I can close the #2 for 16 reps with my right hand but still can only get the #3 down to a little less than half an inch. Not bad for somebody who does no formal grip training though
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
A little bit under 1/4" on my #3 currently.
And yeah, there’s a lot of difference between the #2 and #3. My #1 measures 80lbs, #2 is 116, and #3 is 150, so they’re fairly evenly spaced. But it’s kinda like newb gains vs. regular gains. You can get to the #2 in a fairly short amount of time if you just put some work in, But the #3 you really have to work for.
And the #2.5 is a must-have. I can get 12 reps on my #2 (getting into endurance territory) but can’t close the #3. I first killed the #2.5 when I could get 6 with the #2.[/quote]
Those poundages are way off there. The Captains of Crush #3 gripper is 280 lbs. I dont know what grippers you are using.
The standard way of measuring gripper poundages is from the end of the handle, with a 1" strap. We do it this way because the manufacturers can’t seem to make up their minds where to measure from, and it allows us to use less weight when measuring (safety factor).
From what I can tell, CoC measures from the ring in the center of the handle, which would give a higher reading. It’s also probably more anatomically correct, seeing as the middle finger is usually the strongest, but for comparison purposes, we measure from the end.
You are correct, though. As far as the amount of force your hand has to exert to close the darn thing, 150 is nowhere near the mark. Using a factor of .54, my grippers would come out to:
#1 - 148
#2 - 215
#3 - 278
Try Bill Piche’s KTA program (available on the gripboard.
Got it twice this week.I dont have any video so I am sure I will get some shit but I did it. It was hard as shit.
[quote]StormTheBeach wrote:
Got it twice this week.I dont have any video so I am sure I will get some shit but I did it. It was hard as shit.[/quote]
Mad congrats on the close, my friend. Was it a parallel set? Credit card set? Choked? Any idea what the cal is on yours?
I’m getting really close to closing mine. Last attempt was under 1/8". Soon, very soon. Next attempt is in a couple weeks.
After a long, drawn-out battle and a long period of me wasting a lot of time training sub-optimally (time of day definitely matters, as it turns out), I finally closed it. As soon as I get a clear vid of it, I’m gonna post it in my hub.
I closed an older one of someone elses but never mine, mines a beast, I closed it under “mash monster” I think it was, rules and had a vid but I really think grippers are about the lousiest test of hand strength, rolling thunder and blockweights are far better I think. The grippers tend to do more wear and tear than they are worth. I play with my blockweights and thick bar stuff still but haven’t bothered w/ grippers in a long time. I have also bent the red nail (I’m on the list) but I’m not sure if anyone even cares about bending anymore- talk about a good way to f- up yer wrists and shoulders!
[quote]alaskan_azazen wrote:
I closed an older one of someone elses but never mine, mines a beast, I closed it under “mash monster” I think it was, rules and had a vid but I really think grippers are about the lousiest test of hand strength, rolling thunder and blockweights are far better I think. The grippers tend to do more wear and tear than they are worth. I play with my blockweights and thick bar stuff still but haven’t bothered w/ grippers in a long time. I have also bent the red nail (I’m on the list) but I’m not sure if anyone even cares about bending anymore- talk about a good way to f- up yer wrists and shoulders!
[/quote]
Rolling Thunder is probably going to be one of my near-future purchases. The thing I hate most about grippers is they don’t work the thumb. Closing the 3 was really more about setting a goal and following through.
[quote]riddle22 wrote:
Just curious if anyone here’s done it and has some tips for me. I’ve always kind of just screwed around with these things and never trained them seriously or on a regular basis, but I’ve set myself a goal of closing the #3. Right now I can close the #2 for 4 reps with my right hand and 2 reps with my left. Probably gonna go ahead and order #2.5 and #3 in the next few weeks. From what I’ve heard the difference between #2 and #3 is alot more than the difference between #1 and #2. Any truth to this?[/quote]
That’s true. To shut the #3 you need to get your thumb and last 2 fingers stronger. Some things that will help- block weights, closing a gripper with last 2 fingers, heavy shot rotations, sledge levering from all directions. Don’t overdo the grippers, you can quickly injure yourself. Balance each set of squeezing with a set of extensor work (opening fingers against a thick rubber band) and you’ll be miles ahead of everyone else.
I’ve no set closed my IM #3 gripper, the only training I was doing was block weight lifting, sledge levering, and extensor work with big rubber bands.
[quote]AdamTGlass wrote:
[quote]riddle22 wrote:
Just curious if anyone here’s done it and has some tips for me. I’ve always kind of just screwed around with these things and never trained them seriously or on a regular basis, but I’ve set myself a goal of closing the #3. Right now I can close the #2 for 4 reps with my right hand and 2 reps with my left. Probably gonna go ahead and order #2.5 and #3 in the next few weeks. From what I’ve heard the difference between #2 and #3 is alot more than the difference between #1 and #2. Any truth to this?[/quote]
Yes, easily. Grippers are not different than any other exercise- You need to get your reps in. Consistency is the #1 factor to success. It is no suprise when people who train hard in the gym cannot close a #3, it does not mean they have weak hands, it means they never built that groove.
Practice “setting” the gripper, which means bring the legs to parallel before starting the close. Always get a full close, end to end touch. You want every rep to be complete.
grippers vary in resistance, due to changes in quality of steel in the spring. So it helps to get a few copies of a given gripper to rack and stack from easier to harder. The difference between an “easy #3” and a “hard #3” can be pretty big. I own 5 #3’s picked up over the years. One of them feels 10% easier then the first one i ever bought, one of them is very close in difficulty to a BB Elite.
Don’t overdo it when you start. A few reps add up quickly. The stress of heavy gripper closes on your hands can be easy to miscalculate.
[/quote]
Good advice!
hey everyone, im looking to get my grip strength up sense i can power snatch more weight with straps vs without.
Im looking at getting some of the captains of crush from the ironmind site. I was wondering if any of you would recommend getting the 100lbs “trainer” or if just getting a #1 and #2 would be good enough. I have fairly long fingers and a DECENT grip, maybe just below average for a strength athlete.
Thanks for any advice, i hate to waste money.
[quote]tork94 wrote:
hey everyone, im looking to get my grip strength up sense i can power snatch more weight with straps vs without.
Im looking at getting some of the captains of crush from the ironmind site. I was wondering if any of you would recommend getting the 100lbs “trainer” or if just getting a #1 and #2 would be good enough. I have fairly long fingers and a DECENT grip, maybe just below average for a strength athlete.
Thanks for any advice, i hate to waste money.[/quote]
if you don’t want to waste money go for a david horne vulcan gripper. will take you from a CC 1 TO CC 4 WITH 21 LEVELS OF ADJUSMENT. more if you cange springs or use bands. awsome training tool.
http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/shop.html#vulcan
edit. grippers probably are not the best way to improve your grip for improving grip on barbell work though. fat bar and pinch work will help more.
Certified on the #3 over ten years ago, but I still got what it takes! I’m an old man of 48 now.
Back to doing serious gripwork right now, no - nothing to write home to Mama about just yet, but I’m getting there.
I see guys doing lots of reps on the grippers. Reps never turned me on. I found out I responded well to doing severe negatives and heavy work on a plate loaded grip machine. If you’re stuck on a particular gripper, my advice would be to give the grip machine a try. I was doing work on the Secret Weapon and it took me from coming close on the #3 to absolutely killing it. That made a believer out of me right there.
[quote]Sybersnott wrote:
Certified on the #3 over ten years ago, but I still got what it takes! I’m an old man of 48 now.
I see guys doing lots of reps on the grippers. Reps never turned me on. I found out I responded well to doing severe negatives and heavy work on a plate loaded grip machine. If you’re stuck on a particular gripper, my advice would be to give the grip machine a try. I was doing work on the Secret Weapon and it took me from coming close on the #3 to absolutely killing it. That made a believer out of me right there.[/quote]
Congrats, Syber. Agree totally about not repping out–in fact, it doesn’t work. I never really improved til I approached the gripper training as a series of single reps as I would were I bench pressing, with adequate rest between attempts.
I did what Kinney recommended and bought additional grippers (of those I could close) and ground them down to close beyond the range, and always closing hard as possible on the single attempts. But I need to revisit negatives with a machine.
I assume you load it up and close with both arms and then hold with one hand?
Well, here’s what happens. They have a goal gripper (like the #3), and then make the fatal mistake of doing a LONG warmup with the #1 and #2, then when they get to the #3, they have no strength for it. No kidding, you wasted all of your strength repping out some grippers and had nothing left for your goal gripper.
Have you done overloads? I responded well to negatives, but a lot of guys don’t.
You got it. Load it up heavy, as heavy as you can get it, and then pull it up with both hands and release with one hand and let the other hand take the full brunt of the weight. Fight it for as long as you can.
[quote]Sybersnott wrote:
You got it. Load it up heavy, as heavy as you can get it, and then pull it up with both hands and release with one hand and let the other hand take the full brunt of the weight. Fight it for as long as you can.[/quote]
Right, Syber. I’m going to try it with a vengeance.
The thing is specificity. Some don’t get carryover from doing this (or doing anything other than the grippers) to the grippers themselves because the act of closing a target gripper is very different than almost anything else.
The things I believe in me that do collectively seem to help are:
–Single rep focus with over-squeezes–the shift in mentality. This includes using the warmup prudently.
–Grinding an already-closed gripper down–to go beyond the range.
Then these seem to help:
–Increased bodyweight.
–Heavy deadlifts.
–Forearm work.
But the main thing is really the grippers themselves–by far.
I’m thinking now of doing some light gripper work on the non main grip days, as I never did that before.
Syber: What gripper machine do you use or recommend for the negatives work? Ever use the one from Iron Mind–the Go-really-Grip? It has one handle filed down to go beyond range and the one I currently have access to.
[quote]Roygion wrote:
Syber: What gripper machine do you use or recommend for the negatives work?[/quote]
You can use the good ol’ fashioned plate loaded grip machine if you want. Buy it or build it if you have the materials to do so - all you need are the right parts and someone to weld it up for you or if you can weld, you can do it yourself.
The machine I would recommend though, for negatives, is the Secret Weapon. The only problem with the SW is the fact it’s painful to use with heavy weights and I DON’T recommend it for guys that are beginning in grip training.
That’s the one grip machine I don’t have, but I have had the opportunity to use one. I think that as a grip machine sold by IronMind - it’s too expensive. There are better alternatives out there for a lot less money.
Great! Yeah, go ahead and use it - just remember ONE thing: load it up heavy! 100 pounds or more would be a great start. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to buy an old ‘Go-Really’ grip machine for cheap. I didn’t buy it, because at the time I felt like I had too many grip machines anyway (I have about 8 of them now). I could now kick myself for not buying it.
i did just the other day number 3