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Showing content with the highest reputation since 02/19/2024 in all areas

  1. Hello grip nerds! This is an update on the progress toward a new, updated Mash Monster certification! I have tried hard to preserve elements of the retired certification with some improvements. Some of this is driven by what's possible and some by my own preferences. Things that will stay the same The Mash Monster certification is intended to be an elite certification. Originally I had aspirations to expand the levels, but I believe that adds an unnecessary amount of additional logistics, cert management, and waters down the achievement. Throughout its duration, the retired certification averaged about 24 certifications per year. The new certification will be more accessible with more carefully spaced levels so I believe activity will increase as a baseline. A bunch of additional lower levels feels unwieldy. The Mash Monster Set. There is a chance to switch to a setting block, but I do not prefer that option. Most well-known certs use a block so the MM cert was unique in this respect. We will keep the parallel or wider Mash Monster Set. The certifications will be via video submission, no witness required. However I am implementing safeguards which I believe 100% guarantee authenticity of the certification. A primary safeguard is that the MM grippers will be unique items which are tightly controlled and received back as part of the certification, as before. It is a massive security to be able to scrutinize the gripper after the attempt and most other certifications do not operate this way. There will be protocols which the video must follow and it will be possible to fail the certification based entirely on execution in the video. There will also be tamper-evident safeguards which guarantee the judges will be able to identify the original gripper on video; not all of which will be explained to the public. An MM0-style door opener will still be required to establish readiness for the certification both in terms of strength level and ability to shoot an acceptable video. Judging will be completed by the Mash Monster judges as before. 3 judges will score the attempt and it will take 2 out of 3 "white lights" to pass. Participants must be a GripBoard Contributor at any level. Contributor Level 1 offers one certification attempt per year and Levels 2 and 3 offer unlimited attempts. Certification attempt means signing up for and attempting a level, not the number of tries you get during a single certification. That will remain as 3 attempts within a 15 minute time limit. Any one person can only have one level checked out at a time. There is no certification fee except to cover shipping. Things that are new Where the old certification referred to levels, the new certification will be based on ratings. There are 7 levels planned at this time beginning at 160 and increasing to 220. The levels are 160-170-180-190-200-210-220. You would refer to the levels by number such as "Mash Monster 160" or Mash Monster 190". This naming will also distinguish new certifications from the retired legacy. While this is fewer total levels than the original certification, I believe this actually offers more truly distinct levels. There is a possibility for a level at 230. You can jump directly to any level after completing the door opener. This is a huge change. The door opener will be two-fold in this respect. The door-opener for levels 160-170-180 is an IronMind #3 or equivalent, as before. For levels 190 and up the door opener is increased to an IronMind #3.5 or equivalent. The retired certification offered a semblance of "everyone did the same thing" by always using the exact same gripper. The truth is that we know grippers do change slightly over time. Knurling gets worn and ratings slide. The new certification will actively manage the Mash Monster set to be "the same" based on repeatable specifications. The grippers will be made from Standard springs and handles. The handles will have unique markings not otherwise commercially available. After each certification, the gripper will be scrutinized not only to ensure the authenticity of the attempt, but also to ensure the gripper has not appreciably changed in specifications. If critical measurements such as the rating or spread fall out of our accepted tolerance from natural use, the gripper will be replaced with an original. In other words, I am more concerned about "everyone did the same thing" than "everyone closed the exact same gripper". I expect any one gripper to last years. There will be a women's Mash Monster cert! Officially, it will also just be called Mash Monster and the respective levels which are planned to be 110-120-130-140. Door opener here is an IronMind #2 or equivalent. Everything else is the same. This does beg the question about Why can't anyone certify at these levels if they will exist? It goes back to a both a desire for the certification to remain elite, and a logistics issue about managing certification volume. I am planning for expanded International availability. The current idea is to have a period every year where the set of grippers is shipped to a European Hub and managed from there. I do not want to maintain an entirely separate set that just lives at the European Hub. During this time period--something like 3 months--we can cram in as many European certifications as possible. Nothing else about the cert process would change. It's simply a chance to accommodate International certifications at a much lower cost. International participants can always sign up any time, but the costs could be higher. We will not maintain profiles like before. The roster will be a list which records the highest level accomplished by each athlete. If you certify on multiple levels, your name will only remain on the highest level accomplished. We are considering the idea to list minimal personal info by the name such as weight class, age, height. Names will be listed in order and not numbered. Off-hand will not be considered a unique feat. You can certify with either hand, but the only result is whether you were successful in general. So what is the hold up? In short, springs. We have the new level of Chromium spring on order...and have for a while. Our spring supplier (and the manufacturing sector in general) is short-staffed, over worked, and still experiencing some supply chain issues. We want to have all levels in place at once for a grand reopening. Building the grippers, in general, is the only thing taking time. Since the plan is to pull from existing Standard supplies, the idea is that if CPW is rating grippers and comes across a 160 Cobalt or a 180 Titanium, it gets set aside to be converted. I can reliably hope to come across "back-ups" for all levels except 170. Or we can build grippers on purpose to land where we want. But, the whole reason we created Standard was to service a few dead zones in the gripper progression covered by other brands. In that same manner, Standard has dead zones as well. We essentially cannot make a 150 or 170 gripper for example. And I don't want to accomplish the levels by making the springs narrow or wide. So this will probably require ordering a special spring for 170, likely Cobalt with a slightly tighter coil (we're talking fractions of an inch here, maybe not noticeable to the naked eye). But we don't want 170 and 180 to be perceived as "the same difficulty" because the 170 is wide and the 180 is not. Otherwise, we have already started accumulating grippers at certain levels, hoping to essentially have a lifetime supply in place. This will help ensure consistency in the certification! We are really excited about the future of Mash Monster!
    29 points
  2. Sorry for yet another late one! Once again, not really my fault. This time, I was able to reach the previous month’s profilee’s nominee, and he said he was interested and would send me the questionnaire, but he has not yet supplied the questionnaire (he is welcome to do so and he will be the next profile if/when he does). Anyway, I was aiming at not missing any months and it is getting late early because February is a short month (even though it is leap year, we are about done). So I decided to go with someone who hasn’t been profiled yet, and who would answer the questions immediately, so that I won't miss February. I believe that I am the only one I know who has not been profiled yet and will respond to my invitation like, today. Because I am me. So here goes. 1. What are your stats? GripBoard name: Vinnie Age: 54 Height: 5’6” Weight: 180 Dominant hand, and hand size: Right hand, 7.5” from middle finger to wrist crease Country/City: Ronkonkoma (Long Island), NY Relationship Status: Living with my girlfriend Children: Vincent (17) Occupation: Assistant District Attorney in New York City (Bronx) 2. Why did you start training grip (and how long is it now)? I started training grippers on my own about 8 years ago (in 2016 I think), a while after I discovered grippers at an arm wrestling competition in 2015. I had no real experience arm wrestling other than that I routinely beat people (in social situations, not competitions) who looked like they should beat me. But none of us was actually any good at arm wrestling. So at the comp I go trounced, badly, by guys my own size who DID know how to arm wrestle. But, they showed me grippers, and I closed a 2, and they were impressed. I liked the grippers more than the arm wrestling and bought some, and I never really got into arm wrestling. I got myself up to a 2.5 a few months later, and eventually I started looking online for a community. In 2017, I found this community! Within days of finding the Grip Board, I was invited to Queens to work out with Anton, Anthony, Jose, and Chez, and I went to train grip at Anton's almost weekly from then until 2021 when Anton's daughter was born and he had to stop hosting. 3. What are you most proud of accomplishing in grip already, and what is/are your grip goal/goals? Easily, my biggest accomplishment is getting the IM certification on the COC 3. When I started, I thought I would never close a 3 by any means. My own 3 was pretty stout -- rated later by Cannon at 153 -- and it was 5 years from when I bought that gripper until I could CCS close it. I got there slowly and steadily from my first MMS close of an easier 3 in 2018 to my first CCS close of an easier COC 3 in early 2021, and when I finally CCS closed my 153 in late 2021, I signed up and did the cert that November. Only having my son was a bigger deal to me in my life. Sounds crazy but that's how it adds up for me. Close behind the IM cert was beating Tim Butler at the Stronghold Grip competition in October of 2023. Tim is way stronger than me, but I had a great day (closed a 170 RGC gripper with a 20mm block, 2nd best comp close in my weight class ever), and Tim wasn't feeling great, and the other events were pinch-heavy which is my best area besides grippers. So he and I were neck and neck and it was as close to a tie as it could be, but somehow I pulled that one off. As for goals: I would like to do Cannon's new gripper cert as far as I can go; I think 170 RGC or thereabouts would be a nice milestone, but I'll pursue whatever is the one after I achieve. I would like to set the weight class world record on Euro, if I can do it before someone else does: I am currently 3rd (213 pounds), but 10 more pounds would put me on top. I would like to say that lifting the Inch and/or doing crushed to dust would be a reasonable goal, but I am not sure I have the discipline and constitution to train up to either of those. I'm not close to it. Double body weight axle might also be cool, but I think losing my potbelly is more likely to get me there than increasing my deadlift/thick bar strength. 4. How do you currently structure your overall training/how do you incorporate your grip training? I don't train much, other than grippers. With grippers, I generally train twice a week, usually in my office. I do light warmups with a trainer, then a couple of reps with a light COC 3 or GHP 7, then single reps approaching my max until I get tired. I often spread these closes out over an hour or more, in between working. I don't have a formal regimen or system and go mostly by feel. I often stop for a couple of months when I am stressed with work, but not for too long, and I can usually get back to where I was in a few weeks and then make another little gain or two. Shout out to @Chez, who has always been my go-to gripper expert for questions and informal coaching. He certainly has helped me progress. I am one of the rare folks who believes that grippers DO transfer to other grip strengths. In particular, pinch. My pinch has improved steadily without separate training. Some of this is learning better form, such as when Chris Rice helped me out on Euro and got me 20 pounds over my previous PR. But I also notice strength improvement there over time, and I think staying vigilant with grippers has to be related. Even Chez has noticed a correlation with pinch and grip, as he told me he sometimes trains pinch a little the day before grippers and finds some benefit there. I don't see why there wouldn't be some correlation, albeit not precise because there are different muscles involved. But some must be useful in both disciplines. 5. What hobbies (other than grip/bending/lifting) do you enjoy? I am pretty into word games and board games, and at one time I collected antique tube radios and learned a little about repairing them, although that has stagnated since I got divorced and have less space for the radio collection and time for the hobby. 6. Do you have a personal anecdote, topic or thoughts you'd like to include in your profile? I discovered this community right around when I was getting divorced. Grip (and the great, great people involved in it) has become a central feature of my life. It has added to my social life, my happiness, and my health. I hope to stay involved until I die. 7. Whose Grip profile would you like to see next? @devinhoo is on deck whenever he gets me his questionnaire, but I'd say it would also be cool to see @C8Myotome up here.
    20 points
  3. Finally decided to try training CCS full force since I certed on the #3. Now it's just hoping I can get the #3.5 cert before the psoriatic arthritis claims my hands
    18 points
  4. Alex G (FeatsofAlex on IG) and me went in on lots 1-10 together and won. He got the original 1-10 and I got the back ups for 1-6 and 9. I got mine rated which ended up being pretty surprising MM1-154 MM2- 161 MM3- 179 MM4-173 MM5-169 MM6-173 MM9-223 Alex opted not to get his rated and at first I disagreed with this decision but now I get it and am happy he didn't.
    18 points
  5. This is something I've been thinking about for a while. Started collecting Pieces of the puzzle for about six months. Change the idea about two or three times. And this is how it ended up.
    15 points
  6. To start things out, I would love to share the grippers I acquired with you guys! I got Lot 11 which contained the back-ups for Levels 1,2 and 3! Those are very beautiful and perfectly well-preserved vintage Tetting grippers with a very smooth and cool rating progression of 151-162-174
    15 points
  7. Gripzilla reached out after I made a video slamming their 300lb gripper. They had some made with the 350lb spring, but they've never mass produced or sold them. They sent me one, and @Cannon rated it to be 195 RGC. Now that my hand is healthy and the Arnold is over, I decided to finally try closing it. I measure it and explain some more after the, "advertising," so watch the whole thing. I still won't endorse their stuff, but like I said in the video, if these would get someone into training, I'm all for it.
    14 points
  8. Yeah Chromium is coming for sure and there will be more about that with a Mash Monster update next week
    13 points
  9. Would love to see a collection of sledgehammer lifts, and impressive feats. Not a whole lot of posts on hammers, so I'll start off with this video of my own I'd just love to see hammer feats/levering of any kind. Old videos of great feats, more current ones, and other general hammer stuff is what this thread is for
    12 points
  10. I just got my grippers back in the mail and they look awesome! Matt has great customer service and the turnaround time wasn't bad either. Here's a plaque that I made a long time ago to hold 12 grippers, though I have a few more that won't fit... Judging by the ratings, I have a nice spread from 66 up to 208. The filed ones are awesome too, very well done. They are all mostly from 2008-09. I also got a special #3 rated at a super low 135.
    12 points
  11. Yes, like Chaz said, we won Lots 1-10!!! I didn’t get the certification grippers rated, so the mystery lives on! Sorry for the delayed announcement, but we were waiting until Chaz could come to my place for the hand off of the backup grippers to unveil all of them at once (outside of a miniscule amount of people I couldn’t help but telling). They have a slightly nicer storage setup than my other grippers, but they’re far from locked away in gripper retirement. When Chaz was here I closed the MM1 and came within a micrometer of the MM2 (and CCS’d the 10, literally just setting it to Costco card width )! I was super psyched to get a good close in front of the homie, and there’ll be much more fun with them to come!!!
    12 points
  12. They should just have a collection at CPW and drop-ship.
    12 points
  13. Although the video is being criticized doesn't mean you are at fault. In the end it's Ironmind that says it's good, so they're the ones being put on the spot for putting up a video where we can't see a close.
    11 points
  14. I'm ready for the cert then, if we don't even have to close the gripper!
    11 points
  15. 4 singles with GG3 each hand.. couldn’t get a friend off the phone so I had to do something and messing around with my new grip implement for 10 minutes thanks @John Knowlton scorched my elbows.
    11 points
  16. Thanks John! Ok, I still have one coming in the mail from Canada (GHP7 v.1 RGC 143), but here's the others. I need to rate a few of 'em. The tags are color matched to the handles. There's 9 slots, should I ever get so lucky.
    11 points
  17. Idea came from reading about the Legend Mike Burke doing INCH DB for 40 reps in less than 2 minutes alternating hands. To state the obvious, I tried with something much easier(Hub Lift) but really hard on my lungs! International Deep Dish 45 LB weight plate. I think I did 30 reps in 2 minutes. Age 57, 3/4/24
    10 points
  18. Here is mine! This is my first 2nd gen Standard btw, and I love the pinned handles.
    10 points
  19. Aand here are the ratings: Spring bottomed out in the handles = 199 (70.5mm spread) Level 1 = 181 Level 2 = 168 Level 3 = 156 Level 4 = 145 Level 5 = 135 Level 6 = 126 (83mm spread) So it covers a really wide range! About 10lb increments (except when the spring is bottomed out). Huge thanks to @Cannon/CPW for the excellent customer service and for going through the trouble of rating all the levels. I'm grateful. + I made some changes to the choker mechanism to make it safer setting to the desired spread with a wrench: 1. Changed the stainless bolt to a Grade 10.9 bolt to make sure the threads are durable enough (earlier I said 8.8, but actually it's a 10.9 bolt). 2. I put a hardened steel washer before the long nut. Although unlikely, even if the joint fails and the ball pops in, the gripper still can't open suddenly because the outer diameter of the washer is larger than the inner diameter of the joint.
    10 points
  20. Akugeki is a master at his craft!!! The dunk is mindblowingly beautiful, and the case for it is basically the coolest briefcase since the one in Pulp Fiction Like a month ago he told me the grippers were still in prototype and he was aiming for March-May for sales. So hopefully soon!!! I have no doubt they’ll be jaw dropping!
    10 points
  21. What’s up, I’m Alex Guiha. I’ve been generally hip to the GripBoard for like a year, since this is where Don Cummings was posting the info for Michigan Steel Bending contest, but finally got around to actually making an account!!! I’m super obsessed with steel bending and run high level worldwide contests like King of Cold Rolled Steel and the currently ongoing ACE of O-1. ACE is huge, with 21 competitors and I’m currently in fifth place with about six weeks to go (also it’s sanctioned by GSI which is pretty cool). I also run the Feats of Steel challenge bars, currently on the Da Vinci Batch, that are earned based on contest performance so it’s all tied together like a hardcore steel bending ecosystem. My best bends are not O-1 lol. But I have done a 7” Horrido 10.9 cert, 8” BSC Ogopogo cert, KOAB under cert conditions, TSAR under cert conditions, Horrido 8.8 in IMP singles, Red Nail in a single IMP. I also love grip, especially feats like Inch dumbbells and blobs - I can often lift the full weight Inch and sometimes lift a fatman blob. I’m also getting more into grippers and my best are CCS a 140rgc 3 and MMS a 152rgc Tetting T6 (GM) and MMS the unrated MM1 cert gripper. I do a lot of the Instagram grip contests and challenges but haven’t done many in person contests mostly due to scheduling (2 kids under 3) rather than lack of interest. Someday I’ll probably be a regular on the scene!!!
    10 points
  22. Finally we are back to a profile at the beginning of the month! This one is from a guy my size who is doing big-guy size things in grippers, Derek Palmeri. I don't know him too well except for conversations here on the gripboard, and privately when we have conversed a little about the scandals and such, but he has posted plenty of vids of serious closes and is one to watch for the rare 3.5 cert. I predict pretty soon, too. And away we go: 1. What are your stats? GripBoard name: C8Myotome Age: 34 Height: 5’8” Weight: 185 lbs Dominant hand, and hand size: Right handed, 7.25” length Country/City: Albany, New York Relationship Status: Single Children: Zero Occupation: Doctor of Physical Therapy Graduate student 2. Why did you start training grip (and how long is it now)? With actual grippers, Summer 2021. I started going to gyms about 10 years ago and when I learned to deadlift I was very stubborn about doing anything other than double overhand, and I was doing 425-430ish that way until I eventually became open to using straps. Years later I did mixed grip for a bit, but I decided once hitting 500 lbs, I didn’t want to do mixed grip anymore to prevent any potential injuries. I tried to get into grippers years ago too, I bought some orange and black plastic gripper off of amazon and broke it, I forget if the spring or the handle broke, but it didn’t last very long and I never thought to try to find something better and kind of forgot about it. I did a lot of powerlifting, went to a powerlifting gym for years and I remember doing farmers walks with 455 lbs on a trap bar down a 50’ fake grass walk way and then back, but I never really considered it grip training. I met a friend at the powerlifting gym way back who introduced me to a barrel strength rolling handle, I tried it out but it didn’t really get me interested in grip as I didn’t see the point of trying to become good at something like that. This same friend I later found out has been a gripboard member for years and actually recently joined me for a gripper session, he is currently working towards the 3 cert under my programming. But anyways, I used to work nanotechnology for a long time and got really into lifting at the same time, and eventually left that field to go to PT school, and I bought grippers during my first semester, just about at the same time I got to dissect a human forearm, so it was really cool getting to pull on a tendon and watch the fingers move, etc, while simultaneously getting into gripping on the side. I purchased from rogue fitness and got a 5 gripper bundle of trainer, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5, and TNS closed them all when the package arrived; I had actually been buying more 45 plates so I could deadlift 5 plates per side at home without having to use change plates, and the grippers were just a side thing since I was paying shipping anyways. I also was having elbow issues at the time from benching and the grippers were mainly an attempt to strengthen anything around that area, it ended up being just a tight bicep though. I didn’t think I would need the larger gripper bundles with the heavier grippers from rogue, lol. Someone in a fitness group online told me it was somewhat abnormal to be able to close a 2.5 my first day trying, and told me about the 3 cert etc, and I got pretty interested in what it would take to do that. This was pre-pandemic so I was reading up about how you’d have to travel to find someone to attempt in front of, etc. I purchased a 3 probably within a month or so later, and was trying to TNS it, I was almost getting it and asked a grip group online what I should be doing differently since I had no idea what I was doing. I think it is funny that someone said “just get stronger” and gave me no actual real input when it was obvious I was a beginner that didn’t know anything about grippers, however someone recommended learning to set the gripper, and my first time doing a very awkward bad form set, was also my first time doing a credit card set on a 3, which I still have a video of. 3. What are you most proud of accomplishing in grip already, and what is/are your grip goal/goals? Probably that I just started at a pretty high level, and have made steady progress to an even more high level. I am amazed that with grippers, so far I had roughly the same timeline at closing grippers as Carl Myerscough since starting - immediately closing a 2.5 first time trying them, a 3 within months, and a 3.5 within about a year. My first cert was actually GHP7, based on what I was doing with CoC 3 and rgc data I figured it would be an easy one, I opened up the package from CPW and immediately did 3 reps for my first cert. I later recertified with 4 reps. I think that must have been around 4-5 months into training. I’m otherwise most proud of my CoC 3 and GHP8 certs. I attempted the CoC 3 cert within my first 6 months of training and got flagged for swiping the card too fast. I instead spent my time working on the Crushed to Dust challenge as my first Ironmind cert, and once getting that out of the way, fully focused on grippers. I also got into doing Dinnie handles for a few sessions, but found it underwhelmingly easy, being able to lift the full weight my first day trying. I thought it looked easy enough and it turns out it was; my first time I used a bunch of chains on top to make up for lack of plates, then got enough 45’s to make a set of 16, I only did the lift a few sessions total, I otherwise don’t like how asymmetric the lift is or see a reason to train it. I also tried some 45 lb plate hub lifts way back and did the clean/snatch/transfer but it’s not something I regularly do. When training (again) for the CoC 3 cert attempt, I was actually training for the GHP8 cert for a long time and stalled out, then just back tracked a bit and did a few weeks of CCS and did the cert, then went back to focusing on GHP8 which I eventually got as well. I think what I find most impressive about my own CoC 3 cert is that I did it the weekend after some of the hardest finals in my doctorate program followed by presenting at a research symposium, so just that I was able to coordinate my training, recovery, stress, doctorate exam performance, sleep, diet, and then pull of a CoC 3 cert on the weekend I am still amazed I pulled off. It was more than just closing a gripper, it was handling a crazy difficult week of my life successfully also. I later rated the gripper later at 155 after it had broken in, and think it may have easily been at least 160+ on its first close, it wasn’t the widest 3 I own by a little bit, but it had higher mounted handles which gave it a very stiff set feeling on the first close. My GHP8 cert was on a 169, and I’ve since closed a 175 GHP8 with the block as well. I did the MM1 right and left handed which was pretty easy and I wanted to do MM2 both hands too which was why I waited so long, and then it closed. I also got bored and did 3xESG7 cert which felt like the easiest cert I’ve ever done as it’s a 50 lb gripper. I was also training for the GHP9 cert mainly until GHP closed, which I think unofficially means the cert is probably closed now too. Right now my best right hand closes are 180 CoC 3.5 38 mm, 181 filed CoC 3.5 38 mm, 167 CoC 3 CCS maybe 173 CoC 3.5 CCS, my video was blurry from movement so I’m not really considering it an official close yet, but there may have been a handle touch. Right now my best left hand close is a 158 standard cobalt CCS, I also closed a 173 GG6 but that’s a 50 lb gripper so it doesn’t really count as much. Another interesting part of training is by reaching these strength levels, learning what I need to do to maintain/progress, learning what to avoid that would cause regression, etc. If I have a bad day I turn it into a learning experience, and then some days are just PR city too. Plateaus give me a reason to brainstorm different approaches. I like finding out what works and what doesn’t, which isn’t necessarily all just training, but life habits in general. 4. How do you currently structure your overall training/how do you incorporate your grip training? I grip once a week on the weekend, I usually do 4+ hour sessions, fitting in as much work as possible, if I’m not doing something for grip I’m running around supersetting non-grip things. I do very long sessions and get pretty wiped out afterwards. I start with grippers which can take take 2-3 hours, and I do a lot of pinching and wrist work after. I try to keep myself disciplined and avoid going off program. For example if you’re not hitting a single you wanted that day, you’re probably not going to just magically get it by doing repeated attempts, so it’s better to do actual work instead. I wrote a 38-page ebook with my training outline I used for the CoC 3 and GHP8 certs. Since then, I’ve also been working on trying to find ways to improve this, giving new exercises trial phases to see how well they fit, how well it produces results in the following weeks, how much I like doing them, how they actually feel doing them, etc. I like doing my own programming because I can go by my own rationale and do all the things that I think I should be doing, modify based on how I respond to them, and not just have someone telling me what I should be doing. I have this idea that programming can always be improved so I probably sometimes make things unnecessarily complex, but sometimes also keeping things on the simpler side can produce more consistent results. I’m still fine-tuning things, as I probably always will be, at least until I certify the CoC 3.5 and can say this is what I did leading upto it that worked. Doing the same thing over and over can get boring and I like using myself as a lab rat to try different approaches. I usually try to keep about 95% of things the same and only tweak maybe one or two small aspects at a time to see if those changes produce better or worse results, so my my programming continues to evolve over time to be the best it can possibly be from experience and running so many different variations. For this reason I find it hard to say “this is exactly how I train” because I’m not married to one workout, or one execise or piece of equipment. Of the exercises that I do like though, I do very high volume, and a lot of exercises. For the most part I have Microsoft Excel automatically generate most of my programming for me, I print out a workout every week before I go train and I make a bunch of notes on it, then take a picture of it when I’m done to store for records/analyze. I also will write really stupid notes to myself which is funny to read later, but if a set was a huge PR, went badly for some reason, it can be useful to know why when looking back. There are also parts of my programming that I tailor by feel, and am more of an an autopilot by experience of how much and when to microload or progressively overload, and so on. I’m always evaluating what my weaknesses are and what’s most important to focus on. I watch most of my own top set videos to see if I can learn what to work on by analyzing my own biomechanics. I think for the most part starting gripperes and PT school at the same time made a lot of things easier for me. There is a lot you can fit into doing in 4 hours, I’ve never exactly counted but I would estimate each of my hands does well over 500 reps total of various grip exercises throughout each session. I try to fit in at least 1 session of accessory/non-grip work that indirectly supports grip during the week as well, but otherwise I have been so busy lately aside from my big weekend session, I’m not getting in a whole lot of other training at the moment. I think I have finally figured out setting grippers also, as I set a GHP10 onto a 30 mm block about a year ago, and closed a 167 standard nickel the first day I got it with 83 mm spread, I really don’t get intimated by gripper spread, I can set pretty much any gripper, although obviously there comes a point where one is too heavy that I can’t close it yet. Setting grippers does not feel hard anymore, I know what I’m doing and it’s just a thing you do before you close the gripper. I’m also playing around with doing different programming depending on what main set width I’m training. Right now I’m at 67 grippers, my filed lineup is about the same size as my normal gripper lineup, and then I have random things like 50 lb grippers and whatnot. I’ve noticed with filed grippers they can sacrified overall reps, but pay off during grinder reps on regular grippers. I’ve also repped a double-filed CoC 3 which is 9 mm deeper. 5. What hobbies (other than grip/bending/lifting) do you enjoy? I’ve been growing carnivorous plants for 6 years, I’ve grown stuff from every continent they grow on. I like watching stand up comedy, true crime documentaries, and just reading research articles on things I’m interested in, watching educational youtube videos, etc. I also used to be a lot more into video games when I had more time but while adulting I’m lucky to get in an hour here or there, I’ve been liking the Resident Evil 4 remake, and I liked playing Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal a lot. I’ve had a lot of other hobbies throughout my life as well, and haven’t got to do as many lately due to pretty much constantly studying for the past few years. 6. Do you have a personal anecdote, topic or thoughts you'd like to include in your profile? I would tell people that if they have a goal just to focus on it and make it happen. I believe people can do a lot more than they think they’re capable of. I notice people tend to focus on too many goals simultaneously which then decreases the effort put into each. I’m also a firm believer that any average guy could close a 3 if they actually trained and lived a lifestyle that supported that kind of strength. I’d even go out onto a branch and say that any average guy could also close a 3.5; I don’t really consider myself anything special, I just know a lot about training, and train pretty hard when I do, so I think if other people developed those things which are not things I was born with, there’s no reason they couldn’t as well. 7. Whose Grip profile would you like to see next? Alex K from Sweden I think is the country, he’s getting pretty close to ready for the 3 cert, and doing some reps on a 3.5, and has a very extravagant gripper collection that I wouldn’t mind learning more about
    10 points
  23. My most treasured gripper is probably my 1st gen 255 GHP Level 10, in pristine condition.
    10 points
  24. @A.J. Valcarcel sent me a sweet wooden set block and some really nice words, so I decided to use that energy and punish that no good SOB 3.5 gripper that robbed me of my cert.
    10 points
  25. Just got two more gen 1 GHPs in the mail! Huge thanks to @Jared P for the GHP10 and @WorksinaPinch for the GHP8 (he also sold me an awesome GHP6 a few weeks ago). Both guys are awesome to deal with, honest, friendly and ship quickly. That leaves me only two away (GHP5 and 9) from a complete set... Woohoo!
    9 points
  26. Some pr's from the weekend 116.5kg saxon and 196.5kg axle.
    9 points
  27. My 3.5 was closer and filmed better. Ironmind just doesn't care anymore.
    9 points
  28. This makes me think back to @insane.warrior attempting the #3 cert, and having it flagged red due to a fast card swipe (which passed freely however). I am extremely confused by how this attempt was passed, while other attempts that are much stronger/better could be denied. Same with @C8Myotome's attempt before his actual cert, which was also closed for sure but where the card was swiped too rapidly for it to be passed. Maybe this was an error though, could happen too
    9 points
  29. Starting my training again. Still dreaming about closing CoC3 by CCS. Nowadays, my physical abilities are to close hard CoC3 by Deep Set. Here is my successfull close HG 300. Evaluating gripper as 130-135 rgc (no calibrate)
    9 points
  30. I got this from over the summer. Doesn’t count as my arm dropped too much. But it was spur of the moment. Impressed our framing crew at least. Then I lve got this with a tamper. Not sure of weight. Even with lighter hammers I’ve never been able to keep my hands strictly parallel
    9 points
  31. Good morning everyone! As promised here is a picture from the two pinch blocks (2” and 3”) I ordered from Nemesis Grips. Both have been customized / hand painted as I requested with characters from anime. The art is great and make these pieces unique, I’m really looking forward to train with them. Will most certainly order other implements such as a rolling handle in a near future.
    9 points
  32. Here's an updated GHP pic, also with all my v.1s stacked up. Thanks a ton to @IzzyGrasp@bdckr@Jared P for helping me acquire the 2, 3 and 7. Awesome service from Howard (bdckr), the shipment from Canada came through safely and he's a pleasure to deal with. Same goes for Izzy (IzzyGrasp), made a smooth transaction on eBay. Jared P was cool enough to refer me to en eBay listing since he already had that model in his collection.
    9 points
  33. RH - grippers - 3x3 Stainless Adjustable Level 5 RGC 135, 20mm block set - 2x3 Stainless Adjustable Level 4 RGC 145, 20mm choked - 1x1 Stainless Adjustable Level 3 RGC 156, 20mm choked - 1x1 Filed Standard Adjustable Level 3 RGC 135, 20mm block set with 10-sec hold LH - Inch trainer - 1x5 128.8lb/58.4kg level lift - 1x1 151.2lb/68.6kg level lift Tried this one more set, but no luck and I didn't want to tilt it on purpose. - 4x1 146lb/66.2kg level lift - 1x3 63.7kg/140.4lb
    8 points
  34. Steve Millard certifies on the DubyaMind -3.5 gripper in Cheyenne, Wyoming!
    8 points
  35. I got the idea from Carl and Odd a while back, the main premise behind these is to target the wrist portion of the lift. Whether you are doing axle, inch, rolling handle, or saxon, your wrist strength matters a lot. You can have the strength in your fingers or thumb to lift a close or pinch with a straight wrist (ie; gripper, pinch block). However with other lifts you need the wrist to keep your fingers under the bar so they can hold the weight as opposed to picking up the weight with a straight or even extended wrist. You will often see people that do it this way drop the weight just at lockout or at their knees, especially if they can deadlift a lot they might speed pull 400lbs on axle and just drop it because all the weight is going into their fingertips from start to finish. Maintaining the wrist helps keep your fingers and thumb in a position to hold it more effectively. Carl has a demonstration of it to help visually understand it. Timestamped below
    8 points
  36. I'd say it's about 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain, and 100% reason to remember the name.
    8 points
  37. Finally built a wooden stand out of red oak for my gripper collection. After applying some boiled linseed oil to the stand: 26 IronMind CoC Guide 38 IronMind CoC Sport 52 IronMind CoC Trainer 62 GHP Level 2 - 2nd Gen 66 IronMind CoC No. 0.5 76 IronMind CoC No. 1 86 IronMind CoC No. 1.5 91 CPW Standard (Ag) Silver (Filed) - 2nd Gen 96 CPW Standard (Au) Gold - 1st Gen 100 IronMind CoC No. 2 104 IronMind CoC No. 2 107 GHP Level 5 - 1st Gen 108 IronMind CoC No. 2 (Filed) 112 CPW Standard (Pt) Platinum - 2nd Gen 116 CPW Standard (Pt) Platinum - 2nd Gen 119 GHP Level 6 - 1st Gen 122 IronMind CoC No. 2.5 127 IronMind CoC No. 2.5 132 CPW Standard (Fe) Iron - 1st Gen 136 CPW Standard (Fe) Iron - 1st Gen 143 IronMind CoC No. 3 146 GHP Level 7 - 1st Gen 152 IronMind CoC No. 3 156 IronMind CoC No. 3 (Filed) 160 IronMind CoC No. 3.5 164 Tetting Elite 164 CPW Standard (Co) Cobalt - 2nd Gen 168 IronMind CoC No. 3.5 175 IronMind CoC No. 3.5 178 CPW Standard (Ni) Nickel - 2nd Gen (Filed), 89.5mm spread 179 GHP Level 8 - 2nd Gen 184 IronMind CoC No. 3.5 186 Robert Baraban 330 188 IronMind CoC No. 3.5 193 CPW Standard (W) Tungsten - 1st Gen 196 CPW Standard (W) Tungsten - 1st Gen 200 GHP Level 9 - 2nd Gen 205 IronMind CoC No. 4 210 IronMind CoC No. 4 213 IronMind CoC No. 4 (CPW Choker) 214 IronMind CoC No. 4 219 IronMind CoC No. 4 224 IronMind CoC No. 4 234 Robert Baraban 365 255 GHP Level 10 - 1st Gen 260 GHP Level 10 - 2nd Gen
    8 points
  38. I just rewatched this with audio and they literally say "-it wasn't closed right?" "-yeah" in Bulgarian which I understand rather well Bro must've been confused submitting this - maybe in the hopes that it might look closed in the video (?) Still a better cert than the latest 3.5 Chertifikeishon from Italy
    8 points
  39. Wow, this sucks. I'm flabbergasted. I didn't even know you were allowed to try more than once in the cert video, but if you do try a second time, you should at least have to GET it the second time. And then after failing twice (and the person with you and you apparently recognizing that you failed twice with all the "nay" sounds and the decision to try yet again), you'd think the third attempt would have to be good. But none of them was even close. Not even close. I have "almost" closed grippers a lot closer than that and admitted it was not closed. I would not even have sent this video in because it is CONCLUSIVE proof that I did NOT close the gripper on any of the three attempts shown. I don't begrudge other folks their successes, but this simply was not a success, and passing it dilutes the achievement for those of us who legitimately attained it. I mean, you can argue that my cert wasn't PERFECT, either because I didn't pass the card clearly enough or didn't overcrush to show dominance or got lucky with a light cert gripper or whatever -- but at least I legit closed the gripper and you can see the handles touch. He just did not close it, not once, not nearly. So, wtf?
    8 points
  40. I would have thought that after the Tiziano drama they would be MORE strict with their submissions.
    8 points
  41. Aside from no visible closes, I thought it was peculiar its a pic of a guy eating a salad, who trains grippers every day, and does not weigh much...sounds familiar
    8 points
  42. Hey grip nerds! For those interested, I would like to compile a timeline of various iterations of Warren Tetting Grippers. This could be anything from names, to bevel changes, to stamp changes, etc. Ideally the data will be sourced with some kind of correspondence, photo evidence, cached website, etc. I don't want to include theoretical data at this time. Please only post documented evidence you are sure about. This can be as simple as a testimonial such as "I bought these grippers from Weightlifter's Warehouse in June of 2006 and here is a picture." Enough of these type of submissions will be incredibly helpful. I will be digging through the GripBoard in my spare time (hahaha) to find places where people made posts to this effect. And you don't have to include pictures. You can just state facts as long as you include how you know. So..what have you got?
    8 points
  43. https://ironmind.com/news/19-Year-Old-Hamza-Acar-Certifies-on-the-Captains-of-Crush-No.-3-Gripper/ The first Teenage Captain of Crush since Ivan Cuk in 2021, and the 12th overall. Wondering if this certification gripper was sent out pre or post-Tiziano ruling. Is that purple tape just from Turkish customs, or new tamper-evident tape? And is the two camera angles possibly a new rule?
    8 points
  44. Yeah, I will not be worrying about qualifying for MM190 lol. I should be able to do the 160 already, but I will be very satisfied if I ever get the 170, and very surprised if I ever get past that (although I will probably shoot for the 180 IF I get the 170). But 190, no lol.
    8 points
  45. I don't seen any reason to redo them. Anyone who qualified before is good to go, including people on IronMind's roster like before. The new, higher door opener for 190+ may apply however. My feeling is that you can always do the next level without qualifying again. So if you have done MM180 then you can call for MM190. But if you are certified with IronMind on the #3 and you do the MM160 and then want the MM190, in that case you have to submit the door opener. I think if you are MM4 or higher, or on the IronMind #3.5 roster, then you qualify for MM190+ automatically.
    8 points
  46. Strong close and overcrush! But IMO that’s no Kinney close. The set has to be wider. The close has to be much slower. And the thumb has to stay open and not aid in the close. Edit: and also, the gripper has to have been tampered with.
    8 points
  47. If for any reason Standard makes other grippers above Tungsten as well, based on the Mohs hardness scale, some fun options might be: - Chromium (225+ rgc from the podcast info) - Corundum aka Ruby or Sapphire, or Uranium or Palladium or something (235-250 rgc, comparable to Tetting Pro) - Boron (250-280 rgc to match GHP 10 / Tetting WC). Carl could actually use and close such a gripper right now. - Diamond (300 rgc). The hardest possible gripper that the strongest human might be able to close, to match the hardest mineral.
    8 points
  48. A couple of my old lifting partners reached out to me recently to be on their podcast, Becoming Ronin. Jim Smith is who I started Diesel Crew with and Brian Oberther began joining us sometime around 2006. They’ve been running this podcast for years and have accumulated a bunch of questions over time about training for Grip Strength, and they called me in to go over everything with them. One of the focus points that came up over and over is how I train Grip with Wrestlers and Football Players. I actually have a product that’s perfect for these types of athletes, called “Grip Training for MMA Athletes.” Also, I just knocked $10 off that product, so grab it today while it’s on sale this week. I want to thank Jim and Brian for the opportunity to be on their show and talk about the training I love – Grip Training. Thanks for watching and don’t forget to check out Grip Training for MMA Athletes All the best in your training. NAPALM
    8 points
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