Welcome to our hand gripper training guides. Below you will find a plethora of information regarding different types of hand grippers and how to use them.
It can be confusing when starting your journey into the wonderful world of grip.. But we will break down each type of grip and how to train it
Adjustable Hand Gripper
When starting out with hand grippers the adjustable grippers are probably the best to start out with.
They will get you familiar with the crushing motion without being too challenging or abrasive on the hands. As well as developing a solid strength base for you to build on.
The cushioned handles provide a nice smooth feel which are comfortable on the hands and do not have knurling like standard metal hand grippers.
The ergonomic shaping allows for small / large hands to have no problem finding the sweet spot to hold and crush them.
With these hand grippers the adjustable resistance means they are perfect for beginners as you can take the resistance way down to ease yourself in!
These hand grippers were one of the first pieces of equipment I purchased many years ago and I found them brilliant.
The main aim was to build up some wrist and forearm strength and they certainly did the job. Now I’m hooked and have a huge collection of hand grippers!
The perfect place for these hand grippers is on your desk at work, in your gym bag or on the desk at home.
Just crush them throughout the day and without following too much of a training regime you will see progress pretty quickly.
Adjustable Gripper Training
If you want a rough idea of some sort of training try out 3-5 sets of;
- 10 Regular Reps
- 5 Negative Reps
- 10 Inverted Reps
- 10 Pinch Style Reps
You will find further details on these styles of closes down below.
Godlike Grippers
Our very own Godlike Hand Grippers, colour coded and manufactured from the highest quality materials.
Tested over a long period of time we are finally happy to release our own brand of hand grippers.
- A Beautiful Ergonomic Design
- High Quality Aluminium Handles
- Performance Springs Giving Consistent Feel
- Rust Proof Spring Coating Increasing Longevity
- Available In 5 Resistances To Suit Every Level
- Colour Coded For Easy Identification
Godlike Gripper Sets
We have them available in our store to buy individually or in discounted sets;
The beginner gripper set includes;
- Poseidon 100lb – Blue Hand Gripper
- Tlaloc 150lb – Blue Hand Gripper
- Achilles 200lb – Gold Hand Gripper
The intermediate gripper set includes;
- Tlaloc 150lb – Blue Hand Gripper
- Achilles 200lb – Gold Hand Gripper
- Hephaestus 250lb – Red Hand Gripper
The Advanced gripper set includes;
Finally the complete hand gripper set which includes all 5.
Hand Gripper Training Package
We have created a hand gripper training package to specifically target your crush / support grip strength.
This is key to progressing your hand gripper strength. Using a combination of low resistance / high resistance tools, getting rest and mixing up your training will allow you to develop your grip strength.
Captains Of Crush
One of the best brands of hand grippers you will find anywhere.
The Captains of Crush hand grippers come in 10 different strengths so there’s a starting point for everyone.
If you’re brave enough to wander towards the top end of these hand grippers then you’ll find yourself in a very exclusive club.
These Hand Grippers were first introduced in 1995, crafted from aircraft-grade aluminium combined with top quality springs provides a world class hand gripper with a superb feel and appearance.
As these hand grippers are top quality they also come with quite a high price if you are just starting out. At around £28 in the UK they are at the top end of the spectrum.
IronMind, the manufacturers of these grippers actually keep a record of official closes for the higher level grippers. For men this is the #3 Gripper and above, for women it is the #2 and above. You must be certified by an official referee to get on this elite list.
The Captains of Crush Hand Grippers are one our favorites here at Gods of Grip and the almost complete set hangs proud on the Grip Board.
You can check out our ‘Best Hand Grippers’ blog post here to see how they compared to other grippers.
Overall these hand grippers are a great next step up from adjustable grippers, they will get you used to feeling knurling on grippers which can be quite abrasive at first but your hands will soon get used to it.
If you are looking to follow a hand gripper training routine or get some tips on gripper training then checkout our hand gripper training series,
Hand Gripper Heaven
Our very own collection of Hand Gripper Training Guides , crafted in 3 levels of difficulty allowing for progression, beginner – intermediate – advanced. Even the most experienced of gripsters will find some great advice in the advanced training guide.
Designed to explain how to prepare yourself for training, recovery, the set and repetitions. These guides will point you in the right direction for mastering the Hand Gripper.
The guides give in depth details on exactly how to use a hand gripper and great examples of training methods and accessories that can be used to develop your crush grip strength.
Heavy Sports Hand Grippers
A good alternative to the Godlike / Captains of Crush grippers.
Sturdy and well made with good knurling these grippers are still great quality and provide a stern test for anyone.
They all come in the same silver colour, the rating is identifiable from the bottom of the leg where the rating is stamped. With the rust proof spring coating a great addition helping increase the longevity of them.
Unfortunately one of the downsides is the inconsistent rating from these hand grippers. A 200lb rated gripper can often feel like a 150lb or a 250lb. You’re still going to get a great workout but if you’re looking to compare yourself to other gripsters, then you could be way off.
Even still they are great hand grippers and come in at a much lower price point than the captains of crush so you can allow for this variation in rating. A hand gripper is still a hand gripper.
They come in 6 different ratings from 100lb to 350lb, the 350lb rated gripper feels like trying to squeeze a brick!
Regular Gripper Closes
What hand grippers are for! Closing shut. If you have never used these before and feel a bit stuck then don’t fear you are not alone. Although very simple to use hand grippers can be used in a variety of ways which will be explained in the next few sections.
Firstly we will talk about regular closes, this is very simple.
Place the grippers in your hand, one handle on the palm and one across the fingers, then simply just close your hand and crush the gripper shut.
If you are using an adjustable gripper first then be sure to set the resistance to pretty low just so you can get the hang of it.
We have added a video for you to check out and compare your form to.
Once you’ve got the hang of it just keep crushing away!
Setting
If you are just starting out then you wont have to worry about learning how to set properly yet.
This is basically positioning the hand gripper in a more favorable position using both hands.
From this position you are able to get a head start on the close and hopefully crush a higher resistance than you would without setting.
The set is usually allowed up to a credit cards width, we have provided a video of this below.
Once you feel comfortable with this you can either switch over to a higher resistance gripper such as the Godlike Grippers or Captains Of Crush. Then you’ll be making some real crushing gains.
Negative Grip Closes
These are an essential part of improving your hand gripper crushing power.
Negative reps require quite a high level of mental training as well as grip strength, it can be hard focusing on the squeeze.
Negative reps are also great for training your central nervous system.
To perform this close you will want to position the hand gripper in the same way you would for a regular close.
Then crush it as you normally would.. But this time hold it closed, then very slowly open your hands releasing the gripper over about 6-8 seconds.
As soon as the gripper is fully opened again close it shut as hard and fast as you can, slowly releasing it again.
This negative style of training really focuses on the eccentric portion of the close promoting great power for your crush grip.
At first you can try doing these closes in a similar rep style to regular closes, 10 reps of around 3-5 sets really focusing on the eccentric portion of the close.
This style of training is one that is similar to a regular used competition event.
The Silver Bullet hold requires you to basically hold shut a hand gripper for as long as you can with a weight between the gripper legs.
The weight held is the width of one of the hand gripper legs and has a 2.5kg weight attached to it, increasing the difficulty.
So if you find yourself really good at this.. Then who knows you could be on the hunt for a silver bullet world record.
Inverted Grip Closes
An unconventional approach but well worth investing some time in.
Accessory movements are just as important for grip training as they are for regular training.
This Inverted approach will mainly improve the strength of your index and middle finger. It will improve your strength of these fingers much more than you would doing regular closes. Upon inspecting the hand and finger performance on a regular close you will see that your bottom 2 fingers, pinky and ring, will be activated.
These will be used much more in the close than the index and middle. This is purely down to the design of the hand grippers. Your index and middle fingers are still used in the close but just play a lesser part, therefore are not trained to the extent of your other 2 would be.
This inverted approach allows for focused training on the two fingers lesser used on regular closes. Simply hold the hand gripper upside down in your hand and close in the same way you would in the regular position.
You may find this grip easier than regular, but it is a movement that should not be ignored as you want every finger working hard to crush the hand gripper.
Pinch Grip Closes
Another gripper training style that you could put into the accessory category. This is a style of hand gripper training you probably haven’t seen before but it has its uses and for reaching your gripper goals.
It is definitely one that should be incorporated into your routine at least once a week.
As in the previous exercise with the inverted grip, that was mainly focusing on the index and middle finger, this exercise is too but can be switched between 1-3 of your fingers.
The aim of this is to strengthen your weaknesses making your overall hand grip power better, it can also aid you for other pinch lifts such as the Pinch Blocks, Half Penny or general Plate Pinches.
To perform this exercise you will want to place the hand gripper the same way you would for a regular close.
Just a little bit higher in the hand, but instead of wrapping all your fingers around just use the top 1,2 or 3. This all depends on what you want to focus on.
The video below shows me using 2 fingers as that is what I find benefits me most for hand gripper training progression.
Hand Gripper Set Training
Now were starting to get serious! If you have made it this far then you must really be looking to take your hand gripper training to the next level! That makes us very happy indeed and we will be glad to assist.
Setting the hand gripper is monumentally important if you are looking to set a new PB, it will get your hand and the hand gripper in the optimal position for you to crush it to the max.
In simple terms the set is basically using your other hand to position the gripper into your crushing hand.
You are also able to close the gripper enough so you are able to wrap your pinky around the gripper and hold it there until you are ready to close.
Usual competition rules allow you to close the gripper enough to fit a credit card between or roughly 2″ as can be seen in the image.
Getting the hang of the set will seem very challenging at first and will take days maybe even weeks to master.
Hand Gripper Accessory Exercises
The only way to get stronger with hand grippers is not necessarily training just with hand grippers, growing your overall grip strength in different areas will affect your crushing strength.
The above accessory exercises such as inverted, negative and pinch are all styles are great for when using the hand gripper but when your not, we have listed a few below which will aid you on the path to Gripper Greatness.
Plate Pinching
This is a great and very easy exercise to train, if you are a regular in the gym then the chances are you will be handling some weight plates most of the time.
Instead of picking them up via the nice smooth handle or with 2 hands, try pinching them and carrying them to your destination instead.
This will mean you are constantly training your pinch grip without really thinking about it.
Alternatively you can train this as an actual exercise, it is great for building up your pinching power.
Dumbbell Pick-Up's
Another great exercise as an accessory for hand gripper training is dumbbell pick – ups.
I’m not sure if that is the technical name for them but that’s what we call them. They couldn’t be easier to do and probably look pretty easy to perform too. Once the weight starts creeping up you’ll soon find the weight slipping out of your hands!
Grab a dumbbell, tip it on its side with one of the sides facing upwards, then grab it! What ever way you can just pick it up and hold it.
If your feeling fancy and have a bit of room try dropping and grabbing the weight again before it hits the floor..
You’ll be playing a bit of Toe Roulette
Hub Pinching
One of the most impressive looking grip exercises that will blow your friends away.
Picking up a 25kg plate by the hub and holding it is a massive feat of grip strength. If your gym is using some of the old style plates that still have hubs in then you’re in luck.
Even starting off with 10kg will be challenging at first but if you keep at it, like anything, you’ll soon be warming up with it.
This exercise requires massive pinch and finger strength, it will give you a great advantage going back to the hand grippers once you start getting the hang of this.
We are lucky enough to have a few different types of hub plate in the Grip Shed which really are fun to use!
