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Measuring Hand Fatigue & Over Training.


KBI

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I still can't get a grasp of this when it comes to hand training.. Very different from other body parts.. Last yr I trained for 3 months.. I over trained.. My fingers were sore everyday.. I also do manual labor at work. I did the HG250 for 17 reps.. But at times I could barely do 5. I stopped out of frustration. 2 months ago, out of curiosity I tried the HG250 & did 24 reps.. I was shocked. I made gains without working my gripper for 9 month.. I use my hands daily, but never at the intensity of my grip training.. I lowered my exercises to 2-3.. & only gripping twice a week. 6 weeks later I crushed the HG300 for 2 reps. Negatives & training your ring & pinkie finger separately really helps. I also rested 4 days before trying it.

Edited by kool bubba ice
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I found something similar. When I started grip training, I was addicted to it worked out every day. At first, I progressed due to become more and more familiar with the technique. However, after I reached CoC #2 for right hand, my progress slowed down. After wasting my time for a couple more months, doing the same workouts day after day, I turned to a 3 days a week program. This improved my gains, but I reached a plateau rather quickly. Now, I do grip training only 2 days a week and have been seeing consistent gains. I think it's important to look at grip training similarly to other body parts. Though forearms tend to take longer to overtrain, I still think that training too often is not good for most people. Of course, everyone is different, and I'm just illustrating what worked for me.

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I found something similar. When I started grip training, I was addicted to it worked out every day. At first, I progressed due to become more and more familiar with the technique. However, after I reached CoC #2 for right hand, my progress slowed down. After wasting my time for a couple more months, doing the same workouts day after day, I turned to a 3 days a week program. This improved my gains, but I reached a plateau rather quickly. Now, I do grip training only 2 days a week and have been seeing consistent gains. I think it's important to look at grip training similarly to other body parts. Though forearms tend to take longer to overtrain, I still think that training too often is not good for most people. Of course, everyone is different, and I'm just illustrating what worked for me.

This is an excellent point. I think I have been overtraining with grippers as I have been at the same point for what seems like months.

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It helps to keep a log of workouts. When you always feel tired going into a grip workout look at your log. Has progress gone the wrong direction? That's a sign you need a break. You only get stronger on rest days when the muscle can grow. I like to take 1 week off every 2 months to keep from overdoing it. I also try to come back with a slightly different routine to keep from going stale.

Edited by daniel reinard
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MOST everyone overtrains their grip!

You can gain more with 1 set (low volume) of

high intensity (key to adaptation) reps than multiple sets (high volume)

of low intensity (no need for adaptation)reps.

Adaptation is triggered by intensity, not volume of work when it comes to

strength training.

And YES, genetics has a ton to do with grip strength.

I will list the many variables if you'd like to research them.

Two of the many variables to consider are CSA (cross sectional area) of muscle fibers and

tendon insertion area. HUGE factors.

Something to think about: Have you ever wondered why some individuals progress quickly

at gripper strength while another individual performing the exact same routine, nutrition,

rest intervals, etc. progress very slowly? It all has to do with genetics. Bottom line is

that some people will and have progressed to closing a #3 gripper rather quickly while others

will never close a #3. Like it or not, this is a fact everyone has to come to grips (pun intended) with.

One last thing. Nearly any normal functioning human will progress at grip work for the first

6-10 weeks of beginning their training simply because of neural adaptations alone. Could go on forever

but I think this will spur most peoples thinking on the subject.

Hope this helps...

Edited by Mighty Joe
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I found something similar. When I started grip training, I was addicted to it worked out every day. At first, I progressed due to become more and more familiar with the technique. However, after I reached CoC #2 for right hand, my progress slowed down. After wasting my time for a couple more months, doing the same workouts day after day, I turned to a 3 days a week program. This improved my gains, but I reached a plateau rather quickly. Now, I do grip training only 2 days a week and have been seeing consistent gains. I think it's important to look at grip training similarly to other body parts. Though forearms tend to take longer to overtrain, I still think that training too often is not good for most people. Of course, everyone is different, and I'm just illustrating what worked for me.

This is a prime example of neural adaptations taking place first.

You can actually get stronger in this intial period from neural factors alone

without any increase in muscle fiber size (hypertrophy).

The increase in strength intially is from your CNS (Central Nervous System) allowing more

motor untis to fire within your existing muscle fibers. More units activated equals more

force generation which in turn equals more strength.

Now, this is where many individuals fall into a trap because they are not aware of this neural

process that takes place first. They falsely think that their intial gains were caused by

the routine they was doing or the amount of work they performed when in fact most any grip

training at all would have produced similar results initially but after the neural adaptations

take place your progress seemed to slow or stop all together. Then what most do is believe that

if they do more of the same thing they will get jump started back into progress. This is simply

not true and is counter-productive. This is what ultimately leads to overtraining.

MORE if there's interest.

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I do agree about intensity.. I did 2 sets of 2 reps with the HG300, & it had my biceps feeling sore the next day which I never experienced when doing 6-8 reps.. & felt a different kind of pump.. My wrist was also more sore then usual.. Then moving TV's, stands, fridges, etc on my off day, I could really feel what areas took most of the brunt.

Edited by kool bubba ice
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Intensity is the most important factor in training, in my opinion! Before giving the gripper a squeeze, I ALWAYS pump myself up and crush it with 110% effort. However, I think volume could be up to debate. What I see these days is that many top guys concentrate on low volume. Hey, if it works for them, why change? But remember Joe Kinney? High volume and excellent results. I think the fun part of any type of training is figuring out what works and what doesn't for YOU.

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Intensity is the most important factor in training, in my opinion! Before giving the gripper a squeeze, I ALWAYS pump myself up and crush it with 110% effort. However, I think volume could be up to debate. What I see these days is that many top guys concentrate on low volume. Hey, if it works for them, why change? But remember Joe Kinney? High volume and excellent results. I think the fun part of any type of training is figuring out what works and what doesn't for YOU.

There's reasons why high volume works for a few and not others.

Your last sentence is of utmost importance.

MORE tomorrow.

Take care...

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Intensity is the most important factor in training, in my opinion! Before giving the gripper a squeeze, I ALWAYS pump myself up and crush it with 110% effort. However, I think volume could be up to debate. What I see these days is that many top guys concentrate on low volume. Hey, if it works for them, why change? But remember Joe Kinney? High volume and excellent results. I think the fun part of any type of training is figuring out what works and what doesn't for YOU.

It's good to train both red/white twitch muscle fiber. Centric/eccentric/Full ROM. Building grip endurance is also important to developing a strong grip IMO.. I think it's short sided to just do 2-4 reps every workout.. Variety is everything, & stimulates further growth & strength. I know Steve pappin. He was a Arena bowl all star & record setter in the 90's.. I was eager to train him pro bono.. But he refused to change his workout routine he had since college.. So he was doing the same weight, reps, sets, & exercises.. I told him he needed to modify it since your body becomes accustomed to certain stimuli after a while. He refused, & his body never changed mor did he get stronger.. On a personal note, very nice guy..

Edited by kool bubba ice
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  • 13 years later...

I know this is really old but I enjoyed reading it. Maybe someone new has some input as well or not even new but after 14 years maybe different opinions. Etc.

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My hands have always been able to handle a lot from working construction. But at the same time it can cause fatigue if i'm not careful. It was harder early on when i first started really training grip. Also been doing more general contracting, so i'm not digging ditches and mixing concrete all day every day too often anymore and that helps... Although i wish I was.. 

 

Once my hands start feeling tired or not recovering like they used to and that goes on for more than a few sessions. Deload week, then I either return to where i was or drop and work my way back up. I typically train in the 1-3 rep range... Then do some light resistance high reps on a few things at the end of a session.  I'm not training for a competitions so I don't mind pulling the reins. I like being fresh, if somethings hurting I might get in the habit of performing a lift incorrectly to avoid it hurting..

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