Grip Strength vs Distance

[BrotherDave]

I wonder how much grip strength correlates with distance. Like if you can only grip x number of force are you limited to 400' or so.

[JR]

With no grip strength you can't get to 4'.

[keltik]

I was spectating the 09 USDGC and while viewing the distance comp qualifying rounds one of the anatomy/physiology professors from Winthrop U. was out there measuring the flexibility and body dimensions of Paul MacBeth (he had just bombed one). So I got nosy/curious and went up to see what he was doing. well he also had a device that you squeeze to measure grip strength. He said he would give $100 to anyone that could squeeze more than 80lbs. being the broke strapping young lad that I was I said "lemme see that". well I only got like 60lb. Paul I think got like a 55 or 60 (he's not a very big guy). after a few people tried, the professor said Avery Jenkins only squeezed a 65.

I guess the moral of this story is that grip strength does help but technique is still king.

[JR]

I was spectating the 09 USDGC and while viewing the distance comp qualifying rounds one of the anatomy/physiology professors from Winthrop U. was out there measuring the flexibility and body dimensions of Paul MacBeth (he had just bombed one). So I got nosy/curious and went up to see what he was doing. well he also had a device that you squeeze to measure grip strength. He said he would give $100 to anyone that could squeeze more than 80lbs. being the broke strapping young lad that I was I said "lemme see that". well I only got like 60lb. Paul I think got like a 55 or 60 (he's not a very big guy). after a few people tried, the professor said Avery Jenkins only squeezed a 65.

I guess the moral of this story is that grip strength does help but technique is still king.

Depending on what the device is, people can squeeze a lot more than that with the whole hand. Look up Iron Mind Captains of crush and RB grippers for example. With the whole hand i think i can squeeze an 80 pound gripper shut. With index finger tip and thumb no way. I can't reliably test my hand power, because the lightest RB i have is 130 pounder an i'm short of closing that, but close enough to think that i can close 80.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwn11mM50f4 here is a guy that closes way more than me with only four fingers.

[Trey133]

It correlates a lot if you throw with nose up.

If you can't hold a disc firmly with nose up its has a higher tendency to slip out of your hands. This is where a LOT of people mess up when throwing distance. Trying to throw a big anhyzer with a stable disc and making the mistake of too much nose up will cause the disc to slip out super early and stall out without even anhyzering enough to get you anywhere.

Form > grip strength I think.

[Blake_T]

grip strength has a lot to do with it, but if your form/timing are bad, it's all moot. in addition to strength, hand-size has a LOT to do with how much force you can exert on a given rim configuration. for people with average or below average sized hands they will find a significant grip strength drop off when rims exceed a certain width.

if you aren't correctly manipulating the momentum of the disc you will get into positions where the disc is exerting more force than you can hold onto.

when timing/positions are correct, grip strength becomes one of the determining factors.

[JR]

I would not wonder if there are more and less sensitive parts to grip strength. Thumb down pressing strength is likely very significant followed my index then middle finger squeezing strength. If you throw with the disc in the seam of the hand and squeeze hard with the base of the thumb and the opposing part of the hand, then only does the overall hand squeezing strength become relevant, if i am anywhere close with my gut feeling. I'd like to see this researched scientifically.

[ashley]

grip strength has a lot to do with it, but if your form/timing are bad, it's all moot. in addition to strength, hand-size has a LOT to do with how much force you can exert on a given rim configuration. for people with average or below average sized hands they will find a significant grip strength drop off when rims exceed a certain width.

if you aren't correctly manipulating the momentum of the disc you will get into positions where the disc is exerting more force than you can hold onto.

when timing/positions are correct, grip strength becomes one of the determining factors.

I will definitely agree with this. I can consistently get my best distances with a leopard, teebird, and tl. Valkyrie is slightly wider and I can usually get a little more distance with them, beyond that it seems to drop off dramatically.

[JR]

Distance between discs is much more complicated than finger strength multiplied by leverage alone. Cruise speed, spin, fade, nose angle, glide...

[Blake_T]

Distance between discs is much more complicated than finger strength multiplied by leverage alone. Cruise speed, spin, fade, nose angle, glide...

In most cases, yes, but if you exceed the point where you can get leverage, speed/spin etc. are determined by what you can/can't grip through the rip.

i lose about 5-10mph of launch velocity when rims exceed 1.4cm. i lose another 10-15mph of launch velocity when rims exceed 1.9cm.

[Triflusal]

whats the measurement of your middle segment of your index finger? if mine is ~2.4cm does that mean that's probably the max I should go without a modified grip?

[Blake_T]

mine is 1.9cm.

the more your finger length exceeds the rim width, the stronger your grip will be.

[zj1002]

mine is dead on 2.54cm(1 inch). I use a stacked power grip.

as shown here

[rusch_bag]

So if that segment would be 2.2 cm, would you suggest not using anything larger than that? What is the max width of a disc and what speed (innova scale) is 2.2 cm?

[superdrive]

mine is dead on 2.54cm(1 inch). I use a stacked power grip.

as shown here

Mine is 2,7cm. I've had tons of problems with grips and that grip just might do it for me. At least it feels way better than 4 finger power grip. Much tighter.