What Am I Doing Wrong?!

[ChimpGrip]

I'm 4 weeks into gripper training, and I've closed the 1 for a set of 12 and 1.5 for set of 10 but can't even get the #2 down once. I start off with a POS store bought gripper and do 2x10-15 reps and then I rep the 1 for 1, 2 or 3 sets max, (with rest between each set) then go for the 1.5, do a couple of sets, then go for the 2

Today I tried the POS gripper for 2 sets of 10, then the 1 for a set of 5, then I went for the 2, and failed. Again.

It seems like my left hand is gradually getting weaker. Am I going to have to BREAK MY OWN HAND???

Edited March 19, 2014 by ChimpGrip

[Frank Pizzo]

I'm 4 weeks into gripper training, and I've closed the 1 for a set of 12 and 1.5 for set of 10 but can't even get the #2 down once. I start off with a POS store bought gripper and do 2x10-15 reps and then I rep the 1 for 1, 2 or 3 sets max, (with rest between each set) then go for the 1.5, do a couple of sets, then go for the 2

Today I tried the POS gripper for 2 sets of 10, then the 1 for a set of 5, then I went for the 2, and failed. Again.

It seems like my left hand is gradually getting weaker. Am I going to have to BREAK MY OWN HAND???

I would recommend doing less volume with the lighter grippers, and to force the #2 closed against your leg and try to hold it shut with your hand. Do that 3 or 4 times a workout until you can close it by yourself...also what kind of set are you using? Also I wouldn't get discouraged because grippers vary so much, you might have a really heavy #2, and even if you don't, I'm sure you'll get soon!

[anwnate]

If you want to close heavier grippers, you should work with heavier grippers.

150lbs x 30reps on a bench press isn't going to enable you to bench 300lbs...or whatever analogy floats your boat.

[Jedd Johnson]

You have been training for 4 weeks. Who has been guiding you down the Gripper path?

It sounds like you are trying the old-fashioned idea of closing the lighter grippers for a whole bunch of reps, in hopes that this will lead to closes of bigger grippers.

This has been proven over and over to not work.

Think of a deadlift.

Would you lift 135 for a set of 12 in hopes of lifting 315 for a set of 1?

No. You can lift 135 for 50 reps and it won't mean you will be able to lift 315.

The same thing with grippers. You can rep out on a #1 for 50 and it won't mean you will be able to close a #2.

To answer your question, the thing you are doing wrong is just that you operating under the wrong assumptions for moving up. Also, you seem to be thinking you should be closing a #2 after 4 weeks. You are still new my friend. Don't rush the journey brotherrrrrr.

[John McCarter]

Throwing in my 2 cents.

Take time for strength to fully develop. If you want to get stronger on harder grippers, take a measurement of how far you can get the handles to touch or are currently at with your goal/challenge gripper. If you are at 20mm and you can only move say 1-3 millimeter from your last workout, making it 17mm, that's big improvement over where you were before.

[MadMardegan]

You have been training for 4 weeks. Who has been guiding you down the Gripper path?

It sounds like you are trying the old-fashioned idea of closing the lighter grippers for a whole bunch of reps, in hopes that this will lead to closes of bigger grippers.

This has been proven over and over to not work.

Think of a deadlift.

Would you lift 135 for a set of 12 in hopes of lifting 315 for a set of 1?

No. You can lift 135 for 50 reps and it won't mean you will be able to lift 315.

The same thing with grippers. You can rep out on a #1 for 50 and it won't mean you will be able to close a #2.

To answer your question, the thing you are doing wrong is just that you operating under the wrong assumptions for moving up. Also, you seem to be thinking you should be closing a #2 after 4 weeks. You are still new my friend. Don't rush the journey brotherrrrrr.

What's your opinion on RRBT if you don't mind me asking Jedd?

[Electron]

I'm 4 weeks into gripper training, and I've closed the 1 for a set of 12 and 1.5 for set of 10 but can't even get the #2 down once. I start off with a POS store bought gripper and do 2x10-15 reps and then I rep the 1 for 1, 2 or 3 sets max, (with rest between each set) then go for the 1.5, do a couple of sets, then go for the 2

Today I tried the POS gripper for 2 sets of 10, then the 1 for a set of 5, then I went for the 2, and failed. Again.

It seems like my left hand is gradually getting weaker. Am I going to have to BREAK MY OWN HAND???

Chill.

[FJM]

How often do you train? If you train every other day, try having one or two extra days for recovery.

I remember when about an year ago i was frustrated with number 2. I stopped training grippers for two weeks and did thick bar work with fat gripz instead. when i went back to grippers again i was surprised how easy coc 2 was.

[Anthony C.]

I started a thread similar to this when I was new to.grippers. I was repping the 1.5 gazillions of times but still no 2 and was getting frustrated. The gripper that helped me bridge the gap was the ghp 4. It is harder than the 1.5 buy one and you'll know what im talking about the second you give it a squeeze. I would also recommend getting rated grippers from cannonpowerworks.com

[Mephistopholes]

On the note of doing lower volume....

Try strap holds. Those are what got me "over the hump"

[Frank Pizzo]

I started a thread similar to this when I was new to.grippers. I was repping the 1.5 gazillions of times but still no 2 and was getting frustrated. The gripper that helped me bridge the gap was the ghp 4. It is harder than the 1.5 buy one and you'll know what im talking about the second you give it a squeeze. I would also recommend getting rated grippers from cannonpowerworks.com

Buying a rated gripper from Cannon Power Works to bridge the gap is a very good idea. I used a GHP level 5 to help go from a 2 to a 2.5.

[Anthony C.]

I started a thread similar to this when I was new to.grippers. I was repping the 1.5 gazillions of times but still no 2 and was getting frustrated. The gripper that helped me bridge the gap was the ghp 4. It is harder than the 1.5 buy one and you'll know what im talking about the second you give it a squeeze. I would also recommend getting rated grippers from cannonpowerworks.com

Buying a rated gripper from Cannon Power Works to bridge the gap is a very good idea. I used a GHP level 5 to help go from a 2 to a 2.5.

Exactly...the ghp's are good to go hand in hand with the ironminds. And they feel stiff as all hell

[Jedd Johnson]

You have been training for 4 weeks. Who has been guiding you down the Gripper path?

It sounds like you are trying the old-fashioned idea of closing the lighter grippers for a whole bunch of reps, in hopes that this will lead to closes of bigger grippers.

This has been proven over and over to not work.

Think of a deadlift.

Would you lift 135 for a set of 12 in hopes of lifting 315 for a set of 1?

No. You can lift 135 for 50 reps and it won't mean you will be able to lift 315.

The same thing with grippers. You can rep out on a #1 for 50 and it won't mean you will be able to close a #2.

To answer your question, the thing you are doing wrong is just that you operating under the wrong assumptions for moving up. Also, you seem to be thinking you should be closing a #2 after 4 weeks. You are still new my friend. Don't rush the journey brotherrrrrr.

What's your opinion on RRBT if you don't mind me asking Jedd?

I don't have an opinion on it, because I have never seen it.

[climber511]

What are you doing wrong? Mostly you are expecting unrealistic result from 4 weeks of training. Four weeks of training is not enough time to experience much in the way of strength gains - you may see some technique changes that let you do more but a lot more time in going to be needed before a whole lot happens.

[Durrs]

Don't get frustrated about not closing the # 2 after 4 weeks brother. I know you watch all these guys mashing the number 3 all the time but that takes YEARS in some cases. Take things you learn and keep consistent and you'll get there.

[beef_supreme]

If you do other direct grip work - maybe you're not allowing yourself to recover?

If you don't do any other grip work - maybe you should try doing some block weight work or towel pull-ups etc - there's a pretty good carryover from those to grippers imho.

I'd also get a gripper that's heavier than a #2 to use for forced closes and negatives.

[slazbob]

You're doing a lot of reps before you try the no.2... Maybe less reps in the warm ups.

Keep at it with the 1.5 get a lot of confidence with it- I'd do most of my work with that; doing a few sets of parallel reps, then do some wide reps towards the end. Then just finish trying the no.2 and forcing it shut when it stops you.

It's like having a shaved head, and then wanting to grow long hair: you're gonna have to give it time.

[JoshW]

Have 3 grippers..one you can rep/overcrush, a goal gripper and one gripper which you can do a negative with. So for you it would be 1.5,2 and 2.5.

If you get a chance to try that definitely give it a go fella its very effective. just remember that its not all going to happen at once.

[climber511]

Next time you think about having trained grippers for four whole weeks - remember this

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say,

"Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday, " I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother.."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car."

"How far will we have to drive?" "Just a few blocks,"
Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this.."

After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going?
This isn't the way to the garage!"

"We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled,
"by way of the daffodils."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise.
You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign that read, "Daffodil Garden."

We got out of the car and each took a child's hand,
and I followed Carolyn down the path.
Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped.

Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon, pink, saffron, and butter yellow.

Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.
There were five acres of flowers.

"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn.

"It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property.
That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster.
"Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.

The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman.
Two hands, two feet, and very little brain."

The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

There it was, The Daffodil Principle.
For me, that moment was a life-changing experience.
I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable (indescribable) magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time -- often just one baby step at a time -- and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.

When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world. "It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn.

"What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays.

The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

So, stop waiting ...

Until your car or home is paid off

Until you get a new car or home

Until your kids leave the house

Until you go back to school

Until you finish school

Until you lose 10 lbs.

Until you gain 10 lbs.

Until you get married

Until you get a divorce

Until you have kids

Until you retire

Until summer

Until spring

Until winter

Until fall

Until you die

There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

So work like you don't need money,

Love like you've never been hurt,

And, dance like no one's watching.

[ChimpGrip]

Thanks everyone for the input. It has only been 4 weeks and I expect unrealistic gains-you guys are definitely right.

I will change up my training, and I'm going to go ahead and buy a GHP 4 and 5. (Getting the 4 to bridge between the 1.5 and 2, and 5 to bridge between 2 and 2.5) Those GHP grippers have cool looking handles. I also have a 2.5 as is.

For where I'm at right now, even though its only 4 weeks, how is my progress so far?

[Electron]

Next time you think about having trained grippers for four whole weeks - remember this

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say,

"Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday, " I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother.."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car."

"How far will we have to drive?" "Just a few blocks,"

Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this.."

After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going?

This isn't the way to the garage!"

"We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled,

"by way of the daffodils."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise.

You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign that read, "Daffodil Garden."

We got out of the car and each took a child's hand,

and I followed Carolyn down the path.

Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped.

Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon, pink, saffron, and butter yellow.

Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.

There were five acres of flowers.

"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn.

"It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property.

That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster.

"Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.

The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman.

Two hands, two feet, and very little brain."

The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

There it was, The Daffodil Principle.

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience.

I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable (indescribable) magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time -- often just one baby step at a time -- and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.

When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world. "It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn.

"What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays.

The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

So, stop waiting ...

Until your car or home is paid off

Until you get a new car or home

Until your kids leave the house

Until you go back to school

Until you finish school

Until you lose 10 lbs.

Until you gain 10 lbs.

Until you get married

Until you get a divorce

Until you have kids

Until you retire

Until summer

Until spring

Until winter

Until fall

Until you die

There is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

So work like you don't need money,

Love like you've never been hurt,

And, dance like no one's watching.

Beautiful.

[climber511]

Thanks everyone for the input. It has only been 4 weeks and I expect unrealistic gains-you guys are definitely right.

I will change up my training, and I'm going to go ahead and buy a GHP 4 and 5. (Getting the 4 to bridge between the 1.5 and 2, and 5 to bridge between 2 and 2.5) Those GHP grippers have cool looking handles. I also have a 2.5 as is.

For where I'm at right now, even though its only 4 weeks, how is my progress so far?

You're doing fine. If you can change your mindset to a more long term view - you won't stress so much about each day or week. You'll have ups and downs along the way - don't let them bother you - a year (or a decade) from now you'll look back and laugh at this.