what has helped you increase gripper strength?

[Guest 115-1005574997]

What ways, devices, tricks, tips and advance have you guys got for improving your crushing strength.

[Marc]

Scott,

i would have to say that i have seen the most improvement by doing strapholds

[Guest 115-1005574997]

Hia Marc hows it going mate.  Feeling strong for August 3rd?

To be honest ive seen the greatest improvements via strapholds whilst negatives did nothing at all for me.  with things like the secret weapon, mega volume and negatives hailed as 'the way' forward i just wanted to get peoples opinions and views on other methods.

[Adam Black]

I tried negatives in the past with no results. I recently gave them a try again but with double the vigor. Still no results.

I've seen good results from strap holds since I started doing them. To date they have been the most result producing method for me.

In addition to strap holds and 3 rep sets, I am working with over crushes. Still too soon to determine how they are working for me. Although they are fun to do.

[Sybersnott]

I tried various methods, with very little or no success.

Then I tried negatives; specifically SEVERE negatives.  The result was nothing less than phenomenal!!  It took me from "getting close" to "mashing" (remember too, I was coming back from an injury).  When I certified, I was able to close the gripper I was certifying on (a IM #3, PDA 411 IP), four different times!!  I trained on the Kinney machine, the SW - and went hard and heavy.  Whe I trained, I had to cycle on and off, since training on the machine all the time would murder my hands.

[Guest Harlan Jacobs]

I have to agree with snott.I have got amazing gains since I started doing  negetives .

[Guest 115-1005574997]

Is it only me who thinks its REALLY interesting that some people gain from negatives while others don’t?! In Fact it looks like twice as many people get better results from strapholds than negatives.

Why?  ???

If your stuck or at a plateau then it looks like strapholds are the ones to try!

[Bill Piche]

Most people don't do negatives correctly (for crush anyway). Then, when the body's initial response is to get weaker they throw up their arms and wail "overtraining" and drop them.

[terminator]

I agree that negatives seem to be helpful at times.  One thing I've found is that they seem to be counterproductive when one is doing heavy heavy nail bending at the same time.  I guess what I'm saying is stick to one type of super tendon torture at a time.  Everybody's diferent, that's just what I've found for me.  

Bill's right, don't buy into that overtraining crap, determine what volume and intervals work best for you.  Remember, there is pain associated with closing heavy grippers, pain does not automatically mean overtraining.

[Marc]

Scott,

 im looking forward to the 3rd!!!!!! felling strong ? we'll just have to wait and see  

Are you entering ?

[Guest 115-1005574997]

Marc

How could you even ask if Im entering..... of course I am and I cant wait !!!

Cant let you guys have all the fun!  

I'll be there on the 3rd lifting and taking pics for UKgrip.info.  and Iron Grip.  Are you in the open or intermediate class?

[Marc]

Intermediate...at the moment  But if that #3 goes down then i'll be in the open ???

[jimwylie1]

You might actually have to start doing some training if you want to close the #3 Marc .  We have a new routine by the way - your gonna just love it!

[Guest Jeff Roark]

Why can't strapholds and a severe all out negative be used in the same set with the benefit from both worlds? I mean you don't have to quit when the strap drops, you keep fighting to the end. Will this result in a negative effect? I mean when the strap takes flight a slow negative has began. I am wrong here? I think that exercise of strapholds has produced my best gains, whatever it entails...isometric,concentric

[Sybersnott]

Jeff,

Really, I think they are so closely related (strapholds .vs severe negatives), you are trading time of motion - strapholds are held for a while, and severe negatives aren't.  And doing the severe negatives on the SW was very painful for me - I went as heavy as I could, and I could only do them twice a week.

[Bill Piche]

I don't think they are related except they increase the crush. Two different target areas.

My guess is most do severe negatives incorrectly.  Throwing out the "quit because I am overtraining!" panic out of consideration in what I am saying, the application of the severe negative ala Kinney is incorrect.

[Guest Christian]

What is the correct way to do severe negatives?

[Sybersnott]

Christian,

When I talk about "severe negatives", I am refering to using a grip machine and piling on the weight.  I use my SW (Secret Weapon), and I load up the weight.  This would be kinda like if someone completely closed a #4, gave it to me in my hand still closed, and then let go and my hand would haffta hold it shut for as long as possible.  Not only does it HURT (pain is my friend, pain is my friend, pain is my friend), but the results you get might not even work!!  

I did severe negatives, and they did wonders for me.  Others on this forum tried them and got very little or no results.

You might want to try strapholds.... they have worked for a whole bunch of people on this board.

Hope this helps ya!  BTW, where are you in terms of grip strength??  ???

[Guest Reverend]

I'm pretty much a newbie at this also... could someone explain to me exactly how to do strapholds?  I can't even remember having heard of them before.

[Guest Boog495]

Syber,

 When you say "severe negatives" in regards to a plate loaded gripper, you get a heavy weight up to a closed position and hold it untill it begins to release, then resist it's downward travel as much as possible?

Is this the concept?

Thanks for your reply

[Guest]

Reverend,

Strapholds are pretty much what they sound like.  You attach

a certain amount of weight to a strap (any thin piece of

any material will work - shoelaces are popular), then close

your gripper on the other end of the strap and lift it.

Because they require you to use the amount of force required

to close the gripper + the extra force required to keep the

weight from falling, strapholds allow you to make small and

discrete progressions between grippers.  A good thing since

it is a rather large jump in the force required to close, say,

a #2 and a #3.

[Guest Reverend]

Thank you kindly.

[Guest baldy]

Raday summed it up well. Here is the GripBoard FAQ written by someone who did very well with them early on:

Steve Weiner's straphold FAQ

That should fill in any blanks someone may have in their understanding of the movement.