Grip Info & Legends

With the International King Kong Grip Challenge just around the corner, we did a short interview with Eric Roussin on his accolades, Canada Grip Sport, and their upcoming event Grip Strength Event. How do newbies get into GripSport? What is Grip Sport? Is hand size a factor in grip and hand strength events? What types of lifts do they do in Grip Competitions? Check it out!

We had a chance to chat with Robert Spindler and ask him a few questions about stongman, grip training, and his past records and feats of strength. He is an Oldtime Strongman that has been performing the "mind-blowing feats of strength" of the early 20th century, for the past twenty plus years. Robert also co-authored a book with Tommy Heslep called Grip Strength: How to Close Heavy Duty Hand Grippers, Lift Thick Bar Weights, and Pinch Grip Just About Anything.

After meeting Jim Stoppani Sr. at the Mr. Olympia Fitness Expo about 10 years ago, and seeing him there every year since, we really wanted to share his story and his experiences in the fitness industry, specifically relating to grip strength. From not being able to lift a 20 lb ball at his first exposition to representing ProMera and Con-Cret at fitness expos all over the nation, and Hub lifting a massive 73 lbs - check out his story in his own words.

Grip strength is the measure of how strongly you can pull, push, or hold certain objects by your hands against resistance. It is a powerful predictor of overall muscle strength. There are three types of grip strength (crushing grip, pinch grip, and supporting grip), and you can improve every type by performing different exercises. Grip strength training gives you a firm grip, increases muscle endurance, helps prevent injuries, and strengthens forearms. It also increases sports performance and lessens risk of injury due to a weak grip. Grip strength is a crucial goal to achieve excellence in any sport, or for daily tasks that require a reliable grip.

Unlike the majority of other sports and hobbies, rock climbing has an element of risk. The margin for error and potential for mistake has consequences much larger than a simple loss in a competition.

Additionally, training for rock climbing shouldn’t just consist of the actual act of climbing. It involves much more and requires an undeniable strength that can endure the most peculiar circumstances.

Rock climbing grip strength is like no other and consists of tools and exercises not used in any other sport. Finger strength, forearm strength, and grip endurance are all capacities that need to be covered in order to provide the climber with the utmost preparation and confidence going into a climb.

The rock climbing grip strength tools mentioned above are a great place to start!