Hand grippers

For hand grippers, does anyone recommend a specific brand?

Captains of crush, from ironmind (www.ironmind.com). excellent quality grippers, reasonably priced, plus if you get strong enough you can get certified on them. generally speaking, if you have done a fair amount of weight training, but not specifically grip, you should get a #1. if you have a very very naturally strong grip, get the number 2.

have fun - i love grippers!

jonathan

Ironmind is the standard weapon of choice for most in grippers because they tend to be pretty well standardized for strengths - however, no two grippers will ever be exactly the same, so as many have found out, if you try someone's IM #1, for example, it may be slightly harder or easier than one you purchase.

Best bet is probably to go with the IronMind ones, starting with a Trainer and #1 gripper - most people get stopped by the #1 the first time they try it, even if they think that they have a strong grip. The #2 is something that very, very few have closed their first try, and the #3 is definitely not worth ordering from the start unless you have an aspiration to eventually be a grip champ. The pair of #3 grippers I own have never quite been closed without an assist from the other hand (1/6" from completely shut at best with a single hand when I've trained hard with them), and I'm not one to say that my grip is on the weaker side

Once you've had time to play around with what is the standard for grippers, I can definintely fill you in on where to go next for the levels up from there!

Ryan

Ivanko super grippers http://www.fractionalplates.com/cgi-bin/edatcat/PDAstore.cgi?user_action=detail&catalogno=9.12

They are adjustable, so one pair (if that's the right expression?) is all you'd ever need. If you crush them shut you can always buy a couple of extra springs (you used to get an extra pair free, not sure if that's still the case?).

If you want to get certified though, CoC are the way to go.

i first closed the #1 (albeit joni's filed down one) in november at the vegan fair in nottingham. i hadnt trained grippers at all up to that point. i think that i got my first set (not ironmind) about 6months ago and my grip is so much better than before. the deadlift used to challenge my grip, but it never does now.

jonathan

I need to get some grippers sooooo bad

Pete is on the mark that the Ivanko gripper is great as well - there are dozens of strengths you can set it at, so you'll never get bored with it and probably fewer than 10 people have closed it on the hardest setting. The only thing is, it doesn't exactly mimic the true feel of standard grippers, so the crossover strength won't be completely equal. The general motion is very similar, but the angle of the handles and handle sizes aren't quite the same, so there will be a different feel in changing from this gripper to other models. One thing I'd suggest is that if you get one and can afford to shell out a little extra money, PDA now makes custom handles for the Ivanko gripper that are idential to how the IM gripper handles are - I think it is about $20 more or something similar (making the gripper cost about $40-45 rather than $25 for the standard model), but if you want the feel of how other grippers are handle-wise, it is the way to go. However, you can't get more variety in strengths for your money, so it is a great recommendation!

Ryan

Hey, thanks for all your advice guys! I looked into the ones you guys recommended - Ivanko and Ironmind - and I'm to get some Cap's of Crush. One major reason is size. It looks like the CoCs are more pocket sized, and I'm looking for something I can bring with me and pull out to work on if I'm stuck in a line, or stuck in traffic, etc.