Hand Strength Due To Stone Lifting

[dimmers]

After many years of owning several COC grippers, i finally decided to get serious with my grip

training as i was annoyed at not being able to progress past the #1.

What got me back into grip training again was my new obsession with bending, infact, i think it

is due to my addiction to bending that i've really got interested in everything to do with hand

strength these days.

Anyway, to get to the point, i've finally managed to close my #2 COC yesterday (only just, but i

heard a faint click of handle on handle) which has pleased me no end. I know this isn't

something to get too excited about but i just wanted to share my news with this forum as it's

been due to all the info from you guys that has given me the knowledge to progress and succeed!

To other guys out there that are struggling (as i am still) to improve on your grip strength

then i highly recommend doing lots of pinch work with block weights. I'm sure if you read enough

previous posts here you'll come across that message a lot, but it really does increase your hand

strength.

I started off using bricks with weights attached, which was ok but limited to what i could do

with them. But more recently i aquired a nice big stone (weighs 30lb) which is just the right

size to really test my grip (check out a pic in my gallery). I can only just grip the stone with

my hands (my hands being 7 1/4") in certain positions which makes up for the fact this stone is

quite light.

I really think that your grip power to close those grippers does rely on good block weight

training, and i'm the proof going from just closing the #1 COC from January 2007 to closing the

#2 yesterday.

So if you're a relative newbie to grip like me, go and get yourself a stone from a garden centre (or go find one somewhere - it's got to be better than cutting up dumbells?!?) they're not that expensive and will give you an

endless variety of hand positions to play with. You're hands will toughen up due to the

roughness of the stone and your hand strength will explode!!!

One last thanks to the following http://www.geocities.com/ltgodfrey/three.html very inspiring

and really got the message across that...

...block weights = hand strength!

Cheers!

[lifesnotfair]

Although the link doesn't work, looks like it's bender's website, he's a member here, a COC and has written GREAT stuff on that webpage of his!

[gripmaniac]

Been awhile since I visited Bender's site. . . that link was certainly worth a look!

Warning to all block weight owners: That page contains images of some some pretty cool 1 finger and thumb lifts. Upon viewing you'll probably be unable to contain yourself in attempting them. If you do not have immediate access to your block weights (ie. you're at work eating your lunch) then be prepared to grab the first weighty-blocky thing you can find. I'm getting some weird looks from co-workers as I lift my sticky-tape dispenser with my pinky & thumb. . .

[superfeemiman]

After many years of owning several COC grippers, i finally decided to get serious with my grip

training as i was annoyed at not being able to progress past the #1.

What got me back into grip training again was my new obsession with bending, infact, i think it

is due to my addiction to bending that i've really got interested in everything to do with hand

strength these days.

Anyway, to get to the point, i've finally managed to close my #2 COC yesterday (only just, but i

heard a faint click of handle on handle) which has pleased me no end. I know this isn't

something to get too excited about but i just wanted to share my news with this forum as it's

been due to all the info from you guys that has given me the knowledge to progress and succeed!

To other guys out there that are struggling (as i am still) to improve on your grip strength

then i highly recommend doing lots of pinch work with block weights. I'm sure if you read enough

previous posts here you'll come across that message a lot, but it really does increase your hand

strength.

I started off using bricks with weights attached, which was ok but limited to what i could do

with them. But more recently i aquired a nice big stone (weighs 30lb) which is just the right

size to really test my grip (check out a pic in my gallery). I can only just grip the stone with

my hands (my hands being 7 1/4") in certain positions which makes up for the fact this stone is

quite light.

I really think that your grip power to close those grippers does rely on good block weight

training, and i'm the proof going from just closing the #1 COC from January 2007 to closing the

#2 yesterday.

So if you're a relative newbie to grip like me, go and get yourself a stone from a garden centre (or go find one somewhere - it's got to be better than cutting up dumbells?!?) they're not that expensive and will give you an

endless variety of hand positions to play with. You're hands will toughen up due to the

roughness of the stone and your hand strength will explode!!!

One last thanks to the following http://www.geocities.com/ltgodfrey/three.html very inspiring

and really got the message across that...

...block weights = hand strength!

Cheers!

Good post. But I have a question: How much did you work with grippers when you went from the #1 to #2?

I think one of the reason blockweights work so well for increasing full-hand strength is because they strengthen the tendons, just like gripper/grip machine negatives.

[dimmers]

I'd always been able to just about close the number 1 coc for a number of years now, so i had built some hand strength prior to 'getting serious' about grip strength.

I started off doing lots of grip work with the grippers just after Christmas, but doing lots of reps most days wasn't getting me anywhere (not saying that doesn't work, just not for me). It wasn't until i started bending that the grippers started to take a back seat, and it was at this point i started to notice gains (probably due to proper recovery time).

I only started doing serious block work training late Jan this year, but i'm sure it's due to this (and a lot of bending) that i've made significant progress with the grippers. Even more recently with the use of that 30lb stone i aquired my hands have got a lot stronger and especially when 'setting' the gripper. I reckon i do no more than 50 closes a week on my grippers (that includes warmups) with some heavy negatives thrown in, all singles with max effort.

My workouts stay simple and include,

Sledge (all sorts of levering)

Bending (lots of!)

Grippers (whenever i'm feeling strong in the hands - every other day)

Block weights (stone, bricks and thin bits of wood with weights attached)

and some gym work - squats, bench, pulls - keep it simple works for me.

Edited March 26, 2007 by youdimmers