Grip Strength training

These people have a ton of knowledge and some very smart equipment when it come to building hand and forearm strength .

http://www.ironmind.com/#

Are they a Christian weightlifting company? Which of their products do you use and how do you feel it has improved your climbing? I tried using straps for pullups in hopes it would be better for my elbows, but was shut down immediately by wrist pain. ymmv

Rotating bar of diameter about 1" (climbing specific heavy finger rolls). Fingerboard. Dedicated tool to exercise thumbs. FlexBar and soft rubber rings or smthng like Metolius GripSaver to exercise extensors. This a good tool set to start with.

I use the heavy hammer. The captain of crush trainer the rubber bands and a grip strength ball that they don’t make anymore and 3 others that didn’t seem right for me.  When I was actively training and Climbing I felt these tools gave me super quick recovery time and longer duration before burnout.

I've purchased and tried several different IronMind devices. My conclusion is that they build strength, but not the kind that is really specific for my finger-strength-critical climbing moves. So I've stopped using those, switched to other devices more specific for my style of outdoor climbing -- devices / equipment which have been recommended and discussed abundantly on previous MP Training threads.

Ken

FWIW, I have a Titans telegraph that I thought was useful for pinch strength. 

Probably not as specific as pinch blocks, but much quicker to work the full ROM.

It's easy to hyperextended your thumb, so you have to be careful.

I know at least one 9a climber who uses one.

I also have some of their crushers. Don't think they are helpful at all. 

Another trainer suggested an Ivanko gripper. My son has one and I may borrow it for a bit. I've been doing heavy finger rolls (after disparaging them for years) and believe they do help in the single motion of changing a grip from open to half or full crimp. 

They May not increase climbing specific strength but they do increase hand strength and will allow you to train better when you train for climbing specific and strength

I saw a nice diy improvement on the titan's telelgraph-

small wooden blocks cable clamped to the lower bar in such a way as to limit the range of motion of the handle.

That way, you can have a definite end point closing the device without having to get that last, useless (from the point of view of climbing training) couple of centimeters of closure.

And, you can prevent hyperextending your thumb by preventing the device from opening too far.

Ah the grip training with IronMind products.  I have been training with many of their products for years now and I agree with most comments that the devices they offer are not specific to climbing.  That being said, I have seen significant results in my overall strength and size in my forearms, wrists, and even fingers from using their grippers, the Titans Telegraph, wrist rollers, eagle claw curl webbing, etc.  I find myself using their products to help me gain strength for on the job (full time firefighter), but not so much for climbing.  

When I am prepping for an upcoming climbing trip or prime climbing season, I ditch the weights and grip devices and try to focus on eating right, cardio, multiple climbing specific training sessions a week (specifically hangboarding and indoor bouldering) and see much quicker results as far as climbing is concerned.  Hope this helps a bit...grip training and grip tools definitely have their place but I know many people who climb much harder than I do on plastic and rock but cannot come close to touching what I can on my grip machines.  Totally different strengths.

But, there is no doubt that my climbing pinch strength has improved astronomically since using IronMind products and other similar devices.   

Justin Sanford wrote:

But, there is no doubt that my climbing pinch strength has improved astronomically since using IronMind products and other similar devices.   

Pinch strength is ultimately thumb strength. To improve pinch grip one only needs to invent/develop/build some mechanical tool to isolate thumb contractions. Personally I have never seen any successful approach to isolate thumb contraction movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d780THhOW_c

The Ironmind Titans Telegraph works pretty well at isolating thumb contraction movement.

Justin Sanford wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d780THhOW_c

The Ironmind Titans Telegraph works pretty well at isolating thumb contraction movement.

The video demonstrates multi segment exercise. Palm moves, forearm moves.

I use the Ironmind devices to supplement my hangboard (a Metolius Pure Force). I have also attached some challenging climbing gym holds, particularly some small crimpers, to the wooden board that I used to mount the Pure Force in the drywall. I can supplement all this with a weight vest. Of the Ironmind devices, I have found the following quite useful-- the Ironmind Pinch Hub ( need to work that thumb!), the Eagle Loops (grab the tiny nubs and do assisted pullups off a counterweight machine in the gym), the Eagle Claws (assisted mono pocket pullups), and the Save Your Hands Rubber Bands and Outer Limit Loops (excellent for antagonist training and rehab/injury avoidance-- but there a couple of tricks to using the latter). I have a number of climbing friends/acquaintances that swear by the Ironmind Rolling Thunder Handles, but like many of the folks here, I didn't find that those built great climbing-specific strength for me. I also use self-designed devices called Grip Addicts, which are small boxes with a variety of climbing holds screwed to them that can be attached to most lat pulldown machines in gyms/health clubs via a modified muffler clamp from an auto parts store. Select the holds to be used and the proper weight and pull hard! Obviously, I use these devices in a rotating training schedule rather than all at one time. At 55, I am too old to safely campus, but that method seems to work for the young boulderers in the local climbing gym quite well.

I used the heavy hammer from iron mind to build my forearm and also add general hand strength 

I have used the captains of crush before and seen an increase in strength for captains of crush and handshakes. However this did not translate in to any appreciable climbing grip strength. As others have said, hangboarding was where I saw the most improvement.