I became fascinated with grip training almost ten years ago when I started bouldering (a type of rock-climbing), but it has only been this year that I focused specifically on training my grip strength.  I have always had decent isometric strength in my hands from climbing.  However, last year I started training with Indian clubs which led me to Scott Sonnon’s Clubbell and I found out how weak my concentric and eccentric hand strength was.  That is my crush grip needed work.   Although you do get significant work from club swinging.  I just felt like I wanted to step it up a notch.  So I started looking for the best grippers out there and I found the Captain of Crush(CoC) hand grippers from Ironmind (found here).  Grip training is often overlooked, but it is a vital element for improving performance.   So I set myself a goal to close the Captain of Crush #2 Gripper.  Why the #2 you may ask…because to close it you need roughly 200 lbs of crush strength and according to Ironmind’s chart explaining each of their 10 grippers “you’ve got a grip to brag about”.  I am very close to closing the #2.  Unfortunately, I have been sporadic in my grip training, but no longer.  The year is almost up so I am going to get serious about my training.

The following is my training plan to close the CoC #2 Gripper based on Scott Sonnon’s 4×7 training plan.  Here is a brief explanation taken from Coach Sonnon’s blog (the complete post is found here):

The “4″ is a four-day day cycle rotating types of training to optimize the chemical restoration process. How well and fully you recover from your exercise is MORE IMPORTANT than the exercise selection itself!

The 4 day cycle looks like this:

1. Moderate intensity: strength training at 65-85% of your heart rate maximum (HRmax is your 220 minus your age to determine the beats per minute you’re targeting.) You need both functional strength and mass because over time you’ll start to have less and less. Think of usable mass as your savings account.
2. High intensity: metabolic conditioning at 85-100% HRmax. You need to strengthen your immune system through the biochemical and cerebral adaptations which happen when you approach your age-specific maximum heart rate.
3. No intensity: joint nutrition and lubrication (Intu-Flow joint mobility). You’re as old as your connective tissue, so you need to keep your engine and all of your parts well-lubricated and smoothly running. If one part breaks down, a systemic seizing could result, so you’re as strong as your weakest link.
4. Low intensity:compensatory recovery (Prasara Body-Flow yoga). Whatever you train in strength or conditioning, needs to be specifically balanced; i.e. if you strengthen your abs without strengthening your lower back, you create an imbalance which will lead to injury. Balancing sessions help prime you for strength gains and reaching higher intensity.

The Tools:

• I have 4 CoC grippers: the Trainer, the #1, the #1.5, and the #2
• Expand-Your-Hand bands also from Ironmind.  They target the extensor muscles of the wrist ,which is the muscles to open the hand.
• An 8 lb sledgehammer
• Chinese therapy balls (Baoding Balls), I am using solid metal balls about 50 mm diameter for a combined weight of 2.4 lbs.

My Training Plan will look like this:

1. Moderate Intensity:is the mass building day.  So here is my training for this day. The following exercises comprise one round; 5 reps of the CoC Trainer, 3 reps of the CoC #1, 2 reps of the CoC #1.5, 5 reps with green Expand-Your-Hand band.  Ten rounds in ten minutes.  Rest depends on how quickly I complete the 4 exercises.  I will add 2 rounds after each 4 day cycle.
2. High intensity:is metabolic conditioning.  Training on this day will look like this.  10 sets of 10 reps using the CoC Trainer with 1 minute rest between sets.  Followed by 10 sets of 10 reps with the white Expand-Your-Hand band with 1 minute rest between sets.  I am borrowing from the German Volume Training (GVT) method. The goal of the German Volume Training method is to complete ten sets of ten reps with the same weight for each exercise. The principle is to begin with a weight you could lift for 20 reps to failure if you had to. This translates to 60% of your 1RM load for most people on most exercises.  I will be decreasing the rest between sets by 15 seconds each week.
3. No intensity: is light movement and recovery.  I will be doing Coach Sonnon’s Intu-Flow program specifically the wrist exercises as demonstrated here by Adam Steer (a CST Head Coach):  I am also doing these movements before each grip sessions as well as after each session.
4. Low intensity: Normally would be stretching, but I am modifying it to be my compensatory movements.  So I will be doing wrist rotation and levering taken from Jedd Johnson’s 3 part series “Hammering Strength into the Wrists (part 1, part 2, part3). The three exercises I will be using from the series are the Vertical lever to nose, Horizontal lever to front, and hammer rotations.  Check out Jedd’s articles for exercise descriptions.  I am using an 8 lb sledgehammer and doing 2 sets of 10 reps of all three exercises for each arm.  I am starting about half-way down the handle and will be moving further from the head each week.

Recovery:

My plan involves an aggresive timeline which requires extra emphasis on recovery.  That is why I am performing the above Intu-Flow exercises multiple times per day.  I am also adding the use of Chinese therapy balls which can vary in size, weight, and material.  I am using solid metal ones, but if you want to try the above program you can use the hollow ones, stone, or you can even use golf balls.  To use the therapy balls start with two in your hand with the palm facing up.  Then rotate them clockwise.  As you get better at it try to keep them from touching and also switching the direction you are spinning them to counter-clockwise.  For each hand, I perform 3-5 minutes twice per day spinning both clockwise and counter-clockwise (I do this on my way to work and on the way home).

Now its time to get started!

I will keep you posted on my progress and if I need to adapt the above plan.  It is just a road map and so who knows if I need to make a detour.  Let me know if you try the above 28 day cycle and how it works for you!  I am going to use this plan to get me to closing the #3 if this first cycle works for closing the #2.

Disclaimer:

My rationale for choosing Ironmind’s Captain of Crush grippers is based solely on the quality of the product.  I do not get any commission if you click on the above link and buy from Ironmind’s website and just to reassure you, you can find these grippers on Amazon.  CoC grippers in my opinion are the gold standard of grippers.  Several of my friends have purchased CoC grippers and several that have gone with other brands.  CoC’s resistance is consistent across the board as well as the quality of the springs.  The competitor’s products where junk with poor manufacturing and when you took two grippers of the same resistance they were definitely not the same.  I am not even going into the cheap springs of the competitors.  SO buyer beware!  Don’t skimp on the quality, just go with the best from the beginning!

Get out there and CRUSH something!