I Hereby Claim

[aeroman]

I hereby claim to have taken longer than anybody else, with consistent effort, to close the #2. Yesterday I closed it for the first time with my RH. It was a good solid close with a little handle grinding. I had to check to make sure it was a #2. Here's my experience with grippers:

I bought a trainer in 2000, when I was 36 years old, and closed it for 3 whole reps. I immediately ordered a #1 and it took a couple months to close that. Not long after that I bought Joe Kinney's video (I have since sold it and regret not having it anymore) and decided I could do a miniature version of his workouts. I built a wall-mounted secret weapon and a floor model plate-loaded machine. I eventually bought a #3 to do negatives on. I got to within 1/8" on the #2 in about 3 months, then injured my left hand and quit grip stuff for about a year. I had been lifting weights for about a year at this point and didn't really know what I was doing. Before that I was a skinny bicyclist with all kinds of endurance and some speed, but not very strong. After a few visits to a chiropractor my hand was finally fixed and I decided to get back into grip. I had since sold my grip machines and needed to find another way to train. For the next few years I mixed in high reps, low reps, KTA (twice), negatives only, lots of other hand and wrist work, and anything I could find that might help. I would stick with one of these for two to four months and then move on to something else after seeing no progress or regression. Which brings me to the next point. I think it is funny when I see here on the gripboard that somebody FINALLY closed the #2 after two or three months of "struggling" with it. I again did a study of people's opinions here to find out what to do. I concluded it was block weights. I invented my own adjustable BW using 10lb standard plates and started to see progress. And the biggest gain came from getting rid of stress in my life. But that's another story. So now that I am 43 I can still make gains and plan to continue in grip. If anybody else out there took longer, I would love to hear about it. Thanks for reading.

Karl

[dimmers]

Congrats on the #2! that is a great achievement!

It may not seem much to some people closing a #2 especially when you keep reading about guys on here (the gripboard) closing in on the #4, or climbing the MM ladder, but just remember that these are some of the strongest grip guys on the planet!!!

well done on that #2 again, it is a tough gripper and one to be proud of!

[pdfk20]

Fine achievement, well done!

[Scott Styles]

Closing the #2 means you have strong hands. Congrats!

[lifesnotfair]

Congratulations!!! I struggled for at least 9 months since I first bought grippers to when I first closed that #2... heh. I still don't own it though, can barely close it for a single MMS. Which brings me to argue with this...

Closing the #2 means you have strong hands. Congrats!

I'm not sure I agree, unless we specify the set! I can close it from a MMS, but my hands don't feel strong, and are NOT strong.. I think closing the #2 with a wide set (2" or more) - that means you have strong hands, in my opinion.

Anyways, yeah, it's depressing to read these guys progressing so much and so fast... but it's ok, we might take longer, but we'll get there!!

[hab34buy]

Good job man! The #2 is an accomplishment to be sure! Granted I'm new... but, I see grip training (and need to be continually reminded of , and must try to keep in mind when reading of others achievements ) as a competition between where you are today, and where you are tommorow. Nobody else is involved in that equation, because it's about the individual surpassing what they thought they were capable of ever achieving. It's the war against one's mind and body to push them to reach their individual and specific pinnacle. In that kind of warefare, comparing to others gives ideas for attack and great thoughts for goals, achievements, and markers of strength. Good job of overcoming what was once impossible

~Jw

P.S. It took me 18+ months to break through the impossible wall with my #2 (working from the ground up), but I was doing grip stuff a number of years leading up to grippers.

Edited July 24, 2007 by jw7

[gumpster]

Congrats on the #2 close! I just got mine done this month so I know a little of what you're feeling (though mine only took me 6 months). The good thing is that you stuck with it and came back from injury to give it another shot. The feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction of reaching a goal through your own efforts is priceless. Keep at it and you'll take down that next barrier.

[ox3782]

Nice Job On the #2 keep on squeezing!!!

Brendan

[Darco]

That's quite an impressive amount of sticktoitiveness ! The greater majority of grip trainers would (or already) have quit or moved on to some other goal by this point, if I could give you rep points I would.

[egg_uk]

congrats, the 2 is a hard gripper, it took me a fair while to get the last 2mm, now push on for the 3.

[Jedd Johnson]

Hit me with a PM with your full name and I will get you up on the #2 list! Good work.

[Alawadhi]

Well done on the #2 close

[Alawadhi]

Well done on the #2 close

[vikingsrule92]

Great Job on the #2 close. that's a great accomplishment and don't belittle it by saying how other people did it faster or whatever because the guys on here are some of the srongest in the world. Don't try to be better than other people try to be better than your previous self. Again great accomplishment

[tja]

Congrats, persistence paid off!

[lloyd80s]

Man......you've done great to sick with the #2 that long and finaly get it closed.

Just remember, here on the gripboard a #1, #2 or even a #3 can seem like it's easy for some of the guys here but you have to remember that guys on this site are the best in grip strenth in the world. Go into bar and ask everyone in there to try a #1......not many, if any will be able to close it. Take a #2 to a 50,000 seater football stadium on match day, I'd bet not more than 50 guys would close it. Take a #3 to EVERY single human being on this planet and and you'd be lucky to find 5000 men that could close it.

A #2 closer is rare, very well done

[superfeemiman]

It's nice to see topics like these because 1. It gives those guys who don't seem to make fast progress more of will to keep going, and 2. It's a chance to show what people who haven't made progress in awhile did to get over that plateau. Even if it's something we already know about, it's good to have it confirmed every once in awhile (blockweights).

[Hubgeezer]

I hereby claim to have taken longer than anybody else, with consistent effort, to close the #2. Yesterday I closed it for the first time with my RH....... So now that I am 43 I can still make gains and plan to continue in grip. If anybody else out there took longer, I would love to hear about it.

I think I may hold the record for closing the 3 (December 1998 trainer, May 2007 #3) but you got me beat on the Number 2. I was closing the Number 2 in September of 2000 at the age of 45, having started in December of 1998 at the age of 44. It was a very difficult 2, in retrospect, I was working on. Perhaps yours is a bear as well, and that may be why it has taken longer.

Contrary to what many here say, closing the Number 2 is a BIG deal. My brother worked on closing the 2 for years, never did, and he had lifted weights for over 30 years prior to trying. Congratulations!

I suspect you win the prize for Most Tenacious Two Closer to date. Good job.

[spahn ranch]

Congrats on a significant achievement! What made you so determined to hang in there and beat the #2 at last?

[bowermdw@yahoo.com]

Karl,

That is just awesome. I am getting more and more inspiration from the GripBoard to close my #2 than I've ever had. After seeing egg_uk's post the other day, and since the first day I've been her I researched info, and haven't stopped.

Doug

[crobb1320]

nice job on that #2,took me close to a year before i got it,and still sometimes i pick it up and its so close but not closed.i guess it all just depends. nayway great job and keep it going,2.5 is not far off.

[aeroman]

Thanks for all the nice words. I have been inspired to keep going. I always wanted to be above average in something. Now I suppose I am.

[jst]

Congrats man.

You don't really that you're in a pretty elite grip group in comparison to the population as a whole.

I remember when I first closed the #2 after a 6 month (ho-hum) struggle with being so close. I was so excited that I started running through my apartment and threw my roomate on his bed in the process (was a little inebriated). ahh good times. Don't get complacent and go after the 3# with a vengance.

[superfeemiman]

Karl,

That is just awesome. I am getting more and more inspiration from the GripBoard to close my #2 than I've ever had. After seeing egg_uk's post the other day, and since the first day I've been her I researched info, and haven't stopped.

Doug

Indeed. There's a lot of motivational and informational posts in backlogs of the Gripboard. I've spent tons of hours reading them and probably haven't even got through a quarter.

[aquilonian]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! :D Good for you! I am very happy for you. The #2 is quite an accomplishment, awsome!