CoC #3 certification journey

[EmilBB]

Did the Griffkraft/Robert Baraban certification this week, it's TNS only on narrow RB grippers. Went for their 4 easiest grippers, 210C, 240C, 260C & 300C. The 300C is rated 143, so that's a PR TNS for me. 

Also tried a thumbless TNS on the easiest gripper, got me thinking, is this the hardest way of closing a gripper? I mean other than using even less fingers or doing it upside down.. Or putting oil on the gripper and your hands I guess

Thumbless TNS = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgd7juWcZR8

RB 300C = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfJ8D5PYPlk

Edited May 13, 2023 by EmilBB

[insane.warrior]

14 minutes ago, EmilBB said:

RB 300C = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfJ8D5PYPlk

Well done!!

[Mashmonster268]

5 hours ago, EmilBB said:

Did the Griffkraft/Robert Baraban certification this week, it's TNS only on narrow RB grippers. Went for their 4 easiest grippers, 210C, 240C, 260C & 300C. The 300C is rated 143, so that's a PR TNS for me. 

Also tried a thumbless TNS on the easiest gripper, got me thinking, is this the hardest way of closing a gripper? I mean other than using even less fingers or doing it upside down.. Or putting oil on the gripper and your hands I guess

Thumbless TNS = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgd7juWcZR8

RB 300C = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfJ8D5PYPlk

@EmilBBGood work on the TNS certs! 

[Jared P]

Great job, man! Gonna have to try that thumbless TNS.

[matek]

Great TNS close, congrats on the cert!

[EmilBB]

Back to the goal of this topic, today I did my first workout after the MM1. 

I am gonna try to use @Carl Myerscough's approach to training, this was my first workout using it but also the first time I CCS in 6-7 months. Really happy with where I'm starting out at, hopefully I can do the #3 cert within this year.

CCS singles: Standard Fe 134 / CoC #3 141 / CoC #3 144. (All really good singles with solid closes).

CCS AMRAP: Standard Pt 120, 4 reps. (This gripper has a 82mm spread, which makes it really tough for CCS and my failing point was actually the start position of the CCS).

Deep set AMRAP: Standard Pt 120, 15 reps. (Shows how weak my CCS start position is, even when fatigued I hit the same gripper for nearly 4 times as many reps in a deep set).

Edited August 26, 2023 by EmilBB

[EmilBB]

Wanted to see if I could train grippers every 5 days, I think I need a week between.

Went for the same CCS singles as last time and missed the 141 and 144 by a tiny bit, not sure if it was because I only had 5 days rest or if it was a bad set since I've not trained CCS in a long time. I will however for sure take a week rest for next workout instead of 5 days.

This session I did my DS AMRAP from a CCS, usually I have the gripper way higher in my palm doing DS but I thought this might be better to keep it as close as possible to a real CCS close.

[John Knowlton]

Killer grip

[Mashmonster268]

@EmilBBSolid CCS gripper work man!  

[C8Myotome]

Great job, looking forward to seeing you cert the # 3

[mcalpine1986]

On 8/26/2023 at 8:31 PM, EmilBB said:

Back to the goal of this topic, today I did my first workout after the MM1. 

I am gonna try to use @Carl Myerscough's approach to training, this was my first workout using it but also the first time I CCS in 6-7 months. Really happy with where I'm starting out at, hopefully I can do the #3 cert within this year.

CCS singles: Standard Fe 134 / CoC #3 141 / CoC #3 144. (All really good singles with solid closes).

CCS AMRAP: Standard Pt 120, 4 reps. (This gripper has a 82mm spread, which makes it really tough for CCS and my failing point was actually the start position of the CCS).

Deep set AMRAP: Standard Pt 120, 15 reps. (Shows how weak my CCS start position is, even when fatigued I hit the same gripper for nearly 4 times as many reps in a deep set).

Great session, very strong work and solid closes.

I also have a CPW standard PT and it's also got a ridiculous spread,one is 84mm I think. It's crazy wide. 

[EmilBB]

4 minutes ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Great session, very strong work and solid closes.

I also have a CPW standard PT and it's also got a ridiculous spread,one is 84mm I think. It's crazy wide. 

Wide grippers are great for building strength, is the PT you have rated? I assume it must be like 120+ when it's that wide.

[mcalpine1986]

25 minutes ago, EmilBB said:

Wide grippers are great for building strength, is the PT you have rated? I assume it must be like 120+ when it's that wide.

That may be but I have trouble setting very wide grippers, they always feel higher than the actual RGC.

Yes Mine is rated by CPW at 119lbs. It feels tougher than my coc 2.5 at 126lbs and also my GHP 6 at 125lbs as it's so wide.

Edit 

Sorry I was going off memory when I said 84mm, mine is actually 82mm spread. I found a pic.

I asked CPW and I know Matt Cannon said the first batch of the Standards PT's all came out super wide for some reason

Edited September 4, 2023 by mcalpine1986

[EmilBB]

36 minutes ago, mcalpine1986 said:

That may be but I have trouble setting very wide grippers, they always feel higher than the actual RGC.

Yes Mine is rated by CPW at 119lbs. It feels tougher than my coc 2.5 at 126lbs and also my GHP 6 at 125lbs as it's so wide.

Edit 

Sorry I was going off memory when I said 84mm, mine is actually 82mm spread. I found a pic.

I asked CPW and I know Matt Cannon said the first batch of the Standards PT's all came out super wide for some reason

I actually don't like super wide grippers either when they're close to my max, because my set is also my weakness but when they're light enough to do reps I really like them. Their sweep is really tough when they're wide but the close is relatively easy, I think my Pt 120 is as hard as my #2.5 130 at the CCS position but the close itself is much harder on the #2.5 130.

 

 

[mcalpine1986]

44 minutes ago, EmilBB said:

I actually don't like super wide grippers either when they're close to my max, because my set is also my weakness but when they're light enough to do reps I really like them. Their sweep is really tough when they're wide but the close is relatively easy, I think my Pt 120 is as hard as my #2.5 130 at the CCS position but the close itself is much harder on the #2.5 130.

 

 

That is interesting thanks, I've only tried my PT a few times but that was over a year ago. I've only just got back into grippers a couple of weeks ago but actually feel stronger on them now due to all the other grip work I've been doing

I've never really consistently trained grippers before, I just have tended to focus on them for a few weeks then move onto something else but that has to change if I want to close big grippers. I'm in a different mindset now though and I really want to get my 2.5 closed and also my lighter GHP 6(I own 2 at 125 and 132lb) in the short term.

I'll have to try my CPW PT again, I'm strong in the sweep on any gripper normally then weak at the close.

If you don't mind me asking, What method do you feel works best for you training wise with grippers?

Also I noticed you have a pretty thick palm and thumb pad. I have big hands for my size but not that thick, I always feel that grippers slide back a lot because of my lack of hand thickness and if I had thicker hands they would stay put and I could apply more force at the close.

Edited September 4, 2023 by mcalpine1986

[EmilBB]

37 minutes ago, mcalpine1986 said:

That is interesting thanks, I've only tried my PT a few times but that was over a year ago. I've only just got back into grippers a couple of weeks ago but actually feel stronger on them now due to all the other grip work I've been doing

I've never really consistently trained grippers before, I just have tended to focus on them for a few weeks then move onto something else but that has to change if I want to close big grippers. I'm in a different mindset now though and I really want to get my 2.5 closed and also my lighter GHP 6(I own 2 at 125 and 132lb) in the short term.

I'll have to try my CPW PT again, I'm strong in the sweep on any gripper normally then weak at the close.

If you don't mind me asking, What method do you feel works best for you training wise with grippers?

Also I noticed you have a pretty thick palm and thumb pad. I have big hands for my size but not that thick, I always feel that grippers slide back a lot because of my lack of hand thickness and if I had thicker hands they would stay put and I could apply more force at the close.

I've only trained grippers for a bit over a year and I'm still experimenting to see what works best for me, so I don't feel like I'm in a position to give advice. I like to follow what the elite guys do for a period of time to see what I can get out of it, I think trying a lot of different programs to find what works best for you is key.

Having the gripper slide back is a HUGE problem obviously, I had that problem in the beginning too and what helped me was Paul Knight's video on how to set, specifically this part: Paul Knight setting video

Obviously a thick hand helps a lot but not sure how to give advice on that, I've seen some people on here with huge transformations to their hands. I think it was @Londonjoseph, so maybe he can help you with that.

[mcalpine1986]

29 minutes ago, EmilBB said:

I've only trained grippers for a bit over a year and I'm still experimenting to see what works best for me, so I don't feel like I'm in a position to give advice. I like to follow what the elite guys do for a period of time to see what I can get out of it, I think trying a lot of different programs to find what works best for you is key.

Having the gripper slide back is a HUGE problem obviously, I had that problem in the beginning too and what helped me was Paul Knight's video on how to set, specifically this part: Paul Knight setting video

Obviously a thick hand helps a lot but not sure how to give advice on that, I've seen some people on here with huge transformations to their hands. I think it was @Londonjoseph, so maybe he can help you with that.

Wow for a years gripper training you are very strong, not that many get to that level within a year. Very impressive stuff. If you don't mind me asking, how much do you weigh?

I have seen that vid in the past, it's gold but i should rewatch it again so thanks for posting that 

I agree it's about finding out what works for you, I just like hearing how others stronger than me train.

I'm not a big guy at 5ft 8.5in/174cm tall and 165lbs/75kg but do have quite large hands at 7.75" long and 9.25" spread for my size but lack thickness like I said, as I'm all palm, very wide and long palms and relatively shorter fingers which doesn't seem to help with keeping a gripper stay put. That's why I like GHP's, the knurling has a great bite to it.

My palms have actually thickened a little bit before getting back into grippers this past few months but it's slow going. 

Edited September 4, 2023 by mcalpine1986

[dubyagrip]

18 minutes ago, EmilBB said:

I've only trained grippers for a bit over a year and I'm still experimenting to see what works best for me, so I don't feel like I'm in a position to give advice. I like to follow what the elite guys do for a period of time to see what I can get out of it, I think trying a lot of different programs to find what works best for you is key.

Having the gripper slide back is a HUGE problem obviously, I had that problem in the beginning too and what helped me was Paul Knight's video on how to set, specifically this part: Paul Knight setting video

Obviously a thick hand helps a lot but not sure how to give advice on that, I've seen some people on here with huge transformations to their hands. I think it was @Londonjoseph, so maybe he can help you with that.

I'd never seen that Paul Knight video, great information and details there.

[EmilBB]

2 minutes ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Wow for a years gripper training you are very strong, not that many get to that level within a year. Very impressive stuff. If you don't mind me asking, how much do you weigh?

I have seen that vid in the past, it's gold but i should rewatch it again so thanks for posting that 

I agree it's about finding out what works for you, I just like hearing how others stronger than me train.

I'm not a big guy at 5ft 8.5in/174cm tall and 165lbs/75kg but do have quite large hands at 7.75" long and 9.25" spread for my size but lack thickness like I said, as I'm all palm, very wide and long palms and relatively shorter fingers which doesn't seem to help with keeping a gripper stay put. That's why I like GHP's, the knurling is has a great bite to it.

My palms have actually thickened a little bit before getting back into grippers this past few months but it's slow going. 

I weigh around 120kg, so it's probably why my hands are thick but I wouldn't recommend going that route to get thicker hands

We have pretty similar hands which of course saddens me because I'm quite a bit taller at 192cm

My hand is 8" long but only 8.75" spread, I have really short fingers, especially thumb and pinky. My hand length is 60% palm, 40% fingers, which is terrible for closing grippers and just grip in general. Blessed with my dad's palm, cursed with my mom's fingers 

[mcalpine1986]

8 minutes ago, EmilBB said:

I weigh around 120kg, so it's probably why my hands are thick but I wouldn't recommend going that route to get thicker hands

We have pretty similar hands which of course saddens me because I'm quite a bit taller at 192cm

My hand is 8" long but only 8.75" spread, I have really short fingers, especially thumb and pinky. My hand length is 60% palm, 40% fingers, which is terrible for closing grippers and just grip in general. Blessed with my dad's palm, cursed with my mom's fingers 

I thought you must be a bigger guy looking at how big your forearms and hands were. I've always been a lighter guy, most of the people Coc 3 and above level are bigger guys, certainly bigger than 75kg like me anyway. 

I know what you mean and I'd mine are probably 60/40% like yours. I also have short pinkies, what's annoying with my hands is my left is a bit bigger and thicker with longer fingers which would be better for grippers but most grippers favour the right hand the way the spring is wound.

There is nothing we can do about size that way though hit we can gain thickness.

consistently if key with grippers I think, I've never found that sweet spot yet, I think it's easy to overdo grippers as they can be addictive sometimes.

[EmilBB]

6 minutes ago, mcalpine1986 said:

I thought you must be a bigger guy looking at how big your forearms and hands were. I've always been a lighter guy, most of the people Coc 3 and above level are bigger guys, certainly bigger than 75kg like me anyway. 

I know what you mean and I'd mine are probably 60/40% like yours. I also have short pinkies, what's annoying with my hands is my left is a bit bigger and thicker with longer fingers which would be better for grippers but most grippers favour the right hand the way the spring is wound.

There is nothing we can do about size that way though hit we can gain thickness.

consistently if key with grippers I think, I've never found that sweet spot yet, I think it's easy to overdo grippers as they can be addictive sometimes.

Thicker hands is always the goal, I want hands like King Charles' 

One tip that actually helped me a lot recently, is to only train grippers once a week. Which is tough because like you say they are addictive, so the hardest part is actually staying away from them. I had to move them to the garage, so they're not right in front of me all the time 

[mcalpine1986]

51 minutes ago, EmilBB said:

Thicker hands is always the goal, I want hands like King Charles' 

One tip that actually helped me a lot recently, is to only train grippers once a week. Which is tough because like you say they are addictive, so the hardest part is actually staying away from them. I had to move them to the garage, so they're not right in front of me all the time 

King Charles sure does have sausage fingers most of the time, he gets edema when travelling and his hand's swell.

I'll keep that in mind thanks, some people seem to do well on 3 times per week and  others just once, I'm going to play about with what works best for me. In the past I used to find that 3 times per 2 weeks was a nice sweet spot in frequency so say Mon and Friday week 1 then the following Wednesday then back to Monday and Friday and so on.

I do train other grip so it's hard to juggle grippers and other training sometimes. 

Thanks for the insight and sorry to of slightly hijacked your workout log

Edited September 4, 2023 by mcalpine1986

[EmilBB]

57 minutes ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Thanks for the insight and sorry to of slightly hijacked your workout log

No worries man, I haven't been that active on here anyway 

[Londonjoseph]

17 hours ago, EmilBB said:

I've only trained grippers for a bit over a year and I'm still experimenting to see what works best for me, so I don't feel like I'm in a position to give advice. I like to follow what the elite guys do for a period of time to see what I can get out of it, I think trying a lot of different programs to find what works best for you is key.

Having the gripper slide back is a HUGE problem obviously, I had that problem in the beginning too and what helped me was Paul Knight's video on how to set, specifically this part: Paul Knight setting video

Obviously a thick hand helps a lot but not sure how to give advice on that, I've seen some people on here with huge transformations to their hands. I think it was @Londonjoseph, so maybe he can help you with that.

 This is what you saw me post a long time ago

[EmilBB]

15 minutes ago, Londonjoseph said:

 This is what you saw me post a long time ago

That's it, crazy transformation. How long is there between those pics? Also what do you attribute the size gain to?