Kyrinov
Level 5 Valued Member
Likely reinventing the wheel; what I have to say was likely already said. Nonetheless, I wanted to share some early reflections on the benefits of the gripper. I was given my first CoC #1 for my 30th birthday, and have taken joy in carrying it with me to fire off a squeeze when I have a chance. I asked for the thing because my current schedule and recent minor injuries have caused me to slowly ease off S&S in favour of NW training until my current situation resolves. I thought it was a good time to experiment with another GTG modality. I figured improving my grip was a smart move - it would make the transition back to S&S smoother and would come in handy for occupational purposes. It has turned into something entirely more than that. In my sphere of experience, the gripper is the best means of understanding the SF principles of tension and irradiation. By abstracting one's strength into a single hand's squeeze, there is no cheat, no confusion, it becomes startlingly clear that in order to squeeze effectively, the entire body needs be engaged. I quickly learned that at my level of strength, closing the #1 consistently throughout the day requires that I tense my feet, ankles, calves, thighs, butt, abs, lats and contralateral arm prior to "discharging" the squeeze. I use the word discharge because this is what it feels like. I get the body charged up, revved up with tension and then I focus that tension in a single focused squeeze in my working hand. It is one of the most fascinating modalities I have encountered yet. I am very excited about this little detour from my bread-and-butter strength work. I highly recommend this kind of focused work on grippers when one is in a time/food/sleep pinched situation. I find the combination of a single bilateral squeeze, a single bilateral one armed pushup and double bilateral pistol (pardon the awkward use of bilateral,) is a fantastic way to punctuate one's work day.