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…)

On August 13, I held my PA portion of the first Leg of the World’s Strongest Hands Series 2011.

I had 5 lifters here for Leg 1: Mike Rinderle, Melissa Rinderle, Christopher Smith, Kevin Greto, and myself.

The events for the first leg were: Vulcan Gripper, Two Hands Pinch, Half a Penny, and Shallow Hub.

Overall Results (88 Competitors)

1 Juha Harju – 14pt
2 David Horne – 15.5pt
3 Adam T Glass – 18.5pt
4 David Thornton – 30pt
5 Jedd Johnson – 35.5pt
6 Timo Tuukkanen – 37.5pt
7 Ivan Beritashvili – 39.5pt
8 Matti Heiskanen – 41pt
9 Paul Knight – 49pt
10 Jouni Pakarinen – 50pt
11 Russ Farver – 61pt
12 Daniel Reinard – 64pt
13 Pete Kerr – 64.5pt
14 Richie Bevan – 68.5pt
15 Andrew Durniat – 72pt
16 David Elmer – 75pt
17 Chris Mathison – 81pt
18 Casey Emery – 83.5pt
19 Brent Barbe – 86pt
20 Danny Bramall – 87.5pt
21 Bob Sundin – 88.5pt
22 Jarno Hyväri – 90.5pt
23 Teemu Koivunen – 96pt
24 Carl Coffey – 106.5pt
25 Bob Lipinski – 108.5pt
26 David Stiff – 119.5pt
27 Derek Graybill – 126pt
28 Elizabeth Horne – 128.5pt (Female)
28 Mike Rinderle – 128.5pt
30 Lee Morris – 136pt
31 Gary Hunt – 151pt
32 Kevin Emery – 154pt
33 Paul Wood – 162.5pt
34 Andrew Pantke – 163pt
35 James Grahame – 165.5pt
36 Tristan Woods – 166.5pt
37 Kevin Fogarty – 168.5pt
38 Maxwell Thompson – 175.5pt
38 Richard Maclean – 175.5pt
40 Ryan J Pitts – 176.5pt
41 Sergey Shebashov – 179pt
42 David Loughman – 179.5pt
43 Taneli Levo – 181pt
43 Tomislav Basic – 181pt
45 Alexey Pritula – 181.5pt
46 Zach Lister – 182.5pt
47 Jarrod Riordan – 183pt
48 Ruben Piliposyan – 183.5pt
49 Ivan Silantyev – 184.5pt
50 Austin Acree – 186.5pt
51 Dmitry Motorin – 191.5pt
52 Sylvester Salley – 192.5pt
53 David Dellanave – 201pt
54 Kevin Greto – 202.5pt
55 Eric Milfeld – 209.5pt
56 Darrin Shallman – 211.5pt
57 Dylan Scally – 217pt
58 Nick Oswald – 219.5pt
59 Jim McCourt – 220pt
60 David Sandel – 234pt
61 Jani Silvennoinen – 236pt
62 Aaron Jacobs – 238.5pt
63 Tomas Valverde – 241.5pt
64 Brett Lindskog – 243.5pt
65 Alexander Mitropolsky – 245pt
65 Chris Smith – 245pt
67 Joe Tebbe – 247pt
68 Peter Carey – 248.5pt
69 Kris Wragg – 254pt
70 Nikolay Saveliev – 254.5pt
71 Steven McDonald – 262pt (17 yrs)
72 Kari Väänänen – 265.5pt
73 Anna Karrila – 274pt (Female)
74 Anne Melin – 281.5pt (Female)
75 Bernard Lynch – 285pt
76 Brad Ellingson – 292.5pt
76 Yvonne Häkkinen – 292.5pt (Female)
78 Mike T Nelson – 293.5pt
79 Craig Mooney – 298.5pt (16 yrs)
80 Jaana Tanner – 299.5pt (Female)
81 Mary Ann McKeague – 307pt (Female)
82 Kathi Burger – 313pt (Female)
83 Melissa Rinderle – 315.5pt (Female)
84 Jodie Nelson – 320pt (Female)
84 Thomas Mitchell – 320pt (15 yrs)
86 Megan Kruger – 327pt (Female)
87 Julia Harju – 339.5pt (Female; 13 yrs)
88 Pyry Harju – 342.5pt (11 yrs)

Below, I have videos of the four events. So, I will cover my training and results for each one, below.

Vulcan Gripper

In the Winter, last year, I devised a program layout based on something that Paul Knight had told me a few months before and was putting a lot of time into Gripper training. My progress and rate of PR’s per training sessions was unbelievable!

My progress hit a wall, however, in February, when I hurt my hands in February. I did not start training Grippers heavy until May or June, I believe, and my numbers had dropped substantially. It wasn’t until I got some serious adrenaline when I visited York Barbell and when I traveled to Sorinex, that I got mentally back into Gripper Training.

My numbers did not bounce back as strongly as I hoped and going into Leg 1, my best Vulcan close was Level 14. I was extremely happy to have hit Level 17 on the Vulcan during Leg 1! In my training, I was making my attempts more difficult than what I would be required of in Leg 1, and I think that paid off. I’d love to go into more detail, but I need to keep some things secret…

Here is the video of the Vulcan Gripper event at World’s Strongest Hands (PA) Leg 1:

Here are the full results on the Vulcan (20mm block) across the scope of competitors for World’s Strongest Hands Leg 1

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 – 5.5pt
4 Jedd Johnson – L17 Dipped black – 5.5pt
4 David Thornton – L17 Dipped black – 5.5pt
4 Adam T Glass – L17 Dipped black – 5.5pt
8 Casey Emery – L16 Dipped black – 10pt
8 Timo Tuukkanen – L16 Dipped black – 10pt
8 Jarno Hyväri – L16 Dipped black – 10pt
8 Derek Graybill – L16 Dipped black – 10pt
8 Russ Farver – L16 Dipped black – 10pt
13 Andrew Durniat – L15 Dipped black -16.5pt
13 Paul Wood – L15 Dipped black – 16.5pt
13 Danny Bramall – L15 Dipped black – 16.5pt
13 Jouni Pakarinen – L15 Dipped black – 16.5pt
13 Matti Heiskanen – L15 Dipped black – 16.5pt
13 Ivan Beritashvili – L15 Dipped black – 16.5pt
13 Alexey Pritula – L15 Dipped black – 16.5pt
13 Bob Lipinski – L15 Dipped black – 16.5pt
21 Kevin Emery – L14 Dipped black – 25pt
21 Eric Milfeld – L14 Dipped black – 25pt
21 David Elmer – L14 Dipped black – 25pt
21 Carl Coffey – L14 Dipped black – 25pt
21 Richie Bevan – L14 Dipped black – 25pt
21 Dmitry Motorin – L14 Dipped black – 25pt
21 Mike Rinderle – L14 Dipped black – 25pt
21 Chris Mathison – L14 Dipped black – 25pt
21 Daniel Reinard – L14 Dipped black – 25pt
30 Brent Barbe – L12 Dipped black – 33.5pt
30 Elizabeth Horne – L12 Dipped black – 33.5pt (Female)
30 Maxwell Thompson – L12 Dipped black – 33.5pt
30 Lee Morris – L12 Dipped black – 33.5pt
30 Nikolay Saveliev – L12 Dipped black – 33.5pt
30 Austin Acree – L12 Dipped black – 33.5pt
30 Bob Sundin – L12 Dipped black – 33.5pt
30 Richard Maclean – L12 Dipped black – 33.5pt
38 Andrew Pantke – L11 Dipped black – 39.5pt
38 Jani Silvennoinen – L11 Dipped black – 39.5pt
38 Ivan Silantyev – L11 Dipped black – 39.5pt
38 Ryan J Pitts – L11 Dipped black – 39.5pt
42 Gary Hunt – L10 Dipped black – 44pt
42 Sergey Shebashov – L10 Dipped black – 44pt
42 Kevin Greto – L10 Dipped black – 44pt
42 David Dellanave – L10 Dipped black – 44pt
42 Zach Lister – L10 Dipped black – 44pt
47 Aaron Jacobs – L9 Dipped black – 48.5pt
47 James Grahame – L9 Dipped black – 48.5pt
47 Teemu Koivunen – L9 Dipped black – 48.5pt
47 Ruben Piliposyan – L9 Dipped black – 48.5pt
51 David Stiff – L8 Dipped black – 53.5pt
51 Kris Wragg – L8 Dipped black – 53.5pt
51 Tomas Valverde – L8 Dipped black – 53.5pt
51 Kari Väänänen – L8 Dipped black – 53.5pt
51 Darrin Shallman – L8 Dipped black – 53.5pt
51 Nick Oswald – L8 Dipped black – 53.5pt
57 Jim McCourt – L7 Dipped black – 59pt
57 Jarrod Riordan – L7 Dipped black – 59pt
57 Tristan Woods – L7 Dipped black – 59pt
57 Chris Smith – L7 Dipped black – 59pt
57 David Loughman – L7 Dipped black – 59pt
62 Tomislav Basic – L6 Dipped black – 63pt
62 Joe Tebbe – L6 Dipped black – 63pt
62 Brett Lindskog – L6 Dipped black – 63pt
65 Taneli Levo – L5 Dipped black – 67pt
65 Yvonne Häkkinen – L5 Dipped black – 67pt (Female)
65 David Sandel – L5 Dipped black – 67pt
65 Steven McDonald – L5 Dipped black – 67pt
65 Kevin Fogarty – L5 Dipped black – 67pt
70 Mike T Nelson – L3 Dipped black – 71.5pt
70 Brad Ellingson – L3 Dipped black – 71.5pt
70 Peter Carey – L3 Dipped black – 71.5pt
70 Dylan Scally – L3 Dipped black – 71.5pt
74 Anna Karrila – L12 Orange – 74pt (Female)
75 Sylvester Salley – L10 Orange – 75pt
76 Anne Melin – L9 Orange – 77pt (Female)
76 Jaana Tanner – L9 Orange – 77pt (Female)
76 Mary Ann McKeague – L9 Orange – 77pt (Female)
79 Melissa Rinderle – L8 Orange – 79.5pt (Female)
79 Bernard Lynch – L8 Orange – 79.5pt
81 Craig Mooney – L6 Orange – 81pt
82 Thomas Mitchell – L5 Orange – 82pt
83 Kathi Burger – L15 White – 83pt (Female)
84 Jodie Nelson – L13 White – 84pt (Female)
85 Megan Kruger – L9 White – 85pt (Female)
86 Julia Harju – L5 White – 86pt (Female; 13 yrs)
87 Pyry Harju – L4 White – 87pt
88 Alexander Mitropolsky – L0 – 88pt

I was pretty happy to hit Level 17 and only end up two levels behind the best close, Paul Knight’s Level 19.

Two Hands Pinch

My back injury prior to Nationals did not resolve until well after Nationals, so I think I only got one good 2HP workout in before World’s Strongest Hands Leg 1. My thumbs felt fine for the event, however, I goofed up BIG TIME and forgot to bring out the dehumidifier for the event. Being that my garage is below ground, and with so many people breathing heavy during the event, the Pinch Apparatus got slimy and I could not get a good grip on 249-lbs. I got +/- 237 on my first attempt, thankfully, but then missed 249 three times in a row. Each time I popped it up off the ground, but could not get it more than 3 or 4 inches on each pull. My thumb slipped off every single time.

Here is the video for the Two Hands Pinch for Worlds Strongest Hands (PA) Leg 1:

Here are the overall results for Two Hands Pinch in Worlds Strongest Hands Leg 1

1 David Horne – 108.6k
2 Jedd Johnson – 108.2k
3 Adam T Glass – 106.88k
4 David Thornton – 106.71k
5 Timo Tuukkanen – 101k
6 Juha Harju – 98.5k – 6.5pt
6 Jouni Pakarinen – 98.5k – 6.5pt
8 David Stiff – 98.28k
9 Andrew Durniat – 98.07k
10 Brent Barbe – 96.53k
11 Eric Milfeld – 94.48k
12 Ivan Beritashvili – 94.07k
13 Matti Heiskanen – 94k
14 Bob Sundin – 92.96k
15 Paul Knight – 92.22k
16 Daniel Reinard – 89.95k
17 Chris Mathison – 88.65k
18 Jarno Hyväri – 86k
19 Kevin Emery – 85.05k
20 Pete Kerr – 83.95k
20 David Elmer – 83.95k
22 Richie Bevan – 82.77k
23 Sylvester Salley – 82k
24 Carl Coffey – 81.3k
25 Mike Rinderle – 81.21k
26 Teemu Koivunen – 81k
27 Bob Lipinski – 79.95k
28 Russ Farver – 78.59k
29 Elizabeth Horne – 78.5k (Female)
30 Andrew Pantke – 77.68k
31 Dmitry Motorin – 76.6k
32 Jarrod Riordan – 76.247k
33 Aaron Jacobs – 75.52k
34 Paul Wood – 75.2k
35 Ryan J Pitts – 75.12k
36 Dylan Scally – 74.4k – 37pt
36 Kevin Fogarty – 74.4k – 37pt
36 David Loughman – 74.4k – 37pt
39 Derek Graybill – 74.19k – 39.5pt
39 Zach Lister – 74.19k – 39.5pt
41 Tomislav Basic – 73.85k – 41.5pt
41 Tristan Woods – 73.85k – 41.5pt
43 Gary Hunt – 73.5k – 43.5pt
43 Lee Morris – 73.5k – 43.5pt
45 Austin Acree – 73.29k
46 Kevin Greto – 71.59k
47 James Grahame – 71.31k
48 David Sandel – 70.38k
49 Casey Emery – 69.45k
50 Jim McCourt – 68.53k
51 Darrin Shallman – 68.48k
52 Alexander Mitropolsky – 66.29k
53 Peter Carey – 64.9k
54 David Dellanave – 64.64k
55 Danny Bramall – 64.6k
56 Joe Tebbe – 63.59k
57 Richard Maclean – 63.52k
58 Sergey Shebashov – 61.3k – 59.5pt
58 Ruben Piliposyan – 61.3k – 59.5pt
58 Ivan Silantyev – 61.3k – 59.5pt
58 Alexey Pritula – 61.3k – 59.5pt
62 Jani Silvennoinen – 61k
63 Chris Smith – 60.54k
64 Nick Oswald – 58.82k
65 Brett Lindskog – 58.79k
66 Tomas Valverde – 57.5k
67 Kari Väänänen – 56k
68 Brad Ellingson – 54.75k
69 Mike T Nelson – 54.22k
70 Craig Mooney – 52.9k – 71pt
70 Bernard Lynch – 52.9k – 71pt
70 Steven McDonald – 52.9k – 71pt
73 Yvonne Häkkinen – 51.5k (Female)
74 Nikolay Saveliev – 51.32k
75 Mary Ann McKeague – 50.82k (Female)
76 Melissa Rinderle – 49.77k (Female)
77 Kathi Burger – 49.71k (Female)
78 Anne Melin – 48.5k (Female)
79 Jaana Tanner – 46k (Female)
80 Jodie Nelson – 44.02k (Female)
81 Thomas Mitchell – 43.4k
82 Anna Karrila – 40k (Female)
83 Megan Kruger – 38.08k (Female)
84 Taneli Levo – 36k
85 Maxwell Thompson – 0k – 86.5pt
85 Kris Wragg – 0k – 86.5pt
85 Julia Harju – 0k – 86.5pt (Female; 13 yrs)
85 Pyry Harju – 0k – 86.5pt

This is generally where I pick up a lot of points in the contest, so struggling to get a good number here did not help. I was lucky to get the #2 spot right behind David Horne.

Half a Penny

I trained the Half a Penny 9 times seriously from the time I got it last Fall until the week before Leg 1. Most of these sessions were during the last two weeks of July and the first week of August. I was on vacation the entire week leading into Leg 1, and did absolutely no training at all.

There were many contests whose events took precedence over Grip Topz training. I did not put much emphasis on them at all. So, I added mainly the Half a Penny into my training because it was the one I was doing the worst on, so I figured it would provide a slightly different training stimulus for my thumbs, with its ultra-narrow positioning.

Going into the contest, my PR was a 25-lb plate and two giant washers on it for a total of about 30-lbs. I did not have high expectations for this lift, and then somehow PR’d in it by about 3 pounds. Can’t beat that with a stick.

Since Leg 1, I have been training for massive amounts of volume on the Half a Penny in order to get my thumbs used to this narrow position some more, and am hoping for another 3 to 5-lb PR.

Here is the video for the Half a Penny at Worlds Strongest Hands (PA) Leg 1:

Here are the overall results for the Half a Penny Pinch for Worlds Strongest Hands Leg 1

1 Adam T Glass – 18.71k
2 David Horne – 18.55k
3 Juha Harju – 17.75k
4 David Thornton – 17.67k
5 Taneli Levo – 16.75k – 5.5pt
5 Matti Heiskanen – 16.75k – 5.5pt
7 Timo Tuukkanen – 16.5k – 7.5pt
7 Teemu Koivunen – 16.5k – 7.5pt
9 Danny Bramall – 16k
10 Ivan Beritashvili – 15.33k
11 Russ Farver – 15.22k – 11.5pt
11 Daniel Reinard – 15.22k – 11.5pt
13 Kevin Fogarty – 15.2k
14 Bob Sundin – 15.16k
15 Jedd Johnson – 15.15k
16 Casey Emery – 15.06k – 16.5pt
16 Paul Knight – 15.06k – 16.5pt
18 Pete Kerr – 14.95k – 18.5pt
18 Richie Bevan – 14.95k – 18.5pt
20 Brent Barbe – 14.94k
21 Chris Mathison – 14.65k
22 Jouni Pakarinen – 14.5k
23 Kevin Emery – 13.97k
24 Andrew Durniat – 13.86k
25 David Elmer – 13.81k
26 Lee Morris – 13.54k
27 Gary Hunt – 13.31k
28 David Stiff – 13.21k
29 Elizabeth Horne – 13.07k – 29.5pt (Female)
29 Maxwell Thompson – 13.07k – 29.5pt
31 Tomislav Basic – 13.02k
32 David Loughman – 12.7k
33 Bob Lipinski – 12.58k
34 Sergey Shebashov – 12.54k – 34.5pt
34 Ruben Piliposyan – 12.54k – 34.5pt
36 Tristan Woods – 12.04k
37 Carl Coffey – 12.02k
38 Jarno Hyväri – 12k
39 Ryan J Pitts – 11.81k
40 James Grahame – 11.74k
41 Derek Graybill – 11.71k – 41.5pt
41 Richard Maclean – 11.71k – 41.5pt
43 Sylvester Salley – 11.6k
44 Alexander Mitropolsky – 11.56k – 44.5pt
44 Ivan Silantyev – 11.56k – 44.5pt
46 Jarrod Riordan – 11.54k – 46.5pt
46 Andrew Pantke – 11.54k – 46.5pt
48 Nick Oswald – 11.2k
49 Kris Wragg – 11.17k
50 Kevin Greto – 10.99k – 50.5pt
50 Mike Rinderle – 10.99k – 50.5pt
52 Tomas Valverde – 10.75k
53 Paul Wood – 10.62k
54 Anne Melin – 10.5k (Female)
55 Jim McCourt – 10.42k
56 Steven McDonald – 10.3k – 57pt
56 Peter Carey – 10.3k – 57pt
56 Dylan Scally – 10.3k – 57pt
59 Joe Tebbe – 10.07k
60 Austin Acree – 10.04k
61 David Sandel – 10.03k
62 Jani Silvennoinen – 10k
63 Anna Karrila – 9.5k (Female)
64 David Dellanave – 9.46k
65 Zach Lister – 9.41k
66 Chris Smith – 9.32k
67 Craig Mooney – 9.1k – 67.5pt
67 Bernard Lynch – 9.1k – 67.5pt
69 Darrin Shallman – 9.04k
70 Aaron Jacobs – 8.98k
71 Jaana Tanner – 8.75k (Female)
72 Brett Lindskog – 8.05k
73 Mary Ann McKeague – 8.01k (Female)
74 Megan Kruger – 7.81k – 76pt (Female)
74 Mike T Nelson – 7.81k – 76pt
74 Brad Ellingson – 7.81k – 76pt
74 Jodie Nelson – 7.81k – 76pt (Female)
74 Kathi Burger – 7.81k – 76pt (Female)
79 Melissa Rinderle – 7.72k (Female)
80 Yvonne Häkkinen – 7.5k (Female)
81 Kari Väänänen – 7k
82 Thomas Mitchell – 6.7k
83 Julia Harju – 5k (Female; 13 yrs)
84 Pyry Harju – 4.75k
85 Dmitry Motorin – 0k – 86.5pt
85 Alexey Pritula – 0k – 86.5pt
85 Nikolay Saveliev – 0k – 86.5pt
85 Eric Milfeld – 0k – 86.5pt

Aside from the fact that I trained this piece very irregularly for the 6 months I had it prior to the event, I can not identify any other factors that could possibly have helped my performance, aside from just getting stronger in this position. I am seriously NOT SURE if it is better to row it up or to deadlift it with a consistent arm angle. I seem to have better luck if I row it, yet it seems most people have better luck with a consistent arm angle and a deadlift…

Shallow Hub Lift

I admittedly suck at Hub Lifting and did not dedicate very much time to this lift going into Leg 1. I know, recurring theme. However, aside from having a distaste for the event, Hub Lifting also plays hell on my finger injury, so I have stayed the hell away from this lift because it just plain hurts my middle finger on my right hand.

In my training, my best lift was a 25 and a 2.5, so the total is only about 32.5-lbs. I somehow managed to Dieselfy this lift at the comp and I got a shade over 46-lbs. This, incidentally, even beat out Brent Barbe, who constantly kicks my ass in hub lifting every time he comes up to train and every time it is in a competition we both compete in. However, my number pales in comparison to the number 1 performance of 26.64k, or 58.73-lbs done by Ivan Beritashvili – AMAZING!!

Here is the video of the Shallow Hub at Worlds Strongest Hands (PA) Leg 1

Here are the overall numbers on the Shallow Hub at Worlds Strongest Hands 2011 Leg 1

1 Ivan Beritashvili – 26.64k
2 Juha Harju – 25.6k
3 Richie Bevan – 24.24k
4 David Elmer – 23.69k
5 Jouni Pakarinen – 23.6k
6 Matti Heiskanen – 23.35k
7 Danny Bramall – 23.14k
8 Casey Emery – 22.86k
9 Adam T Glass – 22.8k
10 David Horne – 22.64k
11 Russ Farver – 22.61k – 11.5pt
11 Daniel Reinard – 22.61k – 11.5pt
13 Jedd Johnson – 20.91k
14 Teemu Koivunen – 20.85k
15 Timo Tuukkanen – 20.6k
16 David Thornton – 20.59k – 16.5pt
16 Paul Knight – 20.59k – 16.5pt
18 Chris Mathison – 20.44k
19 Alexey Pritula – 20.43k
20 Pete Kerr – 20.32k – 20.5pt
20 Carl Coffey – 20.32k – 20.5pt
22 Andrew Durniat – 19.62k – 22.5pt
22 Brent Barbe – 19.62k – 22.5pt
24 Taneli Levo – 19.6k – 24.5pt
24 Jarno Hyväri – 19.6k – 24.5pt
26 Maxwell Thompson – 19.59k
27 Bob Sundin – 19.26k
28 Mike Rinderle – 19.22k
29 James Grahame – 19.15k – 30pt
29 Tristan Woods – 19.15k – 30pt
29 David Stiff – 19.15k – 30pt
32 Bob Lipinski – 18.86k
33 Lee Morris – 18.69k
34 Zach Lister – 18.53k
35 Derek Graybill – 18.04k
36 Gary Hunt – 17.41k – 36.5pt
36 Elizabeth Horne – 17.41k – 36.5pt (Female)
38 Darrin Shallman – 17.18k
39 David Dellanave – 16.97k
40 Sergey Shebashov – 16.68k – 41pt
40 Ruben Piliposyan – 16.68k – 41pt
40 Ivan Silantyev – 16.68k – 41pt
43 Brett Lindskog – 16.23k – 43.5pt
43 Richard Maclean – 16.23k – 43.5pt
45 Jarrod Riordan – 16.21k – 45.5pt
45 Tomislav Basic – 16.21k – 45.5pt
47 Andrew Pantke – 16.1k
48 Austin Acree – 15.86k
49 Dmitry Motorin – 15.43k
50 Sylvester Salley – 15.4k – 51.5pt
50 Dylan Scally – 15.4k – 51.5pt
50 Kevin Fogarty – 15.4k – 51.5pt
50 David Loughman – 15.4k – 51.5pt
54 Nick Oswald – 15.2k
55 Anna Karrila – 15.1k (Female)
56 Jim McCourt – 14.9k
57 Chris Smith – 14.73k
58 David Sandel – 14.67k
59 Paul Wood – 14.54k
60 Alexander Mitropolsky – 14.19k – 60.5pt
60 Nikolay Saveliev – 14.19k – 60.5pt
62 Kevin Greto – 13.59k
63 Ryan J Pitts – 13.55k
64 Kari Väänänen – 13.35k
65 Kris Wragg – 13.14k
66 Bernard Lynch – 12.9k – 67pt
66 Steven McDonald – 12.9k – 67pt
66 Peter Carey – 12.9k – 67pt
69 Joe Tebbe – 12.39k
70 Tomas Valverde – 12.35k
71 Y. Häkkinen – 12.1k – 72.5pt (Female)
71 Jani Silvennoinen – 12.1k – 72.5pt
71 Jaana Tanner – 12.1k – 72.5pt (Female)
71 Anne Melin – 12.1k – 72.5pt (Female)
75 Thomas Mitchell – 11.7k
76 Mike T Nelson – 11.28k – 77pt
76 Brad Ellingson – 11.28k – 77pt
76 Kathi Burger – 11.28k – 77pt (Female)
79 Craig Mooney – 10.4k
80 Jodie Nelson – 10.11k (Female)
81 Melissa Rinderle – 10.08k (Female)
82 Mary Ann McKeague – 9.87k (Female)
83 Megan Kruger – 9k (Female)
84 Julia Harju – 6.35k (Female; 13 yrs)
85 Pyry Harju – 6.1k
86 Kevin Emery – 0k – 87pt
86 Aaron Jacobs – 0k – 87pt
86 Eric Milfeld – 0k – 87pt

Because this implement still bothers my middle finger, I have not hit this again since the competition with any intensity. I find if I work Grippers and Shallow Hub too close together, my middle finger is sore for a couple of days, so I have had to be careful.

Worlds Strongest Hands (PA) Leg 2

I will be holding Leg 2 here at my facility in Wyalusing PA on September 10th at 10 AM. Please contact me through email – jedd dot diesel at gmail dot com – or by phone – 607-857-6997.

Events for Worlds Strongest Hands (PA) Leg 2

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.

At this point, it looks like Mike and Melissa Rinderle, Christopher Smith, and Kevin Greto will all be coming back again. My new training partner, Eric Lloyd is planning on competing, too. Plus, I have heard from John Eaton will be coming from Cuyler NY with Richard Bean and Bob Sundin riding along as well. AWESOME. I am looking to get as many people here as possible. This past weekend, I spoke with Paul Tompkins and Mike Turpin about coming. Mike seems to be about 95% in. Not sure about Paul. anyone who wants to ride along to watch or compete is invited. The entry fee is only $15 per competitor per leg, so it is a very cheap contest you can use to test the waters of Grip Sport.

Competitor list UPDATE:

Confirmed
Jedd Johnson
Mike Rinderle
Melissa Rinderle
Kevin Greto
Christopher Smith
Mike Puchalski
John Eaton
Richard Bean
Adam ______
Bob Sundin
Eric Lloyd
Eric St. Onge

Possibles
Mike Krahling?
EJ Livesey?
Parris Janusek?
Mike Turpin?
Paul Tompkins?

Again, if you want to come, I urge you to.

Incidentally, this year, Worlds Strongest Hands has a Women’s Class (like last year) and a brand new Light-weight class. I have posted those overall results as well, below.

Women’s Overall results (11 competitors)

1 Elizabeth Horne – 4pt
2 Anna Karrila – 17pt (on countback)
3 Anne Melin – 17pt
4 Yvonne Häkkinen – 18pt
5 Jaana Tanner – 20pt
6 Mary Ann McKeague – 22pt
7 Kathi Burger – 26pt
8 Melissa Rinderle – 28pt
9 Jodie Nelson – 31pt
10 Megan Kruger – 37pt
11 Julia Harju – 44pt (13 yrs)

Men’s 82.5k Class Overall results (21 competitors)

1 Daniel Reinard – 11pt
2 Pete Kerr – 13.5pt
3 David Elmer – 14.5pt
4 Bob Sundin – 17.5pt
5 Teemu Koivunen – 20pt
6 Derek Graybill – 26pt
7 Ryan J Pitts – 39pt
8 Dmitry Motorin – 40.5pt
9 Tomislav Basic – 41pt
10 Taneli Levo – 42.5pt
11 Kevin Greto – 46pt
12 Nick Oswald – 47.5pt
13 Darrin Shallman – 49.5pt
14 Chris Smith – 55pt
15 David Sandel – 55.5pt
16 Nikolay Saveliev – 58pt
17 Tomas Valverde – 58.5pt
18 Kris Wragg – 61pt
19 Craig Mooney – 71pt (16 yrs)
20 Thomas Mitchell – 75pt (15 yrs)
21 Pyry Harju – 81.5pt (11 yrs)

So, what that means is, if you are a Woman, don’t think you will be going against guys. You will be competing for prizes against other ladies. Also, if you are a smaller statured person, you will be going against people who are smaller as well, provided you weigh less than 82.5-kg (181.88-lbs) 30 minutes before contest time.

Who else is coming? Leave a comment below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. If you want to see how I train on the Two Hands Pinch, check out the documentary I shot in 2009 when I broke the record for the first time: The Road to the Record: How I Broke the Record in the Two Hands Pinch

Hello DIESELS!

A pretty good group of submissions this week. Many of them were very, very close in performance as well. You need to check them out.

Special recognition for Elizabeth Horne, who took on the challenge while also being 6 months pregnant!!!
(more…)

Remember when you were a kid and you played Uno?

You always looked forward to drawing a Wild card so that you could change the color of the cards to what you had so you could really screw over the dude sitting next to you.

Well, now, you have the chance to not only get the figurative Wild Card in the sport of Grip, but essentially the Draw Four Wild Card, the most evil and powerful card in the deck that not only lets you change the color being played but also makes the next dude pick up four cards to add to his hand, the perfect play when that guy’s about ready to go out.

This week’s Grip Strength Challenge will allow someone to potentially qualify for Nationals and compete with the best in the nation. What is great about that is that it will give someone the chance to qualify who might have had an off-day in a contest, or even become qualified when no contests have been held near their area.

In fact, the next three weeks in the Grip Strength challenge will be Wild Card weeks! So you have an outstanding chance to qualify over the course of the next 4 weeks from the comfort of your own home, something that has never been possible before.

Two Hands Pinch

This week’s lift is the Two Hands Pinch. Now, normally in Grip Contests, an adjustable apparatus is used for this event, but in this case it will not be required. Instead you can just use normal plates with a pipe or bar running through them.

Also, in normal Grip Contests, the weights are all weighed using a certified scale. This will not be necessary, instead we will go by the number stated on the plates.

The pipe running through the plates and any collars that are added should be weighed, however – that is important. You must weigh them on a scale on video or else you can not count them.

For more specifics on how this lift is done for this week’s challenge, please watch the video below.

Two Hands Pinch

Some other requirements for this week’s challenge…

• A metal or PVC pipe can be used

• A double overhand pinch grip must be used
• Plates Must Be Smooth-Sides-Out
• The plates have to be lifted to lockout or very, very close to it (I WILL be watching closely)
• The implement must be controlled on the way down. If it slips out, it is no good.
• Unlimited attempts. Go for the biggest lift you can
• The weights must be added evenly on both sides of the pipe. In other words, if you add a 25 on the front, you have to add a 25 on the back as well. Front loading the implement makes it much, much easier.
• If there are any rules I have forgotten and you violate the spirit of the lift, it will not count. I reserve the right to disqualify a lift if it is in violation

That is about it. Other than that, make sure you match your video with the required information for the Title, Description, and Tags.

• Title: DieselCrew.com Grip Strength Challenge – Two Hands Pinch
• Description: http://www.dieselcrew.com Grip Strength Training
• Tags: grip strength, hand strength, grip training, wrist strength, pinch grip

Looking forward to the submissions and I hope you are able to qualify for Nationals. If so, see you there!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. Get on the Strongman Training DVD Early Bird List. Put your name and email in the box below.

This past Monday, an area news station, WETM in Elmira / Corning, NY, came to my garage gym here in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, and they ran the story on Thursday night.

Below is the video clip. In it I talk about my competitive history in Baseball, Strongman and Grip, I talk about what is included in a Grip Contest, as well as the backgrounds of some of the competitors – after all, Grip Sport isn’t just a bunch of hulkish 300+ pound monsters…