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Gripmas 2019


Tank Andrade

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2 hours ago, climber511 said:

Everyone has their favorite and least favorite way of closing grippers.  Gripmas has a long tradition of "different" methods - and no matter which I held, people fussed and feuded about it - most of it was done by people not even planning on attending the contest.  They fussed about this and then that but instead they might decide to just do the best they can.  In the end the promoter has to decide "something" and go with it.  The contest is having TNS Grippers - attend or not - I haven't heard one peep from the guys most likely to win the whole thing. You know you actually could quit worrying about it and train TNS grippers - who knew?

Hate TNS. But training it now. Sometimes you gotta do the stuff you dont like to do the stuff you do. 

 

2 hours ago, Joseph Sullivan said:

I sacrifice points every time I’m in a contest because I do not set and only want to close them that way.. but I still show up .... I always TNS or no set. For once, the shoe is not on my foot.

I don’t understand big joe. As long as the card/block passes through the handles it’s considered set no? So being tns primary you should be good to go regardless. 

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23 minutes ago, KapMan said:

Hate TNS. But training it now. Sometimes you gotta do the stuff you dont like to do the stuff you do. 

 

I don’t understand big joe. As long as the card/block passes through the handles it’s considered set no? So being tns primary you should be good to go regardless. 

Yes I am good to go.... but I did 155  no set at the last 20 mm block set comp. the ones that set best me with a 162 that I just missed by the thickness of a credit card... that is my fault totally....a lot of guys can close a lot more than that at a 20mm block set with the pre close than I can no set. It’s just facts. I hope to be strong enough no set one day to not have that happen. Since there is no money or fame in this, I am gonna continue to do that, and the stronger I get, the sweeter the satisfaction will be for me to pick up such heavy grippers with one hand and CLICK!!! 😉

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3 hours ago, Goran Paulinič said:

Well, ok. But still those who can begin with all fingers have advantage. TNS is not fair. Even if only 1 % can start with all fingers they have best chances.

But that is like saying it is not fair that someone is stronger than you.  I am small and I have 7.5 inch hands.  When I TNS, I can't get my pinky on the gripper until I start it with the top three fingers.  I use my pinky to hold the handle as deep in my palm as I can while the other three fingers start closing, then shift the pinky to help finish the close.  My max close this way ever was a 132-rated 2.5, more typically I miss that by a little and can get a 127 TNS.  Meanwhile, my max with a set is 153, and typically on any given day I can MMS a 147.  So I am going to lose about 20 pounds of close by having to do it TNS.  And I am also never going to close a 3.5 or 4, because I just can't, by any method.  That's not unfair.  It's just mechanics and biology.  If someone else's body makes that relatively less difficult, so then this is their event.  Yippee for them, as they are just as annoyed when everyone else gets to eliminate their relative advantage by setting it away.  It isn't a question of fairness that the event is one that is hard for you.  It is just an event that is hard for you.  For someone else, this one is great and something else is relatively hard. 

I TOTALLY understand that you don't LIKE it because it is harder, and you wish it was not TNS.  Similarly, I hate cross bar lifts because I am short and a cross bar is usually FURTHER than lockout for me.  That does not make it unfair though.  It just means I am going to do relatively worse on cross bar lifts and better on lockout lifts.  So be it.  I will show up, do my best, and have fun either way.  It isn't the promoter's job to choose the best events for one or another type of competitor, just to choose the events, period.

Not trying to be a dick to you, either.  But these guys do a LOT of work setting up comps, and it is not going to be the ideal set of events (no pun intended there, tee hee) for every competitor.  Let's go have fun!  Hope you will be there, will share some TNS tips with you if you are!

Vinnie

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5 hours ago, Tank Andrade said:

I will have a huge variety of gripper ratings and brands. And varying spreads. Its all part of the game gentlemen. I have 7.5" hands and my crush is pathetic. Lets have some fun guys.  Gripmas will always have a "strange crush event " ala Mr. Rice. 😀

Variations in spread should be kept to a minimum for competition grippers, regardless of what set you use. A gripper with a 75 mm spread will be much harder than a gripper with 65 mm spread even if they have the exact same rating at the close.

Narrow grippers should never be used in competitions (for records) and they aren't because everyone knows about this fact.

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15 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

But that is like saying it is not fair that someone is stronger than you.  I am small and I have 7.5 inch hands.  When I TNS, I can't get my pinky on the gripper until I start it with the top three fingers.  I use my pinky to hold the handle as deep in my palm as I can while the other three fingers start closing, then shift the pinky to help finish the close.  My max close this way ever was a 132-rated 2.5, more typically I miss that by a little and can get a 127 TNS.  Meanwhile, my max with a set is 153, and typically on any given day I can MMS a 147.  So I am going to lose about 20 pounds of close by having to do it TNS.  And I am also never going to close a 3.5 or 4, because I just can't, by any method.  That's not unfair.  It's just mechanics and biology.  If someone else's body makes that relatively less difficult, so then this is their event.  Yippee for them, as they are just as annoyed when everyone else gets to eliminate their relative advantage by setting it away.  It isn't a question of fairness that the event is one that is hard for you.  It is just an event that is hard for you.  For someone else, this one is great and something else is relatively hard. 

I TOTALLY understand that you don't LIKE it because it is harder, and you wish it was not TNS.  Similarly, I hate cross bar lifts because I am short and a cross bar is usually FURTHER than lockout for me.  That does not make it unfair though.  It just means I am going to do relatively worse on cross bar lifts and better on lockout lifts.  So be it.  I will show up, do my best, and have fun either way.  It isn't the promoter's job to choose the best events for one or another type of competitor, just to choose the events, period.

Not trying to be a dick to you, either.  But these guys do a LOT of work setting up comps, and it is not going to be the ideal set of events (no pun intended there, tee hee) for every competitor.  Let's go have fun!  Hope you will be there, will share some TNS tips with you if you are!

Vinnie

EXACTLY!!! This is like me saying, with my barely 8 inch hand, losing to Justin Majors near 9 inch hand is because his hand is bigger.... and it’s not fair that I’m competing on a thick bar the same size as he is.... NOPE... I just am a few pounds weaker than him! Will I not compete because of it? Because I may lose?? NOPE!! I’m gonna do my best with what I’m blessed! 

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I never do TNS, ever. I have 8” mitts and I find it hard. Grippers are equalizers of sorts, sure longer fingers help. But in the grand scheme of things long fingers only help so much.  The stress on my knuckles and the position of the palm side handle annoy me. I prefer block sets and mms set due to the wham bam thank you ma'am factor. 

 

Heres me testing the waters. Thanks to @Joseph Sullivan for the tips afterwards. 

 

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8 minutes ago, KapMan said:

I never do TNS, ever. I have 8” mitts and I find it hard. Grippers are equalizers of sorts, sure longer fingers help. But in the grand scheme of things long fingers only help so much.  The stress on my knuckles and the position of the palm side handle annoy me. I prefer block sets and mms set due to the wham bam thank you ma'am factor. 

 

Heres me testing the waters. Thanks to @Joseph Sullivan for the tips afterwards. 

 

No problem, Kap! My pleasure!

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2 hours ago, Vinnie said:

But that is like saying it is not fair that someone is stronger than you.  I am small and I have 7.5 inch hands.  When I TNS, I can't get my pinky on the gripper until I start it with the top three fingers.  I use my pinky to hold the handle as deep in my palm as I can while the other three fingers start closing, then shift the pinky to help finish the close.  My max close this way ever was a 132-rated 2.5, more typically I miss that by a little and can get a 127 TNS.  Meanwhile, my max with a set is 153, and typically on any given day I can MMS a 147.  So I am going to lose about 20 pounds of close by having to do it TNS.  And I am also never going to close a 3.5 or 4, because I just can't, by any method.  That's not unfair.  It's just mechanics and biology.  If someone else's body makes that relatively less difficult, so then this is their event.  Yippee for them, as they are just as annoyed when everyone else gets to eliminate their relative advantage by setting it away.  It isn't a question of fairness that the event is one that is hard for you.  It is just an event that is hard for you.  For someone else, this one is great and something else is relatively hard. 

I TOTALLY understand that you don't LIKE it because it is harder, and you wish it was not TNS.  Similarly, I hate cross bar lifts because I am short and a cross bar is usually FURTHER than lockout for me.  That does not make it unfair though.  It just means I am going to do relatively worse on cross bar lifts and better on lockout lifts.  So be it.  I will show up, do my best, and have fun either way.  It isn't the promoter's job to choose the best events for one or another type of competitor, just to choose the events, period.

Not trying to be a dick to you, either.  But these guys do a LOT of work setting up comps, and it is not going to be the ideal set of events (no pun intended there, tee hee) for every competitor.  Let's go have fun!  Hope you will be there, will share some TNS tips with you if you are!

Vinnie

Nicely put. TNS on my unrated 2.5 is impossible at this time. I am 6'1" but have smaller hands. Crossbar is definitely an advantage for anyone taller. I feel like lockout for me especially sucks because I have really long legs and slightly shorter arms for my height. In any case, you just have to work with what you're given and train hard. Maybe us small-handed folks won't be world class, but can still have a very respectable grip on various implements

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3 hours ago, Joseph Sullivan said:

EXACTLY!!! This is like me saying, with my barely 8 inch hand, losing to Justin Majors near 9 inch hand is because his hand is bigger.... and it’s not fair that I’m competing on a thick bar the same size as he is.... NOPE... I just am a few pounds weaker than him! Will I not compete because of it? Because I may lose?? NOPE!! I’m gonna do my best with what I’m blessed! 

8 inch hands and arms the size of my legs

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3 hours ago, KapMan said:

I never do TNS, ever. I have 8” mitts and I find it hard. Grippers are equalizers of sorts, sure longer fingers help. But in the grand scheme of things long fingers only help so much.  The stress on my knuckles and the position of the palm side handle annoy me. I prefer block sets and mms set due to the wham bam thank you ma'am factor. 

 

Heres me testing the waters. Thanks to @Joseph Sullivan for the tips afterwards. 

 

Oh maybe I will post one also to get Joe's pointers.  I can definitely fail on a lighter gripper than that though lol.  Before I accidentally picked up my 147 thinking it was the 127 and was like, damn, I wasn't even close and I should be at least close on this -- then saw it was the 147 and sighed relief.  Not sure I can get even the 127 today though!

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2 minutes ago, Hopefully said:

I think 127 is really good, my crush is around #170 mms and ccs a little lower than #150 and I definitely can't do that. Around 120 maybe. 

I am really , really bad at setting.  I have done 212 on a dyno and have closed a choked (and not too heavy, maybe RGC 170-ish) 3.5, so the biggest thing stopping me from closing more than 150 is I can't set the darned things.  

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4 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

I am really , really bad at setting.  I have done 212 on a dyno and have closed a choked (and not too heavy, maybe RGC 170-ish) 3.5, so the biggest thing stopping me from closing more than 150 is I can't set the darned things.  

Just buy the vulcan with the chrome spring then you'll be a master at the set... Or you'll just quit 😂

Practice makes perfect.

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30 minutes ago, Hopefully said:

I can't set regularly either, I have given up on that. I dont really care either to be honest. 

Look up qianchen yangs videos on YT and adapt his technique. I have and can easily set my #178 3.5 using that technique. Without it setting even an average #3 is an enormous struggle for me, probably can't even do it now if I tried. 

I also recommend using wrist support bands, really saves the wrists and makes the set easier as well. I get bad pain without them after a few workouts. 

Thanks, those tips sound like they are definitely worth a try!

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49 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

Thanks, those tips sound like they are definitely worth a try!

Does he mean wrist wraps? If so, then be advised that they wouldn’t be allowed in competition.

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31 minutes ago, Hopefully said:

Yes, that's what he means. 

LOL.  Yes, I know you can't use those in competition.

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Work your thumb and fingers. I’m telling you. My chest isn't the strongest and neither are my tri of ceps. 

I can set most anything. 

 

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36 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

LOL.  Yes, I know you can't use those in competition.

Then you might not want to train that way. Make sure you train how you will compete. That extra support on the wrists may not help you when it’s game time (since you can’t wear them). I would not train sledge hammers with any wrist wraps and I would not advise them for training  grippers either if you plan on closing a max gripper in a competition  @Hopefully

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I'll still recovering but its my birthday so I feel like trash talking about grippers since this debate started......................If I was healthy, it wouldn't matter what set we used for grippers or how we tested crush (hand dyno etc.,)..............................as larry bird said in the locker room prior to the 1987 NBA 3 point shootout 'I hope all you guys in here are thinking about second place, because I’m winning this.' 😝

Edited by Chez
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10 minutes ago, Hopefully said:

I have tried, I dont understand how it's done. Tried different angles and everything, practically powerless everywhere. It messes with the quality of my training too much so I gave it up, get pissed when I have to blow a big portion of my strength on a crappy set. 

This happens often with many guys, they get frustrated and give up trying to set (looking at you Vin haha) but if you really want to go far (maximize your potential) you have to keep practicing and stick with it until it feels natural and automatic. It’s like taking one step back to take several forward. Even after years of closing grippers, if I stop practicing MMS, my set gets funky. I had to struggle for a while for it to feel so natural I didn’t even have to think while doing it. And by practicing mms your wide set goes up also so it’s a win win. Sometimes I just need to practice wide set for a cert or comp for a couple weeks prior but mms is the fastest way to increase crush strength 

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1 hour ago, Chez said:

I'll still recovering but its my birthday so I feel like trash talking about grippers since this debate started......................If I was healthy, it wouldn't matter what set we used for grippers or how we tested crush (hand dyno etc.,)..............................as larry bird said in the locker room prior to the 1987 NBA 3 point shootout 'I hope all you guys in here are thinking about second place, because I’m winning this.' 😝

 

A03C2CC5-F5C3-4EFD-A55D-A0836F11892F.jpeg

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2 hours ago, KapMan said:

 

A03C2CC5-F5C3-4EFD-A55D-A0836F11892F.jpeg

 

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The most important factor in TNS is the kind of table used.  Has to be a regulation TNS table. 

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27 minutes ago, Adam Juncker said:

The most important factor in TNS is the kind of table used.  Has to be a regulation TNS table. 

Recommended brand? Ashley, IKEA? 

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