Jeff Adams "GRITTER" The Westside Disciple / Igor: Jeff, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? (how old you are, when did you begin training, and since when do you train in the Westside Barbell Club) / GRITTER: I AM 43 YR. OLD, I LIVE IN DAYTON OHIO, I OWN A SMALL HEATING AND A/C CONTRACTING CO.  I HAVE TRAINED WITH WEIGHT SINCE MY DAD BROUGHT HOME A PLASTIC WEIGHT SET WHEN I WAS 12 YR. OLD AND NEVER REALLY STOPPED. I WAS NATURALLY STRONGER THAN MOST OF MY FRIENDS SO IT WAS EASY FOR ME TO WANT TO CONTINUE.   I VISITED WESTSIDE ON CHANCE. I HAD BEEN TRYING TO USE LOU'S METHODS AT HOME ( I HAD TRAINED ALONE IN MY BARN ) BUT WAS NOT GETTING ANYWHERE. I CALLED HIM AND HE SAID TO COME ON UP AND SEE HIM. ITS ABOUT 75 MI. ONE WAY BUT I JUMPED IN THE TRUCK AND WENT UP RIGHT THEN. AFTER A FEW ADJ. TO MY FORM I PULLED A PR DEADLIFT.   LOU SAID TO KEEP COMING BACK UNTIL HE TOLD ME TO STOP. THAT WAS 6 YR. AGO AND HE HAS NOT KICKED ME OUT YET. / Igor: What are your best results & what’s your current body-weight? / GRITTER: WHEN I FIRST WENT TO SEE LOU I HAD PR OF SQ. 530    BP 385   DL 530.   MY CURRENT PR'S ARE   SQ. 735   BP  585   DL  610  MY DEADLIFT STINKS BUT IT IS STILL MY FAVORITE EXERCISE.  MY BENCH IS DECENT BUT IM BUILT TO BENCH AT 5' 5" 198 LB. I HAVE A THICK UPPER BODY AND SHORT ARMS. / Igor: I know that you have had some elbow problems and that you can’t completely extend your arms. Can you please explain to us what’s causing this and which triceps exercises do you use so that they don’t aggravate the pain? / GRITTER: PHYSICALLY I  HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH  BONE SPURS IN MOST OF MY JOINTS. I HAVE HAD SURGERY ON BOTH SHOULDERS AND MY LEFT ELBOW.  AND I AM STARTING TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH MY RIGHT ELBOW AND MY RIGHT HIP.  THE BONE SPURS IN MY LEFT ARM ARE SO BAD I ONLY HAVE ABOUT 3IN. OF RANGE OF MOTION. AND MY ARM AT FULL EXTENSION IS STILL SLIGHTLY BENT. THIS PROB. ELIMINATES MOST STANDARD TRICEPS EXERCISES AND FORCES ME TO USE A WIDE GRIP ON ALL BENCH MOVEMENTS. SO TO GET AROUND THIS PROBLEM I DO HEAVY PARTIALS ON MOST OF TRICEPS STUFF. FOR EXAMPLE: LOCK OUTS WIDE, JM PRESSES WIDE, 4 AND 5 BOARDS WIDE, TRI PUSH DOWNS WIDE.  BECAUSE OF INCREASED LEVERAGE I USE A PRETTY HEAVY WT. ON THESE.  IT SEEMS TO WORK SO FAR. / Igor: I’ve heard you mentioning the low pin press on the forum. What do you consider a low pin press? How far is the barbell off the chest? / GRITTER: ONE IF MY FAVORITE MAX. EFFORT  EXERCISES IS FLOOR PIN PRESSES. WHILE LYING ON FLOOR WITH LEGS STRAIGHT OUT. I SET THE PINS 1 AND 2 IN. OFF MY CHEST. I LIKE THE LONGER RANGE OF MOTION MYSELF. BEFORE MY ARMS GOT REAL BAD I DID EVERYTHING CLOSE GRIP. BUT I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE PROGRESS BY MODIFYING AND USING TRIAL AND ERROR. / Igor: Do the elbows touch the ground on the pin press and do you pause when the weight touches the pins? / GRITTER: YES, THE PIN PRESS IS A FLOOR PIN, AND THE STARTING POSITION IS ON THE PIN. PRESS IT TO LOCK OUT. 1 TO 2 INCHES ABOVE MY CHEST. NO, OUR ELBOWS ARE NOT ON THE FLOOR. / Igor: There’s been a lot of talk on the forums these days that for bench pressing, the triceps would benefit more from pressing movements (like lockouts, 5 board presses, etc) than the extension movements. What’s your personal opinion about this? / GRITTER: I PREFER FULL RANGE MOVEMENTS VS THE EXTENSIONS, LIKE LOCK OUTS, ETC. EXTENSIONS SEAM TO CAUSE ELBOW PAIN IN EVEN HEALTHY PEOPLE. / Igor: Can you give us a list of your favorite gear? / GRITTER: AS FAR AS GEAR GOES I USE A FRANTZ SQ. SUIT, A INZER 3 PLY DENIM BP SHIRT AND ANY OLD SUIT I HAVE FOR DEADLIFTING. I LIKE DP 5000 WRAPS. / Igor: Do you keep track of the volume of your workouts like Dave Tate does, and if not, how do you fine tune it (especially when the contest approaches…) / GRITTER: I DO KIND OF KEEP TRACK OF VOLUME ON SQUAT SPEED DAYS AND TRACK MY PRS. BUT I DON'T GET HUNG UP ON IT. / Igor: On the WBC ‘deadlift secrets’ tape I’ve seen that Chuck Vogelphol uses wraps around his wrists, and up, real tight, to assist him with his gripping for the deadlift. How does this help? / GRITTER: MAKE A FIST AND HAVE SOMEONE WRAP YOUR WRISTS AS TIGHTLY AS POSSIBLE. THIS MAKES IT HARD TO OPEN YOUR HAND AND THERE BY TIGHTENS THE GRIP. I HAVE A WEAK GRIP (MY ARM PROBLEMS AGAIN) BUT THIS DID NOT HELP ME YOU WOULD NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH IT, ITS NOT FOR EVERY ONE.     Igor: What kind of protein source do you use mostly during the day? / GRITTER: AS FAR AS DIET I DO NOTHING SPECIAL. I AM A JUNK FOOD FREAK AND I EAT A LOT OF SWEETS (LITTLE DEBBIE CAKES AND ICE CREAM) BUT AS I GET CLOSE TO A MEET ABOUT 8 WEEKS OUT I WILL START TAKING A PROTEIN DRINK IN THE MORN. AND AGAIN BEFORE BED. THATS IT...   Igor: Who started calling you ‘Gritter’ and why? / GRITTER: WHO STARTED CALLING ME GRITTER? IT WAS EITHER CHUCK VOGELPOHL OR BILL KILLIAN.  IM NOT SURE. I HAVE A VERY ANNOYING HABIT OF GRITTING MY TEETH TOGETHER THAT CHUCK AND BILL JUST HATE, SO DOES MY WIFE CATHY. / Igor: With whom do you train in the same shift & what do you think of Bob’s purple shoes? (ok, I was just kidding on the last part of this question. You don’t have to answer that…) / GRITTER: MY DIRECT TRAINING PARTNERS ARE BOB COE, MON. WED. FRI. AND RANDY RHOADES ON WED. AND SUN. BOTH ARE OUTSTANDING TRAINING PARTNERS. OTHERS ON AND OFF HAVE BEEN: BOB YOUNGS ( HE OF THE UGLY PURPLE SHOES FAME), LOU, GABE REITER, TODD BROCK, JIM RITCHIE, AMY WEISBERGER, TRACEY TATE AND OTHERS IM SURE IV'E MISSED. ALL GOOD PEOPLE. BOB COE HAS GOT TO BE THE BEST EQ. MAN IN THE COUNTRY. / Igor: What do you mean when you say 'the best equipment man?' / GRITTER: BOB COE IS THE BEST MAN IN THE SPORT FOR GETTING YOUR SUITS, SHIRTS, WRAPS,  ON.  HE IS SO GOOD AT WRAPPING KNEE'S OUR MEMBERS LITERALLY FIGHT OVER HIM. HE'S ALSO A GREAT MOTIVATOR AS YOUR STEPPING ON THE PLATFORM. A GREAT TRAINING PARTNER! / Igor: Do you know where Jerry Obradovic currently is and what has he been doing? / GRITTER: JERRY OBRADOVIC HAS NOT BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE AND I THINK HE HAS GOTTEN TO BODY BUILDING THE LAST I HEARD. TOO BAD IF HE EVER GOT SERIOUS ABOUT POWERLIFTING THERE IS NO LIMIT TO HIS POTENTIAL.  / Igor: thank you for the interview, Jeff! It's always a pleasure to listen to you Westside guys... / HOME PAGE