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Old Forum Which Captain of Crush Gripper should I start with?

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tex0585

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I can bottom up press the 24 kg kb with each arm with relative ease. Just wondering which gripper to start with? Thanks in advance.

 

john
 
My advice would be to buy three: Trainer for volume, #1 for low-rep work, #1.5 for singles or singles you'll soon get.

Rob
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I am following a long cycle program 3 days a week. How would you incorporate the grippers into that program?
 
John, see if you can borrow or visit someone who has them and get a sense of where you are.   I haven't worked on C of C grippers in a while, but when I did, I felt like I got pretty close to closing the #2 in fairly short order, and your grip sounds stronger than mine already.

-S-

 
 
Please note the bottom up press is working a single arm at a time. Thanks for the reply Steve. Anyone live within a couple of hours of Buffalo, Wy that has C of C grippers?
 
John, that's what we thought.  I'm very glad to see Rob Lawrence has replied to you as well - that's a rare thing and you are the beneficiary.

-S-
 
I'm in Rochester NY, If you meant Buffalo NY. I have the trainer and #1. Almost didn't buy the trainer but I'm glad I did, I can just close the #1 but can't do it for reps.
 
Phil,

I really appreciate  it, but there actually is a buffalo, wy. It's a small town in north central Wyoming.  I recommend visiting if you like the mountains. Thanks again.
 
John,

I was hoping for a typo. I'd take Rob Lawrence's advice, a trainer, a # 1 and a 1.5, or #2.

I'd be interested in hearing how other's progressed. Are the half sizes needed?
 
Phil and others, around mid February I purchased the CofC T, 1, and 2. I had the same questions as the OP. I have been GTG with my grippers. When I first received the grippers I could not close the 2, however I could do 2 reps with my right hand, 1 rep with my left han with the 1,  and 5-7 reps, bilaterally, with the T. Last week, I did 1 rep, bilaterally, with the 2, and didn't try for more.  I use both the T and the 1 while GTG, 5-7 easy reps with the T or 1-3 reps with the 1. Sometimes I invert the gripper or do 3-5 second holds. I tried a few "slow-twitch " 30-60 second reps for experimentation,  but I am not sure if slow-twitch training even applies top grip strength. Basically,  I'm just having fun with my new toys. I keep them in my desk at work and just pull one out and have at it, any way I feel. Not too regimented,  but fun!
 
Lincoln,

Do you feel like you made the right decision on your purchases of those grippers or would you change anything? Thanks everyone for the replies.

John
 
John,

Yes! When I can close the 2- five times, I will order 3 more grippers.  The plan is to get a 1.5, 2.5, and 3. I contemplated the 1.5 before I ordered, but then realized my brain was over involved with a question that I could never answer without simply test driving a gripper. So, I pulled the trigger, good or bad,  on the 2. Either way, I will own a 1.5.  I hope this helps!

Lincoln
 
Steve F, thanks for that. :)

My one warning with the COC grippers is always, watch out. It's more work than you think. Just because they're small doesn't mean they're toys. Very easy to overdo it and go backwards.
 
Rob, a good point.  Tiring systemically because it is a full body effort when done correctly and because hands have such a disproportionately large representation in the brain.
 
I would buy a Trainer for warm ups and a # 1 and probably a # 1,5 for your working sets to start with. I think a # 2 is to tough right now.
 
I'm playing around with a 1.5, which seems about right. Pretty new to this so it's still a bit of a toy but I hope it will have benefits down the line.
 
I have a #1 and a #2. When I was using them regularly, I could probably get 3-4 reps with the #1. But with the #2, I think I was lucky to get close to parallel. It's a pretty big jump from the #1 to the #2.

They didn't have the #1.5 at the time, but it would probably be worth getting.
 
"Rob, a good point.  Tiring systemically because it is a full body effort when done correctly and because hands have such a disproportionately large representation in the brain." -Pavel

Here's an illustration that really helps visualize what Pavel is talking about regarding the hands having a disproportionately large representation in the brain.  The first time I saw a version of this sensory and motor homunculus years ago, it was a real "ah ha!" moment for me.

http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk/piclib/www/comp.php?img=87493&frm=med&search=homunculus

<a title="Sensory and Motor Homonculus. Click for Picture Library search results and image details" href="http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk/results.asp?search=1&screenwidth=1241&pixperpage=40&searchtxtkeys=Homunculus&lastsearchtxtkeys=&withinresults=&lstformats=&lstorients=All+Orientations&chkpho=&chkill=&chkpor=&chkarc=&chkfos=&chkspe=&chksem=&chkmodrel=">Sensory and Motor Homonculus.</a> Models showing what a man's body would look like if each part grew in proportion to the area of the cortex of the brain concerned with its movement and sensory perception.
 
You really can't go wrong even buying the Trainer.  I'm all for buying harder grippers to continually move up (or with the goal of getting stronger) but some guys just don't have the goal to get really strong on the grippers.  If the Trainer is super easy, but a #1.  But if you don't have the money to buy a #1 yet, just move your hand up toward the spring of the gripper and it will increase in difficulty very quickly.

I work with a guy who can close the #2.  He usually only carries a Trainer with him though.  That way he won't take dozens of attempts on his #2 throughout the day.  He knows that leads to burnout - for him.  Not for everyone.  Anyway, he does GTG-style sets of 5 with his Trainer throughout the day.  And if they feel really easy, which they usually do - since he can close the #2 - he moves his hand slightly up the handle toward the spring to make it more of a challenge.

Even working with the Trainer has raised his everyday gripper ability.  Maybe not his top end strength.  But he's more concerned with being able to (for instance) close a #1 for 100 singles vs. being able to close the #2 for a single and then being fried.
 
Will gtg style training with the grippers interfere with the RoP if done on a daily basis or should I reserve them for variety days?
 
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