UKC

I am at the point where I can squeeze away at my red grip master until boredom rather than fatigue takes over (it is great for the walk to the tube).

The question is, am I better off sticking to this and doing more 'reps' at this lighter tension, or would I benefit more from getting a stiffer one and doing fewer reps? Logic dictates that a stiffer one would be better (why make a stiffer one if not?) but I know from my rugby days that many reps of lighter weights can be better for endurance than fewer reps of higher weights.

Not sure what would be a better finger workout and also what would reduce the chance of any tendon damage.

In reply to crayefish:

Gripmasters are great for warming up but, as far as I can recall from what I've read, they are only of marginal benefit for training strength, mostly because the specific movement you are training (pinching/pushing you fingers against the middle of your palm) is not one that you replicate that often when climbing. Endurance-wise they may help a little bit but again, clenching and unclenching your fist every second is not something you do when climbing.


That said, I'm no expert, and they may make some difference. If you're getting bored with the red one then you may as well try the black one.

In reply to Alun:


True, but I imagine it is similar to weight training... you build the muscles by reps (rather than just holding something up) which then allows your muscles to support greater stationary load?

In reply to crayefish:


Quite possibly (as I said, I'm no expert). Most importantly, you can't do any proper training when walking to the tube, so you may as well use a gripmaster!

In reply to crayefish:
High rep anything is pointless for strength and I can confidently say that what you're doing right now is a complete waste of time. If you really want to train with a gripper, go heavy and invest in some Captains Of Crush ones from Ironmind. Treat a gripper workout the same way you'd treat a hangboard workout (i.e. it's hard work, it requires a thorough warm up and you need to focus on what you're doing). It isn't something you should be able to do while wandering to the tube or sitting in front of the TV. Even with a heavy gripper workout the carry over is limited because crushing strength isn't something you use as a climber.

In reply to crayefish:

You use your grip isometrically while climbing, so train it isometrically. 'Reps' would be the number of isometric contractions in a set (eg. repeaters or climbing laps). There's also much to be said for full body isometric contractions, as gymnasts show us. Even if you do use grippers, use them like you'd use a barbell - go heavy and keep the reps low.

In reply to cb_6:

Thanks very much for the info. That is very useful! Looks like goodbye old red

In reply to crayefish:

Before you buy one.

In reply to Juicefree:


Yep?