Derek Palmeri—a doctoral student in physical therapy who raises carnivorous plants—has been certified on the world-renown Captains of Crush No. 3 gripper.

Legitimately closing a Captains of Crush (CoC) No. 3 gripper is one of the most widely recognized accomplishments in the strength world, and showing what happens when talent and determination join forces, Derek Palmeri reached this standard after only training on CoC grippers since the summer of 2021.

“I saw them on the Rogue Fitness website and didn’t know what to get, so got a package of 5 with Trainer, No. 1, No. 1.5, No. 2, and No. 2.5. Closed them all on my first day with no setting because I didn’t know how to,” Palmeri told IronMind.

“I like to use grippers once a week. I like to superset grippers with other full body weight lifts until I am finished with weight lifting.

“I use my hands for learning physical therapy techniques in my doctorate program, and I also use them at growing carnivorous plants, so a lot of plant potting and messing around with dirt.

“I am 33 years old and have been weight lifting for about a decade now. I worked for 9 years in nanotechnology before deciding to go to graduate school for my doctorate in physical therapy. I have been growing carnivorous plants for over 5 years,” Palmeri said. "I just started my final year of doctor of physical therapy school, so my major goal right now is finishing that. I would be interested in training for the [Captains of Crush No.] 3.5 certification in the future."

Here’s a video of Derek Palmeri on his official attempt to close a Captains of Crush No. 3 gripper.

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