235:
is beyond that of the user, the user might apply maximum force, moving the handles as far as possible, even if the handles cannot be made to touch. Another partial movement involves using two hands to squeeze the handles within approximately 19 mm (3/4 inch) of each other, releasing one hand, and then using the other hand to make the handles of the gripper touch each other. Negatives involve starting the gripper handles touching and then resisting as the gripper opens up, in an
252:, the first man certified for closing the Captains of Crush No. 4 gripper, is credited with introducing the idea of negatives to gripper training. The idea of starting a gripper from the "deep set" position (approximately 19 mm space in between the handles) originated from an ebook that was inspired by Kinney's success, but then focused on training principles and techniques developed by the author, not Kinney.
35:
104:
96:
186:, and have become common on the more difficult grippers, regardless of brand. At the same time, interest in grippers that challenged even the strongest people in the world broadened beyond audiences directly involved with training or physical performance, and have been reported on in such publications as
278:
Along with misstatements about calibration, two other misconceptions about grippers were introduced in 2003. One of the notions was that the characteristics of the springs in grippers would change over the course of a certain number of repetitions before they stabilized, in a process that was labeled
265:
To explain the amount of variability to expect, grippers have been likened to uncalibrated barbell plates, which at its most basic level means that they will have greater variations than calibrated barbell plates (i.e., barbell plates that must conform to narrowly defined, pre-established standards),
282:
An alternative view is that a spring will bend when the force required to close the gripper exceeds the spring's mechanical limits, but that such bending does not occur in grippers that are properly designed and built. Such bending would make the gripper easier to close on successive attempts, while
234:
The user holds the gripper in one hand and squeezes the two handles together until they touch. Once touched, the handles are released and the movement is repeated. Variations of this basic movement include negatives , and a variety of partial movements. For example, if the strength of the gripper
225:
In 1991, IronMind began certifying people who could close its toughest grippers under official conditions, and it maintains lists of the people certified on the
Captains of Crush No. 3, Captains of Crush No. 3.5 and Captains of Crush No. 4, Closing grippers of this strength level has been compared
269:
Grippers are commonly rated in such units as pounds per square inch to inch-pounds to inches, but arguments have been presented that in many cases these numbers have little real meaning and in all cases they are not as transparent as the label (in pounds or kilos) on a barbell plate, so they should
177:
reintroduced the original Iron Man grippers, and then later that year, the company began modifying the design with the stated goal of improving the accuracy, durability and appearance of the gripper, not just making grippers that could tax the strongest men in the world. IronMind also introduced
286:
The arm of a torsion spring with the sharper bend was termed the “dogleg”, and while noting that it would make no difference in the force required to close the gripper, it was stated that it took “less effort” to initially deflect the gripper if one pushed on the dogleg. Others have argued that
247:
Historically, users trained with grippers by doing high repetitions, but it has been argued that while this was necessary in the days before more challenging grippers were available, this is an inefficient way to increase strength, and that lower repetitions are preferred, consistent with other
256:
has argued that the generally accepted principles of effective strength training apply to grippers, just as they do to any other movement. Performing strongman John
Brookfield developed strap holds, the idea of hanging a small weight from a strap or belt which is kept in place by squeezing the
299:
is stationary and the other four fingers apply the force required to close the gripper, but specialty grippers exist that allow the fingers to be trained one or two at a time. Traditional grippers have handles of fixed lengths, but at different times, grippers have been introduced that have
153:
Grippers from the early part of the 20th century to the middle of the 20th century typically had wooden handles, were quite easy for a strong person to close, and were a regularly advertised product in bodybuilding-weightlifting magazines. Such mass market grippers were largely replaced with
287:
grippers are symmetric with regard to forces applied to the handles and that the dogleg is another myth, and this has been demonstrated with an analysis of the underlying physics, but the concepts remain in use. Subjective reports and objective facts about grippers don't always match.
257:
handles of a gripper hard enough to keep the weight from falling one of many training innovations he pioneered. Arm wrestlers were among the first to establish specific training protocols using grippers, as part of a larger strength training program for their sport.
169:
introduced the “Iron Man Super Heavy Grip
Developer,” and unlike mass market grippers, these grippers had steel handles, thick springs and were very difficult to close. The popularity of these grippers was limited, and they were discontinued in 1977.
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had two challenge nutcracker grippers in the 1930s that defied nearly all who tried to close them, and besides their status as a specific challenge, the design and application of this gripper was praised as a sound way to assess grip strength.
516:
635:
714:
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be viewed with caution. Similarly, “calibration” is sometimes misused, as when a gripper is rated, whether subjectively or objectively, Instead of made to conform to an external standard.
685:
Strossen, Randall J. “Kinney Do It? Yes! Joe’s the First 4-Evermore,” MILO: A Journal For
Serious Strength Athletes, Volume 5 - Number 4 (March 1998), pp. 8 - 11. IronMind
694:
Strossen, Randall J. J. B. Kinney Grabs a
Challenge and Wins. MILO: A Journal For Serious Strength Athletes, Volume 5 - Number 2 (September 1997), pp. 29 - 32). IronMind.
520:
178:
aluminum handles with permanent markings. These two features were later adopted by other manufacturers, including those in low-cost manufacturing centers such as
633:
133:
fitted with two handles. The exact dimensions of these elements vary, as well as the materials used to make them; the springs are made from various types of
427:
IronMind catalog. “Tools of the trade for serious strength athletes . . . most of them unique, all of them top quality”. Volume 1 - Number 1, 1990, p. 6
919:
734:
Brookfield, John. Handgrippers: Closing The Gap. MILO: A Journal For
Serious Strength Athletes, Volume 4 - Number 2 (July 1996), pp. 22- 23. IronMind.
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to crushing a raw potato in one's bare hand. In 2011, IronMind began certifying women who officially closed the
Captains of Crush No. 2 Gripper.
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45:
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variable-length handles, allowing the user to change the amount of leverage and the range of motion involved when closing the gripper.
898:
64:
851:
82:
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Siversson, Mikael. Gripper in
Competition. Iron Grip, Vol. 3, No. 2. Edited by David Horne & Elizabeth Talbott, pp. 24-25.
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has been called crushing grip, which has been defined as meaning the prime movers are the four fingers, rather than the thumb.
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60:
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inexpensive plastic-handled grippers that are commonly found in sporting goods and exercise equipment stores today.
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219:
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623:"Class Notes - Spotlight - Randall Strossen". Stanford Magazine. September/October 2008. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
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There are differences from brand to brand, but the common feature of standard grippers is that they use a
868:
236:
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602:
578:
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349:
Hoffman, Bob. Strength and Health, January 1947, p. 48. York
Barbell Company: York, Pennsylvania.
253:
166:
188:
367:
Aston, Edward. How To
Develop A Powerful Grip (second edition). The Mitre Press: London, 1946.
778:
847:
715:"Certification on Captains of Crush Grippers: "Credit Card Sets," "Old Rules" and "New Rules""
455:
211:
56:
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Strossen, Randall J. CTD (Crushed-to-Dust) Cube: The 3 Faces of Grip Strength. IronMind
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but there is evidence that substantial levels of accuracy are achievable for grippers.
130:
990:
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123:
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Horne, David, Iron Grip, The Thomas Inch Gripper, Vol. 1 - No. 3, June 2001, pp. 4-5
194:
920:"IronMind Highlights — Captains of Crush Hand Grippers and Other Grip Milestones"
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Robertson, Blair (2008-05-02). "He build his company on a very firm handshake".
158:
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Grippers come in a range of strengths, suitable for everyone from beginners to
981:
541:
20:
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Rader, Peary. Iron Man. October–November–December 1964. Vol. 24, No. 1, p. 58
743:
Brookfield, John. The Mastery of Hand Strength. Second Edition. IronMind.
320:
752:
Doherty, Mark J. Arm-Wrestling For Everyone. Quinlan Press: Boston, 1986.
869:"Myths and Misconceptions: Torsion Springs, The Dog Leg and 'Handedness'"
174:
142:
19:
This article is about the tool. For the position held in filmmaking, see
772:"International Weightlifting Federation Technical and Competition Rules"
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Traditional grippers are used by the whole hand at once, although the
118:, are primarily used for testing and increasing the strength of the
283:
the grippers with springs that did not bend would remain constant.
95:
703:
Piche, Bill. The KTA Program . Ebook retrieved September 2, 2003
632:"Captains of Crush No. 2 Gripper: A New Certification for Women,"
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Captains of Crush Grippers: What they are and how to close them
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Training manual for Captains of Crush Grippers. IronMind, 2007
28:
517:"Ironmind Captains of Crush: A Lesson in Clever Marketing"
450:
Strossen, Randall J.; Kinney, J.B.; Holle, Nathan (2009).
52:
964:
Lewis. Jim. JB Gripper Basic Training Manual, 2007.
662:"Captains of Crush Hand Grippers - Training and FAQ"
63:, and by adding encyclopedic content written from a
317:"ironmind captain of crush grippers - SFUK Reviews"
137:, and the handles are generally made from wood,
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846:. Piedmont Design Associates. pp. 10–11.
579:"Who's Who No. 3.5 Captains of Crush Grippers"
157:Top early 20th century professional strongman
8:
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833:
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603:"Who's Who No. 4 Captains of Crush Grippers"
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554:"Who's Who No. 3 Captains of Crush Grippers"
476:"Class Notes - Spotlight - Randall Strossen"
761:IronMind Catalog. 1999–2000. Vol. 9, p. 38
16:Devices to test and increase hand strength
922:. Captainsofcrushgrippers. Archived from
664:. Captainsofcrushgrippers. Archived from
83:Learn how and when to remove this message
982:How to Measure the Strength of a Gripper
945:"IMTUG: The Two-Finger Utility Gripper"
642:May 12, 2011. Retrieved on 2011-11-03.
308:
222:has been viewed over 2 million times.
99:A mass market, plastic-handled gripper
44:contains content that is written like
899:"Another Gripper Myth Bites the Dust"
7:
897:Strossen, Randall J. (2009-07-16).
14:
813:Morton Gripper Calibration Device
319:. Sfuk.tripod.com. Archived from
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418:Iron Man, September 1990, p. 96
1:
454:(Second ed.). Ironmind.
248:strength-training protocols
218:video clip closing the No. 4
887:Piche, Bill. KTA . c. 2003
388:"The Iron Man Hand Grippers"
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556:. IronMind. Archived from
543:. Retrieved on 2011-11-03
515:Lee, Louise (2009-02-13).
18:
386:Roark, Joe (April 1990).
220:Captains of Crush Gripper
842:Szimanski, John (2003).
540:"World's Strongest Arms
482:. September–October 2008
291:Non-traditional grippers
122:; this specific form of
844:Torsion Spring Grippers
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107:A gripper being closed
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713:Strossen, Randall J.
237:eccentric contraction
208:World's Strongest Man
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65:neutral point of view
261:Ratings and accuracy
57:promotional content
997:Exercise equipment
638:2011-09-28 at the
502:The Sacramento Bee
189:The Sacramento Bee
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59:and inappropriate
480:Stanford Magazine
461:978-0-926888-84-5
395:Iron Game History
212:Magnus Samuelsson
210:winners, such as
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55:by removing
51:Please help
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867:Weir, Joe.
159:Thomas Inch
951:2011-09-07
947:. Ironmind
930:2011-09-07
905:2011-09-09
874:2010-02-20
822:2010-02-19
788:2010-02-20
721:2011-09-07
717:. Ironmind
672:2011-09-07
609:2011-09-07
605:. IronMind
585:2011-09-07
581:. IronMind
564:2011-09-07
527:2011-09-07
486:2011-09-08
405:2011-09-07
401:(2): 18–19
327:2011-09-07
250:Joe Kinney
53:improve it
21:grip (job)
173:In 1990,
165:In 1964,
112:Grippers,
991:Category
971:See also
636:Archived
243:Training
214:, whose
175:IronMind
143:aluminum
216:YouTube
149:History
139:plastic
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192:, and
817:(PDF)
782:(PDF)
775:(PDF)
614:>.
391:(PDF)
304:Notes
297:thumb
184:India
180:China
135:steel
120:hands
848:ISBN
456:ISBN
182:and
230:Use
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