So I’m looking for anyone on here who has closed the captain of crush number 3! Just saw in my ironmind that $500 is donated to Jesse Marundes kids education for anyone in their teens that can close it.
This is just some added motivation for me to get it closed before end of next year, I can currently rep #2 for like maybe 5 full close-re setting every time, I prob set wrong also almost sure(I think I lower it to much with offhand)- before I can’t make it touch. I haven’t been training grip very long-couple months I think i bought level one back in September or so maybe October- but im looking for advice from people who have closed it to give me some pointers on how I should go about it.
Now right now i just pull it out when I’m bored and mess around with it, lots of volume.-The level one mostly-
How should I go about it, should I start adding some forearm exercises?-Currently do none though they are worked with curls I guess- Or just do a certain amount of full closes.
Check out the “grip board” (google it). That’s the best site on the web for grip training IMO.
I know someone who can rep the #3 like it’s a toy. He’s always been a big fan of negatives (as are Joe Kinney and John Brookfield to the best of my knowledge).
I’d suggest doing negatives on the #3 and trying to up your reps on the #2. You probably won’t be able to come even close to the #3 until you can do at least 10-12 consecutive reps (without resetting the gripper) on the #2.
Hope this helps. And if you want I can ask my friend if he has any further advice about closing the #3.
You Need to get the number three’s and do some negitives, Push it aganst your leg to close it, and try to hold it closed for as long as you can. If you rep the 2.5 for about 6 reps you should be able to close them.
The #3 feels hard as hell. I can close a #2.5 and can do #2 for about 12 reps. But I warm-up well and then attempt the #3 and can only get about 3/4 inch (at best) away from touching. I have been stuck for months. I guess I need to head over to the grip board and get some more training tips.
Oh, if some day I just so happen to close the #3, how do I go about getting it “official” with COC?
[quote]2thepain wrote:
Oh, if some day I just so happen to close the #3, how do I go about getting it “official” with COC? [/quote]
You contact Ironmind and they set you up wiht a certified judge. You meet somewhere halfway (between your home/work and the judge’s) he hands you a #3 in the box, you open the box and close the gripper in front of him. Make sure you can do it tho, otherwise i believe youre out $20 for the gripper
To the OP Ironmind just published a 3x/week workout wiht teh grippers in the latest catalogue. essentially it’s a 1 or 2 warmup sets with an ironmind egg or a light gripper, then 10 reps on COC grippers til you get to one you cant close for 10. Rep that for as many as you can for 2 or 3 sets. If youre “advanced” they recommend throwing in some strap holds, gripper training and IM Tug
To be honest tho I’m not sure how much I like it. I repped the #1 for 7,8 and 6 reps on sunday, then yesterday I did 3,0,1. Maybe I need get a trainer, or stick to 2 sets, or something??
[quote]KBCThird wrote:
2thepain wrote:
Oh, if some day I just so happen to close the #3, how do I go about getting it “official” with COC?
You contact Ironmind and they set you up wiht a certified judge. You meet somewhere halfway (between your home/work and the judge’s) he hands you a #3 in the box, you open the box and close the gripper in front of him. Make sure you can do it tho, otherwise i believe youre out $20 for the gripper
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Some people recommend that you be able to close the gripper at least 3 times before contacting Ironmind to get certified. The reason being that if the judge doesn’t see everything right (and I believe take a picture of you closing it, but don’t quote me on that) then they may ask you to close it again. I’ve heard of people having to close it more than 3 times at a certification appointment before the judge gives them the ok.
Yeah, I saw that routine. It’s not a bad routine (in concept) the problem to me is that there are such huge jumps between the grippers (especially the 2 and 3, or 3 and 4 if you’re a beast) that you’d most likely have a hard time upping the reps/gripper each workout.
Another suggestion I have is in regards to negatives. Now, using the free hand to help force the gripper closed can be effective (as can the leg as was suggested above). But, the absolute best way I’ve found to do negatives comes from Joe Kinney himself (the first man to ever officially close the #4).
It involves some set up though.
Go out and get yourself a piece of pipe (not PVC, if you can find steel that’s probably the best bet) that’s just big enough to fit the handle of the gripper into.
Find a tree/stud in a wall/basically anything solid and sturdy and drill a hole though it. You’ll want to drill the hole just big enough to fit the pipe into.
Place the pipe into the hole, and place one of the handles into the pipe.
Get yourself a thick, sturdy pair of gloves (welding gloves would be great as would kevlar) to protect your free hand. You want to put this glove on the free hand because you’re going to be holding the gripper by the spring to stabilize it, and there’s always the risk that the spring might snap.
With everything in place, and while holding the spring with the gloved hand to stabilize the gripper, grab hold of the gripper and prepare to close it.
Using your body/legs to assist you close the gripper. Now, release the pressure from your body/legs and either do a static hold, or a negative using the gripping hand.
Now, I know this sounds pretty complicated and time consuming, but trust me, it’s great for negatives, and allows you to get more reps (with less pain lol) than trying to continually force the gripper close with the free hand/leg.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Yeah, I saw that routine. It’s not a bad routine (in concept) the problem to me is that there are such huge jumps between the grippers (especially the 2 and 3, or 3 and 4 if you’re a beast) that you’d most likely have a hard time upping the reps/gripper each workout.[/quote]
funny you mention that. I was thinking about getting the ironmind hand gripper helpers. They’re these sticks that you close at the same time as the grippers, supposed to add 22 lbs to the resistance of the gripper, which just about cuts in half the difference between the T & teh #1 and the difference tween the #1 & #2. If you use both at the same time (they come in pairs) that halves the difference between the 2 & 3 and the 3&4. or I guess you could use one to halve the difference tween the 2 & 2.5 and the 2.5 & 3 and the 3 & 3.5 and the 3.5 & 4 … hmmmm sooooo tempting, but I just have difficulty convincing myself to spend the money/devote the time in my training to something that as far as I can tell, has no carryover to anything.
I’ve been very close to closing the #2, just mm away, but the thing is, whenever I’ve used two hands to close it for negatives and then release my off hand, the gripper just springs open to my sticking point, so its never been much help
funny you mention that. I was thinking about getting the ironmind hand gripper helpers. They’re these sticks that you close at the same time as the grippers, supposed to add 22 lbs to the resistance of the gripper, which just about cuts in half the difference between the T & teh #1 and the difference tween the #1 & #2. If you use both at the same time (they come in pairs) that halves the difference between the 2 & 3 and the 3&4. or I guess you could use one to halve the difference tween the 2 & 2.5 and the 2.5 & 3 and the 3 & 3.5 and the 3.5 & 4 … hmmmm sooooo tempting, but I just have difficulty convincing myself to spend the money/devote the time in my training to something that as far as I can tell, has no carryover to anything.
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I’ve thought about getting a pari of those gripper helpers myself. Right now though, while I still do grip/forearm training I’m not really working that hard on closing the next gripper up (which would be the 2.5 or 3).
If you’re just milimeters away, then try “greasing the groove”. That’s what got me the last little bit on both the #1 and #2. Just bring your gripper around with you through out the day and once an hour give it one all out attempt. Don’t push for too long though, just really try to muster up all the strength you can and try to close it. If it’s obvious that it’s not going to close, stop and let it out in control. Then repeat for the other hand.
I may take you a week or two, but this method has been really effective for me in the past to get that last little bit.
Make sure you dont overtrain your grip. Some things that will help you on your path to closing captains of crush. Is to do pinch holds (take 2 10 lb plates face them together smooth sides out and pinch it) Hub lifts and towel holds. I think just doing anything that will challenge your grip will help in closing the gripper. Rice grabs are a must. A Cheap and effective way to recover your hands. Buy a bag of rice and basically just sweeze the crap outta it. twist your hands to work your wrists. Hope that helped.