Pictures #4 - My Big Grippers

                                                    Fat Bastard Barbell Company x5

                                                    Beef Builder World Class

                                                             Ironmind's #4 and the BBWC. Quite the difference!

Pictures #3 - Warren Tetting

                                                                  Warren Tetting T6 - T7 - T8

Pictures #2 - Ironmind Captains of Crush

                                                    #2 - #2.5 - #3 - #3.5 - #4 - Imtug #7

                                                             #4 - Taped and ready for negatives

                                                    Imtug #7

                                                             #2 - Both handles are filed down pretty good

Pictures #1 - Heavy Grips

                                                             HG100 - HG150 - HG200 - HG250 - HG300 - HG350

                                                             HG350 Close-Up

                                                             HG100 - Both of the handles have slid down the spring legs over time

Tricking Your Body

 When closing grippers it seems that last 1/4" or so can be a real pain for most grip trainees to get past. Something I do with my grippers is file one of the handles down a bit to "trick" your body. This will naturally make that specific gripper tougher to close but it will also get your hands used to closing your grippers up tighter than usual. Now, when you close a normal, uncut gripper, it feels like it isn't closed all  the way.
 This is a very simple and cheap way to make great progress in your training, especially if you find you're having trouble with that last part of the close. Any home improvement store should sell a simple Single Cut / Double Cut Bastard file for a reasonable price. I paid around $6 for mine. It is time consuming so I would set aside an hour or so if you're going to be filing it by hand. An angle grinder with a flapper (sanding/grinding) disc would work great as well, just don't forget the safety glasses :)

Workouts Per Week

 One thing any beginner or advanced grip trainee can spend a lot of time thinking about is workouts per week. Hopefully, I can enlighten you in this area. Here are my thoughts that have developed over the past few years...

The Big Workouts

 If you're planning on doing a big workout with lots of negatives involved you'll find that you may need at least 3 days rest in between workouts.
 Currently, my Friday workout is my "biggest" workout of the week. I'm working my way toward 60 negatives with each hand. Saturday morning my hands are shot and they have been staying swollen all day. Not swollen in a bad way, per se, but the kind of swelling that occurs during summer on a hot day. I put 3 days before my next workout, which is Tuesday evening. For me, that seems to be just the right amount of time.

Lots of Reps

 If you're just getting started or find that doing reps work good for you then you can most likely get away with an every-other-day schedule or a 3 days per week schedule, which seems to be popular among some trainees. I did this when I first got into gripping and it seemed to work very well. My hands toughened up and gains in strength came quick.

Listen To You Body

 It is very hard to tell someone what to do exactly because each of our bodies react slightly different to these types of things. I believe the best recommendation I can give you is to say just listen to your body and don't be afraid to find out what works best for you. It's up to you to find out what works best! Good Luck!

Post Workout Forgetfulness

 I apologize to all readers of my blog for not writing last night. My plan was to do my usual Tuesday evening grip workout and then get a new post up. However, it seems as though I contracted a case of post workout forgetfulness. I suppose that happens to everyone now and then, though!
 I've had a pretty rough week at work out in the sub-zero temperatures as well. Most evenings I just want to come home, eat dinner, and head straight to bed. That's probably not a good habit to develop though.
 I've also been working on getting new pictures and have edited a few of my previous posts. My data cable for my camera seems to have gotten lost in the wind but I had completely forgotten that I can just remove the SD card from the camera and put it in my laptop. As I said, rough week.
 I want to wish everyone a happy Wednesday night and good luck in your training! I look forward to posting tomorrow!

- Jester

How Many Grippers You Should Have

 I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about the quantity of grippers you should have in your collection to work with. It seems to have become a standard to have at least 3 grippers to work with. One to warm up with, another to do your workout with, and one that is to be your goal gripper. So, if you are shooting to close Ironmind's #3 then you should have a #2 for warmups, a #2.5 for your main workout, and finally a #3 for your goal gripper. Keep in mind this is a basic setup and I don't have much of a problem with it, however, if you want to close a #3 doesn't it make sense to have something that is harder than a #3 to do negatives with and condition your hands to a stronger gripper? It certainly makes sense to me!
 My recommendation is to use a #3.5 and start in on those negatives. It's going to be hard. It's supposed to be hard, but hard work pays. You reap what you sow, right? I certainly think so. As I've mentioned in my previous posts, those first 3 months or so need to be used to get things strengthened up before hitting the negatives. Lots of actual reps worked very well for myself in the beginning and I believe they'll work well for most other people too.
 To get back on topic, and to answer this topic's question, you can have as many grippers as you think you need and can afford. I have around 17 or so currently. Having a small cache of them can make progressing mentally easier too, rather than going from a #2 straight to a #3. I hope this helps if you're debating on whether or not to add another gripper to your personal collection.

Good Night & God Bless!

The Two-Finger Workout

Don't Forget About Those Other Two Fingers!

 I've mentioned this workout in my Advanced Workout post and thought it deserved its own post for obvious reasons. Aside from your thumb, your pinky and ring fingers are your next weakest fingers. Strengthening these two fingers is a very straightforward process just like your thumb and can help you get that last 1/8" gap closed on your goal gripper. The best part is that you don't even need any special equipment, just a regular gripper will get the job done.

The Workout

 Take a regular gripper and flip it upside down. Using your off-hand to cheat the handles shut a little, wrap your pinky and ring fingers around the handles and squeeze it shut. You can also perform timed holds, and my personal favorite, negatives. I will warn you, doing negatives (or reps) with only two fingers is serious business and should be performed carefully and with a very easy gripper at first. You don't want to rush into any injuries! You will definitely feel your tendons getting worked doing this exercise. You will also find out quickly that doing a two-finger workout with a regular gripper can be pretty painful. This is mainly due to the squared ends of the gripper handles. I've found that my middle finger really takes a hit during this exercise. However, after some time I've found that my skin has adapted and the pain has gone away. Ironmind makes a handy little gripper I've mentioned before, the Imtug. I currently own the #7 (hardest) Imtug and it is a tough little gripper! The nice thing about them, though, is that the bottom of each handle is nice and round, eliminating a lot of pain you may experience using a regular gripper. Whichever route you decide to go, regular gripper or Imtug, if you want to strengthen those weak fingers, this is the way to do it!

Strengthening Your Thumb

 Your thumb is your weakest finger, so why not help it out a little?
  Here are a couple good ways to get a stronger thumb and increase its size as well. A stronger, bigger thumb muscle will help keep the gripper handle in it's place while closing tough grippers.

 
Telegraph Key
 A telegraph key is a very straightforward piece of equipment. Its design is very similar to the old see-saws you used to see at school playgrounds, except much smaller in size :) I've temporarily lost my data cable for my camera, but I will post pictures of mine once found. Until then, go check out Ironmind's telegraph key.

 Workouts with the telegraph key are very simple. Make fists with both your hands and place your four clinched fingers under the bottom paddle. Now, using your thumb, grab the top paddle and squeeze hard to bring both paddles together. You can do reps by releasing pressure with your thumbs and squeezing again. You only need a small amount of movement for this exercise. To perform a negative, load the telegraph heavier than usual and do the above so you have both paddles squeezed together and then slowly let go with one thumb and force the other thumb to fight the paddles back together. In order to perform a proper negative you MUST fight the weight!
 You may find it more productive if you wrap your thumbs with some sort of tape. I prefer friction tape because of its stickiness. Cut a length about 3-4 inches long. Starting on the bottom of your thumb, wrap around the end pulling hard and ending on top. Next, cut another piece of the same length and wrap around the circumference of your thumb and on top of the other piece of tape. This will keep it all together for the duration of your workout.


A Regular Gripper
 You can do reps or negatives with a regular gripper positioned in such a way as to work your thumb. You will have to use a super easy gripper or an Imtug from Ironmind to perform the workout. Just position the gripper in your hand so one handle is in your four fingers and your thumb will be on the other handle. If you're using a normal size gripper, you may have to cheat the handle closed to parallel or so for effective usage.

                                                                 Here's an Ironmind Imtug #7 - It's a tough little bugger!

A More Advanced Workout

 So now that you have an idea of how to workout and make some progress with grippers, I'm going to throw out a more advanced routine. First, let me define a few terms in the grip world that you should become more familiar with.

Rep
 A rep is a single close of any gripper. No cheating is involved here. Just put the gripper in your hand and squeeze it shut for one rep.

Timed Hold
 A timed hold is taking a gripper, usually one that you're having trouble closing or one that is a step up from where you're at now, and cheating it shut and holding it for time. I personally do not do timed holds because, in the true sense of the term, nothing is really happening. You're just holding a gripper and not really applying force.

Negative
 A negative is taking a gripper that is far too tough to close normally, cheating it shut, and squeezing as hard as you can until the gripper opens up all the way or to a certain point. Negatives are very effective but very brutal at the same time. The idea behind negatives is that you subject your tendons and muscles to more pressure than what they're used to forcing them to get stronger quicker. For example, if you're trying to close the HG250 then you would use an HG300 to do negatives with.

Two-Finger Negative
 A two-finger negative is where you take a gripper that is easy for you to close, turn it upside down, and using your pinky and ring fingers, cheat it shut and do a negative. Two-finger negatives and closes are very advanced and should be done carefully. Your pinky and ring fingers are your weakest fingers aside from your thumb and could become injured if you're using a gripper that is too heavy. It's best to experiment with a super easy gripper and work up from there. You can always start with three fingers and then progress to two as well.

 So an example of a more advanced routine might look something like this (assuming you're trying to close an HG300):

Tuesday
HG150 x 5 reps
HG150 x 5 reps
HG200 x 1 rep
HG250 x 1 rep
HG300 x 1 Attempt
HG150 x 5 Two-Finger Negatives

Friday
HG200 x Do a few warmup reps
HG350 x 5-60 Negatives

 Sixty negatives sounds like a lot, and it is! Start out doing only a few at first, and every week add an extra 1-2 until you reach the maximum amount you want to do. It's important that you increase reps every week to ensure you keep making progress towards your goal gripper. I would recommend doing only a few two-finger negatives as compared to the HG350 workout so the healing won't interfere with your big Friday workout. That's just my theory though. By doing two-finger negatives you'll increase your weak fingers' strength which in turn will help you close your goal gripper. And don't forget to rest! After that big Friday workout you're going to want to give your hands some rest on your off days. I believe active rest is a good thing, but playing around with the grippers too much might interfere with the healing process.

 I hope this information will shed some light on things you may have been wondering about concerning advanced workouts. Some people say they don't have much luck with negatives, but that doesn't mean you should rule them out entirely. As always, post any questions by leaving a comment and I will do my best to enlighten you. Good luck!

A Basic Workout

 Working out with grippers may seem strange at first. I mean, how in the world are you supposed to progress with these things? Unlike a barbell, you can't add or subtract weight, you're basically stuck with a spring that takes a certain amount of strength to close, and you can either close it or you can't.

 I highly recommend starting out easy for the first few 2-3 months to let your muscles, tendons, and skin adapt to what you're doing. You may think you have tough hands, but please, don't push your luck. If you suffer an injury early on and don't let it heal properly it could give you problems for a very long time. I would also recommend staying away from doing negatives with a gripper you can't yet close, at least until you've toughened everything up, I'll talk about negatives later on. We need to walk before we run, so assuming you've bought at least 2-3 grippers this workout can be adjusted. I'm going to use the Heavy Grips grippers as an example. I will assume the HG200 is tough for you to close as well.

HG100 x 8-12 reps
HG100 x 8-12 reps

HG150 x 3-5 reps
HG150 x 3-5 reps

HG200 x 1 Attempt


 This is a super basic workout and it should also make you realize that your hands probably weren't as strong as you initially thought. You can do this workout 2-3 times a week and you should see a major improvement in strength fairly quickly. Once the HG100 starts feeling easier to close just increase the reps by 1-2 per week and do the same with the HG150. After just a few weeks you should be closing the HG200 consistently. Congratulations! Once you start closing the HG200 just add it in the workout for reps instead of making an attempt since you can already close it. Here's what your next workout might look like:

HG100 x 15 reps
HG100 x 15 reps

HG150 x 5-8 reps
HG150 x 5-8 reps

HG200 x 3 reps

HG250 x 1 Attempt

 At this point, the HG100 will be very easy to close. Just stick with it until you can close the HG250 and then move up and start your workouts with the HG150. After a few months of this training you can add in timed holds or negatives instead of making an attempt at your goal gripper. I'll talk about those things in my next post concerning advanced workouts.

 If you're like me, you may find that when you first begin your workout your fingers pop or crack. This seems to be a pretty normal thing. Just use a gripper that's easy for you to close to warm up with before your workout. I prefer to jump right into my workouts slowly, taking my time to let my muscles get warmed up.

 Before I close this post I want to talk about "setting a gripper". To set a gripper is to position it properly in your hand. Straighten your forearm in front of you while keeping your wrist and hand in line and make a fist. Notice that the first knuckles on your fingers will only bend so far. This is important to know. If the gripper is not properly established in your hand you may not be able to fully close it no matter how strong you are. Here's how I "set" my grippers: Open your hand and spread your fingers. You'll notice a crease on your hand that starts below your pinky and curves toward your index finger. Looking at where that crease starts, imagine a straight line across your palm. This line should be directly behind those first knuckles in your fingers. If you press hard where this line is you should be able to feel them. This is typically where I position the handle in my hand. Next, you'll want to position your thumb so it it pointing forward, making your thumb muscle bulge out. This bulge will help keep the handle in your hand and from slipping around. You can also work this muscle to increase size and strength, which could help alleviate any pain you may experience from tough workouts. The gripper is now "set" to close. You may find, if you have short fingers as I do, your pinky finger may not reach the opposite handle. Using your off-hand, give the handles an extra squeeze with your thumb and index finger; just enough to get your little finger to the handle. You're ready to go!

 So now you should have a basic understanding of how to workout with grippers. The important thing to always remember is that you need to start off easy and build up slowly for the first 2-3 months. This should build your confidence as well, which is also important. In my next post I'll go over a more advanced routine to help you keep closing those grippers.

                                  This is where I usually position the gripper in my hands. Notice my pinky comes up short.

                                Your pinky should be about half on and half off the bottom of the handle for maximum leverage.

Getting Started With Grip Strength

 I'm going to take a short break from my grip strength story (it is far from finished) and talk about how to get started in this whole grip strength business. Whether for fun or competition, anyone can get into grip training. It does not take a huge financial investment and you can take the grippers anywhere you go and train at anytime! I'll start by recommending a few sites where you can purchase grippers and then give my brief opinion on each brand.

Ironmind Captains of Crush

Heavy Grips

Warren Tetting Grippers


 Ironmind
 Ironmind's grippers are top of the line. These grippers will most likely outlive you and your great grandkids. They have a great feel and the knurling isn't too bad either. All of my Ironmind grippers feel just as tight as the day they arrived. I have no complaints and would highly recommend them.

 Heavy Grips
 Heavy Grips are a bit cheaper than Ironmind's Captains of Crush grippers and you can tell. After having put them through the ringer I can easily tell that the lighter (easier) grippers have lost some stiffness. I had the handles on my HG100 actually slide down the spring legs a bit and bend. Not good. However, I haven't had any issues with the stronger grippers. The HG250, HG300, and HG350 seem to be holding up alright so far. The knurling isn't bad at all either and is much more milder than the Ironmind grippers. Also, the distance between the handles is shorter than Ironmind's. If you are on a budget then the Heavy Grips will get you by.

 Warren Tetting
 Warren Tetting grippers are my favorite grippers.The reason? These grippers have the roughest knurling ever! If you want to thicken up the skin on your hands then these are the grippers for you! The distance between the handles is closer than that of the Ironmind grippers and comparable to the Heavy Grips. The quality of the springs are top notch. They're not all shiny like Ironmind's stuff, but these things are high quality. The price is comparable to Ironmind's products.

 Go ahead and check out each of the above grippers and do your own research. It really is the best way to learn! For those of you that do some searching around, you'll find that there are a few more brands of grippers available. All grippers are basically the same: a spring with two handles attached. The main things that vary are the spring quality and the handle spread. If you don't think my recommendations are good just go with your gut and get what you want. My suggested workout will work with any and all grippers.

 If you have any questions about anything at all just leave a comment and I will answer to the best of my ability. After choosing your grippers the next step is learning how to use them, and how to use them properly. I'll talk about the basics of working with them in my next post tomorrow.

Good Night and God Bless!

                                                 Left: Cheap store bought gripper next to an Ironmind gripper.

My Journey Into Grip Strength Part 3

 I trained extensively throughout 2010 and 2011 working very hard trying to get Ironmind's #3.5 closed. I tried about every kind of workout you can imagine. Sets of reps, holds, timed negatives, training with the gripper turned upside down, and training my bottom two fingers (pinky and ring). I even went as far as building my own grip machine, telegraph key, and a replica of Joe Kinney's Secret Weapon, which I aptly nicknamed "The Puker" and for good reason! I had every tool at my disposal and a nice secluded place to do my workouts at, yet I could not for the life of me get that gripper all the way closed. It was eating me up mentally; I had to close this gripper so I could get to the #4 but something was wrong and I knew it. I tried taking a week off here and there throughout the year thinking that my body needed extra rest from all the work I was doing. It seemed to help a little and I did feel better on my following workouts but something was still missing...

 In late Spring 2012 I decided to call it quits. I was going through a divorce and feeling burned out from all the grip workouts I had done over the past few years. I didn't want to quit trying but I felt it was something I had to do. I knew mentally I was toast. I was overwhelmed with other things at the time and looking back, I believe I made the best decision. Every day that passed was another day the challenge of closing the #4 gripper ate at the back of my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about how much I needed to close that thing and what it was going to take to get there.

                                                                                          My training setup early 2010

My Journey Into Grip Strength Part 2

 I trained extensively over the next 8 months with my new set of Heavy Grips grippers. Working all the way up to the HG300 and Ironmind's famous #3 gripper. I remember doing some tough workouts that involved a lot of reps, holds, and blood. Until my skin toughened up a bit I had a small hole in my pinky on my left hand. Injuries are no fun to train around! As time went on I learned some of the tricks of the trade, though. It gets old having the skin shaved off of you from the knurling on some of those handles. A little duct tape or electrician's tape around one handle works wonders and improves the overall quality of the workout as well.

 It was around Christmas 2009 that I began to ask myself what I really wanted to do with the grippers. Do I keep going and try for Ironmind's infamous #4? Maybe I should just maintain what hand strength I have for now? At this point I was already at the #3 and the HG300, both of which are respectable closes, but I didn't really want to call it quits. So I decided to keep going. I ordered a #3.5 and a #4 from Ironmind and a few Warren Tetting grippers over the course of the following year. I also had a custom gripper with an extended handle made to get those severe negatives in. Of course, it is much tougher than the #4. I also bought a Beef Builder World Class with an extended handle for when my custom made gripper became easy. It also is much tougher than the #4 and even tougher than the custom made gripper. With these fine tools at my disposal, it was time to get down to business...

                                   From Left: Ironmind #4, Custom Made x5 Gripper, Beef Builder World Class

My Journey Into Grip Strength Part 1

 I was first introduced to the idea of hand strength in early summer 2009 while browsing the internet for strength articles. I remember stumbling upon a website advertising the use of Heavy Grips hand grippers. After doing more research into hand strength, I became interested (and very curious!) and finally decided to buy the complete set of grippers in June 2009. With my purchase I also received a block of hand chalk and a small e-book with suggestions on how to use the things.

 I remember the day they arrived. I was super excited and had to try them all out so I knew where I stood. I started with the easiest, the HG100. No problems there. Next, the HG150. Again, no problems to get the handles to touch. The HG200 felt a bit stiffer, but I was able to complete the challenge. The HG250 was next on the list to cross off but it was a stiff little bugger. At full power the handles were almost touching. I remember getting more and more frustrated the more I tried to close the thing! After several failed attempts with both hands I knew I had to get it closed. And so began my journey (and my obsession with grippers) into the not-so-well-known world of grip training...

Here We Go!

 Hello Readers! This being my first Blog post, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by and read my Blogs. My goal is to get you thinking about what is truly possible in life.

 Through my posts I will keep you updated with special events and goals and give my personal opinions and thoughts as life and my strength training progress. I sincerely hope you enjoy the things I write and I hope to be an inspiration to you in every way possible.

God Bless,

 Jester