grip strength data

[Wildcat33]

Thought you guys would find this interesting. My sis is an Occupational Therapist and specializes in hand, wrist, and lower arm injuries/therapy. She knows I use Captains of Crush grippers and emailed me some grip strength data they use at the hospital.

There are several different standard charts they use. Grip strength increases with age up to a point, usually sometime in the 60s depending on overall health and abscence of injury. The data is published for age 20, 30, 40, and every subsequent ten years. The data is different for different age brackets and levels of activity but Sis only emailed data for age 30.

Anyways the average crushing grip strength for a 30 y/o man is 122 lbs on dominant hand, 110 on off hand. For a 30 y/o woman dominant hand is 79 lb, off hand is 68 lbs. Use those numbers to gauge yourself against the average joe. (CoC #1 --> 140 lbs, CoC #2 --> 195 lbs, etc.)

[Alexxx]

How about for a 15 year old?

[Kane Fan]

si there anyway to test yourself w/out seeing what gripper you can close?!
like a pressure thing or something
my uncle has an incredible grip
I'm suprised if what you said is what I think you mean
grip strength naturally improves until around age 60?!

[llamabob]

It makes sense, anyone who has met the g/f's parents know about the hand shake..the dad always has a killer grip, even if hes a skinny dorky dude. Any older man I've shaken hands with has a very strong, firm grip. It's that weird old man strength

[Wildcat33]

Alexxx,
Sorry she didn't email me any data for the 20 y/o age bracket which is probably the one that would apply to you. I figure the data is similar to the 30 y/o age bracket.

There is a device you can test your grip on. They have them at health fairs and hospitals and stuff. They look kind of like a video game flightstick with pressure plates and sensors. My brother is a naturally strong 6'6" 255 #'er and I remember he tried one out at a health fair once before he started lifting. He got 132 lbs on it and the nurse told him that was above average. 132 is stronger than the average guy but it's still not enough to close a Captain of Crush #1.

I believe it about grip strength increasing with age. There are lots of old men out there that have one heck of a crushing grip when you shake hands with them. Especially the ones that had manual labor or blue collar type jobs. I've read that theoretically you can keep getting stronger and stronger from lifting up until the 60's. Course most people aren't still lifting for strength by then or they've had so many injuries they can't keep making progress.

[drfly]

my friend has the captains of crush grippers from iron mind too, and when he first showed me them, i almost closed the 1. within 2 weeks of just sparatically trying every couple of days, i could already close it. hes got the 2 already (except he has owned them for a long time and trains with them), and is working on getting the 3. hes got about 8 mm to go on the 3, if he gets it, he will be only the 2nd person out of washington state to get it (the other being jesse marunde, who we also know because he used to live in sequim whihc is where we live now, and we play football with his youngest brother). also if he closes it he will be the only teenager in the US to have ever closed it.

[wetboybandit]

yeah I have always want to try captain crush grippers but have never gotten any because I don't think I would be able to close any of them how hard is the first gripper???

[Wildcat33]

The first gripper is the trainer and it only takes 100 lbs of force to close. Most people should be able to close it, even most adult men who don't work out. The #1 takes 140 lbs and most people can't close it at first. I couldn't close my #1 when I first got it but it only took 2 weeks of working with it before I could. The #2 takes 195 lb, it's rough. I can't close my #2 yet, although getting very close. I've ever only heard of one man closing the #2 on the first try and he was a professional strongman. The #2 is very intimidating the first time you try it. #3 is 280 lbs, only about 90 men in the world have closed it. #4 is 365 lbs, only 1 man has ever done it.

If you've done much lifting at all I'd skip the trainer and start with the #1.

[BigKazWSM747]

very interesting. If you could post some more info it would be very appreciated.

[Rugnyman]

I dunno if its good or average, i closed the number 1 first time and held it for a minute, is that good or not?

[drfly]

i would say thats pretty impressive, most people i met couldnt even close the 1 first try, let alone hold it for a minute. it took me about a total of probably 40 tries spread out over the course of 2 weeks (not actual training, just giving it a try whenever my friend had it on him) before i could close it.

[Rugnyman]

Oh ok, kewl, how much does number 2 cost? I might get one

[beast69]

as far as i know, all of the grippers cost about $20-$25 american, or $50 canadian. try checking www.ironmind.com, they are the main supplier for the captains of crush grippers(to my knowledge)

[lavarock22]

my grip strength is 125 on my non dominant had dunno about my dominant hand because I had it tested when i was in physio after fing up my arm at work

[lavarock22]

The first gripper is the trainer and it only takes 100 lbs of force to close. Most people should be able to close it, even most adult men who don't work out. The #1 takes 140 lbs and most people can't close it at first. I couldn't close my #1 when I first got it but it only took 2 weeks of working with it before I could. The #2 takes 195 lb, it's rough. I can't close my #2 yet, although getting very close. I've ever only heard of one man closing the #2 on the first try and he was a professional strongman. The #2 is very intimidating the first time you try it. #3 is 280 lbs, only about 90 men in the world have closed it. #4 is 365 lbs, only 1 man has ever done it.

If you've done much lifting at all I'd skip the trainer and start with the #1.

365 lbs who was it?

[HamburgerTrain]

Just got my number 4 in the mail.

[Black_Spit]

Just got my number 4 in the mail.

Do you feel like using those helps with deadlift grip? I hear arguments both ways.

[tornmuscle123]

Do you feel like using those helps with deadlift grip? I hear arguments both ways.

I wonder this myself - I have a T a 1 and a 2 but haven't spent much time with them.

[SBHayes]

Closed the 2 on my first try with dominate hand... took about 3 weeks for left hand. Close on the 2.5 with dominate now.

More than one person has closed the 4... but the last person to do it was Magnus Samulesson (yes, THE Magnus Samulesson). This was actually in a video... search for it on Youtube (Strongest Arms in the World or some ****).

I haven't found the grippers to help my deadlift grip a whole lot yet... but I haven't done it long enough to give an accurate statement.

[CharlesSwann]

Just got my number 4 in the mail.

You anywhere close to closing that monster?

Do you feel like using those helps with deadlift grip? I hear arguments both ways.

I wonder this myself - I have a T a 1 and a 2 but haven't spent much time with them.

Grip communities like gripboard seem pretty unanimous that 'crushing grip' strength from closing grippers doesn't carry-over perfectly to 'support grip' used for holding a barbell. It's not zero carry-over, but there're better ways to improve your hold on a barbell. Doesn't hurt, though.

(For what it's worth, a buddy of mine closes the #2.5 but has trouble holding on to 405, so either way, doesn't seem like getting decent at grippers means you're rock solid with a barbell.)

[Iceman1800]

There's been about 5 people that have closed the #4. If you can close the #3, you can get certified. Pretty cool group to be a part of. And gripper strength has zero to do with dl grip strength

[JValjean24601]

I feel gripping the 25kg plates with one hand has the best carry-over to the deadlift. Rock-climbing does wonders for your grip too. But I guess it is quite
impossible to do rock climbing if you're a big heavyweight guy, never seen any of them climbing.

[ffguitarist14]

[scorpionsf]

these bumps are getting more and more ridiculous...

[John Hicks]

There is a device you can test your grip on. They have them at health fairs and hospitals and stuff. They look kind of like a video game flightstick with pressure plates and sensors. My brother is a naturally strong 6'6" 255 #'er and I remember he tried one out at a health fair once before he started lifting. He got 132 lbs on it and the nurse told him that was above average. 132 is stronger than the average guy but it's still not enough to close a Captain of Crush #1.

Way back in October 2003, I was working for a company that sent me downtown (Atlanta, GA) to deliver some materials to another company that had offices in Atlanta City Hall. As I went in, I noticed that there was something going on but didn't know what. After dropping off what I needed to, I headed off in that direction to find out what was going on. It turned out to be a annual health fair for City of Atlanta employees. I found a booth set up with some dumbbells and other weightlifting stuff and a sign that said, "Grip strength test". Now I had to do that! I asked the woman what it was, and she had a hand strength dynomometer (a Jamar) and asked if I wanted to give it a try. I said, "Sure". As I was squeezing it, she said out loud, "Oh my God! Oh my God!". Turns out, I pinned it over the top setting; she had never seen anyone do that before. The highest score before that was a long time City of Atlanta construction worker; he didn't get it anywhere near to the top setting like I did. They asked me what I did for a living, and I told them I was a vendor and that I did shipping/receiving for a local company; my age at that time was 39. The woman doing the test didn't even want to shake my hand after that!

[pryme]

lots of misinformation in this thread. one thing to keep in mind is that the "weight" ratings coc attaches to its grippers are not the actual poundages it takes to close. for example...most number 3 grippers take under 200lbs to close. look up calibration numbers for grippers. also, Jesse is not the only person in Washington to close a three lol

[HamburgerTrain]

lots of misinformation in this thread. one thing to keep in mind is that the "weight" ratings coc attaches to its grippers are not the actual poundages it takes to close. for example...most number 3 grippers take under 200lbs to close. look up calibration numbers for grippers. also, Jesse is not the only person in Washington to close a three lol

Who cares? Just close them because it looks cool.

[BenEdwards]

But I guess it is quite
impossible to do rock climbing if you're a big heavyweight guy, never seen any of them climbing.

It's not impossible to rock climb if you're big. It just isn't the same as a 140lb guy climbing when it's a guy who weighs 250lbs. It is amusing that lightweight guys are surprised that heavy guys don't want to rock climb when their bodyweight is so much higher. I guess the 140lb guys can all rock climb with a pack filled with 100lbs then...

[BenEdwards]

Way back in October 2003, I was working for a company that sent me downtown (Atlanta, GA) to deliver some materials to another company that had offices in Atlanta City Hall. As I went in, I noticed that there was something going on but didn't know what. After dropping off what I needed to, I headed off in that direction to find out what was going on. It turned out to be a annual health fair for City of Atlanta employees. I found a booth set up with some dumbbells and other weightlifting stuff and a sign that said, "Grip strength test". Now I had to do that! I asked the woman what it was, and she had a hand strength dynomometer (a Jamar) and asked if I wanted to give it a try. I said, "Sure". As I was squeezing it, she said out loud, "Oh my God! Oh my God!". Turns out, I pinned it over the top setting; she had never seen anyone do that before. The highest score before that was a long time City of Atlanta construction worker; he didn't get it anywhere near to the top setting like I did. They asked me what I did for a living, and I told them I was a vendor and that I did shipping/receiving for a local company; my age at that time was 39. The woman doing the test didn't even want to shake my hand after that!

Good story John! I wish I hadn't sold my Jamar dyno for the occasional chance I got to let guys try it out at contests or at my house.

[BenEdwards]

lots of misinformation in this thread. one thing to keep in mind is that the "weight" ratings coc attaches to its grippers are not the actual poundages it takes to close. for example...most number 3 grippers take under 200lbs to close. look up calibration numbers for grippers. also, Jesse is not the only person in Washington to close a three lol

Yeah, the "average" #3 is about 150lbs to close.

Remember, the thread was started in 2003. At that time, Jesse was still alive, and was on the (1998) certified COC list. I think that was the meaning behind the statement about him being the only Washington #3 closer...