What happened
This podcast explores building crushing grip strength in seven days using simple, viral drills like rice bucket training and sand striking. Speakers discuss the science behind grip strength, its correlation with longevity, and the debate between traditional and modern training methods. Ultimately, focused,...
Crushing an apple with your bare hands might sound like something out of a comic book, but it’s a legitimate test of grip strength. The challenge caught the attention of YouTuber Will Tennyson, who set out to try some of the internet’s most viral exercises to see which actually improve grip strength.
In a recent video , Tennyson rated everything from rice bucket drills to neck training. ‘I love training and I try to hit my entire body,’ he says early on. ‘But some muscles always get neglected, like my neck, my calves – even my forearm training is pretty one-sided.’He spent a week testing viral exercises, tracking strength, soreness and muscle growth.
But the goal of crushing an apple quickly became the main objective. ‘If I could do that, I would not stop talking about it. I would be bringing an apple everywhere I go,’ he joked. Later, he admitted: ‘With all the training I’ve done so far, I couldn’t stop dreaming about crushing apples. I’m more determined than ever to make one explode by the end of this video.
’The ExercisesRice Bucket TrainingYouTubeThe first method Tennyson tried was rice bucket training, inspired by martial arts drills designed to strengthen the hands and forearms.‘This has gone viral for building superhuman forearm, wrist, hand and finger strength,’ he says.The drill involves plunging your hands into a bucket of rice, opening and closing the fingers, performing wrist circles and rotational movements, and digging deeper to increase resistance.
‘You’d think putting your hands in a bucket of rice would be easy, but it wasn’t. Within seconds, it started to burn, lighting up muscles I didn’t even know existed.’He performed the drill daily for around 10 minutes, progressively reaching deeper into the bucket as the week went on.Sand StrikingYouTubeNext came sand striking, another martial arts-inspired conditioning method.
‘This is an old martial arts conditioning method used to toughen the hands, fingers, wrists and forearms by repeatedly striking or digging into a bucket filled with sand,’ Tennyson explains.The drills include forward punches, backhand slaps, side strikes and finger jabs into the sand. He quickly realised it wasn’t as easy as it looked.
‘I thought striking sand wouldn’t hurt. I was wrong.’After one session, he admitted: ‘I’m not sure if it’s psychological or if my hands are just objectively weak. I honestly have no idea how this is all that I’m bleeding on both of my hands just on that one knuckle. My hands feel like they are dripping with blood and they are burning and they are stinging.
’By the end of the week, he saw improvement in board breaking. ‘On day one, I couldn’t even make a dent in the board. But today, that was pretty neat,’ he says.While the method likely improved pain tolerance and striking resilience, its direct carryover to crushing grip appeared less efficient.Grip TrainersYouTubeTennyson also used grip trainers ranging from 50–200lb in resistance.
He began with the 100lb gripper for higher reps, aiming to eventually close the 175lb gripper.‘I started with the 100lb gripper with the ultimate goal of being able to squeeze the 175lb gripper,’ he says.By midweek, he was progressing well. By the end of the week, he successfully closed the 175lb gripper.
This exercise showed the most direct carryover to crushing an apple. It trains maximal finger flexion against heavy resistance, making it the most specific tool for improving crushing strength.Towel Dead HangsYouTubeTo build grip endurance, he also incorporated towel dead hangs. This tougher variation of a standard bar hang increases the grip demand by thickening the handle and challenging finger strength.
While towel hangs build endurance rather than maximal crushing force, they contribute to overall hand strength and fatigue resistance.On day one, he managed 22 seconds. By the end of the week, he held for 39.37 seconds – a significant jump in just seven days.The ResultsBy the end of the experiment, Tennyson achieved his goal of crushing an apple.
Reflecting on the week, he said: ‘I think this video proves something important. Sometimes the oldest training methods outlast the newest machines. These workouts are still talked about today for one simple reason. They work.’While crushing fruit may sound like a novelty benchmark, the methods he tested highlight something simple: targeted, progressive grip training – even if it looks unconventional – can deliver real results.
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Source coverage
This article, published by Men's Health on February 18, 2026, details YouTuber Will Tennyson's week-long experiment in testing viral grip exercises, with the ambitious goal of crushing an apple with his bare hands. Tennyson, recognizing his one-sided training, which often neglected crucial muscle groups like his...
Exercises and Findings:
Deeper analysis
Full source content
Crushing an apple with your bare hands might sound like something out of a comic book, but it’s a legitimate test of grip strength. The challenge caught the attention of YouTuber Will Tennyson, who set out to try some of the internet’s most viral exercises to see which actually improve grip strength.
In a recent video , Tennyson rated everything from rice bucket drills to neck training. ‘I love training and I try to hit my entire body,’ he says early on. ‘But some muscles always get neglected, like my neck, my calves – even my forearm training is pretty one-sided.’He spent a week testing viral exercises, tracking strength, soreness and muscle growth.
But the goal of crushing an apple quickly became the main objective. ‘If I could do that, I would not stop talking about it. I would be bringing an apple everywhere I go,’ he joked. Later, he admitted: ‘With all the training I’ve done so far, I couldn’t stop dreaming about crushing apples. I’m more determined than ever to make one explode by the end of this video.
’The ExercisesRice Bucket TrainingYouTubeThe first method Tennyson tried was rice bucket training, inspired by martial arts drills designed to strengthen the hands and forearms.‘This has gone viral for building superhuman forearm, wrist, hand and finger strength,’ he says.The drill involves plunging your hands into a bucket of rice, opening and closing the fingers, performing wrist circles and rotational movements, and digging deeper to increase resistance.
‘You’d think putting your hands in a bucket of rice would be easy, but it wasn’t. Within seconds, it started to burn, lighting up muscles I didn’t even know existed.’He performed the drill daily for around 10 minutes, progressively reaching deeper into the bucket as the week went on.Sand StrikingYouTubeNext came sand striking, another martial arts-inspired conditioning method.
‘This is an old martial arts conditioning method used to toughen the hands, fingers, wrists and forearms by repeatedly striking or digging into a bucket filled with sand,’ Tennyson explains.The drills include forward punches, backhand slaps, side strikes and finger jabs into the sand. He quickly realised it wasn’t as easy as it looked.
‘I thought striking sand wouldn’t hurt. I was wrong.’After one session, he admitted: ‘I’m not sure if it’s psychological or if my hands are just objectively weak. I honestly have no idea how this is all that I’m bleeding on both of my hands just on that one knuckle. My hands feel like they are dripping with blood and they are burning and they are stinging.
’By the end of the week, he saw improvement in board breaking. ‘On day one, I couldn’t even make a dent in the board. But today, that was pretty neat,’ he says.While the method likely improved pain tolerance and striking resilience, its direct carryover to crushing grip appeared less efficient.Grip TrainersYouTubeTennyson also used grip trainers ranging from 50–200lb in resistance.
He began with the 100lb gripper for higher reps, aiming to eventually close the 175lb gripper.‘I started with the 100lb gripper with the ultimate goal of being able to squeeze the 175lb gripper,’ he says.By midweek, he was progressing well. By the end of the week, he successfully closed the 175lb gripper.
This exercise showed the most direct carryover to crushing an apple. It trains maximal finger flexion against heavy resistance, making it the most specific tool for improving crushing strength.Towel Dead HangsYouTubeTo build grip endurance, he also incorporated towel dead hangs. This tougher variation of a standard bar hang increases the grip demand by thickening the handle and challenging finger strength.
While towel hangs build endurance rather than maximal crushing force, they contribute to overall hand strength and fatigue resistance.On day one, he managed 22 seconds. By the end of the week, he held for 39.37 seconds – a significant jump in just seven days.The ResultsBy the end of the experiment, Tennyson achieved his goal of crushing an apple.
Reflecting on the week, he said: ‘I think this video proves something important. Sometimes the oldest training methods outlast the newest machines. These workouts are still talked about today for one simple reason. They work.’While crushing fruit may sound like a novelty benchmark, the methods he tested highlight something simple: targeted, progressive grip training – even if it looks unconventional – can deliver real results.
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