Captains of Crush

[irongymnast]

I've seen CoCs been mentioned sometimes on the forum but couldn't find a dedicated thread for them.

CoC grippers have helped me very in improving my handstand and wrist strength. I also don't get pain on my ulnar nerve and wrists anymore (did lots other stuff for these though).

So I can close No. 1.5 now and I want to buy No. 2.

Which No. can you close, thoughts on the grippers, etc?

[wallin1984]

I have No: 2,5 and can do 6 reps..

[Amebix138]

I've closed the 1# 9 times, might have been 10 but im not counting it because I think it was a mm or two away from a complete close. My goal is a couple no-set reps with the 2#.

[Graham Smith]

Iron Gymnast,

I also don't get pain on my ulnar nerve and wrists anymore (did lots other stuff for these though).

Could you please elaborate on what other stuff you did? I am currently rehabilitating my wrist post surgery for ulnar nerve pain. I am noticing that with increasing strength the pain is diminishing.

[Ortprod]

I can close a #2.5 but a 3 is a while away for me. I use it once in a great while currently, I did KTA in the past.

[irongymnast]

Iron Gymnast,

I also don't get pain on my ulnar nerve and wrists anymore (did lots other stuff for these though).

Could you please elaborate on what other stuff you did? I am currently rehabilitating my wrist post surgery for ulnar nerve pain. I am noticing that with increasing strength the pain is diminishing.

Did you get a surgery because you had ulnar nerve pain?o_O

About the "increasing strength" part, yes that was my experience as well.

I did good warmups, multiple exersices for stretching arm flexors, extensors and wrist, pullups/chinups.

Well I did something else like extend my hand on the side and somehow stimulate the ulnar nerve area. Extend one arm and have your head turn in the opposite direction and try different angles by retracting that arm and hold it at several positions. It's hard for me to explain.

Take a look here too:

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1578

[Joshua Naterman]

Grippers are ok, they're a good tool but far from perfect. They really only help finger strength. I close the number two pretty easily without ever practicing it.

If you want to get a great grip buy John Brookfield's book "Mastery of Hand Strength." You will be amazed and enlightened, and years of practice from now your sweaty palms will be feared by grippers and small dainty women! IF you REALLY want to be a badass there was a Roman leader who could crush rocks with his bare hands and climb a ladder with 200+lbs hanging from his wrists. Yea. What the hell were THEY on?!?!

[irongymnast]

IF you REALLY want to be a badass there was a Roman leader who could crush rocks with his bare hands and climb a ladder with 200+lbs hanging from his wrists. Yea. What the hell were THEY on?!?!

Heh, there's no proof.

They really only help finger strength.

Personally, I feel they're working forearm strength a lot.

I've read John Brookfield's "The Grip Master's Manual".

[Joshua Naterman]

Good reading! I personally have gotten stronger forearms through deadlifting with my fingers and doing fingers-only pull ups, FL, etc. My strength on the grippers just goes up without me working them directly, so I never have. When I get things more organized I'll probably throw them in a few times a month, just like the other lifts.

[irongymnast]

I don't have access to weights, they're expensive and I'm also kinda afraid of weights.

But yeah, I've heard that about deadlifting too.

slizzardman, have you read Mastery of Hand Strength? Is it worth the read considering I've read his other book?

He also has a lot of exercises listed online at the ironmind website.

[Graham Smith]

Thanks for the feedback on wrist exercises IronGymnast. The Surgery was for a torn TFCC which resulted in ulnar nerve impingement. My issue now is scar tissue post surgery...

[Joshua Naterman]

Iron: To be honest I haven't read the grip master's manual, but I have read reviews of both books and have read and own mastery of hand strength. Mastery seems to be the more complete book, I believe that is Brookfield's personal take on them, but if you're worried about wasting your money I guess you don't need to buy it right away. Maybe find it in a book store and see what you think? I wish I could say more, but I don't know about that other book.

[Longshanks]

Has anyone here heard of Alexander Zass? The first guy to reputedly use isometrics as a sole source of training whilst in prison chained to wall. Think he got so strong he snapped the chains and bent the bars out of the windows and used them as a climbing tool to escape! lol. This guy is what inspired me to start gymnastic static holds. He had a grip strength that's unmatched. Here's a cool video of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTLOrHlPZic

[Joshua Naterman]

Back in the old days that was the way prisoners got strong. You can indeed become strong enough, over time, to bend those bars enough to escape. Breaking a single wrap of chain isn't a huge deal in the strongman world, there have been some who have done three wraps. Then there was the Mighty Atom. Learn about him, you'll love it. There's a book called The Spiritual Journey of Joseph L. Greenstein. Read it, you will love it if this sort of thing interests you.

[Sternford]

How would you bend the bars in the window of a prison? The lever wouldn't be very long, would it?

[Joshua Naterman]

With your hands.

Watch.

FTLOrHlPZic

In prison you'd be doing more of an Archer's pull. Once you got strong enough to bend the bars a little bit, over time they get weaker and can be bent further as you bend and unbend them. Then you just wait for a good opportunity, bend you an opening, and leave. This is the only video of scrollwork I have ever seen. Sigmund Breitbart used to coil 1/2" STEEL bars around his forearms during shows, much like this guy. He used to write people's names with the steel as presents. The Mighty Atom could do that too.

[Sternford]

Yeah, I watched that, which is why I asked, because in it he is always putting a fulcrum on the bar to bend it (his head! ha). Also I'm imagining stereotypical prison windows like this (except no watermark in real life). If an archer's pull is exactly what it sounds like I can see how that would work over time by weakening it and such over time

[Joshua Naterman]

Oh ok lol! I think many people don't click the links. Anyhow, yea, from what I've read people literally took years of bending the bars every day, once they finally could make them move a little bit, before they could bend them enough to attempt escape. I know more than once the strength was used directly against the guards lol, they couldn't bend the bars enough yet but they attacked the guards. I guess prisoners don't have many choices. (duh)

[Sternford]

Guess there's not much the guards can do about a prisoner who can break his chains by flexing

[Longshanks]

Really liked reading about the Mighty Atom cheers slizzardman. Will try and get the book but seams a bit expensive for my income unfortunately. Will have to keep an eye out on amazon for 2nd hand ones.

[Amebix138]

Guess there's not much the guards can do about a prisoner who can break his chains by flexing

Bigger chains, the ones they use on giant boats if need be. That would be a beastly display of strength, breaking those.

[Joshua Naterman]

There are a number of strongmen who routinely break police handcuffs during their shows.

Breaking even small anchor chain is beyond all non-kryptonians lol!

[Guest]

To get this old thread back on track: I recently started fooling around with the CoC grippers and I really enjoy them. I am not super-weak (although still an absolute beginner in terms of gymnastic strength) but I've never played any sports that improved my grip strength, nor does my job require any.

So I decided to start with the grippers and I hope to add more exercises over time. Training the hands and forearms is fun! I bought the CoC 'Trainer' first and couldn't even close it all the way (took me about two weeks and then it became quite easy). I'm now working on the #1, which I can currently close about 5 times in a row with the right hand. I do have to reset my grip between reps though - I have rather small hands and they get a little sweaty so I may have to start using chalk. With my left hand I can not always fully close the gripper yet. My goal is closing the #2 by the end of 2011.

Anyone else training with the CoC grippers?

Apparently some people have analyzed the relation between apple variety, size, and ripeness, and the # of CoC you need to be able to close in order to crush said apple (without thumb insertion). The geek in me finds that quite hilarious

[Joshua Naterman]

It's pretty silly, I agree.

[Christian Sørlie]

Anyone else training with the CoC grippers?

I got the trainer and No1. Can close the trainer easily 10-12 times, but on the No1 I still need a little thumb support to keep it in place. Is it just me or is the No1 just a bit wider than the trainer?

Anyways, love them, but hardly train them anymore. Would really like getting more grip training in. Its fun and having a strong grip really comes in handy (some pun intended )

Got the titan's telegraph key and rolling thunder as well. Hmmm, getting ready to dig up my copy of mastery of hand strength and getting serious about this.