He was impressive when he certified on the No. 3 Captains of Crush® (CoC) Gripper, and now he has proven that was no fluke: Jonathan Vogt has just certified on the No. 3.5 Captains of Crush® Gripper.


Jonathan Vogt is on a roll: He ran through the No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper, and now the No. 3.5, so you know what’s coming next.  IronMind® | Photo courtesy of Jonathan Vogt.


Jonathan Vogt first hit IronMind®’s radar when he certified on the No. 3 Captains of Crush® gripper as a mere 19-year-old.  Along the way, we couldn’t help but be interested in the story of this young man who had started mowing lawns to earn money, had built up a lawn care business which he ran as he attended classes at Purdue University, and who attributed a lot of grip strength to the work he did behind his Scag mower.

That was just a warmup, because Jonathan Vogt has just certified on the No. 3.5 Captains of Crush® Gripper, the youngest person to date to reach this huge milestone in the grip strength world. 

“I am 20 years old [and] am 6’ 1”, 260 lb. at this time.  I still do my mowing and landscaping which greatly involves my hands,” Jonathan Vogt told IronMind®.  I have close to 1,000 hours of mowing time on my one Scag, which builds my hands.  I drive to Purdue, which is two hours of driving every week, so I can maintain my yards.  I keep my grippers in my truck and in my pockets at all times.  I close them as much as I can almost every day.  I think this is the secret to building hand strength: using your hands everyday in some form of a challenge no matter what it is.

“I enjoy seeing that every Captains of Crush® Gripper is almost identical,” Jonathan Vogt told IronMind®, which means everyone should listen carefully to something else Jonathan said: “ I am very close to closing the No. 4.”  And, to frost the cake, Jonathan added, “I would also like to certify on the Red Nail™.”


Congratulations, Jonathan, your name has been added to the official certification list for the No. 3.5 Captains of Crush® Gripper.

IronMind® would also like to say a special thanks to John Hight for serving as Jonathan Vogt’s official referee.  John Hight , retired USAF, competed in powerlifting under IPF rules while stationed in Europe, and is no stranger to Captains of Crush® Grippers.  IronMind® thanks John for graciously sharing his knowledge as well as his time, to make this official attempt possible.

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