Captains of Crush gripper challenge

[Dutch Schaeffer]

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They make hand grippers now that are really tough -- like, it takes 100 or 280 pounds worth of force to close them, etc.

Anyway, my grip has always been a weak point, so I wanted to challenge myself and improve it.

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What's da mattah? Da CIA got you pushing too many pencils?

[Martin]

I have an old injury in the tendons of my left arm. Caused I think by using an EZ bar and possibly by the fact that I was stabbed in that forearm 15 years back and had to undergo a bit of physio rehab.
Anyway I was bending a wrench earlier this year and had incredible pain in the hand, forearm and attachment point on the elbow,since then the tendons have been stuffed. Slowly getting better or so it seems anyway. I make sure I warm it up properly with a rubber ball for high reps before training.

[Blarg]

Ah, well best of luck on that. Bending seems to induce az lot of injuries.

Grats on that gripper you won!

My hand is already getting bigger. And from not being able to get the #1 past somewhat more than 1/4 of an inch from close on July 12, I've now gotten the #2 to 1/8 of an inch! I love how bizarrely fast the growth in hand strength can be.

[Blarg]

Stuey and others, how goes your gripper training?

[Stuey]

Well I was reading on the gripper board how they recommend doing reverse and forward wrist curls and pinch lifts to build a good base before starting hard into the grippers. I have been trying to do these but I can't resist grabbing the grippers at least every 3rd day.

I am seeing improvements already also but I still can't close the #1. Less than 1/8th of an inch with my strong(left) hand but that last part is so hard.

I am also thinking of getting some wire and wire cutters to work that part of the close motion. But have yet to go buy them.

I have managed to strain both of my pinky figures right at the last joint of the pinky. It really freaking hurts so I think I will lay off the grippers till they feel normal again.

I keep the grippers at work and several of my friends have tried them. Only one guy has closed the #1 and he proceeded to close the #2 also. He could not even come close on the #3 though. He was disappointed till I told him how hard it is and how few people can do it. He is a longtime lifter at my gym plus he works everyday with wrenches.

Good fun so far, sorry for the ramble but it is late and I'm tired.

[Stuey]

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I've now gotten the #2 to 1/8 of an inch!

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I am more than a little impressed with this. I was thinking it would take a year and you already made huge improvements. Anyone who has tried the #2 would be impressed with this. WTG!!

[Blarg]

Thanks! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] It's just freaky fast how quickly the hands can develop. I'm pretty stunned at the progress too, but from what people on the gripper boards say, it's not all that unusual to see quick giant leaps. Hands just have incredible powers of adaptation.

On the wrist curls and such, there's an armwrestling craze hitting the grip boards lately, and wrist curls are vital for that sport, so they're getting talked up more, but people generally say that they don't translate at all into gripper work.

People are pushing general foundation laying and rounded hand strength, though, so pretty much any and every hand or forearm exercise winds up getting some sort of at least passing endorsement. And laying a foundation is always a good idea.

But still, it also seems generally agreed that most hand and forearm strength feats and practice create very limited carryover to other ones. People who get into bending for a while, for instance, tend to lose strength on the grippers after a while. And vice-versa.

From what I can tell, it does seem that if there is carryover, it's mostly from pinching to gripping. Pinching builds up the thumb pad a lot, they say, and a big thumb pad is also helpful in gripping. But since pinching takes such a strong thumb and you can still have a comparatively weak thumb even if you're good on grippers, being great on the grippers can still leave you surprisingly ineffectual at pinch work. People concentrating on grip work tend to do special thumb work outside of their gripper work to help balance their hand strength out.

And of course there is extensor work, too.

Hey, don't forget to do alternating hot and cold soaks for your hands and forearms. They do an amazing amount to speed up recovery. That's a key to fast progress.

[Stuey]

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Hey, don't forget to do alternating hot and cold soaks for your hands and forearms. They do an amazing amount to speed up recovery. That's a key to fast progress.

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I have not even pushed myself hard enough to require them yet. But I better start, I want to be able to close the #1 by the 20th. My buddy is having a stag and the money I could make betting drunk guys that I could close those grippers and they couldn't will make it worth while. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Martin]

Blarg I just saw I won that gripper. Very cool [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]
Pinching translates nicely into sweep strength on the gripper or so I find anyway. Making a pinch grip tray like Brookfield describes in his book is an excellent idea. It can be loaded withy anything which is an added bonus.

[Blarg]

Grats to Martin on closing the #3 Captains of Crush gripper and becoming a Certified Captain of Crush!

And he did it with both hands, too. Didn't even look like much trouble for the dude!