"The Clamp" is a grip routine based around using 2 hand grippers: 1 you can close comfortably and 1 you are trying to close. As soon as you close your target gripper, that becomes the "easier" gripper and a new, stronger gripper is used for the target gripper section of the routine. In this way the routine can be used continuously based on only 2 grippers at any one time and you can see progress as you climb the ranks of the particular set or sets of hand grippers you are training with.

The routine focuses on combining intensity training and duration training (strength/endurance) like most forms of physical exercise, for a balanced workout. For explanatory purposes the routine is presented using the Power Grips 150 and 200. This workout would be perfect for someone who can close the 150 and cannot yet close the 200.

Before we review the routine it is best to fully understand crush grip training, how it is trained, and the terms used in this particular field of grip training.

Crushing Grip:

Crushing grip refers to a squeezing action where the hand makes, or tries to make, a fist. Probably the best way to train this type of grip strength is with hand grippersnot any old hand grippers! But real, strong, metal grippers that are tough and take time and effort to close. There are many types of grippers to choose from and the Power Grips (PG) are among the best on the market today.

Training Crush Grip:

There are several ways of using hand grips to improve your crushing grip. Included here is information on terms you may come across to help you progress with your crush grip training:

1. Cheat/forced close-squeezing the gripper as far as you can with one hand then using the other hand or a push against the hip to finish the close

2. Close-when the handles of the gripper touch or the last part of the squeeze action-after the sweep

3. Dogleg-the part of the spring leg which is straight compared to the other

4. Filed gripper-filing down the inside of one of the legs of a gripper. The purpose of this is to increase the range of motion and therefore the difficulty on a gripper you know you can already close

5. Grind-when closed, rotating the hand to cause the handles to scrape or grind against each other

6. Hold-when the handles touch, keeping them together for any length of time

7. Inverted rep/close-closing a gripper with the spring facing downwards

8. Negative-using a cheat close then trying to stop the gripper from opening or allowing it to open as slowly as possible

9. No-set close-using only one hand to set and close a gripper without assistance

10. Overcrush-when then handles touch, continuing the squeeze as hard as you can

11. Setting-using the other hand to position the gripper and often to assist in the initial part of the close. Setting is a very important part of grip work and a good set can easily add 5-10mm progress on your grip work. This progress may be the difference between closing and not closing a gripper.

12. Strap hold-placing a weighted strap between the ends of the handles and using an overcrush to keep the strap between the handles for as long as possible or for a set time until the weight falls

13. Sweep-the first part of the range of motion of a gripper. This is the larger action which takes the handles from the start position up to a nearly closed position

13. Timed hold-holding a gripper shut for a timed duration

The importance of a good grip:

Whatever your chosen sport or hobby, an increase in grip and general hand/wrist strength can be enough to give you the edge over others or to continually set new personal bests. Whether you are swinging a golf club, climbing a rock face, entering a grappling competition, training with kettlebells or just trying to close a certain strength handgripper, just a few weeks of working your grip specifically and with a balanced and progressive routine can yield good- to great -results for nearly every one of us. The training sessions don’t need to be long, just effective, quite challenging and above all- consistent! 10 minutes 2-3 times a week is more than enough to develop serious grip strength with several months of training. Already, the clamp has yielded many gains for its followers, myself included.

Now we have covered crushing grip thoroughly we can move on to the routine itself. The clamp is based on using hard effort and recovery in a way that allows maximum training input without the need for many days of due to fatigue. The toughest day is always day 1: after 2 days of complete grip training rest. This rest period over the weekend allows all of the work completed throughout the 3 routines to take effect on the muscles and tendons, but also gives enough focus on recovery time to allow the routine to be followed on a progressive, weekly basis. For beginners it may be worth starting the routine with just 1 easy gripper that can be closed until the hands adjust to the workload. After 2-3 weeks the routine should be able to be followed with maximum gains and minimum recovery or time off: apart from the normal rest periods.

MONDAY

High intensity:

PG150- ½ rep warm up 10 left/10 right

PG150- ½ rep inverted warm up 10 left/10 right

PG200- 100% effort crush left and right

PG150- timed hold left and right-10 seconds

PG200- 100% effort crush left and right

PG150- strap hold left and right-5k plate and note time: loop strap through plate and hold in end of gripper handles until it falls x 2 left and right

PG200- heavy negative left and right using hip or other hand-hold for 10 seconds and stop it opening

PG150- strap hold- heaviest weight you can lift from the floor for a short duration x 2 left and right

PG200- heavy negative left and right using hip or other hand-hold for 10 seconds

PG150- 10 left and right rapid fire reps-only letting the gripper open 5mm-10mm: isolates the close action

PG200- 100% effort crush left and right

PG150- 20 alternate slow squeezes to burn out

WEDNESDAY

High duration ladders:

This session is to be based on the level of gripper you choose to use. For example, the first ladder is for a PG100 or PG150 that can be closed with ease and for many reps, the second for a gripper slightly tougher (PG200) and the third for a gripper that can be closed for only a few reps: say, PG250.

Choose any 1 ladder from the 3 based on your own ability and choice of gripper, the 4th option is for those who like it tough

1.- 5/10/15/20/15/10/5 -normal speed full range reps

2.- 2/4/6/8/10/8/6/4/2 -slow speed full range reps

3.- 1/2/3/4/5/4/3/2/1 –slow squeeze action and hold each rep for a few seconds

4.- heavy singles on a gripper you can close but cannot quite rep with. Try to close it every 10-20 seconds with either hand.

The aim is not to close it for options 1/2/3 -just fry the grip!

FRIDAY

Low intensity and duration:

PG150 left and right inverted reps 5/5

PG150 left and right timed holds x 3 -10 seconds

PG150 close/open/close left and right, close, let it open slowly ½ way then close again- 20 alternate reps

PG150 left and right inverted reps: 4 sets 10 alternate reps using 2 fingers/3 fingers and alternating them for the sets *

PG150 alternate reps until the hands give up-try to add a few reps here each week EDT style if you like.

*it may be beneficial here to use an even weaker gripper for the 2 and 3 finger inverted section as a stronger gripper may not pass parallel and therefore would only focus on the sweep section rather than the close section of the repetition. The © 2009 – Stephen Aish, London Kettlebells. All rights reserved PG100 is perfect for inverted work to strengthen the 2 weaker fingers no matter what your level.

Rest for 30-60 seconds after each section and at the end loosen the hands with some finger stretches, palm massage and wrist rotation-use chalk to prevent slip. Have the weekend off from any grip training and I guarantee every Monday your grip will be stronger!

Additional material:

Grip Training- where do I start?

The best idea would be to ask yourself what you actually want before you decide what to do-unless your aim is just general grip strength. If you want to shut a certain gripper, base most of your grip training around the grippers, if you want to pinch heavy plates, base a lot of training on plate pinching and block weight lifting and so forth. Start off with some basic equipment:

1. 2-3 grippers
2. Block weight
3. Sledgehammer or club-a dumbbell loaded one end only can also do the same job!
4. Some active recovery equipment
5. Chalk

This is just a basic example for someone who is serious about improving their grip-if you want less get less; if you want more, get more. These items will allow you to train your grip from several angles and allow for good, general grip progress if used properly and consistently. If you already follow a training programme then finish the routine with 5-10 minutes of grip work. If your training is mainly with free weights, then place the grip session at the end of your normal routine as fatigued or even moderately trained grip will have a negative effect on your lifting. If you are worried about your grip training always being less than your best as it is only trained after a good workout then test your personal bests on the grip items you use before your workout, then after your weight training hit the full grip routine. An alternative would be to train your grip on alternate days to your other forms of training or at different times in the day-weights in the morning and grip in the evening- when reasonably fresh again.

The close

Closing a gripper consists of 2 parts:

1. the sweep-the initial squeeze until the handles get close to touching
2. the close-the last part of the action where the handles finally meet

Many people find they can get their current gripper beyond parallel only to get "stuck" at about 1/4 inch, 5mm or even less and the progress annoyingly seems to stop here. What you have developed is a very effective sweep action but without working the close. However, you may ask "how can I work the close if I can’t yet close the thing?" and your response would be valid one.

A very good way to check your progress with a gripper is to squeeze it then force it closed using a hip push or your other hand. At this point try to stop the handles from opening with only the hand used to initially squeeze. If the handles stay shut, you will close it in a matter of days once you strengthen your close action. If the handles open slightly then a few weeks work on closing will help you get there. If the handles pull open more than 10mm then you still have a lot of gripping to do.

Many people only work the sweep action when training with grippers they cannot close for the simple reason that the handles never close. They may even find that this well developed sweep action can translate into a good performance on a higher gripper (to parallel or beyond) but even weaker gripper handles still don’t quite meet together despite their efforts.

Probably the most effective way of enhancing the close action is to isolate the areas of the hand that are specific to each action. With the sweep action, the main areas are the thumb, index and middle fingers. You can test this by using your gripper without the small finger and seeing that your sweep is normally just as good without it in most cases. While these fingers work the sweep action, as the gripper approaches parallel a new area of the hand assists then takes over for the last part the close. Basic physics can better explain this transfer.

If a gripper is held with handles parallel, the easiest way to move the handles further is by increasing the workload at the furthest point from the spring. Therefore, the index and most of the middle finger are almost redundant for beginners at this point and the point of contact furthest from the spring; the ring finger and small fingernow decide whether or not the gripper handles continue to move. The reason that in most cases the handles stop at this position is due to these fingers being the weakest fingers of the hand. The way to overcome this weakness is to invert the gripper (spring facing down) and place the handles in only these last two fingers. Training the grippers in this position will strengthen these weaker fingers and in turn build up the strength of your "close" action.