The 2018 North American Grip Sport Championship will take place on June 2, 2018 at Titan Strength, located at 103 Stowell Place, Elmira New York.

For complete information on the event, please go here: 2018 NAGS Championship

At A Glance:

Date: June 2, 2018
Entry Fee: $50
Location: Titan Strength in Elmira, NY
Paypal: [email protected]

ENTRY FORM CLICK HERE

CONTEST SCHEDULE:

Pushing Everything Back 1 Hour from the Norm, due to the Canadian group driving in the morning of.
Weigh-ins – Begin 9:00 AM
Rules – 10:00 AM
Warm-ups – 10:30 AM
1st Event, Grippers Begin – 11:00 AM

IMPORTANT: If you are not sure what width you will be using on the 2 Hands Pinch,
please decide this and your first attempt before the Gripper Event Starts at 11:00.
The devices will be out for you to text the entire morning.

Currently Planned Weight Classes & Divisions:

Men’s 66 kg
Men’s 74 kg
Men’s 83 kg
Men’s 93 kg
Men’s 105 kg
Men’s 120 kg
Men’s 120+ kg
Women’s Open
Men’s 50+ Years Open
**No qualification required for Women’s Open and Men’s 50+ Years Open divisions.

To View Qualifications for Competition Click Here

Event Rules:

1. NAGS Gripper Set – One Hand Contested – 20mm Block – 4 attempts
The athlete will set the gripper with the off hand and then must pass the block through him or herself. The athlete may switch back and forth between hands as needed to get the best close out of their 4 attempts. At no time may the gripper be braced against the body during the set or during the close. This will be strictly enforced. If the lifter closes the gripper, the judge will say “Good” or “Closed.” If the lifter is unsuccessful, the judge will so “No.”

We will try to move through this quickly, possibly running two grippers and judges at a time, as was done at NAGS 2017.

2. Two Hands Pinch on Euro – 16.5″ Crossbar – 4 Attempts

2 Implements will run at a time, the same implements that have been used only at Nationals since 2014. One will be the light implement, starting below 185lbs, and the other will be the heavy implement, starting over 185lbs. We will begin with the lower widths first and then work our way up. For instance, once all lifters using 48mm are finished, the width will be changed to the next higher width desired. Please know your width prior to the contest, in order to save time. At least one separate apparatus will be on hand for people to take warm-ups.

The athlete will grip the implement with both hands in an overhand grip. Underhand or alternated are not permitted. The lifter gets 4 attempts. Any effort to lift the implement off the floor is considered an attempt. This is a Rising Bar event, so if the lifter fails on an attempt, he/she may wait 2 minutes and then repeat that weight, or have weight added, but may not drop down in weight.

3. Napalm’s Nightmare – 2 3/8″ Handles – 6-inch Lift Height – 4 Attempts

A genuine Napalm’s Nightmare implement will be used. The athlete must take a double overhand grip – alternated or underhand are not permitted. The athlete takes his/her grip and lifts, trying to make a knock-bar contact a cross-bar, 6 inches above. Any effort to lift the device is considered an attempt, and if the implement does not reach proper height, or if the implement slips from the athlete’s hands before touching the floor, the lift is disqualified. This is a rising bar event – once weight is added, it will not be removed. If the lifter misses a lift, he/she may repeat that weight or go up, but may not drop down.

Weight jumps will be a 10lb plate, a 10lb plate, then the 10’s will be removed and replaced with a 25-lb plate, then a 10lb plate, and then the 25lb and 10lb plates will be removed and replaced with a 45-lb plate.

4. Medley

12 Items in 90 seconds

There will be 4 weight options for each challenge category. They are listed from most to least difficult. Most difficult = 5 points, then 4 points, 3 points, and the least difficult will receive 2 points.

1. Double RT Pull-up – 4 / 3 / 2 / 1

2. Block Weights – Fatman 53# / Next Gen Blob 50# / Half 75 Next Gen / Half 70 Hex /

3. Rolling Handles – 2.5″ Crusher 190 / Mannino 165 / Old RT 140 / Old RT 115

4. Inch Pinch – 65 / 50 / 35 / 20

5. Sledge Choke to Box +/- 31″ Handles – 10# / 8# / 6# / 3#

6. Anvil to Lockout – 113+20-lbs (ring)/ 113 / 67 / 55

7. Challenge Bells – Inch Dumbbell 170 / Death Grip 154 / Shot 123 / Plate Loadable 80

8. Plate Hub Lift – 45# + 10/ 45# / 35″ / 25″

9. Sledge Face Lever – 16 / 12 / 8 / 6

10. Plate Pinch – 2×45’s / 2x35s / 2x25s / 3x10s

11. Inverted Dumbbell Lift Smooth Faces Only – 60 / 50 / 35 / 20

12. Loose Plate Pinch – 5 tens / 4 tens / 3 tens / 2 tens

Athletes can start on any feat, without their hand touching the item, and they can take tries at multiple difficulty levels within the same category, but will only receive points for their top performance in that category. In other words, they will receive only 4 points for doing 3 RT Pullups. If they do 3 on one try and 2 on the next, they will receive 4 points for doing 3.

1. Double RT Pull-up: Reasonable extension on each rep, chin above the rolling thunders on each rep, no re-gripping. Reps must be done consecutively.

2. Block Weights: Loaded to a platform

3. Rolling Handles: Lift to Lockout with Down Call

4. Inch Pinch: 6″ pull above block

5. Sledge Choke to Box: Grip by end of handle, load onto box without quarter falling off

6. Anvils: Grip by horn, lift to lockout

7. Challenge Bells: Lift for speed, so tilts and bracing permitted, must lift with one hand.

8. Plate Hub Lift: Lift for speed, any grip required

9. Sledge Face Lever: Reasonable control keeping the working hand approximately

10. Plate Pinch: Load to platform

11. Inverted Dumbbell Lift Smooth Faces Only: No contact with print on dumbbell, lift to platform

12. Loose Plate Pinch: Load to platform

5. Wrist Roller for Time

Distance and weight of sled to be determined upon visiting the venue – Approximately 30 to 40 feet. 60 seconds time limit

The objective will be to pull a sled towards you by winding it up a wrist roller, using a wrist extension motion. Distance will be marked if the course is not completed, and scores awarded by distance.

Anyone who drags it partially will earn between 51 and 75 points and anyone who drags it the full distance earns between 76 and 100 points (scaled based on speed – fastest time earns 100 points).

North American Grip Sport Championship 2013

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.

Big Dude in the Red is Niko Hulslander

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.

Mark Gannon

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.

JT Straussner
In the still shot, seated, to the right, is Maryanne McKeague
The value she provides at contests by judging, loading, and recording is immeasurable!
Thank you for all you do, Maryanne!

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

Event 1: Grippers

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.

Event 2: Two Hands Pinch

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.

Event 3: 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.

Event 4: Medley

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.

Event 5: 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

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Hello DIESELS!

The North American Grip Sport National Championship is in the books. It is amazing how months and months of preparation culminates in one day of chaos and then is just over in the blink of an eye, but what an amazing competition it was!

This year, the competition was held in Crooksville, Ohio. For the past few years, I have held it here in Bradford County, either at the Edge in Towanda or here in my garage in Wyalusing. This year, I changed the venue as a way to make it easier for the competitors to get there and attend this awesome showdown, and it made a huge difference this year, nearly doubling the crowd from 2009 and more than doubling the turnout from 2010.

Aside from the change of venus, there were a few other things that were changed or added in order to enhance the contest and make it more appealing for the competitors to attend.

DIVISIONS

Last Fall, I came up with several Divisions based on past performance and experience level in Grip. For instance, for anyone who totaled 800-lbs between Rated Grippers, Axle Deadlift, and Two Hand Pinch, they were given “Elite” status. This was patterned after the title of Elite used in Powerlifting, and it also was chosen to give a pat on the back to EliteFTS which is a company who has supported us here at Diesel Crew greatly over the years.

By separating the Elite competitors out of the main group of athletes, the “Open” division, it enabled much of the core group of Open competitors to battle it out more intensely. Most sports have classes such as this and I feel it was a good move. It can be intimidating to go against a guy like Andrew Durniat who already has a National Championship win under his belt in your first contest, and it can get frustrating having to go against guys like him for years and years, so I am glad everything went well with these Divisions.

Also, this year, I implemented a Novice Class at Nationals. These would be competitors in their first year of competition. Many questioned why I would let Novices compete at Nationals if they haven’t really “proven themselves worthy” to be at this level of competition, but I went with it anyway, because when it comes to grip competitions, there is no better way to improve than to actually compete and between Nationals, Gripmas, the Texas comps, Michigan, and the Arizona comps, there is no better level of competition out there.

One other controversial decision I made this year was allowing Wild Card events in the Weekly Diesel Grip Challenge to give people an actual chance to go to Nationals. This year, we had four people qualify for Nationals in this manner. Only one of them was able to make it to the competition, which was disappointing, but each competitor that couldn’t make it certainly had good reasons to miss it.

So, what we ended up with was a group of 3 competitors in the Elite category – Andrew Durniat, Adam Glass, and me, Jedd Johnson. In the Open category, we had Mike Rinderle (D.C.), Brent Barbe (Pittsburgh), Chris Rice (Crooksville, OH), Tim Struse (Tuscon, AZ), Nick Rosendaul (Columbus, OH), Matt Cannon (Minneapolis), and Josh Dale (St. Louis). Most of this group are perennial competitors at Nationals or Gripmas. Tim Struse actually put on his own competition this year in AZ. Matt Cannon is fairly new to the Grip Sport scene, and may actually be considered a Novice by competitive experience, but he chose to waive that status, which is an option for any Novice competitor (you just can’t go back to Novice after competing Open).

In the Novice class at Nationals, we had Malcolm Majesky (Wooster, OH), Matt Massaro (Wooster, OH), Austin Acree (Minneapolis, MN) and Daniel Reinard, who flew in from Los Angeles, Cali.

Not a single person that competed in the Novice class could be ashamed of their performance. Each one of them put up numbers that were deserving of Open status, and I expect most of them will compete as Opens upon their next opportunity to compete.

Also, I wanted to point out, that you can’t just sign up for Nationals and compete. You have to meet qualification standards. There are many different standards that were implemented this year, and they range from breaking established contest records, to certifying as Captains of Crush, Mash Monsters, or Red Nail Benders, to lifting certain numbers on designated recognized Grip Sport Lifts, and even for attaining certain feats of strength in a Grip Sport medley.

So without going into too much detail, each and every person at Nationals earned their spot in one way or another.

EVENTS

This year the events were similar to other comps and also at the same time a bit different from normal competitions. The first two events, Grippers and Two Hands Pinch are almost always the first two events in any Grip Sport contest, but after that, things got a little different. The third event was the Medley, which involves lifting and loading many items, just like a medley in a Strongman comp. This year it was put third instead of the normal last place because the fourth event, the Wrist Roller, would have wreaked havoc on Medley strength, and the Medley is one of the funnest events in a contest, so I did not want to hinder people’s performance. The final event was the Stronger Grip Plateau Buster. A One-Hand Deadlift, I placed it last because of its ability to tear calluses and I didn’;t want anyone’s performance in later events hindered because of it.

GRIPPERS

The way we contest Grippers in Grip Contests is we set the gripper handles to parallel with the off hand. This is done not as a way to cheat the feat, but as a way to give everyone a fair chance on them, regardless of hand size. In addition, because of the requirement to check the set depth with a 20-mm block in the World’s Strongest Hands Series, we also swiped that very same block through the handles at Nationals. To my knowledge, having to hold the gripper in the set, swipe the block, and then close it down affected no one adversely. In fact, I know that Andrew closed a gripper rated at roughly 9-lbs heavier than what he closed last year at Nationals. Tim Struse closed this same 191-rated gripper and nearly got a 195, which is unbelievable. I actually closed the same gripper this year as I did last year, 182-lbs, so the block set did not hinder me, either, and I tied with Adam Glass.

TWO HANDS PINCH

This event has been held at the Nationals / Global Grip Challenge (former name of my contest) since its inception in 2005. It uses an adjustable apparatus that I actually show you how to build in Home Made Strength II – Grip Strength Edition. Because it is adjustable, each athlete can compete at any width he chooses, whereas prior to 2005, normally two 45-lb plates would be used, which would really make it hard on smaller handed individuals.

I was extremely happy with my performance in this event, as I moved up my number as the World Record Holder. In November 2010, I pushed my mark to 262 and at nationals I moved it to 264, also trying 271, breaking it off the ground.

Shot #1 by Melissa Rinderle:

Shot #2 by Darrin Shallman:

My back was pretty badly injured, so I was very reserved in my celebration, but I can tell you for sure that I was ecstatic beyond belief when I lifting the implement to the crossbar at 16.5 inches, nearly pulling it to lockout, before setting it back down under control.

Another highlight was that Adam Glass got 240-lbs on his best attempt. This event still has proven to be a challenge for Andrew to master, essentially the only Grip event known to the world that he has had trouble on. In total, 7 competitors lifted over 200-lbs, and there were also a couple of Bodyweight+ Pinchers, notably Adam, Daniel, and Cannon. Awesome stuff.

MEDLEY

The Medley at Nationals was the biggest one ever, totaling over 50 items and allowing for nearly 70 points. As I always like to introduce new aspects into the medley, this year I instituted a Power Stairs portion and a High Box portion. The Power Stairs were built by my good friend Sean Dockery and was roughly 4 feet high with four steps and you had to start by picking the implement up from the ground and touching it on each step until reaching the top, permitting four points for each of four items.

The High Box was a nearly 5-foot box that required you to either high pull or clean and press the implement in order to load it. I was not happy having the Medley be just a pick-it-up-and-set-it-down event this year, and after all, it is Nationals and I wanted to raise the bar as far as athleticism is concerned.

Durniat cleaned house here, getting in the mid-50’s for points. I got the high 40’s. My back held me back somewhat, but in the end, I was just simply out-dueled in all-round strength and endurance. Bottom Line.

WRIST ROLLER

The next event was the Wrist Roller pulling weighted Sled, an event I invented for last year’s Nationals. Since that competition in 2010, the Wrist Roller Pull or Lift has been used in about 4 or 5 competitions, each promoter putting his own “spin” on it.

This year, Andrew was kind enough to bring his entire Wrist Roller set-up and assemble it. His is a 2-inch wrist roller. Mine is 3.5 inches. His set-up was WAY harder than mine. I feel I was prepared very well for this event, however, I made a very bad tactical move by taking the chalk off my hands before the event. This was very sophomoric of me, as for smooth steel and plastic grips I always leave a light layer of chalk, but I failed to do so this time and it hurt me bad. I gave up considerable points here, points which I really needed going into the last event…

Mike Rinderle on the Wrist Roller

PLATEAU BUSTER

In deciding the support event for Nationals, I really wanted to choose something that was pure support grip and not something that was larger and would be an advantage for larger-handed individuals. For instance, Rolling Thunder is a class Grip Contest event, but because the implement is so large, it is much easier for larger handed individuals. In all actuality, things like Rolling Thunder are NOT SUPPORT GRIP. In truth, this is another test of strength all together that is known as Open Hand, because most can not get a full wrap around the handle. True support grip is where the fingers support the load statically and are aided synergistically by the thumbs. In order to accomplish this, the handle must be narrow.

There are many events that are contested with a narrow handle, but the Plateau Buster is one of the best for ease of loading, and as we found out, for judging too. We went to lockout on this one, as defined by an erect posture with hips and knees locked. The shoulder is nearly impossible to lockout with a one-hand lift. This lift also proved to be easier to judge and would probably make more sense than, say, vertical bar lifts, where the range of motion is only two inches, and also One Hand Deadlifts using Powerlifting bars which make judging the height of the bar in comparison to the knee a challenge and a pull to lockout impossible, as you would end up pulling the bar into your crotch in the straddle position.

Unfortunately for me, my back was so messed up that I could not muster a pull with 260-lbs. Going into the comp, my best training pull was 430, and I would have needed ALL of that in order to keep a number 2 spot. At this point, Andrew had beaten me on three of the four events so beating him would have meant getting my Voo Doo Doll out and jabbing it with needles in addition to injecting it with the plague. I did not want to go there because I have a lot of respect for Andrew and his abilities. So I sat down next to Doc, who was judging and I kept score and watched my National title get snatched away by Durniat and broken by Glass.

Despite the result, I do not have one single regret about Nationals. In fact, as I told my newsletter subscribers, I am proud of myself for not pushing through the pain on the last event and potentially doing damage to myself for months to come.

RECOGNITION

My hat goes off to Andrew for another convincing win and to Adam who has shown us that by finding a program and protocol that works for you, you can accomplish tremendous things in this sport.

I also want to throw out a salute to Brent Barbe, who for the second year in a row finished in second place. This guy does not mess around and he came into Nationals in less than optimal training status, experiencing an injury about a month before the comp.

In addition, I want to say thanks to Chris Rice, his wife Teresa, and his two sons for all they did to help me run the competition. Huge thanks as well to Sean Dockery who judged the entire day, taking a tremendous load off my shoulders. Thanks to all the competitors who helped manage weights during the medley. Props to Mary Anne McKeague who did all of the loading on the Pinch as well as much of it for the PB. Big recognition to Brendon from Durniat Strength who helped with loading as well, and also to Darrin Shallman, weekly submitter of Grip Challenge videos who drove 5 hours to watch the comp and who also helped out a great deal in organizing the weights in the medley.

And also, thanks to all of you who have supported me for so many years and sent me emails and Facebook posts of congrats when you heard I broke the record again.

Yep, another National Championship is in the books, and it was an effort of many to be so successful, that is for sure!

SPONSORS

Guys, please check out the unbelievable list of sponsors that sent money, gift certificates, prizes, etc to the competition. I was able to award something to every single competitor this year due to the outstanding participation of these companies. Please check them out at this link and support those who support us: 2011 Grip Sport Championship Sponsors.

All the best in your training!

Jedd