Is 90 kg (~200 lb) of grip strength good? How to improve?
Is 90 kg (~200 lb) of grip strength good? How to improve?
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.
One thing you have to keep in mind is that those hand trainers aren't super representative of the actual force being used. I would just reference them as low/medium/high.
To get a real number you'd need a hand grip dynanometer.
Thank you! I was thinking of buying a dynanometer. I'd have to go for an inexpensive one on Amazon. A professional dynanometer would cost me a rib cage.
Check whether your local gym keeps one in reserve
Yeah, I just happened to acquire a professional one when the previous renter left a bunch of stuff in a shef (she worked in PT, told landlord she didn't want any of it).
It's been fun to play around with every few months.
Humblebrag? 90kg is without a doubt very strong. Just wach some vids of influencers challenging random people to test it. Even people that work with their hands all day rarely go up to 90kg...
90kg is strong, end of story.
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.
So perhaps you're pushing too hard
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.
Also your grip strength is quite strong.
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.
According to ChatGPT
The average grip strength for adult males is around 105 pounds, but it can vary based on factors like age, health, and physical activity level.
So I'd say ~200 lbs is good.