PeterSweden Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Hey! Yesterday when I was at the gym I talked to a gentleman and we discussed grip in particular. He said that he didnt want to do grippers cause he had read that grippers are harder to close with the left hand due to how the spring is mounted or the way they are twisted. He said that the right hand is in a better position. Im weaker in my left hand in grippers and he said that is due to this. How true is this? I hope you understand what Im asking about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griparn Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 I have also read this on the Ironmind forum somewhere and it may be true. Anyhow I dont think it matters, you still get the same training benifits closing grippers with the left hand. It sounds like he want an excuse to why he ain't good with grippers. Just look at Gabriel Sum. If I recall he is a left-handed and has one of the strongest hands. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopholes Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 I wouldn't think so. Its probably more of an issue of adaptation... Like this: I'm right handed (I assume you're right handed too) and so my right hand is adapted to doing all sorts of tasks. It works smoothly and effectively for things like writing, turning screws, etc. But my left hand has not made this adaptation, so if I try to write with it, it is awkward and real clumsy. I think the same applies to grippers, and that's why we recognize one hand as the "off-hand". It's the hand you don't use alot, so it's clumsy and can't quite recruit the same way as the "on-hand"... When I do grip lifts, like rolling thunder, both hands generally exhibit the same degree of strength, but when I do grippers, the difference is dramatic, and I believe it is related to this adaptation aspect. Also, it seems to me that if someone is ambidextrous they might be able to do about the same level of gripper closes with each hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electron Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 This has been discussed many, many times before. Keep in mind that when you close a gripper with your left and right hand, the handles touch at very different points in each case. In the left hand, the point where the handles touch is obstructed more by the spring than in the right hand close. This is what makes it harder in the left hand. If you doubt this, close an easy gripper and mark the points that the handles touch both times. If you RGC them so that these points are where the close happens, the left would require more force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchapman Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 I am right-handed. I have trained on an RB210 L (left-handed gripper) and it feels much, much more natural in my left hand as compared to a regular gripper in my left hand. It also feels awkward in my right hand. This has cemented in my mind that there is a mechanical difference in closing a gripper left-handed vs. right-handed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvance Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Sounds like the dude at the gym is making excuses about why he doesn't wanna do grippers. He's right - but that is such a lame excuse. Personally I see a huge difference between my right and left on TSGs. My right is currently capable of 155-160 grippers, while the left is about 145-150... However, on my vulcan I am chasing L15 with both hands and I have been within a paper thin margin lefty - with the right slightly behind that. So the different handle trajectories definitely affect the final closing strength of the gripper from right to left. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Yep. My Vulcan numbers are very close, but with grippers my left lags behind by 20 pounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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