Grip with family

[LABZSTS]

Hello again with a random question. I was curious if those of you guys in grip sport (no matter how involved in it you are), like to teach or give pointers to your family members. Would you guys who do teach their families say you have a strong grip amongst all of your pride? Also to those with kids, would you guys want to teach them when they get older? I personally am probably still too young to think about kids, but I'd like to think I'd teach them what I learned growing up. 

[C8Myotome]

There's been a couple grippers in my family line but nobody who has got into it as much I have.

I would avoid having kids under 15 start in grip or at least at a very low amount level; there is a disorder called little leagur's elbow where repetitive use of the muscles that attach at the medial epicondyle (grip muscles) can cause an avulsion fracture because the growth plate does not seal there until on average at age 15 for males.

[Ivan Cuk]

1 hour ago, C8Myotome said:

There's been a couple grippers in my family line but nobody who has got into it as much I have.

I would avoid having kids under 15 start in grip or at least at a very low amount level; there is a disorder called little leagur's elbow where repetitive use of the muscles that attach at the medial epicondyle (grip muscles) can cause an avulsion fracture because the growth plate does not seal there until on average at age 15 for males.

If I recall John Brzenk might have had this when he was 13? He was armwrestling a lot and apparently fractured the elbow. This could've been it?

[Climber028]

All humans need a strong grip, it doesn't matter what sport you do or how old you are. Strength training is vital for the entire body, the hands are not exempt from that

[Climber028]

1 hour ago, C8Myotome said:

I would avoid having kids under 15 start in grip or at least at a very low amount level; there is a disorder called little leagur's elbow where repetitive use of the muscles that attach at the medial epicondyle (grip muscles) can cause an avulsion fracture because the growth plate does not seal there until on average at age 15 for males.

No need to be this cautious, that is only an issue due to the speed and extremely high volume young pitchers are forced into with baseball and doesn't apply to grip strength in general. The best examples come from gymnastics and rock climbing, both require ridiculous grip strength and regularly with children as young as 4 or 5, this is a non-issue with intelligent training and an even slightly competent coach. Both of my kids do all types of strength training, and the vast majority of rock climbing injuries in children are torn/strained finger pulleys once you rule out injuries from falling such as ankle and wrist sprains. 

[Blacksmith513]

Great question.. I've tried, everyone is too lazy. My cousin in the Marines would probably train with me if we lived near each other.  Other than that my whole family is pretty sedentary. 

My dad and his brother where both very strong in their day from doing masonry, and they still are, huge wrists and forearms but they are pretty banged up now. I really wish their dad was alive to train grip with. He was a genetic freak and I dare say would have been one of the best. His brothers where very rugged too, but nothing like him. 

 

I'm always talking to my nephews about working out.. They are still young. But you never know it may stick. My uncle plays guitar and i'm pretty sure being around him at an early age is what got me into it. I'm not a parent, but I feel like with kids you can't force them to do stuff just because you like it and think they should. You gotta sorta sprinkle it here and there so its always in the back of their mind.  So that's what I try to do as an uncle, be a positive influence. 

[Jermiah Merciconah]

My little brother uses my grippers from time to time, he's 17 and can close a 2.5 with a card set, So he's definitely got his big brother's genetics

[jchapman]

1 hour ago, Blacksmith513 said:

I'm always talking to my nephews about working out.. They are still young. But you never know it may stick. My uncle plays guitar and i'm pretty sure being around him at an early age is what got me into it. I'm not a parent, but I feel like with kids you can't force them to do stuff just because you like it and think they should. You gotta sorta sprinkle it here and there so its always in the back of their mind.  So that's what I try to do as an uncle, be a positive influence. 

This is spot on.

[John Knowlton]

Both my sons grew up around weights and gym equipment. And now both of them have home gyms of their own and work out on a regular basis. Just last Christmas I bought them each a set of GHP hand grippers.

 

[dubyagrip]

My sons (4 and 7) are always wanting to do what I am doing, so I bought a set of the GHP junior grippers.  They love them.  I tried putting the older one on a twice a week routine with the promise of a treat when he can close the gold one, but I don't force it.  Keeping it casual and fun will do more to ensure they have stronger grips than their peers and an interest in strength training in general as they get older.

[DevilErik]

5 minutes ago, dubyagrip said:

My sons (4 and 7) are always wanting to do what I am doing, so I bought a set of the GHP junior grippers.  They love them.  I tried putting the older one on a twice a week routine with the promise of a treat when he can close the gold one, but I don't force it.  Keeping it casual and fun will do more to ensure they have stronger grips than their peers and an interest in strength training in general as they get older.

 

14 minutes ago, John Knowlton said:

Both my sons grew up around weights and gym equipment. And now both of them have home gyms of their own and work out on a regular basis. Just last Christmas I bought them each a set of GHP hand grippers.

 

That's awesome you guys are cool dads!

[Cannon]

My family literally lives in a grip strength household. It’s how we make a living. There is even a gym in our basement. Nobody is interested in training grip. Our 14yo has taken an interest in building products though. When it’s time to make more Bumpers or Pony Pinch Kits I can reply on her for help.

[C8Myotome]

I don't have a large family and of that very few people work out...one of my uncles was a competitive bodybuilder and personal trainer. Aside from that my dad lifted a bit but got a disc injury from deadlifting and basically stopped, half of the equipment I use now is his (the rack and half the plates, I added basically everything else the flooring, new bench, new bar, more plates, lighting, 99% of the grip equipment etc). My brother in law has some weights at his place and claims to want to do the dinnie stones but didn't want to try mine when he saw me use them and has never deadlifted past maybe like 300 lbs soo. None of the women in my family have ever worked out. Girls I have dated have not wanted to work out & in the rare opportunity I was able to get them into a gym with me they either complained until it was time to leave or sat in the sauna doing nothing until it was time to leave.

Sooo pretty much nobody other than me in my direct family has not had any interest in working out (& my interest in it is what led me to leave the tech field to enter the physical therapy field). It is honestly pretty lame & I definitely get jealous of those who have other athletes in their family that they can relate with. People just get annoyed if I mention anything about working out so I don't.

[dubyagrip]

My family are all sedentary, and the people who aren't drunks or drug addicts all work very hard, manual labor jobs.  I am an only child, so I prefer and am used to doing everything alone.  I am literally the only person in my entire immediate and extended family who is in any kind of shape that isn't a blob or a toothpick.

I don't think I would change it though.  I like having something that is solely mine.  There is no team, no reliance on anyone else.  It comes down to me and my discipline to train, eat, and recover properly or not.

[C8Myotome]

51 minutes ago, dubyagrip said:

My family are all sedentary, and the people who aren't drunks or drug addicts all work very hard, manual labor jobs.  I am an only child, so I prefer and am used to doing everything alone.  I am literally the only person in my entire immediate and extended family who is in any kind of shape that isn't a blob or a toothpick.

I don't think I would change it though.  I like having something that is solely mine.  There is no team, no reliance on anyone else.  It comes down to me and my discipline to train, eat, and recover properly or not.

Same. Everyone in my family is typically skinny, with only very distant relatives that range into obesity. I mean some do stuff like yoga but that's not lifting.

All of my eating is very structured & quantified so what I hate about getting invited to eat stuff with them is there is absolutely no specific macronutrients they are going for it's just "food" and there is no way of measuring any of it or regard to how many calories there is. My family does not understand anything about macronutrients and tries to get me to eat their food let's say for example beans "there's lots of protein in it!" ok just because a small percentage of it has protein and I would need to eat 12,000 calories of that food to get my protein daily intake doesn't mean that "some" = "a lot".

Coincidentally being the only person in my family and most of distant family that actually lifts, I am also the only one that isn't on any type of medication for any sort of health disorder. Nothing for mental, nothing for physical.

I only had sisters (not counting a half brother I never lived with) but it was almost like being an only child as anything masculine I had to do and figure out on my own.

I am also the only person in my entire extended family that doesn't drink & actually has intention behind what I put in my body.

I really wish society wasn't this way, where wanting to be strong and healthy makes you an outlier, or abnormal, & obesity is statistically more likely than not. 

[John Knowlton]

That's good that you are very discipline with your diet and exercise. back in my early days of powerlifting pre-workout was pizza and beer