The Hand and Negatives by Gorilla Hands

[Bill Piche]

By Gorilla Hands

This is my theory on the biomechanics of the hand as I have formulated it over 12 years of grip training. The labeled functions are my own and the logic is applied from my knowledge in engineering and problem solving. The following does not include for the actions and capabilities of the thumb; a seperately trainable entity of its own.

The four fingers of the hand have a range of motion that can be said to be between 110-120 degrees depending on the individual. Since the fingers curl and not close flat this is used for descriptive purposes. Within these degrees of motion there seems to be the ability to train each and every degree to a certain strength level independently. Strength carries over though and more prominently through certain degree ranges.

In order to understand hand strength we must divide and label the ranges of motion based on their strength carry-over. There appear to be three ranges that can be independently trained without great carry-over to the others. The ranges are the Sweep, Hold & Close.

The Sweep is about the first 90 degrees. It is the range of motion used to crush apples, potatoes, hands in a shake, etc. This range of motion is probably the hardes to get extremley powerful but is the most impressive. This range is probably Brookfield's best. The sweep also lends itself to being the most versatile to train. It can be developed with anything from crushing paper to plate curls. No gripper is necessitated to train the sweep, and through intelligent method can be trained to the strength of paralleling the handles of the #4 without ever having touched a gripper. A plate loaded machine brings best result here. Its strength carry-over to the Hold and Close is equal to it's own strength. Say you have a 200 lbs. sweep, your Hold and Close will at minimum be that and rarely less.

We will discuss the Close next because of it's simplicity. It is the range between holding a barbell and having the hand fully closed. The Close can be influenced to be equal to the sweep, however it can be trained all by itself and have no carry-over to the hold and sweep. This is why guys like Anthony Clark and Ed Coan can deadlift 800 lbs. (400 in each hand) and not close even the #2. They have a superior Close but no Hold or Sweep at all.

The Hold, a range right where the Sweep ends and the Close starts. This range applies to putting the finishing touch on pliers and closing grippers. Its strength carry-over can go to the Close but not to the Sweep. Which is why some can hold the grippers closed but can't squeeze them shut; There is a lack of sweep in these individuals.

The Hold and Close can be trained in the same manner. The Sweep needs different treatment. This is why negatives are paramount to closing these grippers. If you can't hold it closed your Sweep will never get you there. If you can hold it closed, then develop your Sweep. Most if not all have the Sweep from years of curious grip training but do not have the Close. It seems out of all the ranges, the Close is the one that requires special equipment to develop. That is why the world is full of guys who have closed the #2 on the first try but never the #3.

Negatives are it! If you want to mash potatos, do as Brookfield. If you just want to close grippers, do as Kinney; Negatives till your hands bleed. Don't worry about squeezing it shut that part can be trained in many prolific ways. The primary goal is to hold it shut. Plate loaded machines are the best for this, I kid you not.

Negatives,negatives, negatives and negatives.

Well these are my arrangements. They are only applicable to crushing power and are not yet deciphered into supporting or pinch, much less the thumb. I am humble in my presentation and accept all input or criticism.

Good luck & God Bless

David

[Sybersnott]

David,

This was a very interesting and well told post!  After reading this, it is apparent that I need to develop my sweep.  My close is fine, and so is the hold.  When I do negatives, I do them on the Joe Kinney machine - the Secret Weapon.  I load up as heavy as I can go, pull it up, and hold it for as long as possible (just a few seconds).  Negatives are great, but they hurt like all ####!  Joe told me to hold it until your hand opens up.  No way... if I do that, I'll lose some of my fingers!  I don't know about you, but I kinda like my fingers attached TO my hand!  Guess I'm not hardcore like Joe is.  Anyhow, a very instructive post!!!

Sybersnott

[Guest rockblaster]

Mr. Gorilla Hands,

I was very impressed with your article.  I do negatives on a plate-loaded gripper but I don't quite know how many reps or sets I should do.  I have been doing a weight that drains me after a rep or two.  Should I go for a weight that will allow me to do more reps?  How often per week should I do negatives and in what order should I do them when I do other hand exercises?  Your advice is much appreciated.

[Gorilla Hands]

Do as many negatives as you can until your hand is too raw to continue. You can slightly deacrease the weight as you exhaust to get a few more quality negatives in. Work your hand out as often as your healing ability allows. I usually get the best results when I do my grip after my regular workout, especially after heavy curls or wrist roller stuff.

[Guest]

There is a way to determine your personal rep range. No matter what training you use.

Go to www.cyberpump.com - training – HIT FAQ VERSION 4. Read all of it (very interesting and informative) or skip to point 3.2. This explains how you can determine your customized rep range.

I did this and my progress in Grip, Squat, Bench, Deadlift etc. skyrocketed!

[Guest Dana]

I have read a few articles from that medical literature that suggest that eccentric muscle training imposes a very high degree of stress, and consequently, the recovery period must be longer than if one is simply doing concentric/eccntric reps. Any comments?

[Guest mg6680]

It varies from person to person but yes, heavy negatives will require more recovery time (at least it does for me).

[Rick Walker]

eccentric training will cause more micro tears-thus more DOMS, thus more recovery time is needed.  To test this theory-load up a curl bar and cheat the weight up-then fight it all the way down-do 3-4 sets of 4-6 reps.

The next day or 2 your arms will be beyond sore

Rick Walker :hehe

[Guest Dana]

As regards negatives: how difficult should it be to hold the gripper? I can close a #1, I can get the handles of a #2 about parallel. When I close the #2 with both hands to do negatives, I can hold the handles about 3/8 from closed, but then I can hold them in that position forever, and let them out very, very slowly. I always though that negatives were so intense you couldn't hold the position or lower it for more than a few seconds. Any help with this?

[Rick Walker]

The idea is to hold the gripper shut. If you cant hold the #2 shut-it is too much gripper for you right now.

You do have some other choices though:

#1- strap holds with your #1. This will cause you to close and hold down extremely hard to keep the weight from slipping.

#2- File the inside of one gripper handle on the #1-this makes it go beyond the range. Now close and squeeze down as hard as possible-holding it shut. You can also do srap holds with the filed gripper.

#3- Plate loaded grip machine-try to add weight per workout but use a weight you can hold shut for atleast a couple seconds.

#4- Modify a gripper ala Tom Black-extending the handles with washers and removing or filing a washer as often as possible.

Remember, The article by Gorillahands states-"If you can't hold it closed your sweep will never get you there!"

Any ??

Rick Walker

[tusenkonstnar]

There is a way to determine your personal rep range. No matter what training you use.

Go to www.cyberpump.com - training – HIT FAQ VERSION 4. Read all of it (very interesting and informative) or skip to point 3.2. This explains how you can determine your customized rep range.

I did this and my progress in Grip, Squat, Bench, Deadlift etc. skyrocketed!

←

I don't know if I'm blind or if it's just that they have moved this info (4 yers since the post), anyway, does anyone know where I can find the info that it is refered to in the link above?

[menace3000]

Also wondering what happened to that section ....