Ever since IronMind® formally recognized Richard Sorin as officially closing its fearsome No. 3 gripper in 1991, certification on the Captains of Crush® grippers has been a mark of accomplishment and well-earned pride among grip strength enthusiasts around the world.

Over time, rules have been added and clarified, in order to maintain both the letter and the spirit of this challenge. Responding to concerns about both the depth of the set allowed and the relative difficulty of ensuring that a uniform standard is really being met under the one-inch rule, effective tomorrow, the language of Rule 4 will be:

4) The free hand may be used to position the gripper in the gripping hand, but the starting position can be no narrower than the width of a credit/ATM card, and the gripster must show the official that he has an acceptable starting position by using his non-gripping hand to slide the end of a credit/ATM card in between the ends of the handles. Once this is done, the official will give the signal to remove the card and begin the attempt. Any contact between the non-gripping hand and the gripper as the card is being removed will invalidate the attempt, and the non-gripping hand must stay at least a foot from the gripping hand at all times during the squeeze. Similarly, nothing may be in contact with the gripping hand or the gripping arm from the elbow down (for example, the free hand is not allowed to steady the wrist of the gripping hand or hold the spring, etc.). The entire squeeze must be clearly visible to the official: the gripper cannot be closed while blocked from view and then turned and presented as already closed.