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Other/Mixed Which Captains of Crush gripper should I get next?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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The #1.5 has arrived! It was a good call, I can close it fully but it's tough; feels like I could get perhaps 3 quality reps upon first trying it. The #1.5 will likely be the focus of my gripper training for the time being. Very happy with the investment. :)
 
Harry Westgate said:
Also, and this may be assuming WAY too much, but when it comes to certification for closing the harder grippers, Iron Mind doesn't specify in the rules that the gripper being used has to be fresh out the box as far as I can see, just that it has to be an official COC one that is untampered with... Maybe this means that it's not something they're too concerned about?

The rules can be found here:

Captains of Crush® - Rules for Closing & Certification
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Actually, the #3 COC cert is done with a new #3 now. What type of set are you using when you close the #1 for sets of 5? If you are just using one hand to close the gripper and opening each rep open fully between closes, you are doing well.
 
Harry, be careful- watch how the tendons in your forearm and hands feel. At first signs of overdoing it, hide your gripper from yourself for a few days! haha GTG is your friend with them.
 
Mine arrived yesterday. I got a #1 and a #2 as advised and it turned out to be about right for me.

I can manage about 12 reps with the #1 and just 2 reps with the #2 with my dominant hand and I can't quite close it with my other hand.

It seems to be one of those tasks where swearing helps to get the job done. Let it know who's the boss before you start.
 
@Matts noted! Thank you. FWIW though, I think I've got a good work pattern with them at the moment; my hands feel fantastic :) (Although every couple of days I'm needing to apply hand cream... If I've lost all respect from this forum I'm not surprised ;))

@Tarzan very impressive. Just out of interest, what is your main form of training? I.e. KBs, powerlifting, bodyweight, etc.?

And yes, in my experience, growling at them like Wolverine does wonders. :)
 
Most of my grip training is done on different diameter pullup bars with PVC sleeves that float on the bar. The PVC sleeves are a loose fit, so they turn when you do a pullup and your hand slips off if you don't use a super tight grip. When I started with them I was doing weighted pullups on a regular bar with about 60kg added weight but 3 or 4 reps was my absolute max on the bar with the sleeves fitted to it with no added weight. Now I can do sets of 5 or 6 on them with 32 kg extra on the sleeves.

I also have vertical pipes that hang from my pullup bar mount points and I do a lot of levers and OAPU's on them, mostly negatives and holds but on good days I can manage a full rep with each arm.

At work I do a lot of 1 handed work with a 1 inch drive rattle gun which we call Aunty Jack because it will rip your bloody arms off. We get some really strong bodybuilder types come in and do one days work with Aunty Jack and we never see them again, a good percentage of strong guys can't manage it for more than a few minutes. If you don't have a serious grip when using it you will get hurt very fast. It's got 8 notches on the handle from all the thumbs and wrists it's sprained or broken over the years. Aunty Jack was an Aussie TV show from the 70's and "I'll rip your bloody arms off" was the hook they used in the ads for the show.

And I also have a Chinese knock off COC gripper which is almost as tough to close as the COC #1 but it twists just before it closes and it's a really unnatural movement, so I don't use it much anymore.
 
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COC grippers are great! But, as Geoff said grippers are only one small aspect of grip training. I use them as a warm-up for focused grip training sessions and sometimes in a GTG fashion. Some of my favourite grip techniques include:
  • Wrist Rollers
  • Plate Pinches
  • HEAVY thick handle farmers walks
  • Sledge Hammer drills
  • Towel Hangs
  • Finger Board Work
  • Cautious fingertip push-ups
 
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