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Alex's grip log - journey from the start


Alex K

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36 minutes ago, Alexander Koss said:

Not really a workout report, but rather a "funny gripper-related story" report:

So yesterday I finished my exams and had a few friends over, it was another friends birthday. Before that we had some pizza in the city at around 7PM. At home we just sat around, had a fun time. When everyone was about to leave at probably 2:30AM, I decided to give everyone a shot at grippers. Some closed the CoC#1 (I have an ultra-weak one), some got the CoC#2 to parallel. When attempting the #3 (151lbs), they bet me that there's no way it can be closed. 

Since it was literally night time, and I hadn't eaten in a good 6 hours or so, and we had 1-2 drinks, I thought it wouldn't really work out, but I still decided to give it a go. And I closed it easily and did 5-6 clicks with it, which surprised me way more than everyone else. By my logic it was literally the most horrible time to do grippers, but somehow I was stronger than I typically was when "everything was perfect". When everyone was gone I picked the #3 up again and decided to close it from a (very) wide set, pretty close or at credit card width just for fun, and I closed it once again, very easily.

Now I have absolutely no explanation for this, but I am trying to figure it out, because my workouts have been suboptimal lately. It just felt like my forearm muscles were at 100% for some reason. Could it have been the pizza eaten 6 hours prior? Maybe I train too quickly after my meals (1-2h) and should wait for a longer time period? Do you guys know by any chance how to max out for a gripper workout the best way? 

Could be that you are stronger later at the day/night. That's the case for me. I'm always stronger when I've been awake for more than 10 hours. Especially after I have been doing some physical work. My best training sessions has always been after a long day of work. One time at work I had back pain, then went to the gym, warmed up and did really heavy db rows and it felt better than ever. Same thing with grippers, strongest workouts has always been later at night after a long day at work.

I also think that alcohol can help you with training if it's used properly. I almost never drink but I've heard stories about this and I totally believe in it. I think it can help you relax in a good way. But it should be used in the right way of course, it will not help you if you're drunk.

I actually closed a #3 once when I woke up in the middle of the night at 3 A.M. Just wanted to try it and I had the gripper in my appartment so I took the chance to try it. But at that point in time any #3 was easy for me of course, that's why I wanted to try the "I can do this in my sleep" saying, to se if it was true or not. It is true, if something is very easy for you.

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16 minutes ago, Fist of Fury said:

Could be that you are stronger later at the day/night. That's the case for me. I'm always stronger when I've been awake for more than 10 hours. Especially after I have been doing some physical work. My best training sessions has always been after a long day of work. One time at work I had back pain, then went to the gym, warmed up and did really heavy db rows and it felt better than ever. Same thing with grippers, strongest workouts has always been later at night after a long day at work.

I also think that alcohol can help you with training if it's used properly. I almost never drink but I've heard stories about this and I totally believe in it. I think it can help you relax in a good way. But it should be used in the right way of course, it will not help you if you're drunk.

I actually closed a #3 once when I woke up in the middle of the night at 3 A.M. Just wanted to try it and I had the gripper in my appartment so I took the chance to try it. But at that point in time any #3 was easy for me of course, that's why I wanted to try the "I can do this in my sleep" saying, to se if it was true or not. It is true, if something is very easy for you.

Yeah, I think you're totally right. I always have the best sessions at the end of the day. In some way it feels like my nervous system is fully aware at that time (I'm also more of a night person, barely ever sleep before 1AM).

Regarding the drinks, it was a tiny volume, more of a formal thing (for me at least), I also rarely touch alcohol, so maybe in such tiny quantities it could even have a positive effect.

I think I'll try to plan my trainings in a similar fashion now, having my last meal a while back, rested, and maybe have something sweet like a coke sometime before for the glucose. I notice that it has a very positive effect on me when it comes to grip if I have something sweet within an hour of a workout.

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Today's gripper workout:

In order to get the most efficient workout, I decided to do a very long warm up with the IM Red Bands and CoC#1, so that my hands are fresh and ready to attack some grippers. 

After doing some reps with the SG Cobalt, I did a very decent GHP8 Attempt, and continued with squeezing literally all of my grippers with no particular strategy, including Block Set closes, Wide Set, MMS with Naval Ranks Count Admiral (156), CoC#3, GHP7. All in all very decent workout, getting back in shape after all of the uni work.

Working a lot mentally kind of affects gripper work because your brain is sort of "busy" and not in the mood to squeeze stuff :D Now that I'm very free I'm hoping to get back to a decent routine. 

Edit: After posting this I also did nearly 4xMMS Reps with the Naval Ranks Count Admiral (156), which is also a PR :)

Edited by Alexander Koss
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Hyped to see you finally close the GHP8 man, The 8 is where i'd honestly start calling it 'elite' territory, Hard gripper but can tell you're closing in on it hard

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11 hours ago, Jermiah Merciconah said:

Hyped to see you finally close the GHP8 man, The 8 is where i'd honestly start calling it 'elite' territory, Hard gripper but can tell you're closing in on it hard

Yeah man I totally agree. I'm hoping to close it soon! I feel like I'm progressing consistently at my own pace, but am getting there step by step. Excited to see those handles touch :)

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GHP8 Status quo update:

DD5DF4DC-43A7-47FE-8B89-FB23A3F89A32.thumb.jpeg.523faf81eedf491558e0b5fa969b0c9b.jpeg
 

Warning: This was probably the weakest close ever, it touched for literally 2-3 frames of the video, the remainder of the time I was fighting for that last 0.2mm to close 😄 The only indicator for me was the tiny clicking sound. That’s why I browsed the video to find this.

Still, somewhat of a (barely reached) milestone! Gonna count it as a baby close for now, the manly closes will come with time too 😂

Edited by Alexander Koss
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3 minutes ago, Alexander Koss said:

GHP8 Status quo update:

DD5DF4DC-43A7-47FE-8B89-FB23A3F89A32.thumb.jpeg.523faf81eedf491558e0b5fa969b0c9b.jpeg
 

Warning: This was probably the weakest close ever, it touched for literally 2-3 frames of the video, the remainder of the time I was fighting for that last 0.2mm to close 😄 The only indicator for me was the tiny clicking sound. That’s why I browsed the video to find this.

Still, somewhat of a (barely reached) milestone! Gonna count it as a baby close for now, the manly closes will come with time too 😂

Nice work man! The ghp8 is such a tough gripper I can’t wait to get mine closed.

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1 hour ago, Nuttgens said:

Nice work man! The ghp8 is such a tough gripper I can’t wait to get mine closed.

It sure is a tough one, but with your power on those wide set closes I’m sure you must be getting it extremely soon! :)
 

Hoping to get a good and “100%” close sometime in the close future. Going to focus on rep work for now, excited to see how it works out! 

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Last workout report (2 days ago):

Had myself an epic workout with my grippers! Just didn’t have the time to prepare and upload everything due to turning 24 yesterday :D Here‘s how the workout went:

  • 3x CoC#3 (150) CCS attempts, all very close, probably ~1-2mm left. For the first time it feels very doable. Here‘s a blurry pic of it :D

FA520072-5726-4E14-8209-593ED6BBC918.thumb.jpeg.c8d85e04a7baed2f200151dc756978b7.jpeg

  • Lefty CoC#3 MMS closes.
  • CoC#2.5 CCS reps both hands.
  • CoC#2.5 MMS rep overload both hands.

Tomorrow I‘m going to do another workout! Excited to see how it goes :) 

 

Edited by Alexander Koss
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Today's workout report:

Warm up:

  • CoC#1 x5 speedreps
  • CoC#1.5 x5 speedreps
  • CoC#2 x3 CCS speedreps
  • CoC#2.5 x2 CCS speedreps

Workout:

  • CoC#3(150) CCS Attempts Right x2, getting extremely close!
  • CoC#3 MMS rep Lefty + another close attempt
  • CoC#3 x5 MMS reps right
  • CoC#2.5(126) x10-12 MMS left
  • CoC#3 x6 mini-reps (from around 15mm) right
  • CoC#2.5 CCS lefty
  • Cobalt (161) quick DS rep right

Finisher:

  • Lots of MMS and mini-reps with the CoC#3 and #2.5 :)

Here are a few highlights:

 

Edited by Alexander Koss
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2 hours ago, Alexander Koss said:

Today's workout report:

Warm up:

  • CoC#1 x5 speedreps
  • CoC#1.5 x5 speedreps
  • CoC#2 x3 CCS speedreps
  • CoC#2.5 x2 CCS speedreps

Workout:

  • CoC#3(150) CCS Attempts Right x2, getting extremely close!
  • CoC#3 MMS rep Lefty + another close attempt
  • CoC#3 x5 MMS reps right
  • CoC#2.5(126) x10-12 MMS left
  • CoC#3 x6 mini-reps (from around 15mm) right
  • CoC#2.5 CCS lefty
  • Cobalt (161) quick DS rep right

Finisher:

  • Lots of MMS and mini-reps with the CoC#3 and #2.5 :)

Here are a few highlights:

 

Strong session Alex, You're getting close to that 3 any day now

 

I just bought a Cobalt myself to be able to bridge the gap between my 3 and my GHP 8, How are you liking it, I've heard it compared to GHPs in terms of knurling

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4 hours ago, Jermiah Merciconah said:

Strong session Alex, You're getting close to that 3 any day now

 

I just bought a Cobalt myself to be able to bridge the gap between my 3 and my GHP 8, How are you liking it, I've heard it compared to GHPs in terms of knurling

Thank you! :) 
 

I personally really like Standard Grippers, due to three factors mainly:

1. Sharp knurling like on GHPs

2. Veeeery stable springs, the resistance  doesn’t change over time

3. The sweep and final close phases are very smooth, so all in all working with them is awesome :D 

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3 hours ago, Alexander Koss said:

3. The sweep and final close phases are very smooth, so all in all working with them is awesome :D 

So it doesn't feel like CoC where you close super fast and then suddenly come to a dead stop?, I think i'll like that

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21 hours ago, Jermiah Merciconah said:

So it doesn't feel like CoC where you close super fast and then suddenly come to a dead stop?, I think i'll like that

It would be pretty hard to say, I don‘t remember experiencing that with CoCs. It usually felt more like a gradual gain in resistance, but maybe it‘s model dependent. I think SG‘s are a bit smoother in that department though :)

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Grip Genies - my experience and what I can recommend:

So recently I have made a ton of purchases from @CannonPowerWorks, mainly to calibrate my measurement station to CPW numbers. This has worked out great, with a perfect correlation index of 2.234 :) 

One of the grippers I got was a Grip Genie 6 measured to be 178, mainly for fun and to check them out. It came in at a width of probably around 65-67mm, I don't remember exactly. Since I know that all chinese springs loose tons of resistance over time, I thought why not loose it all over a short period of time and have myself a gripper that's stable as a brick :D 

So I left the GG6 closed with a hose clamp for literally a week, sometimes warming up the spring a bit with a candle, but nothing extreme. I was occasionally opening it, measuring the spread to check if it's still decreasing, and tightening it back. When I saw the spread was stable, I released the GG6 from its imprisonment :D, and I was able to close it randomly the next day after a hardcore workout, which might have been the most comfortable and enjoyable close I've ever experienced. 

Why? With a narrow handle spread of just 56mm and narrower handles the gripper fits very comfortably in my hand. I measured it this morning, and the rating is incredible: 162 CPW!

 Here's my new cute narrow GG6:

IMG_4037.thumb.jpg.8b7c10d205a42ecc26774d0b85decafa.jpgIMG_4045.thumb.jpg.e5cfed7b34ad7a8e0e05d02cb8a385ca.jpg

Personal advantages I found for myself:

1. Small spread, so it's a different feel, and a valuable training tool

2. My GG6 has somewhat sharper knurling on one handle, and softer on the other. This is probably due to different batches of handles being mounted on this one gripper. However, I'll use it for my advantage to do rep work without excessively damaging the skin of my fingers, and have the sharper knurled side on the inside of my palm :) 

3. Narrower handles allow for a "deeper" squeeze, which I feel is what I sometimes lack with CCS closes when the gripper is further in the palm (unless you have very large hands)

4. Looks cute af

All of this lead me to believe that, although it's not a GHP, SG or CoC, it's much better than the chinese grippers I've crossed paths with back in late 2020 when I first checked out grip. At the same time, the "unstable" spring can be stabilized perfectly well at a lower resistance by using choker methods. I can bet that my GG6 won't go below the 160s in forever.

I was a big skeptic regarding Grip Genies for many reasons, but I believe now that I've acquired a great tool for my training.

And all in all, the mentality here is: turn the "bad" into "good" and use it for your advantages!

P.S. definitely getting a GG5 for rep work as well, guessing it'll drop to high 130s after some choker time :)

Edited by Alexander Koss
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Some highlights from today’s workout :):

The rest of the workout mainly consisted of:

  • CoC#3 MMS Reps Left+Right
  • CoC#3 Mini-Reps
  • GG6 MMS Reps
Edited by Alexander Koss
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Damn where you finding a 162 GG6, Mine's like high 180s xD, Its interesting how much more affected the chinese springs are to heat and choker force compared to GHP and CoC gR8 springs

Edited by Jermiah Merciconah
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1 hour ago, Jermiah Merciconah said:

Damn where you finding a 162 GG6, Mine's like high 180s xD, Its interesting how much more affected the chinese springs are to heat and choker force compared to GHP and CoC gR8 springs

Yeah! It went from 178 to 162! But the good news is, it’s funnily enough now probably way more stable than my CoCs and GHPs…

By the way, CoCs and GHPs are affected by heat as well. My GHP8 went from 180 to 169. GHP9 went from 217 to 200! Again, nothing extreme, no heat that could even harm the glue was used, just occasionally warming up the spring with a candle to speed up the relaxation processes. The big difference between a regular CoC/GHP and a GG would be that without the heat influence, the CoC will lose around 2-5lbs of rating in like a year, a GHP would probably lose below 1-2lbs if any at all (they’re super stable), and a GG or any black coated spring gripper will lose up to 10-15lbs.

That’s why I’m not really against the GGs, especially from newer batches with sharp knurling: the spring is going to lose tons of resistance, but if this process is sped up you end up with an ultra-stable gripper :) 

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Dear all, I’m thinking of going for the MM1 soon! But I’ll need your help and fair judgement :) 

Tomorrow I’m going to attempt a clean MMS close on my new SG Cobalt, untouched and rated at 163 by CPW. I hope to hear your opinions on this attempt and on whether I should go for the cert or wait some more!

Edited by Alexander Koss
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1 hour ago, Alexander Koss said:

Dear all, I’m thinking of going for the MM1 soon! But I’ll need your help and fair judgement :) 

Tomorrow I’m going to attempt a clean MMS close on my new SG Cobalt, untouched and rated at 163 by CPW. I hope to hear your opinions on this attempt and on whether I should go for the cert or wait some more!

I think if you can get a solid MMS close on the Cobalt the MM1 is a sure thing man

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2 hours ago, Alexander Koss said:

Dear all, I’m thinking of going for the MM1 soon! But I’ll need your help and fair judgement :) 

Tomorrow I’m going to attempt a clean MMS close on my new SG Cobalt, untouched and rated at 163 by CPW. I hope to hear your opinions on this attempt and on whether I should go for the cert or wait some more!

Yeah go for it man. If you go for the mm1 I’ll sign up right after you I need a little motivation. 

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Cobalt attempt update:

So I went ahead and attacked my new Cobalt (163) from an MMS, and I barely got it, I believe at least. Everything kind of left the frame, I forgot that I wanted to simulate proper mash monster conditions :D I notice that I usually work from around 20mm rather than parallel, which is around 30mm or so. I need to get comfortable with the 30mm position, since to me it feels like night and day:

20mm is a no thinker, anything below or at 165 will fall for sure. Cobalt (161) went down for almost 3 reps in that range, and that was a little while back.

30mm - literally dying to get a half-decent close on a Cobalt rated 163. 

Although it might not be wise, I am very actively playing with the idea of hopping in the MM queue in my mind. What do you guys think?

Edited by Alexander Koss
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30 minutes ago, Alexander Koss said:

Cobalt attempt update:

So I went ahead and attacked my new Cobalt (163) from an MMS, and I barely got it, I believe at least. Everything kind of left the frame, I forgot that I wanted to simulate proper mash monster conditions :D I notice that I usually work from around 20mm rather than parallel, which is around 30mm or so. I need to get comfortable with the 30mm position, since to me it feels like night and day:

20mm is a no thinker, anything below or at 165 will fall for sure. Cobalt (161) went down for almost 3 reps in that range, and that was a little while back.

30mm - literally dying to get a half-decent close on a Cobalt rated 163. 

Although it might not be wise, I am very actively playing with the idea of hopping in the MM queue in my mind. What do you guys think?

Go for the mm1 apparently it’s like a 150rgc you’ll crush it.

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3 minutes ago, Nuttgens said:

Go for the mm1 apparently it’s like a 150rgc you’ll crush it.

Just went ahead and closed my SG Count-Admiral that's rated 156 from an MMS/Wide Set after a full workout just 20 mins ago and it felt very confident. I'm hopping in that queue. :rock

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Training update:

Due to the now upcoming MM1 cert and just out of curiosity, I'm going to work out grippers every other day for some time! I'm just going to adjust the training volume to fit this schedule, and focus mainly on MMS work.

Going to mainly focus on getting good MMS closes with the grippers below, with a perfect set width and good setting technique :)

Here's my Mash Monster prep set:

  • SG Cobalt (163)
  • SG Cobalt (161)
  • NR Count Admiral (156)

IMG_4149.thumb.JPG.4924b10b63744d060e340ca92d8f3282.JPG

Edited by Alexander Koss
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