Description
As you start training with IronMind’s Titan’s Telegraph Key, you may feel that some of fingers are
doing most of the work. Within the hand, the ring finger and pinky can be seen as weak links. During
a pinch grip task, the average contribution of the index, middle, ring, and pinky were 33%, 33%, 17% and 15% respectively. Thus, roughly speaking, the relative contribution of the index and middle finger
is twice that of the ring finger and pinky. (1)
I had never really thought about training the hand finger-by-finger until I read Goerner the Mighty
(by Edgar Mueller), which describes some of the grips that Hermann Goerner used for his deadlift training. (2)
20 hand positions on the Titan’s Telegraph Key
Within a framework of partial grip training there are at least 20 possible hand positions on the
Titan’s Telegraph Key. For each of the following 10 finger combinations, you can grab the Titan’s
Telegraph Key with an overhand grip (may be a little weaker) or an overhand grip (may be a little stronger), a total of 20 combinations.

A two-stage program
By initially focusing on 2- and 3-finger pinch, you develop great control of the fingers. And because
the loads are naturally lower, you gradually develop the tolerance of the skin, bones and ligaments. Alternate the two workouts below every 3-4 days until you have improved your loads by 20-30%.
Day 1 – 2-finger pinch
* T/P + T/R + T/M +T/I, 15 + 15 + 15 + 15 reps each hand at an even speed, 1-2 sets
Get out your fractional plates and find an 8 RM with the overhand grip for each finger. Three options
to deal with the inevitable fatigue are: 1) change sides with no break, 2) switch to the underhand grip, and 3) reduce the load. Increase the load specific to each finger when 15 reps can be completed with no break.
Day 2 – 3-finger pinch
* T/RP + T/MR + T/IM, 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 reps each hand at an even speed, 1-2 sets
Day 2 is executed in the same way as day 1, with the exception that the start load should be a
6 RM load.