Grip strength training, hand grippers, hand gripper training, and hand strength information

Over the years, IronMind has published a rich lode of information covering all aspects of grip strength training, including using hand grippers; introducing grip masters of note; and making known our world-renowned Captains of Crush Hand Grippers, with their colorful history and hand strength-producing benefits. More recently we have introduced our innovative IMTUGs: IronMind Two-Finger Grippers, for building individual finger strength. We’ve compiled a list of all those resources for your easy reference, so you can find out what you don’t know—and then read about it so you do!

Order any of our excellent hand strength and grip training resources, including our Captains of Crush Grippers and IMTUG Two-Finger Grippers, in our on-line store.

Books

Captains of Crush Grippers: What They Are and How to Close Them (No. 1354) by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D., J.B. Kinney, and Nathan Holle
The history and evolution of the Captains of Crush Hand Grippers and the general strategies most useful for training on them, including closing a No. 3 or No. 4 Captains of Crush Hand Gripper.
Mastery of Hand Strength (No. 1273) by John Brookfield
The book beloved by grip trainees covers the basics of hand strength from your elbows to your fingertips and includes many of John Brookfield’s creative hand strength exercises.
The Grip Master’s Manual (No. 1283) by John Brookfield
A wide array of innovative techniques and exercises for building upper body/lower arm and hand strength, and how-tos on feats of hand and wrist strength like bending steel, tearing cards, scrolling iron, etc.
Dexterity Ball Training for Hands Course (No. 1263-DXC) by John Brookfield
These innovative exercises will help you improve your hand health, increase your flexibility and muscle control, develop hand strength and dexterity, and aid in hand rehabilitation and hand therapy.
Captains of Crush Song CD (No. 1403) by Laing, www.laingproductions.com
Rock with your Captains of Crush Hand Grippers and extend a helping hand to those in need: profits from the sale of the song to go charity. Rev up your psyche before you train—it’s a blast!

DVDs

Blueprint for Grip Strength DVD (No. 1392) by John Brookfield
A pile of new movements and fresh ways to get that grip you want, with a focus on closing Captains of Crush Hand Grippers, bending steel, and tearing cards.
Grip Strength for Enhanced Sports Performance (No. 1423) by Championships Productions
Gillingham is code for grip strength, so listen up and learn a lot as Wade walks through the principles of effective hand strength training for a wide range of sports.

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Articles in MILO: A Journal for Serious Strength Athletes

If you’re not familiar with our quarterly strength journal MILO, let us introduce you to this publication non pareil, unmatched in the quality and scope of its articles and photos on people, training, contests, and history covering Olympic-style weightlifting, powerlifting, strongman, Highland Games, arm wrestling, grip, and other strength sports. If you like strength, you’ll love MILO.

Technique, training and feats of hand strength

"Card Tearing" by John Brookfield
(Vol. 1, No. 4)
The history and how-to of tearing cards are presented for all those who want to build their and and finger strength.
"Driving a Nail—Who Needs a Hammer?" by John Brookfield (Vol. 2, No. 1)
After covering nail driving feats, John then demonstrates how to safely do it.
"Can You Do This?" (feats of strength) by John Brookfield (Vol. 2, No. 2)
You are introduced to eight feats of hand strength and endurance that you might want to try.
"Hand Grippers: Closing the Gap" by John Brookfield (Vol. 4, No. 2)
John Brookfield invented what would become a mainstream technique for closing the gap between one Captains of Crush Hand Gripper to the next by adding weight, commonly known as "strap holds."
"Bending Nails: Conquering the 60-Penny" by John Brookfield (Vol. 4, No. 3)
You’ll find out what you need to know about steel and then follow step-by-step the technique for bending nails, a great upper-body, wrist, and hand strength developer.
"Horseshoe Bending" by John Brookfield (Vol. 4, No. 4)
You’ll learn some history about horseshoe bending, the ins and outs of different horseshoes, and, of course, how to bend them a la John Brookfield.
"Card Tearing: Practice With Paper" by David Trainor (Vol. 5, No. 2)
Find out how to practice card tearing with printer’s paper, a more economical yet very effective way to train for hand and finger strength.
"Sand Bags Away" by John Brookfield (Vol. 5, No. 3)
John Brookfield, who thinks the weight for height is one of the greatest tests of power and strength, tells how to train this movement with sand bags, for ultimate stress on your hands and fingers.
"Keys to Progress: Grip and Forearm Development—Part I" John McCallum (Vol. 5, No. 4)
John McCallum tells you why a good grip and impressive forearms are worth working for.
"Keys to Progress: Building the Grip and Forearm" by John McCallum (Vol. 6, No. 1)
John McCallum’s grip and forearm development includes a general bulk and power program along with specific hand strength training, supplementary exercises, and grip stunt practice.
"Mashed Potatoes" by John Brookfield (Vol. 6, No. 1)
John Brookfield clears up any doubts about whether or not you can crush a raw potato with your hand strength; you can and he’ll tell you how.
"Progressions in Steel" by Tom Black (Vol. 7, No. 1)
Tom Black applies some lessons on the ability to experiment and observe results from Leonardo da Vinci to bending nails, with instruction from beginner level to advanced.
"Pigging Out" by David Trainor (Vol. 7, No. 4)
Richard Sorin has his Blob, John Brookfield has his block weights, and David Trainor has his "pig," a 4-inch dia. steel cylinder which he fashioned into a dumbbell for serious grip work.
"Meeting the Challenge: The No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper" by Bill Piche (Vol. 7, No. 4)
How did three Captains of Crush train to do their mighty deed: close the No. 3 Captains of Crush Hand Gripper? Bill tells you how they did it, firing you up about hand strength as well.

"Building Forearms Strong Enough to Lift the Thomas Inch Dumbbell" by Dr. Alan Radley (Vol. 8, No. 1)
Failing to lift the Inch Dumbbell at the 1999 Oscar Heidenstam Awards dinner, Dr. Alan Radley vowed to succeed the following year—which he did through a determined, dedicated program to build his grip and forearm power.
"Building Wrist Strength" by Steve Justa (Vol. 8, No. 1)
Steve Justa tells you why strong wrists are important and shares his method for building your wrist strength.
"New Twists for Wrist Rollers" by Fred Hutchinson (Vol. 8, No. 2)
Fred Hutchinson offers one effective variation after another on wrist roller training for building your forearms and grip strength.
"Scrollwork: Bending Bars into Artistic Shapes" by John Brookfield (Vol. 9, No. 2)
John Brookfield has surpassed all others in the art of scrollwork: bending long bars into artistic shapes. Beware: upper body, hand and wrist strength is a must.
"Training the Rock Climber’s Grip" by David Hurzeler (Vol. 9, No. 2)
Train your grip specifically for rock climbing, while maintaining good tendon health in your hands.
"Always Clean Your Plate" by John Brookfield (Vol. 9, No. 3)
Take your pinch gripping to a new level of hand strength, building your entire lower arm in the process, using a variety of exercises with plates.
"Get a Grip on Yourself!" by Charles Fraser (Vol. 9, No. 4)
Try these grip-building exercises that mostly use regular equipment found in a gym.
"Campus Board Training for Finger Power" by Zarrin McDaniel Leff
(Vol. 10, No.1)
The effects and benefits of campus board training and a variety of campus board exercises are presented as the rock climber’s ultimate finger strengthening tool.
"On the Supremacy of the Plate Curl" by Merle Meeter (Vol. 10, No. 3)
These variations make training on the plate curl enormously superior for building your thumb, finger, and wrist strength.
"Back to the Board Room" by John Brookfield (Vol. 11, No.1)
Two exercises using boards develop crushing strength in your hands - and especially the thumbs.
"Round-up for the Squeeze" by John Brookfield (Vol. 11, No. 3)
Cross-train to close your Captains of Crush Hand Grippers, by training your crushing grip on six different common round objects.
"The Slaying of Goliath: Bending a Red Nail" by John Brookfield (Vol. 11, No.4)
Learn two different nail bending techniques, one using chest power and one using lower arm and hand strength, and how to accomplish them effectively and safely when bending a Red Nail.
"The No. 4" by Kent Durso (Vol. 12, No. 1)
Kent Durso, who has a way with words, deftly captures the essence of the No. 4 Captains of Crush Hand Gripper in this poetic musing.
"Slaying the Dragon—Samson’s Harp" by John Brookfield (Vol. 12, No. 2)
Rolling up a giant piece of steel, twenty feet long, three to five inches wide and one-quarter to three-eighths inch thick, is the ultimate steel bending challenge for mind and body.
"Crushing or Rolling Up a Frying Pan" by John Brookfield (Vol. 12, No. 3)
After a lesson in history as well as the differences in frying pans, John leads you through the steps for both rolling and crushing a frying pan, a classic test of hand strength.
"For a Kung-Fu Grip" by Fred Hutchinson (Vol. 12, No. 4)
A whole spectrum of grip development methods based on traditional Chinese martial arts training are low-tech or no-tech, requiring no equipment or easily obtained items.
"Ninja Grip Training" by Fred Hutchinson (Vol. 13, No. 1)
A range of highly effective hand strength training methods that, while not claimed to be authentic Japanese ninja training, are presented in the ninja martial arts tradition.
"Pinch Grip Chins: Rock the Rafters" by Brad Johnson (Vol. 13, No. 2)
Get inspired by some of the best pinch grip chin performances of the past, and learn the exercises and technique to improve your own pinch grip strength to “rock the rafters”.
"Building Your Grip: A Great Way to Start" by Jim Blosser (Vol. 13, No. 3)
Little did Jim realize that his long-time desire to have an anvil would lead to goal-setting for grip strength; let Jim help you build your hand strength to the max.
"Grip Power" by Brad Johnson (Vol. 13, No. 3)
Brad reports how tension generation techniques helped him make remarkable increases in his hand strength.
“Get on the Stick” by John Brookfield (Vol. 13, No. 3)
John introduces a new method for grip and upper-body strength that is simple in concept but dramatic in results.
“Training with Broken Dumbbells” by Tim Piper and Mike Waller (Vol. 13, No. 3)
What do you do with a broken dumbbell? Use it as part of your grip training workout, of course!
“Walk, Don’t Run” by John Brookfield (Vol. 13, No. 4)
John Brookfield shows you a walking exercise that works your entire body and also works your grip in a powerful way.
“The Effects of Loaded Stretching on Pull-up Performance” by Brad Johnson (Vol. 14, No. 2)
Brad Johnson’s experiment shows that loaded stretching has a substantial positive effect on pull-up strength.
“Training out of the Box: Jumping Pull-ups” by John Brookfield (Vol. 14, No. 4)
John Brookfield shows you an exercise to develop all-out strength and conditioning, as well as hand strength and some mental endurance, as well.
“Bodyweight Exercises for the Spike Bender” by Brad Johnson (Vol. 14, No. 4)
Brad Johnson describes the bodyweight exercises he has used to improve his hand and upper-body crushing strength specifically for spike bending.
“Oven Mitts for Red Hot Reps” by Richard Moores and Paul Barrett (Vol. 15, No. 3)
If you want a change of pace from standard forearm workouts, using oven mitts is a great alternative for training one’s grip and forearm strength and breaking hand strength barriers.
“Rope Pull-Ups” by Brad Johnson (Vol. 15, No. 3)
Rope pull-ups are a good alternative to rope climbing and share many of the benefits— upper-body strength and increased grip strength.
“Destination: Certification” by Ben Edwards (Vol. 15, No. 3)
Follow certified gripster Ben Edwards on his journey to world-class grip strength and closing the No. 3 Captains of Crush Gripper. Following his guide will ensure you don’t make some of the common mistakes in your progress with hand grippers.
“Finger Pull-Ups for Ferocious Fingertips” by Brad Johnson (Vol. 16, No. 2)
Finger pull-ups are excellent for working open hand and fingertip strength. Brad Johnson shares the exercise set-up and progressions to safely perform this exercise.

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