John McCarter Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 Please understand some of the information I'm providing is over 10 years old at this point, I don't have the training notes anymore from that time period. I will attempt to get everything close as I can remember. In 2012, I got serious about grip training and wanted to get the #3 certification. I started to re-think how the program affected what reflected my goals. I started using eccentrics/negatives (be careful if you attempt them, too much and it can cause injury). At the time, I would train 2-3 days. One or two day(s) would be for negatives; I can't remember how many I would perform, but I would use super heavy grippers, and I mean they would sometimes be stronger than a #4 . The 3rd day would be rep work centered around "credit card" closes (swipe the card once and then focus on end range reps without having to swipe the card again), maybe around 3-5 reps per set. For the equipment, this is what I used. The Secret Weapon grip machine (used for negative work only, nothing else). A lot of hand grippers ranging from super light to almost 200+ lbs rated. After the gripper movement came pinch. I used the TTK or the Ironmind Hub, depending how my back was acting on any giving day would determine what I would use. Can't remember how many reps/sets I would do, just do it until my thumbs would give out. After pinch I do wrist roller work, but I would have the roller sitting upon my lap and I perform the movement like a wrist curl (change the direction of the cord to create a forward/reverse motion). Fast forward a few years and I question how I'm programming my grip. I began with the single thought "what am I strong and weak on in terms of grip strength?". I began experimenting with cycling through a program, crude but effective, at the time. Everything was based around the Westside Barbell method but focused on grip. Again, everything was crude. I would train 2 days a week. Day 1 for grippers would be heavy isometric holds for a 3-5 second count. I switch the gripper out and work with a lighter gripper used for setting. Doing that until I reached 6 sets with both grippers. Move onto assistance work. Day 2 would be more dynamic. I would attempt to stay within a 55-65% range of my max effort gripper. I follow up with the same assistance work. After the main gripper work came pinch with a block, followed in the same method as grippers but done with % of my maximum lift. Assistance would be wrist roller work and 2-finger holds with a dumbbell. Index-middle or ring-pinkie. Nothing heavy and using only what my hands can take. A few sets for reps or hold for time. As the weeks went by, I would increase the weight for the 2 finger lift and did get up to around 100-120lbs (I don't suggest anyone get up to that much weight as it could cause injury, and it hurts like there is no tomorrow). Assistance work must reflect your goal in terms of attempting to bring up the weakest parts of your grip into strengths. I would change the above concept up again for 2 different training cycles as the years go by. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fIGJ6jkgcOgNJpERK76F7kIiZHnFrGKAdWeRASKkl3c/edit?usp=sharing (workout templet) (This is more of a cycle to be used throughout the year.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PCX1deARvDykKYl6bIDee2FiliraRq5q27F1Quw2baE/edit?usp=sharing (contest training cycle) (This training cycle was used for when I broke the Ironmind hub world record.) 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Cuk Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 First time I closed my 3 was in March of 2020, closed it a couple times in April and then stop grippers completely till around December 2020. I couldn't close the 3 when I came back I could only do the 2.5 for couple singles. In January of 21 is when I first started to try and certify for the #3, I sent Ironmind video of me closing my 3 from wide set then they wrote back that I needed to swipe a card through the handles. First time trying a credit card set I did my #3 for submission, they sent me a brand new 3 to cert. Well some complications with the gripper being out of frame and all ended up taking till March to finally certify. It took me from January till May to go from #3 wide set to certifying #3.5 with ccs. Rather quick progress but I think the strength was more or less there at the time a lot of it just wasn't activated since I didn't do grippers for a while. 16-17-18 is a big jump in strength and size so that contributed more to my success than any "training" I did lol. At the time I was bending blue nail and trying to close the 3 every other day basically. Genetics can take you far however without good training knowledge you wont reach your potential. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdriaanRobert96 Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 8 hours ago, John McCarter said: Please understand some of the information I'm providing is over 10 years old at this point, I don't have the training notes anymore from that time period. I will attempt to get everything close as I can remember. In 2012, I got serious about grip training and wanted to get the #3 certification. I started to re-think how the program affected what reflected my goals. I started using eccentrics/negatives (be careful if you attempt them, too much and it can cause injury). At the time, I would train 2-3 days. One or two day(s) would be for negatives; I can't remember how many I would perform, but I would use super heavy grippers, and I mean they would sometimes be stronger than a #4 . The 3rd day would be rep work centered around "credit card" closes (swipe the card once and then focus on end range reps without having to swipe the card again), maybe around 3-5 reps per set. For the equipment, this is what I used. The Secret Weapon grip machine (used for negative work only, nothing else). A lot of hand grippers ranging from super light to almost 200+ lbs rated. After the gripper movement came pinch. I used the TTK or the Ironmind Hub, depending how my back was acting on any giving day would determine what I would use. Can't remember how many reps/sets I would do, just do it until my thumbs would give out. After pinch I do wrist roller work, but I would have the roller sitting upon my lap and I perform the movement like a wrist curl (change the direction of the cord to create a forward/reverse motion). Fast forward a few years and I question how I'm programming my grip. I began with the single thought "what am I strong and weak on in terms of grip strength?". I began experimenting with cycling through a program, crude but effective, at the time. Everything was based around the Westside Barbell method but focused on grip. Again, everything was crude. I would train 2 days a week. Day 1 for grippers would be heavy isometric holds for a 3-5 second count. I switch the gripper out and work with a lighter gripper used for setting. Doing that until I reached 6 sets with both grippers. Move onto assistance work. Day 2 would be more dynamic. I would attempt to stay within a 55-65% range of my max effort gripper. I follow up with the same assistance work. After the main gripper work came pinch with a block, followed in the same method as grippers but done with % of my maximum lift. Assistance would be wrist roller work and 2-finger holds with a dumbbell. Index-middle or ring-pinkie. Nothing heavy and using only what my hands can take. A few sets for reps or hold for time. As the weeks went by, I would increase the weight for the 2 finger lift and did get up to around 100-120lbs (I don't suggest anyone get up to that much weight as it could cause injury, and it hurts like there is no tomorrow). Assistance work must reflect your goal in terms of attempting to bring up the weakest parts of your grip into strengths. I would change the above concept up again for 2 different training cycles as the years go by. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fIGJ6jkgcOgNJpERK76F7kIiZHnFrGKAdWeRASKkl3c/edit?usp=sharing (workout templet) (This is more of a cycle to be used throughout the year.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PCX1deARvDykKYl6bIDee2FiliraRq5q27F1Quw2baE/edit?usp=sharing (contest training cycle) (This training cycle was used for when I broke the Ironmind hub world record.) Holy cowThat’s some work there indeed, love the way you really it thought.. altho It feels like you might have done a lot, I personally would’ve never recovered from that Also breaking the Iron Mind Hub Record, mad respect! It goes to show how different we all are when it come to grip and how we adapt and evolve. Thanks a lot for the in-depth pal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdriaanRobert96 Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, Ivan Cuk said: First time I closed my 3 was in March of 2020, closed it a couple times in April and then stop grippers completely till around December 2020. I couldn't close the 3 when I came back I could only do the 2.5 for couple singles. In January of 21 is when I first started to try and certify for the #3, I sent Ironmind video of me closing my 3 from wide set then they wrote back that I needed to swipe a card through the handles. First time trying a credit card set I did my #3 for submission, they sent me a brand new 3 to cert. Well some complications with the gripper being out of frame and all ended up taking till March to finally certify. It took me from January till May to go from #3 wide set to certifying #3.5 with ccs. Rather quick progress but I think the strength was more or less there at the time a lot of it just wasn't activated since I didn't do grippers for a while. 16-17-18 is a big jump in strength and size so that contributed more to my success than any "training" I did lol. At the time I was bending blue nail and trying to close the 3 every other day basically. Genetics can take you far however without good training knowledge you wont reach your potential. Insane as always Ivan, the jump from #3-#3.5 is so impressive to me and I am sure to a lot of other people here I am currently 5mm of the #3.5 and a total of 3 months in after closing my #3, altho the last millimeters are like a brick Oh and I got a question for you if you don’t mind? How long did you use heavy attempts before moving on to building reps? Or do you vary in-between them? Edited January 17, 2023 by AdriaanRobert96 Had a question😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Cuk Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 5 hours ago, AdriaanRobert96 said: Insane as always Ivan, the jump from #3-#3.5 is so impressive to me and I am sure to a lot of other people here I am currently 5mm of the #3.5 and a total of 3 months in after closing my #3, altho the last millimeters are like a brick Oh and I got a question for you if you don’t mind? How long did you use heavy attempts before moving on to building reps? Or do you vary in-between them? It wasn't till around April of 2022 when I realized I needed to switch to more reps. Right now I just work with my 3.5 for reps either ccs or regular atm. Not interested in maxing out since I know not gonna be closing more than my 212 right now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdriaanRobert96 Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 28 minutes ago, Ivan Cuk said: It wasn't till around April of 2022 when I realized I needed to switch to more reps. Right now I just work with my 3.5 for reps either ccs or regular atm. Not interested in maxing out since I know not gonna be closing more than my 212 right now. I see, so fairly recently then.. I personally am on a good flow with attempts atm, if I don’t close the #3.5 until Februrary 26th I‘ll change back to reps aswell The hard part is honestly waiting for the next grip workout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Cuk Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 3 hours ago, AdriaanRobert96 said: I see, so fairly recently then.. I personally am on a good flow with attempts atm, if I don’t close the #3.5 until Februrary 26th I‘ll change back to reps aswell The hard part is honestly waiting for the next grip workout There was a thread couple months ago where Paul (Rest in peace) said it best. Heavy attempt and singles are more for testing where you are at, so it isn't needed every week 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 4 hours ago, Ivan Cuk said: I know not gonna be closing more than my 212 right now This is a very funny statement. Comparable to: "I know I'm not gonna hit more than 62 home runs for the Yankees this year." "I know I'm not going to amount to much more than a Supreme Court Justice." "I know I'm not going to earn more than a million dollars this year." You are one strong young man. Hope to see you at a comp one day! 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Cuk Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 47 minutes ago, Vinnie said: This is a very funny statement. Comparable to: "I know I'm not gonna hit more than 62 home runs for the Yankees this year." "I know I'm not going to amount to much more than a Supreme Court Justice." "I know I'm not going to earn more than a million dollars this year." You are one strong young man. Hope to see you at a comp one day! Haha, Yeah its subjective ya know. Maybe one day! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdriaanRobert96 Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 12 hours ago, Vinnie said: This is a very funny statement. Comparable to: "I know I'm not gonna hit more than 62 home runs for the Yankees this year." "I know I'm not going to amount to much more than a Supreme Court Justice." "I know I'm not going to earn more than a million dollars this year." You are one strong young man. Hope to see you at a comp one day! Very well said VinnieIvan got this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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