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