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Ray's grip log


Raymond

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I'm not at the level where I can contribute anything meaningful here, so I thought I'd post a log to keep a record of my progress. I've done a bit of weight training in the past but I've really let it lapse because of herniated disks in my back and torn/missing cartilage in my knees and one of my hips. I started to take an interest in grip training recently just so I could do something while I'm recovering from my recent flare up with disk issues.

So today I had my first real training session with the grippers that came in the mail last week. This was more of a practice run to gauge my strength than a heavy workout, I'm a bit wary of doing too much too soon and flaring up my old injuries.

Warm up

CoC #1 - 3 sets of partial reps to get the blood flowing and then 5 full reps with my right hand and 3 with the left. I've broken a handful of fingers in both hands and damaged a bit of cartilage around the scaphoid and lunate in the past, so I'm easing into this very slowly and treading lightly for now.

Coc # 1.5  - 3 reps with my right hand and two with my left. (I didn't quite close the second rep with my left hand)

GHP #4 - 1 rep with my right hand and I did another two reps with CoC # 1.5 with my left again not quite closing the second rep (my knuckles were a bit sore doing these sets, maybe I didn't warm up enough

CoC # 2 - 1 rep with my right hand, it was very quick but I heard a click, so I'll count that as a rep 😀 Then I held it at a 3 or 4mm away from being closed for about 6 seconds. Then I did one rep on the GHP #4 with my left. Surprisingly my hands good by this point.

Then I laddered back down until I got to the Coc #1.5 in my right and the #1 in my left and almost repped out leaving a bit of juice in the tank.

I was using light extensor bands between each set and took about six minutes break between sets.

The I did 3 dead hangs in a pinch grip (chinup grip) on red fatgrips on a pullup bar. It wasn't a true pinch as my fingers were slightly above the center and my thumb was just below the center. Maybe you could call it a cheat pinch.

After that I did 2 sets of 3 reps in a mixed grip on my small diameter wrist wrench pullup bar (42mm) and 2 sets of two reps of pullups on my large diameter wrist wrench pullup bar again in a mixed grip, swapping sides on each set so both hands had a go at the tough side with both bars.

 

 

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I got some chalk yesterday, so I gave the grippers another squeeze with chalk today. The chalk made a bigger difference than I thought it would but as I have naturally sweaty palms I probably should have expected that.

After a bit of a warmup i just did mostly singles on each hand.
Coc #1, Coc #1.5, GHP #4, CoC #2 (2 quick taps from a deep set) on the right

Coc #1, Coc #1.5, GHP #4, and missed the Coc #2 on the left by about 4mm

Then I did 2 sets (5 reps) of pullups on revolving handles, single lifts with a 55mm wrist wrench - 16kg, 20kg, 24kg and 28kg both hands and single lifts with a 69mm wrist wrench - 16kg, 20kg, 24kg both hands

Double kettlebell single hand lifts 52kgs 5L 5R - 3 sets each hand

I don't have anything to work pinch, so I gripped a door in a pinch and did a few sets of pulls on the door. I also played with some of the lighter grippers between sets of lifts and pullups and almost repped out but left a few reps in the tank.

I need to make some more grip toys.

Edited by Raymond
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I've been doing a push pull routine for the last few weeks where I alternate each push set with a set of pulls mostly to get it over and done with in less than 45 mins. This was today's split. I used the 60mm pullup bar for all the weighted sets except the first & last set which I did on my regular bar with fat gripz.

10 minutes Indian club swinging, kettlebell halo's and goblet squat warmup
8 pullups on blue fat gripz
3 shoulder stands (different depths) with a press to handstand on the last rep on parallettes. I stopped a bit short of full extension on the handstand, my balance is gone.
4 pullups  @bodyweight 86kg +24kg added weight
5 clean and press 24kg kettlebell L&R
3 pullups +32kg
2 HSPU's on parallettes (wall supported)
2 pullups +40kg
3 clean and press 28kg kettlebell
1 chinup +56kg
3 shoulder stands + 1 press to handstand (parallettes)
6 pullups on blue fat gripz +16kg

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I had another play with the grippers today and made a bit of progress, after a warmup I did.

CoC#1 - 5R, 4L, #1.5 - 3R, 2L, GHP#4 2R, 1L, CoC#2 1R, 1L  (missed with the left by about 3mm), then I couldn't quite close the #2 again with the right, so I laddered back down and kept below my max reps. Between sets I did TGU's with a light kettlebell to stay warm.

After that I did pullups on the fatbar with 69mm rolling handles - 3,2,1 reps.

Then I hooked up my vertical pullup handles (40mm) and skinned the cat into a back lever then into a front lever with a few tuck lever pullups at the end for three sets. I had a break between each set of vertical handle work and played with some of the lighter grippers, again not maxing out.
 
So I got my first close with a real hold (almost 3 seconds) on the #2 for the first time and I was pretty happy with that. I was drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes while I was doing all this, I really don't think it's wise to mix addictions like that but........

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Grippers - #1 - 4R,4L  #1.5 - 3R, 3L,  GHP#4  - 2R,2l,,  #2  - 2R,1L  First close on the #2 with the left

Holle dumbbell - 3x3 deadlifts into an upright row @25kg. I need to get more plates to make this a bit more challenging.

Pullups on revolving handle bar - 5,4,3

Kettlebell C&P  - 24kg - 5R,5L,  32kg 2R,2L, HSPU's on parallettes 3 reps

WW 69mm - 20kg, 24kg, 28kg  R, missed the 28kg on the left,  WW 55mm - 28kg 4L&3R

I also did  some door pulls in a pinch grip, extensor bands and played with some of the lighter grippers between sets after I started with the Holle and finished with a near max set on each hand with #1CoC

 

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I tweaked my wrist a bit on friday, I got a bit over enthusiastic with a WW by trying to do too much too soon. I felt fine after I finished that session but the area where the lunate meets the ulna started playing up a few hours later. It's still a bit tender, so I just did a gripper session with the other hand and squeezed a plastic egg thing with the hand that I tweaked to get a bit of blood flowing in there.

#1 CoC-5 reps, #1.5 CoC-4 reps, GHP#4-2 reps, #2 CoC- 2 consecutive reps and 5 singles, missed the sixth attempt.

When I couldn't close on the #2 I played with a Holle dumbell for 6 single deadlifts with 25kg and squeezed some of the lighter grippers between lifts.

It seems like I have the #2 CoC beaten psychologically and I'll probably start filing it for a while and then take the #2.5 out it's packet when I can comfortably overcrush the #2 every time.

So I've made some good beginner gains in a few weeks which I expect to start tapering off soon. The #1 & #1.5 felt a bit like toys today but the #2.5 is still a long way off.

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We are at same level of strenght. Would be fun to track our progress together. :) I can squezze #2 4 times with right and 1 time with left hand.

Greets,
Goran

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It will be good to see how our progress goes Goran. I think the majority of people here are at a more advanced level, so having someone at the same level will be great.

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I've been reading forum and I've seen that people mostly do low rep high intensity grip trainning.  I have some powerlifting experience, nothing fancy, though I joined 1000 lbs club and I've reached advance level in my category at 40 years of age. My training program consisted of mixed low and high rep days and a deload week, and it worked. So I decided to use this approach in grip training and see the results. I was way more patient in powerlifting than now with grippers. Those little (bad word filter)ers are addictive and makes me nervous! It takes time and patience though.

I live in Slovenia (EU), so my english could be rough to read and I'm sorry about that. :)

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No problems with your English, I can read it fine.

I used to be a track sprint cyclist and I did a program very similar to a powerlifting format in the gym. I crossed the 1000lb mark  (combined squat & deadlift) without bench pressing and I was very close to the national record for the deadlift and squat a few times in training. That was in my 20's (I'm 50 now) when I still had cartilage in my knees, I just can't do those lifts now. My training evolved to be similar to yours when I started training by myself. I'd do monthly blocks and peak at the end of the of the month and then take a full week off. Then when I started the next block I'd finish at a higher 1RM than the previous month and it worked quite well for me. So I'm planning on adapting something similar to the gripper training. Form what some of the other more experienced guys here have said powerlifting formats will only get you so far with grippers, so that plan could change if I stall in my progress.

I'm taking the slow route with the grippers, with my impetuous nature I could really see myself doing too much and getting hurt.

An old guy I once knew used to tell a story about 2 Rams, the young Ram said "hey dad let's run down there and screw a few sheep", the older ram replied, "no son we'll walk down there and screw the lot".

So I don't care if it takes me a long time to get to the heavier grippers.

 

Edited by Raymond
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Something I found on youtube. Should be interesting for you too. Simple solutions for big problems. It is kind a genius.
 

 

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I took my CoC #2.5 out of the packet and rated it the other day along with another #2.5 that I got last week. They were showing 120 and 126lbs on my rating rig, so I started playing with 120 today for the first time. My left hand is still a bit sore so I'm only training the right for now.

Warm up - #1 - 3 reps, #1.5 - 2 reps, GHP4 - 1 rep

Training #2 - 1 rep 6 second hold in the closed position, #2.5 (120lbs) missed by about 9 or 10mm and held it for 6 seconds. #2.5 missed by about 6mm after setting it better (thanks @Hopefully ) held for 6 seconds, # 2.5 again missed by about 6mm, laddered back down through the lighter grippers and stopped a few reps short of maxing out on each. All from a wide set.

Extensor bands and Hindu squats between sets.

So that light No 2.5 is still some way off but I hope I'll have the bastard in a month or so.

Edited by Raymond
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It is very interesting how close in strength we are. I can manage to close 2.5 to approximately the same distance (10mm). And here is my approach to trainning. Last week I tested my max. This week I am doing high reps with coc 1 (3 sets of 12-15 reps) plus 2 sets 4 to 7 reps with my coc 1.5. I have 4 trainning days this week. I am turning around a gripper  each time I do it with left hand (dog leg is away from my palm in left hand) so my hands are of equal strength. Next week I will do only low reps with coc 1.5.  Four times a week. And the week after I will again try my max with 2.5. Then I will repead a cycle or add a deload week if necessary with only 3 trainning days. I hope this will work in long term.

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The idea is this. I've noticed that trainnig with #2 is too tasking for me. Maybe it is a hard #2 or maybe not I don't know. But I feel that man should begin use the #2 when he's preparing for #3. Otherwise it is very hard on nervous system. I trained similary in powerlifting and it worked. Ofcourse that apply for intermediate squeezers I suppose. Later on when I will hopefully work on no #3 I will have to make changes. Maybe even before that.

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I was planning to use a powerlifting format for my gripper training too and I still do to a certain extent. I started a thread on it a few days ago and the general consensus seemed to be that a powerlifting format is OK but it will only get you so far with grippers. Pushing to the maximum almost seems to be a staple with grippers, so I've included a challenge gripper as some of the more experienced guys have suggested. Coming from a track/sprint cycling background which is basically powerlifting in the gym the challenge gripper and pushing so close to the 1RM seems counter intuitive to me too, so I plan to train twice a week and only use the challenge gripper 1 session per week to meet in the middle of both schools of thought and hopefully not over train.

I'm using six second holds for now but I'll probably move up to eight second holds soon when I've got a bit more training under my belt I may extend that after evaluating my results (at 50 years old so 10 seconds may be too long for me) . The phosphate energy system is what drives maximal muscle contractions and most of the research I've seen suggests  that the phosphate system only lasts for 8-10 seconds before other systems start to kick in and the phosphate system runs out off fuel so to speak.

So my thinking is that I'm training for a cert which is 1 maximum effort so I'm aiming to do all of my training in the phosphate (phosphagen) zone and keep out of the glycolytic zone.  I'm trying not to get too caught up on reps and focusing more on quality time in that phosphate zone right now.

Edited by Raymond
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The left hand is still sore, I broke it late last year and I've aggravated it again and I can't do much crushing with it for now, so it was mostly a right handed session today.

Warmup - Coc #1 - 4 reps,  CoC # 1.5 - 3 reps GHP4 - 2 reps

Training - CoC #2 - 3,3,3 2 and a 5 second hold on the last rep
CoC # 2.5 (126lbs) 2 max efforts missed by about 6mm the first time and about 8mm the second time, 6 second holds.
CoC #2 - 3 x 6 second holds, laddered back down through the lighter grippers almost maxing out.

Hindu squats and extensor bands between sets

Kettlebell clean and press (right hand) 24kg x8, 28kg x5, 32kg x3
Kettlebell overhead press, left hand, I had to rack it with my right so I didn't tweak the sore hand again 16kg x 15, 20kg x 12, 16kg x 15
 
Pullups - 8 reps x 2 using 2 fingers to grip with the sore hand.

2 sets of inverted single hand rows maybe?, I don't know if they were legit. I posted a vid in the summer of rows thread. So if they weren't legit I just played with myself for two sets.

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My lefty is almost healed now, I've been smashing the glycine and vitamin C over the last week and it seems to have helped a lot. There's no pain there now but I decided to give it another few days before I start squeezing grippers with it to be sure and just squeezed an egg to get a bit of blood flowing in there today.

Right hand grippers
Warmup - CoC #1 - 3 reps, CoC #1.5 - 2,  GHP4 -1

Training
Coc #2 - 7 second hold x 3,  CoC # 2.5 - 7 second hold x 2,  CoC #2 - 3 reps. I'm making a bit of progress and got the #2.5 to about 3 or 4mm from a full close. All from a wide set.

Hindu squats and extensor bands between working sets

Laddered back down through the lighter grippers not maxing out. I still felt fresh so I tried a few narrow sets with the #2.5 and just missed so I'm moving in the right direction but I'm not strong enough to crush it yet.

Edited by Raymond
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I did a gripper session today and started some light work with my left hand to test the waters and see how it responds over the next 24 hours. I bought a CoC trainer to get some light reps in while I'm in rehab mode. I was using my heavier CoC 2.5 today, which is really fairly light, I rated it at 126lbs

Warmup - Trainer - 6 R&L, CoC #1 - 5R, 3L, CoC #1.5  -4R, GHP 4 - 3R

Training - CoC #2 -4,3,3 CoC #2.5 - 3 x7second holds, missed by about 5mm, CoC #2.5 - 3x7 second holds, couldn't hold it fully closed on the last rep.

Laddered back down through the lighter grippers stopping short of failure. Then I tried a mms with the 2.5 and missed by about 3mm

Squat Mae Geri's, pushups  and extensor between sets of grippers.

3x5 Ice cream makers

I just played with the trainer and the CoC#1 with the left hand to get a bit of light work in between sets with the right hand.

 

Edited by Raymond
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47 minutes ago, Hopefully said:

Can you do a front lever? 5 ice creams is pretty good

I can do a quick shaky front lever, I did a few levers a few weeks ago for the first time in years and my form is gone but I can still squeeze a few ugly reps out.

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I've haven't trained much this week because I've been building benches in one of my sheds and trying to get some sense of order out there. I did a deadlift of sorts when I was parked in at the hardware store yesterday, I had to lift the arse end of a loaded box trailer and move it sideways so I could get the F'ing car out. I went to pay for the timber and when I got back I was parked in at both ends and the drivers were gone. I sumo deadlifted my big toolbox which weighs about 110kg)  twice too. I haven't deadlifted anything for over 20 years so I was happy with that.

I've been doing a 100 rep challenge on another website where you have to do 50 bodtweight squats and 50 pushups. So I did that today & threw in few fat gripz pullups, vertical bar pullups and a few kettlebell clean & presses with a 24kg bell. I haven't trained anything over ten reps much at all for years, most of my training is normally under 8 reps so I hope that 100 rep challenge doesn't detract from normal training.

My 13 YO son started playing with a CoC trainer 3 days ago and he can close it consistently with both hands after I showed him how to set it tonight. He will be stronger than me by the time he's 16 or 17.  My Mrs almost closed the trainer with both hands on her first attempt too.

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Strong family you got there!

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4 hours ago, EricMilfeld said:

Strong family you got there!

Thanks Eric!

I did another grip session today. It took me a few sets just to get switched on & I never really got fired up properly. I think all the grip intensive stuff I've done in the last few days and the 100 rep bodyweight challenge I've been doing must have taken a bit more out of the 50 YO bag of bones than I expected. I was doing bodyweight squats and pushups between sets, the squats seemed to help the grip but the pushups detracted from it. I might have to do the pushups at the end of the session from now on.

So I did the same format as the last few sessions and missed the #2.5 CoC by about 6mm and the best I could do with a MMS missed by about 3mm.😯

Then I did a few Holle dumbbell rows for the thumb and tried a plate pinch for the first time ever. I got a few good reps with a 50lb plate that's flat on both sides that I got at a yard sale a few weeks ago. It's a super smooth thing and I can't lift it without chalk but a bit of chalk made it possible.

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