Climbing Rope Attachment Hardware

Climbing Rope Hardware: I-Beam Clamp
It makes sense (or at least it should) that when you train, you want to do so as safely as possible. After all, the goal is to end up better than when you started, not worse, and so part of successful training is to make sure that the equipment you use is always safe and secure.

Of course, this is also why top quality is the way to go - for example, there's nothing like having a barbell snap while you're using it to wreck your whole day.

Anyhow, when it comes to climbing ropes, one of the most important factors is to make sure that it is attached safely and securely every time you climb.

Think of this like buckling your seat belt - tis a good idea for a lot of good reasons, the least of which is to save your noggin should it ever come to that.

In any case, to make sure you have the safest and most productive climbing rope experience, we feature several different hanging and hardware options.

I realize a lot of folks may have already taken advantage of these options when they previously ordered a climbing rope, but in case you would like some more information we have recently re-done our climbing rope attachment hardware page just to make some things a little more clear.

See it here:

Climbing Rope Attachment Hardware

P.S. The deadline for holiday climbing rope orders is swiftly approaching so if you want to get climbing this holiday season, you must order your ropes before the first week of December.

If you would like to cut to the chase, heres a short cut to our climbing ropes page:

Climbing Rope Page

The Benefits of Climbing Rope

I was always interested in climbing ropes and thought they would make an interesting addition to our product line - the grip strength benefits should be obvious - Well in just two and a half short years we are now the top online climbing rope dealer in the world - thats right, we sell more climbing rope than anyone, and consequently, know more about climbing rope training than anyone else.

We are "THE" place for climbing rope info, if you are interested in rope climbing, you came to the right place.

Now, a few of the important things to keep in mind for training with climbing ropes are:

1) To make sure you have the correct rope for your training
2) To make sure your rope is attached safely and securely

There are several different options as far as ropes go but today I am only going to cover one -- but one of the most important: the diameter of your climbing rope.

We currently feature two different diameters for our climbing ropes: 1-1/2 inch and 2 inch.

Now, a lot of people call us up telling us that they are "real strong" and want to start climbing ropes. They want to start at the very top because they are "so damn strong" so they want to go with the 2 inch diameter right away, even if they have no previous climbing rope experience.

Heres the thing: 1-1/2 inch climbing ropes are more than enough of a challenge for even for the toughest of elite athletes.

Above all else, we want to have a rope you can actually climb.

Once you master that climb you can progress by climbing without your feet,holding your legs straight, two ropes, wearing a weighted vest, upside down etc.

And, of course, you can climb as many times as you need to in order to get a great workout (it wont take much.)

All in all, the 1-1/2 inch climbing ropes are going to be the perfect choice for just about every athlete and training program, especially if you are dealing with high school athletes which is often the case with these climbing ropes.

Now, I wont beat around the bush - climbing a two inch rope is quite a feat.

If you think you are up to the challenge we can certainly oblige and help you out with the finest 2 inch diameter climbing ropes in the business.

Keep in mind that we are getting close to the tipping point for our
climbing ropes this Holiday season. These ropes are manufactured by hand and do take time to put together.

We still have time, but if you want to build "crazy monkey climbing Strength" we will need to place the order with our manufacturer asap.

Heres a link to our climbing rope page: Manila Climbing Ropes

Captains of Crush Hand Grippers:

The Captains of Crush Hand Grippers
Here at Functional Hand Strength, we want to offer our customers the very best in grip strength training equipment which is why we feature the Captains of Crush hand grippers by Ironmind.

These are the best grippers on the market and we are very proud to make them available to you.

Today, we want to let you know about the variety of resistances available in these grippers.

We offer ten different levels of resistance:

Starting with our Guide gripper, which gives you 60 lbs. of resistance. Keep in mind that your average, run-of the mill, sporting goods store hand gripper is going to give you only about 25-35 lbs of resistance. Plus, they are usually built with cheap plastic and will surely breakdown over only a short time.

So the Guide will give you a good workout right off the bat.

Combine the Guide with our Sport (rated at 80 lbs.) and the Trainer (rated at 100 lbs.) and you have a good starting point to work with. If you're a beginner to grip training, we highly recommend going with this set of three grippers.

These three hand gripper provide an excellent progression for those just starting out.

From there, our grippers are numbered from the #1 gripper and up to the #4 gripper in increments that will help you progress. The #1 gripper is rated at 140 lbs; the #1.5 is rated at 167.5 lbs. and so on all the way to the #4 gripper, rated at a whopping 365 lbs. of resistance.

Not many venture into the higher echelons of the Captains of Crush grippers, but if you have closed the beginner grippers, you should move on to our intermediate combo pack.

This includes our #1, #1.5 and #2 grippers. On top of that, we also have an advanced combo pack, which included the #2.5, #3, and the #3.5. Past that is a place only a handful of people in the world have reached: the #4 gripper.

This is the ultimate grip strength achievement.

So whether you are just starting out, or have been training for years, you will find the right resistances with our Captains of Crush line of hand grippers.

Want to learn more? Click here to read our Captains of Crush Buyers Guide.

Hand Grippers: Getting Started

Think of a solid dumbbell which is too heavy to lift – how would you train with it? There are a few ways... but...

You can make it a whole lot easier when you can lift it at least once. You begin with singles... then, as you grow stronger, you can progress to doubles etc etc until you master that weight...

So when someone asks: "Which Gripper should I start with?" (which is one of the most popular questions we receive) my answer is, at its most basic level, is "one you can close."

Think about it – theres no sense in trying to get started at a level far above what you are currently able to do .

And it doesnt matter whether you can close your gripper once, ten times, even fifty times it is the constant graduated improvement over time that will make you stronger, regardless of where you begin.

Think about what training "is" ... what it means... The main idea here is improvement... but you can only improve if you can first establish where you are... and then you can build from there.

This most often means somewhere in the Sport, Trainer, #1 range on the Captains of Crush scale.

Improvement, in the form of strength gains, will come from a balanced, systematic, workout scheme which incorporates the proper recovery.

It really couldnt be any simpler than that...

Train hard,
John Wood

P.S. We've got several hundred of each hand gripper strength in stock at all times and we ship 'em out quicker than anyone else. Here's where to get started: Captains of Crush Hand Grippers

The Meaning of Semper Fi

With today being the birthday of the USMC and all, something you are likely to see quite a bit of is the saying "Semper Fi" which is the Marine corps motto.

This is short for "Semper Fidelis" or Latin for "Always Faithful."

Tis a pretty good saying to know -- and will serve you well if you live it.

It may as well also be the motto to all the people who are serious about their training as well. There will never come a workout when it's OK to give anything less than your best.

There will never come a time when it's OK to lose sight of your goals, there will never come a time when it's OK to forget why you started training in the first place and there will never come a time when it's OK to stop fighting for what you want.

I see far too many people who are "Aliquando Fidelis" (Sometimes Faithful)

Sometimes?

I have never met anyone who was a Success at anything with a "Sometimes" kind of attitude. That aint the way to play this game...

So, for all our Marine friends out there, and for anyone else who needs it:

Semper Fi

Train hard,
John Wood

USMC 232nd Birthday Salute

Today marks the 232nd Birthday of the United States Marine Corps so a big congrats on 232 years of blood, sweat and tears for all our USMC friends. To check out how the Marines Climb ropes go Here: How the Marines Climb Ropes Train hard. John Wood

Rope Climbing