It has begun!

I got my first official Captains of Crush (CoC) gripper yesterday, a #1.5! (And there was much rejoicing in the land. Or… in the hand?) My very first attempt for each hand left a few millimeters between the handles. Sometime later, though, just before taking a nap, I did manage to close it with my right hand and I'm certain I got within a millimeter for my left hand, if I didn't close it outright. When I got up, I did a training session, as per the instruction booklet that came with the gripper, followed by some exercises I like:

Warmup effort:

10–12 reps x 2

Sub-maximum effort:

8–10 reps x 2

Maximum effort:

8 reps

1 double-hand-set negative (~20 seconds)

1 double-hand-set negative (~6 seconds)

Wrist roller:

6kg x 3

Forearm bar

5 kg x 3

Thick bar "throttle"

11kg x 2

[For these I kneel, rest my forearm on a stool, and clutch my 2" dumbbell until my grip gives out. This time I tried one set with the weights above my hand, which was an interesting adjustment, since the weight wobbled and thus activated my rotational strength. I discovered a similar drill last week on my standing press: try the press with an H-bar! Your hand wobble like mad. Reduce your normal weight by at least 15%.]

Gut wrench core drills

The upshot is that, before I ordered the CoC, I said that, if the #1.5 were not too difficult for me, I would commit to closing the #3. So––I'm on the road to closing a #3! I will not invest in a #2 until I can close the #1.5 at least 5–7 times and do some strap holds with the #1.5. It was nice to discover that my homemade "heavy red gripper" was very close to a #1.5, and may even count as more difficult since the handles are noticeably broader and angular than the CoC's round handles. Now I have a nice range of resistance levels to train: medium red gripper (with some rubber bands removed to make a real warmup level), heavy red gripper (also with some bands removed), and the CoC #1.5.