Grip Strength

Yesterday at the CrossFit Works gym I competed in my first grip strength competition. It was fun and I learned a lot about how to get a stronger grip. Why is a strong grip important?

Because it is useful. From a crossfit perspective, which stresses the value of functional movement, what's more functional than being able to open that jar of pickles, or sauerkraut, or almond butter? Similarly, what if you found yourself needing to hoist yourself out of flood waters, or a burning room and you only have access to a little ledge to hold on to? Likewise, from a shotokan perspective, what if you need to grab the neck of a scoundrel and separate him from his evil intent? A tight grip has many useful purposes.

I have two Captains of Crush grippers, a T (trainer, with about 100 lbs. pull) and a Level 1 (with about 140 lbs.) Here's a quick clip of a slow close on a Level 1. The Vulcan handgrippers that we used in the competition are harder still. Here's Steve Gardener closing some incredible level. There's even an 1800 lb. gripper, shown here. And here's a guy named Dave doing an awesome grip workout in his backyard with a kettlebell, some bricks, and some mountain stones. Finally, in a wonderful testament to the variety of how humans pursue excellence, here is a website devoted to all things grip related.

I want to thank Erin and Tim for the time they took yesterday to run the competition and to answer all my questions. I'm now a stronger fan of grip training.