Who can close the Captains of Crush grippers?
 

I've been sitting at work for the past year using a handgrip (or gripper) I bought on Amazon for $1.50. A handgrip is this for those who don't know. You squeeze it and theoretically it becomes easier to close while your hand grip becomes stronger.

A few months ago I purchased an Ironmind Captains of Crush® gripper. Ironmind is an internationally known brand with grip athletes. Their grippers are the real deal and they offer various grippers depending on how strong you are.

I ordered the Guide model which is 60 pounds of resistance based on a coworker's recommendation. I found it very (too) easy so after a month or two of using it I ordered a No 1. model which is 140 pounds of resistance. Ok now this is hard.

It says on the Ironmind website that most people who lift weights on a weekly or daily basis can't close this gripper even once with their left or right hand and it is absolutely true.

I've asked approximately 20 people at work if they could close it and so far 4 people have been able to, with only 2 people being able to close it with each hand. It is really entertaining and a good conversation piece at work! Many people say closing the No. 1 is like trying to close a brick. Ha ha ha

I can close the No. 1 ten or eleven times in my right hand without repositioning it and three times with my left hand without repositioning.

The reason I claim this is because up until a year ago I had never worked out at the gym or taken strength training seriously and now I'm making some progress!! Huge guys at work with rippling forearms and awesome handshakes can't close this gripper and I can. Multiple times. Easily!!!!!

My brother has also got into it and can close the No. 1 more times than myself. I hope to move onto the No. 2 soon. It's great because the grippers are only $19.99 so if you "outgrow" a gripper quickly then it's not expensive to replace.

Only a few hundred of people in the world can close a No. 3 gripper and less than 10 can close a No. 4. Even closing the No. 2 is serious business (Few, if any people at any given gym would be able to close it). I'll post my progress in this thread!!

Anyone else have experience with Captains of Crush grippers?

http://www.functionalhandstrength.co...s_of_crush.gif


http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/ope...nsofcrush.html

I don't have any experience with one, but I've thought about getting a gripper. My hands like to stay busy; I usually use Silly Putty, wax, or a stress ball to keep them entertained. I'd also like to have a stronger grip; right now it's pretty wimpy.

I've got a pair of decent hand grips. I find they help, so long as I temper the training with decent piano practice so that I keep them limber and dexterous. Do it until you can pop a tennis ball with your bare hand.

why do you need such a strong grip? masturbation lost the feeling? :s

1. A firm handshake makes an impression, and 2. better to have a strong hand grip than not, and 3. I sit at a computer desk all day long. Might as well, right!!

hell I can barely close a door..

Guitarists also use such tools to improve hand strength. I have a Gripmaster one kicking around here somewhere, but it's not enough resistance for me and was the biggest one I was able to find, so I just don't bother anymore.

The Gripmasters are kind of cool though, because they work on individual fingers instead of the hand as a whole, so the pinky can't slack off.

http://www.suplay.com/mmSUPLAY/Images/Grip%20Master.jpg

In my case, it's part of my ninja training.

I guess I don't understand the desire to have a strong grip. I hate vice-grip handshakes, anyway.

Uh oh do we have a limp fish in the house!?!?!?

Speed and precision in the hands is highly important to most musicians. Strength is a key part of that.

All manner of athletes also benefit.

Ok I just closed it 7 times in a row with my left hand. Shattered my old record of thrice. Sometimes progress with these things is amazing!

From 3 to 7 in less than 2 hours! Amazing!

i've got to see a picture of this...

I started with a cheapo hand grip from Wal-Mart - I used it for a solid year, every single day, my junior year of college. I quit after that for whatever reason, but recently I found the grip again and started using it at work. I got back up to my old strength pretty easily - I can close the cheapo one now for 3 or 4 minutes straight.

So Lasereth got me into the Ironmind Captains of Crush hype and I ordered the No. 1 hand grip. I couldn't close it even one time with my left hand, and I could close it 3 times in a row with my right hand.

6 weeks later, after spraining my hand (literally) and ending up with callouses all over my palm, I can close the No. 1 nearly 20 times in a row with my right hand and 3 times in a row with my left hand - no repositioning. Those pussies on youtube that close it, open it, reposition it and flex their hand, close it, open it, etc. are just cheating!!!!!!

Either way, veins are starting to bulge in my hands and they feel like cinderblocks now - my hands used to feel soft like a girl's hands (not just the smooth skin, but the muscles too) - now my hand feels like a wooden plank. It's pretty awesome. Also, the other day at Food Lion, I picked up a 12-pack of Diet Mountain Dew by gripping it around the side instead of using the punch-carrier slot and I remember it used to hurt a bit - now I could hold it all day. PROGRESS

Closed the No. 1 today 22 times with my right hand. I went ahead and ordered the No. 2. Things are getting serious!!!!!

Would these things remedy my toothpick forearms?

I don't get it.

Firm handshakes are supposed to be all "Alpha Male" attitudes, i get that, people are supposed to think you're dominant, someone strong to look up to in the business world when you have a monstrosity handshake.

You can have a business degree and know how to make the company bust in to the big league overnight but if you have a wimpy handshake, you'll never amount to anything.....



sounds like people have been reading too much Maxim

Alright, fuck.. I just bought the "Sport" on Amazon. I'm at a computer 50 hours a day, why not.. I kinda wonder how I'm going to practice my right hand.. since it's the mouse hand..

imagine the throng of crushed ding-a-ling threads about to appear in sexuality.

Just because you can crush someones hand into pulp doesnt mean you have too. Having a strong anything is always better than having a weak version of the same thing.

Just because my forearms are so large I can snap tree trunks in half just by showing them off doesn't mean I go and do it....

/me still wants to see a picture of willravel crushing a freaking tennis ball...

You never will. Every time he picks up his poor digital camera to capture the event on film, his grip reduces his camera to dust. He's sobbed his way through 5 cameras so far.

So if I wanted to see how strong my grip was before I go and blow 20 bucks on one where would I go about doing this? I don't want to order a 60 lb one and have it be freakishly easy. Or maybe even go out and get the 80lb one and not even be able to do it.

I have no idea what I would be able to do.

Ever meet some guy that just has to crush your freaking hand when he shakes it? I always assumed this was making up for "short" comings elsewhere. I've found by placing the tip of my index finger in the middle of other persons wrist it makes it nearly impossible for the other guy to cause you any pain. It keeps your knuckles out of line and thus can't be pressured.

On the topic at "hand" I found my right hand much stronger then my left so I started buying thicker magazines.

Good for you Lasereth for working out while you work!


Not sure where he mentioned anywhere that he would be purposely or indirectly crushing hands...



I work out while at my desk with free weights and we do push ups at certain intervals. My manager calls it "peacock alley" as we pump up. One dude even did pull ups off a rafter in our exposed ceiling lol. And yes it is a professional office (whatever that means), we just like to have fun!

/end thread jack

My comment about hand crushing wasn't directed at the OP, sorry if I wasn't completely clear about that.

If you haven't ever trained or used any sort of hand grip before, I would start with 80 lbs of resistance. If you've used a hand grip, ever, for an extended period of time, I'd jump right into the Trainer or the No. 1. See below - Ironmind offers the following:

Guide @ 60 lb.
Sport @ 80 lb.
Trainer @ 100 lb.
No. 1 @ 140 lb.
No. 2 @ 195 lb.
No. 3 @ 280 lb.
No. 4 @ 365 lb.

I use the No. 1. Not one person at my job can close it, tested around 10-15 people. I can close it 22 times with my right hand, but have been training for 6 weeks, and used a 60ish lb. one for about a year in college. My No. 2 is on the way!

Just went to order one... 11 dollars shipping. I don't think I want to spend 31 bucks on this. Or is it actually worth it?

Hooray for EBAY!!

Make sure you get an authentic one! There are numerous knock-offs that are easier to close than the real thing.

Do you use a handgripper on a daily basis or have you in the past? Even a wal-mart gripper or one from the dollar store?

If you have I would start off with the Sport or Trainer. If not, you may want to start with the Guide even though I find it way too easy. If you go to the gym a lot and think you have pretty decent grip stength you could start off with the No. 1 but expect some trouble. I closed the No. 1 with each hand the first day I tried it but I had been using a Guide for over a year.

Hell yeah we do that at work also. Once a day (sometimes twice a day) a coworker and myself do 20 pushups, freeweights, benchpress, and other miscellaneous resistance training in the gym at work. Just enough to make a difference but not enough to sweat. If the people at work can do their 15 minute smoke break every 2 hours then I will work out for 15 minutes!!

BTW these Captains of Crush grippers really get some conversations going at work. So far 6 out of 25 people have been able to close my No 1. Only three people have been able to do it with the left hand (myself included).

What is a grip athlete? What sort of categories of competition do they have?

When I say grip athlete, I really meant athletes who want to improve their grip. Many athletes and trainers believe that we are capable of lifting more weight than usual, it's just grip strength that is holding us back. If your grip can't keep up with the rest of your muscles then you will be bottlenecked by your grip strength.

I do know that there are competitions where you do bar-bending, hold weights as long as you can, etc. I don't know a lot about them but they do exist.

Climbers often work to strengthen their grip.

Thanks Lasereth, that makes more sense.

sorry did not mean you directly just at the thread in general

Redjake's No. 2 gripper should come in today. I think there is approximately a 25% chance he can close it but he believes it is much higher. Place your bets!