Exercises for the Vulcan Hand Gripper
To make it harder, move the spring up the notches away from the pivot. You can move one side at a time, or even keep the spring in the same place and add a rubber band, which will increase the resistance very slowly.
Remember to train both hands.
There are 2 recognised distances that people train on the grippers. These are the ‘credit card’ width and 20mm block width. If you insert one of these into the jaws of the gripper before you crush, and for each subsequent repetition, then you know you are starting from the same distance each time. The credit card width trains the ‘sweep’ part of your crush, and the 20mm block trains the final part of your crush. An ordinary credit card or similar can be used, and of course any block that measures 20mm at the end.
So that everyone is playing by the same rules, we shall use the gripper with the numbered handle in the fingertips (this is the handle with the number on the bottom and has the two metal plates attached) - see picture below.
EXERCISES
Normal closures with credit card or 20mm block
Squeeze the handles until they touch.
Strapholds using a shoelace with a weight on the end
You hold the shoelace in the jaws of the gripper for as long as possible. You can increase the weight on the lace, or the time held. This builds good endurance.
Inverted training on the gripper
Squeeze the handles until they touch, holding the gripper upside-down. This exercise builds more strength in the index and middle fingers and is good for a change.
Using rubber bands to microload
If it's too tough to move the spring on just one side of the gripper then slowly microload by putting one or a few rubber bands on the gripper (see pic), and just the same as the spring, the further these are away from the pivot the tougher it is.
The spring levels are;
LEVEL 16 (both springs attached to #6 notches)
LEVEL 15 (front spring attached to #6 notch, and the rear spring attached to #5 notch)
LEVEL 14 (front spring attached to #5 notch, and the rear spring attached to #6 notch)
LEVEL 13 (both springs attached to #5 notches)
LEVEL 12 (front spring attached to #5 notch, and the rear spring attached to #4 notch)
LEVEL 11 (front spring attached to #4 notch, and the rear spring attached to #5 notch)
LEVEL 10 (both springs attached to #4 notches)
LEVEL 9 (front spring attached to #4 notch, and the rear spring attached to #3 notch)
LEVEL 8 (front spring attached to #3 notch, and the rear spring attached to #4 notch)
LEVEL 7 (both springs attached to #3 notches)
LEVEL 6 (front spring attached to #3 notch, and the rear spring attached to #2 notch)
LEVEL 5 (front spring attached to #2 notch, and the rear spring attached to #3 notch)
LEVEL 4 (both springs attached to #2 notches)
LEVEL 3 (front spring attached to #2 notch, and the rear spring attached to #1 notch)
LEVEL 2 (front spring attached to #1 notch, and the rear spring attached to #2 notch)
LEVEL 1 (both springs attached to #1 notches)
Certification Rules
Hall of Fame (20mm block set)
Hall of Fame (Credit Card set)
