall-length pull-up bar in a gym.

Here is a video that shows how easy they are to install:

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A Double Under Training Progression with Rogue RX Jump Ropes

Double Unders are a technical skill very similar to the Olympic Snatch in that both skills require a good set up and proper posture followed by a sequence of movements that require certain muscles to remain engaged and explosive while other muscles are loose and relaxed.  The differences arise in that you can learn the Snatch through progression by first starting without a bar in hand practicing squats. Then progress to a PVC pipe, then an empty bar and ultimately a loaded bar. Jump ropes, until recently, offered no form of learning progression.  You had to grab a jump rope and jump right in so to speak.

The Rogue Rx Jump Rope was developed by a competitive CrossFitter with an extensive background coaching high-level gymnastics who realized that jump ropes did not offer a progression for learning or a standard for sizing.  The only jump ropes available went from the heavier, flexible cords straight to the lightest speed cable ropes.  This left a large void in the middle where most people needed an option.

The Rogue Rx Jump Rope offers 5 different cable options each yielding a different weight, feedback and turnover rate.  This allows you to find a cable weight that will suit your coordination level, tempo and timing thus improving your efficiency and learning progression.  By starting with the heavier cables in the beginner stages you will gain more rope awareness and learn proper timing which will allow you to progress to the lighter cables as you become more proficient. The custom sizing feature will help ensure that you are getting a rope that puts you in the most ideal posture to utilize proper mechanics and allow for the ideal tolerance of tension and slack at the bottom out point near the feet and overhead.

Find out which Rogue Rx rope is right for you.  With options to meet the needs of the beginner CrossFitter all the way to the competitive fire-breather, Rogue Rx jump ropes have what you need for every skill level and every work capacity.  You will ultimately arrive at the ideal weight and length that suits you best and becomes your “go to” rope when it’s time to throw down a double under work out. Or collect all 5 variations and have a jump rope arsenal to train at every level of turnover rate, tempo and resistance.  You’ll become a well-rounded, double under machine before you know it.

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New Adidas ADIPOWER Weightlifting Shoes

Just in time for the 2012 Olympics, and the CrossFit Games Open Competition, Adidas has released the latest version of the tried and proven Adistar weightlifting shoe under the new name, ADIPOWER Weightlifting. This latest model marks a  major redesign from the previous, more traditional shoe with a wood midsole and a standard leather heel. The plastic midsole and integral heel cup give much greater lateral stability in the bottom of the squat than their prior, already stellar, models. They have also improved the flexibility of the forefoot which not only allows for a more powerful jump, it makes the shoes perform better for non-lifting movements. The mostly hollow design of the new midsole also makes this one of the lightest weightlifting shoes available. All of this improved performance, comes with a bold new aesthetic design that is sure to make a statement.

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Dynamax Balls

There are reasons that the U.S.A. Made Dynamax Balls are the most commonly used medicine balls in the CrossFit community.

They were developed by Track and Field coach, Jim Cawley to help his athletes develop the 10 adaptations to physical training that he had eneumerated.

Cardiorespiratory Endurance
Stamina
Strength
Flexibility
Speed Power
Accuracy
Agility
Coordination
Balance

In order to accomplish this, he needed balls that could be caught by his athletes no matter how hard they were thrown. At the time, the medicine balls that were available were firm, which limited the movements that could be performed safely. He developed a 14 inch ball that had enough padding, even at 20 or 30 pounds, to be used safely for high velocity movements.

They are extremely durable. They will stand up to years of use in a busy commercial gym. The balls are also available in 2 pound increments from 4 to 20 pounds, as well as 5 pound increments up to 30 pounds, so people at every level of fitness can benefit from the vast array of exercises including: wall ball, overhead throws, glute ham developer wall ball, underhand throws, medicine ball king of the hill, bull in the ring, seated situps, partner throws, medicine ball clean and jerk and snatch.

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Most Versatile Tool in the Shed?

We’ve been getting a lot of questions on the versatility of the Y-Series. The Rogue Yoke is one of the most versatile tools, inside or outside of your gym. Primarily for strongman training: the yoke carry, zercher carry, and the sled push are possible with either version. Fat-grip pull ups (3″ diameter) are an option for the 92″ and 110″ versions – (Y-2 or Y-3). The base is sturdy, so there is minimal sway for pull-ups or ring-based movements. The 3″ cross bar is good for throwing a set of gymnastics rings over for ring work. It is an asset for  a range of movements and lifts.

We posted this to answer general questions that we receive:

The benefit of the Rogue Yoke is versatility and not only as a strongman training implement. The included J-cups are there for racked squats and presses. The 92″ and 110″ uprights allow for our modular attachments.  If you have any further questions about the Y-Series, email us – Team@RogueFitness.com.

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The Hardest Pull Ups Yet?

A Grip World preview! We’re continuing to add training variations for the Rogue Grip System. We’ve been testing this sphere in the Rogue HQ gym. Holds, pull-ups and varied lifts have proven this to be one of the most versatile grip tools that we’ve built. At 12 inches in diameter and strong enough to be clipped overhead, this grip tool is unique Rogue Fitness.

Test: max number of dead hang pull-ups in the three minutes. The athlete notched seventeen. It “felt like 100.”  For more grip aids and strength tools, check the Grip World.

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