Just curious if anyone here's done it and has some tips for me. I've always kind of just screwed around with these things and never trained them seriously or on a regular basis, but I've set myself a goal of closing the #3. Right now I can close the #2 for 4 reps with my right hand and 2 reps with my left. Probably gonna go ahead and order #2.5 and #3 in the next few weeks. From what I've heard the difference between #2 and #3 is alot more than the difference between #1 and #2. Any truth to this?
Join date: Feb 2007
Location: New York, USA
Posts: 187
I can get 5 reps with my old #2. I never tried the 3 but I do have an elite that I can almost close with a mms. The difference between the 2 and elite are huge.
Not even close. I had gotten up to something like 12 or 13 reps with my right hand on the #2 and the #3 would still dominate me. I think the 2.5 is a must have, need to order one of those.
Join date: Jun 2008
Location: Alabama, USA
Posts: 1049
A little bit under 1/4" on my #3 currently.
And yeah, there's a lot of difference between the #2 and #3. My #1 measures 80lbs, #2 is 116, and #3 is 150, so they're fairly evenly spaced. But it's kinda like newb gains vs. regular gains. You can get to the #2 in a fairly short amount of time if you just put some work in, But the #3 you really have to work for.
And the #2.5 is a must-have. I can get 12 reps on my #2 (getting into endurance territory) but can't close the #3. I first killed the #2.5 when I could get 6 with the #2.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the #3. Kind of what I figured with regard to the newbie gains vs. regular gains. I had been lifting for several years before I tried these out and ordered the trainer through #2 right off the bat. I'd never trained grip before but I guess my hands were decently strong from deadlifting, etc. as all it took to close the #2 was learning how to correctly set the gripper in my hand. Seems like most of my gains with these have been from simply getting better technique. I don't think I have much more room for improvement in that area so I suspect gains won't come so easily once I have to actually get my hands stronger. We'll see how long this takes, should be interesting and/or frustrating!
On a side note, anyone feel like they have trouble with the left hand simply because of the way the springs are designed? I don't think my left hand is any weaker than my right as that's actually my preferred hand for opening jars, etc. I just can't seem to ever get the gripper set right in that hand and if I do it usually starts to slip after a rep or two. I don't have the biggest hands in the world but I would say they're above average in size so I can't seem to figure this one out.
Grip training is definitely surprisingly addictive. I closed the 1 first day. The 2 took a little training but can do it for reps now. I can get the 3 down to 5-10mm. When I first tried the 3 last week it was more like 2cm so progressing fairly well but may take a while to get those last few mm. I rekon I'll close it soon though and then start the specialist training for the 3.5 and further.
Just got a rolling thunder handle too :D Awesome fun
Just bought the 3rd one...the difference between the 2 are enormous.
I closed the 2 the first time I got it...without even training grip and occasionally after workouts doing some reps I can close the number 2 with both hands and 10+ easily with the right hand..the number 1 seems like a joke.
As for the number 3 definaetly a big difference, I can close it half n that's bout it. Of course like you I just play around with it, I think if I focus on grip though it should come sooner than later.
I'm about 1cm off closing the #3. I can rep the #2's about 8 times on the right hand and about 4 on the left. I've never played with the 2.5's but I might pick one up soon.
Join date: Feb 2005
Location: New York, USA
Posts: 1459
I've gotten the number 2 for a few reps even though I never use them, but I can barely even move a number 3. I'd say a 2.5 would be a must have.
That said, even though my gripper training gets better as I get better on other grip events, I don't think the opposite is true, so I'll probably never make this a priority. That's just me though, respect to anyone that closes that big springed fucker.
no1 25x with either hand
no2 5x with righty, 2x with lefty
no3 NO WHERE NEAR CLOSE
I grip it weirdly, I have my fingers on the bar and not wrapped around it. I'm stronger this way from my rock climbing
Strong mofo here!
I helded 180kg for 62seconds at the strong man comp I did on a thicker then an oly bar. I don't think it was like 30mm thick but it was thicker then an oly bar.
Join date: Jan 2009
Location: North Dakota, USA
Posts: 7
riddle22 wrote:
Just curious if anyone here's done it and has some tips for me. I've always kind of just screwed around with these things and never trained them seriously or on a regular basis, but I've set myself a goal of closing the #3. Right now I can close the #2 for 4 reps with my right hand and 2 reps with my left. Probably gonna go ahead and order #2.5 and #3 in the next few weeks. From what I've heard the difference between #2 and #3 is alot more than the difference between #1 and #2. Any truth to this?
Yes, easily. Grippers are not different than any other exercise- You need to get your reps in. Consistency is the #1 factor to success. It is no suprise when people who train hard in the gym cannot close a #3, it does not mean they have weak hands, it means they never built that groove.
Practice "setting" the gripper, which means bring the legs to parallel before starting the close. Always get a full close, end to end touch. You want every rep to be complete.
grippers vary in resistance, due to changes in quality of steel in the spring. So it helps to get a few copies of a given gripper to rack and stack from easier to harder. The difference between an "easy #3" and a "hard #3" can be pretty big. I own 5 #3's picked up over the years. One of them feels 10% easier then the first one i ever bought, one of them is very close in difficulty to a BB Elite.
Don't overdo it when you start. A few reps add up quickly. The stress of heavy gripper closes on your hands can be easy to miscalculate.
Join date: Jun 2009
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 187
I can get the #2 for 15 with each hand. That's the only one I have so I am buying the #3 today! Might pick up a rolling thunder too. The only difference in my deadlift training is more grip work with the COC's. I've come from 771 in september to, hopefully, an 826 in march. I am well on track.
Join date: Sep 2007
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 58
I can close the #2 for 16 reps with my right hand but still can only get the #3 down to a little less than half an inch. Not bad for somebody who does no formal grip training though
Join date: Sep 2007
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 58
JayPierce wrote:
A little bit under 1/4" on my #3 currently.
And yeah, there's a lot of difference between the #2 and #3. My #1 measures 80lbs, #2 is 116, and #3 is 150, so they're fairly evenly spaced. But it's kinda like newb gains vs. regular gains. You can get to the #2 in a fairly short amount of time if you just put some work in, But the #3 you really have to work for.
And the #2.5 is a must-have. I can get 12 reps on my #2 (getting into endurance territory) but can't close the #3. I first killed the #2.5 when I could get 6 with the #2.
Those poundages are way off there. The Captains of Crush #3 gripper is 280 lbs. I dont know what grippers you are using.
Join date: Jun 2008
Location: Alabama, USA
Posts: 1049
The standard way of measuring gripper poundages is from the end of the handle, with a 1" strap. We do it this way because the manufacturers can't seem to make up their minds where to measure from, and it allows us to use less weight when measuring (safety factor).
From what I can tell, CoC measures from the ring in the center of the handle, which would give a higher reading. It's also probably more anatomically correct, seeing as the middle finger is usually the strongest, but for comparison purposes, we measure from the end.
You are correct, though. As far as the amount of force your hand has to exert to close the darn thing, 150 is nowhere near the mark. Using a factor of .54, my grippers would come out to:
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