Does any1 know how to strengthen the hands?

s10lamarr · Post by **s10lamarr** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:01 am

my grandfather used to have the sandpaper hand. every time u shake his hands it felt like sandpaper. i remeber he used to take a substance and rub his hands in it. and he said it made his hands very strong and tough. does any1 no what im talking about? and if so what was it? he used to drive the caterpillar tractors. and all day long for years, back and forth on his levers. well thats all for the story but i think info on this would help us all to make are hands more durable in are quest for easy going whip handling. especialy for the new guy.

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:29 am

I doubt that you will find anything to rub on your hands to make them physically stronger (as in better grip) any more than you will find something to rub on your body to lose weight. You have to work at it.

Sounds as if he had dry skin. A lot of older folks I know used to use a product called Bag Balmon their hands, but to keep them supple, not to dry them out and make them feel like sandpaper. This is made for animals though, but many found that by applying it to their animals, their own hands looked and felt better.

If you plan on touching your significant other, you may want to think twice about having sandpaper hands. Your grandfather sounds as if he got his strong hands from manual labor. Try a set of these. Or just continue using the whip and the strength will develop. Good luck!

Tyrloch · Post by **Tyrloch** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:03 am

It's not as much the hands that need strengthening as it is the wrists. And the only thing that'll help is practice...30 minutes a day to start, then stretch that to an hour...

~Jace

Herr Jones · Post by **Herr Jones** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:38 am

I think your grandfather was joking with you s10lamarr, like a lot of the gramps do. You may want to look into a powerball gyroscope http://www.powerballs.com/?aid=googlegen thera's a short clip of someone using it and looks kind of funny. This would combine rick5150's and Tyrloch's suggestion of strengthening the grip and wrist while also the forearm and deltoids.

Best,
Herr Jones

thefish · Post by **thefish** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:59 am

The only sure-fire way to strengthen your hands for whip cracking is to just crack your whips.

When a friend of mine first built a target stand for me, (completly surprised me,) I inadvertantly spent about 8 hours, (cululative,) out of a Saturday in the back yard practicing. I'd set up the targets on the stand, throw the whip at them until they were gone, and set em' up again. Occasionally, I'd stop, grab some water or a soda, sit for a minute, then go right back to it. I didn't realize how much time I'd spent at it until I noticed that I couldn't see the targets as well anymore and looked at my watch. It was 9PM.

The next two days I could barely lift my arms to drive, but on the third day, I picked up my whip again. After that, it take a lot of crackin' to wear me out, (a feat I hope to put to the test at Annie Oakley Days this weekend.)

However, for sore muscles and chafed skin, Chinese jaio, (it's a tea-like solution you rub into sore muscles, but don't drink it or it will kill you,) there are also similar liniments like tiger balm or po sum that will do the same job.

Good luck, and happy crackin'

-Dan

Tyrloch · Post by **Tyrloch** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:27 am

One thing to look out for is overtraining. I can happen without you knowing about it til it's too late. If you train for hours & hours day after day, you'll wind up overtraining. Soon you'll see that you can't get enough power in the throw to get the whip(s) to crack. If this happens, the only way to remedy it is to take a full month off, so be careful & don't overdo it!! It's happened to me while trying to get down a particularly hard 2-handed routine, & while talking to Mike Murphy about it, he told me it had happened to him once as well. But you really have to be training hard -- I was doing 2-handed routines for something like 3 straight hours or so. It's something worth be aware of...

~Jace

s10lamarr · Post by **s10lamarr** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 6:10 pm

LOL LOL LOL my mind might be wondering to places it shouldnt but that power ball clip made my stomach hurt. And on the topic of my grandfather, i didnt mean it made my grandfathers hands stronger (as in muscles) but it did seem to have some effect on it getting tough like hard leather. And to rick5150 im gonna try that bag balm stuff and see how it works thank you for the info. :post:

Post by **BullWhipBorton** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:19 pm

I’ve had luck with simple arm curls using barbells. Other then that, just practicing with your whip regularly should help you build up the strength in your arms and wrists. Keep in mind whip cracking shouldn’t require a lot of physical strength, and if you are putting too much muscle into your throws, it will hinder your skill development. Watch for blisters on your hand, if your whip handle is rubbing in any spots you’ll know it, though they will eventually callus over. Just try to keep your muscles strong and physically fit, that will make it more comfortable for you especially when working with long whips or when doing complicated stock whip routines that require more wrist strength. As stated, take care not to over train, stop when you get tired, take a break and practice with both arms or you’ll end up with a forearm like Popeye.

Dan

winrichwhips · Post by **winrichwhips** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:07 pm

My forearms don't look like Popeye's , guess I must not be practicing enough

I did eat some spinach last night, though, so maybe I have to wait until it kicks in ....

-Adam

PS: Actually, does anybody's forearms look like Popeye's? Makes me think they could turn 'I want a Famous Face' into 'I want famous arms'

Post by **BullWhipBorton** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:26 pm

My forearms don't look like Popeye's , guess I must not be practicing enough I did eat some spinach last night, though, so maybe I have to wait until it kicks in ....

Sorry, That was a typo

. The Popeye example might be an exaggeration, but what i was trying to say was that if your only using your right arm for example to crack your whip, that arm can become more developed and look like Popeyes arm compared to the left.

Dan

winrichwhips · Post by **winrichwhips** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:36 pm

Yeah, when I first got into whipcracking, my right arm was definitely bigger than my left. Since I've gotten into to two-handed whipcracking, they've balanced out.

Actually, at the renaissance faire I was at, I did some shows with a sleeve-less shirt and vest, so my arms were visible. After one of the shows a lady asked how heavy the whips were, thinking they must be pretty heavy for me to end up with the arms that I have. Another performer looked at my right arm and said 'Is your left like that, too?" I showed him my left arm and he said "Yeah, I guess so."

Though, if anyone really wants a whip a workout, train to set a record for the most whipcracks in a minute using volleys. That works the forearm, bicep, shoulder, and upper back. Cracking really, really long whips is also a workout.

-Adam

Mola Ram · Post by **Mola Ram** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:21 am

BullWhipBorton wrote:
My forearms don't look like Popeye's , guess I must not be practicing enough I did eat some spinach last night, though, so maybe I have to wait until it kicks in ....
Sorry, That was a typo . The Popeye example might be an exaggeration, but what i was trying to say was that if your only using your right arm for example to crack your whip, that arm can become more developed and look like Popeyes arm compared to the left.

Dan

I have this problem Badly.

I've only ever cracked with my right arm, cracking about 10 hours a week,
since 2001 so my left arm is a little behind.

I guess i need to make a matched pair of whips for myself.

Adam

s10lamarr · Post by **s10lamarr** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:32 am

Yeah I've been being pretty good about keeping both arms in practice. For me I usually play around out back for roughly 2-4 hours daily. I did over train myself in the beginning and had to take it down a notch but now I can go as long as I like but the skin on my hands cant keep up thats the only problem I seem to be having at the moment. :evil:

bleyd · Post by **bleyd** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 10:39 pm

I get a pretty good workout at the Post Office lifting mail. One would think, ah, he's just pitching mail.
Alot of the sacks we have are 60-70 pounds each and when you're talking lifting sacks like that for 8 hours that's alot of weight. My arms have gotten ripped since I started working here and my hands have alot of strength to them. We get shoebox sized boxes and sometimes they'll weigh 30-40 pounds and I can pick one up with one hand now. Now just need to pick up a good whip to crack.

episaacs · Post by **episaacs** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 10:08 am

My brother, a UPS delivery guy, has hands like that; probably from handling cardboard boxes all day. I lift weights regularly, but wear workout gloves and work as a physician, so my hands are not too rough. I just recently started cracking, having bought a 6' 12 plait roo bullwhip from Gus Caicedo. I try to use both arms each time I use the whip.

Boggstandard · Post by **Boggstandard** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:25 pm

Maybe I am off the mark in terms of the topic but, if you want to toughen your hands, how about tincture of benzoin. I used to use it in gymnastics to toughen the skin on my hands for ring work, parallel bars, etc.
-ATB-

s10lamarr · Post by **s10lamarr** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 8:16 pm

Hey boggstandered you're right on track that's what I was talking about :!: I'm not sure if that's the exact one that he used but i will try that and thanx for the info :!:

See Herr Jones, I knew my grandfather wasn't joking with me about somthing to help strengthen the skin