The Living Legends Grip Challenge took place on August 13, 2016.

I will not be posting the video footage from the comp, because there were professional videographers there who will be making a top-of-the-line DVD of the event, and I don’t want to take anything away from the promoter, Andrew Pantke, and video producer, Rich Cottrell, who sunk a lot of money into the video production.

I have, however, volunteered to coordinate the marketing of the DVD, and you can reserve your copy of the Contest Video once it comes out, by going here: Living Legends Grip Challenge DVD’s.

Again, this is to recuperate the investment for those dudes – I am not keeping the money.

Although I’m not posting the footage I took publicly, I did decide to put out some clips of the post-comp feats that went down and other memorable occasions. I will also be doing a special video for my YouTube channel talking about the trip.

To begin, I want to share this – this was the first chance I got to meet the great Juha Harju from Finland. I have been following Juha since 2009, and we have been very good friends via the internet since about 2013 or so.

It was my absolute pleasure to meet him and compete with hm, and I wanted to give him my own special welcoming message, to let him know that it was indeed the REAL Napalm Jedd Johnson who was there that day, and not the imposter troll who pretends to be me on YouTube.

“Napalm” Jedd Meets Juha “GripMonster” Harju

After the contest, the feating began. I’m talking about SECONDS after the contest was done, feat items started popping up all over the gym. It was PLAY TIME.

The first thing we attacked was the Old School York 45-lb Plates. Up until then, the only men I have ever heard of pinch-ifting Old School York 45-lb Plates were Richard Sorin, Chad Woodall, and myself.

Well, that list grew to nearly twice that size after Living Legends, because both Juha Harju and Gil Goodman completed the feat, and Aaron Corcorran came to within inches of a full lockout lift.

Juha Harju Pinches Old School York 45lb Plates

Gil Goodman Pinches Old School York 45lb Plates

Aaron Corcorran NEARLY Pinches Old School York 45’s

Next, it was time to mess around with the biggest prize of the contest – the Sahlaney Iron Inch Dumbbell. Weighing 173lbs and with gold-painted bells, it is easily the prettiest Inch Dumbbell, I’ve ever seen. First off, since I was unable to lock out the Old School York 45’s, I grabbed the Sahlaney Inch and did a combo lift along with Blobzilla, a half 130lb York Legacy.

Jedd Johnson Lifts Sahlaney Inch and Blobzilla

I believe I was the first lifter to pick the Sahlaney Inch to lockout, at least I didn’t see anyone else do it. Regardless, if I was the first, I wasn’t the only one to lift it for very long, because then Juha Harju attacked it.

Juha Harju Lifts the Sahlaney Iron Inch Dumbbell

I know that Gil Goodman also showed the Sahlaney Inch who was the boss, but I have not located the footage yet.

The next feat I got on film was Kody Burns, the man who took the title at Living Legends, and the prize Sahlaney Inch, manhandled the double 2x20kg Eleiko plate pinch and held them in authoritative fashion.

Kody Burns Pinches and Holds Double 2x20kg Eleikos

Diesels, I can not tell you enough how much it meant to me to meet and compete with Juha. To rise to the challenge and nearly win the event (I lost by only 2.5 points) was a bonus.

On top of all that, this event was special. This was EASILY the most talent I’ve ever competed against outside of Mighty Mitts on the Arnold Classic stage. This contest really meant something.

And, to top it all off, there was an entire other contest taking place at the very same time – the Open Division. Jason Gonzalez proved he is a true Rising Star in Grip Sport besting 5 other competitors on the day.

Diesels, the DVD of this event is something every single fan of Grip Sport needs to have. This was truly a piece of history you do not want to miss out on owning.

Again, go to this link to reserve your copy for the special low price, and it will be shipped directly to you as soon as it is available.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

On August 13th, I’ll be in Wooster, Ohio, competing at the Living Legends Grip Challenge.

This field of competitors is going to be AWESOME.

Not only will some of the very best from North American Grip Sport be at the competition, but some serious monsters from around the world, especially the Grip Monster himself, Juha Harju. Most recently, one of the guys who frequently trains with Juha, Arto Jaronen, has also tossed his name in the hat.

This is going to be quite a field indeed!

Aside from the top level competition, the events in the contest are going to be very interesting as well.

The Legends category will feature 4 events that have rarely or even NEVER been contested before…

Andrew’s Axle 2-3/8″
Andrew Durniat’s event, Deadlift to Lockout

Glass Bar 2.5″ Pinch Barbell
Adam Glass’s event, Lift to crossbar

Cast Anvil Horn Trainer
Kody Burns’s event, Lift to Crossbar

4″ Climber Pinch
Jedd Johnson’s event, Lift to Crossbar

I’ve been doing my best to learn each of these new events. Little things like where to put your hand, how to position your thumbs and fingers, how far to have your hands separated, whether to go conventional or sumo stance – I’ve been going through each of these variables, trying to figure out what the best options are for me.

Training 2 & 3/8″ Axle

I don’t have an official Andrew’s Axle, but we do have a couple of 2 & 3/8″ diameter axles we’ve been training on, of various lengths. Here, I got in the 330’s for a few reps…

Training the Anvil Horn

We’ve worked with Anvil horn trainers, but I’ve been enjoying loading weight to an actual anvil much better.

Training the Climber Pinch

My specialty piece was supposed to be a loadable Fatman Blob, but it wasn’t completed in time for the competition, so instead, we’ll be using the 4″ Climber Pinch.

Training the Saxon Bar

I’ve never worked on the Saxon Bar too much, so I’m trying to figure out the best angles, grips, and other details. Here’s 220lbs x 4.

Like anything new, the events of this contest are a learning process. It’s been fun trying new things and implementing strategy for this contest. It’s really going to be a good time. I can’t wait for August 13th to get here, so the chalk dust can fly!

All the best in your training.

Jedd