Grip Strength Training at an Advanced Age

Q: Robert, enjoying the book - well written. I am 63 years of age. Started on the COC grippers last year and now working on the #2.  Having read several books, there is no mention of age and what's to be expected on gripping. Any thoughts on my age factor and what others guys at my age have accomplished?

 A: Thanks for the feedback and your question, which I think is an interesting one - though not easy to answer. I believe grip strength is an odd kind of strength which defies some of the rules that apply to other kinds of physical strength. Grip strength can be built to extremes and maintained with unconventional methods, without the use of drugs, and - at unusual age levels.

That being said, I have seen and heard of both very young and rather old grip strength masters. On the one hand we have Gabriel Sum from Germany, who closed the CoC #3.5 at the age of 21, on the other hand we have Joe Kinney, who had never done any kind of strength training until his late thirties and eventually became the first man to close the CoC #4 when he was over 40.

Many seem to have a strong grip by nature, without any specific training, from the start - I personally know a guy who closed a #2 the first time he tried when he was in his mid-thirties. But then again I know lots of guys older and younger than that who just can't do anything with the grippers and never get anywhere.

However, I still think there is a pattern and some general rules (which can be bent and broken). I definitely believe it helps to start training when young. It builds a base which is never lost again up to a high age. But such a base must not necessarily be built by a specialized strength training. I think the most common example is hard physical labour. Being a hand worker from a young age can also build a good strength base. Joe Kinney is a good example here, again. He hadn't done any specialized strength training until he was in his late
30s, but he was a hand worker all his life. This definitely helped him build a solid base of general strength he could capitalize on when he got interested in the grippers. And the amazing thing is what huge potential he still had, being middle-aged. So I would say your past definitely plays a role. If you have been a hand worker all your life I definitely believe you have that solid base you can still capitalize on. Same if you have been active in other sports your whole life. But
it must not even be your WHOLE life. I believe the crucial years are somewhere between 13 and 20. It can be taken as a general rule that a guy who has been active (whether with physical labour or in sports) at that age retains a solid base for most of his life.

Another thing that comes into play is, of course, genetics - although I believe this is often overrated. Do you have strong bones? Thick wrists? Your face has prominent features? Then this could be a sign that you were given a great potential for strength by nature. However, as I said, I do not believe anyone should limit or excuse himself by blaming his genetics.

I do not know about your past and your genetics, but all I can say is, the fact that you are now working on the #2 tells me you can already close a #1. At a recent grip strength workshop I held, there was only one of the participants, a young man - a hand worker, by the way - who could close a #1. So, as far as I can tell from afar, you are definitely strong, and I should believe you do have good genetics and a "solid base".

At the same time I do not want to advise you to completely disregard your age. You have to observe certain laws of nature and be realistic. Generally, the rule applies that recovery time increases with age. I don't know any reason why this shouldn't be the same with grip strength. So don't train too frequently. Allow at least six, better nine, rest days between training sessions for a specific kind of grip strength. Also, observe the signals your body gives you. Anything hurts, or progress stagnates or goes backwards, take a rest. Recovery should be one of your priorities. Also, watch your nutrition. Get all your vitamins, minerals, and protein. Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, and meat or fish from good sources. Get lots of sleep, sunlight, and walk a lot. It always helps.

As far as your goals go, all I could tell you would be speculation. I do not know whether anyone closed a #3 at an age above sixty. All I know is, closing a #3 is a hell of a lot of work, even at an "ideal age" (whatever that may be). However, aim high, as I say in my book. Be realistic, but show us what is possible. Even if you close a #2 or #2.5 this would be a formidable achievement at your age and you would certainly earn respect from the grip world.

By the way, you are not the only "old-timer" (if I may use the term) who excels in grip strength. As an inspiration, here are two examples of what is possible:

Michael Corlett sets the American record for the Hub-style pinch gripper at age 58:
http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2012/Jul/2012_IronMind_Record_Breaker.html

Dan Hodge crushes an apple at age 77: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfKKb8AlQiw

Also, consider this forum discussion:
http://www.ironmind-forum.com/forum/training/grip/49859-decrease-in-strength-in-old-age

Good luck with your training,
Robert

Donald Dinnie, Paul Trappen, and All Strength Disciplines You Should Know

DONALD DINNIE (1837-1916) was the first man to lift the legendary Dinnie Stones (obvious, they are named after him).

But did you know that he was also unbeatable in almost all of the track and field disciplines, in wrestling, and was Scottish Highland Games Champion for 21 consecutive years?

HOW MANY DISCIPLINES CAN YOU MASTER?

I recently had a discussion with colleagues and my family about what the German word Schwerathletik ('heavy athletics') meant. It is little used these days, but used to be an umbrella term for the classic sports (Olympic?) which, in one way or another, emphasize strength or the use of heavy objects, as opposed to the track and field disciplines - in German Leichtathletik ('light athletics') - which emphasize endurance, speed, the pure handling of the own bodyweight, or light objects (like the javelin). Lists of the disciplines which fall under Schwerathletik vary, but weightlifting, shot put, hammer throwing, and wrestling are included in most of them.

This reminded me of a list I myself compiled a couple of years ago, when I tried to think of feats I could include in my shows and skills I should be familiar with in case anyone should challenge my knowledge of strength sports. Because, as you can image, it happens quite often that someone comes up to me after my show and says something like, "Nice show. But I used to live in a town where there lived a shot putter. Those guys are the strongest men all-round. Do you know anything about it?" Some come up to me and say, "Can you also tear phone books?" Oh, and you wouldn't believe how many ask, "How much do you bench press?"

At that time I basically did a brainstorm of what recognized sports deal with strength, or what disciplines are generally accepted as requiring great strength by the broad population. Here is what I came up with, a sort of 'All Strength Disciplines' list:

• Powerlifting
• Modern Strongman Competitions
• Hand Balancing
• Olympic Weightlifting
• Grip Strength
• Oldtime Strongman Feats
• Body Weight Exercises
• Stone Lifting
• The Shot Put

A second thought I had when compiling this list, was that I should try training each one of those disciplines at one time or another. I wanted to become familiar with all of them, in order to be prepared for the many occasions when someone tests my knowledge of, or challenges my proficiency, in any of them.

During the last few weeks I thought about this list several times.

The most recent occasions I thought about it were the discussions with my colleagues and family about the term Schwerathletik.

So I decided to review the list again to make it more complete. I added the following disciplines:

• Wrestling (or other forms of grappling)
• Scottish Highland Games
• Hammer Throwing
• Arm Wrestling
• Wrist Strength

Those shouldn't be missing.

But I haven't told you yet at what other occasion I thought about this list during the last few weeks:

The first occasion was when someone from my audience came up to me after my show and asked me whether I had ever heard of his great-uncle, the German oldtime strongman Paul Trappen. I hadn't, but I did a bit of research on him:

Although his name is little known today, PAUL TRAPPEN (1887-1857) apparently was a force to be reckoned with at his time. A butcher in real life, this man had incredible all-round strength - and a sense of humour, it seems: With a harness lift of two oxen (2064kg) he out-lifted the at that time recognized 'world champion' John Grün from Luxembourg easily. Later he repeatedly outdid the reigning Olympic gold medalists in the pentathlon in unofficial competitions. A local farmer's boy with unlimited natural power who didn't give a hang about titles and glamour.

Very sympathetic.

But let's sum up in which disciplines Paul Trappen succeeded:

• He was German weightlifting champion
• He was a regional wrestling champion
• He set records in various oldtime strongman disciplines, including the harness lift and the bent press
• He outdid Olympic gold medalists in the penthatlon, which at that time probably included the long jump, javelin throw, 200 metres race, discus throw, and a 1500 metres race
• At age 50 he set a senior world record in powerlifting

You see in what direction this is going. The old-timers were all-rounders. Many of them were open to, trained, and succeeded in more than just one dull discipline.

On to DONALD DINNIE. I mentioned it above:

• He was an unbeatable Scottish Highland games champion for more than two decades
• He was an international wrestling champion
• He excelled in track and field disciplines like the sprint, hurdles, long and high jump, pole vault, and obviously all the other disciplines which overlap with the Highland games disciplines
• He lifted and carried the Dinnie Stones

I think this is the MOST IMPORTANT idea behind my list: if you want to call yourself a strong man, you should be strong in more than just one way.

As you know, I used to be a competitive powerlifter for years. Now I compete only sporadically and for fun. But whenever I go to a powerlifting meet these days, everyone I know from 'the old days' encourages me to get into it again, to get myself new equipment, to compete more often again, etc. True, I could probably improve my records by a few pounds in the powerlifting disciplines if I really tried.

But to tell you the truth, I have hardly any ambition to do so, especially when I look at my list. There are so many strength disciplines which are new and fresh to me, which I haven't mastered yet, and which I simply can't wait to try.

Stone lifting? Cavemen did it thousands of years before the barbell was invented. Wrestling? The ultimate test of functional strength. Hammer levering? Separates the underwear models from the real men. Scottish Highland Games? The thought of it alone makes my heart jump.

Here is the complete list again. Pick yourself a few disciplines in which you want to excel. And then go out and try them. You don't have to be world champion in all of them. But remember that life is too short to restrict yourself to three movements. Here's a world of challenges:

• Powerlifting (including squat, bench press, and deadlift)
• Modern Strongman Competitions (including the log lift, keg lifting, tire flipping, the farmer's walk, Atlas stones, truck pulling and the yoke)
• Hand Balancing
• Olympic Weightlifting (including the clean & jerk and the snatch)
• Grip Strength (including the crushing grip, thick bar lifts, and the pinch grip)
• Oldtime Strongman Feats (including teeth strength, iron bending, the bent press, phone book tearing, card tearing, the back-/ harness-/ and hip lift, and breaking chains)
• Body Weight Exercises (including push-ups, pull-ups, bodyweight squats and handstand push-ups for reps, but also one-arm push-ups and one-arm pull-ups)
• Stone Lifting (including natural stones, the Alpine Steinheben, Atlas stones, but also the Scottish lifting stones like the Dinnie stones, the Inver stone, etc.
• The classic throwing events (including the shot put and hammer throwing)
• Wrestling (or some other form of grappling)
• Scottish Highland Games
• Arm Wrestling
• Wrist Strength (including nail bending and hammer levering)

The way I do it, I pick about two new disciplines every year and make them a priority for a while. Just to see how far I can get. It refreshes your training, offers new impulses and the challenge is just great fun. After that year I can go out and say: Done. What's next?

Last year it was Modern Strongman disciplines and grip strength for me (I stuck with grip strength). This year it is grappling and stone lifting.

Best,

Robert

PS: If you want to get into SERIOUS GRIP STRENGTH training this year, here is a resource for you: Grip Strength.

Home-made Thumb Strength Telegraph Key

Here's ainspiration to build your own telegraph key-style thumb strength machine and save a lot of money:

Make do with whatever scrap metal (and/or wood) you have lying around...

You will probably have to do a bit of welding, but only a minimum was necessary for my model. Maybe you will find a way without any welding at all?

The rest was screws and bolts.

And a bit of spray paint to make it look better and more resistant against rust.

There you go! Lots of money saved.

Best,
Robert

(Deutsch) Selbst gemachte Inch / Circus Hanteln

Hier sind drei meiner Trainingsgeräte für Griffkraft und Überkopf Training.

Ich dachte sie könnten eine Inspiration für diejenigen sein, die auf Kraftakte wie das Heben der Inch Hantel oder das Überkopfdrücken von Circus Hanteln wie sie die modernen Strongmen verwenden trainieren wollen, aber sich das teure Geld sparen wollen, das Inch Replikas und Circus Hanteln im Fachgeschäft kosten.

Sie haben alle den berüchtigten 6cm Durchmesser Griff.

Die Hantel links habe ich selber aus einem alten Eisenrohr, Kugelformen und Beton gemacht. Sie ist inspiriert von Tommy Hesleps "Stonebell", die man hier sehen kann:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbFXDgMQscI

Hinweis: Ich arbeite gerade an einem Griffkraft e-book mit Tommy Heslep in dem wir euch verraten werden wie man so eine selbst macht!

Meine wiegt ca. 40kg, ist also um einiges leichter als Tommys, und ist praktisch zum Aufwärmen und Überkopfdrücken auf Wiederholungen. Sie ist wie das Circus Hantel Equivalent zum "Trainer" der Captains of Crush Gripper.

Die in der Mitte verwende ich zur Zeit am häufigsten.

Diese Hantel, genau wie die rechts, ist ein Werk meines verlässlichen Schlossers, der sie innerhalb weniger Tage zusammengeschweißt hat, und zwar zur Hälfte des Preises den eine vergleichbare Inch Replika oder Circus Hantel im Fachgeschäft kosten würde. Vielleicht findest du jemand der das Material und die Werkzeuge hat um das gleiche für dich zu tun.

Sie wiegt ca. 60kg. Sie ist gut für holds und Kurzhantelrudern als Griffkrafttraining und Versuche, sie einarmig umzusetzen und auszustemmen. Ich muss jedoch zugeben, dass ich es derzeit noch nicht schaffe, sie ohne Körperberührung umzusetzen, d.h. ich lasse sie immer kurz auf der Hüfte ruhen.

Ich arbeite jedoch daran, sie bald sauber umzusetzen.

Die Hantel rechts ist das Riesenbaby.

Sie wiegt 70kg und kommt der original Inch Hantel also nahe. Ich habe immer noch Probleme, damit ordentlich einarmiges Kreuzheben zu machen, aber das ist das Ziel. Naja, eigentlich ist das Ziel, sie mit einer Hand umzusetzen und auszustemmen, wobei das Stemmen noch der leichteste Teil ist.

Ich glaube, dass diese drei Hanteln, obwohl sie relativ billig produziert wurden, der Dynamik der Inch Hanteln recht nahe kommen, zumindest näher als eine mit Scheiben beladene oder befüllbare Circus Hantel. Dadurch sind sie nicht nur für Strongman Training, sondern auch für Griffkraftakte geeignet.

Natürlich sind die Hanteln proportional länger als die Inch Hanteln, was die Dynamik beim Umsetzen natürlich etwas verändert.

Übrigens, jeder der sich beklagt, dass das Gewicht so einer Hantel fixiert ist und nicht schrittweise erhöht werden kann sollte wissen, dass ich die in der Mitte und rechts gelegentlich mit zwei 1,25kg oder 2,5kg Scheiben "belade", die ich mit Fahrradschläuchen an den Außenseiten befestige. Das funktioniert ganz gut, und so kann ich das Gewicht jeder Hantel um bis zu 5kg erhöhen. Das ist natürlich nur aufgrund der zylindrischen Form der Hanteln möglich. Wären sie kugelförmig würde es offensichtlich nicht so leicht gehen.

Euer Robert

(English) Home-made Inch / Circus dumbbells

Here are three of my training tools for grip strength and overhead press training:

 

I thought they might be an inspiration for anyone who wants to train towards feats like lifting the Inch dumbbell or push-pressing a Circus Dumbbell as the modern Strongmen do, but wants to save money on the expensive replicas and Circus Dumbbells in stores.

They all have the infamous 2.38 inch (6cm) diameter thick handle.

The one on the left I actually made myself out of an old steel pipe and spherical molds for the concrete. It was inspired by Tommy Heslep's "Stonebell" which can be seen here:

Hint: I'm currently working on a grip strength e-book with Tommy Heslep in which we will tell you how to make one of these yourself! 

Mine weighs about 40kg (88lbs) – hence much lighter than Tommy’s - and is handy for warm-up and overhead presses for reps. It's like the Circus Dumbbell equivalent of the "Trainer" of the Captains of Crush Grippers.

The one in the middle on the photo above is the one I use most often these days.

This one, just like the one on the right, was made by my reliable metalworker who welded it together within a few days for about half the money an Inch replica or Circus Dumbbell with the same weight would cost in stores. Maybe you can find somebody who has the material and tools to do this for you as conveniently.

It weighs about 60kg (132lbs). It is good for holds and dumbbell rows for open hand grip strength training and one-hand clean and push press attempts, although I have to admit that at the moment I can only do a continental one-hand clean and press with it, resting it on my hip for a short moment.

I’m working on cleaning it properly at the moment.

The one on the right is the big baby.

It weighs 70kg (155lbs) and thus comes close to the Inch dumbbell. I’m still having problems deadlifting it properly with one hand, but this is the goal. Well, actually the goal is to one-hand clean and push press it, whereof the push press is the easiest part. When I start with it resting on my hip, I can also do the second phase of a continental one-hand clean.

***

I believe that these three dumbbells, although relatively cheaply produced, resemble the dynamics of the Inch-type dumbbells quite closely, closer at least that any plate-loaded or shot-filled Circus Dumbbells. This makes them appropriate not only for Strongman Circus Dumbbell training, but also for feats of grip strength.

Of course, they are proportionately longer than an Inch-type dumbbell, which changes the dynamics when trying to clean them a little bit.

By the way, anyone who regrets that the weight of such a dumbbell is fixed and cannot be progressively increased must know that at times I “load” them with two 1,25kg (2.75lbs) or 2,5kg (5.5lbs) plates which I fix to the outer ends with bicycle tubes. This works quite well and I can thus increase the weight of any dumbbells by up to 5kg (11lbs). Note that this is possible because of the cylindrical shape of the weights – it wouldn’t be that easy if they were spherical in shape.

Best,

Robert

(Deutsch) Ein außergewöhnlicher Kraftakt für die Hände

Hier ist was für euch.

Ich wusste immer schon von der beachtenswerten Rundum-Kraft meines kleinen Bruders, und besonders seiner Hand- und Griffkraft - welche übrigens allein von harter Arbeit kommt, da er noch nie in seinem Leben eine Hantel, geschweige denn einen Gripper, angefasst hat. 

Aber neulich hat er mich wirklich verblüfft, und zwar mit einem Hand-Kraftakt den er sich selber ausgedacht hatte. Seht euch diesen gewöhnlichen Kronkorken an und was er damit angestellt hat:

Ja, er ist RÜCKWÄRTS zusammen gebogen. Könnt ihr glauben, dass er das mit nur einer Hand gemacht hat, und zwar nur mit Daumen, Zeige- und Mittelfinger?

Er hat mir erzählt, dass er das auf einer Party gemacht hatte und mir einen Kronkorken zum Probieren gegeben. Ich habe es versucht und für unmöglich erklärt. Dann hat er den Kronkorken genommen und innerhalb von ein paar Minuten rückwärts gebogen, einfach indem er mit seinem Daumen gegen das Zentrum gedrückt und mit Zeige- und Mittelfinger am Rand dagegen gehalten hat.

Ich weiß immer noch nicht, wie das möglich war, aber es war kein Trick dabei. Alles was ich weiß ist, es erfordert eine hohe Schmerzgrenze.

Versucht das, wenn ihr wollt, aber tut euch nicht weh.

Unglaublich, dass er niemals für so etwas trainiert. Ich denke Kraft liegt bei uns einfach in der Familie. :-P

Euer Robert

(English) An exceptional grip strength feat

Here is one for you.

I always knew about my younger brother's remarkable overall body strength, and especially his hand strength - which comes from hard work only, as he has never in his life touched a dumbbell, barbell, or a gripper.

But the other day he really stunned me with a grip/hand strength feat he came up with on his own. Look at this regular crown cap from a beer bottle and what he did with it:

Yes, it is bent BACKWARDS. Can you believe he did this with one hand only, that is, with thumb, index, and middle finger?

He told me about having done this at a party and gave me a crown cap to try. Once I had tried and declared the feat impossible, he took it and after a few minutes of tearin' and wearin' he had bent the cap backwards, simply by pushing with his thumb against the center of it, and holding the rim back with middle and index finger.

I still don't know how this was possible, but there was no trick involved. All I know is, it requires a great amount of pain tolerance.

Give it a try if you like, but don't hurt yourself.

I can't believe he never trains for anything like this. I guess strength just runs in our family. :-P

Best,

Robert