Grip Training In The Office

[dimmers]

Seeming as though i spend most of my time at work browsing the gripboard, and staring out the window bored stupid (don't tell my boss that ) i thought its about time i start training my grip at work more seriously - might as well do something useful with my time hey?

So for all you other grip guys out there that are stuck in front of a computer all day (or not), i just wanted to know what you did to train your grip at work? I know there are limitations to what can be done because no one in my office is going to appreciate me chalking up and trying to do negs on my #3 all the while shouting at the darn thing to stay shut

Any tips people? at the moment i do the following,

paper tearing

extensor work with elastic bands

light gripper work (trainer and #1)

was thinking about getting a couple of tennis balls for hand squeezes as well?

cheers guys!!!

[pdfk20]

Seeming as though i spend most of my time at work browsing the gripboard, and staring out the window bored stupid (don't tell my boss that ) i thought its about time i start training my grip at work more seriously - might as well do something useful with my time hey?

So for all you other grip guys out there that are stuck in front of a computer all day (or not), i just wanted to know what you did to train your grip at work? I know there are limitations to what can be done because no one in my office is going to appreciate me chalking up and trying to do negs on my #3 all the while shouting at the darn thing to stay shut

Any tips people? at the moment i do the following,

paper tearing

extensor work with elastic bands

light gripper work (trainer and #1)

was thinking about getting a couple of tennis balls for hand squeezes as well?

cheers guys!!!

LOL im glad im not the only one!

My work at the moment is so unbelievably dull, i take maybe 20 calls a day and maybe make 20, then spend the rest of the day checking out the gripboard.

I don't do any gripping at work but i do a load of extensor work. Most of the day i have an elastic band round my fingers. I made this rubber band ball when i started this job back in Feb. and i've slowly been unravelling , by doing extensor work then aventually breaking them. Ive got one of those spongy rugby balls as well to play with.

[twig]

I go through over 1000 pages a day on my printer (I was promised we'd have paperless offices when I was a nipper!), pinching 2 reams of paper in a stores to printer farmers walk is a fair workout.

[matthcarl]

Pretty funny. I started grip training at work. I can one-hand pinch my desk chair and bring the top up to eye level. I tore an old phone directory in half (maybe 1 and 1/2" thick). I also tore 40 expired double-thick glossy Bob's Store coupons in half. I think I could have done more, but I ran out of coupons perfecting the technique. Sigh.

[Condor]

Try chair levering

[dimmers]

Just bought some cheap tennis balls at lunchtime. Managed to get them back to my desk without getting asked any questions (because everyone knows that i don't play tennis

I didn't think i'd be the only one sitting on the gripboard most of the day either Pete! don't know what i'd do without it.

[boland magyar]

what boring jobs we have he he he.....i crush a spring through the day and a few issos.and get a few funny looks from the staff but fxxk them im the boss

boland

[mbcx6pmw]

Just extensors with rubber bands at the moment. Starting kta soon though, so will have to see if I can find a suitably secluded spot where I can chalk up and give it hell

[dimmers]

Isn't it funny how people react when you tell them about your grip training!?!?! If i was to bring in a load of hand grippers and some ISO bars in to work i'd get all sorts of questions, just goes to show how little people think about training their grip.

I mean, who doesn't want stronger hands

For that matter, if i was to take my grippers to the gym or even request the gym to get some grippers (or any other grip training equipment) i'd get given a funny look!

I think its about time people recognised the importance of grip power!

[acorn]

The 2 times I've done KTA, I would typically head out to my car and do my workout there at lunch. I sometimes bring grippers in and do stuff, but mostly its people bringing me phone books or huge nails/spike to bend for them.I actually had an HR lady ask me yesterday if she could bring in a phone book for me to tear so she could see it.

- Aaron

[dimmers]

The 2 times I've done KTA, I would typically head out to my car and do my workout there at lunch. I sometimes bring grippers in and do stuff, but mostly its people bringing me phone books or huge nails/spike to bend for them.I actually had an HR lady ask me yesterday if she could bring in a phone book for me to tear so she could see it.

- Aaron

that's very cool Aaaron!

good idea about heading out to the car at lunchtime, didn't even think about that.

[gazza]

When i worked for Tescos on nights i used to bend nails and reds and bastards etc during my dinner and breaks in the canteen i was then accussed of intimidating people funny tho it was alright to rase money for there charities doing the same thing, so glad i am outa that shithole but there are a few managers there that if i bump into i will really show them how intimidating i can be

Why are none of you that bend bending or doing isos at work its the ideal place to make big gains from.

[dimmers]

When i worked for Tescos on nights i used to bend nails and reds and bastards etc during my dinner and breaks in the canteen i was then accussed of intimidating people funny tho it was alright to rase money for there charities doing the same thing, so glad i am outa that shithole but there are a few managers there that if i bump into i will really show them how intimidating i can be

Why are none of you that bend bending or doing isos at work its the ideal place to make big gains from.

I suppose i could start to do some of this at lunch breaks in my car, or go for a walk somewhere quiet to have a session. It's difficult sitting in the office all day though to do anything that requires too much effort because you'll just get looked at funny, or told to pack it in.

[Nails]

I keep a selection of grippers and 60d nails in my draw so when ever I'm taking a monitor break I can grip or bend away. Remember your entitled to a 20 minute monitor break every 2 hours so if you've got a job like mine where you can do any work without using the computer then why not do some grip work. We also have several shredding bins so any paper that get's put in there usually ends up shredded before it get anywhere near the shredder . In fact I'd go as far to say that work is my primary grip training place.

[lloyd80s]

This is a good thread!!

I have a 2 hour drive to work and find traffic jams a great place to use grippers and my egg for rehab. I used to use my powerball in the car but after my wife got me a flashing one I started to get funny looks from other drivers I'd be sitting in a traffic jam shaking my arms at full speed, it was dark so the car would be flashing like a police car!!

In the office I used bulldogs clips to pinch and work the thumb but they would all bend, so I found foldback clips much better, the big oness really give your thumbs a good pump. If they get to easy just wrap a rubber band around the end....progressive resistance!!!

Oh and toilet basin lid hammer curls...............but that's another story!!

[makey98]

Whenever I get frustrated at work I tear a deck of cards. Quick, easy and gets the aggression out.

[dimmers]

I used to use my powerball in the car but after my wife got me a flashing one I started to get funny looks from other drivers I'd be sitting in a traffic jam shaking my arms at full speed, it was dark so the car would be flashing like a police car!!

That is very funny!! i can just imagine it now

Bit of an update - the tennis balls i've been using at work have provided me with a good crush workout. It's surprising how difficult these are to put a good squeeze on. I also believe they work the finger tips more as well, it's a different type of crush compared to using normal grippers.

I've been doing my best to try and pop this tennis ball but no matter how hard i squeeze it only crushes about half way! I reckon a pro tennis ball would be like trying to crush a rock.

All in all, a very versatile / cheap way to train your crush - i like it.

[Yersinia]

tearing post-it blocks is fun :p and somewhat hard. dont know if someone already suggested it. cba to read

[dimmers]

Ok, update on the office grip training...

tennis balls have been great! i've put a few holes in one tennis ball (with a pin so the hole is small) which makes it easier to crush for reps, and then a normal tennis ball for single crushes.

this has definately helped me with the first part of closing a gripper (which is where i was weakest) due to the rom of crushing a tennis ball.

going to keep this up for sure, may even try out some of the more expensive tennis balls as they will be harder to crush!

[cosmoose]

My office is pretty laid back, so I keep my Super Gripper in a drawer and pull it out at lunchtime, along with rubber bands and a little clamp. The Grainger supply catalog works pretty well for pinch curls, and we have stacks of books and paper for holds. Maybe I'll start trying my chair...

But grip strength is actually an issue where I work. I'm an engineer at Fiskars Garden. We make, among other tools, hand pruners. Part of my job involves testing how much force it takes to cut through a standard piece of wood with one of our tools. A good hand pruner might take 50 or 60 pounds. But there are some crummy ones that take 150 pounds or more. And of course one can always jam a bigger piece of wood in the jaws. So it's fun to pass around a tool and have people cut with it, sometimes to show how easy it is, or sometimes to show how we need to improve something. It's also fun to make cuts no one else can do, or to make a cut and use the "calibrated fingers" to say "That's about 130 pounds...".

We had a bad batch of prototypes come through about a month ago. The handles would break at about 180 pounds. We passed them around and made sport of seeing who could snap them off. Fun stuff.

Lots of options for getting some gripping in. My morning workouts are packed enough as it is...

Dave

[Condor]

spring/pony clamps for the thumbs!

[RPGoodfellow]

My old job was where I did most of my grip training. I sat in front of a computer all day and looked at the Gripboard and/or the Diesel Crew site, and I'd get pumped up and tear phone books, decks of cards, paper from the shred bin...it was great. I got my old manager into grip training too, so it worked out really well. We'd swap grippers and bring in phone books for each other to rip up. I tore every stack of post-its in the office and some folks were getting pissed, but most people thought it was amazing.

Now I bring a gripper or two to the office and a few rubber bands for extensors (I no longer work in the grip friendly office).

Goody

[pawel r]

modified farmels hold (I so only think) COC #2 max time crushed each hand ?

and it maybe I drank for a lot of beers?

[nightowl27]

I do also grip work in my office...No ones here/only one guy but he plays card games on the computer so he can´t say anything to me working on my grip.

on monday i do one rep every hour, tuesday every 45minutes and wednesday every 30minutes. on thursday i do two reps every 45 minutes and on friday i do two reps every 30minutes(all with the Ivanko). this programm is also called grease the groove. i improve well and have a lots of reserves for my evening workout. i also have the power ball here and since last weeks, i started ripping the newspaper. expansion bands are always on my shedule after doing the reps with the ivanko!

it´s good to have possibilities like this