Hello DIESELS!

I hope you had a fantastic weekend and had the opportunity to spend time with your family. I stayed away from September 11th shows as much as possible and went to dinner with my family and folks and watched my daughter DIESELFY meat loaf and mashed potatoes.

Here is a write-up of Saturday’s Grip Strength Contest, World’s Strongest Hands Leg 2 (of 3).

Incidentally, if you want to come to Leg 3, it will take place on October 8, 2011. All I need is an email or comment here so I know you are coming.

Also, before I get into the events, I just want to recognize the people that came for this leg – ALL OF THEM – because we have recently had a tremendous amount of flooding and rain damage to our roads and most of the guys had to deal with pretty significant detouring and longer drive times. It was a good thing I pushed the contest back until NOON or else most of the competitors would have been very late.

Vulcan Gripper

As is standard in many Grip Contests, the event that measures Crushing Grip Strength was first. This is done because of its dynamic nature and normally Gripper performance is reduced after doing other lifts.

The way the Vulcan Gripper event is tested, is that you set the handles down with the free hand and then you must slide a block between the handles to show that you have a legal depth, and then you attempt to crush the handles together. While at Leg 1, the set depth was 20-mm, at Leg 2, the depth was 30-mm. Leg 3 will be 20-mm again.

I was very happy to get Level 17 on my last attempt. I got Level 16 fairly easy on my first attempt but then missed 17 on my second and third attempt. John Eaton, who was going after me in the order, closed 17 on his third attempt after I had already missed it twice so I had to muster a little extra Crushing Power for my fourth and last attempt and managed to get it. This tied me for first at my leg, but put me in a multi-way tie for third across the board, as there are many locations competing on the same exact events all over the world.

Here are the Top 10 for the Vulcan Gripper for Leg 2
(Full Results are at the bottom of this post)

1 Paul Knight – L19 Dipped black – 1pt
2 David Horne – L18 Dipped black – 2.5pt
2 Juha Harju – L18 Dipped black – 2.5pt
4 Pete Kerr – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 Jouni Pakarinen – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 Ivan Beritashvili – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 David Thornton – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 Jedd Johnson – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 John Eaton – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
10 Danny Bramall – L16 Dipped black – 10pt

Two Hands Pinch

I believe September 10th 2011 was the worst day for Two Hands Pinch EVER in the United States and perhaps in other parts of the world as well. Many people across the globe bombed out in this event. I also recorded the lowest number since the first leg of Worlds Strongest Hands 2010, with 223-lbs. This is more than 40-lbs off my record. The plates felt like they had jelly smeared all over them.

The conditions were worse at Leg 2 than they were at Leg 1, when I forgot to bring out the dehumidifier. This time, I ran it from 5 PM the night before the contest and throughout the entire contest, but to no avail. I believe this is because we had 11 competitors DIESELfying in the garage all at the same time and the humidity level just over-powered my ACME 6969 Extra Power Diesel Powered Dehumidifier.

If anyone has any ideas on how to control humidity inside a partially underground garage, I am all ears.

My 223-lbs placed me 6th in this event which won my Leg, but was not even top spot in the US. Thornton grabbed that honor. My second, third and fourth attempts were all with 238-lbs which would have matched my best lift at Leg 2 and would have secured me second place again.

Here are the Top 10 for the Two Hands Pinch for Leg 2
(Full Results are at the bottom of this post)

1 David Horne – 112.75k
2 David Thornton – 105.56k
3 Rob Russell – 105k
4 Timo Tuukkanen – 102k
5 Jedd Johnson – 101.51k
6 David Stiff – 100.44k
7 Brent Barbe – 98.78k
8 Paul Knight – 96.81k
9 Andrew Durniat – 95.83k
10 Matti Heiskanen – 95.5k

Grip Topz Stub Lift

The Stub Lift is one of the two narrow pinches that were contested at Leg 2. It resembles a small piece of round stock jutting out of a flat piece of steel. The measurements are roughly 1.25 inches long and 5/16h inches in diameter, if memory serves. The Grip Topz are all removable devices, interchangeable with a common loading pin.

Apparently on the Stub, less is more, meaning if you train it less, you will improve more because I have not been obsessing about this event that much at all. I have mostly been working the Half Penny and the Hub in my Grip Topz training, mainly because the Penny and the Stub seem to train nearly the same discipline, Key Pinch, and I find the Penny to be much harder. Despite the limited work I have been doing on the Stub, I was able to PR with a lift of 45+ pounds, which is nearly and 8-lb PR for me.

One of the competitors, Adam Spizman, ripped a block of skin about half the size of a dime off on the implement and I had to hit it with cleaning alcohol, so maybe that solution somehow improved the surface or something – not quite sure.

Here are the Top 10 for the Stub Lift for Leg 2
(Full Results are at the bottom of this post)

1 David Horne – 22.55k
2 Adam T Glass – 21.84k
3 Jouni Pakarinen – 21.5k
4 Juha Harju – 21.25k
5 Jedd Johnson – 20.65k
6 David Thornton – 20.49k
7 Ivan Beritashvili – 20.27k
8 Daniel Reinard – 20.21k
9 Rob Russell – 19.64k
10 Matti Heiskanen – 19.5k

Grip Topz Half a Penny

Imagine going to the gumball machines after dominating the nearest Chinese Buffet and seeing a rusty quarter jutting out of the Gobstopper coin slot. You try to pull it out but you see the reason it is stuck is because some idiot tried stuffing two coins in there at the same time, so you try pinch it against your thumb and the inside of the middle Index Finger joint until your thumb pad cramps up so bad you want you to cry. This is what the Half a Penny Grip Topz lift feels like.

By the time this event rolled around, it felt like I had been training narrow pinch every day for a week. The Thenar Pad (Abductor pollicis brevis, Flexor pollicis brevis,
Opponens pollicis) on my right hand especially just plain felt fatigued. There was no pain, but I could tell that it felt thoroughly worked. I lifted 32.2 pounds, but that was actually more than a pound under my Leg 1 lift of 33.4 pounds, although the Penny was third last time and this time fourth. This put me way down the list, in 22nd position.

I still do not believe I have figured out the proper mechanics for this lift. I think there is a way to maximize performance on it by finding the proper joint angles of flexion at the wrist and elbow, as well as degree of shoulder packing, however, not many people have been posting videos of their lifts, so I have not been able to glean any technical improvements.

Here are the Top 10 for the Half Penny for Leg 2
(Full Results are at the bottom of this post)

1 David Horne – 19.22k
2 Brent Barbe – 18.25k
3 Ivan Beritashvili – 17.82k
4 Adam T Glass – 17.66k
5 Jouni Pakarinen – 17.5k
6 Timo Tuukkanen – 17.25k
7 David Thornton – 17.09k
8 Danny Bramall – 16.99k
9 Daniel Reinard – 16.57k
10 Taneli Levo – 16.5k
…
22 Jedd Johnson – 14.61k

So, Leg 2 is in the books. I think in order to place well at this last leg and make a return to the Top 5 in the standings I will need to hit the following marks in the events for Leg 3…

Vulcan Gripper
I need at least a Level 18. If I can Nut Up and get Level 17 with a 30-mm set when my PR training is only a Level 16 close in training, then I should be able to DIESEL Up and get Level 18 for Leg 3.

Two Hands Pinch
My performance in this lift in Leg 1 and 2 has been just completely embarrassing. At Nationals, my opener was 247, which would have broken the record up until 2008. Now, I can’t even muster 240? Surface is so important in this lift. I am going to experiment with some surface-minimizing training techniques in order to be ready for a crappy surface at Leg 3. I am hoping for better conditions with the change of seasons and hopefully less rain immediately before the event.

Shallow Hub
I have hated hub work for the last 3 years, but am now growing to like it. I am actually looking forward to putting in some good solid training on this in the next few weeks. I need to get up over 50-lbs in order to place even remotely well.

Stub Lift
I think this is one event where I have actually figured out the proper technique on it and many others have not. Training this one can be a bitch though, because you either (1) make the lift and dominate it with ease, (2) it doesn’t even come off the ground or (3) you lift it a few inches and then it rips out of your hand, heating the skin up rapidly, which always scares me, making me fear a rip. Since you never know how quickly skin will repair itself, I am cautious about over training this one. My goal is a lift of 50-lbs on this one too. I truly think it is possible.

Some other goals I have starting this week:

1. Chiropractor appointment for my neck. I can not describe how tight my neck was the day of the contest. I slept wrong or something the night before and it was lit up. My normal Chiro is in Australia for two weeks, so I may visit an old High School buddy and at the same time try to recruit him as a possible training partner and new competitor.

2. Eye Doctor Appointment. Post contest on Saturday, I went after the Double Inch Dumbbell Deadlift again and came very close to getting it three times. I may have gotten it once or twice, but I’d really like a good solid and controlled hold at the top. Anyway, after the third attempt, about 2 or 3 seconds after dropping them, I nearly passed out. I have brown-outed several times in my lift, but never like this. If John Eaton and Richard Bean were not there I would have gone down. It took me a good 5 minutes for the room to stop spinning and 35 minutes for my severe headache to go away, and I still have eye strain from it today. I was so off-kilter, it was as if I strained my eyes trying to regain balance. My legs were locked hard as I held onto both sides of my squat cage and I could not even turn myself around to sit in a chain. Eaton had to guide me to it. I need to check and make sure everything is okay behind my eyes.

3. Double Inch Dumbbell Domination by Leg 3. John Eaton left me his Inch Dumbbell to train on until Leg 3. Since Adam Glass has my second Inch Dumbbell, I plan on working very hard toward a hold at the top of a Double Inch Deadlift.

4. Fatman Blob Work. John also left me his Fatman Blob. I have a lot of feats to work on with this that I need to get in the books. “Mister Wild Card,” Daniel Reinard, will be making the trip to Pennsylvania, for Leg 3 and we will be having a Blob + Weight contest after the finish of the official events, so i will be incorporating the Fatman in my training.

5. Continue to Develop Eric Lloyd. I have a new training partner for the first time since building my gym and he loves the Grip stuff, so I am hoping he can continue to come once during the week for grip work and once on the weekend as well. It has been great having someone there during my workouts, and it was even better seeing some of the numbers he put up, PR’ing in many events.

Leg 3 will take place 10/8/11. Again, all are welcome and the entry fee is just $15. If you are interested in competing, please email me, contact me on Facebook, or leave a comment below.

Confirmed for Leg 3:

Michael Sheehan
Sean Kovacic
Jedd Johnson

All the best in your training,

Jedd

(more…)

Hello DIESELS!
I hope you had a fantastic weekend and had the opportunity to spend time with your family. I stayed away from September 11th shows as much as possible and went to dinner with my family and folks and watched my daughter DIESELFY meat loaf and mashed potatoes.
Here is a write-up of Saturday’s Grip Strength Contest, World’s Strongest Hands Leg 2 (of 3).

Incidentally, if you want to come to Leg 3, it will take place on October 8, 2011. All I need is an email or comment here so I know you are coming.

Also, before I get into the events, I just want to recognize the people that came for this leg – ALL OF THEM – because we have recently had a tremendous amount of flooding and rain damage to our roads and most of the guys had to deal with pretty significant detouring and longer drive times. It was a good thing I pushed the contest back until NOON or else most of the competitors would have been very late.

Vulcan Gripper

As is standard in many Grip Contests, the event that measures Crushing Grip Strength was first. This is done because of its dynamic nature and normally Gripper performance is reduced after doing other lifts.

The way the Vulcan Gripper event is tested, is that you set the handles down with the free hand and then you must slide a block between the handles to show that you have a legal depth, and then you attempt to crush the handles together. While at Leg 1, the set depth was 20-mm, at Leg 2, the depth was 30-mm. Leg 3 will be 20-mm again.

I was very happy to get Level 17 on my last attempt. I got Level 16 fairly easy on my first attempt but then missed 17 on my second and third attempt. John Eaton, who was going after me in the order, closed 17 on his third attempt after I had already missed it twice so I had to muster a little extra Crushing Power for my fourth and last attempt and managed to get it. This tied me for first at my leg, but put me in a multi-way tie for third across the board, as there are many locations competing on the same exact events all over the world.
Here are the Top 10 for the Vulcan Gripper for Leg 2
(Full Results are at the bottom of this post)
1 Paul Knight – L19 Dipped black – 1pt
2 David Horne – L18 Dipped black – 2.5pt
2 Juha Harju – L18 Dipped black – 2.5pt
4 Pete Kerr – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 Jouni Pakarinen – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 Ivan Beritashvili – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 David Thornton – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 Jedd Johnson – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
4 John Eaton – L17 Dipped black – 6.5pt
10 Danny Bramall – L16 Dipped black – 10pt

Two Hands Pinch

I believe September 10th 2011 was the worst day for Two Hands Pinch EVER in the United States and perhaps in other parts of the world as well. Many people across the globe bombed out in this event. I also recorded the lowest number since the first leg of Worlds Strongest Hands 2010, with 223-lbs. This is more than 40-lbs off my record. The plates felt like they had jelly smeared all over them.
The conditions were worse at Leg 2 than they were at Leg 1, when I forgot to bring out the dehumidifier. This time, I ran it from 5 PM the night before the contest and throughout the entire contest, but to no avail. I believe this is because we had 11 competitors DIESELfying in the garage all at the same time and the humidity level just over-powered my ACME 6969 Extra Power Diesel Powered Dehumidifier.

If anyone has any ideas on how to control humidity inside a partially underground garage, I am all ears.
My 223-lbs placed me 6th in this event which won my Leg, but was not even top spot in the US. Thornton grabbed that honor. My second, third and fourth attempts were all with 238-lbs which would have matched my best lift at Leg 2 and would have secured me second place again.
Here are the Top 10 for the Two Hands Pinch for Leg 2
(Full Results are at the bottom of this post)
1 David Horne – 112.75k
2 David Thornton – 105.56k
3 Rob Russell – 105k
4 Timo Tuukkanen – 102k
5 Jedd Johnson – 101.51k
6 David Stiff – 100.44k
7 Brent Barbe – 98.78k
8 Paul Knight – 96.81k
9 Andrew Durniat – 95.83k
10 Matti Heiskanen – 95.5k

Grip Topz Stub Lift

The Stub Lift is one of the two narrow pinches that were contested at Leg 2. It resembles a small piece of round stock jutting out of a flat piece of steel. The measurements are roughly 1.25 inches long and 5/16h inches in diameter, if memory serves. The Grip Topz are all removable devices, interchangeable with a common loading pin.

Apparently on the Stub, less is more, meaning if you train it less, you will improve more because I have not been obsessing about this event that much at all. I have mostly been working the Half Penny and the Hub in my Grip Topz training, mainly because the Penny and the Stub seem to train nearly the same discipline, Key Pinch, and I find the Penny to be much harder. Despite the limited work I have been doing on the Stub, I was able to PR with a lift of 45+ pounds, which is nearly and 8-lb PR for me.
One of the competitors, Adam Spizman, ripped a block of skin about half the size of a dime off on the implement and I had to hit it with cleaning alcohol, so maybe that solution somehow improved the surface or something – not quite sure.
Here are the Top 10 for the Stub Lift for Leg 2
(Full Results are at the bottom of this post)
1 David Horne – 22.55k
2 Adam T Glass – 21.84k
3 Jouni Pakarinen – 21.5k
4 Juha Harju – 21.25k
5 Jedd Johnson – 20.65k
6 David Thornton – 20.49k
7 Ivan Beritashvili – 20.27k
8 Daniel Reinard – 20.21k
9 Rob Russell – 19.64k
10 Matti Heiskanen – 19.5k

Grip Topz Half a Penny

Imagine going to the gumball machines after dominating the nearest Chinese Buffet and seeing a rusty quarter jutting out of the Gobstopper coin slot. You try to pull it out but you see the reason it is stuck is because some idiot tried stuffing two coins in there at the same time, so you try pinch it against your thumb and the inside of the middle Index Finger joint until your thumb pad cramps up so bad you want you to cry. This is what the Half a Penny Grip Topz lift feels like.
By the time this event rolled around, it felt like I had been training narrow pinch every day for a week. The Thenar Pad (Abductor pollicis brevis, Flexor pollicis brevis,
Opponens pollicis) on my right hand especially just plain felt fatigued. There was no pain, but I could tell that it felt thoroughly worked. I lifted 32.2 pounds, but that was actually more than a pound under my Leg 1 lift of 33.4 pounds, although the Penny was third last time and this time fourth. This put me way down the list, in 22nd position.

I still do not believe I have figured out the proper mechanics for this lift. I think there is a way to maximize performance on it by finding the proper joint angles of flexion at the wrist and elbow, as well as degree of shoulder packing, however, not many people have been posting videos of their lifts, so I have not been able to glean any technical improvements.
Here are the Top 10 for the Half Penny for Leg 2
(Full Results are at the bottom of this post)
1 David Horne – 19.22k
2 Brent Barbe – 18.25k
3 Ivan Beritashvili – 17.82k
4 Adam T Glass – 17.66k
5 Jouni Pakarinen – 17.5k
6 Timo Tuukkanen – 17.25k
7 David Thornton – 17.09k
8 Danny Bramall – 16.99k
9 Daniel Reinard – 16.57k
10 Taneli Levo – 16.5k
…
22 Jedd Johnson – 14.61k
So, Leg 2 is in the books. I think in order to place well at this last leg and make a return to the Top 5 in the standings I will need to hit the following marks in the events for Leg 3…
Vulcan Gripper
I need at least a Level 18. If I can Nut Up and get Level 17 with a 30-mm set when my PR training is only a Level 16 close in training, then I should be able to DIESEL Up and get Level 18 for Leg 3.
Two Hands Pinch
My performance in this lift in Leg 1 and 2 has been just completely embarrassing. At Nationals, my opener was 247, which would have broken the record up until 2008. Now, I can’t even muster 240? Surface is so important in this lift. I am going to experiment with some surface-minimizing training techniques in order to be ready for a crappy surface at Leg 3. I am hoping for better conditions with the change of seasons and hopefully less rain immediately before the event.
Shallow Hub
I have hated hub work for the last 3 years, but am now growing to like it. I am actually looking forward to putting in some good solid training on this in the next few weeks. I need to get up over 50-lbs in order to place even remotely well.
Stub Lift
I think this is one event where I have actually figured out the proper technique on it and many others have not. Training this one can be a bitch though, because you either (1) make the lift and dominate it with ease, (2) it doesn’t even come off the ground or (3) you lift it a few inches and then it rips out of your hand, heating the skin up rapidly, which always scares me, making me fear a rip. Since you never know how quickly skin will repair itself, I am cautious about over training this one. My goal is a lift of 50-lbs on this one too. I truly think it is possible.
Some other goals I have starting this week:

1. Chiropractor appointment for my neck. I can not describe how tight my neck was the day of the contest. I slept wrong or something the night before and it was lit up. My normal Chiro is in Australia for two weeks, so I may visit an old High School buddy and at the same time try to recruit him as a possible training partner and new competitor.

2. Eye Doctor Appointment. Post contest on Saturday, I went after the Double Inch Dumbbell Deadlift again and came very close to getting it three times. I may have gotten it once or twice, but I’d really like a good solid and controlled hold at the top. Anyway, after the third attempt, about 2 or 3 seconds after dropping them, I nearly passed out. I have brown-outed several times in my lift, but never like this. If John Eaton and Richard Bean were not there I would have gone down. It took me a good 5 minutes for the room to stop spinning and 35 minutes for my severe headache to go away, and I still have eye strain from it today. I was so off-kilter, it was as if I strained my eyes trying to regain balance. My legs were locked hard as I held onto both sides of my squat cage and I could not even turn myself around to sit in a chain. Eaton had to guide me to it. I need to check and make sure everything is okay behind my eyes.

3. Double Inch Dumbbell Domination by Leg 3. John Eaton left me his Inch Dumbbell to train on until Leg 3. Since Adam Glass has my second Inch Dumbbell, I plan on working very hard toward a hold at the top of a Double Inch Deadlift.
4. Fatman Blob Work. John also left me his Fatman Blob. I have a lot of feats to work on with this that I need to get in the books. “Mister Wild Card,” Daniel Reinard, will be making the trip to Pennsylvania, for Leg 3 and we will be having a Blob + Weight contest after the finish of the official events, so i will be incorporating the Fatman in my training.
5. Continue to Develop Eric Lloyd. I have a new training partner for the first time since building my gym and he loves the Grip stuff, so I am hoping he can continue to come once during the week for grip work and once on the weekend as well. It has been great having someone there during my workouts, and it was even better seeing some of the numbers he put up, PR’ing in many events.
Leg 3 will take place 10/8/11. Again, all are welcome and the entry fee is just $15. If you are interested in competing, please email me, contact me on Facebook, or leave a comment below.
Confirmed for Leg 3:
Michael Sheehan
Sean Kovacic
Jedd Johnson
All the best in your training,
Jedd

(more…)

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

---

Discover EVERYTHING You Need to Know about Gripper Training
with my Definitive Gripper Training DVD, CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination.

---

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

---

Discover EVERYTHING You Need to Know about Gripper Training
with my Definitive Gripper Training DVD, CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination.

---