Grip Work

Hey y'all,

I have begun doing a lot of grip work. I bought the Captians of Crush grippers (the COC trainer, Coc .5 and COC 1). But I have not recieved the .5 or the 1 yet. I am able to close the Trainer (100lbs of pressure) 13 times. And that was after 5 days. I have had it for a little over a week now and have not seen how many times i can close becasue i was not sure if doing so would qualify as endurance, and if it did i didn't want to do it, so i have been closing it and holding it for three seconds for 3 sets and 5 reps. I have not felt any tendon pain or anching or anything that tells me i should stop, but i do nto want to get to a pained point. SO should i continue training every day, or should i do it 4 days a week or what?

thanks!

-Ian

COC from IronMind.

Not a higher rep fan for most grip work. I do like the grip and hold for 3-5seconds for them. Progressed through the number 2 that way. Mix it up, hang from your climbing rope with one hand for time etc. Variety is great for the grip. Look at most of the work you need your hands to do, it's not typical repetition style work. Grip and then hold is more common. Pinch plates together or do curls holding the edge of it with fingers underneath. You could also do that with a long object just be careful of controlling it so you do not smack yourself in the face. Lever work with a hammer for instance. Not all grip but gets deep into the forearms.

Hi Ian,

I have a little experience of training grip and can close the #3 MMS. I would suggest doing as much volume as you can at the early stage. If you are capable of doing 20 reps then go ahead and do 20 reps. What this does is to help build some grip endurance, which is important as most grip activities last for more than a second or two, unlike closing a gripper. More importantly however, it will help to build strength in your tendons. When you then start to progress to the harder grippers like the #1.5, #2 and #3, you'll have a base tendon strength to begin with. As the grippers get harder, i would suggest lowering reps and frequency. You won't know what kind of volume you can handle safely unless you try, if your elbow feels even a little sore after a workout, then just back off for a few days, ice and ibuprofen (IMO) and then resume when you feel good again, with slightly less intensity. I'm not if there are any rules concerning linking to other sites on this forum (i'm new) but two websites that contain all the information you'll ever need about grip training are:

TheGripBoard.com

&

GripFAQ.com

The former requires you to sign up (it's free like here), whilst the latter is open to anyone to view

Just out of interest, what are your objectives with the grip training, and is there another area of fitness that you are hoping for carryover to?

gripboard has some good stuff, been a member there for years. As for the sore elbow problem if it happens rest. I would not use ice and especially not any kind of NSAID as that slows the healing process.

Reps on the gripper will not help with building more grip endurance for static holding in most cases. Close and holds. Strap holds work wonders. Basically take a shoe lace and tie a weight to one end, close the gripper on the other and hold it off the ground.

Nic- Essentially pinching the free end of the weighted strap/shoelace between the gripper handles. Good call. I WILL have to try this.

Ian- Something that works for me is simply sitting on the end of a bench while tightly grasping dumbells of challenging weight, arms at your sides, hands neutral, and just resist gravity. As your grip weakens during the static hold the dumbells will slowly roll down towards your fingertips.... seconds seem like minutes here as the intensity increases and eventually the dumbells will drop free of your fingers and hit the floor thus completing the set.

At random- I've noticed lots of great advice on this forum posted by people who really seem to have a knowledgable background in the topics discussed. That being said, I've found that sometimes too much detailed information can initially be confusing to implement. Being that everyone has a different tolerance to pain/discomfort, work capacity, perceived exertion, and training history I have found that taking bits and pieces of info here and there and formulating an approach that works for me a very effective method of making progress when it comes to topics that may be a bit more subjective in nature.

Absolutely right on the information front. Too much is often worse than too little. Pick and choose and give it an honest try to see what works for you.

Agreed Nic. Although new to this forum and the world of Gymnastic Strength Training™ I do feel as though I can contribute to the solid foundation of knowledge shared here; however, I am ever conscious and respectful of my own limitations in regards to giving advice and recommendations...