How to close a hand gripper

If you want to close heavy duty metal grippers, you’re in the right place. Metal based grippers like ours take extra power and technique to truly master. Grippers take more than just raw strength to close. It takes a unique combination of power, technique, and positioning to really nail it. Let’s go over the basics of how to close a hand gripper.

How to position your body to close a gripper

It may seem crazy, but you want to position your body the best you can to deliver power. Much like a powerlifer, you want to approach closes with your positioning the same. Like a ritual. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, one foot slightly in front of the other. Often called an athletic stance. Have your chest up, your shoulders pulled back, and bend slightly at the knees and hips. This base of support gives you a solid foundation. Now let's get to gripper and hand position.

How to position the gripper in your hand

Place the gripper approximately in the center line of your hand, where the fold is. This back handle should align with the center line of the hand. The end of the back handle should line up with the center of your pinky. The end of the front handle should line up with the middle of the ring finger. The thumb should be brought around the gripper as much as possible. Place your fingers far down the end of the handles. Your pinky should only be about halfway on the handle.

How to set and close a gripper

Now using your other hand set, or start the gripper with your pointer finger and thumb. Squeeze just enough to get the gripper positioned and started. Note the gripper will slide a very small amount into the palm. Now the tips of the fingers should be set on the opposite side handle. Squeeze your fingers towards the palm as hard and as fast as you can. Squeeze that handle down with maximum speed and don’t stop until the handles touch. Once they touch, that’s a good rep.

Common problems with closing grippers

We see a lot of problems when it comes to gripper closing. Some of the most common include over wrapping the fingers, not using maximum speed, and improper hand positioning. For hand positioning, you can refer to the above but remember to do it the same each time. For closing force you need to squeeze as ABSOLUTELY hard as possible. This peak contraction often needs to last 2-3 seconds to close the handles all the way down. Don’t just squeeze hard then let go. For the fingers, you want focus on keeping them around the first knuckle area. Wrapping your fingers too far around the handles means you lose leverage, and thus, power.

Your ticket to hand gripper closing 

We hope you have a better view of closing your grip genie hand grippers. As you can see, it does take more technique than meets the eye. As you approach the higher levels such as GG4, 5, and 6, you’ll need equal measures of power and dialed in technique. Grab a gripper set and in no time you'll be a crushing pro. Good luck and keep closing!