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Dealing With Newbie Grip Geeks


Sybersnott

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Usually, I go by this one nutrition store when I'm looking for some protein bars and I have some time to kill.  Today was one of those days.  I was going by, and decided to drop in to see what they had.  The guy that runs the place knows me by sight - he wasn't there, but two other young dudes that I've never met were working there.  I came in and started looking around, when all of a sudden I hear grunts and groans amongst, "C'mon man, you can do it!"... "Dang I can't do it! You do it!".... and other phrases of loud encouragement.  I wondered what was going on, and went to take a look.  There were two young guys taking turns on a IronMind #2.  Anyhow, I picked up what I wanted and headed for the checkout.  I asked one of the guys, "What are you doing?" (from this point on, I decided to play dumb).  "Oh, we are trying to close this thing", he then showed it to me.  "What is that?", I asked.  "It's a heavy duty gripper".  "Really?", I said.  Then the other one said to me, "We can't close it, and neither has anybody else since I got it".  "How many people have tried?", I said.  Then he told me something I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE.  He told me that at least 300 (that's THREE HUNDRED) have tried, and NONE could close the little beast.  He said he had tested guys who came into the store who powerlift, bodybuilders, etc., and NOBODY could do it.  A few came close - he even took it to school, and nobody at his school came CLOSE to closing it.  Then he said something that was pure music to my ears.  He said, "I'm offering a challenge.... anybody that can close it gets 50 percent off whatever they want in the store".  You can imagine how I felt now.  So I said, "Uh yeah, I'll give it a try".  I wish I had a camera to catch the look on their faces when I COMPLETELY crushed that gripper!  Their jaws hit the floor!  "How did you do that?", along with 1000 other questions they wanted to ask me.  I fessed up and told them who I was, and told them that I had just closed the #3.  They were in complete AWE of me!  I happened to have my BB Master in the car, and ran out to get it.  It was tougher than the gripper they had, and I had them give it a try before I showed them that I could close it, too.  Those two guys then treated me like I was some sort of a rock star!  One told me he thought that he would NEVER find anybody who could close it, and his brother (the guy who owned the store) bet him otherwise.  Then I told them,  "You haffta train your grip - that's the secret.  Lots of guys are strong, but hardly ever do any grip training."  Well, to make a long story short, I got that discount, picked up a couple of new fans plus a ton of respect, and an open invitation anytime I wanted to return for some "store goodies".  I never thought being a major grip dude would make me a superstar!

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Guest AghastGrip

Haha, that's a great story! Glad to see that you got some much deserved recognition for you grip training efforts! :) It's cool to see that grip training is becoming more and more popular all the time. It's places like this board that help promote grip training. It's great!

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No kidding, Snott? This is the kind of story that's so good you'd have to triple pinch your arm to make sure you weren't sleeping and making it up as a wish fulfilling dream.

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Guest CanadaCrush

Great story. I always have small daydreams about falling into a situation such as you discribed, although I don't like to admit it. I'm sure we all have those same daydreams. :)

-Mark

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Speaking of newbies: hi, I'm a newbie! ;) I'm primarily interested in increasing my grip strength in order to facilitate better handgun and knife handling ability. For handguns, I need wrist/forearm strength to avoid "limp-wristing" (which causes jamming), and pinching strength to move the slide back just the right distance to be able to check the chamber to see if there is a cartridge loaded. Do we have any other handgunners here?

For knives, I guess I need crushing strength and endurance.

I have a bunch of sports store stuff which I now realize is worthless crap. I just received a CoC trainer and have a #1 on order. I figure that I should add a Titan's Telegraph Key to get started on pinching and a Wicked Wrist Roller for wrist/forearm strength. Given that I'm looking for all aspects of grip strength, is there anything else I should be looking at?

Oh, I should mention that my hands are less than 7". Ewoks have small paws. ;)

(Edited by Ewok at 5:43 am on April 8, 2001)

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Sybersnott,

You should have mest with their heads a bit more and told them that you couldn't close the #2 until you started eating those "special" protein bars you just bought...those babies wouldv'e been flying off the shelf.

I have to admit that it's pretty cool that younger people were interested in closing the gripper...I'm sure you've inspired them. Now you're going to have to get a hat and some shades so your not mobbed next time you go to the store (being a celebrity and all). :)

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Guest Dr Tom

Snott:  That's a GREAT story.  What a fairy-tale come true!  I totally believe that those guys could go thru a 1000 people who couldn't close #2.  It's #### hard!

    I have often posted that I have yet to meet ANYONE who can close even #1.  I'm always astounded when someone posts that they closed #2 right out of the bag with no prior training.  Guess it could happen but I think that it is a rare event.

    Thanks again for sharing such a classic vignette!

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Ewok, I would recommend posting your question in a separate thread. It is an interesting question, as it concerns real-life applications of grip strength.

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I popped back into the nutrition store today, and my new grip friend was there.  After exchanging some pleasantries ("hellos"), we talked about his grip training.  He told me that he went to school and told everybody he finally found someone who could close it (#2).  He said lots of people didn't believe him.  Oh, and he also took the gripper to a gym where he works out.  He had about 10 to 15 guys try to close it - none of them did.  Dr. Tom said in his response to this thread that it was 1000 people.... NO, this guy told me about 300 had tried it, and I was the first to close it.  This brings up a very interesting question:  Is the #2 really that special?  I really didn't believe it at first, but now.... I guess so.  And closing the #3 probably puts you in the top three percent, I'm guessing.  So, if you can close the #2 - consider yourself to have a very strong grip.

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We've got guys here closing it for 30+ seconds and over..and in some cases WITH a 5.5lb plate between the handles.

:)

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Guest FredS

Sybersnott,

Last fall I got the #1 and took it to work. No one at the station could close it. Neither could any one at the High School (where I'm assigned). It was fun picking on football players, wrestlers, anyone big and brutish looking. I got a lot of practice closing the #1 that day as I had to prove it could be closed after each victim made his attempt! Now several of the staff have taken an intrest in grip training!

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Sybersnott... re your comment that closing the #3 would put you in the top 3%...

NO WAY!

Closing the #1 would put you in the top 3% - no, probably better.

50 people or so have closed the #3 (ALL of them after *hard* training), but of course most people haven't tried. Let's say that many more tried, and ONE MILLION people closed it (unlikely).

That would put them all in the top 0.01% of the world. Multiply that by 100 to remove all females, those too young, and those too old (being REAL generous). Still 1%... And that's assuming they all closed it straight outta the bag.

Avi

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Many people have tried to close my #1 : nobody even came close. As for my #2, nobody could move the handles past 1 inch. People who don't train their grip specifically will never close #2, barely the #1. For myself, I closed the #1 30 reps and #2 for 6 reps with my right hand today. Grip work is so great !

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Guest Bobjodoin

Why can't that ever happen to me!

I had some fun at the equipment table at the NE Bud Strongman contest with 1stCOC but your story sounds like way more fun. I was at a strongman contest where closing grippers is not unusual.

I'm going to try that #2 straphold soon. SHould be fun.

Bob

PS. The newly opened Highland Strength and Fitness has some of the most beautiful and bombproof equipment I have ever seen. It is a dream!

Anyone care to guess where it came from?

Hint: I can't wait to see the 621!!!!!!!

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  • 6 months later...

I went by my favorite nutrition store over the weekend, and my grip friend was there.  He saw me, and we got into a long conversation about grip strength and closing the grippers.  He told me that after working so hard at it, he was able to close the #2.  I told him that was great - he then told me about going for the #3.  I told him if he works hard he can do it.  Just for fun, I happened to have my #3 in the car.... I gave it to him and said, "Here's your chance".  Needless to say, he has a long road ahead if he plans to close the #3!    :)

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Guest Daniel J

Last year I offered a cupcake to any student in the middle school who could bend a #40 nail. I actually got one. Very cool. (No, it wasn't really announced over the inetrcom or in the daily bullietns, but the kids knew where to go to try for the cupcake) Not quite a 50% discount but still a good prize.

(Edited by Daniel J at 10:08 pm on Nov. 4, 2001)

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Guest kINGPIN

That is a brilliant story Snott, it is always good to see people making progress.  I hope that one day something similar will happen to me but no one here has even heard of IronMind!!!

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