I've been training my crush grip strength for approx. four months now. After purchasing my first inexpensive adjustable hand gripper I couldn't even close its maximum setting of 60 kg/~132 lb. Fortunately, a couple months ago I saw great improvement and 60 kg is a walk in the park now.
Then I decided to purchase three grippers similar to the CoC grippers:
- 68 kg/~150 lb (similar to CoC no. 1)
- 90 kg/~200 lb (similar to CoC no. 2)
- 112 kg/~250 lb (sort of bridge between CoC no. 2.5 and 3)
Obviously, I am unable to close the last one. Though I can close the 90 kg. Thing is, I feel like I've hit a plateau. Progress has been tremendously slow and some days I can't even close the 90 kg. I'd love it if I could close the 112 kg this year. Just unsure what it takes to get there.
Also, online I saw that the avg. male grip strength my age is 45.36 kg/100 lb. That'd mean my grip strength is above avg. Still, I cannot help but think that 90 kg is pretty mid. I want to improve, but I don't know how.
Does anyone have experience in how to see the best results? How to move away from the 90 kg and get to the goal of 112 kg?
TLDR; Been training crush grip strength for four months. Saw great progress first couple of months, but have now plateaued at 90 kg/~200 lb. Want to close a 112 kg/~250 lb this year but not sure how and whether that's even realistic.
Keep in mind grip strength is highly correlated with testosterone : cortisol levels which is a good way to measure recovery rate. So perhaps you’re pushing too hard. Use a hand dynamometer to measure accurately like another poster has said. Reference - https://www.t-nation.com/training/4-ways-to-test-your-recovery-rate/
Also your grip strength is quite strong.
May well be the case. The way I train my grip is by no means professional. I've got them sitting on my desk. That means every time I see them my brain goes: "Oh yeah! Grip training. Let's do a couple reps". Not having them in sight makes me forget about them.
As you may realise, the problem with this approach is that I train them pretty much every day. No rest days. Only once I feel tremendously sore. Definitely a failure on my part. Thinking of putting them out of sight, but having an app on my phone remind me to use them every few days.
Compared to the average it is, I'd say. Still, closing the last gripper (112 kg according to the package) would be a huge confidence boost. Will it improve my life? Probably not, though it was never about that for me. It's more consistency training to me. Stay consistent and see results. That will certainly help me in other areas of life.