Sometimes people have strange activities. I remember when I was just 11 years old and wanted nothing more than to learn divisions. Needless to say, at 11 years old, stubborn and determined, I finally got there after a few months, but it was not an activity that benefited me in any way. However, I got a lot of joy and satisfaction out of it. Lately I have been obsessed with the idea of crushing an apple with my bare hands as a way to develop my forearms. I am always looking for interesting ways to improve my fitness and strength. My journey has been frustrating and tumultuous, but ultimately rewarding. This is what I did to get there.
You’ve probably seen the truly huge Bob Sapp crush an apple with his bare hands. At 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, he’d be more impressive if Sapp couldn’t crush an apple. So what if you are of average height and weight? Can you become strong enough to crush an apple with your bare hands? If you can. In fact, you can pull off feats of strength that will leave men twice your size feeling emasculated. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s see how you can crush an apple with your bare hands.
Before we get down to business, you should keep in mind that the size of the apples is critical to your ability to pull off this feat of strength. If your hands are small, choose a smaller apple, as you’ll get enough leverage to transmit the force needed to crush it. You will also need some tools.
1. A hollow rubber ball/stress ball/squishy ball
2. A hard ball, i.e. a cricket/baseball
3. Forearm hand forceps
4. Dumbbells
5. Bars (preferred).
It is not necessary to have access to all of them, although it would be desirable.
1. Squeeze the hollow rubber ball 100 times in your dominant hand.
2. Squeeze the manual tweezers 50 to 100 times for 3 sets. If you don’t have hand clamps, you can do wrist curls (20 reps) with dumbbells or barbells with a moderately heavy weight for 3 sets. This is solely to build the muscles of the forearms. Manual tweezers are desirable as they mimic the shredding action and build the muscles that specifically aid in this.
3. Grab the hard ball and try to smash it with all your might. This is more of a conditioning exercise. It also helps you find a comfortable way to grip a round and slippery surface, further strengthening your grip and making it stronger.
This shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes to do. Performed 3 times a week with increases in weight and intensity over a 2 month period, you should notice your forearms dramatically increase in size. As they do so, your grapple and smash strength will also skyrocket. After 12 weeks or 36 exercise sessions, you’ll be ready to smash an apple. Remember that apples have an uncomfortable texture and you will need to maintain that pressure to mash them completely. Have fun!