After three long months, World’s Strongest Hands Series 2011 is complete.

In case you are not familiar with WSH, it started in 2010 with a 4-leg series of contests for a cumulative score. This year was the second time it was held, and there were three Legs you could attend to accumulate as high of a score as possible.

The Legs were held on August 16, September 11, and October 8 and on each leg there were 4 events. The Vulcan Gripper and the Two Hands Pinch were held on each leg and then each event was rounded out by two out of three possible Grip Topz apparatus, the Shallow Hub, the Stub, and the Half Penny.

After the dust settled, I am proud as hell to be able to say that I finished number 5 in the Open Class (over 82.5 kg bodyweight). This was a complete surprise to me, as my first two legs went very poorly, especially in the Two Hands Pinch, due to extremely humid conditions, and my standing going into Leg 3 was down around number 10.

Here are the top 5 in the Open and Light Classes:

At Leg 3, the events were Vulcan Gripper, Two Hands Pinch, Hub and Stub. Below are write-ups and video clips from each event.

Vulcan Gripper

Going into Leg 3, my top close in competition and in training was Level 17, but with the fortune of a good quick set on my third attempt I was able to hit an all-time best PR on the Silver / Black Dip Spring with a Level 18 close.

Below, is a quick video of several of the attempts from all of the competitors. Take note, as you watch the video and you will see, Jim Storch, USAW-certified Olympic lifting coach, competing in his first ever Grip Contest after many years of competition in Olympic Lifting and Powerlifting.

Two Hands Pinch

At Leg 1 and 2, the humidity conditions were repulsive for the Two Hands Pinch event. At Leg 1, I had forgotten to run the dehumidifier and at Leg 2 I ran it but it was so hot out and with so many people in such a small place, the Pinch Plates felt soupy.

I vowed there would be no humidity issues for Leg 3!

Prior to the Pinch event, we assessed the inside feel versus the outside feel and with a slight breeze and comfortable temperature, we decided to open the garage doors. Soon, the Two Hands Pinch device began to feel like its old self.

Instead of grabbing it and thinking you were trying to pick up a freshly caught Pickerel, it felt gritty and rough like so many contests of the past where the Pinch Gods looked down on me and smiled.

After the coin flip to see whether 54-mil or 58-mil would be contested first on the Pinch, we got started. The 54-mil group went first and many guys put up their first ever numbers on the European Adjustable Pinch device. One athlete, Sean Kovacic, traveling from Ontario Canada, got his first taste of Pinch Pr and Pinch Pain, as he posted a personal best, while also watching the apparatus slip out of his hands with absolutely no warning at all.

Soon, it was time for the 58-mil group. I chose to take part in this group for the first time ever, since my first competition on the 2HP since 2005. Shortly after Leg 2, I saw in training that 54-mil just was not feeling right. Testing out 58-mil brought about numbers about 20-lbs higher, so I continued training on it for the next several weeks, one time posting a legal lift in training of 240+ lbs which general means I am good for well over 250-lbs in competition.

For my first attempt, just to be safe and make sure I got on the board, I started out light at 235-lbs. That familiar feeling of radiant tension pulsating through my body as I compressed into the Pinch and continuing as I levered it up through action at the hips came back and I knew it was going to be a good day. I immediately requested 15 more pounds for my second attempt and 250-lbs felt just as good as I brought the Euro up to the target bar and controlled it back to the floor.

On that pull however, I had something happen that I have never had happen on the Two Hands Pinch before – I ripped the seat of my pants out. I opted not to change them, figuring that the rip would not phase me on my second try. A new record-weight of 265-lbs exactly was loaded on the device and I made my way to the platform. However, upon lifting the implement clear of the ground, I heard another loud rrrrrrrrrrrriiip, which slightly threw me off and the massive 265 came crashing back to the ground.

Now it was time for re-grouping. Now it was time for a wardrobe change. I sprinted from the gym, through the lower level of my mansion, up the many flights of stairs and up to my dressing room. There, my hair stylist was taking in some Angry Birds on her Smart Phone. I asked her to leave so that I could change into some sweats and she took off, flinging yellow birds at green pigs.

Now, when it comes to competition attire, my friends, I do not take things lightly. The shorts I was wearing that ripped were the off-white cargo pants that I was wearing in June when I went to Sorinex and in July when I set the record at 120-kilos. These dockers have become rather special to me, so in losing them to a wardrobe malfunction, I knew I had to choose wisely the pair of shorts or pants that I would go into battle with for my last attempt.

I knew there could be no other pair of competition pants to choose than my amazing fleece sweat pants which I was wearing when I first broke the record in 2009 and when I broke it again last year at World’s Strongest Hands 2010 Leg 4.

After pulling on these loyal threads, I took a breath to mentally prepare, told my hair stylist she could come back to her table, and marched back down stairs to the Den of Iron where I would make my final attempt.

As you can see, I came very close to completing the lift. I have watched this clip over and over and the only technical flaw I can pick out is that my speed to the cross-bar slowed tremendously. This tells me I need to do more speed work in my training, which is one of the things that has helped me tremendously over the years. In fact, I show a lot of this speed work in my DVD, The Road to the Record. It’s amazing that the same handful of tactics have continued to pay off for so many years.

Below are some of the attempts that I got on film of the other competitors. As you will see, the Two Hands Pinch is one of the most exciting events, and one that the crowd often gets the most crazy about.

You’ll also see, above, Daniel Reinard set the first of his World Records of the day for his weight class, 82.5-kg and under.

Shallow Hub

The next lift was the Shallow Hub, which is one of the Grip Topz. Normally Hub Lifting is a weakness for me, but with this device I have had some pretty outstanding results. I have been able to move my numbers up at each leg, and I even took a shot at the World Record on this lift, although I did not get it.

Daniel Reinard, from San Francisco, actually set a new World Record in this lift in the 82.5-kg and under class as well.

Stub

Testing Key Pinch, an ultra narrow form of pinching where the thumb squeezes against side of the index finger, the Stub is a piece of +/- 5/16″ steel roughly 1.5 inches long. It is very difficult to get a grip onto, but I think I have figured it out, as I showed my members at The Grip Authority, when I first started training heavily with them.

As you can tell, Leg 3 of WSH was an awesome experience. With the conditions nearly perfect for both humidity and temperature on a normally unpredictable Fall Day, many competitors were able to set new PR’s on multiple events.

For me, the next competition will be December 10th, 2011, at the Gripmas Carol in Zanesville Ohio. I have already begun training specifically for the event, and am ratcheting the intensity of my Two Hands Pinch training up a couple of notches because I am gunning to move the record up again, since I will not have the pressure of having to run the contest to any degree, like with WSH.

Also, I plan on continuing my focus on Gripper training for the next couple of weeks as I would like to have another go at the MM3, which I am all paid up for but have not tried since November of 2009, I believe.

If you competed at World’s Strongest Hands, share your experience in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. Check back later in the week for more video clips of some additional feat of strength challenges that we tried later on following the event!

P.P.S. The methods I used to break the record on the Two hands Pinch have continued to work over the years. If you want to jack up your thumb strength and get your own run for the record started, check out this documentary and employ the techniques yourself!

So you’ve been coming to this site for years and you know the importance of Grip Strength and how there is this awesome sport that tests forearm, wrist and hand strength, called Grip Sport.

Well don’t you want to give it a try?

World’s Strongest Hands Leg 3

On October 8th, 2011, I will hold the Pennsylvania constituent of the 2011 World’s Strongest Hands Series.

This is a four-event contest that could be a fantastic opportunity for you to give this stuff a try.

My primary reason for even holding a World’s Strongest Hands venue is to help get new people involved.

So far this year, with the help of my good friend, Mike Rinderle, with whom I released Hammering Horseshoes, the DVD that shows you exactly how to bend horseshoes, we have introduced several new grip strength fanatics to the sport of Grip.

Check out this list of new grip competitors from this year, and check out their training backgrounds. As you’ll see, Grip Sport athletes have very diverse backgrounds, coming from other sports and training focuses…

Christopher Smith – I started strength training when 14 and the pursuit of strength has been a huge part of my life since. I got certified as a personal trainer with the American College of Sports Medicine so that I could help other people get stronger and in an effort to reach even more people, I founded Train Better Fitness in 2008. Currently I offer strength and conditioning to people from all backgrounds. In 2010 I competed in my first powerlifting meet, setting two state records in my weight class and then in June of 2011 I organized and competed in my first strongman contest. Over the past few years I’ve become more interested in grip training and put it to the test for the first time in August of 2011 at the World’s Strongest Hands contest. The contest was a great experience and I encourage anyone who is interested to give competing a shot.

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Eric St. Onge – Eric is a competitive Kettlebell Sport who’s been lifting kettlebells for almost 4 years now and has traveled to numerous places in North America for competitions. He set the 2x32kg kettlebell jerk North American record of 101 reps in 10 minutes. Eric began training Grip sporadically 4 years ago. As of July 2011, his training has been centered on grip. His first competition was WHS II Leg 2 and he says, “I had a really great experience and am looking forward to competing again soon.” Eric is a CSCS through the NSCA and is working on his Doctor of Chiropractic degree at New York Chiropractic College. Feel free to visit his youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/KBmania360

 

 

 

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Mike Turpin – Mike Turpin, 23, from northern Harford County, MD, started training before his senior year in high school when he was tipping the scales at 340 pounds. He got in shape, interested in overall fitness and strength, losing over 100 pounds. He started instructing Spinn and fitness classes over three years ago and began powerlifting out of Niko Hulslander’s gym in Brogue, PA. This drug tested athlete recently competed at USAPL RAW Nationals. His goals for the next year are to only become more well-rounded and knowledgeable, looking to compete in all aspects of strength– powerlifting, grip sport, olympic lifting, and strongman. Hell, he is probably going to do a 10 mile run just to top it all off. Either way, grip is one of his main focuses coming into the new year and only looks to take it more seriously!

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Eric Lloyd – Eric is a friend of mine that I first met when he was about 15 years old at a local seminar I held on squat training. We continued to say hello for the next several years whenever we saw one another in town. He recently put together a big garage gym at his home and I let him take my strongman tire to it. At that point, I invited him to try out World’s Strongest Hands and he has taken up grip training with full steam! Now we train at least once a week and Eric is kicking some serious ass!

 

 

 

 

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Adam Spizman – Adam is the owner of Spizman’s Strength System, an underground/warehouse style gym in Oswego, NY, 45 minutes north of Syracuse. He began the business in 2009 and has continued to grow it ever since. For years, Adam has trained with Fat Grips/bars, thick ropes, kettlebells and many grip improving tools at his gym. He believes all athletes can benefit from grip strength and really emphasizes it with his wrestling/fighting clients. After further research he began digging deeper into the world of grip training. About 6 months ago he began visiting John Eaton on occasion to train with different things such as blobs, 1″ V-Bar, and grippers. He loved the opportunity to train with master trainer Jedd Johnson and jumped on the opportunity to compete. Since the competition Adam continues to grow his business and evolves his training and grip devices at the gym. For more information on his training visit SpizmanTraining.com

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Richard Bean – I contacted Richard, but I have not heard back from him yet. I do however know that Richard is a certified Red Nail bender and a Blob Lifter.

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If you are interested in trying out a comp, don’t be shy. A long time customer and friend of mine, Mike Sheehan, is coming to Leg 3 to give this a try (he could not make the other legs due to his work schedule) and he is raring to go!

Also, I have one gent from California making the trip in – you know him as Mr. Wild Card, Daniel Reinard, who qualified for Nationals through the Wild Card Grip Strength Challenge, and he won the Novice Class. Also, Bob Sundin will be coming up for Leg 3 again. He is the world record holder in the Two Hands Pinch for the under 182-lb class.

At Leg 3, the events will be in this order: Vulcan Gripper with 20-mm set, Two hands Pinch, Grip Topz Hub Lift, and Half a Penny hub Lift.

We will start at 11:00 on October 8, here in my garage in Wyalusing, PA.

After the standard events, there will be a Blob Off! Max Next Gen Blob plus Weight as well as the Block Weight Medley from Hell. Every Block Weight I own will be lined up and the objective is to load them all in a medley. This will include all types of Block Weights: Hex Blocks, Next Gen Blobs, a Blob Clone, a Fatman Blob, Chunks, Inverted Dumbbells, Scale Weights and an Anvil.

Cost of the entire contest is just $15!

I hope to see you there – all the best in your training.

Jedd

Hello DIESELS!

This holiday weekend, Labor Day Weekend, I am on a Mission to spread the word of Grip Strength.

On this Sunday Morning, I will be traveling to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to assist with the running of the Canadian National Hand Strength Challenge, which is being run in the same locale as the Canadian National Armwrestling Championships.

In many chats, David Horne has told me that he always thought arm wrestlers would be a group that would really excel in Grip Sport. I am gearing up to see about that this weekend!

Details about the event are below, but what I am asking today is for you to take just a couple of minutes and help me promote this event via Facebook, Twitter, and any other forums and miscellaneous platforms you might use.

On top of running the challenge, I will also be speaking to the arm wrestlers about Grip Sport, how Grip Training can improve their game at the arm wrestling table.

If you could help me spread the word about this, it would be great. For Facebook and Twitter, I already have tools installed on the post in the upper right hand corner, so you can use those. For other sharing methods, you can simply copy the address of this specific post.

Thanks for the help. Check out exactly what we will be doing, below, in this excerpt sent to me by Eric Roussein, who is organizing the entire event.

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Canadian National Hand Strength Challenge

On the evening of September 4th, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the inaugural Canadian National Hand Strength Challenge will be held.

This will be a medley-type event, in which competitors will try to complete as many challenges as possible among the 35 on hand.

A variety of objects will test different aspects of grip strength, which should keep things interesting for both athletes and spectators.

Participants will compete one at a time and each have six minutes to accumulate as many points as possible (each successfully completed challenge will earn 1 point).

Two separate divisions are offered: a small hands division (hands measuring 7.75″ or less from wrist to tip of middle finger), and a large hands division (hands greater than 7.75″ in length).

There are nice trophies for the top three finishers in each division. In the event of ties, gripper strap holds for time will be used to determine the winners.

The event is being held in conjunction with the Canadian National Armwrestling Championships, which should expose grip sport to many people who already have strong hands and wrists.

The action will take place following the armwrestling tournament in the ballroom of the Albert at Bay Suite Hotel in downtown Ottawa.

This competition is open to all Canadian residents. Interested participants can register at the event venue between 8 PM and 8:45 PM on the Sunday night (cost = $20). The challenge will start at 9 PM. Jedd Johnson will be driving up to officiate the event.

Event Venue:

The Albert at Bay Suite Hotel
435 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario

For more information, contact Eric Roussin at 613-837-1724 or eroussin@rogers.com

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So, if you are in the neighborhood, I hope to see you there!

The top three performers in each category will also be featured in David Horne’s Top 3 that he maintains at his World of Grip website.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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Hello DIESELS.

This Fall it is time to BLOW UP the Grip Sport participation in North America and especially within the continental United States.

Starting in August is the Annual Worlds Strongest Hands Series 2011.

Starting August 13th, 2011, there will be contests going on all over the world at essentially the same time using the same exact events and tools in order to crown the overall champion.

The head promoter in all of this is David Horne. He has sent the equipment to all of the promoters and now we are just waiting for the drop of the hat to get underway.

I will be running my legs of the WSH II here in Bradford County Pennsylvania, and I welcome all to attend and give it a try.

Admission into the contest is only $15, and you can pay all the fees at once for a total of $40 as well.

In addition to the overall standings that will be tabulated as we march through each stage of the series, we are also throwing around the idea of having Regional Champions here in the United States. There will be one Regional Champion at all the venues, which look something like this:

• Arizona: Southwest Region

• Michigan: Great Lakes Region
• Minnesota: North Region
• Ohio: Central Region
• Pennsylvania: Northeast Region
• Texas: Gulf States Region

If you are interested in attending, live in one of the areas, and would like to attend, then please go to the Grip Sport Promoters Page and find the contact information for your Local Grip Sport Regional Promoters.

EVENTS

If you are wondering about the specific events for each leg, here is the information…

• Two Hands Pinch on the adjustable European apparatus
• Vulcan Gripper from a 20 and 30 mm set position
• Hub Lift
• Penny Pinch
• Stub Lift

***Each leg will feature the two hands pinch, the gripper, and two grip top events***

Below is a picture of the Grip Topz…

From the top left and going clockwise, is the Penny Pinch, Rim Lift (not being contested), Stub Lift and the Hub Lift. All of these items attach to a loading pin and must be lifted so that a marker on the loading pin touches the height marker set at 16.5 inches off the ground (the same one used for the Two hands Pinch event) and then set back down under control.

World’s Strongest Hands 2011 Schedule

Leg 1 will be 13 August 2011
Events will be Vulcan with 20mm set, 4 attempts. Two hand pinch deadlift, 4 attempts. Half penny pinch lift, 4 attempts. Shallow hub lift, 4 attempts.

Leg 2 will be 10 September 2011
Events will be Vulcan with 30mm block set, 4 attempts. Two hand pinch deadlift, 4 attempts. stub lift, 4 attempts. Half penny pinch lift, 4 attempts.

Leg 3 will be 8 October 2011
Events will be Vulcan with 20mm block set, 4 attempts. Two hand pinch deadlift, 4 attempts. Shallow Hub lift, 4 attempts. Stub lift, 4 attempts.

One thing that was added this year is a could of new Divisions. In total, there will be 3 classes. Check them out…

• Mens open
• Mens light weight (82.5 kg / 181.5 lbs and under)
• Womens open

The events this year could potentially be the most non-hand-size-dependent events ever and here is why…

• The Vulcan Gripper is being done with a set – none of this no-set stuff that caters to the large-handed
• The Penny Pinch is extremely narrow – again no hand-size favoring
• The Hub Lift is actually, in my opinion, something that is easier for smaller-handed individuals
• The Stub Lift, is, again, very narrow
• The Two Hands Pinch is fully adjustable, so you can use the size that fits best in your hand

These events are going to make this series very very interesting. I am expecting some upsets to take place across the nation and around the globe. In fact, I have been trying to train my ass off on this narrow stuff because I SUCK AT IT!!

So essentially, you could show up here and hand me my ass on three separate occasions because I am just that damn bad at these events.

BUT I am competing anyway, because I love it!

The Biggest Call-Outs Grip Sport Has Ever Seen

So, these are some of the guys I am looking forward to seeing here at my place for all three legs of the WSH Series, that came up last year for one or more legs.

• EJ “Hematoma” Livesey – Member of TheGripAuthority.com – He has been emailing me about this for months, chomping at the bit
• “Mayhem” Mike Puchalski – Another member of TheGripAuthority.com who has been working very hard on Grip and Strongman in the last year and making awesome improvements
• Kevin “The Great One” Greto – Showed promise and dtons of interest when he was up here last year. Showing much improvement in the Grip Strength Challenges
• Rick Walker – As far as I am concerned, this guys is the Father of East Coast Grip Strength. Ran Battle for Grip Supremacy in 2003, my first Grip Competition. Just got major surgery in the Spring and is now repping out 375 in the deadlift and pulling 550 with ease, so he is on the mend. His wife, Cheri, is also very strong and could do well in the World Rankings against the best here in the United States and abroad.
• Mike Rinderle – Rindo has proven the long-held myth wrong that you will lose Grip Strength if all you do is bend. After more than a year of next-to-no grip training and all bending (non-braced, braced, short, long, horse shoes, etc), he grabbed a 3.5 and was a couple millimeters from closing it and had an awesome showing at Nationals.
• John Mannino – This brute continues to bend and scroll stuff week in and week out. He is no longer doing Strongman competitions, so he needs some form of competition in his life. This guy lifted the Inch Dumbbell first time he saw it and hasn’t done a Grip Competition since 2005, as far as I know. Tons of talent that needs to be put into action.
• John Eaton – Lifted the Inch, Blob, and multiple loose pinch combinations, all by applying technique modifications and very little dedicated training. Again, tons of talent being wasted. Very knowledgable guy who could help many new gripsters learn, but refuses to dedicate himself. Also has a small posse of Grip Partners in his area of Upstate New York that could come with him to compete, as well as an older daughter Kelly who has competed in Grip before and a younger daughter Erika, who I am sure by now has done more Grip Training in the last year than her dad. The only question is how much ribbing it will take to get John Easton to compete???
• Dan Cenidoza – Good friend of mine for years and fellow RKC. We have battled at Strongman in the past and he could never muster the last bit of strength to take his Maryland’s Strongest Man title from me while I was still competing. He has hung his hat on the fact that he beat me in my first ever Grip Contest, which was an all out technicality.
• Tommy Heslep – Professional Strongman Performer with a sick, sick grip. This guy has serious potential as well. Could possibly take the World Title in the lighter Division if he steps up to the challenge. Once claimed he’d be the first man to Pinch 300-lbs on the Euro Pinch. I’d like to see that one, in person, here at my gym!
• Eli Thomas – I used to train alongside Eli many times per week, kicking his ass time and again, and rubbing his face into the dirt. He got a stable job, started training his ass off and now he kicks my ass every time we meet. Never trains grip and always beats me on any Pure Support event we try. Guarateed he can still close low-end 3.5′s today, if I handed him one. He needs to get his butt down here, do the contest, and then drink beers and eat brahts afterwards because it’s been too damn long since the last time we did that.
• Brad Martin – This dude is another long-time training partner of mine. Might just be the lightest and smallest-handed individual to ever lift the Blob, which i am sure he could stroll into the gym today, chalk up and lift again. With some dieting (dude is freakin’ beefy) he could do EXTREMELY well in this series, and I would not doubt him to set a world record on the Hub Lift. Dude hubs like no other man I have ever trained with. I don’t think I have ever drunk a cold beer with this son of a gun since he turned 21 and that is as much my fault as it is his.
• Joe and Pat Hashey – From Synergy Athletics, these guys love Grip. Joe’s workload and family keeps him from being able to visit as much and the same for me. His brother, Pat, has actually tied me in Grip lifts on a couple of occasions. I think both of these guys could do very well. These guys also train and work with a bunch of crazy bastards who will try anything in their training and generally out-lift my ass in all body lifts, so they have the strength engines to build the power with, they just need to refine, practice and put it all in action
• Matt Hunt – This guy trained his ass off with me at my gym over the winter. After I showed him some technique stuff on Grippers, he went from struggling to close a #3 to closing #3.5′s. This young Grip aficionado has the skill, potential, and drive to kick all of our asses. I really hope he chooses to make the trips this Fall.
• Parris Janusek – Dude lives in PA, less than three hours away and never has been to my house despite multiple personal invites. Always has some lame excuse. However, he was able to go to Mike Rinderle’s competition with ease and excuse free in 2009. Great talent. Snatches the damn Blob. Pinches 100-kg +. Needs to get his ass up here.
• Steve McGranahan – Came up to my contest in 2004, but has not competed in Grip since 2004 as far as I know. It would be great if his appearance scheule would open up for him to make his way up from his place. His YouTube Channel blows up with every video he posts, it would be a great platform for the sport of Grip.
• James “Shrug” Smith – Phenomenal talent from the mid-2000′s who has vanished off the face of the Earth. Another Pennsylvania guy who should be able to make the trip no problem. I am sure he still has enough base strength left in the tank to do well, even without a lot of special training!
• King Joe’s Gym – A bit more than an hour from my house is a gym called King Joe’s Gym with a lot of old-school lifters in it. These guys would be great additions to the PA Grip COmmunity and I hope they know they have are being watched by NAPALM!
• “The Irish Anvil” Tom Kelly – Tom is a student of Slim the Hammerman and has been to my house many times. He is one of the few performing strongmen who I have seen actually give Grip Contest lifts a try. He’s a great dude and has a strong set of mitts. The word is that he got a taste of competition at the Beast in the East Bending competition in May. I’d love to see him get involved in “the Series.”

And this is the last person I am laying out the challenge to, to either come to my place to compete in my Regional Stages, or to travel to the one nearest you…

YOU.

You my DIESEL friend, need to start making plans, start setting aside the money, start studying bus routes and finding the K.O.A.’s (Kampgrounds of America) from your place to mine in order to take part in this awesome series of contests.

If you have any questions, leave a comment below or email me.

This is your chance to be great.

All the best,

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

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