Ivanko Super Gripper

Description

The Ivanko Super Gripper is a device which can be used to train grip strength. Two springs are used to provide resistance. A shot

The wrapping was added to reduce slippage.

Compared to the Captains of Crush grippers

The Ivanko Supergripper has several advantages over grippers such as the Captains of Crush grippers. The main benefit is the much larger selection of resistance levels. The larger handle size also aids in versatility by allowing two handed grips, which also aids in doing negatives. However the Captains of Crush grippers are much smaller and therefore more portable. Their checkered handles is also of benefit, though this can easily be duplicated on the Ivanko with some grip tape.

Force settings

The resistance of the springs was measured on a few of the lowest settings with a grip in the middle of the bar by pressing the gripper closed on a scale. A simple torque calculation was used to span the range of possible settings (this calculation assumes the springs are identical). A table :

Sorted from minimum to maximum :

These calculations were checked by random measurements on some of the higher settings. The decimals in the tables are meaningless, the precision of the poundages is not that exact, it is of the order of a few percent. The resistance is also dependent on the placement of the grip along the bar, the closer to the pivot point, the higher the resistance. If a grip is used on the highest bar position, the poundages should be scaled by ~75%, this reduced the max resistance to about 260 lbs. Adjusting grip position can also be used to refine the steps in the above tables to get smaller increments.

Training

The large range of variable resistance settings make incremental training attractive. Essentially a small amount of weight is added from one workout to the next, the goal being to get stronger each time. Some of the steps in the above table are however too large, if the jump is too much it can be reduced by moving your grip slightly higher on the bar. The Ivanko is also very versatile and allows training of other elements of grip strength such as pinching, with one or two hands.

Important : When finished do not store the gripper with the bar against the stop pin, if the springs are stored under tension they will over time become slack.

Additional information

You can buy the Ivanko Supergripper from PDA, and there is some history on it at the following order information page :

• Ivanko Supergripper from PDA

Calculators for the resistance can also be seen at the following website : Ivanko Super Gripper

You can comment on this review by dropping me an email at cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com.