Hi to all,

:~ )

I hope you are well.

I've been giving some thought of late to the subject of training forearms
and grip strength on the XF2000 apparatus. Performing the Leg Press on the
EF5000 will do this as part of it's overall systemic effect on the body, but
I was looking for something that addressed this subject directly. I've
designed a prototype exercise which I describe below.

Stage one...initial setup.

1. Attach the lap retaining bar (the bar with the U brackets at it's ends)
at the height of your upper thighs, such that it is about at a level with
the knuckles of your clenched fist when you stand upright with your arms at
your sides.

2. Attach the other bar above the lap bar so that there is a gap of a few
inches between the bars. The bars are parallel to each other at this point.

3. Now you will need two lengths of string or similar. I'm using a pair of
long boot laces for my prototype, which work very well for the purpose in
hand. Loop one of these strings around both bars at one end and draw it
tight, drawing the bars together at that end. Repeat this procedure at the
other end of the bars. This tying procedure tightens everything up nicely,
making the bar assembly more like one single unit.

Stage two...testing and adjusting.

4. Place one hand palm down on the upper bar, with the upper bar resting in
the crook between first finger and thumb, and encircle the lower bar with
your fingers.

5. If you cannot do step 4 comfortably because the bars are not
appropriately spaced, adjust the distance between the bars, and test again.
When you have this initial setup as you like it, move on the step 6.

6. Now lower one end of the top bar by one link and re-tie that end with
your string. At this point you should have the two bars set at about the
level of your upper thighs, set a few inches apart, and non-parallel in
relation to each other. Having the bars non-parallel to each other like this
accomodates the trainee's hand size very nicely.

Training with this setup.

To train your forearms/grip on this rather strange looking setup, simply
encircle the two bars in your hand and attempt to squeeze the two bars
together, monitoring the output with the meter as usual.

I would love to hear your feedback on this. :~ )

Best regards,

Steve