musclehead Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Well I finally got my No. 1 and No. 2. I can only close the No 1 about half way. The No. 2 I can only budge about 1/6 of the way or so. I read that if you want to close a gripper you should train with the one above it. So If I want to close the No. 1 all the way, should I only be doing reps with the No. 2? Even if I can only close it about 1/6th of the way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdoire Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Get a Trainer..try to see if you can close that. Then try some negs with the 1. You will be closing the #1 in no time flat!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mlstrass Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 I'd concentrate on the 1, even doing some forced closes and fight it opening. Don't really need to work on the 2 if you can't get the 1 yet. Also I second the suggestion of getting a Trainer. Once you master it it'll still be good for a few warm-up reps before the harder grippers. I bet you'll be crushing it in no time. Good luck....Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Get a Trainer..try to see if you can close that. Then try some negs with the 1. You will be closing the #1 in no time flat!!right on. you need a starting point to judge your grip strength. give that T a shot.I'd concentrate on the 1, even doing some forced closes and fight it opening. Don't really need to work on the 2 if you can't get the 1 yet. Also I second the suggestion of getting a Trainer. Once you master it it'll still be good for a few warm-up reps before the harder grippers. I bet you'll be crushing it in no time. Good luck....Mike I would say if you can close the T, but having trouble with the 1, i think negatives with the 2 would be a good idea. if you can't close the T...well, we will work on that once we find that out. but yeah, i would work with the 2 so when time rolls around, that 1 will seem like cake nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 You just got them in the last day or two right? Give yourself 2 weeks with the #1 and see how you do. Then, if you are still far away, start thinking about other grippers. Spend some time to learn how to set the gripper, maybe even pick up some climbers chalk at a sports or camping store. I think you just need a little practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soilworker Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Learn to set. It's a very important factor. Unless you want to do the Ironmind cert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musclehead Posted August 31, 2005 Author Share Posted August 31, 2005 (edited) Learn to set. It's a very important factor. Unless you want to do the Ironmind cert. ← What do you guys mean by set exactly? and yes eventually I do want to get an Ironmind cert if I ever get that strong. Edited August 31, 2005 by musclehead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugby_grip Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Learn to set. It's a very important factor. Unless you want to do the Ironmind cert. ← What do you guys mean by set exactly? and yes eventually I do want to get an Ironmind cert if I ever get that strong. ← Setting refers to finding the "sweet" spot in your hand. It will give you a better close that way. Go here to find more info http://www.heavygrips.com/training/beginner.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soilworker Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Learn to set. It's a very important factor. Unless you want to do the Ironmind cert. ← What do you guys mean by set exactly? and yes eventually I do want to get an Ironmind cert if I ever get that strong. ← Play around with hand positioning with an easier gripper. You will see that even a slight change in positioning drastically increases the difficult and/or decreases leverage. The same thing with how far your fingers are down or up on the handle. It's definetly a "feel". For the Ironmind cert....well, you can set it but the credit card movement is kind of awkard and generally gets you out of the "sweet spot", to quote a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecharlie Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Well I finally got my No. 1 and No. 2. I can only close the No 1 about half way. The No. 2 I can only budge about 1/6 of the way or so. I read that if you want to close a gripper you should train with the one above it. So If I want to close the No. 1 all the way, should I only be doing reps with the No. 2? Even if I can only close it about 1/6th of the way? ← I got some good advice on here to go for timed closes with a #2 (and some cheat closes with #3) while I was trying for #3. I got up to about 30-40 seconds with a filed down #2 and a bit of card held between the grippers. It worked wonders for my grip strength, and I have closed #3 - but I need more work to do it every time. (my excuse is that I seem to have a mean #3 with a vicious silver spring - but we all need an excuse now & then !) i think 'timed closes' work. If you have a timer set it for 15 -20 seconds and grimace like hell ! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musclehead Posted August 31, 2005 Author Share Posted August 31, 2005 Thanks for the link. I tried to set it so it was more comfortable, but I got similar results. For now I still have a little less than an inch left to close the Number 1, but I guess thats the toughest part. I squeeze that sucker and then I get stuck with just under an inch to go. I'm really looking forward to closing it. Hopefully it will happen soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 What happens if you force the #1 shut with two hands and try as hard as you can to grind the handles together with one hand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musclehead Posted September 1, 2005 Author Share Posted September 1, 2005 What happens if you force the #1 shut with two hands and try as hard as you can to grind the handles together with one hand? ← If I do that I can only hold it for a second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 You should do that a couple times when you train. Fight as hard as you can to hold it shut for 5 seconds or so. The hand needs to be stressed in that closed position to get stronger in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakath Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 If you are new to grippers I suggest you just train in a way you enjoy, don't overtrain, take it easy, have fun You will close the no. 1 in no time at all! Negatives and stuff like that is way overcourse for someone new I think. Training to set the gripper efficiently though is a very good idea which will give you a huge boost when mastered! But perfect setting takes time, so don't be impatient - be consistent. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilkaz Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I've gotten a few newbie friends into grippers a bit and I'll assume that you have no previous grip training when I post some thoughts/experiences. I'll 2nd what Zakath has said and that is just have fun. I wouldn't mess with negatives for a couple weeks until you build up your hand and get used to crush a bit. Don't even think of using the #2 for negs until you've just about closed the #1. Make sure you know how to hold the gripper well. You get more leverage with your fingers near the bottom of the handle and the pinkie about half on half off the end of the handle. You'll probably find the Trainer very useful, for reps, warmup and overcrushes. I highly recommend that you get something in between the #1 and #2.. ie a BBSA. For the time being, I'd just do the following workout every other day with the #1 until you almost have it shut (or your Trainer and, hopefully BBSA arrive). So every other day take your #1 and squeeze it as hard as you can for 5 seconds about 12 times. Rest about 90 seconds in between attempts. After a few sessions of this, I'd suspect you'll be close to shutting it completely, and at the very least your trainer will arrive. After a couple of weeks of getting your hands used to the stress, then, if the #1 still isn't shut do negs with it, and the BBSA if you get one, and squeeze (no negs yet) the #2 as hard as you can for 5 seconds. Please post your progress in a week or 10 days and you'll get more help. Don't fret that many here are stronger than you and a few of these dudes closed the #2 on their first attempts. We all start someplace and I think there's more than a few #3 closers here who were unable to shut the #1 straight away as well. Training for to excell to one's very best is often about training as hard as one can to the verge of injury, however, this doesn't concern you now and won't for several months at least. Get your hands used to crush and that #1 will fall soon enough. Just my advice .. neilkaz .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musclehead Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 (edited) Thanks for all the tips. I set my gripper so that my fingers were lower and my pinky was half on the gripper and half off. It helped quite a bit. I will do the 5 second holds. I don't have the trainer, but I have another gripper I got at a sporting goods store. I use that to warm up. I will keep you posted on my progress. I will take a picture when I close the #1. Once I close that I will keep going until I close the #3. I know it will take a lot of dedication, but I'm used to it. My other hobby is bodybuilding so I know it takes hard work to get results, but in the end its worth it. Edited September 2, 2005 by musclehead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Cool, you'll get it soon. Don't feel like the gripper have to be your only grip exercise either. There's a lot of fun grip work out there to be done. Most of the equipment is cheap too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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