Diesel Crew - Muscle Building, Athletic Development, Strength Training, Grip Strength
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This week, Allen and I cover what’s happening in the world of Grip Sport, Grip Training, and Feats of Grip Strength.
Be sure to subscribe and make sure to check out Indestructible Elbows.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
I’ve been toying with the idea of starting up the Diesel Crew Grip Challenge for quite some time.
If you’re new to the site, you probably don’t realize I did a weekly challenge here on the site for most of 2011, but then got away from it and haven’t gotten back.
I want to make these something different from the normal cert lists and online stats for Gripboard.com and GripSport.com, things that we can all work on together in our own gyms.
These are also going to be feats that I feel are beneficial to training, things that will help you truly develop useful, functional grip strength, and not just silly stunts, or anything like that.
I also want to use this as a way to recognize people for their hard work. So, once you reach the top position, I’m more than happy to post your feat here on the site.
I’ll most likely add feats over time, and bring it to the front whenever there is something new.
If you want to take part, just let me know. Include DieselCrew.com Grip Challenge in the title, along with whatever feat it is, send me a link, and you’ll bee considered for posting, as long as your video is legit and you’ve followed the rules.
Here we go:
Block Weight Unbroken Reps
Rules: Can use either 1 or 2 Block Weights. Pairs can be made up of the same or different Block Weights, in order to get on multiple lists at once. Must apply your grip, lift to full lockout, return to the ground and then immediately pull back to lockout without resting or re-gripping. All reps pulled from the contact of the floor to lockout will be counted. This is where the term “unbroken” comes from.
Lists will include half 75 and up for Women and Half 90 and up for Men.
Double Half 100lb York / Blob 50
#1: Jedd Johnson (6 reps)
#2: Juha Harju (4 reps)
#3: Luke Raymond (1 rep)
#4:
#5:
#6:
#7:
#8:
#9:
#10:
Single Half 100lb York / Blob50
Rules: Can use either 1 or 2 Block Weights (the hand which gets more reps will be counted when using a pair of the same block weights). Pairs can be made up of the same or different Block Weights, in order to get on multiple lists at once. Must apply your grip, lift to full lockout, return to the ground and then immediately pull back to lockout without resting or re-gripping. All reps pulled from the contact of the floor to lockout will be counted. This is where the term “unbroken” comes from.
#1: Jedd Johnson (6 reps)
#2: Juha Harju (5 reps)
#3: Jon Vance (3 reps)
#4: Marco Buhl (5 reps – Gladiator Blob – 43lbs)
#5:
#6:
#7:
#8:
#9:
#10:
More feats to come. Any questions, please let me know.
All the best in your training!
Jedd
In the world of Gripper Training, there are an incredible number of little things that are very important.
Each one of these little details can give you a boost.
Sometimes that boost can be HUGE, like figuring out that you don’t just set the gripper with your hands, but rather your whole entire body.
Other times, that boost might be smaller, like where the dogleg goes in your hand.
Regardless of how big the impact that each detail makes, you should really be trying to get your technique as good as possible with your grippers. Remember, a bunch of little boosts will equal out to a really big boost!
While my DVD, CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination covers TONS of technique details that will add up to dramatic improvements in your gripper closing abilities, today, I’m going to share something with you that I wasn’t yet aware of until AFTER I released CRUSH.
Introduction
Putting It Into Action: Training Footage
Finding out how well this combination has worked for me, has definitely been one of the little details that’s given me a BIG BOOST in my Gripper Training, and I’ve heard several other top Gripper guys say the same thing.
I certainly think you should try this out and see how it works for you. And there’s a lot more things like this that you can do to get a boost in your training.
CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination – Just starting out with Grippers? This video will run down all the technical knowledge you need for Gripper Training. Available in digital or hard copy. Grab your grippers and grab your copy today, and watch the PR’s start coming in.
Top 10 Gripper Training Mistakes – Been doing grippers for a while, but need a little refresher? You better make sure you’re not doing these 10 things that will kill your gripper training progress.
Cadence Based Training – If you’re already doing the right things technique-wise, then the next step is to follow a program to tie it all together. This program isn’t about doing a bunch of sets and reps though, it’s about correcting your weaknesses, just like you would your Bench Press. CBT is what I follow in my training, and I’m turning my weaknesses into strength every single workout session.
And remember, several little boosts, add up to a BIG BOOST. Who knows where you can be in the next year if you take advantage of some of these small and easy-to-implement modifications.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
In a neck-and-neck battle from the very start of the competition, Pat Burke and Shawn Snider, two Washington state lifting partners called an end to their friendship for a matter of hours in order to see who would become the very first Empire Classic Grip Champion.
The first event was Grippers. Pat pulled ahead out of the gate, edging Shawn by 12 lbs, closing a GHP #6 to Shawn’s IronMind #2.5.
Attempts:
Pat: 125, 134(m), 130, 137
Shawn: 125, 142(m), 134(m), 142(m)
Shawn evened the score, taking the second event, the Pinch, lifting 183.8625lbs. Pay got 153.025, but missed 163.4375 on his final attempt by a few inches.
Attempts:
Pat: 134, 143, 153, 163(m)
Shawn: 153, 183, 193(m), 193(m)
Next up was the Axle, and it proved to be a mighty challenge for both Shawn and Pat, as they indicated that the IronMind Axle had a tougher surface than the Rogue axle they had been training on. Shawn extended his lead here with a pull of 323.85 to Pat’s 284.7875. Pat tried valiantly to lockout 305.05 on his last two attempts, and although he got the bar higher on his second try, the 20+ lb jump proved too much to lock out.
Attempts:
Pat: 264, 284, 305(m), 305(m)
Shawn: 305, 310, 323(m), 323
The final event to settle it all, the Sledge Choke, was next. This was a 12-lb Sledge with a US. Quarter on the head. The athletes gripped it behind a distance marker and then lifted it atop an 18″ Washington tree trunk, from a 150 year old tree that had recently been toppled due to construction.
Pat was able to edge out Shawn on the Choke, lifting the hammer at 17 inches to Shawn’s 16.
Attempts:
Pat: 16, 18(m), 17, 18(m)
Shawn: 17(m), 16, 17(m), 17(m)
In the end, Pat’s victory in the Sledge Choke proved too slim in order to jump past Shawn in the standings. Shawn maintained his edge on Pat, finishing the comp 38.5 points to 37.1.
Once the dust settled, these two gentlemen buried the hatchet, and shook hands, knowing they had more to gain by re-aligning then continuing their feud past this day.
They also took comfort knowing they had done what they had committed to doing – attacking the Empire Classic Grip Challenge with full force, and testing themselves where it counted the most – on the platform.
Congratulations to these guys for putting it all on the line and doing the competition. I do wish more people would have come out, but they did not.
Looking forward to next year. All the best in your training.
Jedd
Up coming Grip Contest in Syracuse, New York
Date: March 26th
Entry Form: Click Here
Entry Fee: $30, made out to Jedd Johnson – PO BOX 806 Wyalusing, PA 18853
Events: Blob Hold for Time | Anvil Hold for Time | Wrist Wrench Lift to Lockout (Max)
Weigh-ins: 8AM to 10AM
Warm-ups: 9AM
Rules: 9:30AM
Contest Begins: 10AM
Rules: Below
Event 1: Blob Hold for Time
The Blobs used will be half 75lb York Blobs and 25lb Power Pills. Lifter will take a Grip on the Blobs and lift to lockout and hold for as long as possible. The Blobs may not contact your legs/thighs/body. Time continues until a Blob(s) falls out of your hand, or you set one/two of them down. You must get at least 5 seconds for your time to count. If you can not get 5 seconds with the half 75’s, you may take a second attempt with the 25lb Diesel Power Pills. Any holds of at least 5 seconds with the half 75s will beat holds with the 25b Power Pills.
Event 2: Anvil Hold for Time
The Anvils used will weigh 118lbs and 55lbs. Each lifter will get 1 attempt right-handed on the big anvil and 1 attempt right-handed on the small anvil. Lifters must get at least a 5-second hold with the 118lb Anvil for their attempt to count. Time begins once the Anvil breaks off the floor and goes until the Anvil slips out of your grip or until you return it to the floor. If you do not get a 5-second hold with the big anvil, you will get a second attempt on the small anvil. Any 5-count hold or longer with the big anvil beats holds with the smaller anvil.
The same process takes place left-handed for all competitors. You will have a combined score based on your performance on each Anvil.
Event 3: Wrist Wrench for Max Weight
The Wrist Wrench will be gripped so the strap crosses on the thumb side of the implement. The lifter gets one pull per attempt, and you must lift the Wrist Wrench so that your knees, hips, and off-hand shoulder are locked out. “Good lift” will be called, at which point you must return the implement back to the ground under reasonable control. If you drop it or if it pops out of your hand, your attempt will not count. One hand (strong hand) is to be used on all 4 attempts. This is a Rising Bar event, meaning once weight is added, it won’t be taken off, so make sure that you don’t start too high. Get on the board with a good lift and then make smart jumps up in weight. Smallest increments will be 2.5lbs. If you are unfamiliar with the Wrist Wrench, it is MUCH HARDER than the IronMind Rolling Thunder. As an example, 85lbs is a very respectable lift, and 100lbs is almost unheard of.
Scoring: Strongman Scoring will be used for all 3 events. You get points based on your placing, and low points at the end wins. Example: First Place = 1 point, Second Place = 2 points, etc.
EVENTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTIFICATION.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Tilted Kilt in Syracuse, New York.
-Jedd-
By request of the Diesel Universe, I was asked to hold a 1-Day Intensive Grip Training Seminar.
I have set this up for Thursday, March 31st, starting at 9AM in Wyalusing, PA
We’re covering the 3 main areas of Grip Training: Grippers, Pinching, and Thick Bar.
These are the foundations of developing a Mighty Grip, and you’ve gotta train them right to build your Grip right.
The goal is make sure each person there is setting Grippers correctly, and knows the ins-and-outs of Plate Pinching, Thick Bar Training, and other Open Hand methods.
We’re also gonna get into the basics of Card Tearing and Steel Bending, because these feats make up the foundation of Strongman feats.
There’s going to be a BIG EMPHASIS on hands-on training.
After all, you learn by doing, not by hearing me talk.
This is going to be an AWESOME session for a small group of 5 individuals.
However, there’s already 2 slots filled.
Which means if you want to grab 1 of the 3 available slots, you’ve gotta act fast.
It’s gonna be a sweet, comfortable and intense 5 hours of learning on March 31st.
Get ready to learn a ton, have a bunch of fun, and get your hands chalky.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
P.S. I’m also looking to set up the cameras to capture everything on film. Gonna be awesome.
I will be running a Grip Contest on May 7th as part of the Empire Fit Expo, in Spokane Washington.
PROMOTER: Jedd Johnson
CONTACT: Email: jedd dot diesel at gmail dot com or call (607)857-6997
DATE: 5/7/16
TIME: Pinch width testing at 9AM, Rules briefing at 9:30am, Start time 10am
WEIGH-IN: Saturday, May 7th beginning at 8AM until 10AM
LOCATION: Spokane Convention Center (Hall 100ABC)
HOTEL: Hotels available upon request.
DIVISIONS: Men: 59kg / 66kg / 74kg / 83kg / 93kg / 105kg / 120kg / 120+kg; Women: Open
EVENTS: 20mm Block Set Grippers for Max (4 attempts)
Two Hands Pinch for Max (4 Attempts)
Axle 60-second Grip Rush (1 Attempt)
12-lb Hammer Sledge Choke (4 Attempts)
ENTRY FEES: $50 to compete. ENTRY DEADLINE: 4/22/16
MAIL PAYMENTS & ENTRIES TO: Jedd Johnson
PO Box 806
Wyalusing PA 18853
NAGS sanctioned Grip Contest with Crushed to Dust Certification
PROMOTER: Jedd Johnson, Diesel Crew
EVENTS: 20mm Block Set Grippers, Two Hands Pinch on Euro, Double Overhand Axle Deadlift, Front Pickaxe for Max Weight
ADDITIONAL EVENTS: Crushed to Dust, Inch Hold for Time with Cans on Globes, 2HP Hold for Time, Inch Unbraced Lift to Platform
DATE: February 13th, 2016
WEIGH-IN: Any time after 8:00am (scale is spot-calibrated)
SIGN-IN: 9:00am
RULES: 9:30am
START: 10:00am
LOCATION: Jedd Johnson’s Garage Gym
EMAIL FOR DIRECTIONS : JEDD dot DIESEL at GMAIL dot COM
ENTRY FEE: $30.
DEADLINE: Day of Contest
Events subject to change without notice
Events order subject to change without notice
MAKE ALL CHECKS/ MONEY ORDERS PAYABLE TO: JEDD JOHNSON
MAIL ENTRY FORM AND FEE TO:
JEDD JOHNSON
PO BOX 806
WYALUSING, PA 18853
HOTELS
Available upon request. Please contact me.
AIRPORTS (all three are about the same distance from Wyalusing, 1.5 hrs)
Scranton/Wilkes Barre PA
Binghampton NY
Elmira NY
On December 5th, Luke and I competed at Gripmas, the yearly December contest in Crooksville, Ohio, hosted by Chris and Teresa Rice.
This has quickly become the biggest and most prestigious single-location contest of the year, aside from the NAGS Championship. Many athletes from the Central United States and East Coast came this year, and over the years countless people from outside this region have made the trip, because of how important this contest has become.
There were 4 events for this contest. First was the Ivanko Super Gripper. The unit is held opposite the direction torsion spring grippers are held. There is a small flashlight mounted at the bottom of the gripper, and the objective is to close the handles together and make the flashlight button click, while changing the off/on status completely.
Ivanko Super Gripper – Various Competitors
Here are some of the attempts I got on film of the ISG event.
At this point, I sat in 3rd place behind Kody Burns and Andrew Durniat.
The next event was Two Hands Pinch, with the adjustable pinch apparatus. The first heat of lifters to go were the ones who used the thinnest setting, 52 millimeters. Next came 54mm, 56mm, and 58mm. The adjustable device is used so that lifters can match the width of the implement to their hand size, and produce their best lifts.
If you’re interested in buying an adjustable two hands pinch device, watch this video: Napalm Pinch Devices.
Here are some of the attempts from the contest.
Two Hands Pinch – Luke Raymond and Chris Rice
Luke has been competing and training at 58mm for several months, but switched to 56mm for the contest, and ended up getting a new contest PR!
Two Hands Pinch – Kody Burns Sets New All-Time World Record
Kody set a new All-Time World Record on the Two Hands Pinch, with 274lbs and change!
Two Hands Pinch – Kody Burns’ 3rd and 4th Attempts
Kody then bumped up to roughly 279lbs and got it off the ground each time.
Two Hands Pinch – Jake Sahlaney’s Attempts
Jake is one of my members at TheGripAuthority.com, and is showing improvement at every single competition he does. I’m very proud of him, and hope he continues to train hard and smart, and stay healthy.
Two Hands Pinch – Jedd Johnson’s Attempts
I was able to get my highest lift since 2011 at Gripmas this year, 261lbs. I’ve been in a slump for a very long time. I then made the decision to go to 276lbs and try to break the record, which proved to be foolish, because I barely broke it off the ground, BUT, I was hoping for a big adrenaline boost. I felt pumped, but it just wasn’t enough. I wish I would have just gone with something like 266lbs and then 271lbs, to go into the 2nd place ever, in competition. I think I would have had a good chance at completing 271, because I broke that off the ground in training, prior to the comp. Oh well, can’t go back in time!
he next event was the Double Overhand Axle Deadlift. My goal was to 1st come in second place in this event, behind Andrew, and 2nd, to pull 400lbs. Unfortunately, the 400lb pull didn’t happen, but I did tie for 2nd, so that helped me out with points, big time.
Double Overhand IronMind Axle – 325lbs and above
These are all the attempts I got. The weight starts out around 325 or so, and ends with Andrew’s HUGE attempt at like 460+!!! What a phenom that guy is!
Following the Axle, was the 4th and final event. There was a 4-minute time limit to lift as many items as possible. There was a series of light items and a series of heavy items. If you lifted the lighter item, you got 1 point. If you lifted the heavy item you got 2 points. If you lifted both, you only got 2 points.
Additionally, there were some implements with only one option, and if you lifted them, you got 2 points.
it might seem kind of confusion, but just think the maximum points available was 50.
Medley – Luke Raymond
Luke got 33 points in his Medley run.
The contest would come down to how Andrew, Kody, and I did in the Medley, just like Nationals this year. Going in, the points spread looked something like this: Kody – 38 points, Andrew – 37.5 points, Jedd – 37 points. As you can see, it was crazy close.
Medley – Jedd Johnson
I was the first to go out of the final 3, because I was in 3rd place. I got 46 points.
Medley – Andrew Durniat
Andrew got 36 points.
Medley – Kody Burns
Kody got 36 points as well.
By finishing 10 points ahead of the other two leaders, it enabled me to pull ahead by a very, very slim margin – INCREDIBLY CLOSE!
Gripmas 2015 Placings and Prizes
I really want to send out my thanks to Chris and Teresa Rice for putting this competition together, as well as a huge digital high-five to Brent Barbe, Nick Rosendaul, and Sean Rice, who all helped with set-up, loading, and records keeping for the event. Guys like this are why contests run so smoothly.
Someone pointed out my victory is sort of a Triple Crown, in a way, as I won the NAGS Championship, King Kong International, and Gripmas all in the same year.
I never thought about it that way, but I’m happy to be the first one.
For now, it’s back to the drawing board. Despite the victories, I’m still not happy with the numbers I’ve put up. Luke and I have already begun making adjustments to match our goals.
Stay tuned for more posts coming later this week. Although I’ve posted all of the contest footage, that ain’t all that happened in that small garage in the little town of Crooksville.
I’ve got lots of other cool clips from the post-contest feats of strength.
If you’re not on my free email newsletter, be sure to sign up in the box below.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
I wasn’t planning on holding the competition here at my place, but when I heard another “nearby” promoter, Chez Riccezza, might not be able to run his leg of the multi-venue, global, mega-comp, the King Kong of Grip Challenge, I decided to get this organized in a pinch.
This was the 3rd time I’ve competed in the King Kong of Grip, and it has become a highly respected competition. The King Kong first appeared on the Grip Sport schedule in 2013, and has been in October every year.
The 2013 overall winner was Juha Harju, from Finland, and last year’s winner was Ari Siltaoja, also of Finland.
I got sick of poor finishes in the King Kong, finishing worse than Top 10 the first two years, mainly due to not focusing in and training the events the way you should, and this year I got serious.
And to my surprise, I came out on top, the first winner on the King Kong of Grip from North America.
Below are the videos, along with the worldwide standings, both in the overall, and for each event.
1 – Jedd Johnson – 22 points – “THE KING KONG OF GRIP”
2 – Jouni Mähönen – 23 points
3 – Ivan Beritashvili – 24.5 points
4 – Kody Burns – 27.5 points
5 – Jake Sahlaney – 31 points
6 – Arto Joronen – 34 points
7 – Eric Roussin – 39 points
8 – Anton Kladiev – 45 points
9 – John Stepien – 48.5 points
10 – Gilbert Goodman – 51 points
11 – Lucas Raymond – 62 points
12 – Bob Sundin – 63.5 points
13 – Pasi Mehtälä – 65 points
14 – Alexandr Kudashkin – 68.5 points
15 – Vladimir Abrikosov – 76 points
16 – Juha Lehtimäki – 76.5 points
17 – Kupinsky Igor – 78 points
18 – Justin “JT” Straussner – 83.5 points
19 – Daniel Reinard – 90 points
20 – Alexey Pritula – 90.5 points
21 – Andrew Pantke – 94 points
22 – Alexandr Asinovskiy – 101 points
23 – Jeff Parker – 102.5 points
24 – Fenne Muhonen – 105.5 points
25 – Josh Koenig – 107.5 points
26 – Petri Rantalainen – 108 points
27 – Dmitriy Osipov – 115 points
28 – Marc Turgeon – 118 points
29 – Zagoruiko Roman – 121 points
30 – Pupchenko Ivan – 121 points
31 – Rob McMurren – 122 points
32 – David Balayan – 130 points
33 – Petri Partanen – 131.5 points
34 – Michael Rogowski – 133 points
35 – Darrin Shallman – 139 points
36 – Aldo Alberico – 141.5 points
37 – Pavel Trotsko – 147 points
38 – Frank Pizzo – 151 points
39 – Chris gallagher – 152.5 points
40 – Jerry Szigethy – 155.5 points
41 – Adam Thatcher – 158 points
42 – Sylvain Desjarlais – 165 points
43 – Mike Hagios – 171.5 points
44 – Andrey Tereniev – 177.5 points
45 – Andrea Bertozzi – 178 points
46 – Simon-Pierre Desjarlais – 180 points
47 – Evan Raftopoulos – 184 points
48 – Skuyler Szigethy – 184.5 points
49 – Allen Heineck – 188 points
50 – Jor-el Koenig – 190.5 points
51 – Ivan Pachenkov – 191.5 points
52 – Massimigliano Zaganelli – 193.5 points
53 – Zynchenko Mykola – 195.5 points
54 – Massimo Mattiazzo – 204.5 points
55 – Enrico Polgrossi – 204.5 points
56 – Davide Cimatti – 208.5 points
57 – Philippe Tremblay – 212 points
58 – Mathieu Charbonneau – 215 points
59 – Daniel Montaleone – 217 points
60 – Jussi Wägg – 224 points
61 – Matti Harju – 226.5 points
62 – Jesse Larocque – 243.5 points
63 – Andrea Gramentieri – 244.5 points
64 – Mashkovets Vyacheslav – 253.5 points
65 – Ricky Bee – 254.5 points
66 – Shutka Svetlana – 255.5 points
67 – Rach Thatcher – 259 points
68 – Matteo Rossi – 264 points
69 – Emily Grigsby – 268 points
70 – Hugo Turgeon – 268 points
71 – Nikita Smolnikov – 268 points
72 – Andrey Smolnikov – 280 points
73 – Maria Bascetta – 280.5 points
All weights in kilograms
Points – Name – Weight – Age – Class – Best Lift
1 – Kody Burns – 91.65 – 37 – 93 – 59.52
2 – Jedd Johnson – 116.48 – 36 – 120 – 54.01
3 – Jake Sahlaney – 104.81 – 27 – 105 – 51.72
4 – Jouni Mähönen – 101.1 – 37 – 105 – 50.88
5 – Bob Sundin – 77.13 – 55 – 83 – 49.19
6 – Jeff Parker – 106.17 – 31 – 120 – 47.75
7 – Lucas Raymond – 92.72 – 30 – 93 – 47.34
8 – Arto Joronen – 151.9 – 50 – 120+ – 47.30
9 – Anton Kladiev – 99.0 – 27 – 105 – 46.70
10 – Matti Harju – 106.3 – 35 – 120 – 45.33
11 – Ivan Beritashvili – 95.6 – 27 – 105 – 45.20
12 – Eric Roussin – 92.96 – 38 – 93 – 44.82
13 – Pasi Mehtälä – 118.5 – 42 – 120 – 44.35
14 – Fenne Muhonen – 81.3 – 26 – 83 – 44.20
15.5 – John Stepien – 120.79 – 31 – 120+ – 42.55
15.5 – Justin “JT” Straussner – 103.19 – 32 – 105 – 42.55
17 – Daniel Reinard – 88.90 – 33 – 93 – 40.81
18 – Marc Turgeon – 145.15 – 45 – 120+ – 40.27
19 – Andrew Pantke – 102.09 – 30 – 105 – 40.18
21 – Kupinsky Igor – 138.5 – 33 – 120+ – 39.70
21 – Pupchenko Ivan – 98.2 – 32 – 105 – 39.70
21 – Zagoruiko Roman – 92.8 – 30 – 93 – 39.70
24 – Alexandr Asinovskiy – 111.4 – 37 – 120 – 39.20
24 – Alexey Pritula – 106.4 – 25 – 120 – 39.20
24 – Vladimir Abrikosov – 81.1 – 28 – 83 – 39.20
26 – Petri Rantalainen – 79.7 – 29 – 83 – 38.79
27 – Gilbert Goodman – 96.60 – 29 – 105 – 38.45
28 – Rob McMurren – 119.78 – 42 – 120 – 38.38
29.5 – Darrin Shallman – 67.60 – 30 – 74 – 38.33
29.5 – Josh Koenig – 73.96 – 36 – 74 – 38.33
31 – Jussi Wägg – 94.4 – 28 – 105 – 38.28
32 – Juha Lehtimäki – 92.6 – 26 – 93 – 37.84
33.5 – Alexandr Kudashkin – 104.7 – 23 – 105 – 36.70
33.5 – Dmitriy Osipov – 81.8 – 36 – 83 – 36.70
35 – Michael Rogowski – 83.00 – 29 – 83 – 36.35
36 – Jerry Szigethy – 92.90 – 59 – 93 – 36.06
37 – Chris gallagher – 109.35 – 38 – 120 – 35.45
38 – Pavel Trotsko – 108.8 – 25 – 120 – 34.20
39 – Frank Pizzo – 112.98 – 32 – 120 – 33.25
40 – Sylvain Desjarlais – 70.76 – 33 – 74 – 33.04
41 – Mike Hagios – 119.05 – 33 – 120 – 32.93
42 – Massimigliano Zaganelli – 99.00 – 36 – 105 – 32.50
43 – Allen Heineck – 81.40 – 39 – 83 – 31.90
45 – Andrey Tereniev – 66.0 – 25 – 66 – 31.70
45 – David Balayan – 73.1 – 32 – 74 – 31.70
45 – Ivan Pachenkov – 122.6 – 21 – 120+ – 31.70
47 – Aldo Alberico – 82.10 – 37 – 83 – 31.25
48 – Simon-Pierre Desjarlais – 73.94 – 30 – 74 – 30.70
49 – Skuyler Szigethy – 65.20 – 27 – 66 – 30.63
50 – Evan Raftopoulos – 70.09 – 31 – 74 – 29.17
51 – Zynchenko Mykola – 88.9 – 69 – 93 – 29.10
52 – Jor-el Koenig – 65.11 – 33 – 66 – 28.63
53 – Massimo Mattiazzo – 70.70 – 40 – 74 – 28.25
55 – Andrea Bertozzi – 80.40 – 36 – 83 – 27.50
55 – Daniel Montaleone – 80.10 – 24 – 83 – 27.50
55 – Enrico Polgrossi – 80.70 – 30 – 83 – 27.50
57 – Jesse Larocque – 65.32 – 19 – 66 – 27.49
58.5 – Mathieu Charbonneau – 77.57 – 22 – 83 – 26.25
58.5 – Philippe Tremblay – 73.48 – 20 – 74 – 26.25
60 – Shutka Svetlana – 62.3 – 32 – Womens – 25.60
61.5 – Andrea Gramentieri – 80.70 – 33 – 83 – 25.00
61.5 – Davide Cimatti – 89.50 – 32 – 93 – 25.00
63 – Ricky Bee – 71.49 – 27 – 74 – 24.11
64 – Mashkovets Vyacheslav – 106.6 – 40 – 120 – 23.70
65 – Hugo Turgeon – 62.60 – 14 – 66 – 22.99
66 – Matteo Rossi – 88.20 – 23 – 93 – 20.00
67 – Emily Grigsby – 59.42 – 35 – Womens – 18.42
68 – Nikita Smolnikov – 50.2 – 15 – 59 – 18.35
69 – Andrey Smolnikov – 61.9 – 11 – 66 – 17.10
70 – Rach Thatcher – 82.58 – 39 – Womens – 10.00
72 – Adam Thatcher – 102.09 – 40 – 105 – 0.00
72 – Maria Bascetta – 69.75 – 32 – Womens – 0.00
72 – Petri Partanen – 92.3 – 38 – 93 – 0.00
All weights in kilograms
Points – Name – Weight – Age – Class – Best Lift
1 – Kupinsky Igor – 138.5 – 33 – 120+ – 100.50
2 – Arto Joronen – 151.9 – 50 – 120+ – 91.32
3 – Eric Roussin – 92.96 – 38 – 93 – 89.58
4 – Jedd Johnson – 116.48 – – 120 – 88.06
5 – Zagoruiko Roman – 92.8 – 30 – 93 – 87.50
6 – Ivan Beritashvili – 95.6 – 27 – 105 – 85.09
7 – Jouni Mähönen – 101.1 – 37 – 105 – 85.03
8 – John Stepien – 120.79 – 31 – 120+ – 84.91
9 – Kody Burns – 91.65 – 37 – 93 – 83.71
10 – Anton Kladiev – 99.0 – 27 – 105 – 82.59
11 – Gilbert Goodman – 96.60 – 29 – 105 – 81.40
12 – Alexandr Kudashkin – 104.7 – 23 – 105 – 81.34
13 – Bob Sundin – 77.13 – 55 – 83 – 78.27
14 – Alexandr Asinovskiy – 111.4 – 37 – 120 – 76.34
15 – Jake Sahlaney – 104.81 – 27 – 105 – 75.90
16 – Lucas Raymond – 92.72 – 30 – 93 – 75.86
17 – Pupchenko Ivan – 98.2 – 32 – 105 – 75.00
18 – Adam Thatcher – 102.09 – 40 – 105 – 72.48
20 – Alexey Pritula – 106.4 – 25 – 120 – 71.34
20 – Pavel Trotsko – 108.8 – 25 – 120 – 71.34
20 – Vladimir Abrikosov – 81.1 – 28 – 83 – 71.34
22.5 – Juha Lehtimäki – 92.6 – 26 – 93 – 71.33
22.5 – Pasi Mehtälä – 118.5 – 42 – 120 – 71.33
24 – Justin “JT” Straussner – 103.19 – 32 – 105 – 70.22
25 – Rob McMurren – 119.78 – 42 – 120 – 70.11
26 – Petri Partanen – 92.3 – 38 – 93 – 68.81
27 – Zynchenko Mykola – 88.9 – 69 – 93 – 67.50
28 – Daniel Reinard – 88.90 – 33 – 93 – 66.87
29.5 – David Balayan – 73.1 – 32 – 74 – 66.34
29.5 – Fenne Muhonen – 81.3 – 26 – 83 – 66.34
31 – Petri Rantalainen – 79.7 – 29 – 83 – 66.33
32 – Marc Turgeon – 145.15 – 45 – 120+ – 66.07
33 – Jerry Szigethy – 92.90 – 59 – 93 – 65.74
34 – Aldo Alberico – 82.10 – 37 – 83 – 64.25
35 – Simon-Pierre Desjarlais – 73.94 – 30 – 74 – 63.80
36.5 – Andrew Pantke – 102.09 – 30 – 105 – 63.74
36.5 – Jeff Parker – 106.17 – 31 – 120 – 63.74
38.5 – Andrea Bertozzi – 80.40 – 36 – 83 – 63.00
38.5 – Davide Cimatti – 89.50 – 32 – 93 – 63.00
40 – Michael Rogowski – 83.00 – 29 – 83 – 62.75
41 – Sylvain Desjarlais – 70.76 – 33 – 74 – 62.70
42 – Evan Raftopoulos – 70.09 – 31 – 74 – 61.70
43.5 – Dmitriy Osipov – 81.8 – 36 – 83 – 61.34
43.5 – Ivan Pachenkov – 122.6 – 21 – 120+ – 61.34
45 – Josh Koenig – 73.96 – 36 – 74 – 60.26
46 – Massimigliano Zaganelli – 99.00 – 36 – 105 – 58.00
47 – Andrey Tereniev – 66.0 – 25 – 66 – 56.34
48.5 – Jussi Wägg – 94.4 – 28 – 105 – 56.27
48.5 – Mike Hagios – 119.05 – 33 – 120 – 56.27
50 – Chris gallagher – 109.35 – 38 – 120 – 56.09
51.5 – Mathieu Charbonneau – 77.57 – 22 – 83 – 54.79
51.5 – Philippe Tremblay – 73.48 – 20 – 74 – 54.79
53 – Enrico Polgrossi – 80.70 – 30 – 83 – 54.25
54.5 – Frank Pizzo – 112.98 – 32 – 120 – 53.72
54.5 – Jor-el Koenig – 65.11 – 33 – 66 – 53.72
56 – Allen Heineck – 81.40 – 39 – 83 – 53.65
57 – Massimo Mattiazzo – 70.70 – 40 – 74 – 53.00
58 – Skuyler Szigethy – 65.20 – 27 – 66 – 51.78
59.5 – Andrea Gramentieri – 80.70 – 33 – 83 – 51.75
59.5 – Daniel Montaleone – 80.10 – 24 – 83 – 51.75
61 – Mashkovets Vyacheslav – 106.6 – 40 – 120 – 51.20
62 – Jesse Larocque – 65.32 – 19 – 66 – 40.88
63 – Rach Thatcher – 82.58 – 39 – Womens – 40.08
64 – Matteo Rossi – 88.20 – 23 – 93 – 39.25
65 – Ricky Bee – 71.49 – 27 – 74 – 38.61
66 – Nikita Smolnikov – 50.2 – 15 – 59 – 33.84
67.5 – Maria Bascetta – 69.75 – 32 – Womens – 33.80
67.5 – Shutka Svetlana – 62.3 – 32 – Womens – 33.80
69 – Emily Grigsby – 59.42 – 35 – Womens – 25.57
70 – Andrey Smolnikov – 61.9 – 11 – 66 – 20.60
72 – Darrin Shallman – 67.60 – 30 – 74 – 0.00
72 – Hugo Turgeon – 62.60 – 14 – 66 – 0.00
72 – Matti Harju – 106.3 – 35 – 120 – 0.00
All weights in kilograms
Points – Name – Weight – Age – Class – Best Lift
1 – Pasi Mehtälä – 118.5 – 42 – 120 – 30.31
2 – Ivan Beritashvili – 95.6 – 27 – 105 – 28.31
3 – Juha Lehtimäki – 92.6 – 26 – 93 – 27.59
4 – Jouni Mähönen – 101.1 – 37 – 105 – 27.08
5 – Petri Partanen – 92.3 – 38 – 93 – 26.58
6 – Jake Sahlaney – 104.81 – 27 – 105 – 24.88
7 – Jedd Johnson – 116.48 – – 120 – 24.76
8 – Arto Joronen – 151.9 – 50 – 120+ – 24.60
9 – Jeff Parker – 106.17 – 31 – 120 – 23.78
10 – Gilbert Goodman – 96.60 – 29 – 105 – 23.50
12 – Alexandr Kudashkin – 104.7 – 23 – 105 – 23.30
12 – Dmitriy Osipov – 81.8 – 36 – 83 – 23.30
12 – Vladimir Abrikosov – 81.1 – 28 – 83 – 23.30
14 – Eric Roussin – 92.96 – 38 – 93 – 22.92
16.5 – Andrew Pantke – 102.09 – 30 – 105 – 22.68
16.5 – Chris gallagher – 109.35 – 38 – 120 – 22.68
16.5 – Frank Pizzo – 112.98 – 32 – 120 – 22.67510954
16.5 – Kody Burns – 91.65 – 37 – 93 – 22.68
19 – Josh Koenig – 73.96 – 36 – 74 – 22.53
20.5 – Alexey Pritula – 106.4 – 25 – 120 – 22.06
20.5 – Anton Kladiev – 99.0 – 27 – 105 – 22.06
22 – Marc Turgeon – 145.15 – 45 – 120+ – 21.70
23 – John Stepien – 120.79 – 31 – 120+ – 21.56
24 – Daniel Reinard – 88.90 – 33 – 93 – 20.96
25 – Darrin Shallman – 67.60 – 30 – 74 – 20.31
26 – Justin “JT” Straussner – 103.19 – 32 – 105 – 20.27
27 – Michael Rogowski – 83.00 – 29 – 83 – 19.80
28 – Petri Rantalainen – 79.7 – 29 – 83 – 19.59
29.5 – David Balayan – 73.1 – 32 – 74 – 19.57
29.5 – Fenne Muhonen – 81.3 – 26 – 83 – 19.57
31 – Pupchenko Ivan – 98.2 – 32 – 105 – 19.30
33 – Adam Thatcher – 102.09 – 40 – 105 – 19.20
33 – Bob Sundin – 77.13 – 55 – 83 – 19.20
33 – Rob McMurren – 119.78 – 42 – 120 – 19.20
35 – Lucas Raymond – 92.72 – 30 – 93 – 19.11
36.5 – Aldo Alberico – 82.10 – 37 – 83 – 19.00
36.5 – Massimo Mattiazzo – 70.70 – 40 – 74 – 19.00
38 – Sylvain Desjarlais – 70.76 – 33 – 74 – 18.30
39 – Allen Heineck – 81.40 – 39 – 83 – 18.15
40 – Jor-el Koenig – 65.11 – 33 – 66 – 17.85
41 – Kupinsky Igor – 138.5 – 33 – 120+ – 17.50
42 – Simon-Pierre Desjarlais – 73.94 – 30 – 74 – 17.25
43.5 – Mike Hagios – 119.05 – 33 – 120 – 17.08
43.5 – Skuyler Szigethy – 65.20 – 27 – 66 – 17.08
46 – Alexandr Asinovskiy – 111.4 – 37 – 120 – 17.07
46 – Ivan Pachenkov – 122.6 – 21 – 120+ – 17.07
46 – Pavel Trotsko – 108.8 – 25 – 120 – 17.07
48 – Jerry Szigethy – 92.90 – 59 – 93 – 16.52
49.5 – Daniel Montaleone – 80.10 – 24 – 83 – 15.25
49.5 – Massimigliano Zaganelli – 99.00 – 36 – 105 – 15.25
51 – Mathieu Charbonneau – 77.57 – 22 – 83 – 14.99
52 – Evan Raftopoulos – 70.09 – 31 – 74 – 14.83
53 – Andrey Tereniev – 66.0 – 25 – 66 – 14.57
54.5 – Andrea Bertozzi – 80.40 – 36 – 83 – 14.00
54.5 – Enrico Polgrossi – 80.70 – 30 – 83 – 14.00
56 – Philippe Tremblay – 73.48 – 20 – 74 – 13.85
58 – Shutka Svetlana – 62.3 – 32 – Womens – 13.30
58 – Zagoruiko Roman – 92.8 – 30 – 93 – 13.30
58 – Zynchenko Mykola – 88.9 – 69 – 93 – 13.30
60.5 – Andrea Gramentieri – 80.70 – 33 – 83 – 12.75
60.5 – Davide Cimatti – 89.50 – 32 – 93 – 12.75
62.5 – Jesse Larocque – 65.32 – 19 – 66 – 12.67
62.5 – Ricky Bee – 71.49 – 27 – 74 – 12.67
64 – Emily Grigsby – 59.42 – 35 – Womens – 11.10
65 – Rach Thatcher – 82.58 – 39 – Womens – 10.54
66 – Hugo Turgeon – 62.60 – 14 – 66 – 10.48
67 – Matteo Rossi – 88.20 – 23 – 93 – 10.25
68 – Nikita Smolnikov – 50.2 – 15 – 59 – 9.58
69 – Mashkovets Vyacheslav – 106.6 – 40 – 120 – 9.30
70 – Andrey Smolnikov – 61.9 – 11 – 66 – 7.08
72 – Jussi Wägg – 94.4 – 28 – 105 – 0.00
72 – Maria Bascetta – 69.75 – 32 – Womens – 0.00
72 – Matti Harju – 106.3 – 35 – 120 – 0.00
All weights in kilograms
Points – Name – Weight – Age – Class – Best Lift
1 – Kody Burns – 91.65 – 37 – 93 – 143.13
2 – John Stepien – 120.79 – 31 – 120+ – 141.61
3 – Gilbert Goodman – 96.60 – 29 – 105 – 136.55
4 – Lucas Raymond – 92.72 – 30 – 93 – 130.60
5.5 – Anton Kladiev – 99.0 – 27 – 105 – 129.86
5.5 – Ivan Beritashvili – 95.6 – 27 – 105 – 129.86
7 – Jake Sahlaney – 104.81 – 27 – 105 – 129.19
8 – Jouni Mähönen – 101.1 – 37 – 105 – 126.61
9 – Jedd Johnson – 116.48 – – 120 – 126.15
10 – Eric Roussin – 92.96 – 38 – 93 – 125.43
11 – Alexandr Kudashkin – 104.7 – 23 – 105 – 124.86
12.5 – Bob Sundin – 77.13 – 55 – 83 – 124.85
12.5 – Darrin Shallman – 67.60 – 30 – 74 – 124.85
14 – Josh Koenig – 73.96 – 36 – 74 – 124.82
15 – Kupinsky Igor – 138.5 – 33 – 120+ – 121.70
16 – Arto Joronen – 151.9 – 50 – 120+ – 121.62
17 – Alexandr Asinovskiy – 111.4 – 37 – 120 – 117.36
18 – Justin “JT” Straussner – 103.19 – 32 – 105 – 116.72
19 – Juha Lehtimäki – 92.6 – 26 – 93 – 116.64
20 – Vladimir Abrikosov – 81.1 – 28 – 83 – 114.86
21 – Daniel Reinard – 88.90 – 33 – 93 – 111.67
22 – Andrew Pantke – 102.09 – 30 – 105 – 108.76
23 – Petri Rantalainen – 79.7 – 29 – 83 – 107.97
24 – Aldo Alberico – 82.10 – 37 – 83 – 105.00
26 – Alexey Pritula – 106.4 – 25 – 120 – 104.86
26 – David Balayan – 73.1 – 32 – 74 – 104.86
26 – Dmitriy Osipov – 81.8 – 36 – 83 – 104.86
28.5 – Pasi Mehtälä – 118.5 – 42 – 120 – 103.01
28.5 – Petri Partanen – 92.3 – 38 – 93 – 103.01
30 – Andrea Bertozzi – 80.40 – 36 – 83 – 102.50
31 – Michael Rogowski – 83.00 – 29 – 83 – 100.35
32.5 – Andrey Tereniev – 66.0 – 25 – 66 – 99.86
32.5 – Fenne Muhonen – 81.3 – 26 – 83 – 99.86
34 – Skuyler Szigethy – 65.20 – 27 – 66 – 99.83
35 – Adam Thatcher – 102.09 – 40 – 105 – 96.42
36 – Rob McMurren – 119.78 – 42 – 120 – 96.40
37 – Zagoruiko Roman – 92.8 – 30 – 93 – 96.20
38.5 – Jerry Szigethy – 92.90 – 59 – 93 – 95.62
38.5 – Mike Hagios – 119.05 – 33 – 120 – 95.62
40 – Evan Raftopoulos – 70.09 – 31 – 74 – 95.45
41 – Frank Pizzo – 112.98 – 32 – 120 – 95.16
42 – Enrico Polgrossi – 80.70 – 30 – 83 – 95.00
43 – Pavel Trotsko – 108.8 – 25 – 120 – 94.86
44 – Jor-el Koenig – 65.11 – 33 – 66 – 94.03
46 – Marc Turgeon – 145.15 – 45 – 120+ – 93.54
46 – Philippe Tremblay – 73.48 – 20 – 74 – 93.54
46 – Sylvain Desjarlais – 70.76 – 33 – 74 – 93.54
48 – Davide Cimatti – 89.50 – 32 – 93 – 92.50
49 – Chris gallagher – 109.35 – 38 – 120 – 91.58
50 – Allen Heineck – 81.40 – 39 – 83 – 90.95
51 – Jeff Parker – 106.17 – 31 – 120 – 90.78
52 – Pupchenko Ivan – 98.2 – 32 – 105 – 88.90
53 – Daniel Montaleone – 80.10 – 24 – 83 – 88.50
54 – Mathieu Charbonneau – 77.57 – 22 – 83 – 84.09
55 – Simon-Pierre Desjarlais – 73.94 – 30 – 74 – 82.91
56 – Massimigliano Zaganelli – 99.00 – 36 – 105 – 80.00
57 – Ivan Pachenkov – 122.6 – 21 – 120+ – 79.86
58 – Massimo Mattiazzo – 70.70 – 40 – 74 – 77.50
59.5 – Mashkovets Vyacheslav – 106.6 – 40 – 120 – 76.60
59.5 – Zynchenko Mykola – 88.9 – 69 – 93 – 76.60
61 – Rach Thatcher – 82.58 – 39 – Womens – 75.67
62 – Jesse Larocque – 65.32 – 19 – 66 – 72.70
63 – Andrea Gramentieri – 80.70 – 33 – 83 – 71.25
64 – Ricky Bee – 71.49 – 27 – 74 – 70.03
65 – Hugo Turgeon – 62.60 – 14 – 66 – 56.48
66 – Nikita Smolnikov – 50.2 – 15 – 59 – 54.86
67 – Matteo Rossi – 88.20 – 23 – 93 – 52.50
68 – Emily Grigsby – 59.42 – 35 – Womens – 52.39
69 – Maria Bascetta – 69.75 – 32 – Womens – 49.70
70 – Shutka Svetlana – 62.3 – 32 – Womens – 49.20
71 – Andrey Smolnikov – 61.9 – 11 – 66 – 36.11
72.5 – Jussi Wägg – 94.4 – 28 – 105 – 0.00
72.5 – Matti Harju – 106.3 – 35 – 120 – 0.00
I want to send a get well shout-out to Chez, who hurt himself the weekend before the comp, and Jerry, who hurt himself at my comp.
I also want to send a big CONGRATS to a couple of my members at TheGripAuthority.com…
First off, Darrin Shallman, who pulled a 2X Bodyweight lift of 300lbs in an extra attempt on the 2″ Vertical Bar, the first person ever to do so, and also congrats to Jake Sahlaney, whocame in 5th place out of the 73 competitors. Any time he’s competing, I know I’ve gotta keep an eye on him. We will see if and when the student overtakes the teacher!
Now, it’s time to train for the annual December contest in Crooksville, Ohio, GRIPMAS.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
This past weekend was “Nationals,” the North American Grip Sport Championship.
If you’re not familiar, the way Nationals works is you must qualify via 1 of several ways.
One way is based on your finish in a sanctioned contest. Generally, top 3 in your class will get you qualified.
Another way is by breaking a long-standing record, such as a bodyweight record for certain lifts, or by breaking a World Record in other lifts.
Still, another way is to certify on highly recognized 3rd party feats of strength, such as the IronMind #3 Gripper or Red Nail.
Finally, if you can qualify one year, and you go to the NAGS Championship and compete, then you’ll be qualified for the next year.
Various contests take place all over the United States and Canada throughout the year, and competitors qualify at every single contest, for the chance to compete at Nationals, the biggest and most prestigious competition all year long.
In 2014, I was lucky enough to win the overall competition. The events were good for me, and I trained them hard, and it resulted in a strong win over top competition.
This year, the events were a bit different. They were events that I was OK in, but the mix wasn’t anywhere near as strong for me in 2014, so I knew I had my work cut out for me.
Going in, I knew my main competition would be Andrew Durniat and Kody Burns. Andrew and I have been battling it out in Grip Sport since 2008, and Kody has proven to be extremely talented in all forms of grip in the last few years.
I knew going in that Grippers would be strong for me. I have been closing my 170-rated Tetting 7 on a regular basis in training. I’ve done it before, but more sporadically.
The grippers used at Nationals are only used at Nationals. They were first used in 2014, so the 2015 contest was only the 2nd time they’ve ever been out of a shipping box.
Last year, I managed a 155 Left and a 170 Right. This year, I PR’d on both hands with a 160 Left and a 180 Right. I believe this makes me only the third or fourth person to ever close a Top Row gripper. There are three rows of grippers on the table, and 180 begins the top row. It’s a strange feeling being able to say that, as I have never been crazy strong on grippers.
Right Hand Grippers
Left Hand Grippers
What was once my best event that would be a sure overall win for me has turned into a nightmare. Training for this event went straight into the toilet mid-way through April for unknown reasons. In April, I had lifted an all-time training PR of 258lbs and broke 260 off the ground. Then, the next workout it was like I had no idea what I was doing.
I was able to get 235 fairly easy on my 2nd attempt, but 245 laughed in my face in my 3rd and 4th attempts. It would have been really nice to get those points, but I ended up just an inch or so shy on my 3rd lift and less than an inch on my 4th lift.
Kody Burns hit a successful lift of 254. This was the first time I’ve been beaten on 2 Hand Pinch in a contest since 2005, when Chad Woodall beat me at the Global Grip Challenge.
In contrast from Pinch, my Axle had been super strong throughout April and May. I was lifting 393 for multiple singles and some doubles in May. I just recently hit my first ever lifts of 400lbs on the Axle at the New York Grip Throwdown in April, so I figured this year would be the year I finally got 400lbs in competition at Nationals as well.
Unfortunately, I didn’t quite get legal lifts. I got them very close to Lockout, but didn’t have enough control over the bar to get good calls. Close but no cigar.
The Wrist Roller this year involved an elevating lift arm and a sled drag. I feel like I prepared very well for this event, as I cut my time down to a third of what it was in March when I tried it at Andrew’s gym in March. I got a little over 10 seconds.
Going into the Medley, I was sitting in 2nd Place. I didn’t know how far behind I was of the Leader, Kody Burns, though. I knew I beat him in Grippers, and that he had beaten me in Pinch, Axle, and Wrist Roller, so for all I knew I was down 3 to 5 points.
I didn’t worry about the deficit I was facing. Instead, I just focused on seeing each one of the implements coming up when it was my turn to make my run.
The way the Medley worked was there were two rows of 12 implements. One row was lighter, one row was heavier. If you completed the lighter implement, you got half a point. If you got the heavier implement, you got 1 point. You could try the harder one, and if you missed, you could go do the lighter one, but you would only get points for the heavier variation. So, the best possible score was 12 points.
I honestly thought I was going to Stack the whole Medley, except for the Sledge Lever to the Face. I figured I would run out of time to even try it, so my goal was 11 points.
To my surprise, the Saxon Bar loaded to 205lbs was EXTREMELY tough. The finish was very slick and chalk would not stick to it, so NOBODY ended up getting it.
Also, the Sorinex Anvil proved too heavy for me. I got it an inch off the floor, but nowhere near lockout. In both cases of the Saxon Bar and the Anvil, I had to go to the lighter versions and settle for half a point each.
Additionally, the adrenaline must have given me a kick, because I shot through the entire Medley and had time to try the Hammer Lever, and I completed it. So, that gave me 10 of the 1-point feats and 2 of the half-point feats, for a total of 11 points, exactly the total that I wanted.
The scores must have been closer that I anticipated, because the 11 points was enough to allow me to inch my way past Kody Burns in the Final Standings, and I was elated to learn that I had won the Overall competition.
With this victory, it makes my 3rd consecutive Division Champion and 2nd consecutive Overall Champion. I honestly couldn’t believe it.
I am beyond thankful to God for my health and my ability to stay focused. In past contests, my disappointing finishes in the Pinch and Axle would have resulted in a great deal of anger, but this year I was able to remain focused.
I am thankful to my wife, Delraine, and my family for supporting me in my endeavors in Grip Sport.
I am so thankful to have a great partner like Luke Raymond who trains his butt off every bit as hard as I do and truly pushes me to be better.
I thank my other training partner, Mark Gannon, who pushes me hard on Friday mornings and lets me work a little thick bar into the sessions, even though it eats up some time and makes me grumpy to train with.
I sent a note to my parents who have supported me in athletics since I was a child and these days listen to my Grip stories with the same attention they used to listen to my baseball and basketball reports.
I sent out thanks to my massage therapist, Rachelle and my chiropractor, Dr. Napp for helping to keep me healthy throughout the year and especially the last few weeks.
And I want to thank all of you in the Diesel Universe for all the continued support over the years.
I couldn’t have done this without any of you. Thank you.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
Many have asked me what’s next for me. The primary goal is to lean up a bit. I have already made some modifications to my diet and added back in morning and lunch-time cardio sessions. If you’re interested in taking off a few lbs, check out Napalm Fat Burning. That program covers exactly the kind of stuff I’ll be doing in the next few weeks leading up to my August family vacation to the beach!
On 4/18/15, at the New York Grip Throwdown in Carmel, NY, I finally hit a lifetime Competition PR on the IronMind Double Overhand Axle Deadlift Axle Deadlift with 400 and 408 pounds.
This is the best lift I’ve had in competition since 2007, when I first lifted 396lbs.
It felt great to finally complete these lifts, and the fact that there was absolutely no doubt in either one of them puts even more icing on the cake, brotherrrr.
It’s been a long-time coming, and I’m pumped to be able to share this with you.
Keep hitting it hard in your workouts. It’s all gonna pay off.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
This past weekend, Saturday, October 25th, 2014, I ran one leg of the International King Kong of Grip Challenge. Congratulations to Ari Siltaoja of Finland on his victory.
Below are the overall results.
As you look at the event scores, keep in mind that Event 1 was One Hand Pinch, Event 2 was One Hand Axle, Event 3 was the Hub and Event 4 was the Little Big Horn.
Sorry for the formatting, by the way. I took screen shots off the Gripboard, and the formatting can be really hard to manage some time.
Here are the video clips from my location in Wyalusing.
One Hand Pinch
For the One Hand Pinch, the adjustable pinch device was used, made of steel disks on the outside and either rubber or plastic inserts inside. The objective is to pinch the implement with one hand and pick it up until the loading pipe hits the cross-bar and control it to the ground.
One Hand Axle
For the One Hand Axle, you grip it with one hand and then lift it to above the middle of the knee. Both ends of the bar must be at that height as well, with the legs locked, but the hips and shoulders do not have to be.
IronMind Hub
The new version of the IronMind Hub was used at all the competition locations. The index and middle fingers had to be used. The ring and pinky fingers could be used if desired. The four fingers had to be in a claw position. The thumb could be in clay position or hooked, but no portion of the thumb pad or palm could be touching the hub surface. The implement was then lifted to lockout and controlled to the ground after the “Good” signal/call.
IronMind Little Big Horn
The IronMind Little Big Horn, anvil-style implement, was used. The lift was done to lockout and you had to control it to the ground.
The competition in Wyalusing went very well. Nobody had any serious injuries. We had someone come for their first contest and he enjoyed it. We had some come for their second contest, and we had some veterans.
I would have been much happier with some better lifts. Unfortunately, I wanted to be cautious with my right shoulder, as pulling things from the floor is what really lights it up. So, I went left-handed on all the lifts. My left hand is actually my better hand for the One Hand Pinch, so that worked out fine, but it absolutely pathetic for me on the Hub and Axle. I was pretty happy with my lifts on the Little Big Horn and actually PR’d by a good 10+ lbs.
Many great lifts took place across the globe. On top of winning the overall, Ari Siltaoja set a new World Record mark in the Hub Lift that is being recognized by IronMind. John McCarter set a new world record in the Hub that is actually heavier than Ari’s lift. IronMind has not acknowledged John’s lift at this time, and I do not know the reason why.
Any questions on the competition, please feel free to post a comment.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
I will be holding a venue for the second annual International King Kong Grip Challenge, taking place on October 25th, 2014. Here are the general details:
Events:
Weight Classes:
Prizes:
Confirmed venues and promoters so far:
Additional venues are popping up all the time, and this could end up being the BIGGEST Mega-Comp of all time.
If you are a promoter who is interested in taking part, please contact Eric Roussin by email at [email protected]
Entry Form: Download Here
How this contest will work:
As in any Grip Contest, the objective is to perform as well as possible on each event. Your best lift on each event will be sent in to the main promoter, Eric Roussin and will be added to the results for all the other events as well. So, you will be going up against lifters taking part in the overall contest in all corners of the United States, Canada, Russia, and Finland. Because there are multiple locations taking part in the same events on the same day, this sort of contest is called a Mega Comp.
You may use only one hand on each event. You may choose to use the Right hand on two events and the Left hand on two events, you can use your dominant hand on all the events, or in any combination you see fit. The only limitation is that once you take an official attempt with one of your hands, you may not change during that event.
All of the events being contest are Rising Bar events. This means that once weight is added to the loading pin, the overall weight is not reduced for later attempts. This means if you start out too high and miss your lift, you can not drop back down, so the best idea is to take a safe lift, to make sure you get on the board. You get four (4) attempts on each event to get your best score possible.
With the One Hand Pinch, the width of the implement is adjustable. Each competitor will be given time to test out the implement to see which width is best for them. Once you choose a width, you must stay with that width. We will begin with the narrowest width being used and then go up from there. The following widths are definitely attainable using the adjustable pinch device: 44mm, 48mm, 52mm, 56mm, 58mm, 64mm. Other widths may be attained as well as needed by lifters.
Individual Event Rules: (video demonstrations to come)
One Hand Pinch Deadlift: The lifter grips the plates in an overhand grip, with the thumb towards them and the fingers away. The lifter lifts the apparatus until the loading pipe touches a cross-bar sitting at 16.5″. The lifter must then return the implement back to the floor under control. 4 attempts
One Hand Axle Deadlift (Ironmind Apollon’s Axle): The lifter can use a straddle lift, where the bar runs between the legs, or a conventional lift, where the bar sits in front of the shins. The lifter must lift the bar off the ground so that the center of the bar and both ends are above the centerline of the knee caps and the legs lock out. Shorts must be worn. 4 attempts
Ironmind Hub: The lifter grips the Hub so that the finger tips of all 4 fingers and thumb contact the flat plate. They must then lift the Hub and loading pin to lockout and wait for a “Good” call from the judge. The lifter must then lower the implement back to the floor under control. 4 attempts
Ironmind Little Big Horn: The lifter grips the Horn and lifts the implement to the lockout position, waiting for a “Good” call from the judge and returns the implement to the floor under control. 4 attempts
In all of these lifts, the off-hand may be braced against the thigh in order to stabilize. The lifting hand, however, may not be assisted by bracing against the body and contact with the body is not permitted in the case of the Hub, Axle, or Horn. With the Pinch, it is very common and expected for the back of the loading pipe to contact the leg and does not disqualify a lift.
Additional Event at Wyalusing location:
Silver Bullet Hold: An optional fifth event will take place following the first four events, the Silver Bullet Hold. Men will crush down a #3 gripper onto an official IronMind Silver Bullet and hold it for time. The official IronMind Disk, weighing 2.5kg will be suspended from the Silver Bullet. Women will use a #1 Gripper.
Technical Demonstrations will be shot and posted here soon.
In the future, short clinics for the 5 events being held in the King Kong contest will be held in Wyalusing. Announcements will be made as they are scheduled.
Napalm Pinch Adjustable Pinch Devices can be order through my store:
Looking forward to seeing you and many others on October 25th, 2014.
Who will be the 2014 King Kong of Grip???
Jedd
On June 14th, 2014, I competed in the North American Grip Sport Championship at Durniat Strength Gym in Wooster, Ohio.
This is the 3rd year in a row it was held at Andrew Durniat’s gym. He has also been the reigning North American Champion every year since 2011. Andrew runs a nice demanding competition every single year, featuring a mix of the classic events (Grippers, Two Hands Pinch, and Axle Deadlift) plus other new challenge events as well (this year the Pinch Block Curl and the Sledgehammer Choke).
Before I get too far, I absolutely must give credit where it is due. This year I am in the best shape of my grip career and I owe all the thanks to a handful of people.
First and foremost is my dietary coach, Joe Carabase. Without him, my diet would be a mess and I would most likely still be fat, in poor condition, and hurting all the time.
Next is Luke Raymond and Dan Ely – I began training with Luke in the Fall of last year and Dan Ely came on in the Winter of this year. Having these two guys around so we can all push one another has been HUGE for my training. I can only hope that they have gotten as much out of training with me as I have from training with them.
The list of competitors was quite a bit different this year from last. It seems like about half the group is truly a core group and shows up to throw down year in and year out, while the other half is more dynamic and changes from year to year. Either way, this year saw many hardcore veterans and first-time competitors who will be forces to reckon with for years to come.
Competitor & Bodyweight in Lbs
Brent Barbe (Pennsylvania) 204.5
Charles Chartan (Quebec, Canada) 144.6
Andrew Durniat (Ohio) 227.5
Brandon Gerber (Ohio) 211.2
Michael Hann (Texas) 162.7
Jermey Hartman (Ohio) 226.85
Jedd Johnson (Pennsylvania) 228.4
David Labbe (Virginia) 275
Malcolm Majesky (Ohio) 247.8
Eric Milfeld (Texas) 182.75
Robert Miller (North Carolina) 265
Lucas Raymond (Pennsylvania) 204.6
Nic Rosendaul (Ohio) 244.25
Eric Roussin (Ontario, Canada) 204.25
Tom Scibelli (Maryland) 220
Darrin Shallman (Michigan) 156.1
Yori Skutt (Texas) 129.75
Bob Sundin (North Carolina) 180
Jonathon Vance (Ohio) 196.65
John Wojciechowski (New Jersey) 273.15
Grippers have been an event that have been known to give me trouble, as my crush generally lags behind my other events, especially in comparison to other top grip athletes. This year, my goal was to make up some ground. I began training grippers every 4 to 5 days, and many times more than once a week, and it paid off, as I was able to close a 175-rated gripper Right-handed. I also got a 155 shut lefty.
The grippers used were a set that was purchased from Cannon Power Works by a few members of the North American Grip Sport committee. They were all rated by Cannon, meaning the same device and practices were followed, making it the most valuable gripper set in the world, ranging from 80-lbs up to over 200, in 5-lb increments. I can only imagine the hundreds of grippers that would need to be rated in order to obtain these 30 or so grippers.
By the end of the first event, I found myself behind Andrew Durniat and David Labbe, both competitors in this year’s Mighty Mitts competition at the Arnold Classic, but the gap was not so far that it would be insurmountable.
Here are the videos of Luke Raymond’s and my attempts on Grippers.
As much as I would love to hold the World Record in this lift again, this year it was just not in the cards. I tore the hell out of my right thumb and I had to modify my training through all of April, May and June. I was super stressed about it, because I had actually set some pretty lofty goals made some hard plans, but they went awry, so I had to do the best I could.
Since the implements used for NAGS were virgin plates – they had never been lifted on ever before that day – numbers were down across the board. I sealed the victory in the event on my first attempt with a lift of 224, which was enough to top Andrew’s 219 and 209 put up by David Labbe and Eric Milfeld. On my second attempt, I lifted 239.69, a lift of 105% of bodyweight.
The third event was another one that is a classic thorn in my side. But, since my Two Hands Pinch training had to take a back seat leading up to NAGSC, it made room for more Axle work. In training, I actually worked up over 400-lbs for the first time since 2012, and I think if I would have switched to Sumo Technique a little sooner, I think I could have pushed my training numbers even higher, and perhaps even attained a lift over the 400-lb mark in competition at NAGSC.
As you will see, on my last attempt, I went for 402-lbs, and got it well over the knees, but couldn’t quite hold on until lockout.
The Pinch Block Curl was a new event this year. The design of the implement is to replicate the act of performing a Plate Curl, without having to attach weight to the end of an actual plate. This tests the strength of the entire lower arm and hand at the same time.
Many of the competitors are experienced at training the Plate Curl, so no one really knew what to expect going into the event. I know I had no idea where my lifts would fall against the other competitors, so I made my training as hard as possible, loading my implement with as much of a leverage disadvantage as possible. Apparently, my preparation paid off, as I was able to finish with 44.66lbs with each hand, good enough for second place right behind David Labbe.
Still a fairly new event, the Sledgehammer Choke has only really been contested since about April of 2013. However, I think I have been at 4 of the 6 competitions where it has been held, so this has been a big advantage for me. The biggest advantage was seeing the way other people do the Choke at Gripmas 2013. Instead of trying to radially deviate the wrist, some were allowing the wrist to kick into ulnar deviation and then lock it there, allowing for a bigger tilt and bigger lifts.
Luke really took to this technique in training, working up to over 22 inches almost immediately, once we started training it heavily in May. This variation is MUCH more intense on the wrist though, and he found he could not recover from training it very quickly, so he actually stopped training it about half way through May. I was not getting the lingering soreness that he was, so I continued to work on it, with the main objective of catching up to him as much as I could.
Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t narrow the gap quickly enough, because Luke hit 23 inches righty and 27 inches lefty, to my 22 inches each hand. Despite the fact that 22 inches on a 14-lb hammer (308 inch pounds) actually beat the previous work record on the 12-lb hammer of 25 inches (300 inch pounds), it wasn’t nearly enough to catch up to Luke’s 322 righty and 378 lefty inch pounds. CRAZY!!!
I knew going into the last event that I was slightly ahead of Dave Labbe, by just tenths of a point. So I knew that the entire contest was mine to win or lose. But I really had no idea what Dave was capable of on the event – I wasn’t even sure if he had trained the event before, so I went for broke and tried an all-out PR on my second attempts, both right- and left-handed. Both of those lifts proved to be enough to beat out Dave, so I knew he had him beat.
To hear my name called at the end as the Absolute Champion, winning the Overall, was amazing. Once I knew, I gave my parents a call to let them know, since they have been behind me every step of the way.
What was even more awesome about that is they were babysitting my daughter and I even got to tell her about the win and hear the excitement she had in her voice.
Naturally, there are dozens of people I can thank, but the biggest credit has to go to Luke and Dan. I can’t describe the impact it has had for me having them here in the gym.
I hope you have enjoyed the write-up, and I hope it inspires you to try your hand at Grip Sport sometime soon.
From what I hear, Dave Labbe is HOOKED.
All the best in your training,
Jedd
This year at the NAGS Championship, the annual championship for North American Grip Sport, there will be a new event introduced, the Pinch Block Curl.
This event is a hybrid event, meaning it will test more than one discipline of Grip Strength.
It primarily tests wrist strength, just like a Plate Curl does.
It also tests thumb strength in having to pinch lift the Pinch Block Curl apparatus and keep it steady in the hand throughout the range of motion, and finger strength to support against the leverage.
On top of that, there is a requirement for a strong and mobile forearm.
With all of these facets of ability being tested, this event will be very interesting to watch indeed.
Diesel Power Products, my new equipment branch, is supplying the Pinch Block Curls for NAGS Championship, and they are now in production.
In fact, you can buy one here in my store: NAGS Pinch Block Curl.
This piece of equipment, while sure to become a hit within Grip Sport, just as the Sledge Hammer Choke has, will also prove to be useful in training for one of the most enigmatic feats of Grip Strength that is out there – The Plate Curl.
The Plate Curl is just like what it sounds – you pick a weight plate up by the rim and attempt to curl it, just like you would a dumbbell, with bicep strength. This lift, of course, demands tremendous wrist, finger and thumb strength in order to complete it, especially when moving beyond the 25lb/10kg plate to the 35lb/15kg and the 45lb/20kg plate.
For a quick demonstration of how the lift will be performed at NAGS, watch the video below.
For a quick video on how a Plate Curl is performed, watch the video below, a demonstration from the Grip Strength Challenge I used to hold here on the site.
To get your Pinch Block Curl shipped to you as quickly as possible, order today => Pinch Block Curl (PBC)
All the best in your training,
Jedd
“Going to the workshop was the best thing I could have done to improve my 2hp. I had no idea how technical, and how much of a full body lift it was. I added pounds to my personal best immediately after correcting small mistakes I was unaware of, and I added almost 30lbs to my best lift in just a few training sessions afterwards.
John Manna”
It was a bitter cold day in February.
Snow covered the ground and you could hear the wind whipping around the garage.
But that did not stop one man, John Manna, from making the trip over the frozen terrains of Northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
After his 3-hour drive, John blew into his cupped hands, loosened up his sore back and got to work, while an electric space heater buzzed behind him and an occasional snow flake beat against the windows.
By the end of the day, the temperature didn’t matter much to John, nor did his sore back, because he had already exceeded his previous best in the Two Hands Pinch by nearly 20-lbs.
As he drove back home to Jersey, John had a look of confidence and an air of pride about him.
He was now armed with the knowledge to take his Two Hands Pinch even higher…
And you can be too, when you get this DVD.
Get Your Own Copy
Of the Workshop
Today
The Two Hands Pinch is one of the most commonly contested, most popular, and highly regarded events in Grip Sport.
It is also, perhaps, the fairest of all Grip Sport lifts, because the device that is used in competition is fully adjustable to match the hand size of each athlete that lifts on it.
The Two Hands Pinch is also one of the most intensely tracked of Grip Sport events, with competitors readily gunning for the “Top 50 List” and always keeping an eye on “Weight Class Records” whenever a contest is held.
The execution of the Two Hands Pinch is very basic – you grip the plates, you lift them high enough so that the loading bar touches a cross-bar, and you set it back down.
But don’t let the simplicity of the lift fool you…
The Two Hands Pinch is also a very highly technical lift. There is much more to it than meets the eye.
There is more involved than just reaching down, pinching as hard as you can, and lifting it off the ground.
On February 22, 2014, I held a Grip Sport Workshop at my gym in Wyalusing, PA.
One lone person, John Manna, braved the February cold, but after 2+ hours of training and instruction he was PUMPED that he came.
By the end of the Workshop, he was no longer stuck in the 120’s on the 2HP.
He had now broken into the 140’s.
And now you can learn the same information that can help you increase your Two Hands Pinch by 20-lbs or more.
I am making the Two Hands Pinch portion of the February Workshop available to everyone.
Get Your Copy
Of the Workshop
Today
In this DVD, you’re gonna learn the Two Hands Pinch in an easy 9-point checklist format.
Here is exactly what you will learn in this DVD:
Grip: In this section you’ll learn the ins and outs of getting your grip right on the implement as well as how to figure out your proper width.
This is HUGE for your pinch because the right width can not only help you lift more on the Two Hands Pinch, but it can also keep you from cutting your thumbs as much.
Placement: You’ll learn where to have the device in relationship to your body. This increases your leverage and allows you to put more force into your pinch.
Stance: Now it is time to think about how to position your body for best force production. While it may seem like a small detail, it can be something that helps your pinch blow up, or something that holds it back.
Footwear: Everyone knows I have featured strange choices for footwear in all the years I have been competing. But, there is actually a purpose behind why I choose to wear what I have on my feet, and I will tell you all about some of the best options I have found, so you can make the best choice for yourself as well.
Tilt: This is another aspect of the 2HP that is often overlooked and misunderstood. When to tilt the implement, and how much is enough or too much? When you get this right, you get a better lock on the implement and less slipping. When you get it wrong, your attempt can be doomed right from the instant you start to pull it off the floor.
Aside from why having an angle on the Pinch is so important, you’ll also learn how to keep this angle throughout your pull, so each attempt you take is smooth resulting in fewer thumb cuts.
Arm Angle: You will learn the best way I have found to transmit as much power from the torso and core into the Two Hands Pinch lift. The muscles of the back and chest are some of the biggest and post powerful in all the upper body, and when you figure out how to engage them, your current personal best in the 2HP will feel weightless.
Lower Body: Although the Two Hands Pinch is mostly a full body movement, your lower body has to move correctly to get a smooth pull. Do this wrong and the Pinch feels awkward and shaky. Do it right, and you’ll feel like a machine when you lift the plates. This also helps you return the implement to the floor under control, which is a must in Grip Sport competition for your lift to count.
Tension: This is the single biggest aspect of Two Hands Pinch technique that you will learn. Most people can put a minimum of 10 pounds on their Two Hands Pinch in less than 10 minutes just by understanding how to create tension in their upper body, how to transfer it through their arms, and into their grip.
Tension magnifies your ability to create Pinch Power, giving you command over the implement from the instant it breaks the ground, until you pull it through the stick, and return it to the platform.
Training: In this section, you will learn my time-tested strategies for training the Two Hands Pinch. This is where you put everything together and focus on all the aspects of the checklist to maximize your Pinch Strength.
You will also learn 3 of my Favorite Drills for building strength on the implement, drills which have helped me break the world record in the Two Hands Pinch 5 different times since 2009.
If you are frustrated with the lack of progress in your Two Hands Pinch, you need this DVD.
You’re going to learn things in this DVD that you haven’t thought of before.
I can’t wait to hear about your training once you get this DVD.
Be sure to hit me up through email or Facebook.
Order Yours Today.
All the best in your training,
Jedd
Diesel Crew and Titan Strength present:
A Branch of the 10th Anniversary of the Adjustable Pinch Contest
When: Saturday 3 May, 2014
Events
1. Two Hands Pinch Lift
4 Attempts to lift as big of weight as possible. Rising Bar will be used.
The European Adjustable pinch will be used.
2. Two Hands Pinch Lift Hold
4 Attempts to hold the biggest weight as long as possible. Reverse Rising Bar will be used
The European Adjustable pinch will be used.
3. Stub – Hold
4 Attempts to hold the biggest weight as long as possible. Reverse Rising Bar will be used
The Grip Topz Stub will be used
*These are the three events that will factor into the overall world-wide scoring for the 10th Anniversary Mega Comp
Additional Event(s) (Factored into Local Scoring)
1. IronMind Silver Bullet Hold
4 Attempts to hold 2.5-kgs as long as possible.
Men will use #3 or #2 gripper. Women will use #2 or #1 Gripper.
A Brand New #3 gripper will be opened for this event, in order to qualify for the official World Record, should anyone be bold enough to go for it.
2. Double Blob Lift Hold for Time
4 Attempts to hold 50-lb Blobs off the ground as long as possible.
Two Next Gen Blobs will be used.
Classes: Open
Venues: Various Clubs
David Horne, England
Juha Harju, Finland
Jedd Johnson, USA
Jon Umpherville, Canada
Entrance fees: $20
Trophies: There will be medals for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of the Open, sent by David Horne after the event.
Competitors will sign a release/waiver and pay entry fee prior to the event.
Address:
Titan Strength
352 East Franklin Street
Horseheads, NY 14845
All the best in your training,
Jedd
All the money in the world can’t buy what it takes to attain your goals.
Dollars do not buy desire…
Bank rolls do not build biceps…
…and the world does not sing your praises because of C-notes…
Reaching Your Goals comes at a tremendous cost – SACRIFICE.
Sacrifice is the bottom line.
What are you WILLING TO GIVE UP?
How much are your goals worth to you?
What price are you willing to pay?
I wish I could say I composed this message, but it was actually molded from a promo by the Ultimate Warrior.
Check this out:
So what if these ideas came from a Wrestling Promo?
Do they not still not make perfect sense?
What Are You Willing to Give Up????
The way you answer that question will dictate how quickly and to what degree YOU will reach the goals you are shooting for.
How important are your goals?
How badly do you REALLY want to attain them?
You can’t buy your success with money, but you can damn well sure bet that you will HAVE to give something up in exchange for your goals.
You will HAVE to sacrifice time with your friends.
You will have to miss out on staying up to date with what’s happening out at the bar.
You will HAVE to miss some of the parties.
You will HAVE to give up some of the trips out to the stuff-your-face-with-garbage restaurants.
There are no shortcuts.
You NEED to put the time in, no matter what your specific goal is: Strength, Muscle, Fat Loss, it doesn’t matter.
Nothing is going to come easy, BUT it is going to feel SO GOOD when you do reach them.
Start the week out right, beginning with today, brotherrrrr.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
If You Need Help Toward Your Goals, I’ve Got Your Back.
Join one of my Coaching Programs TODAY:
The Grip Authority: The most detailed instruction site on building a Mighty Grip in existence. One new member has already joined this week. Will you be the next? Join today for $7 => TheGripAuthority.com
Grip Task Force: Two Spots have opened up. Weekly workouts. Bi-weekly Coaching Calls. Let’s work together toward YOUR SPECIFIC GOALS. Join today => Grip Task Force
This weekend is the Arnold Classic and counting this year, I will have gone 6 out of the last 7 years. I love the atmosphere and it always triggers a spike in my training.
There’s something for everybody at the Arnold Classic. Let me paint a picture for you.
The Arnold take place in a HUGE convention center covering I don’t know how many blocks in the city of Columbus Ohio. The event started out as mainly a bodybuilding deal, but it has expanded over the years to include Powerlifting, Olympic Lifting, and Strongman contests as well as Martial Arts, Fitness and other competitions.
This year, they are also including their first ever Grip Contest on the main stage, called Mighty Mitts. I was lucky enough to get an invite and I am honored. I have been training hard and am geared up to get on the stage.
Now, here’s the deal. If you’re not prepared for the Arnold Classic weekend, you won’t maximize your experience, so here’s a few points to consider to get the most out of the Classic.
It is extremely dry in the event center. They do sell water there, but it is like $8 a bottle, so pack your own and bring it with you.
There’s very few places to eat outside the event center in the hallways, and it’s kind of expensive. There’s tons of free samples of hundreds of different supplements like shakes and bars and powders, but you can only handle so much of that stuff and some of it tastes like a pencil eraser during the SAT’s. So pack some good stuff to take in with you.
There are lots of photo opportunities at the Arnold. There are Bodybuilders, MMA Fighters, Pro Powerlifters and Strongmen, Pro Wrestlers and dozens of Fitness chicks. They will often let you get a picture with them for free, but sometimes they do charge. Either way you’ll have photos that will last you a lifetime.
Get yourself a pair of loose fitting cargo pants with lots of pockets. This way you can easily carry your water, snacks and camera among other things. Make sure they are loose fitting and not a set of butt huggers. There are plenty of feats of strength to try in the event center, and you don’t want the seam in your ass to tear while trying to do them.
You may get the opportunity to get some free shirts and other swag while you’re at the Arnold. You’ll turn around and see some fitness model throwing them all over. Fight for the free shirt and stuff it into your pack. Aside from free stuff, you may want to buy shirts and stuff at the seemingly thousands of tables that are there, and the last thing you want to do is carry that stuff around in your hands all day. Now, if your back pack has the Care Bears on it, leave it at home. Some booths will hand out free plastic bags if you need them.
Each year I have gone, the GNC booth holds the GNC Grip Gauntlet featuring IronMind Grippers, IronMind Rolling Thunder, and the Blob. If you lift the Blob, 207 on the Rolling Thunder, and close the #3 Gripper, you get a real nice gift certificate – I think it’s like $50 or $100! What’s a Blob? Check out this article = = > What is the Blob?
A lot of greasy sons-of-guns get their hands on the Blob over the course of the weekend. I mean THOUSANDS of people try this thing. The Blob is hard enough with the ultra-slick stove paint they put on it. It will just be harder if it is covered in hand sweat, so bring your towel to wipe it and the Rolling Thunder off before you make your attempt. A trip through the Gauntlet is worth just the opportunity to meet and shake hands with the Gillingham brothers.
You will have opportunities to buy a lot of cool stuff at the Arnold, so bring some cash or a credit card, but take it easy. Don’t just buy on impulse, because you could end up going off the deep end. If you are going with a friend, tell them to monitor your spending. Know what you want to look for, but set your limits.
When you walk through the event center, if you see me make sure to give me a holler, and wear your Diesel shirt so I can spot you easier.
Mighty Mitts will be taking place between events at the Arnold Strongman Competition on Friday Afternoon and Saturday evening. I will be competing with 10 of the top dudes in the world. Many, I have competed against in standard Grip competitions. Others, I have met before, but never competed against, and still others I have never met and never competed against. Some of these guys have tremendous Grips on them and have done awesome things Grip-related in the past, just never competed in standard contests before. With this event being all thick bar, it is going to be something to behold!
You spend a lot of time on your feet at the Arnold and there is almost nowhere to sit down except on the floor, so make sure your shoes are comfortable or else your feet will be screaming by the end of the weekend.
It is a cut-throat process getting a chair in front of the stage. You basically have to swoop down immediately once someone stands up. This may mean if you are traveling in a group that you might get split up. The seat is worth it to give your feet a break, so steal your buddy’s seat if you have to.
If you get split up from your crew, it’s very hard to meet back up, and it is so loud that it is almost impossible to hear a cell phone ring, so set the thing on vibrate and put it in your hip pocket so you will feel it.
Not sure what the crime rates are at the Arnold Classic, but there are pick-pockets everywhere. it is slightly harder for someone to pick your pocket if you stick your pocket in your front hip pocket than your back pocket or leg pocket. Don’t stick it in a zipper pocket in your book bag. They are too easy to unzip by someone else while you walk and you will never know it. It’s a shame this tip even has to appear here, but it is a sad truth. Awareness is preparedness.
Alright, my friends, it’s just about time for me to hit the road and be on my way to Columbus, Ohio. If you have any more tips for the better of the order, then please leave a comment in the comment box below!
Thanks a ton and have a great weekend, especially if you are at the Arnold.
And if you see me and I don’t see you, yell, shout, hit me with a rock, poke my eye or something to get my attention. It’ll be nice to meet everybody.
Read about last year’s Arnold Classic = = > Arnold 2009
Arnold Classic Weekend Special on the Card Tearing eBook = = > 33% off on Card Tearing eBook Just $19.97!.
This past Saturday, I held the only US leg of the Hands Across the Sea Grip Mega Comp.
The events were Two Hands Pinch, Grip Topz Stub Hold for Time, and Silver Bullet Hold for Time.
Below are the videos from the competition.
Next contest will be May 3rd, 2014 in Horseheads NY. More information to come.
Two Hands Pinch – Part 1
The Two Hands Pinch was contested in the normal way, 4 attempts, going for a max lift. The Two Hands Pinch is STILL one of the most popular events in all of Grip Sport. David Horne actually set a new all-time world record in this lift, at his location in Europe.
Two Hands Pinch – Part 2
Stub Hold – Best Lifts
For the Stub Hold, 6 weights were available: 7kg, 10kg, 13kg, 16kg, 19kg, and 21kg. You could start out at the heaviest weight and take an attempt to lift and hold it for at least 5 seconds. After that, you could try the same weight again, or drop to the next lowest weight. Heavier weights lifted for the minimum 5 seconds would beat longer holds at lighter weights. This was a very intense event.
Silver Bullet – Best Times
The Silver Bullet Hold has been contested many times over the last few years, but I had never seen it live, only on videos on the Net. I always thought the event was boring as sin, BUT when it is a part of the contest, it makes the atmosphere electric.
Final Results, per David Horne:
Open Class results (22 competitors)
1 David Horne (102.35k, 51) 5pt
2 Jedd Johnson (104.89k) 6pt
3 Juha Harju (123.5k, 40) 7pt
4 Cesare Ricchezza (117.7k) 16.5pt
5 Matti Harju (97.9k, 34) 20pt
5 Eli Thomas (128.18k) 20pt
7 Josh Henze (97.65k) 25.5pt
8 J.T. Straussner (102.19k) 29pt
8 Petri Partanen (98.5k, 36) 29pt
10 Luke Raymond (92.85k) 35pt
11 Juha Lehtimäki (92.3k, 25) 36pt
11 Rob Scoonover (104.34k) 36pt
13 Alex Horne (92.9k, 22) 37.5pt
14 Frank Deluca (97.99k) 39.5pt
14 Elizabeth Horne (80.5k, 30/Female) 39.5pt
16 Mike Hagios (145.19k) 45.5pt
17 Juha-Matti Höglund (156.7k, 28) 48.5pt
18 Chris Andrade (112.4k) 52pt
19 Yvonne Häkkinen (79.4k, 34/Female) 55pt
20 Tuomo Anttila (92.4k, 34) 55.5pt
21 Amber Edwards (77.99k, Female) 60pt
22 Andrea Diez (47k, 25/Female) 61pt
Womens results (4 competitors)
1 Elizabeth Horne (80.5k, 30/Female) 3pt
2 Yvonne Häkkinen (79.4k, 34/Female) 6pt
3 Amber Edwards (77.99k, Female) 10pt
4 Andrea Diez (47k, 25/Female) 11pt
Event 1 Two Hands Pinch Lift
1 David Horne 122.91k
2 Jedd Johnson 110.49k
3 Juha Harju 100.6k
4 Eli Thomas 96.74k
5 Josh Henze 94.44k
5 Cesare Ricchezza 94.44k
7 Matti Harju 91.88k
8 J.T. Straussner 90.79k
9 Rob Scoonover 87.75k
10 Petri Partanen 82.43k
11 Mike Hagios 81.21k
12 Tuomo Anttila 80.96k
13 Luke Raymond 79.47k
14 Alex Horne 76.45k
14 Elizabeth Horne 76.45k (Female)
16 Juha Lehtimäki 76k
17 Frank Deluca 66.35k
18 Chris Andrade 58.36k
19 Yvonne Häkkinen 54.22k (Female)
20 Amber Edwards 39.56k (Female)
21 Andrea Diez 31.95k (Female)
22 Juha-Matti Höglund NL
Event 2 Stub Hold
1 David Horne 21k for 17sec
2 Juha Harju 21k for 11sec
3 Jedd Johnson 21k for 8sec
4 Matti Harju 19k for 10sec
5 Juha-Matti Höglund 19k for 6sec
6 Cesare Ricchezza 19k for 5sec
7 Petri Partanen 16k for 11sec
7 Juha Lehtimäki 16k for 11sec
7 Luke Raymond 16k for 11sec
10 Elizabeth Horne 16k for 10sec (Female)
11 J.T. Straussner 16k for 8sec
12 Eli Thomas 13k for 20sec
13 Josh Henze 13k for 16sec
14 Rob Scoonover 13k for 13sec
15 Alex Horne 13k for 12sec
16 Mike Hagios 13k for 9sec
16 Frank Deluca 13k for 9sec
18 Chris Andrade 13k for 8sec
19 Yvonne Häkkinen 10k for 14sec (Female)
20 Andrea Diez 7k for 20sec (Female)
21 Amber Edwards 7k for 12sec (Female)
22 Tuomo Anttila NL
Event 3 Grippers Silver Bullet (2.5k)
1 Jedd Johnson #4 for 30.77sec
2 Juha Harju #4 for 22.86sec
3 David Horne #4 for 19.19sec
4 Eli Thomas #4 for 14.69sec
5 Cesare Ricchezza #4 for 12.99sec
6 Frank Deluca #3 for 23.12sec
7 Josh Henze #3 for 21.53sec
8 Alex Horne #3 for 18.14sec
9 Matti Harju #3 for 17.25sec
10 J.T. Straussner #3 for 16.55sec
11 Petri Partanen #3 for 16.32sec
12 Juha Lehtimäki #3 for 15.11sec
13 Rob Scoonover #3 for 14.36sec
14 Luke Raymond #3 for 10.03sec
15 Elizabeth Horne #3 for 8.23sec (Female)
16 Chris Andrade #2 for 21.06sec
17 Yvonne Häkkinen #2 for 12.26sec (Female)
18 Mike Hagios #2 for 9.9sec
19 Amber Edwards #1 for 12.29sec (Female)
20 Andrea Diez T for 4.57sec (Female)
21 Juha-Matti Höglund NL
21 Tuomo Anttila NL
Again, next competition is May 3rd in Horseheads, NY.
Who’s in?
Jedd
Head Organizer: David Horne
Locale Promoter: Jedd Johnson
Date: Saturday, February 8th, 2014
Times: Weigh-ins: 8:30 to 10 AM Rules: 9AM, Warm-ups: 9:30, Contest Begins 10:30AM Final Wrap-up: 3PM
Location: Jedd’s Gym, Wyalusing PA
Entrance Fee: $20
Additional Events: After the contest, if time allows, we will have an open training session. You will also be able to take attempts at NAGS qualification lifts, Grip Monsters Challenge, and other On-line Challenges.
Events:
1. Two Hands Pinch Lift: 4 Attempts to Get Your Max Lift
2. Stub – Hold: Hold for time using specified weights. (Rules Below)
3. IronMind Gripper #4, #3 or #2 – Silver Bullet: Hold for Time with 2.5-kilograms. (Rules Below)
Rules – 4 attempts allowed on each event if you wish
Event 1 – Two Hands Pinch Lift
The width of the pinch apparatus is adjustable to suit different hand sizes, but to keep it within the spirit of a pinch lift the minimum width allowed is the 2 outer steel discs and 2 rubber spacer discs, a width of 24mm. Before the event starts, you will be given the opportunity to try it and find your best width. The smooth-sided, adjustable-width disc is held on a 2” thick metal rod by a pair of collars. Extra weights will be added to the outsides. The top of this is grasped with an overhand pinch grip (with no further than a 3” gap between the index fingers) and lifted until the end of the bar touches a horizontal bar placed at 16.5”, measured from the underside of the bar to the floor. There is no referee’s signal. You do not have to be erect upon completion. You must lower the weight under control. If the outer discs accidentally touch the bar before the bar itself, referee’s discretion will be used to judge whether the correct height was attained. Pinch gripping the discs using an unorthodox underhand grip will not be allowed.
Additional equipment rules: 1. The apparatus has to be loaded with the same number of discs on each side, in the same order, and has to weigh similar (max 1k tolerance between the total weight of the weights at the front, and weights at the rear). 2. The heaviest discs should be loaded nearest to the adjustable pinch discs themselves. 3. The spacer/collars that hold the inside adjustable discs together should be the same length. 4. The discs added should be smaller in height than the adjustable discs you grasp, so that the view of the lifters hands are not totally obscured, and the lift starts from the proper height.
Event 2 – Stub Hold
1. The usual Stub rules apply; except you do not have to lift the apparatus to a certain height. Timing is started from the moment the weight is lifted off the floor, and stopped when it either drops out of the hands, or it is put down. The apparatus is not allowed to touch the legs or any other bodyparts apart from the hands holding it.
2. The minimum time accepted in the contest is 5 seconds. All times are rounded down to the full second ie. 17.77secs, becomes 17secs.
3. Weights to be used are: 21k, 19k, 16k, 13k, 10k or 7k if needed.
4. The best way to operate this event in a contest is to go from heavy (21k) to light, and this means that someone can have an attempt at the heavier weight, and if they fail they can fall back to a lighter weight.
Event 3 – IronMind Gripper – Silver Bullet
Not official record attempt.
1. Must use a CoC gripper #4, #3 or #2.
2. The best way to operate this event in a contest is to go from #4 to #2, and this means that someone can have an attempt at the tougher gripper, and if they fail they can fall back to an easier one.
3. A genuine IronMind CoC Silver Bullet must be used, with 2.5 kg of weight hanging from the strap silver bullet and this weight may take the form of either an IWF or IPF certified recognized (calibrated) plate or some other weight that has been demonstrated to be no less that 2.50 kg on a certified or otherwise demonstrably-accurate scale.
4. The CoC Silver Bullet is inserted by the competitor no deeper than up to the top edge of the clear band, so that the script Captains of Crush® is legible, and so that all four fingers are in contact with the CoC gripper handle* (dropping the pinky completely off the end of the gripper handle is expressly prohibited).
5. Using one or two hands, the competitor closes the CoC No. 3 in his own time so that the two handles hold the CoC Silver Bullet in place and once this position has been achieved, and only one hand is holding the gripper shut, the referee gives the signal to start the clock. If the competitor fails to get a secure hold on the CoC Silver Bullet he is allowed one chance to reset it.
6. The hand must be held with the gripper approximately vertical.
7. Time stops when the Silver Bullet drops from the handles or when the referee observes any opening of the gripper handle for any reason whatsoever.
*This means on the “top” side of the handle, as the fingers are normally positioned.
If you have any questions at all, please post below.
All the best in your training,
Jedd
With the recent cold snap, I sent out an email to my subscribers about training in the cold.
Of the dozens of people who have written me through email and Facebook regarding the cold, perhaps Guy Hall’s email said it best.
I couldn’t agree more brother!
You are never properly dressed without the right lid on your head.
And if you are hitting your workouts outside or in an unheated garage, and are wearing some silly trucker hat or baseball cap, it’s time for an upgrade – and I’ve got you covered.
The price is $16 plus shipping and I’ve got about 10 in stock.
Orders in the United States:
For orders outside the US, please contact me through email, and I will get you an accurate quote.
All the best in your training. Stay WARM, DIESELS.
Jedd
There is this dude over in Finland that I have been watching on-line since at least 2009, and maybe since 2008. I know that makes me sound like a crazy stalker type, but I don’t care. This guy is the ONE GUY who I try to watch all of his videos, because he is ALWAYS doing something that is a world class grip feat. It’s Juha Harju, the King Kong of Grip.
At the end of 2013, Juha started something called the Grip Monsters Challenge and it involved several different lifts. Each challenge lift had a rankings list. And what was awesome was it was not just Grip Feats, but other stuff as well, such as a Military Bench Press and a Strict Curl.
I LOVE COMPETITION, so as soon as I found out about them, I started submitting videos. While I also love winning, I didn’t win any of them, I just kept on hitting the lifts trying to push my numbers up.
In a way, this was no different from how I have always trained from the beginning. I have always thrived on training in a group and pushing one another, trying to out-lift one another, and even hitting more reps than one another.
In my opinion, competition is one of the best ways for you to break through plateaus and keep them from happening in the first place.
When you know you are going to be tested by someone else, it makes you work a little bit harder, get out of your comfort zone, and in the end you are almost always stronger, and better, because of it.
Do I always win? Hell no.
Do I get better because of the competition? Hell yeah.
Don’t be afraid to compete. The beauty of the Grip Monsters Challenge is you don’t have to go anywhere but the gym. You don’t have to get up on a stage or platform, and you don’t need to do a lift in front of anyone, aside from the people at the gym.
So, here are the videos of my best efforts in the first set of challenge lifts for the Grip Monsters Challenge:
Strict Curl
Top 7 Standings:
1. Juha Harju 20 reps
2. Stephen Ruby 19reps
3. Gabriele Ferdinandi 18 reps
4. Alexander Kirillov 17reps
4. Egor Golubev 17reps
5. Matti Heiskanen 16reps
6. David Horne 15 reps
7. Jedd Johnson 12 reps
Military Bench Press
I was really surprised more people did not try this one, since the Bench Press seems to be the most popular lift in the world. It does get much harder with the feet up in the air though. Don’t let anyone tell you picking your feet up doesn’t make the chest and triceps work harder, that is for sure.
Full Standings
1. Allan “Bench Monster” Jokinen 36 reps
2. Viktor Hlestov 25
3. Wayne Mealy jr. 24
4. Vano Sukhashvili 22
5. Matti Heiskanen 18
6. David Horne 17
7. Juha Harju 16
8. Jedd Johnson 14
8. Petri Partanen 14
9. Luke Raymond 13
10. Tom Scibelli 7
11. Travis Shaffer 6
IronMind #2.5 for Reps (20-mm Block)
I was shocked I came in 3rd here. To be perfectly honest, the #2.5 I used only rated 123-lbs, so it is lighter, but I also think I was just plain on when I got my 27 reps. I haven’t gotten past 20 in my other attempts since that day.
Top 9 Standings:
1. Juha Harju 31reps
2. Vano Sukhashvili 30 reps
3. Jedd Johnson 27 reps
4. Joshua Odell 17 reps
5. Serg Sankov 13 reps
6. Jon Vance 12 reps
6. David Wigren 12 toistoa.
7. Thomas Scibelli 10 toistoa
8. Juha Piironen 6 toistoa
8. J.Henze 6 toistoa
9. Luke Raymond 4 toistoa
2x15kg/2x35lb or 3x10kg/3x25lb Plate Pinch Hold for Time
This is the one that pissed me off. I was at like 30 seconds for the longest time. Then Luke scraped all the hammertone paint off and I was finally able to get a decent grip. Holding onto these things for the better part of a minute blows my mind. Awesome job to many different guys who accomplished this.
Top 10 Standings:
1. Juha Harju 2x15kg 95sec
2. Kody Burns 2x15kg 93sec
3. Grip monsta p. 2x15kg 74sec
4. Matti Heiskanen 2x15kg 73sec
5. Matti Harju 2x15kg 70sec
6. Pinch Master J 2×15 69sec
7. Jedd Johnson 2x15kg 55sec
8. Riku Karu 2x15kg 44sec
8. Juha Piironen 2x15kg 44sec
9. Vano Sukhashvili 3x10kg 42sec
10. Pasi Mehtälä 2x15kg 33sec
The period for submitting videos for these lifts has now gone by. As you can see, I didn’t win any of these challenges, BUT, I improved a great deal over the course of a month or two, just by putting focus on the lifts. You can do the same thing too. You don’t have to take part in a challenge on-line to do it either. If you are stagnant in your regular lifts, then do some different ones and get some progress going again.
A couple other challenges were added part way through and are live until January 11th, the Double Overhand Thumbless Deadlift and the 50-lb Blob to 50-cm. My back has been very achey, so I have not deadlifted heavy, but I did give the Blob50 to 50cm a try and am currently in 1st place.
Double OverHand ThumbLess DeadLift
Current Standings:
1. Juha Harju 230kg
2. Juha Piironen 200kg
3. Tatu Karhu 190kg
3. Mike Rinderle 190kg
4. J.Henze 183.5kg
4. John Wojciechowski 183.5kg
5. Juha Lehtimäki 170kg
6. David Miitti 161kg
7. Pyry Harju 45kg (13 years bw 37kg)
50-lb Blob to 50cm
I was pleasantly surprised to see this challenge listed.
Current Standings:
1.Jedd Johnson 15 reps
2.Juha Harju 14 reps
3.Nathaniel Brous 6 reps
4.Juha Piironen 3 reps
Will Juha be able to pull ahead of me? We shall see.
Also, Juha took a vote and has 4 other challenges that he will be maintaining lists for through the end of February. Check them out…
COC#3.5 Silver Bullet Timehold (2.5kg)
Tricep Dips with Extra Weight 1RM (bw+kg=total kg)
Ironmind Hub Lift 1 RM
Euro Pinch 80kg (As many reps as possible in 90sec)
2x20kg Plates Time Hold Left & Right Total Time
Like I said, I LOVE competition. Love it. I will be attempting as many of these challenges as I can fit in. It’s always fun to see your name in a standings list, even if it as the very bottom.
I hope to see many of you submitting videos for these challenges as well. Push yourself – You never know where you will end up!
All the best in your training,
Jedd
I played a bunch of sports in my youth, but I never did any that involved weight classes.
My winters involved Basketball, so I never ended up Wrestling. My summers were jam-packed with Baseball, and that was all I did, so no weight classes in the warm weather either.
The Fall, once I hit High School, was the only time of year I lifted weights, and I just did the same program every other person that lifted did, since there was next to no guidance at all in the High School’s weight room.
So, when Grip Sport instituted weight classes in 2012, I really had no idea what it meant to have to “cut weight” in order to “make a weight class.”
When the weight classes were instituted, I was weighing anywhere from 265 to 290-lbs. I was eating whatever I wanted and if you go through some of my early 2012 videos, you can tell I’m not lying by my bloated face and lack of muscular definition.
But this year I really cleaned up my diet and increased my running and was able to drop about 50-lbs from early March to late September.
So, when I held the Holdfast Gauntlet at my gym on September 28th, fitting into the 105-kg (about 231-kg) Weight Class was rather easy for me to do because I was walking around at 232lbs.
But since September, my weight has gone up about 8lbs. I am still eating super clean, but I have not been doing the cardio as religiously. And while that may have put a couple pounds of fat on me, honestly, I have been KILLING IT in the gym for the last 4 months, have added Squats back into my training, and am just plain feeling like a monster pretty much every day.
Throw on top of that the fact that I celebrated Thanksgiving on the day of, had another one the Saturday after, and then had my birthday a few days after that, plus a weekend with my two biggest High School buddies thrown in there, I was staring at a scale that read 242-lbs on Monday of last week.
Let’s re-wind a bit.
Holdfast Gauntlet
As I mentioned, I ran and competed in a contest at my gym on September 28th. I had no intentions of doing any more competitions the rest of the year, because I had only prepared for my competition up until that point.
But, less than a week after the Holdfast Gauntlet, my new Grip Training Partner, Luke Raymond, asked me with crazed, obsessed eyes and saliva coming out of his mouth, “When’s the Next Contest Brother???”
Yes, I’ve got him talking like me now…
So, what am I supposed to do? Just tell this grip-obsessed, talented, and 2.5-closing grip-up-and-comer, “The next contest is next weekend, go have fun…”???
No way. I told him I would go along with him despite the fact that I hadn’t trained for it so that he could get some more experience. This contest was the King Kong Grip Challenge and it was only 3 hours away. A drive-there-compete-and-drive-back-all-in-the-same-day kind of distance.
It was what we call a Mega Comp, because on one particular day, there are multiple locations all over the world contesting the same events and the results are compiled into one massive database.
Despite the fact that neither of us trained the specific events for this contest, we both did very well. I was able to secure a Top 10 finish and Luke got some outstanding experience.
Luke is an athlete. He has a decent understanding of how to do an event just by being shown and told how to do so one time. Some guys have been competing for 10 years now, and still don’t understand the right way to do the events.
He also loves competition, and I think it is something he misses, sort of like the Michael Jordans and Andy Pettittes who retire from their sport too soon and end up coming back a few years later. Only in this case, Luke isn’t trying to go back and re-live the glory days of High School sports. Instead, he is testing himself with something new and enjoying every minute of it.
Even though I had a good finish in the King Kong, I was overwheight for the 105-kg class. I weighed in above the limit for the 105-kg class because I was so stressed out from the Holdfast Gauntlet, I gave myself like 4 cheat days. I ended up being 234 or 236 at weigh-in time, and it was so cold, I just was not interested in trying to cut weight to make the 231 mark by running all over the place.
Kink Kong Videos:
On the way back home from the King Kong Challenge, we made plans to compete at Gripmas, which was held this past weekend. And we both committed to making weight for our respective weight classes – the 93-kg for Luke and the 105-kg for myself.
But, it’s not time to talk about that yet.
ThanksGripping
Almost right smack dab in the middle of the early October King Kong and the early December Gripmas was the mid-November Thanksgripping.
I dread long drives alone, so I checked with Luke about it and he had something going on that prevented him from making the trip to Columbus, Ohio for Thanksgripping. I needed something else to justify the trip, so I called up an old buddy, Paul Knight.
You might know that name, he is one of the best Gripper Closers in the world and when he is peaking, perhaps the absolute best in North America. I asked if he was available that weekend to work on a little project we had talked about off and on for over a year, and as it turned out, he was.
So, I made the trip to Columbus for the November 15th Thanksgripping contest, and on Sunday, Paul and I shot a complete DVD on Gripper Training, which will be coming out in early 2014.
JL Holdsworth, the promoter for Thanksgripping and the owner of the greatest Grip Sport surname in history, did not do a weigh-in, so I have no idea what I weighed that day. I am sure I was overweight, but not significantly, since I had dialed my diet back in and had been doing several 15-minute Jump Rope sessions per week. I was feeling awesome from the good eating and feeling strong from re-instating Squats, but hadn’t monitored my actual weight very closely, so I am not sure.
ThanksGripping Videos:
Once that contest was over and in the books, it was time to get serious. I knew I had to get “ahead of the game” by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, because if I packed on fat during that period, I would only have about a week to cut off the excess in time for Gripmas.
Despite my best efforts, when I scaled myself on Monday morning of last week, 242 was staring me in the face and I knew that I had my work cut out for me. That is what two Thanksgivings and a bunch of beer with buddies will do to you.
And like I said, I have no experience with regards to how to cut weight, so I just laid out a plan for eating, cardio, and training.
Eating & Cardio Plans
At the beginning of the week, I was emailing with Chris Rice about my plans to cut weight to make the 105-kg mark and he also sent me an article that covers how the UFC Fighters can cut 20 to 30 lbs in one week in order to make weight for a fight. Here is the link: How UFC Fighters Cut 30 lbs in a Week.
So I read the article, which I thought was quite good, although I wouldn’t recommend it as a weekly approach to weight loss by any means.
And, I decided to take some before and after photos of myself as a way to document everything.
Here are the photos:
So, I embarked upon the uncharted territory of purposeful dehydration. After several years of pushing daily hydration and filling a gallon jug with water and not being done until it was gone, I would now set up a schedule to purposefully dehydrate myself.
Dehydration Schedule:
Monday: 2 Gallons of Water
Tuesday: 1 Gallon of Water
Wednesday: .75 Gallon of Water
Thursday: .5 Gallon of Water
Friday: Only water I drank was in coffee or the food I ate.
I should also note that from Monday to Thursday, I also was taking three servings of generic Metamucil, in order to clear out my colon as much as possible of any clogs. I believe this to have been a complete waste of effort, as I have been eating so much fiber over the last 9 months that most of that junk is completely gone. I saw no change in my stool size or frequency at all.
For food, all I ate for protein all day long Friday was hard boiled eggs. For cards, all I ate all day long was broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Honestly, I felt pretty darn good on this “diet.”
In the UFC article, the writer talks about feeling absolutely horrible. I did not. I felt some cramping in my neck which I thought was probably due to dehydration, but other than that I felt pretty good.
So, when we got to the hotel, I had packed my spot-calibrated scale that I used for the Hodlfast Gauntlet. Confident it was accurate, I placed it on the floor of the hotel room and weighed myself – 227-lbs. A 15-lb drop in weight from Monday across 5 days. I sat down and ate a few more pieces of broccoli and two more hard boiled eggs so that I could get some decent sleep.
Luke stepped on the scale and was weighing 206. I laughed at him and pointed while jumping up and down. Pissed off that he wouldn’t be able to eat or drink anything that night, he went to get a shower.
The Magic Shower
When he returned from the shower, he stepped back on the scale and this time, to our surprise, was 203 lbs!!!
“How could that be?”
I then remembered I had heard long ago that a scale won’t work right on a carpet. We had weighed ourselves on a carpet.
So, the complete geniuses that we are, we placed the scale atop the credenza beside the TV so that we had a more sturdy surface. Why we did not take it to the tile floor in the bathroom I have no idea.
What I do know though, is that I was now weighing 233-lbs. 2 Pounds over my 231 limit.
So, all the dehydration efforts, I only lost about 9-lbs. Looking back, my dehydration probably did work effectively due to the sloppy joe’s I ate or something. But regardless, I still had to cut off a couple more pounds.
But I did not rely upon a magic shower. Instead, I put my sneakers back on and bundled up and went to run around the hotel to burn off some calories and get rid of more water.
It was snowing out BIG TIME. As I ran, I remember wondering if all the snow I was inhaling through my nose and mouth was negating my dehydration tactics. I remember wondering whether the moisture in my beanie was sweat or just snow that had melted. Was I making progress, or shooting myself in the foot? I was already so dehydrated, my feet hurt and both achilles tendons were sore, and they just kept getting more sore with each stride on the pavement as I went around the hotel and convenience store complex. My only solace was the fact that it was snowing and the accumulation and slush were padding my strides somewhat.
The snow was both my enemy and my partner.
I made myself do 10 laps. Each time I passed by the South Door, two dudes speaking Spanish and smoking cigarettes stared at me. I was just waiting for them to make a reference to “el guero corriendo,” so that I could talk back to them in Spanish to surprise them, but it never happened.
When all was said and done, I finished my 10th lap and went back inside and I had been running for 40 minutes, twice as long as I had run in any of my Field Running jaunts from the Spring and Summer. So I was proud of myself in that regard.
I weighed in again, once more atop the credenza, as I tried to remember which Dr. Seuss book mentions a credenza, and I had gotten all the way down to 232 and a couple of ounces. I jumped in the shower and went to bed.
When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was weigh in. I was now 229 on my scale.
Luke and I jumped into the car with no food. Just black coffee and we made it to the Grip Comp location within about 20 minutes. I weighed in at 229 something. Luke was 203 something. We both made weight, and it was time to put the feedbag on! We started by consuming a Gatorade Gel Pack apiece and chugging an entire 32-ounce Gatorade. We then proceeded to eat about a half dozen eggs each, bacon, toast, and more goodies prepared for us by Chris Rice’s wife, Teresa, and amazing breakfast – thank you so much to the Rice’s.
And that is my story of my first ever cutting experience. All in all, it was not that bad of an experience. I lucked out and got no headaches and didn’t cramp up or collapse on the floor.
Going forward, I plan on continuing to train super hard with the goal of adding muscle and strength. I also plan on keeping the cardio in there and eating clean to continue to reduce bodyfat. I’d love to be able to pack on another 10lbs of muscle while also dropping 10 more lbs of fat. Since I am Squatting and Deadlifting again, I think the strength and muscle gains are easily fathomable. With the diet dialed in and the cardio, I think the fat will come off too.
This post has already gotten much longer than I ever would have intended, so I will not speak of my events at the contest, at least not right now. I will however, post the videos. Enjoy.
Gripmas Videos:
Thanks for reading (if you did) and all the best in your training.
Jedd
I will have a writeup from the contest as soon as possible.
For now, here are the video clips from Thanksgripping.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
The Adjustable Pinch Apparatus, originally designed by David Horne, has been a staple of Grip Strength Competitions since 2005.
The Two Hands Pinch world record is the most coveted World Record in Grip Sport, and now the One Hand Pinch is increasing in popularity faster than probably any other record in the sport as well.
To truly perform your best in competition, it is IMPERATIVE that you own and train on an actual adjustable device.
Sure, you can use a ghetto 2HP device using 2-45’s, but you will never have optimal training that way because you will never know the perfect width for your hand size. That is, after all, the beauty of the Two Hand Pinch and One Hand Pinch that we contest in Grip Sport – the apparatus is full adjustable to fit any hand size – man, woman, teenager, big hands, average hands, and small hands.
Having an apparatus to train on is imperative in order to perform at your best and put up the best score possible. This has been proven over and over, as all of the record holders and perennial top performers own their own device.
In the past, the only way to get your own set-up in the United States was to purchase one from David Horne and deal with exorbitant shipping charges and long wait times.
But not anymore. I have begun sourcing the materials to produce adjustable pinch apparatuses that I call the Napalm Pinch Device. It is just like the original device designed and sold by Horne, but instead of having rubber inserts, it has inserts made of expandable PVC with tabs on them to make them easier to adjust widths for multiple trainees and competitors.
Until now, I have only made these devices available to members of my grip strength coaching site, TheGripAuthority.com, in order to get them ready for their upcoming contests.
Now it’s time to make them available to everyone else.
I currently have one device in stock. I will have more by the end of November, so you will definitely have yours by Christmas.
You can order yours using the button below. This button will add $25 for shipping to your order. This is an estimate and if it is not enough to cover the shipping, I will get back with you to make up the rest. If it is too much, you will be refunded. All devices ship out USPS Standard Shipping with Tracking and Insurance coverage.
Once you have your own Official Two Hands Pinch device, prepare to watch your numbers explode, since you will finally be able to identify your appropriate width and get to practice on a device that is the same as what is used in competition.
All the best in your training,
Jedd
On September 28th, I promoted the Holdfast Gauntlet Grip Contest here at my gym in Wyalusing, PA. It was an awesome contest featuring a whole bunch of brand new competitors, plus a mix of veterans as well.
The DVD’s of the competition are ready and I am taking orders. To speed up the process, the DVD’s will be shipped in a jewel, instead of contracting an artist to do the artwork for an actual DVD cover for the artwork.
This also helps keep the cost down, so the price is only $10 for the DVD plus shipping. You can order them here: Holdfast Gauntlet.
In addition, I have also been working on making all of my other contests I have promoted in the past available. I have been promoting Grip Contests since 2004, so I have a huge amount of history on the hard drive of my computer.
I want to make the history of Grip Sport available to those who want to experience it, and you will be able to re-live these contests one event at a time.
Currently, on top of Holdfast Gauntlet, you can also access Global Grip Challenge 2006 and 2007. Here is where to go: Grip Contests
As long as interest is strong enough, I will continue to expand this library of past Grip Contests, including the very first contest I ever competed in, the Battle for Grip Supremacy, promoted by Rick Walker back in September of 2003.
Speaking of BFGS, the Holdfast Gauntlet was almost exactly 10 years after that event. Rick Walker ended up coming to Holdfast to help me out with judging, so as a surprise, I recognized him with an award. I have always considered him a Pioneer in the Sport of Grip, so I got him the Grip Pioneer award. Check out the video below.
Call me a sentimental guy – I think things like this are important. The work that goes into running a competition is unbelievable and hard to describe, and Rick did the very first one on the East Coast and the biggest one ever in the United States that I am aware of. Plus, as I said in the video, I never would have found out about Grip Sport if it weren’t for Rick. It was my pleasure to present him with this small token of my appreciation.
Once again, if you’d like to tap into the awesome history of the past Diesel Crew Grip Contests, be sure to go to this page: Grip Contests.
All the best in your training,
Jedd
The Wrist Developer is a training tool designed and sold by David Horne’s World of Grip and from time to time sold here at DieselCrew.com. It is a spring-loaded device that is used to strengthen the position of Reverse Style Nail and Short Steel Bending.
The Wrist Developer is aptly named because it certainly builds strength and stability in the wrists. On top of this, it also can help you build improved strength throughout the upper body, depending on how you use it.
The Wrist Developer has been around for many years, but there still remains quite a bit of confusion around it. To help clear up some of the misunderstandings about how the device works and the methods to train with it, I put out an all-encompassing Training Video/DVD in 2012 => How to Train with the Wrist Developer. This video shows you how you can use the WD as a way to increase your general wrist strength, bring up your reverse bending, as well as strengthen your entire upper body.
As you can see, with the variety of ways the Wrist Developer can be utilized and the many ways it can be used to bring up each skill (wrist strength/stability, reverse bending, upper body strength) it is a very good investment and takes up very little room, as long as you understand its proper use.
Here is a quick run-down of some of the most common questions I get or find being asked.
The main objective of the WD is to grip the handles with one hand in front and one hand behind, as in the grip taken on a nail or steel bar when using the Reverse bending Technique. From there, the handles are moved together so that the loading bars separate, stretching the spring. The repetition is complete or the attempt is “good” when the guard on the back of the device touches the rear loading arm.
With the Black spring, or equivalent, the lowest setting is called Level 3. You then move the rear spring hook up one notch to get level 4. For level 5, you move the rear spring hook back down one notch and then move the front spring hook up one notch. For level 6, you move the rear spring hook upwards again to get Level 6.
So, every time the spring is on equal notches in the front and back, your spring level is a multiple of 3 => 3,6,9, etc.
Here is a video demonstration of how the spring hooks are moved in order to get level 3, 4, 5, and 6 (and beyond).
For the purposes the Wrist Developer even in a grip contest and for Wrist Developer records lists, glue on the handles is not permitted. What is permitted is suede wraps with rubber bands wrapped tightly around them.
Slippage is definitely something to contend with when training on the wrist developer. One of the things I show in the Wrist Developer DVD is how to get the wraps on there as tight as possible using wrapping strategies from nail and steel bending which comply with WD performance standards.
The good thing about having the wraps against the bare steel and paint of the WD handles is that it forces you to squeeze the handles hard, which actually will help you exert more force into it. This will lead to better overall strength bending performance. But like any technical lift, it takes time to perfect.
Adhesives, glues, etc., are not permitted in competition or for records purposes, but certainly they can be used as a training method. If you have no desire to compete or measure yourself against others who have tested themselves on the WD, then by all means, use whatever you want to keep the wraps in place. Just keep in mind that if you get used to tapes or glues on the handles, you will see a drop in performance on the WD.
While the Wrist Developer can be used with the hands in the positions of DO and DU bending, the size and shape only permits these techniques in a limited way. You can certainly accomplish variations of Double Over and Double Under with the WD, but it is very cumbersome.
Yes, it certainly can be, but it depends on how you use it. There are distinct differences in how to use the WD, depending on your actual goal. This is the information that makes the WD Training DVD so valuable.
If you own a Wrist Developer, I can help you maximize your training results with it, through the use of my video. Many people do not realize just how technical of an event the Wrist Developer is, but are amazed how much stronger they can get on it with just a couple of easy technique modifications and slight changes to their approach.
In addition, you need to use the WD in the way it is meant to be used for your specific goals. If you want to perform well in a competition setting with the WD, knowing the proper means of force production with it is imperative. Also, if you are using the WD to save on the amount of bending stock you have to go through, it only makes sense to use it in the manner it was meant to be used for building your wrist strength for Reverse Bending. While there is cross-over from both techniques, you will get your best results from specific training.
For more information on what is covered in the Wrist Developer DVD, click the banner below. This video comes in both Digital and Hard Copy Versions, depending on what your viewing preference is.
All the best in your WD training,
Jedd
In this episode, Doc and I speak with Eric Roussin from Ottawa, Ontarrio, Canada. Eric has owned grippers for longer than most of us, but never got serious of developing his crushing Grip Strength or competing in Grip Sport until just a few years ago.
Since he was a teenager, Eric has been competing in Arm Wrestling, which anyone can tell you is a pretty good way to develop the lower arms and hands.
In today’s interview, we talk about Eric’s athletic background, what made him transition to more of a Grip Sport emphasis in his training, and what he thinks are some of the methods that work out well for developing strong arm for the arm wrestling table, and a strong hand for the Grip Sport platform. Also, we discuss Eric’s excellent performance at the Holdfast Gauntlet, finishing 2nd in the overall and winning the Trap Bar Hold for Time.
Download the show here.
All the best in your training,
Jedd
Items Bent by Jedd Johnson and Mike Rinderle
My members at TheGripAuthority.com are always pushing themselves, and if there is a Grip Contest going on in the United States, you can bet that some of them have their eyes set on it, just like King Kong to the right.
In October, Eric Roussein will be holding a world-wide competition called the King Kong Grip Challenge, and this contest is no different, as at least two of my guys are getting ready to compete in it.
I was asked to put something together around this contest because of its interesting selection of events.
At the King Kong Grip Challenge, these are the events:
The events that will be held in King Kong Grip Challenge are not the most common events. While all of them have appeared in contests before, they are not perennially featured events, and very little information is out there about them.
With that, I went straight to work laying out the Workout of the Month.
Naturally, I wanted to provide as complete information as possible for those planning to test themselves in this competition, so I also put together a video about strategy for this type of contest, and I did a technique demonstration for each event as well.
So, you are getting much more than just a workout.
This is a 2-Day Workout. I thought it best to set it up this way for two reasons.
1. All of the events are 1-handed. Training 4 different events all in one day will always cause one or two of the events to be trained with hands that are far too exhausted to get a good indication of progress, so two events are trained on one day, and the other two are trained on the other, along with a short gripper workout.
2. Since some of these events are uncommon, I knew most people would have to dedicate more time to some of them in order to get complete conditioning and development. Most just have not trained lifts like the 1-hand axle and the little big horn, so they need more dedicated time.
So, not only are you getting 1 workout, but 2.
Naturally, you can place the days wherever you like during the week, however it works for you. You can even switch days for certain events if you’d like. I set the days up like I did for the following reasons:
1. Thick Bar has a tendency to mess up gripper performance, so I put those on two separate days.
2. 1 Hand Euro and the Hub both work the thumbs, so I placed them on two separate days so they did not interfere with one another as much.
3. 1 Hand Axle and Little Big Horn are the two heaviest events, so I split them up, one on each day.
I think this workout will help you with your programming for the King Kong Grip Challenge. Any questions you have about personalizing this for your needs, just let me know.
Pick it up here: King Kong Grip Challenge Workout Just $9.95.
Jedd
Check out some of my other popular products.
This past Saturday, Doc and I spoke with Andrew Durniat on Grip Strength Radio.
Right click on the link and save: Interview with Andrew Durniat
You can also listen to the show on ITunes. When you do, make sure to rate it and subscribe for future shows.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
A couple months ago, some of the guys from TheGripAuthority.com were talking in our Facebook Forum about Grip Contests.
They made mention of the fact that where they live, there are rarely, if ever, any Grip Contests anywhere remotely close.
They said, since they’d have to travel in order to compete (and they want to compete in a comp like caged wild dogs want to eat raw T-bone steaks), they figured, “Hey, if we’ve got to travel to compete anyway, we might as well travel to Jedd’s place and compete so he can show us how to do it right.”
Sound Wisdom.
These guys reached out to me, and I thought it was a great idea. These guys would be able to get their feet wet in Grip Sport, and I would be able to help them out every step along the way.
If you are looking to compete in Grip Sport, this is a GREAT contest for you to attend. And if you are a complete beginner, you should definitely consider it. Many people who have confirmed that they are coming have never competed in contests before.
Here is the info on the contest.
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2013
Start Time: 10AM
Weigh-ins: 8AM
Rules: 9AM
Weight Classes: All official NAGS weight classes will be run, provided the contestants send their entry forms prior to to 9/21/13. My scale will be point calibrated, so that your lifts will be official for the NAGS Records Lists.
Entry Fee: $50 ($70 day of event)
Entry Form: Download Here
Prizes: To be determined.
Events:
I will put demonstrational videos up for the execution of all of the lifts at TGA, another benefit of being a member.
Here is a video about the contest. It contains links to other videos that give more specific info on the contest.
Airlines: 3 airlines are almost all within the same distance to my place: Scranton/Wilkes Barre International, Elmira/Corning NY and Binghampton NY. My town I am in is Wyalusing.
There are a lot more hotels around than there were the last time I ran a big comp, so I will get that information out to you.
Confirmed Entrants:
Rick Walker (possible depending on family events)
Mike Rinderle
Jedd Johnson Definite
Brent Barbe
Darrin Shallman
Lucas Wicks
Chris Andrade
Frank DeLuca
Colt Anstine & Wife
Robby Sparango
George Bristol
Chez (depending on injuries)
Kevin Collen
Karl M. Skjelvik (paid)
Questions? Post below if you do not see the answer here.
All the best in your training, and I look forward to seeing you here in Wyalusing, PA.
Jedd
Last week, Doc and I posted the latest episode of Grip Strength Radio. You can Download it Here
Main topics from last week’s show:
Regarding the last topic, the Recent Media Coverage for Grip Sport, some of you may not realize the awesome press that our sport has received recently.
Wall Street Journal Article on Grip Sport: First off, there was a full-length feature article on the Grip Sport National Championship in the Wall Street Journal recently. Ben Keisling reported and wrote the article. He interviewed several grip athletes as well as myself prior to the competition and then also attended the contest as well.
Here is where you can read the Wall Street Journal write-up on the NAGS Championship.
EliteFTS: Also, Nic Bronkall put together a great post of his experience at Grip Nationals on the EliteFTS Website <=Check it out. Next Episode: Be sure to stay tuned for the next episode of Grip Strength Radio. Doc and I will be talking with Eric Milfeld. Eric, in case you don’t know, challenged himself to unheard of levels, cutting nearly 40-lbs of bodyweight in less than 2 months, in order to compete in a much lighter weight class. In doing so, he set several new world records in his weight class, and we can’t wait to talk with him in detail about it. If you have anything you’d be interested in us discussing with Eric, please leave a comment below.
All the best in your training.
Jedd
I am PUMPED to have already gotten awesome feedback on Napalm Pinch: How to Dominate the Two Hands Pinch.
This is from Robby Sparango:
Thanks a lot Robby. Can’t wait to see some of your videos as you put some of those bullet points into action!
DIESELS, if you want to improve your Two Hands Pinch, you need this DVD: Napalm Pinch: How to Dominate the Two Hands Pinch.
This DVD is going to pack pounds on a LOT of people’s Two Hands Pinch. Will you be one of them?
All the best,
Jedd
I just released a brand new DVD today, called Napalm Pinch: How to Dominate the Two Hands Pinch.
This DVD is comprised of all my best information for training on and excelling at the Two Hands Pinch.
From understanding the proper technique, proper hand preparation, correct tension production, and more of the subtleties that are too often skipped over, this DVD will take your training up a notch, without having to put in more effort.
How is that possible you might ask?
SIMPLE.
It’s not about putting in endless hours in the gym doing all kinds of volume and a hundred different drills.
It’s about doing the handful of drills that actually work.
In short, this DVD will help you train SMARTER in order to bring up your lifts.
On top of all that, I’ve got some pretty cool BONUSES that I am offering this week ONLY.
Check out the announcement in the video below to find out about these cool bonuses.
You can pick it up here: Napalm Pinch DVD.
Don’t forget the cool bonuses:
All the best,
Jedd
This past weekend was the 2013 North American Grip Sport Championship. This is the annual championship contest, the SuperBowl, World Series and Sweet 16 all rolled into one day of Grip Sport Mayhem.
The contest was held this year at Andrew Durniat’s Gym, Durniat Strength and Optimal Performance, in Wooster, Ohio. In order to compete, athletes had to qualify through one of many means, including rankings from previous competitions during the season, as well as video submissions of certain feats of Grip Strength.
Before I get into the contest itself, I want to give some shout-outs to people who have been incredibly important to me in my training since Nationals 2012. You see, the Nationals 2012 competition was an all-time low for me. I really struggled, finishing poorly, and feeling totally disappointed in how I finished.
Luckily, I did not let that stop me, as I was able to turn it all around, but not without a lot of help.
I want to recognize the people who have helped me along the way over the past year.
As so often things do, my turn-around started when I hit bottom. In early August, one thing was happening after the other and before I knew it, I found myself extremely depressed. It was my two friends, Mike Rinderle and Rick Walker that got me back on track. These guys are two fellas that I consider friends for life for all they have done for me. We basically had a group counseling session via text messages that day and it ended up making a difference in my life that carried me through the next several months. That may have seemed like just another texting conversation to those guys, but it wasn’t. I know there are plenty of people with worse problems than I have, but that was seriously a bad day for me, and Mike and Rick pulled me out of a deep, dark hole with a big long rope and I won’t forget it.
The next person I want to give a shout to is Niko Hulslander of Garage Ink. Niko is a renowned powerlifter and an amazing coach, and he turned out to be the trigger that finally got me going on the right track with some serious progress. I told him about how bad my body was hurting, how weak I was feeling, and how un-confident I was feeling and he took me under his wing and really got me going in the right direction. Week in and week out, I shot video of my training and he coached me, primarily on my Deadlift form, and this coaching helped me get back to a 500-lb Double Overhand Deadlift. I have told him a few times how grateful I was, but it has been a while, and I hope he knows just how important of a role he played for me in the last year.
The next person I’d like to mention is Paul Knight. Many of you who follow Grip know that name, but some may not. Paul is one of the world’s BEST gripper closers, having certified on the IronMind #3.5 and the Mash Monster Level 6. If you don’t know what these are, they are serious grippers and world-class accomplishments. Paul coached me for several months last year on Grippers, which helped a great deal, but more than that he got me thinking about Gripper training in a whole new way, something that has helped me out immeasurably. It was like my brain was chained in the corner of a dark room, but with his guidance and inspiration, I was able to finally make some improvements on my gripper training.
The next person I must thank is Mark Gannon. Mark has been a personal training client of mine since May of 2011, but in the Fall of 2012, he and I began hitting a weekly session together. It had been YEARS since I had a steady training partner, and working out with him, even though it was early in the morning and I am NOT a morning person, kicked me and my lifting into another level. Mark has never questioned a single thing I have had him do and he has been an INTENSE lifter ever since he came into the fold, and that did not stop when we started working out together either. He never has shied away from Log Lifts, Squats, Deadlifts or anything. He and I still train together once a week and each workout seems to somehow top the last one we did. Our favorite combination has become Back and Triceps. As I’ve mentioned before, this combination is KILLER, and I strongly suggest you try it. Although Mark does not train Grip with me, the momentum I get with him in the mornings often carries forward into the Grip workout I have later that night, or on the weekend, as he and I often hook up on Friday mornings.
During this time, while I was feeling like an absolute MONSTER in my full body training, my Grip lifts started to decline for some reason. It had gotten to the point that any lifts where I had to bend over were crumbling, and my numbers resembled more of a newcomer to grip than a seasoned veteran. I reached a point where I could no longer perform a full lift with the 50-lb Blob, something that just a few months prior I was snatching overhead in one movement. Something was seriously wrong, so I ended up seeing a doctor and getting some tests, and I learned that I had developed Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
I began attending therapy sessions here in Wyalusing, PA at ProCare in December and continued until February. I did not lift at all from something like December 6th through the end of the month. I was going to go to the Gripmas Contest in December without training the last couple of weeks prior to it, but another injury to my forearm flexors kept me from going. I couldn’t even straighten my arm as I watched highlights of the contest and Kody Burns breaking my mark on the Two Hands Pinch. After 6 solid weeks of no training, I finally began to hit 30% weights in January and returned to full lifting in February. The very first day I was back, I was able to pick up the 50-lb Fatman Blob, the hardest I Blob I have in my collection, and hold it while I hit the speed bag. I owe a great deal of thanks to the skilled therapists at ProCare for helping me come back.
Right around this time in early February, to my surprise, I found out that one of the best steel benders in the world, JT Straussner was living in the area, working in the Natural Gas industry. The truth is, he had been here for 4 months already and did not realize he was only 40 minutes away. He contacted me through Facebook and the next day he was here training. With JT here, I now have the closest thing to a full-time partner for Grip Training that I have ever had. When he isn’t here, we are texting back and forth about training ideas, analyzing lifts, and coming up with new schemes about how to get one more pound on a lift, shut a gripper down a hair further, or hold onto something for just a split second longer. I can’t say enough about how much he’s helped me, and we are already working on a plan for the next several weeks of training.
Finally, I must give recognition to Robby Sparango. I have been coaching him on-line throughout much of 2013 and despite the fact that we have never been in the same State together, his energy, will to learn and desire to improve has been inspiring. I feed off other people’s energy and Robby has that in spades. This guy is going to be great!
To each of these people, as well as every single person who has sent me messages, emails, youtube comments, etc., I owe a huge THANKS. Believe me, I am just like everybody else and have bad workouts, bad moments, and I get frustrated just as much as you all do, so when I get a note from you, it makes a difference. I am extremely lucky to have so many people who support me, so thank you to you all.
Now, after all that, here’s the run-down on the NAGS Championship 2013
The first event was Grippers. In 2010 and 2011, I closed a 182-rated #3.5, but in 2012, I couldn’t even come close. As I look back, with as poorly as I did at NAGS 2012, that was probably right around where my Thoracic Outlet Syndrome either started or where it reached the point of volatility where it began pulling my numbers down. I don’t recall what I got last year, but it might have been in the 170’s. This year, I closed a 182.1 gripper on my first attempt, and then a 185-rated gripper on my second. I tried a 187 on my third attempt, but it was quite a ways from closing, so I waived my 3rd attempt.
I did not get the 182.1 close on film, but I got the 185 and it is posted below.
The 185 was an outlier gripper. What I mean is it rates 185 on the device time and time again, but when squeezing it, it feels less. I should have gone for it immediately on my first left-handed attempt, but did not do so until my 2nd or 3rd attempt. It’s funny how memory clouds up after less than a week, even after such an important event. I was close to closing it with my left hand, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so I had to settle for a 150 or so close with my left hand.
The second event was the Two Hands Pinch. As I stated before, Kody Burns exceeded my mark of 268lbs in December, moving it to 270 plus change, and this would be the first time he and I would compete against one another since doing so, so it added a bit of drama to the event.
I struggled to lift 255 last year at Nationals, missing on it 3 times before finally lifting it on the 4th. With such a close call last year, this year, I decided to play it safe and started much lower. I remember my first pull came up extremely easy, pulling it well beyond the stick and setting it down under control. Although we were lifting on two separate implements, Kody and I ended up hitting our attempts at the same time and we switched back and forth for each one to go. I thought that was cool, although I have heard feedback since that it drug on too long. Oh well.
Kody had hit something around 245, so I went on to 253. I missed it on the first attempt, but I shouldn’t have. I noticed the spacers had partially popped up out of the steel frame prior to lifting, and I should have asked for it to be re-adjusted, but instead I just lifted. The result was the implement only came up off the ground a few inches. This REALLY pissed me off, because I knew I had the strength to pull it plus some more on that day.
I came back and hit 253 clean while Kody couldn’t quite get 262 to cooperate, so I won the Pinch event with my pull of 253.
By this point, I knew I was in good standing in the overall and was probably either 2nd or 3rd. We were now going into the Axle Deadlift.
Thick Bar has always been a struggle for me, despite my willingness to train it hard. In actuality, I trained Axle much harder the last two months than I did the Two Hands Pinch. I am not sure if that helped me as much as I would have liked…
Again, I started out light here, because last year I totally BOMBED on all my lifts. This year, being more careful, I got two successful lifts at around 355 and 365, then missed 375 during my final two events. I was really trying to focus in and squeeze as hard as I could, and while on the second attempt I think I actually pulled it higher, it was still nowhere near lockout.
Going into the 4th event, the Medley, I was now in 3rd place, trailing Andrew Durniat by who knows how much and behind Brad Ardrey by 7/100’s of a point – CRAZY.
This year, I attacked the Medley. Strike that. JT and I attacked the Medley. We had a list of the challenges and analyzed it both during each workout and while we drove to the contest. We had gone over everything so many times, that it was like we practiced on the actual implements that were in the Medley, we were so confident. While Andrew again won the event with an awesome 51 points, I came in second with 45 and Brad Ardrey got 44. Now, I had pulled slightly ahead of Brad in the overall standings, so I knew I had to take it to the next level mentally on the final event, the Wrist Roller.
I have done the Wrist Roller in several contests over the years, but this would be the first time on this type of design. The wrist roller had a cable attached to it and on the other end of the cable was a big, long lever arm. Attached to the lever arm was a GIANT MASS CHAINS that looked like the tangled mess of Christmas Lights that Chevy Chase pulls out of the box in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. However, despite the scariness of that knot, I had no fear going into the event. I had trained it so hard, I knew going in I would feel no fatigue, no burning, or discomfort as I powered through it.
The way the event was timed, was like this. The cable had a piece of tape wrapped around it, and once that tape hit the spool between the hands, time was up. When it was my turn to hit the Wrist Roller, the leading time was something like 8.02 seconds, set by Brandon Gerber. JT came very close to that mark, although I don’t recall what he actually hit on it. I was the first to go sub-8 seconds, hitting 7.98 seconds on my turn. I thought I was good to go, but Brad Ardrey finished just behind me with 7.96 seconds. Unfortunately, Andrew was on his game this day, as he vanquished both our marks with a time closer to 7.5 seconds than 8.
In the end, Andrew had come out in the Top spot in the overall category. I came in at the top spot in the 120-kilo class and finished 2nd behind Andrew in the Overall, and just ahead of Brad. The separation between us had to be less than 1/2 a point.
The 2013 National Championship was a good day for me. I can not say I am perfectly content with all my performances, but I am happy to have finished how I did.
Once again, I thank everyone who supported me over the last year. It means so much.
Finally, I want to send a shout-out to Dan Huff, Joe Carabase and Corey MacGregor, three guys I am in a business team with. These gentlemen have helped me out tremendously with my diet. I was actually down nearly 25 pounds for the 2013 comp, weighing under 255-lbs, compared to the portly 279 of a year ago. I feel so much better that is hard to described, but I wouldn’t have been there without those 3.
In closing, I just want to say that anybody reading this is just as capable of attaining this level of performance as I am. You just have to believe it and take the good information that is available and put it into action.
All the best in your training, and I hope to see you at a future competition, some time soon.
Jedd
I am going out of town this weekend to visit my sister, so I want to learn more about you so I can help you out more with your training in the future.
Be sure to sign up for further updates on Grip Strength Training.
Thanks for filling out the survey and Happy Memorial Day.
Jedd
