Why Do They Say 'hard 3' Or Whatever?

[spinal1]

Just curious...

Like, wouldn't all #3s be the same?

I'm dumb ;/

[Hubgeezer]

The more you are around grippers, the more you understand the saying, "grippers vary". Apparently, to produce a product where every unit would be 100% identical to each other would be a very expensive proposition, so you find that these grippers tend to fall into a range. Some companies have a broader range than others. Some companies have made improvements to their product so the range is not as wide as it used to be. Initially, it is shocking that what you thought was a 25 pound barbell plate actually only weighed 23 pounds, but after that wears off, you adapt and deal with it.

On the positive side, it creates a situation where it becomes very fun and interesting to work within.

Hubgeezer

[viper]

from everything ive read ironmind number 3's got harder in 2004, and even harder in 2005 - generally people who have a #3 from 2003 or earlier have a easier gripper than people who purchased them recently

i think 2004 3's were rated 312lbs (???) and then 2005 3's are even harder - 2004/2005 3's seem to range from 3.2-3.5 although they vary lower and higher like all grippers

its not that your dumb, 3's should obviously simply be a 280lb #3, that is only fair, but instead ironmind made them harder, and changed the certied rule from mms, to ccs, which also makes it much harder - what makes even less sense is they also keep the same list for people who certify now

[Bearcat 74]

from everything ive read ironmind number 3's got harder in 2004, and even harder in 2005 - generally people who have a #3 from 2003 or earlier have a easier gripper than people who purchased them recently

i think 2004 3's were rated 312lbs (???) and then 2005 3's are even harder - 2004/2005 3's seem to range from 3.2-3.5 although they vary lower and higher like all grippers

its not that your dumb, 3's should obviously simply be a 280lb #3, that is only fair, but instead ironmind made them harder, and changed the certied rule from mms, to ccs, which also makes it much harder - what makes even less sense is they also keep the same list for people who certify now

They have always had a "280lb rating" for whatever that is supposed to mean. Saying that they have gotten harder from year to year is crazy. As for a #3 rated at 3.5, I have seen 1 that would justify that rating and it was from the mid-late 90's I think. I have tried a few new #3's, they are no harder than a couple of old ones I have.

[viper]

from everything ive read ironmind number 3's got harder in 2004, and even harder in 2005 - generally people who have a #3 from 2003 or earlier have a easier gripper than people who purchased them recently

i think 2004 3's were rated 312lbs (???) and then 2005 3's are even harder - 2004/2005 3's seem to range from 3.2-3.5 although they vary lower and higher like all grippers

its not that your dumb, 3's should obviously simply be a 280lb #3, that is only fair, but instead ironmind made them harder, and changed the certied rule from mms, to ccs, which also makes it much harder - what makes even less sense is they also keep the same list for people who certify now

They have always had a "280lb rating" for whatever that is supposed to mean. Saying that they have gotten harder from year to year is crazy. As for a #3 rated at 3.5, I have seen 1 that would justify that rating and it was from the mid-late 90's I think. I have tried a few new #3's, they are no harder than a couple of old ones I have.

humm..that seems a bit strange as there is a lot of reports of the #3 and #4 becoming a good bit harder after 2003, the 2004 #3 rating was actually from this board

Personally i either have a 2005 or 2006 #3, i dont have any other 3's but i definately doubt this is 280lbs as its miles harder than a hg300 and rediculously harder than #2

ive also heard that the new #4 does not season, but the old one does

[royceman]

from everything ive read ironmind number 3's got harder in 2004, and even harder in 2005 - generally people who have a #3 from 2003 or earlier have a easier gripper than people who purchased them recently

i think 2004 3's were rated 312lbs (???) and then 2005 3's are even harder - 2004/2005 3's seem to range from 3.2-3.5 although they vary lower and higher like all grippers

its not that your dumb, 3's should obviously simply be a 280lb #3, that is only fair, but instead ironmind made them harder, and changed the certied rule from mms, to ccs, which also makes it much harder - what makes even less sense is they also keep the same list for people who certify now

They have always had a "280lb rating" for whatever that is supposed to mean. Saying that they have gotten harder from year to year is crazy. As for a #3 rated at 3.5, I have seen 1 that would justify that rating and it was from the mid-late 90's I think. I have tried a few new #3's, they are no harder than a couple of old ones I have.

humm..that seems a bit strange as there is a lot of reports of the #3 and #4 becoming a good bit harder after 2003, the 2004 #3 rating was actually from this board

Personally i either have a 2005 or 2006 #3, i dont have any other 3's but i definately doubt this is 280lbs as its miles harder than a hg300 and rediculously harder than #2

ive also heard that the new #4 does not season, but the old one does

That actually answers one of my questions about grippers I crush gripped 180 on a scale and couldn't close the #1 when i got it. Doesnt matter to me though my goal is to close the MM gripper the one that is like 312. It will be a while though first I have to master the #1........LOL

[Bob Lipinski]

I used to think they were harder in general in 2005 or whatever, but after having tried a few I agree with Heath. I've only maybe tried 20-30 or so, and only 1 stood out as being WAY harder than the rest, probably cause it had a 3.5 inch spread.

I have also tried about 2-3 that are really, really easy.

[big bri]

from everything ive read ironmind number 3's got harder in 2004, and even harder in 2005 - generally people who have a #3 from 2003 or earlier have a easier gripper than people who purchased them recently

i think 2004 3's were rated 312lbs (???) and then 2005 3's are even harder - 2004/2005 3's seem to range from 3.2-3.5 although they vary lower and higher like all grippers

its not that your dumb, 3's should obviously simply be a 280lb #3, that is only fair, but instead ironmind made them harder, and changed the certied rule from mms, to ccs, which also makes it much harder - what makes even less sense is they also keep the same list for people who certify now

They have always had a "280lb rating" for whatever that is supposed to mean. Saying that they have gotten harder from year to year is crazy. As for a #3 rated at 3.5, I have seen 1 that would justify that rating and it was from the mid-late 90's I think. I have tried a few new #3's, they are no harder than a couple of old ones I have.

humm..that seems a bit strange as there is a lot of reports of the #3 and #4 becoming a good bit harder after 2003, the 2004 #3 rating was actually from this board

Personally i either have a 2005 or 2006 #3, i dont have any other 3's but i definately doubt this is 280lbs as its miles harder than a hg300 and rediculously harder than #2

ive also heard that the new #4 does not season, but the old one does

the HG300 is typically a lot easier than the #3. the name doesn't indicate that it's rated at 300 lbs so don't let that confuse you. and yes the #3 should be much harder than the #2 since the #2 is rated at 195 lbs where the #3 is rated at 280 lbs. as far as the #4 seasoning goes, i would think that any torsion spring gripper will season but since the #4 is so difficult it wouldn't make that much of a difference. Plus most of us can't even close it all the way and because of that the gripper won't season.

[Bearcat 74]

from everything ive read ironmind number 3's got harder in 2004, and even harder in 2005 - generally people who have a #3 from 2003 or earlier have a easier gripper than people who purchased them recently

i think 2004 3's were rated 312lbs (???) and then 2005 3's are even harder - 2004/2005 3's seem to range from 3.2-3.5 although they vary lower and higher like all grippers

its not that your dumb, 3's should obviously simply be a 280lb #3, that is only fair, but instead ironmind made them harder, and changed the certied rule from mms, to ccs, which also makes it much harder - what makes even less sense is they also keep the same list for people who certify now

They have always had a "280lb rating" for whatever that is supposed to mean. Saying that they have gotten harder from year to year is crazy. As for a #3 rated at 3.5, I have seen 1 that would justify that rating and it was from the mid-late 90's I think. I have tried a few new #3's, they are no harder than a couple of old ones I have.

humm..that seems a bit strange as there is a lot of reports of the #3 and #4 becoming a good bit harder after 2003, the 2004 #3 rating was actually from this board

Personally i either have a 2005 or 2006 #3, i dont have any other 3's but i definately doubt this is 280lbs as its miles harder than a hg300 and rediculously harder than #2

ive also heard that the new #4 does not season, but the old one does

I don't know where on the board you found the 312lbs quote, but it is wrong. IM has always rated the #3 280lbs. If you haven't tried quite a few #3's then you can not rate one. The more I fool with them the less I think you can put a number rating on one.

Forget about 195lbs, 280lbs, etc, buy a #2, #3 or #4 and close it, when you have, buy another or buy a BBE. The old arguement of "I have a #3 gripper I can't close therefore it is super hard" is often times not right. There are the rare beast #3's out there, you may have one, but an average #3 compared to a #2 will feel insane. I closed my #2 for 4 reps out of the box, got my average #3 to 1 1/4", felt simply impossible.

As for seasoning, I season mine by training with them, not stomping or piping. I have a new 4 and I have old 4's, the hardest I own is a 2001 model that is stupid hard.

[BigT]

from everything ive read ironmind number 3's got harder in 2004, and even harder in 2005 - generally people who have a #3 from 2003 or earlier have a easier gripper than people who purchased them recently

i think 2004 3's were rated 312lbs (???) and then 2005 3's are even harder - 2004/2005 3's seem to range from 3.2-3.5 although they vary lower and higher like all grippers

its not that your dumb, 3's should obviously simply be a 280lb #3, that is only fair, but instead ironmind made them harder, and changed the certied rule from mms, to ccs, which also makes it much harder - what makes even less sense is they also keep the same list for people who certify now

They have always had a "280lb rating" for whatever that is supposed to mean. Saying that they have gotten harder from year to year is crazy. As for a #3 rated at 3.5, I have seen 1 that would justify that rating and it was from the mid-late 90's I think. I have tried a few new #3's, they are no harder than a couple of old ones I have.

humm..that seems a bit strange as there is a lot of reports of the #3 and #4 becoming a good bit harder after 2003, the 2004 #3 rating was actually from this board

Personally i either have a 2005 or 2006 #3, i dont have any other 3's but i definately doubt this is 280lbs as its miles harder than a hg300 and rediculously harder than #2

ive also heard that the new #4 does not season, but the old one does

I don't know where on the board you found the 312lbs quote, but it is wrong. IM has always rated the #3 280lbs. If you haven't tried quite a few #3's then you can not rate one. The more I fool with them the less I think you can put a number rating on one.

Forget about 195lbs, 280lbs, etc, buy a #2, #3 or #4 and close it, when you have, buy another or buy a BBE. The old arguement of "I have a #3 gripper I can't close therefore it is super hard" is often times not right. There are the rare beast #3's out there, you may have one, but an average #3 compared to a #2 will feel insane. I closed my #2 for 4 reps out of the box, got my average #3 to 1 1/4", felt simply impossible.

As for seasoning, I season mine by training with them, not stomping or piping. I have a new 4 and I have old 4's, the hardest I own is a 2001 model that is stupid hard.

Very true Heath, we all know you've closed the most #3's here As for seasoning I just train with mine also. I dont' try to stomp or piping or any other stuff. The only seasoning they get is if I toss them on my bed because I can't close them

[Wayne]

between me and my 3 training partners we have 8 #3's, 4 of them have been closed. they are all 2005 models and all very different in strength. one of mine is the hardest and is actually a good bit harder than my easier BB Elite. with that said, the hardest #3 i have ever felt by far was an old silver crush #3 which belongs to a friend of mine. i'm not sure about the close because i could barely move it but the sweep was harder than my super elite. these grippers were introduced in 1990 if i'm not mistaken... so i don't think they're getting harder.

[viper]

im not sure what thread the 04 312lb rating was from but its somewhere on here

i cant really say apart from the feel of my grippers, other than that im just going off what people say - maybe its just that these people have hard grippers, ragardless of the year, i dont know

im not sure if my #3 is hard or not anymore, all i know is all my other grippers i can rep out with like there nothing, an then when it comes to the last part of the #3 rep it feels like im trying to crush a rock - it has a lower than flush mount, i dont know if that has anything to do with it

[tspinillo]

im not sure what thread the 04 312lb rating was from but its somewhere on here

i cant really say apart from the feel of my grippers, other than that im just going off what people say - maybe its just that these people have hard grippers, ragardless of the year, i dont know

im not sure if my #3 is hard or not anymore, all i know is all my other grippers i can rep out with like there nothing, an then when it comes to the last part of the #3 rep it feels like im trying to crush a rock - it has a lower than flush mount, i dont know if that has anything to do with it

It is a #3, it is supposed to be hard.

[big bri]

im not sure what thread the 04 312lb rating was from but its somewhere on here

i cant really say apart from the feel of my grippers, other than that im just going off what people say - maybe its just that these people have hard grippers, ragardless of the year, i dont know

im not sure if my #3 is hard or not anymore, all i know is all my other grippers i can rep out with like there nothing, an then when it comes to the last part of the #3 rep it feels like im trying to crush a rock - it has a lower than flush mount, i dont know if that has anything to do with it

It is a #3, it is supposed to be hard.

i agree, that's the way the #3 is supposed to be really. I was able to rep out the #2 for a long time before i could close the #3 which came after a lot of work

[Teemu I]

Reps don't tell much about maximum strength. It's possible that somebody could do 30 reps with #2 and still wouldn't be able to close #3.

[viper]

Reps don't tell much about maximum strength. It's possible that somebody could do 30 reps with #2 and still wouldn't be able to close #3.

well im 5 off that now - ive ordered a rb210 and 240 so hopefully they will be hard an i wont be able to rep out on them

[mobsterone]

Reps don't tell much about maximum strength. It's possible that somebody could do 30 reps with #2 and still wouldn't be able to close #3.

This is pretty much true (with some freaky exceptions). I much prefer lower reps and yet IM suggest 20 reps as a marker. Nautilus and Arthur Jones used to suggest the use of 80% of maximum done for as many reps as possible and then plus/minus 2 reps as the range that suited you and your muscle type best.

[Teemu I]

If I recall it right, I was able to do only 10 reps with #2 by the time I closed my #3 for the first time. I didn't train for reps, that was the result when I tested myself then. I don't have a slightest idea, how many reps I could be able to do with #2 now, if I tried. Certainly more, but how much more, I don't care. I don't train for reps, so it doesn't matter for me. I will never get into that kind of training for my grip.

Steve Justa suggests that for a person willing to develop his maximum strength should stay in the range of 70-80% of maximum. He also thinks very highly of singles done with that amount of load. I've pretty much followed his advice with my grip training, which has worked for me pretty well, as I'm constantly making progress. That approach has allowed me to train often and quite hard without burning out. As for gripper training it works pretty well. If a person is just barely able to close #3, then #2 is about 75% of his maximum, which fits nicely to the range Steve Justa suggests for best results. As you get stronger, just file down your #2 little by little to stay well within targeted range.

[bencrush]

If I recall it right, I was able to do only 10 reps with #2 by the time I closed my #3 for the first time. I didn't train for reps, that was the result when I tested myself then. I don't have a slightest idea, how many reps I could be able to do with #2 now, if I tried. Certainly more, but how much more, I don't care. I don't train for reps, so it doesn't matter for me. I will never get into that kind of training for my grip.

Steve Justa suggests that for a person willing to develop his maximum strength should stay in the range of 70-80% of maximum. He also thinks very highly of singles done with that amount of load. I've pretty much followed his advice with my grip training, which has worked for me pretty well, as I'm constantly making progress. That approach has allowed me to train often and quite hard without burning out. As for gripper training it works pretty well. If a person is just barely able to close #3, then #2 is about 75% of his maximum, which fits nicely to the range Steve Justa suggests for best results. As you get stronger, just file down your #2 little by little to stay well within targeted range.

Great ideas. You could also just increase the volume of #2 closes incrementally. The sky is the limit. It has worked for a few here.