Silver Bullet Questions

[DoctorOfCrush]

I have never really trained with the Silver Bullet, but I am open to possibly using it in the future, and I have some questions. 

Are there many that use it for routine training? I have seen some comment on how they'll add it leading up to a competition where they know it will be tested. For those who do it routinely, do you use it instead of negatives? Alongside negatives? 

What difficulty of gripper should one use? I have seen people using grippers way above what they can typically close for these. For instance, if I am MMS-ing high 130s/low 140s, what RGC should I test? 

This dovetails somewhat with the previous question, but kind of set/time scheme have people had success with? At what point do you begin considering a heavier gripper?

Sorry for the litany of questions; I'm just essentially ignorant on the topic. 

[dubyagrip]

I've tried fitting it into my routine, but I really can't commit to training it regularly.  I think it might be useful if you've hit a plateau or just need to shake things up.  I trained it for a few weeks ahead of a competition with a #3, which I can close easily.  In training, I could hold it for 20-30 seconds at the end of my workouts.  I ended up being able to hold 2.5kg for 23 seconds using a 3.5 at the comp.  Learning the technique to set and use a huge gripper like a #4 with your knees will take some time, so if you want to do it that way...be prepared for some work.  I know this doesn't really answer your questions, but I thought I'd offer some insight.

Edited March 24, 2023 by dubyagrip

[stranger]

I'm currently closing high 160's grippers and can Silver Bullet a 193 for 5+ seconds very consistently. I've gotten a 204 for 4 seconds and a 215 for 1 ish. 

 

Typical I'll work up to 3 heavy attempts then do some back downs with 178, 164 and 152. 

Getting the set down is key, I'm still kinda struggling with it. Hope to get a legal hold on a #4 in May for a contest. 

You could probably work them in more regularly but not max weight or time.  Maybe like a gripper that you can close for sets of 10 or so.

[C8Myotome]

I've GHP block setted a lighter 3.5 at 167 but have 20 mm block hold (1 mm bigger than silver bullet) an average coc4 at 212 rgc. Since it's not fully closing it is not putting out it's maximal resistance...it's probably putting out about 2/3 of its resistance by the time it stops moving. You can also vary what size object you use based on how deep of a close you want (strap holds, doubled-over strap holds, coins, 30 mm block, etc). I think they are useful for spending more time in a position & RGC you can actually manage, rather than having it get too heavy & then bailing on the rep. If you're just doing this concept for training purposes then there is a lot of room to play around with what objects you use for it. 

[DoctorOfCrush]

2 hours ago, dubyagrip said:

I've tried fitting it into my routine, but I really can't commit to training it regularly.  I think it might be useful if you've hit a plateau or just need to shake things up.  I trained it for a few weeks ahead of a competition with a #3, which I can close easily.  In training, I could hold it for 20-30 seconds at the end of my workouts.  I ended up being able to hold 2.5kg for 23 seconds using a 3.5 at the comp.  Learning the technique to set and use a huge gripper like a #4 with your knees will take some time, so if you want to do it that way...be prepared for some work.  I know this doesn't really answer your questions, but I thought I'd offer some insight.

Thanks, this insight definitely helps. As you mentioned, I am more brainstorming for the possibility of a future plateau and what kind of variation I could have in my arsenal. The learning curve makes me wonder whether the juice is worth the squeeze. I imagine not currently as long as I am getting results with what I am doing. 

2 hours ago, stranger said:

I'm currently closing high 160's grippers and can Silver Bullet a 193 for 5+ seconds very consistently. I've gotten a 204 for 4 seconds and a 215 for 1 ish. 

 

Typical I'll work up to 3 heavy attempts then do some back downs with 178, 164 and 152. 

Getting the set down is key, I'm still kinda struggling with it. Hope to get a legal hold on a #4 in May for a contest. 

You could probably work them in more regularly but not max weight or time.  Maybe like a gripper that you can close for sets of 10 or so.

Do you think think that using such a light gripper for what I expect would be a longer hold would confer more benefit than say a negative with something heavier for a moderate amount of time? Are you referring more to a safety and ability to recover standpoint? 

1 hour ago, C8Myotome said:

I've GHP block setted a lighter 3.5 at 167 but have 20 mm block hold (1 mm bigger than silver bullet) an average coc4 at 212 rgc. Since it's not fully closing it is not putting out it's maximal resistance...it's probably putting out about 2/3 of its resistance by the time it stops moving. You can also vary what size object you use based on how deep of a close you want (strap holds, doubled-over strap holds, coins, 30 mm block, etc). I think they are useful for spending more time in a position & RGC you can actually manage, rather than having it get too heavy & then bailing on the rep. If you're just doing this concept for training purposes then there is a lot of room to play around with what objects you use for it. 

This is interesting. Like a time under productive tension. My lack of need for specificity (I don't plan on competitions really) really does open up the possibility of variety too. It also makes me think about how one could design a mesocycle around either transitioning from wider sets with avery heavy gripper to more narrow ones with somewhat lighter grippers, or vice versa, over the course of the cycle and trying to determine which progression leads to more benefit for peaking. 

[stranger]

@DoctorOfCrush safety and recovery but to get actually good at it you'd need to do heavy attempts . 

[Fist of Fury]

I don't think there's anything to gain doing SB if you want to improve om closing grippers. It's a different thing.

In fact I would even say it could be detrimental to your ability to close grippers. Because you're teaching your hand to be strong in the wrong position.

The only benefit it can have is that you get set practice. But that is something you can do without doing SB-holds.

If you want to do static training to get better at closing grippers you should focus on the closing part. Doing strap holds with a very thin strap. Choked grippers is also a good way of training.