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When to get grippers rated


devinhoo

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I posed this question to the r/GripTraining reddit as well, but I'm curious as to your responses as well.

When is it worth it to get grippers rated versus just using the averages from the CPW rating chart? I used a lablemaker to put "rgc ~##" on the bottom of my Heavy Grips so I wouldn't have to look it up every time, but at what point is it worth it to have grippers rated/buy pre-rated grippers?

 

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If you don't have any rated grippers and have several grippers in your collection, it may be a good idea to get them rated now so you have some ratings to start with. After that, you can compare future unrated grippers to those rated grippers to have a bit of an idea where they're at. I started buying pre-rated grippers after i got my first grippers (COC 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3) rated.  They're pretty much all I would buy after that unless there were sales going on. Heavy Grips can vary A LOT. My 300 is 134. After you've got some rated grippers and if you still accumulate unrated grippers, it's up to you when you want to send them in to get rated if at all. I think my last shipment I sent to get rated was 17 grippers lol.

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46 minutes ago, devinhoo said:

I posed this question to the r/GripTraining reddit as well, but I'm curious as to your responses as well.

When is it worth it to get grippers rated versus just using the averages from the CPW rating chart? I used a lablemaker to put "rgc ~##" on the bottom of my Heavy Grips so I wouldn't have to look it up every time, but at what point is it worth it to have grippers rated/buy pre-rated grippers?

 

Ratings are helpful only for comparison...OR if you are planning on certing a gripper. 

Whether MM Ladder or Captain of Crush (GHP's ratings don't actually matter for the cert), if you work with rated grippers, you have an idea how close to being ready for your cert you are. 

I actually didn't own a rated gripper until AFTER I closed my first #3 (deep set).

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I'm new to grippers, so for now I only have the HG 100, 150, 200, and a CoC#2.

When I go to buy a CoC#3 I'm going to get the hardest pre-rated CoC#3 that CPW has, however that's still a while off as I just closed my first CoC#2. I'm thinking that until then to just buy more HG's to train with and use those to progress, and track my progress against the CPW averages until then. I'm just curious if it would be worth it to get any of the HG's rated. If I get anything "better" than a HG I'll probably go about getting it rated.

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26 minutes ago, devinhoo said:

I'm new to grippers, so for now I only have the HG 100, 150, 200, and a CoC#2.

When I go to buy a CoC#3 I'm going to get the hardest pre-rated CoC#3 that CPW has, however that's still a while off as I just closed my first CoC#2. I'm thinking that until then to just buy more HG's to train with and use those to progress, and track my progress against the CPW averages until then. I'm just curious if it would be worth it to get any of the HG's rated. If I get anything "better" than a HG I'll probably go about getting it rated.

The hardest #3 you can find is going to feel like a brick when you just are barely closing a #2. You might want to get an in between gripper too.

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9 minutes ago, king crusher said:

The hardest #3 you can find is going to feel like a brick when you just are barely closing a #2. You might want to get an in between gripper too.

When I first barely closed a 2, I had a then-unrated 2.5 and 3, and they felt near impossible -- it almost discouraged me from thinking I could ever get there.  It later turned out the 2.5 was rated 132, and the 3 was rated 153; both of them on the hard side, although not outrageous.  It took 6 more months to be able to close that 2.5 (much of which time I wasn't sure I ever would, but now I can rep it quite easily and have TNS closed it on occasion).  Two years later, and I STILL haven't been able to get that 3.  I have closed lots of easier 3s, and once even a 3 rated 153, but not that one, dammit!  So get the hardest 3, but find yourself something to shoot for before that, or you may just turn yourself off.

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Yeah, I imagine I have quite a bit of work between the CoC#2 and the #3, and to bridge the gap my plan is to get the Heavy Grips 250, 300, (and 350 as a set, thanks Amazon). But is it worth it to get those rated? Or spend the money on nicer grippers and have them rated?

Edited by devinhoo
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9 minutes ago, devinhoo said:

Yeah, I imagine I have quite a bit of work between the CoC#2 and the #3, and to bridge the gap my plan is to get the Heavy Grips 250, 300, (and 350 as a set, thanks Amazon). But is it worth it to get those rated? Or spend the money on nicer grippers and have them rated?

My HG 250/300 are both in between my 2 and both my 3's so they will be good in between grippers. My hg350 is harder than both my 3's I personally wouldn't get them rated but it's up to you

Edited by king crusher
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3 hours ago, king crusher said:

My HG 250/300 are both in between my 2 and both my 3's so they will be good in between grippers. My hg350 is harder than both my 3's I personally wouldn't get them rated but it's up to you

That's kind of what I'm thinking. Get more HG's, but don't get them rated. I may try and snag a used gripper from CPW if there's one for cheap in the range that I need, but otherwise just use the HG's as a workhorse to get me where I need to be.

The limiting factor is that I'm in medical school and don't have a lot of spare cash. Grip is already an expensive hobby, so I'm torn between continuing to splurge, or trying to actually be frugal for once. 😅

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Just saw this. Even though I could rate any of my grippers at any time, I tend to only rate goal grippers. 

Otherwise all my workouts are designed by sets and reps. Like if I want to do negatives, and the gripper pops open more than about 1/8”, the rating doesn’t matter, the gripper is too heavy. It’s all about quality and you don’t need ratings for that.....usually.

The other time it has helped me was when I was stuck on a gripper. Knowing the rating helped me target something to help get unstuck. But filing a gripper you can already close can serve the same purpose. 

If I’m analyzing our customer base... I would say people simply get ratings according to their own preferences.  Whatever strikes their fancy. Outside of that there really is no “should”.

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45 minutes ago, Cannon said:

Just saw this. Even though I could rate any of my grippers at any time, I tend to only rate goal grippers. 

Otherwise all my workouts are designed by sets and reps. Like if I want to do negatives, and the gripper pops open more than about 1/8”, the rating doesn’t matter, the gripper is too heavy. It’s all about quality and you don’t need ratings for that.....usually.

The other time it has helped me was when I was stuck on a gripper. Knowing the rating helped me target something to help get unstuck. But filing a gripper you can already close can serve the same purpose. 

If I’m analyzing our customer base... I would say people simply get ratings according to their own preferences.  Whatever strikes their fancy. Outside of that there really is no “should”.

I appreciate the feedback, especially coming from the person I would be contacting about rating grippers for me. I got feedback a bunch of the big names, Jedd Johnson, Clay Edgin, and Lucas Raymond. They all said that when in doubt, err on the side of getting grippers rated, but to buy better grippers than HG's.

So tl;dr moving forward I'm just going to buy (pre-rated) CoC's and GHP's and have them rated if they aren't already. Having a few shitty HG's to warm up isn't going to hurt me, but it's not going to get me as far alone.

I guess now the (much easier) question is, what to shoot for next. 😂

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On 1/16/2019 at 8:47 PM, devinhoo said:

my plan is to get the Heavy Grips 250, 300, (and 350 as a set

my HG250 is close to the #2 so you don't really need it, the 300 is closer to the #3 and 350 is close to #3.5.
so you wont get much use out of that package + HG ratings vary a lot.
get either a rated #2.5 so you can finally realize how weak or strong your grippers are, or an adjustable silvis gripper since they offer the best value for money.


also you can always change your training routine instead of buying a new gripper, do more negatives, more reps, wider starting position, file the gripper, move your hand up closer to the spring, use only 3 fingers, etc...

Edited by Mohamed Diab
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Yeah, I've decided against getting any more HG's at this point 😅. Jedd Johnson gave me a talking' to on Facebook about the quality of HG's compared to other brands.. I'll keep the ones I have for warm ups, but I'll get better grippers from here on out. Since I already have a CoC#2 I'll probably get a GHP 5 and a GHP 6, have them rated, and then see where the gaps in rgc's are before getting a CoC#3 as a more long term goal.

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I love my HGs and I will die on this hill. 

They are inexpensive and have been absolute workhorses.  My HG150 is probably my gripper with the most reps.  Tens of thousands for sure.  I have never felt bad about filing or abusing them.  They show up for the workout like any other gripper.  And tend to have lighter knurling which is good for the amount of reps I'm putting on them. 

From a reliability standpoint, I have not found the ratings to be more variable than any other brand.  The one thing I will say is I see them lose spread on the first rep (literally) more than other brands.  If you were to take a rating before adding any reps and then after, you could see a big drop if it was one that lost spread.  But this is also one of the reasons why CPW puts quite a few reps on a gripper prior to rating.  The final rating should be stable similar to other brands.  But even if the gripper loses spread, it's not broken.  It's just narrow.  Narrow grippers are a thing.. and useful.  I have a narrow HG300 which is also top 5 for me as far as grippers with the most reps. 

All of this is strictly my opinion.  But I feel like a lot of people bag on HGs without good reason.  I totally understand not liking them as a matter of preference, but that doesn't make them "crap."  I think they are a great value.   

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When you have more than 10 grippers, you probably shouldn't get any more unless they are rated (or rare.)

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On 1/22/2019 at 11:12 AM, wobbler said:

When you have more than 10 grippers, you probably shouldn't get any more unless they are rated (or rare.)

I only have 4 now, and I only anticipate getting another 3-4... and probably have them all rated.

This is more of an @ everyone question, but what's an optimal jump in RGC? I say optimal versus ideal because I know that it would be ideal to have them every 5 RGC, but I'm a broke medical student. 😂

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On 1/22/2019 at 9:27 AM, Cannon said:

I love my HGs and I will die on this hill. 

They are inexpensive and have been absolute workhorses.  My HG150 is probably my gripper with the most reps.  Tens of thousands for sure.  I have never felt bad about filing or abusing them.  They show up for the workout like any other gripper.  And tend to have lighter knurling which is good for the amount of reps I'm putting on them. 

From a reliability standpoint, I have not found the ratings to be more variable than any other brand.  The one thing I will say is I see them lose spread on the first rep (literally) more than other brands.  If you were to take a rating before adding any reps and then after, you could see a big drop if it was one that lost spread.  But this is also one of the reasons why CPW puts quite a few reps on a gripper prior to rating.  The final rating should be stable similar to other brands.  But even if the gripper loses spread, it's not broken.  It's just narrow.  Narrow grippers are a thing.. and useful.  I have a narrow HG300 which is also top 5 for me as far as grippers with the most reps. 

All of this is strictly my opinion.  But I feel like a lot of people bag on HGs without good reason.  I totally understand not liking them as a matter of preference, but that doesn't make them "crap."  I think they are a great value.   

I kind of have to agree. I got my first HG way back in like 04 I think from Clay Edgin.  I was trying to find something to bridge the gap between the 2 and 3 and that hg250 is actually a beast. It has a much wider spread than the newer HG grippers and it has been reliable for all these years. I now have the hg 300 and 350 and I like that they have a narrower spread and smoother knurling.  Makes for a different feel.

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2 hours ago, devinhoo said:

I only have 4 now, and I only anticipate getting another 3-4... and probably have them all rated.

This is more of an @ everyone question, but what's an optimal jump in RGC? I say optimal versus ideal because I know that it would be ideal to have them every 5 RGC, but I'm a broke medical student. 😂

The optimal jump in rgc is... to do all other types of grip work. Extensor bands, dex balls, flask and blockbuster, ironmind hub, 2, 2.5, 3" rolling handles, maybe a wrist wrench, and some blobs or 3-5 10's plate pinches. It's going to be really difficult to progress with only grippers. You can try but you will mess up your elbows and regret ignoring the other aspects sooner rather than later.

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9 hours ago, devinhoo said:

I only have 4 now, and I only anticipate getting another 3-4... and probably have them all rated.

This is more of an @ everyone question, but what's an optimal jump in RGC? I say optimal versus ideal because I know that it would be ideal to have them every 5 RGC, but I'm a broke medical student. 😂

There's more to it than just the rating. Spread of handles, size of handles, knurling and even construction of the spring.

If everything is the same I would say:

10-15 lbs for beginners.
5 lbs for intermediate.
2-3 lbs for advanced.

Just keep in mind that even grippers from the same manufacturer can have very different spread and thus feel very different even if the rating is the same.

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9 hours ago, wobbler said:

The optimal jump in rgc is... to do all other types of grip work. Extensor bands, dex balls, flask and blockbuster, ironmind hub, 2, 2.5, 3" rolling handles, maybe a wrist wrench, and some blobs or 3-5 10's plate pinches. It's going to be really difficult to progress with only grippers. You can try but you will mess up your elbows and regret ignoring the other aspects sooner rather than later.

That's really fair advice. I actually have a reasonable background in grip prior to grippers, and they're actually one of the last things to add to my collection. I have an RT, a Napalm's nightmare (with pinch blocks too), a Moontop, three different hubs, IM extensor bands, and a set of highland rings. I'm honestly pretty flush with grip training throughout my training week, so I'm having to squeeze (no pun intended) to get the grippers in. I got into grip through climbing, so I'm pretty familiar with lateral (and medial) epicondylitis. 😓 

3 hours ago, Fist of Fury said:

There's more to it than just the rating. Spread of handles, size of handles, knurling and even construction of the spring.

If everything is the same I would say:

10-15 lbs for beginners.
5 lbs for intermediate.
2-3 lbs for advanced.

Just keep in mind that even grippers from the same manufacturer can have very different spread and thus feel very different even if the rating is the same.

Those are the kind of numbers I was looking for. I'm pretty comfortable feeling like I'm still in the beginner phase, as I've only been working with grippers for about a month now and can only close the CoC#2.


Unfortunately what you're saying that means that I might be looking more at slower progression (in average RGC) of 105 (CoC2) to 115 (GHP5) to 125 (CoC2.5) to 135 (GHP6) to 140 (???) to 145(???) to 150 (CoC3)... which is twice as many grippers as I was hoping it would be. That's $150 in gyppers and another $30 to have them all rated. 😕


How unreasonable would it be to go 105 (CoC2) to 120 (RB210) to 135 (GHP6) to 145 (???) to 150 (CoC3)? That's only about $100 in grippers and only $20 to have them all rated. $120 versus $180? I might be able to pinch pennies in the long run if I just wait out @Cannon's used gripper sales, but that doesn't really seem like an efficient way to progress if I'm waiting on someone else to return a gripper.

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27 minutes ago, devinhoo said:

How unreasonable would it be to go 105 (CoC2) to 120 (RB210) to 135 (GHP6) to 145 (???) to 150 (CoC3)? That's only about $100 in grippers and only $20 to have them all rated. $120 versus $180? I might be able to pinch pennies in the long run if I just wait out @Cannon's used gripper sales, but that doesn't really seem like an efficient way to progress if I'm waiting on someone else to return a gripper.

I would argue that you could get by with less if you were willing to file them gradually.  I more or less got to the #3 with a CoC1, CoC2 and a Super Master.  There were other grippers that came and went but only played a small role.  What you're suggesting above is not unreasonable at all.  The only thing I would recommend is that you get some other gripper for the RB210 slot.  Maybe a Hybrid 180 or a lighter #2.5.  That is going to be a critical slot in the sequence and I would not personally want a regular RB gripper filling that slot.  If you were going to get a single RB in that whole sequence, I would put it in the 145 slot.  

(Also, I wasn't positive what you meant about "waiting on someone else to return a gripper."  Most of the used grippers are lots that we buy from people, not returns to the store.  But, maybe to your point, we don't know when we will acquire more or where they will come from.)

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Those "gd iron grip" adjustables have a pretty good feel, and you can grind the handle stop so they close completely on all but the hardest 1-2 settings  (the spring coils bind.) If you get the one with the little bolt on handle extensions, there's some smallish progressions.

Definitely a budget friendly option.

 

Edited by wobbler
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Cannon,  quick CoC question.  I was reading that it's rare to have the older double stamp grippers with the newer chrom-ish looking gr8 springs. Is that correct? My #4 fits that description. 

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2 hours ago, Cannon said:

I would argue that you could get by with less if you were willing to file them gradually.  I more or less got to the #3 with a CoC1, CoC2 and a Super Master.  There were other grippers that came and went but only played a small role.  What you're suggesting above is not unreasonable at all.  The only thing I would recommend is that you get some other gripper for the RB210 slot.  Maybe a Hybrid 180 or a lighter #2.5.  That is going to be a critical slot in the sequence and I would not personally want a regular RB gripper filling that slot.  If you were going to get a single RB in that whole sequence, I would put it in the 145 slot.  

(Also, I wasn't positive what you meant about "waiting on someone else to return a gripper."  Most of the used grippers are lots that we buy from people, not returns to the store.  But, maybe to your point, we don't know when we will acquire more or where they will come from.)

My only concern with filing them myself is that at that point I feel like I would be swinging wildly with respect to individual RGC's. At that point I'm likely to really venture into the weeds and try to rate them myself by tying them to a squat rack and hanging weight from them 😅

Why not the RB? Going off your current used grippers for sale, I could get a used 260N rated 122 and a used CoC3 rated 150 (so I have a long term goal in hand). I also found a used CoC on eBay rated 143 that would work for the second to last spot. Top that off with an GHP 6, and that would give me ~107, 122, ~135, 143, and 150.

I'm also happy to follow up with you via email, as I'm starting to get somewhat overly detailed now.

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3 hours ago, devinhoo said:

That's really fair advice. I actually have a reasonable background in grip prior to grippers, and they're actually one of the last things to add to my collection. I have an RT, a Napalm's nightmare (with pinch blocks too), a Moontop, three different hubs, IM extensor bands, and a set of highland rings. I'm honestly pretty flush with grip training throughout my training week, so I'm having to squeeze (no pun intended) to get the grippers in. I got into grip through climbing, so I'm pretty familiar with lateral (and medial) epicondylitis. 😓 

Those are the kind of numbers I was looking for. I'm pretty comfortable feeling like I'm still in the beginner phase, as I've only been working with grippers for about a month now and can only close the CoC#2.


Unfortunately what you're saying that means that I might be looking more at slower progression (in average RGC) of 105 (CoC2) to 115 (GHP5) to 125 (CoC2.5) to 135 (GHP6) to 140 (???) to 145(???) to 150 (CoC3)... which is twice as many grippers as I was hoping it would be. That's $150 in gyppers and another $30 to have them all rated. 😕


How unreasonable would it be to go 105 (CoC2) to 120 (RB210) to 135 (GHP6) to 145 (???) to 150 (CoC3)? That's only about $100 in grippers and only $20 to have them all rated. $120 versus $180? I might be able to pinch pennies in the long run if I just wait out @Cannon's used gripper sales, but that doesn't really seem like an efficient way to progress if I'm waiting on someone else to return a gripper.

It totally depends on how good genetics you have and how smart you train. For most people with average genetics the difference between 140 and 150 is very big.

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