Grip and pull-ups
How to choose a hand gripper: resistances, types and how to start
A hand gripper is the most direct way to train the closing strength of your hand, but it is easy to choose the wrong one: too soft and it does nothing, too hard and you cannot close it. Here is what to know before you buy one.
By Iván López4 min read
What a gripper trains
A gripper trains crushing grip: the strength with which your hand closes against resistance. It is the part of grip you notice most when you squeeze, press or hold something slippery, and the one the gym trains least, because bars and dumbbells mostly work support grip.
If what fails is hanging from the bar or holding a deadlift bar, a gripper helps but is not enough: combine it with support exercises like the ones in how to improve grip strength.
Fixed or adjustable
There are two families, and they do different jobs.
Fixed-resistance gripper
Two handles and a steel spring, with nothing to adjust. It is the classic format and the most durable: the aluminium gripper has aluminium alloy handles with fine knurling that grips without slipping, and it comes in six resistances.
- For: a solid feel, a full range of motion, nothing to come loose.
- Against: each level is a different gripper. To progress, you buy the next one.
Adjustable gripper
A plastic body with a dial or screw that changes the spring tension. The adjustable gripper with a counter goes from 5 to 60 kg and counts your reps for you.
- For: one device to start very light and move up gradually. Ideal if you have never trained your hands.
- Against: above a certain level it falls short for someone who already has a strong grip.
What the resistance means
The number on a gripper —100 pounds, 45 kg— is not a weight you lift. It is a nominal resistance: the approximate force needed to bring the handles together. And it is not comparable between brands: one brand's "100" can be noticeably harder or softer than another's, because each manufacturer measures it its own way.
What is useful is comparing them within the same series: each level from the same brand is harder than the one before.
Which level to start with
A guide for the aluminium gripper series, which runs from 100 to 350 pounds:
| Resistance | Roughly | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 100 lb | 45 kg | Starting out, warming up or high-rep work |
| 150 lb | 68 kg | People who already strength train regularly |
| 200 lb | 90 kg | A trained grip |
| 250 lb | 113 kg | Advanced |
| 300 lb | 136 kg | Very advanced |
| 350 lb | 159 kg | Only after a lot of specific work |
The rule that never fails: choose one you can close fully 8 to 12 times. If you are torn between two, the lighter one. A full close on the easy one teaches more than half a close on the hard one, and half closes do not count.
How to use it properly
- Place it in your hand with the lower handle resting at the base of your fingers, not in your palm.
- Close until the two handles touch.
- Open slowly, controlling the spring: the way back trains too.
- Switch hands every set and only count full closes.
Two or three sessions a week are enough. Three sets of 8 to 12 closes per hand is plenty of work; more volume tends to end in elbow discomfort before it ends in more strength.
How to progress
- With an adjustable one: when you manage three sets of 12 clean closes, increase the tension a little and start again from 8.
- With a fixed one: when a level gets too easy, alternate the two. Warm up and do your volume sets with the one you have mastered, and finish with a few attempts on the next one.
- Timed holds: hold the gripper closed for 5 to 10 seconds. It is the simplest way to edge towards the next level.
Frequently asked questions
- What does "100 lb" mean on a gripper?
- It is the nominal resistance: the approximate force needed to bring the handles together, not a weight you lift. It is not comparable between brands, only between levels of the same series.
- Fixed or adjustable: which is better?
- If you have never trained your hands, adjustable: you start light and move up gradually with a single device. If you already strength train and want a solid, durable feel, fixed, at a level you can close 8 to 12 times.
- How often should you train with a gripper?
- Two or three times a week. Three sets of 8 to 12 full closes per hand is enough; doing it every day tends to bring elbow discomfort before more strength.
- Does it help you hang from a bar for longer?
- It helps, but it is not the same thing: a gripper trains crushing grip, while hanging from a bar is support grip. The most direct way to train that is to hang, with the gripper as a complement.
This guide is general training information, not medical advice. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, speak to a professional before you start, and stop if anything hurts sharply.
About the author
Iván López. I have been training for years and I choose every item in this shop one by one. I post workouts and product tests on my social media.
