Your favourite warmup for a heavy gripper session?

[pancho_grip_lift]

Hello guys, I'd love to know your warmup before a heavy gripper session. I've heard many approaches such as placing your hands in warm water and then start your workout; some people like to grab the COC trainer, then jump to the #2, #2,5 and going for the goal gripper; I've heard some friends that hit the grippers in between their strength bodybuilding sessions so they are warmed up already...

I personally like to do leg exercises to start my routine such as barbell squats, hack squats or leg presses followed by extensors with bands and then hit the grippers, starting from coc Sport until I hit my goal gripper.

I'd love to hear your take on this!

[Jermiah Merciconah]

Me personally my favourite warmup for grippers has to be a bench press workout, There's something about it that primes the hands just right for maximum gripper closing power, Once i start my gripper session i usually just clack a few reps on the #2 then jump straight up to a big gripper like the Cobalt or 3.5, And then drop set from there when doing volume

[C8Myotome]

I usually pulse squeeze ironmind blue eggs for maybe 20 seconds, maybe warmup the empty bar on squats, but pretty quickly get into grippers. I've varied it a bit over time but in general it looks like:

- Filed CoC trainer x3

- Filed CoC 1 x3

- Filed GHP5 1-3 reps

- Filed GHP6

- Filed GHP7 or in the past other CoC3 territory grippers, but I now hit this area filed as part of my warmup

Usually I will superset some other exercise between, or just superset other tasks like putting on my lifting shoes, moving a bench or other piece of equipment around to get ready to use, barbell squats etc.

[DoctorOfCrush]

I foam roll my back and lats then barbell roll my forearms and triceps. Then I’ll voodoo floss my right forearm to loosen up some medial epicondylitis I deal with. After that I start a circuit of lumbrical movements, sledge supination/pronation, high rep TTK, and high rep extensor bands for a few rounds.

Then I just start working up my grippers in 5-7 lb increments with whichever set type I’m doing until I hit my workout gripper. 

[dubyagrip]

I hit my adjustable baraban on the three lowest levels with the easy spring for ten reps superset with the white and green ironmind extensor bands.  I wait three minutes then I do three violent reps on my #1 to make sure things feel good, then its showtime after another three minute rest.

[pancho_grip_lift]

1 hour ago, Jermiah Merciconah said:

Me personally my favourite warmup for grippers has to be a bench press workout, There's something about it that primes the hands just right for maximum gripper closing power, Once i start my gripper session i usually just clack a few reps on the #2 then jump straight up to a big gripper like the Cobalt or 3.5, And then drop set from there when doing volume

Nice, I also had good experience doing some sets of push ups just before grippers

[pancho_grip_lift]

1 hour ago, C8Myotome said:

I usually pulse squeeze ironmind blue eggs for maybe 20 seconds, maybe warmup the empty bar on squats, but pretty quickly get into grippers. I've varied it a bit over time but in general it looks like:

- Filed CoC trainer x3

- Filed CoC 1 x3

- Filed GHP5 1-3 reps

- Filed GHP6

- Filed GHP7 or in the past other CoC3 territory grippers, but I now hit this area filed as part of my warmup

Usually I will superset some other exercise between, or just superset other tasks like putting on my lifting shoes, moving a bench or other piece of equipment around to get ready to use, barbell squats etc.

What do you mean with pulse squeeze? I like your warmup protocol by the way

[pancho_grip_lift]

1 hour ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

I foam roll my back and lats then barbell roll my forearms and triceps. Then I’ll voodoo floss my right forearm to loosen up some medial epicondylitis I deal with. After that I start a circuit of lumbrical movements, sledge supination/pronation, high rep TTK, and high rep extensor bands for a few rounds.

Then I just start working up my grippers in 5-7 lb increments with whichever set type I’m doing until I hit my workout gripper. 

I like this approach as well...extensive warmup of your hands and lower arm. I love to do this kind of warmup in days where I'm tired, or late night workouts.

[pancho_grip_lift]

58 minutes ago, dubyagrip said:

I hit my adjustable baraban on the three lowest levels with the easy spring for ten reps superset with the white and green ironmind extensor bands.  I wait three minutes then I do three violent reps on my #1 to make sure things feel good, then its showtime after another three minute rest.

So from the #1 you could jump straight to the #3?

[C8Myotome]

1 minute ago, pancho_grip_lift said:

What do you mean with pulse squeeze? I like your warmup protocol by the way

Like just quickly squeezing them over and over very quickly, and also very lightly, just for the purpose of increasing blood flow to the area & warming the muscles up before I actually touch a gripper

Thanks btw. I decided to use 100% filed grippers a while ago for warming up to neurologically prime myself to get accustomed to the deeper closes, that way when I do actual hard grippers, they seem to close sooner. Of course making them a little heavier is nice for warmups too, but the real goal is to use a deeper hand position for as long as I can before starting to do stuff that is actually challenging

[slazbob]

I’ve always did some sort of body training before or during grip training.

just warming up with grippers progressively doesn’t do much for me.

if short on time, anything to warm the shoulders, like side laterals or press’s really helps. All the nerves that you need for maximum strength and dexterity really get primed through the shoulders…and the neck also if you can fit that in the warmup.

[matek]

- Light reverse wrist curls with a resistance band, ending it with reverse curls or hammer curls
- Two rolls with twist yo wrist in ulnar and radial deviation 
- Levels 1-4 on GD Iron 90
In two-three weeks I will remeasure my max and make an attempt on my RGC 165 Cobalt - then I will additionally close my GHP #7 or CoC #3 before the attempt. 
Heavy squats are probably a good idea if you have an access to a power rack when doing grippers.

I've been doing heavy set practice lately, but only at the end of a workout. Recently I've been thinking about setting a gripper above my max as a "warmup". Just setting to parallel, that's it. When I was at my peak in powerlifting, sometimes I racked and walked out with 705lbs. Of course I wasn't 100% after that, but man, every rack-walkout of my session was a piece of cake after that. Like "that's it?". It felt like I could focus on the actual squat more. Maybe the same applies to grippers (setting=walkout, crush=squat).

[DoctorOfCrush]

3 minutes ago, matek said:

- Light reverse wrist curls with a resistance band, ending it with reverse curls or hammer curls
- Two rolls with twist yo wrist in ulnar and radial deviation 
- Levels 1-4 on GD Iron 90
In two-three weeks I will remeasure my max and make an attempt on my RGC 165 Cobalt - then I will additionally close my GHP #7 or CoC #3 before the attempt. 
Heavy squats are probably a good idea if you have an access to a power rack when doing grippers.

I've been doing heavy set practice lately, but only at the end of a workout. Recently I've been thinking about setting a gripper above my max as a "warmup". Just setting to parallel, that's it. When I was at my peak in powerlifting, sometimes I racked and walked out with 705lbs. Of course I wasn't 100% after that, but man, every rack-walkout of my session was a piece of cake after that. Like "that's it?". It felt like I could focus on the actual squat more. Maybe the same applies to grippers (setting=walkout, crush=squat).

I really like doing the heavy sets as well. I believe @bencrush called them “power sets” when I first learned about them from him some years ago. When the set is easier, everything’s easier. 

[dubyagrip]

8 minutes ago, pancho_grip_lift said:

So from the #1 you could jump straight to the #3?

Once I'm warmed up from the routine I shared, I can go to any gripper.  Doing any further warmup is going to be wasted energy and potential.

[DoctorOfCrush]

4 minutes ago, dubyagrip said:

Once I'm warmed up from the routine I shared, I can go to any gripper.  Doing any further warmup is going to be wasted energy and potential.

I’ve thought about making bigger jumps (obviously not to a 3) in my warmup, but I think my jumps are a security blanket right now ha. 

[pancho_grip_lift]

23 minutes ago, C8Myotome said:

Like just quickly squeezing them over and over very quickly, and also very lightly, just for the purpose of increasing blood flow to the area & warming the muscles up before I actually touch a gripper

Thanks btw. I decided to use 100% filed grippers a while ago for warming up to neurologically prime myself to get accustomed to the deeper closes, that way when I do actual hard grippers, they seem to close sooner. Of course making them a little heavier is nice for warmups too, but the real goal is to use a deeper hand position for as long as I can before starting to do stuff that is actually challenging

I understand. That's a clever approach actually. Now I can see filed grippers as a more useful tool. I only own one filed gripper, a 143lb Xinyi wanjia 250. Thanks for sharing your strategy Derek!

[pancho_grip_lift]

23 minutes ago, slazbob said:

I’ve always did some sort of body training before or during grip training.

just warming up with grippers progressively doesn’t do much for me.

if short on time, anything to warm the shoulders, like side laterals or press’s really helps. All the nerves that you need for maximum strength and dexterity really get primed through the shoulders…and the neck also if you can fit that in the warmup.

That's an interesting point of view! I tried in the past to warmup with side raises as well, and it works. Have you done good PRs on grippers with this method?

[pancho_grip_lift]

24 minutes ago, matek said:

- Light reverse wrist curls with a resistance band, ending it with reverse curls or hammer curls
- Two rolls with twist yo wrist in ulnar and radial deviation 
- Levels 1-4 on GD Iron 90
In two-three weeks I will remeasure my max and make an attempt on my RGC 165 Cobalt - then I will additionally close my GHP #7 or CoC #3 before the attempt. 
Heavy squats are probably a good idea if you have an access to a power rack when doing grippers.

I've been doing heavy set practice lately, but only at the end of a workout. Recently I've been thinking about setting a gripper above my max as a "warmup". Just setting to parallel, that's it. When I was at my peak in powerlifting, sometimes I racked and walked out with 705lbs. Of course I wasn't 100% after that, but man, every rack-walkout of my session was a piece of cake after that. Like "that's it?". It felt like I could focus on the actual squat more. Maybe the same applies to grippers (setting=walkout, crush=squat).

It's a reasonable theory to apply the "heavy walkout" to grippers as well. 

Gd iron 90 is an asjustable gripper right? I've heard it felt a little different than COCs or GHPs

[pancho_grip_lift]

24 minutes ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

When the set is easier, everything’s easier. 

That is so true, feeling strong at setting the gripper makes you feel the close way easier

[matek]

8 minutes ago, pancho_grip_lift said:

It's a reasonable theory to apply the "heavy walkout" to grippers as well. 

Gd iron 90 is an asjustable gripper right? I've heard it felt a little different than COCs or GHPs

Yea, I should try it next time.

Yes it's a compression spring gripper, so it's different. But perfect for warmups.

[Jared P]

35 minutes ago, matek said:

I've been doing heavy set practice lately, but only at the end of a workout. Recently I've been thinking about setting a gripper above my max as a "warmup". Just setting to parallel, that's it. When I was at my peak in powerlifting, sometimes I racked and walked out with 705lbs. Of course I wasn't 100% after that, but man, every rack-walkout of my session was a piece of cake after that. Like "that's it?". It felt like I could focus on the actual squat more. Maybe the same applies to grippers (setting=walkout, crush=squat).

I've actually started doing something similar recently, but simply lightly setting and squeezing extremely heavy grippers such as the GHP 10 or CoC 4 before I make my attempts at my goal gripper. Not enough to waste energy, just enough to feel the resistance, so that when I jump on the 2.5, the sweep feels noticeably easier.
 

40 minutes ago, C8Myotome said:

I decided to use 100% filed grippers a while ago for warming up to neurologically prime myself to get accustomed to the deeper closes, that way when I do actual hard grippers, they seem to close sooner. Of course making them a little heavier is nice for warmups too, but the real goal is to use a deeper hand position for as long as I can before starting to do stuff that is actually challenging

I'd like to try implementing this at some point, might order a filed or double filed trainer or something - or file my own, as I saw in a video of yours.

[pancho_grip_lift]

28 minutes ago, matek said:

Yea, I should try it next time.

Yes it's a compression spring gripper, so it's different. But perfect for warmups.

Interesting... Do you know the RGC of the levels of that gripper? 

[matek]

5 minutes ago, pancho_grip_lift said:

Interesting... Do you know the RGC of the levels of that gripper? 

Mine was never rated, but here are the RGC ratings from somebody else's GD Iron 90. But I filed the stoppers so the handles can actually touch, so mine is probably higher. That being said, I'm not sure how well these ratings hold among different generations - Squeezus's ratings are from 2017, and I have the 2022 model. 

[pancho_grip_lift]

7 minutes ago, matek said:

Mine was never rated, but here are the RGC ratings from somebody else's GD Iron 90. But I filed the stoppers so the handles can actually touch, so mine is probably higher. That being said, I'm not sure how well these ratings hold among different generations - Squeezus's ratings are from 2017, and I have the 2022 model. 

I remember that the handles didn't touch in the previous models...does new model's handles touch? Or is it necessary to fil them

[pancho_grip_lift]

9 minutes ago, matek said:

Mine was never rated, but here are the RGC ratings from somebody else's GD Iron 90

Thanks for the link! Level 5 and level 6 look challenging