The Grappler Was Invented By
One Of The Foremost Speed-Strength Coaches In The
World
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Grappler Photos
The Grappler was invented by my friend Louie Simmons, arguably
the best speed-strength coach in the world. Everyone in the powerlifting
community already knows Louie. In fact, he is often called “The
Great Guru of Powerlifting” and “The Mad Monk of Powerlifting”.
Pretty good description, since his world-famous Westside Barbell
Club is the strongest gym in the world and has produced too many
National and World Champions to count. Westside currently has 5 lifters
who have totaled over 2400lbs, the only gym in the world to have
done so.
But what may not be as well known is the work Louie
has done with other world-class athletes. He has
worked with the strength coaches of The New England
Patriots, Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks, and
The Green Bay Packers, to name just a few. And about
1/3 of the college teams in the country have adopted
some version of Louie’s
stuff. He’s also trained a 70’ plus shot
putter, an Olympic sprinter, mixed martial artists,
wrestlers, and athletes from many other sports. Nobody
knows more about developing strength, power, and
speed for grapplers, mixed martial artists, and sports
in general, than Louie Simmons.
Louie’s a big mixed martial arts fan, and one night recently
while watching the Pride Fighting Championship at his home I asked
him:
“Why,” I asked in between fights, “did you invent
The Grappler?”
“I made it for guys like you.”
“What do you do,” he went on, “when you don’t
have anybody to train with?”
“Yeah, that happens a lot in this country,” I interjected.
“Well, when you don’t have any strong partners to workout
with,” he continued, “just do a session with The Grappler.
It’ll wear you out.
After the next fight in which Mario Sperry knocked out his opponent
in 11 seconds, I asked,
“What weight exercises do you think are most important for
grapplers, jujitsu fighters, judoists, submission wrestlers, and
mixed martial artists?
“I’d concentrate on 4 things: Towing a Sled with your
legs and with your arms, Good Morning, Zercher Squats, and The Grappler.”
“What kind of exercises,” I asked, “would you
do with The Grappler?”
“Do all kinds of stuff. Do a lot of Vertical Bar Twists,
what we call ‘Land Mines’. This will work the rotational
muscles of your torso and your stabilizers. Invent new movements
to work your weaknesses and to support your techniques. Work your
arms and shoulders in circular motions and try working them independently
of each other. Just use your imagination.”
“Are there any other exercises you’d recommend?” I
went on.
“Yeah. Anything to work the posterior chain. The Towing Sled
is great, but also do lots of Glute Ham Raises, Seated Leg Curls
with Bands, and Reverse Hypers. I like that DB Drill you do, too.”
Louie was referring to The 5 Minute DB Drill, a method I used with
my fighters from The U.S. National Judo Training Squad at The Olympic
Training Center. It is described in detail in my soon-to-be-released
book on physical training for grapplers and other martial artists.
“The Grappler” is simply a super heavy-duty steel platform
onto which two universal-type joints are mounted. These two joints
are designed to hold ends of 2 standard Olympic Bars. (The 2 Olympic
bars are not included). The joints allow you to grip the other end
of the bars and move them in all directions making it possible for
you to get strong from almost any angle. You can load the end of
the bars up with extra weight as you get stronger. “The Grappler” is
designed to handle as much weight as you can safely use no matter
how strong you are.
“The Grappler’ is for the guy who wants to get real
strong. I don’t mean beach and barbell strong. I mean real
diesel horsepower strong.”
Josh “Heavy” Hendricks,
2x NCAA heavyweight All-American Wrestler, Professional
No-Holds-Barred Fighter
“‘The Grappler’ is a must for every serious fighting
gym. It enables you to train at angles that just cannot be mimicked
by any other equipment.”
J.P. Pocock, Professional No-Holds-Barred Fighter
, Former National Jujitsu Champion
Also, if you would like information on bands or any of Louie Simmons’ other
outstanding exercise equipment, please give me a call at the above
phone number or e-mail
me
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