Under the Spotlight - Grip Profile - ALEXANDER KOSS

[Vinnie]

This month I am right on time, and in fact, we now have a lineup of profiles waiting to be posted, so we should not have to wait past the first of a month again for a while (other than my own delay in remembering to post, but I won't be very late about that because I pop into the Grip Board most days).

This month we have returned to Europe, with ALEXANDER KOSS -- an up-and-coming gripper guy who we should be watching for the COC3 cert, and beyond!  As might be expected, since I have not been to Europe probably since around when Alex was born, I have never met him.  However, he is a well-known, active Grip Board denizen, and it is cool to add him to the list of profiled members.  And away we go:

1. What are your stats?

GripBoard name: Alex K
Age: 26
Height: 182cm (6”)
Weight: 95kg (210 lbs)
Dominant hand, and hand size: Right, 19.5cm (7.7”)
Country/City: Aachen, Germany
Relationship Status: In a relationship
Children: None
Occupation: Research assistant / PhD student in automotive engineering

2. Why did you start training grip (and how long is it now)?

Around 2020, after the first wave of covid hit, I got involved in strength training much more. I had a lot of goals in mind, which motivated me at that time. Unfortunately, around November 2020, all the gyms closed down in Germany again. I didn’t have any equipment or resources to exercise at home, and working out with resistance bands as a form of substitution for the gym to “sort of stay in shape” and “not lose too much muscle” didn’t motivate me, so I decided to temporarily switch to calisthenics and also try and grow my forearms properly. Basically, not replace the gym with some poor substitute, but instead focus on some new disciplines in that time.

I got my first set of grippers from amazon, those were very cheap (6€) and from China, and were 150lbs and 200lbs in strength. I managed to close both of them, while most of the people I knew struggled with the lighter one, despite having the same, almost non existent background in sports as me.

I got bored and decided to buy a 250lbs gripper from that same Chinese brand, and managed to close it as well, which made me feel really confident. I checked out IronMind grippers, and decided to get a #3. I mean, according to the brand it must’ve been only 30 pounds heavier than my 250lbs gripper 

When the #3 came on new years eve 2021, I set my first real grip goal to close it, and managed to do it in the beginning of April. That was when I got completely hooked on grip…

3. What are you most proud of accomplishing in grip already, and what is/are your grip goal/goals?

I am happy with my deep set close strength, I have been able to achieve good closes in the 180s range. But I am more proud of switching over to wider sets now, it’s an ego killer for sure, but it yields better results in the long run.
As for certifications, I am glad to have been able to participate in the MM cert, having closed the MM2 shortly before the old cert closed down!

Right now, my main focus is the #3 certification. I have been able to gain a good amount of strength lately with my new training routine, and am securely closing average #3s from a credit card set as of today. After the cert, I have my eyes set on the upcoming MM cert, and also the 3.5 cert for the future. I believe consistent training could bring me there eventually.

4. How do you currently structure your overall training/how do you incorporate your grip training?

The past few months have been great, having incorporated wider set reps into my routines has improved my overall CCS strength by around 10lbs RGC. I am currently training around 2-3 times per week, with a good amount of volume, heavy single closes and also rep work. The most important thing is consistency, which wasn’t optimal before due to a lot of minor issues always coming in the way. I am now doing less micro-reps too, only rarely as a finisher for a very decent pump, and mainly working on ROM.

There is no real fixed routine that I follow, but a good workout always consists of:
 ⁃ Lots of #3 CCS closes, lighter ones for reps
 ⁃ MMS/wide set closes and reps with a 3.5 or a Cobalt (or something in that range)
 ⁃ MMS/wide set reps with 3s to get a solid training volume
Depending on how I feel, I could throw in a heavy deep set close for fun,

5. What hobbies (other than grip/bending/lifting) do you enjoy?

Although not completely unrelated, I enjoy collecting various hand grippers. I have completed most of my lineups, so I am less active in that field, but that is also something I am really happy about!

Apart from sports I am also a part of the RC car community, building, tuning and racing remote controlled vehicles.

6. Do you have a personal anecdote, topic or thoughts you'd like to include in your profile?

I'd just like to give a huge shoutout to Vinnie for this opportunity and would also like to wish everyone success with any upcoming grip goals or certs!

7. Whose Grip profile would you like to see next?

I'd love to check out the grip profile of Emil Bech!

[Vinnie]

1 minute ago, Vinnie said:

I have not been to Europe probably since around when Alex was born

Well OK, I HAVE been to Europe since Alex was born (he was born in 1998 and I went to France and Italy in 2013).  However, I haven't been to Alex's country (Germany) since 1995, when I was exactly Alex's current age!