Kayumhoque Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Hi, just started to work on my hand / forearm strength and have found a website where I can order Captains of Crush grippers...not sure which one to start off with....I'm 5'7, 140lbs with small hands....so... as you can tell I'm a big lad...have trained martial arts and gymnastics for many years so have a reasonable strong grip....just want to know which rating I should start off at...i rather go for a heavy rating and work up to it then get a light one and waste my time.....they start off at 60lbs and go up, but thats seems a bit low...or is it?....any other advice for a novice would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Piche Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Hi, just started to work on my hand / forearm strength and have found a website where I can order Captains of Crush grippers...not sure which one to start off with....I'm 5'7, 140lbs with small hands....so... as you can tell I'm a big lad...have trained martial arts and gymnastics for many years so have a reasonable strong grip....just want to know which rating I should start off at...i rather go for a heavy rating and work up to it then get a light one and waste my time.....they start off at 60lbs and go up, but thats seems a bit low...or is it?....any other advice for a novice would be appreciated. ← What is small hands? Also, I would always recommend the Trainer even if it's used for warming up. For a starting person, I would recommend the T, #1, and #2 if you can afford it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencrush Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 For a starting person, I would recommend the T, #1, and #2 if you can afford it. Can't beat that advice so I'll just second it. At least get a Trainer. Even #3 closers can get some good work in with the Trainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayumhoque Posted November 28, 2005 Author Share Posted November 28, 2005 small hands?....my hands are probably small in comparison to most of the people on this forum.....cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayumhoque Posted November 28, 2005 Author Share Posted November 28, 2005 ...right, have just ordered a trainer....forgive my ignorance but....is it just a case of using the gripper til i find it easy and move on to the next one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdoire Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Once you can close it you could move up to the next gripper. You could OC the Trainer and try Negs with the next higher if you cannot close it, or you could try reps with the lower one and attempts at the higher one. There is a lot of training advice in the workout logs and the FAQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencrush Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 small hands?....my hands are probably small in comparison to most of the people on this forum.....cheers You still didn't answer the question of how small your hands are... Whatever their measurement, it really doesn't matter in the end if you practice and eventually perfect the Mash Monster Set (parallel set). That effectively takes the hand size out of the equation. Now if you were more interested in certifying with Ironmind or Tetting, THEN hand size would be an issue, but really only if your hands are under about the 7 and a half inches mark. Choose your goal and possibly the goal certification. Then go after it with all the vengeance you can muster. As to the question of when to move up a gripper...that is so hard to say really. Again, it depends on what your gripper goals are. If your goal is to be able to do a bunch of consecutive reps with a certain gripper, then you will most likely stick to using a gripper for quite a while longer than someone like me (who focuses on MM certs). And that is more than alright. Just keep plugging away and putting as much effort as you can that day into the grippers. Search the heck out of this site. Search through and read as many workout logs on this site as you can. There is an absolute wealth of information here. And it's all free! You really can't beat that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revtor Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 (edited) IMHO, You should always have a gripper in your collection that you cant close. If you find yourself doing easy reps with the trainer, then order yourself a #1. Spend a bit more and get a 2 while youre at it, this way youll see what you're up against. WHile youre waiting for your new grippers to arrive, you can OC (overcrush) the trainer. This is simply closing the gripper and then keep on squeezing harder and harder. and harder. HARDER!!! thats an overcrush. You can use the heavier grippers for negatives (close with two hands and try to keep it from opening with one) which are vital in progressing. best tip though, is to go slow at first to let your hands get used to the abuse. Take it very easy for two weeks. Pain in the joints takes a long time to heal especially since the grippers are so damn addicitve!! If you decide to get serious, and you're the type that likes to be on a set training schedule, then spend for KTA. Its a good program. see the link at the top of the board. have fun ~Steve Edited November 30, 2005 by Revtor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayum Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Bencrush / Revtor - bingo, that's what i was after.....anyway my handsize....7.5" x 4"..... over crush and negative reps....cool...i know what they are now....as for what i'm looking to achieve.....i do alot of martial arts, and for close combat training a strong grip is essential....if you grab some body and they can shrug off your grip your at a loss.......so i'd say i'm looking for an explosive grip..........i take it moving up through the grippers as soon as possible is what i'm aiming for...instead of high reps on just the one gripper? Another thing, how long does it take to move on to the next gripper....for example.....if I can close the trainer on Jan 1st....how long roughly would it take before i could close #1....I appreciate that there is alot of variables, but in your opinion...............? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Side Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 In my opinoin, 1 week after you can comfortably close the trainer. For the #2, maybe 1 - 2 months after #1. You already mentioned the variables issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruffhans Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 if you want an explosion type grip i would say buy a trainer a #! and a #2 and see what you can do. try no set closes! ill tell you what i trid once and i thought it was hard as hell for me,....i hung a towel from a chin up bar and ran at it jumped up in the air grabbed it trying to hold on. once your wieght hits the gravity it is tuff. here is one i tried once also and almost riped the skin off my hands. i hung a towal from a bar agin but stood on a chiar,...them jumped off! also try sand bag throws. i think if you train with a towal or cloth it will prepare your grip to grab someone and not let go. finaly thick bar stuff never fails! i should mentoin that i wiegh 246 lbs, so you may need to strap some wieght on yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revtor Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 (edited) Ruffhans, I second everything you mentioned, no-set closes are a good idea for sure. This means just picking the thing up and crushing, not allowed to nestle it into your palm to get a good "set". Along the same lines, try hanging your trainer by a string from a pullup bar and try grabbing it and crushing it at the same time. You may need to drop a level to get these but they're explosive power to the max. Maximum instantaneous muscle fiber recruitment. Similar to blockweight tossing. Thick towel chins or rope climbing will also definitely help your grappling grip. And dont forget wrist work. Getting your hand shrugged off seems like it would be half caused by a weak grip and half by weak wrists not being able to resist the twisting or bending. For wrists, get a small sledgehammer or a broomstick with a few pounds on the end and mark the handle every inch. Hold the thing and move that weight around. Up down left right twist behind the back over your head, youll find your favoite angles. When you weaken, choke up a bit and carry on w/ the torture. one of the best all around forearm workouts IMHO have fun, take it slow!!!!!! (tough with all these cool fun new exercises) ~Steve Edited December 1, 2005 by Revtor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruffhans Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 all good stuff!! i read a book about bruce lee, how he would grab with his left hand and yank someone torwerds him while punching with a back hand. his friend said that when bruce grabbed him to yank him he about gave the guy whiplash! so i was thinking,..if you could somehow atach a rag or cloth to something maybee a heavy punching bag,...reach out and in one motion grabb, and pull with explosion. i would say that would be the best excersize that would mimic what your looking for. if your looking to get grip for grabbing anyway. also go out and buy two big dogs, perhaps rotwilers or something, and play pull with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
climber511 Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 7 1/2" hands are on the small side but I've seen hands that size do some incredible feats of hand strength. So don't let that worry you at all - just train hard and smart and it will all come with time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Side Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 My hands are about the same size as yours Kay, it makes credit card sets very difficult. You can still do it, but MM certs allow you to set to parallel, eliminating the hand size issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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