Here’s a write-up from 2018 North American Grip Sport Absolute Champion, Luke Raymond, 93kg weight class

Well to start I definitely did not think that I was going to win at the start of the day with Eric Roussin and fellow Canadians including Justin Major and Tom Bryson I was hoping to sneak into the top 3 overall.

To start the day I woke up at 4:15am super anxious for the contest which is normal if anyone knows me. My weight was somewhere near 205 but wasn’t too concerned whether i would be in the 93k or 105k class so i ate a small bowl of oatmeal and drank a creatine drink. I had a bunch of stuff I needed to load in my truck and planned on being at the gym early to help Jedd setup what he didn’t have done. After the 50 minute drive there it was 7:45 and only Jedd and Nigel were there. This was my first time meeting Nigel but following him on IG and FB I feel like I already knew him. After messing around with the two different scales we realized they were both about 1 lb over after checking them with the calibrated plates so we were both good for our respected weight classes. After getting everything settled in an people slowly coming in I relaized there must be something in the water in Canada that makes the people grow bigger because their smallest guy was over 6’ tall and the lightest Dan Fleming is a grip monster.

Chez had put together a list of the USA team for each event and after going through it, the lineup was set and knowing it was going to take some serious lifts to surpass the team from up north.

Event 1- Grippers– I hadn’t been able to train heavy grippers R handed due to injurying my R middle finger when chalking the hub in the Armlifting Contest in Philly (yeah quite the way to injure your finger); so I was unsure how I would do and I was hoping I could get 1-2 decent closes RH on the first two attempts and then if I had to go LH. First attempt I decided to go fairly high with a 155 and smashed it closed, immediate sharp pain in my finger but dissipated enough for me to try 160; close but no cigar. Next attempt I took LH and wasnt close and final attempt RH again no close. Finger held up enough to get me where I was hoping to end up.

Event 2- Euro Pinch – Last contest I was training and consistently pulling 227+ training but wasn’t able to reproduce those numbers in contest. This event I didnt even train Euro specifically instead training flask and IM blockbuster so I was unsure where I was going end up especially since tearing on my last flask session. Warming up I felt pretty good and was able to a few singles at 216 lbs on the warmup implement but is much more seasoned. After hitting my first two attempts at 203 and 208, Rob and I decided to jump up to 218 and both of us unsuccessful.

Event 3- 60mm Napalms Nightmare – thickbar has always been where I lag behind compared to the other elite 93k people and this was no different. I started light at 323 and took my next three attempts at 333, 338, and 348 all successful. The three thickbar giants from Canada still hadn’t even started; Eric, Justin, and Tom. I wasn’t paying full attention but I believe Tom finished around 380-390 and the Eric and Justin at 412. Justin was frustrated as he had pulled 430+ in training which is just unreal strength for both guys. I knew at this point I was close to the top 3, after figuring out the scoring I was indeed 3rd place behind Justin and Eric and felt I had a possibility of moving up based on the medley and wrist roller event.

Event 4- Medley – based on the items and the weights I was hoping to coming in at 53-56/60 but trying to determine the order to which I could maximize the points without fatiguing and failing on items I would normally lift is that planning part of the medley that makes it challenging. Knowing fatigued I wouldn’t be able to lift the 160lb crusher or the fatman blob those were the first two items I did. I was able to get everything I wanted except the 50lb inverted DB which I ended up with 55/60 which was the winning score wit the next highest being 51/60. After this event Eric and I were tied for first and Justin close behind.

Event 5- Wrist Roller – Ive had success with wrost roller events in the past and Jedd and I tried to figure out an appropriate weight that would lead to about a 40% success rate for the competitors and came up with 115lbs added to the sled. So 130lbs, 34’ and 60 secs was the course. As contestants went through the first competitor to finish was Nick Carigan (Canada) and then 3-4 more competitors coming in around 51-54 secs. Then in third place Justin Major sets a blazing fast pace with 39 secs with Eric and I still to go. In my head I now have to see how Eric does but also have to be able to stay within a few seconds of Justin to win the overall. Eric came up 2ft short of finishing and now I had to pick up my game as this was mine to win. No one else to help and all on me, I win or lose it’s all me. Prior to my attempt my anxiety was kicking in, heart rate was elevated, a little shortness of breath; so after chalking up I decided I would set a timer on my phone for 75 secs and when it said 60 I would start. As I am going I am focusing my eyes on the rope as it is winding on the wrist roller and nothing else, I could hear people yelling including Adam with the time but couldn’t decipher the words and the first time I looked up the sled was about 6’ from the line and I kept cranking on it until it crossed the line and looked at my phone which said 25 sec remaining so I had finished it in 35 secs and then In the excitement and couple yells I realized I had won my first overall contest and just happened to be NAGS.

Jedd had informed me that Brad Martin the gym owner had donated a prize for the overall winner and to find out it was a genuine replica of the 1988 Winged Eagle WWF Championship belt was truly badass.

It was a pleasure not only being in one of the closest grip contests but also competing with a bunch of new people that I had only ever seen on social media including; Nigel, Vinnie, Tom B (who made the trip from western Canada), Justin M, Nick C, and Bernie. Not to mention everyone that I had previously met an competed with. I look forward to many years to come and hopefully team USA can bring the team championship back!

Ready to Get Started with Grip Sport?
There’s No Better Resource Than This DVD Set:

Today’s guest post is from Nigel Blackburn, 66kg competitor from the 2018 North American Grip Sport Championship, which was held on June 2, 2018, at Titan Strength, in Elmira New York. Nigel is a virtual coaching client of mine in the Grip Task Force, and put this post together, reflecting back on his performance…

I’ll start off with a little background before the competition:

I come from a strength training background. I was a competitive powerlifter who also messed around with a few strongman events. Powerlifting inevitably became a “chore.” I didn’t look forward to training, which is always my favorite part of the day. I started brainstorming and realized that grip, to me, is the most fun thing to train. When I get into a hobby, I REALLY get into a hobby. I contacted @Jedd Johnson about getting serious about grip, and we started working together. In January, we started discussing possible opportunities to compete; we both agreed that NAGS 2018 was the way to go. I weighed about 158 at the time, so I hit the qualifying numbers for the 74kg class, but I knew 66kg was attainable (my previous powerlifting weight class). I was given the green light, so I booked a hotel and got my flight from Florida to Elmira.

Fast forward a few months:

After a full day of traveling, I made it to Elmira. My meals consisted on protein bars, unsalted cashews, and a small amount of water. I have always had a lot of anxiety about weight class sports. Making weight is something that scares me. After a poor night of sleep, it was game day. Jedd picked me up and drove me to the gym a few hours early. I had about 3 hours until comp time, and I was damn near ready to get it going. I made weight–not by much. It was a figurative sigh of relief. Weight was taken care of (66kg); now I could shift my focus to the competition. I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to all the competitors, which was great! Everyone was friendly and supportive–surely a nice change of pace from the near-toxic level of competition I have experienced in other sports. Time was flying; before long, it was go time!

The first event was a 20-mm block set close. This event worried me because I had discovered very close to the competition that the block I had been using was closer to 19mm. I ended up packing a Jenga block of all things. I was a tidbit wider than 20mm, but I was set on using my own block so I could place it in my teeth for a super quick transition into the block set. Once it was announced that the lightest weight class starts it off, a fire was lit; that meant I was the first person to take an attempt. Immediately my nervousness transitioned into laser-sharp focus. A deep breath, and I was off. I started off with a BB rated at 130. The set felt spongy and easy, I quickly transitioned and slid the block through, and crushed the first attempt. I was off to a hot start and confidence was high. My goal was to close a gripper rated at my bodyweight, so my sights were set on the 145. My confidence got the best of me for my next attempt. I took a big jump and missed the 140. No worries. My third attempt, I got the 135, but not very convincingly. I ended up fumbling around with the block set and had trouble opening it wide enough. The fourth and last attempt crept up on me, and I retried the 140; close but no cigar. I was admittedly a little discouraged as I closed much heavier in training, but it seemed like everyone had a rough gripper day, so I couldn’t be too mad. Regardless, the 135 gave me a WR by a wide margin, shattering the previous 115 in my weight class (although it was not contested many times).

The 2HP was next. I had my number in mind: 172. 172 would break the recently set WR. I was really thrown for a loop here, as I ended up unintentionally halting the competition as I was trying to find out exactly what I needed. I felt like I was inconveniencing everyone and felt a little embarrassed as a result. After hitting 160 convincingly, I attempted 173, which was the closest it could get to 172. I broke 173 off the floor, but I couldn’t lock it out. Not only would this be a WR but also a 10-lbs PR. I was visibly frustrated, but I tried it again. This time, no budge. Hindsight bias really got into my head here. I knew I could’ve gotten 170 and posted a better number, but I got greedy.

The Napalm Nightmare followed shortly after. My goal was the hit around 260. I knew this would likely be my worst event, and I was right. I hit my opener at 235, and it went downhill from there. Despite hitting 238×4 in training, I couldn’t get 245 on my next 3 attempts. I was actually just happy I didn’t bomb out on this event.

The medley room was a sensory overload–12 objects in 90 seconds. I never got to practice medley because I ended up resting about a week and a half before the meet to mend up a few aches and skin tears. Once the timer started, I moved quick and efficiently. I had a plan, and I executed very well. I made two huge mistakes, one of which I did not even notice until after: I forgot the anvil completely and did not lift the crusher. The clip on the Crusher got stuck on the loading pin, so I skipped it and came back at the end. By that time I was gassed and failed to lift it. Rookie mistakes, undeniably.

Last event: the dreaded wrist roller. I can’t write much about this. It was honestly a blur, and I’m 100% convinced I have already repressed the memory. All I can tell you is made it about 26 feet and my forearms nearly exploded. So, yeah…. that’s all I have to say about that.

Initially, I was very disappointed in my performance. I took gold and set a modest WR, but my main goals remained unachieved. I then gave it some though. This was my first ever grip competition–WHO CARES. It was that simple. I’m 23 years old, and I just finished my first competition. My main goal was to get my feet wet and experience what gripsport is all about; I did just that. I also got the meet the community–every single person I met was kind, encouraging, and well-spoken. I had competed and had a blast doing it. With that being said, I would consider NAGS 2018 is be a great success and a day I won’t forget. I’m already looking forward to all my future competitions where I will get to meet more people and run back into the great people I have met. I would list everyone out, but I feel this post is already way too long as is.

My Note to Nigel: I thought you did awesome my man.

Grippers can get sketchy in a hurry, bro. And like you saw, lots of people were having trouble, despite the fact that they had all be freshly cleaned and the springs oiled. What is great is that you had complete command of the gripper, the set, the block, etc. I was happy to see all that.

On the Pinch, don’t ever think you’re holding the contest up by verifying a number for a record. That is part of the game, ever since weight classes were instituted. I think for most people, it actually adds to the excitement and suspense, that someone has a big number in mind to break, and they want to pay attention more and witness the whole thing.

On the Nightmare, I think it could have had something to do with the slowing of the pace, due to everyone’s energy levels being low after the second event, plus eating pizza, etc. I thought everyone seemed totally dead after that, and remember thinking, “What the heck is going on with these guys?” Ha ha.

The Wrist Roller is just plain tough. And Medleys are an experience all themselves. In your time training grip, you haven’t done a lot of the “oddball” stuff that shows up in a Medley. With more time under your belt, you’ll feel more comfortable with all of the different implements. I like to lay out almost a grid-pattern in my head, surrounding all the items with invisible lines, to make more sense of it all.

Take note, that many of the guys who’ve only done contests like King Kong or Grip Games, where there is no Medley, also make tactical errors. Once you go through a Medley or two, you get an idea of how to cut your time down, and maximize your potential on each item. It will all come, my man.

To wrap up…awesome job. You attacked everything, bro. That’s what you need to do. Can’t wait to see you at the next contest, now that you’ve gotten the taste of grip competition!

Join Jedd’s Grip Task Force Today,
And Start Reaching Your Goals Faster Than Ever
Click Here to Join

This past weekend was the Winter Grip Fest, held 2/18/17 in Wyalusing PA at the Diesel Gym, Jedd’s House of Strength.

ABOVE: Pat Maizels, Luke Raymond, Jedd Johnson, Eric Lloyd, Pete Hustek,
Tim Butler (behind), Eirik Bruun Ingebretsen, Chris Andrade, Peter Nickless, Don Smitley

A fun competition, with a great group of guys, my personal highlight was setting a World Record in the #4 Silver Bullet Hold.

#4 Silver Bullet World Record

Here are all the attempts of all the competitors.

Winter Grip Fest: Silver Bullet – Attempts 1 Through 3

Next event was the Two Hands Pinch.

Winter Grip Fest: Two Hands Pinch

Next event was the Pickaxe Lift to the Front

Winter Grip Fest: Pickaxe Lift to the Front

Next event was the Bull Ring Hub Lift

Winter Grip Fest: Bull Ring Hub Lift

The last event was the Pinch Block Hold for Time

Winter Grip Fest: Pinch Block Hold for Time

During and after the competition, several awesome feats went down, especially ones set by the Big Man from Norway, Eirik Bruun Ingebretsen.

Eirik Bruun Ingebretsen – Thick Bar Feats

Time Butler also brought up a couple of cool grip challenge items to try.

Here’s Tim’s half 70lb Globe dumbbell head, called a Glob.

Lifting the Half 70lb Glob

Here’s Tim’s Half 120lb Hex with the handle still attached. When lifting a block weight with the handle still on (especially on the thumb side) it makes it quite a bit more difficult.

Lifting the Half 120 Hex with Handle on Thumb Side

Thanks for bringing those up brother!

I’m pumped everyone was able to make it for this small, yet very fun competition.

If anyone is interested in learning how I train the Silver Bullet, then please be sure to check out my Silver Bullet Workout DVD below.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

This Week in Grip Podcast

I’ve been wanting to hold a rundown show about Grip Sport for years, and I’ve finally hooked up with Allen Heineck to start doing it.

On 1/15/17, we did our first episode, and over the weekend, we did our second. I’ve got them both posted below, so be sure to check them out!

This Week in Grip Episode #1 – 1/15/17

This Week in Grip Episode #2 – 1/22/17

What were the Top 5 Feats of Grip Strength from 2016, in your opinion?

Weigh in with your vote in the comments below!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Get Your Grip RIGHT This Year with These Awesome Products

Diesel Crew and Titan Strength present:

A Branch of the 10th Anniversary of the Adjustable Pinch Contest

When: Saturday 3 May, 2014

Events
1. Two Hands Pinch Lift
4 Attempts to lift as big of weight as possible. Rising Bar will be used.
The European Adjustable pinch will be used.

2. Two Hands Pinch Lift Hold
4 Attempts to hold the biggest weight as long as possible. Reverse Rising Bar will be used
The European Adjustable pinch will be used.

3. Stub – Hold
4 Attempts to hold the biggest weight as long as possible. Reverse Rising Bar will be used
The Grip Topz Stub will be used

*These are the three events that will factor into the overall world-wide scoring for the 10th Anniversary Mega Comp

Additional Event(s) (Factored into Local Scoring)

1. IronMind Silver Bullet Hold
4 Attempts to hold 2.5-kgs as long as possible.
Men will use #3 or #2 gripper. Women will use #2 or #1 Gripper.
A Brand New #3 gripper will be opened for this event, in order to qualify for the official World Record, should anyone be bold enough to go for it.

2. Double Blob Lift Hold for Time
4 Attempts to hold 50-lb Blobs off the ground as long as possible.
Two Next Gen Blobs will be used.

Classes: Open

Venues: Various Clubs
David Horne, England
Juha Harju, Finland
Jedd Johnson, USA
Jon Umpherville, Canada

Entrance fees: $20

Trophies: There will be medals for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of the Open, sent by David Horne after the event.

Competitors will sign a release/waiver and pay entry fee prior to the event.

Address:

Titan Strength
352 East Franklin Street
Horseheads, NY 14845

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Hands Across the Sea Grip Contest

Head Organizer: David Horne
Locale Promoter: Jedd Johnson
Date: Saturday, February 8th, 2014
Times: Weigh-ins: 8:30 to 10 AM Rules: 9AM, Warm-ups: 9:30, Contest Begins 10:30AM Final Wrap-up: 3PM
Location: Jedd’s Gym, Wyalusing PA
Entrance Fee: $20

Additional Events: After the contest, if time allows, we will have an open training session. You will also be able to take attempts at NAGS qualification lifts, Grip Monsters Challenge, and other On-line Challenges.

Events:
1. Two Hands Pinch Lift: 4 Attempts to Get Your Max Lift
2. Stub – Hold: Hold for time using specified weights. (Rules Below)
3. IronMind Gripper #4, #3 or #2 – Silver Bullet: Hold for Time with 2.5-kilograms. (Rules Below)

Rules – 4 attempts allowed on each event if you wish
Event 1 – Two Hands Pinch Lift
The width of the pinch apparatus is adjustable to suit different hand sizes, but to keep it within the spirit of a pinch lift the minimum width allowed is the 2 outer steel discs and 2 rubber spacer discs, a width of 24mm. Before the event starts, you will be given the opportunity to try it and find your best width. The smooth-sided, adjustable-width disc is held on a 2” thick metal rod by a pair of collars. Extra weights will be added to the outsides. The top of this is grasped with an overhand pinch grip (with no further than a 3” gap between the index fingers) and lifted until the end of the bar touches a horizontal bar placed at 16.5”, measured from the underside of the bar to the floor. There is no referee’s signal. You do not have to be erect upon completion. You must lower the weight under control. If the outer discs accidentally touch the bar before the bar itself, referee’s discretion will be used to judge whether the correct height was attained. Pinch gripping the discs using an unorthodox underhand grip will not be allowed.

Additional equipment rules: 1. The apparatus has to be loaded with the same number of discs on each side, in the same order, and has to weigh similar (max 1k tolerance between the total weight of the weights at the front, and weights at the rear). 2. The heaviest discs should be loaded nearest to the adjustable pinch discs themselves. 3. The spacer/collars that hold the inside adjustable discs together should be the same length. 4. The discs added should be smaller in height than the adjustable discs you grasp, so that the view of the lifters hands are not totally obscured, and the lift starts from the proper height.

Event 2 – Stub Hold
1. The usual Stub rules apply; except you do not have to lift the apparatus to a certain height. Timing is started from the moment the weight is lifted off the floor, and stopped when it either drops out of the hands, or it is put down. The apparatus is not allowed to touch the legs or any other bodyparts apart from the hands holding it.

2. The minimum time accepted in the contest is 5 seconds. All times are rounded down to the full second ie. 17.77secs, becomes 17secs.

3. Weights to be used are: 21k, 19k, 16k, 13k, 10k or 7k if needed.

4. The best way to operate this event in a contest is to go from heavy (21k) to light, and this means that someone can have an attempt at the heavier weight, and if they fail they can fall back to a lighter weight.

Event 3 – IronMind Gripper – Silver Bullet

Not official record attempt.

1. Must use a CoC gripper #4, #3 or #2.

2. The best way to operate this event in a contest is to go from #4 to #2, and this means that someone can have an attempt at the tougher gripper, and if they fail they can fall back to an easier one.

3. A genuine IronMind CoC Silver Bullet must be used, with 2.5 kg of weight hanging from the strap silver bullet and this weight may take the form of either an IWF or IPF certified recognized (calibrated) plate or some other weight that has been demonstrated to be no less that 2.50 kg on a certified or otherwise demonstrably-accurate scale.

4. The CoC Silver Bullet is inserted by the competitor no deeper than up to the top edge of the clear band, so that the script Captains of Crush® is legible, and so that all four fingers are in contact with the CoC gripper handle* (dropping the pinky completely off the end of the gripper handle is expressly prohibited).

5. Using one or two hands, the competitor closes the CoC No. 3 in his own time so that the two handles hold the CoC Silver Bullet in place and once this position has been achieved, and only one hand is holding the gripper shut, the referee gives the signal to start the clock. If the competitor fails to get a secure hold on the CoC Silver Bullet he is allowed one chance to reset it.

6. The hand must be held with the gripper approximately vertical.

7. Time stops when the Silver Bullet drops from the handles or when the referee observes any opening of the gripper handle for any reason whatsoever.

*This means on the “top” side of the handle, as the fingers are normally positioned.

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If you have any questions at all, please post below.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Take Your Two Hands Pinch to the Next Level

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King Kong Grip Challenge Preparation

My members at TheGripAuthority.com are always pushing themselves, and if there is a Grip Contest going on in the United States, you can bet that some of them have their eyes set on it, just like King Kong to the right.

In October, Eric Roussein will be holding a world-wide competition called the King Kong Grip Challenge, and this contest is no different, as at least two of my guys are getting ready to compete in it.

I was asked to put something together around this contest because of its interesting selection of events.

At the King Kong Grip Challenge, these are the events:

• 1 Hand Axle Deadlift
• 1 Hand Euro Pinch
• IronMind Hub
• IronMind Little Big Horn

The events that will be held in King Kong Grip Challenge are not the most common events. While all of them have appeared in contests before, they are not perennially featured events, and very little information is out there about them.

With that, I went straight to work laying out the Workout of the Month.

Naturally, I wanted to provide as complete information as possible for those planning to test themselves in this competition, so I also put together a video about strategy for this type of contest, and I did a technique demonstration for each event as well.

So, you are getting much more than just a workout.

This is a 2-Day Workout. I thought it best to set it up this way for two reasons.

1. All of the events are 1-handed. Training 4 different events all in one day will always cause one or two of the events to be trained with hands that are far too exhausted to get a good indication of progress, so two events are trained on one day, and the other two are trained on the other, along with a short gripper workout.

2. Since some of these events are uncommon, I knew most people would have to dedicate more time to some of them in order to get complete conditioning and development. Most just have not trained lifts like the 1-hand axle and the little big horn, so they need more dedicated time.

So, not only are you getting 1 workout, but 2.

Naturally, you can place the days wherever you like during the week, however it works for you. You can even switch days for certain events if you’d like. I set the days up like I did for the following reasons:

1. Thick Bar has a tendency to mess up gripper performance, so I put those on two separate days.

2. 1 Hand Euro and the Hub both work the thumbs, so I placed them on two separate days so they did not interfere with one another as much.

3. 1 Hand Axle and Little Big Horn are the two heaviest events, so I split them up, one on each day.

I think this workout will help you with your programming for the King Kong Grip Challenge. Any questions you have about personalizing this for your needs, just let me know.

Pick it up here: King Kong Grip Challenge Workout Just $9.95.

Jedd

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Check out some of my other popular products.

     

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A couple months ago, some of the guys from TheGripAuthority.com were talking in our Facebook Forum about Grip Contests.

They made mention of the fact that where they live, there are rarely, if ever, any Grip Contests anywhere remotely close.

They said, since they’d have to travel in order to compete (and they want to compete in a comp like caged wild dogs want to eat raw T-bone steaks), they figured, “Hey, if we’ve got to travel to compete anyway, we might as well travel to Jedd’s place and compete so he can show us how to do it right.”

Sound Wisdom.

These guys reached out to me, and I thought it was a great idea. These guys would be able to get their feet wet in Grip Sport, and I would be able to help them out every step along the way.

If you are looking to compete in Grip Sport, this is a GREAT contest for you to attend. And if you are a complete beginner, you should definitely consider it. Many people who have confirmed that they are coming have never competed in contests before.

Here is the info on the contest.

Holdfast Gauntlet

Date: Saturday, September 28, 2013

Start Time: 10AM

Weigh-ins: 8AM

Rules: 9AM

Weight Classes: All official NAGS weight classes will be run, provided the contestants send their entry forms prior to to 9/21/13. My scale will be point calibrated, so that your lifts will be official for the NAGS Records Lists.

Entry Fee: $50 ($70 day of event)

Entry Form: Download Here

Prizes: To be determined.

Events:

• Grippers with 20-mm Block
• 2 Hands Pinch
• 12-lb Hammer Coin Deadlift to 18″
• Speed Medley
• Hold for Time or Wrist Roller

I will put demonstrational videos up for the execution of all of the lifts at TGA, another benefit of being a member.

Here is a video about the contest. It contains links to other videos that give more specific info on the contest.

Airlines: 3 airlines are almost all within the same distance to my place: Scranton/Wilkes Barre International, Elmira/Corning NY and Binghampton NY. My town I am in is Wyalusing.

There are a lot more hotels around than there were the last time I ran a big comp, so I will get that information out to you.

Confirmed Entrants:

Rick Walker (possible depending on family events)
Mike Rinderle
Jedd Johnson Definite
Brent Barbe
Darrin Shallman
Lucas Wicks
Chris Andrade
Frank DeLuca
Colt Anstine & Wife
Robby Sparango
George Bristol
Chez (depending on injuries)
Kevin Collen
Karl M. Skjelvik (paid)

Questions? Post below if you do not see the answer here.

All the best in your training, and I look forward to seeing you here in Wyalusing, PA.

Jedd

Need Help Preparing for the Holdfast Gauntlet?
Join me at TheGripAuthority.com and Let’s Get Your Ready for the Platform

Amy Wattles – Axle Deadlift in Poland, 2008

DIESELS,

A few months back, I was contacted by woman looking for coaching for Grip Sport. While this in itself is awesome, I was even more impressed to find out that it was none other than successful Strongwoman and Highlander Games competitor, as well as Elite FTS-sponsored athlete, Amy Wattles.

Over the coming weeks and months, it was my pleasure to coach her in preparation for Grip Sport Nationals 2012.

After setting a new world record in the women’s division, I asked her if she could take the time for a short interview, and she obliged. If YOU have any additional questions for Amy, leave them in the comment box and I will get them to her. Enjoy the interview. -Jedd-

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Jedd: Amy, tell us a little bit about your athletic background.

Amy: I am currently a nationally ranked strongwoman competitor, compete in highland games and as of this past week now compete in Grip Sport.

My athletic background growing up was pretty typical and there was nothing remarkable about it except I was above average in the sports I played. At that time girls didn’t really go into the weight room much and if they did, I was first in line to make fun of them.

There weren’t many strength athletes or opportunities available to me at that time. Or perhaps it’s better to say, I wasn’t aware of those opportunities. This was at a time when the internet didn’t exist so accessing strength training opportunities and resources was far more difficult than it currently is.

I’ve always been athletic and played softball and volleyball as a child all the way through high school. I actually stopped playing volleyball my final year in high school to do a few beauty pageants. In hindsight that’s hilarious. I’m not sure what I was even thinking but it was a good time. Truth be told, I did it to try something different.

In one of the pageants, I was on stage giving what was supposed to be a heart filled, moving speech. In the middle of my speech I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. I was hunched over, slapping myself on my knee just laughing and laughing. The more I tried to contain myself, the harder I would laugh. I learned pretty quickly that I was probably better suited for other activities. In the end, a girl can’t hide who she is no matter how much make up, big hair and fancy dresses she has.

Jedd: How did you get involved in strength sports?

Amy: When I started college, I was enrolled in a few weight lifting classes and loved the exposure to the weight room. I walked into the weight room being able to squat 315 raw. It was at that point my husband Matt convinced me that I was pretty strong. I took his word for it, I had nothing else to compare it to.

In the back of my mind I thought 315 wasn’t too much, 405 would have been impressive. It’s that mind set that still sticks with me. I haven’t decided if it’s a positive or negative influence on my training.

There have only been a handful of times in my career when I felt really good about a lift or performance. There’s always a voice in the back of my head telling me that a lift wasn’t big enough, I could have been quicker, someone else could have done something I wasn’t able to, etc.

I continued to train sporadically and was always very interested in strongman. I would watch World’s Strongest Woman on television and knew that was something I could do. After about 10 years of sporadic training and having the desire to do strongman, I finally had the opportunity. Corey St. Clair was a local pro strongman and his mother was my principal at the school I was teaching at. She was training for a local strongman competition. She convinced me to come out and train with them. I was actually pregnant at the time with my daughter, so three months after she was born I started training. Once she was born, I dragged her saucer along and propped her up in it on the sidewalk so I could train.

As a mother of two young kids at the time, training quickly became “me” time. It was something that allowed me to get away from all of the demands and expectations, hang out with my friends, socialize and unleash the fury of all the things a working mother of two could possibly be feeling. Training was my sanity and helped me stay connected with who I am.

There are several strongwoman competitors who started competing after the birth of their children. I think there’s a common thread there. We were looking for a way to maintain our own identities aside from motherhood and realized how quickly our lives became about meeting other people’s needs. Training provided the opportunity for us to stay true to who we are and not fall into that typical “mom” role.

---

Jedd: What titles/championships have you won as a strength athlete?

Amy: Really and truly the one that I am the most proud of is my performance at Grip Nationals this past week. Grip has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and throughout my strongman training I always drew a line in the sand to not use straps, to train my grip consistently and work with the axle to the greatest extent possible on all lifts in training. There was a point when using a standard bar was far more difficult than the axle. My performance this last week was a culmination of many years of strongman training.

In 2010 I won the North American Highlander Assoc (NAHA) national championship which is a mixture of highland games and strongman events. I have competed in way too many to count local and regional strongman competitions, always doing exceptionally well. In 2008 I competed in the World Strongwoman Championship and came in 6th place.

---

Jedd: You recently competed in your first grip contest. How did you find out about Grip Sport?

Amy: Through the years I had always followed grip feats through Ironmind. The Rolling Thunder record was always on my to do list but I never came across an event or competition that had it. Julie Havelka had promoted some grip competitions out in Oregon so I always followed her accomplishments and competitions. Once she stopped doing grip, I never really followed grip after that.

Amy and I After Nationals

I was checking out a forum one day and happened to see Andrew Durniat’s post about grip nationals. I didn’t even know it existed. I found out about Jedd and that quickly became a positive and educational experience with my own training.

---

Jedd: What did you think about Grip going in? Were you surprised about anything as you trained for the contest?

Amy: Going in to grip training, I under estimated how taxing the training was on my body. I figured it was pretty basic stuff and with strongman as my typical training, I didn’t think it would be too difficult. The grip training in conjunction with my regular strength training was breaking me down pretty badly, especially once I switched to more high volume training. There were several times that Jedd and I had to restructure my training in order to accommodate the stress and fatigue my body was feeling. I was also seeing some nice carry over on the overhead pressing which I did not anticipate.

---

Jedd: What did you learn from your first contest? Big take-aways?

Amy: Going in to my first contest, I was counting on people showing me the ropes and would be patient explaining all of the rules to me. I was right. The grip competitors are on par with highland games competitors, very supportive and patient to the newbie. I am so grateful for all of their help.

During the competition I wasn’t sure of some of the rules and regulations. I didn’t realize you could go sumo on the deadlift. Not that I use sumo, but it was something that never really crossed my mind.

In hindsight I needed to trust my own knowledge and experience as a lifter. I’ve been involved in strength sports long enough that I know what works for me and what doesn’t. My set up on the axle was TERRIBLE! I typically take a much wider stance with my arms and legs. In my video you will see my arms pulling against my shins. I wasn’t better prepared for hand placement on the axle and I was concerned about not fully understanding the rules. I was fortunate that my bad set up still allowed me to pull a decent amount of weight.

That voice inside me also tells me that I could have pulled more had I followed the technicalities of a good lift and what works for me as a lifter. I also under estimated my own knowledge and experience on the 2hp with the chalk. Again, I know what works for me but I ignored that knowledge and didn’t do as well as I had expected.

Another big take away I had was how awesome the other competitors were. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in but people quickly made me feel at home and at ease. Grip proved to be a very positive experience.

---

Jedd: What advice could you give to other men and women interested in competing in Grip?

Amy: The best piece of advice I could give someone is to hook up with someone who knows grip. In my case that was Jedd. Researching and understanding all of the different events and implements takes time. I didn’t have that time, so I went to the expert to help me through that learning curve. There are many excellent resources out there and connecting with other competitors is essential. The Grip Board was very helpful for me along with the billions of resources and videos Jedd has out there. His coaching was worth the investment and ensured that I could maximize my performance in the time I had available to me to prepare.

My next piece of advice is to just get out there and try it. There is never the perfect time for a competition or event. Like strongman and highland games, the best learning opportunities come when you actually compete. Nobody is going to point and laugh at you (unless you really deserve it) and will help any competitor though the uncertainty and inexperience. Once that first competition is over, personal reflection and goal setting become much easier for the next competition.

---

Jedd: Amy, thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to do the interview with me. It was great working with you and watching you do so well, and I hope to see you move your numbers up even further very soon.

If you would like to learn more about Amy and her experience with Grip Sport, or if you’d like to follow her on Elite, check out the following links:

Elite FTS Q & A

Amy’s Training Log on Elite

To discuss Coaching Programs with me, email me at jedd dot diesel at gmail.com

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Amy Wattles – Axle Deadlift in Poland, 2008
DIESELS,
A few months back, I was contacted by woman looking for coaching for Grip Sport. While this in itself is awesome, I was even more impressed to find out that it was none other than successful Strongwoman and Highlander Games competitor, as well as Elite FTS-sponsored athlete, Amy Wattles.
Over the coming weeks and months, it was my pleasure to coach her in preparation for Grip Sport Nationals 2012.
After setting a new world record in the women’s division, I asked her if she could take the time for a short interview, and she obliged. If YOU have any additional questions for Amy, leave them in the comment box and I will get them to her. Enjoy the interview. -Jedd-

---

Jedd: Amy, tell us a little bit about your athletic background.

Amy: I am currently a nationally ranked strongwoman competitor, compete in highland games and as of this past week now compete in Grip Sport.
My athletic background growing up was pretty typical and there was nothing remarkable about it except I was above average in the sports I played. At that time girls didn’t really go into the weight room much and if they did, I was first in line to make fun of them.
There weren’t many strength athletes or opportunities available to me at that time. Or perhaps it’s better to say, I wasn’t aware of those opportunities. This was at a time when the internet didn’t exist so accessing strength training opportunities and resources was far more difficult than it currently is.
I’ve always been athletic and played softball and volleyball as a child all the way through high school. I actually stopped playing volleyball my final year in high school to do a few beauty pageants. In hindsight that’s hilarious. I’m not sure what I was even thinking but it was a good time. Truth be told, I did it to try something different.
In one of the pageants, I was on stage giving what was supposed to be a heart filled, moving speech. In the middle of my speech I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. I was hunched over, slapping myself on my knee just laughing and laughing. The more I tried to contain myself, the harder I would laugh. I learned pretty quickly that I was probably better suited for other activities. In the end, a girl can’t hide who she is no matter how much make up, big hair and fancy dresses she has.

Jedd: How did you get involved in strength sports?

Amy: When I started college, I was enrolled in a few weight lifting classes and loved the exposure to the weight room. I walked into the weight room being able to squat 315 raw. It was at that point my husband Matt convinced me that I was pretty strong. I took his word for it, I had nothing else to compare it to.
In the back of my mind I thought 315 wasn’t too much, 405 would have been impressive. It’s that mind set that still sticks with me. I haven’t decided if it’s a positive or negative influence on my training.
There have only been a handful of times in my career when I felt really good about a lift or performance. There’s always a voice in the back of my head telling me that a lift wasn’t big enough, I could have been quicker, someone else could have done something I wasn’t able to, etc.
I continued to train sporadically and was always very interested in strongman. I would watch World’s Strongest Woman on television and knew that was something I could do. After about 10 years of sporadic training and having the desire to do strongman, I finally had the opportunity. Corey St. Clair was a local pro strongman and his mother was my principal at the school I was teaching at. She was training for a local strongman competition. She convinced me to come out and train with them. I was actually pregnant at the time with my daughter, so three months after she was born I started training. Once she was born, I dragged her saucer along and propped her up in it on the sidewalk so I could train.
As a mother of two young kids at the time, training quickly became “me” time. It was something that allowed me to get away from all of the demands and expectations, hang out with my friends, socialize and unleash the fury of all the things a working mother of two could possibly be feeling. Training was my sanity and helped me stay connected with who I am.
There are several strongwoman competitors who started competing after the birth of their children. I think there’s a common thread there. We were looking for a way to maintain our own identities aside from motherhood and realized how quickly our lives became about meeting other people’s needs. Training provided the opportunity for us to stay true to who we are and not fall into that typical “mom” role.

---

Jedd: What titles/championships have you won as a strength athlete?

Amy: Really and truly the one that I am the most proud of is my performance at Grip Nationals this past week. Grip has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and throughout my strongman training I always drew a line in the sand to not use straps, to train my grip consistently and work with the axle to the greatest extent possible on all lifts in training. There was a point when using a standard bar was far more difficult than the axle. My performance this last week was a culmination of many years of strongman training.
In 2010 I won the North American Highlander Assoc (NAHA) national championship which is a mixture of highland games and strongman events. I have competed in way too many to count local and regional strongman competitions, always doing exceptionally well. In 2008 I competed in the World Strongwoman Championship and came in 6th place.

---

Jedd: You recently competed in your first grip contest. How did you find out about Grip Sport?

Amy: Through the years I had always followed grip feats through Ironmind. The Rolling Thunder record was always on my to do list but I never came across an event or competition that had it. Julie Havelka had promoted some grip competitions out in Oregon so I always followed her accomplishments and competitions. Once she stopped doing grip, I never really followed grip after that.

Amy and I After Nationals
I was checking out a forum one day and happened to see Andrew Durniat’s post about grip nationals. I didn’t even know it existed. I found out about Jedd and that quickly became a positive and educational experience with my own training.

---

Jedd: What did you think about Grip going in? Were you surprised about anything as you trained for the contest?

Amy: Going in to grip training, I under estimated how taxing the training was on my body. I figured it was pretty basic stuff and with strongman as my typical training, I didn’t think it would be too difficult. The grip training in conjunction with my regular strength training was breaking me down pretty badly, especially once I switched to more high volume training. There were several times that Jedd and I had to restructure my training in order to accommodate the stress and fatigue my body was feeling. I was also seeing some nice carry over on the overhead pressing which I did not anticipate.

---

Jedd: What did you learn from your first contest? Big take-aways?

Amy: Going in to my first contest, I was counting on people showing me the ropes and would be patient explaining all of the rules to me. I was right. The grip competitors are on par with highland games competitors, very supportive and patient to the newbie. I am so grateful for all of their help.
During the competition I wasn’t sure of some of the rules and regulations. I didn’t realize you could go sumo on the deadlift. Not that I use sumo, but it was something that never really crossed my mind.
In hindsight I needed to trust my own knowledge and experience as a lifter. I’ve been involved in strength sports long enough that I know what works for me and what doesn’t. My set up on the axle was TERRIBLE! I typically take a much wider stance with my arms and legs. In my video you will see my arms pulling against my shins. I wasn’t better prepared for hand placement on the axle and I was concerned about not fully understanding the rules. I was fortunate that my bad set up still allowed me to pull a decent amount of weight.
That voice inside me also tells me that I could have pulled more had I followed the technicalities of a good lift and what works for me as a lifter. I also under estimated my own knowledge and experience on the 2hp with the chalk. Again, I know what works for me but I ignored that knowledge and didn’t do as well as I had expected.
Another big take away I had was how awesome the other competitors were. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in but people quickly made me feel at home and at ease. Grip proved to be a very positive experience.

---

Jedd: What advice could you give to other men and women interested in competing in Grip?

Amy: The best piece of advice I could give someone is to hook up with someone who knows grip. In my case that was Jedd. Researching and understanding all of the different events and implements takes time. I didn’t have that time, so I went to the expert to help me through that learning curve. There are many excellent resources out there and connecting with other competitors is essential. The Grip Board was very helpful for me along with the billions of resources and videos Jedd has out there. His coaching was worth the investment and ensured that I could maximize my performance in the time I had available to me to prepare.
My next piece of advice is to just get out there and try it. There is never the perfect time for a competition or event. Like strongman and highland games, the best learning opportunities come when you actually compete. Nobody is going to point and laugh at you (unless you really deserve it) and will help any competitor though the uncertainty and inexperience. Once that first competition is over, personal reflection and goal setting become much easier for the next competition.

---

Jedd: Amy, thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to do the interview with me. It was great working with you and watching you do so well, and I hope to see you move your numbers up even further very soon.
If you would like to learn more about Amy and her experience with Grip Sport, or if you’d like to follow her on Elite, check out the following links:
Elite FTS Q & A
Amy’s Training Log on Elite
To discuss Coaching Programs with me, email me at jedd dot diesel at gmail.com
All the best in your training,
Jedd

This past weekend, I competed at the Gripmas Carol, an annual Grip contest promoted by Chris Rice.

Like others have said this was a bittersweet trip for me because Chris has announced that this year’s contest would be the last of its kind he would be holding.

Nevertheless, I made the trip to enjoy the chill of the Ohio air one more time in the Gripmas Contest setting.

I competed in the Elite category. The way Elite level is decided is the Total between RGC Grippers, Two Hands Pinch and IronMind Axle. Once your total hits 800-lbs you are entered into the Elite Category. This put me in competition with Andrew Durniat, my perennial adversary and the 2011 North American Champion in our Division of Grip Sport.

From the beginning of the contest, we knew it would be a close battle. Many times over the years our scores have ended with just 1 to 3 points’ difference when we have battled it out head to head, and this time proved to be no different.

Event 1 – Choked Grippers

The first event was choked Grippers, meaning a hose clamp was used to keep the handles of the gripper at parallel, so only the final portion of the close, the Finish was contested.

This event is a mystery to me. In training, I could not close my 168-rated Elite Gripper and then I ended up closing a 195-rated Super Elite at the contest. How this is possible is beyond me. I have no idea where the extra closing power came from.

My first attempt was on a 191-rated gripper, which I closed easily to my surprise, and which gave me some confidence going into the next three attempts. For my second attempt, I went for the 195, but missed it and when I asked Sean “Doc” Dockery if I was close he said, “Nope.”

Doc has become the go-to judge in Grip, volunteering his time on many occasions over the years fro Chris Rice, and for me as well in this year’s National Championship which was also held at Chris Rice’s facility. He is absolutely the best judge in Grip, if you ask me. So for him to say that I was nowhere near closing the 195, I knew that I was way off, and needed to get serious on attempt three.

My third time to the Gripper Table, I was very nervous. Andrew had just closed a +/- 214-lb gripper, so I knew I had to do some damage on this one and PR on this piece. I was very deliberate on my positioning and on my set and drove the handles home on a secondary pule for a good close of 195.

I don’t recall what I went on for my fourth attempt. It doesn’t really matter because I missed it. Plus, Andrew closed something like a 224-lb #4 gripper. It is a World Record Close for Choked Grippers. Andrew had already staked a solid lead for himself, beating me by nearly 30-lbs. I knew going into the next event, Two Hands Pinch, that I would need to finish about 40-lbs ahead of him in order to even up the score.

Event 2 – Two Hands Pinch

As most of you know, I held the World Record in this lift with going into Gripmas with just over 264-lbs, or 120-kg. However, the word in the Grip Strength Rumor Mill was that Andrew had been training the Two Hands Pinch pretty hard coming into Crooksville, so I knew it was not going to be a cake walk.

Something many of you may not realize, however, is that there are actually two classes of Two Hands Pinch being recorded these days. Recently, the Lightweight Class was instituted and a separate record is maintained for anyone weighing 82.5-kg or less is entered into those standings. Going into Gripmas, the leader in the 82.5-kg class was Daniel Reinard. He set the mark at Leg 3 of World’s Strongest Hands at my gym in October.

However, another member of Durniat’s camp, Brendan Gerber, had been killing the pinch in his training leading up to Gripmas, nearly doubling a weight that would have beat the record. He showed up on the day of the contest and showed everyone what it was like to be 18 again, and took the title – pinching 206-lbs and some change.

Brendan Ferber – 206-lbs

For this event, we used my Euro plates on Doc’s newly built instantly adjustable apparatus, which enabled us to perform the Two Hands Pinch event in one trip up through the weights, starting out around 100-lbs and moving the whole way through without having to clear the weights off and start again for the next thickness. This really improved the event. Normally all the people at 44-mm go, then 48, then 52, etc. But on this day it was one trip through the weights and with a twist of the front collar the spacers could be pulled or replaced and people lifting different widths could feel the intensity all at the same relative time.

My opponent, Andrew Durniat, finished his attempts in the low 230’s, and I began mine in the low 250’s. This was my second competition competing on 58-mm which recently has been feeling like the perfect width in my hands.

I debated going for a new world record on my first attempt. That would have made all of my attempts World Record Attempts, but Chris encouraged me to take a safe lift, which I agreed to. Bombing out would have meant I would have been mathematically eliminated from the contest, so I decided to hit 254-lbs for my first attempt, which was called on YouTube, “the easiest looking lift of 254-lbs ever,” or something along those lines.

1st Attempt – 254

With a legal attempt in the books and 1st place in the event in my pocket, I decided to try to push my record up. My training had been very intense going in and I had implemented training techniques that I never have used previously. Unfortunately, the last week of training I developed the same strange cramping sensation that I have had occasionally in the past which caused me to abort my final session of 2HP training. But once I pulled 254 and felt no pain, I was confident for my first attempt on 268, below.

2nd Attempt – 268

Having my hand slip off the plates like that is very uncommon for me. What I believe happened is I may have left too much chalk on my right thumb, causing it to slip off the plates. This normally isn’t a problem, but in this case, the edge of my thumb got a chunk taken out of it and the contact left my right thumb completely numb and my left thumb partially numb.

Because of the numbness, I took a little extra time for my next attempt at 268.

One thing that I am just now remembering is that my hands were extremely cold going into the pinch. I don’t mean that I wasn’t warmed up – in that regard I was feeling fine, however, my skin was noticeably cold to the touch. I was wearing gloves and hand warmer packets so this should no have been the case, but I had others test the backs of my hands and sure enough everyone said they felt chilled.

I was past the point of caring about my hand temperature now, anyway, so I began my preparation for my third overall attempt and second at 268, this time making sure that my hands were chalked evenly but not too heavily.

3rd Attempt – 268

As you can see in the video, this one was very close. There was no slippage from chalk, but it felt as though I was leaning forward over the apparatus a bit more than normal because I was worried the collar would hit the stick instead of the loading pipe. This got me out of my normal pulling path and I just barely hit the stick. In my recovery to redirect the apparatus, I lost balance and when I set the Euro down, I lost my balance even more, stumbling back and nearly going through the table like Jeff Hardy.

I was seeing stars for a moment because I was squeezing so hard on the implement and tracking the end of the pipe so closely, but I quickly recovered, and let out a chuckle in relief of getting a successful lift.

For my fourth and final attempt, I went for 270. I truly feel that if I would have gotten 268 on the first attempt and not cut my thumb and had it go numb on me that I would have had a successful lift of 270-lbs.

4th Attempt – 270

I was very happy with my performance in the pinch, and not just because I was able to push my number up, but because I was able to regain my composure for the last attempt. In the past when I have broken the record, I have gotten so emotionally overwhelmed that the following attempts are hindered by my inability to control my nerves. This time, however, I was able to get centered and get back on the platform in control. The apparatus felt outstanding, my thumb skin was great, and my back was solid. I just think I was missing a bit of neural connection due to the slipped attempt at 268 and couldn’t regain it in time for the fourth attempt.

By now, Andrew and I were ridiculously close. If memory serves, I had drawn slightly ahead of him, going into the next event, Double Sledge Hammers.

Event 3: Double Sledge Hammers

The Double Sledge Hammer event was the biggest surprise of all for me at Gripmas. I trained my ass off on this thing for months leading into the contest and all I got out of that training was a heap of frustration. Instead of two 12-lb hammers with 30-inch handles, I got two 16-lb sledges with 32-inch handles.

In training, my best performance with my 16’s was a set of two reps with the bare implement and 1 rep with the implement plus 2 washers weighing about 1/2-lb apiece, so I was not sure what to expect using shorter handles and lighter base sledges.

I managed a legal lift of 47.5-lbs in this event, getting beaten only by Andrew who successfully performed 50-lbs. I tried 50-lbs but the first time the additional weights got hung up on the tracks, so I was granted another opportunity. The same thing happened to Andrew. Unfortunately for me, he was able to come back on his second try at 50-lbs and get it – I was not, so he finished 2.5-lbs ahead of me in this event.

Now, going into the medley, he was slightly ahead of me, maybe by .5 points or so. Unfortunately, right now I do not have any footage of the rest fo the events because I put them on Steve Slater’s computer in order to conserve hard drive space and I have not gotten them back yet, but once I get them, I will post them up. This event was very cool. I would agree with others that this was the best contested sledge event that I have seen. If it is contested again, however, I am sawing a couple of inches off my sledges so that I can train this one a bit more effectively.

Event 4: Medley

Chris is famous for devising awesome Medleys. This year he had 25 total implements, but two of them were bonus items, a 60D Nail bent in Reverse style and a 12-inch length of 3/8-inch square stock bent braced over the thigh or knee. These two bonus items could be attempted once 20 challenge items were successfully loaded/lifted. Also, some weights and implements were made more challenging for the heavier weight class and Elite weight class.

Regretfully, I don’t have the video for this event either because the footage is still with Steve Slater. I did however complete 20 challenge items and get to go after both bends, which went down pretty easily. I think I totaled 23 items out of 25, which was one better than Andrew, so now, going into the final event, the Hercules Hold, Andrew had a lead on my by just 64/1000’s of a point.

That is just one reason why I think our proportional scoring system is so great. With Strongman scoring, we just would have been tied, but with the way we keep score in North American Grip Sport, it really shows you how close or how far apart competitors are.

Event 5: Hercules Hold

The Hercules Hold is historically a Strongman event, but it is also a fantastic way to test support grip, and there are many reasons why. First off, Chris used small handles, so hand size was completely eliminated from the equation. Next, because the weight is lifted for the athlete, the event tests grip strength primarily and full body strength or current conditions of the back do not factor in, as in a Farmer’s Hold or Frame Hold.

Again, Chris increased the weight used in each category. He was originally going to have the Elite Division do the same weight as the Opens, in the neighborhood of 264-286 (I can’t recall) but we talked him into going an even 300-lbs per hand.

Not one of my smartest decisions. Support grip like this is my weakest facet of Grip Strength, and Andrew easily handed my ass on a platter. I held the implements for about 23 seconds while he crept close to a minute. Such a large differential that late in the game spelled the end for me as Andrew pulled away handily, finishing about 6 points ahead of me when the cloud of dust settled on the Crooksville landscape.

Regardless of the finish, I was happy with my performances. A PR in Grippers, Euro Pinch, and Sledge Hammers, plus I won my first medley in quite some time.

It will be a shame if Chris sticks with his current decision and runs no more Gripmas Carols. The mid-December drive through Western PA and West Virginia in order to find the Grip Garage nestled in the hills of Ohio will be a trip that I have grown accustomed to making each year and will be sorely missed going forward.

My hat is off to Chris on well run comp, Doc for excellent judging, Tony, a friend of Doc’s who kept score all day long, Teresa for the excellent meal, all the other Gripsters who lent a hand, supported me and the others, all those who brought cookies and apple crisp (Mary Anne) and definitely to Andrew for another excellent performance on the platform.

Next competition on my radar is Mighty Mitts will take place at the Arnold Classic Weekend, I believe the first week in March. I am not sure what the events are yet, but I am already planning my general training for it.

Also, just like two years ago when I first broke the record in the Two Hands Pinch, I will be releasing a documentary DVD of my training. Again, this year, I recorded all of my 2HP Training Workouts and will be compiling it all into a DVD to be released in early 2012.

If you’d like to see my first documentary, The Road to the Record, click the image below.

Before I commence on that project, though, is a DVD I shut with Mike Rinderle on Braced Bending. Once that is out of the way, then I will tackle the next documentary.

Then immediately after that, I will be releasing another DVD with Steve Slater. Together we released Intro to Strongman Training earlier this year and on the Sunday after Gripmas, we shot another one together, thus the reason I needed the extra hard drive space on my camera.

It is sure to be a busy few weeks coming up, but I am striving to bring you the absolute best information for your strength training goals. If you want to know how to bend just about anything in your path, Rindo and I will show you how in our Braced Bending DVD. If you want to see ways that no one else is training Two Hands Pinch, my documentary is for you, and if Strongman is your thing, then you better keep an eye out for this project Slater and I have coming out.

In the meantime, all the best in your training.

Jedd

Next Grip Contest for me is the Gripmas Carole, hosted by Chris Rice, in Zanesville, Ohio on December 10th.

I have gone to this contest every year (except one) since it became a Contest. The first year it was held it was just a get together where the guys just did feats. The only year I have missed this grip contest was last year when I had a prior commitment.

I truly look forward to Gripmas every year because it gives me the chance to compete in a contest without also having to run it, which can hinder performance, to say the least. Chris has seemed to find a way to delegate enough of it where he can remain focused though, as I have seen him put up big numbers and win his weight class time and again.

Speaking of weight classes, if you are of a smaller build, and don’t want to go against the heavy weights in your first competition, you should think about giving this one a try, especially if you can sneak in under 207, the cut-off for the weight classes.

The events for this comp will be the following (I think I have them in the right order, but I could be slightly off):

1. Choked Grippers

Torsion Spring Grippers are choked at parallel and the athlete must squeeze the handles together. There are four attempts and it is not rising bar. The video above will show you how the event will be judged this year.

To see how to choke grippers, join TheGripAuthority.com. Aside from being a way to test crushing strength without having to set the gripper, choked grippers is an excellent way to perform ROM-specific crush grip work. In October I showed how to choke grippers with a hose clamp and built them into the workout of the month. Join today for $7.

(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.

---

I am announcing the date of the 2011 North American Grip Sport Championship.

Date:
July 16, 2011

Location:
Crooksville, Ohio.

Events (subject to change):

• 20-mm Block Set Grippers
• Euro Pinch
• One Hand Deadlift (Stronger Grip Plateau Buster)
• Medley
• Wrist Roller
• Possible 6th Event

Rules and Entry form will be posted soon.

To qualify for this contest, athletes must attain one of the following qualification levels.

Qualification Chance 1:
Athletes in the Open Class who Total Elite:

• Total of 800-lbs between Grippers, Axle, and Two Hand Pinch
• Finish in the top 3 out of 7 in your class (Novice, Open B, Open A) in a NAGS-sanctioned contest
• Finish in the top position of your class (less than 7 competitors) in a NAGS-sanctioned contest

Qualification Chance 2:
Athletes can also qualify for Nationals by completing 3 of the following feats during the 2010 – 2011 season in NAGS-sanctioned contests. (Can occur during multiple contests)

• 1″ Vertical Bar – 325
• 2″ FBBC Vertical Bar – 200
• Gripper – Close Level 13 Gold on the Vulcan or 150# Gripper Close (parallel or 20-mm Block Set)
• Bending – Grade 8×6″ bolt, Wrist Developer Level 5 Gold
• IronMind Axle Deadlift – 325
• Euro Two Hands Pinch – 200
• One Hand Deadlift on Olympic / Powerlifting Bar – 250
• 50-lb Blob to Lockout
• Rolling Thunder – 180
• Two 45’s Pinch to Lockout

Qualification Chance 3:
Complete any of the following Certifications during the 2010 – 2011 Grip season

• Certify for IronMind Captain of Crush (#3 or #3.5)
• Certify for IronMind Red Nail Roster
• Certify as Gripboard Mash Monster

Qualification Chance 4:
Complete any one of the following Wild Card feats during the 2010 – 2011 season in NAGS-sanctioned contests.

• Close #4 Gripper with parallel set or wider (choker included)
• Break US Record in Two Hands Pinch
• Break US Record in 1-inch Vertical Bar (LGC Standard or FBBC Standard)
• Break US Record in 2-inch Vertical Bar (FBBC Standard)
• Break US Record in the Axle Deadlift

This past weekend was the Third Leg of the World’s Strongest Hands Series.

Leg 3 Results (World-Wide):

1 David Horne – 4.5pt
2 Nick McKinless – 8.5pt
3 Steve Gardener – 9.5pt
4 Jedd Johnson – 16pt
5 David Thornton – 18.5pt

This 4-Leg series started in August and has taken place each month, contesting the Two Hands Pinch, Wrist Developer, and Vulcan Gripper.
It was a great showing this weekend here in Wyalusing. Check out the names below.
Mike Rinderle – from Washington DC, Mike made his return to Grip competitions since an injury began holding him up since May.
Brent Barbe – The third place finisher at the 2010 National Championship, Brent has been training hard and improved his Two Hands Pinch greatly, reaching the 100-kg mark for the first time in competition.
Chuck Carns – Chuck is also showing signs of improvement, especially in the pinch. he looked much more confident in all the events than I have seen him in the past.
Rick Walker – Rick made the trip for his first Grip contest since 2004 and looked like he’d been doing them right along. He stayed very conservative with his attempts due to his unfamiliarity with the equipment, but immediately has gone back to training, so look for bigger numbers next time around.
Jedd Johnson – My hands felt great and I set Personal Bests in both the Vulcan Gripper and Wrist Developer. My Pinch felt great, but I tore a chuck of skin off my thumb during my first attempt, and subsequent attempts amounted to nothing more than air beneath the plates.
Mary Ann McKeague – She is doing very well, finishing second over all amongst the ladies. Her training involves many types of strength disciplines and I think that if she were to narrow her focus she could add some serious weight to her pinch and move up some levels on both the Vulcan and WD.
Cheri Walker – This was her first competition, but from what I hear, she enjoyed it quite a bit and is looking forward to the next one. Perhaps there could be a friendly rivalry between these two in the near future?
As always, it was a great time pushing myself over the course of the last few weeks and challenging myself to do more. I look forward to the next and final leg of the WSH Series on November 13, 2010.
For more information on these contests, check out this link: World’s Strongest Hands Series.
Below are some videos showing how everyone did. There are six videos overall and each one is between 2 and 6 minutes long…ENJOY!

Men’s Two Hands Pinch

Ladies’ Two Hands Pinch

Men’s Wrist Developer

Ladies’ Wrist Developer

Men’s Vulcan Gripper

Ladies Vulcan

Great job to everybody, all over the globe, that laid it on the line this past weekend.
Keep hitting it hard.
Jedd
See More Grip Videos here => Jedd’s YouTube Channel

This past weekend was the Third Leg of the World’s Strongest Hands Series.

Leg 3 Results (World-Wide):

1 David Horne – 4.5pt
2 Nick McKinless – 8.5pt
3 Steve Gardener – 9.5pt
4 Jedd Johnson – 16pt
5 David Thornton – 18.5pt

This 4-Leg series started in August and has taken place each month, contesting the Two Hands Pinch, Wrist Developer, and Vulcan Gripper.

It was a great showing this weekend here in Wyalusing. Check out the names below.

Mike Rinderle – from Washington DC, Mike made his return to Grip competitions since an injury began holding him up since May.

Brent Barbe – The third place finisher at the 2010 National Championship, Brent has been training hard and improved his Two Hands Pinch greatly, reaching the 100-kg mark for the first time in competition.

Chuck Carns – Chuck is also showing signs of improvement, especially in the pinch. he looked much more confident in all the events than I have seen him in the past.

Rick Walker – Rick made the trip for his first Grip contest since 2004 and looked like he’d been doing them right along. He stayed very conservative with his attempts due to his unfamiliarity with the equipment, but immediately has gone back to training, so look for bigger numbers next time around.

Jedd Johnson – My hands felt great and I set Personal Bests in both the Vulcan Gripper and Wrist Developer. My Pinch felt great, but I tore a chuck of skin off my thumb during my first attempt, and subsequent attempts amounted to nothing more than air beneath the plates.

Mary Ann McKeague – She is doing very well, finishing second over all amongst the ladies. Her training involves many types of strength disciplines and I think that if she were to narrow her focus she could add some serious weight to her pinch and move up some levels on both the Vulcan and WD.

Cheri Walker – This was her first competition, but from what I hear, she enjoyed it quite a bit and is looking forward to the next one. Perhaps there could be a friendly rivalry between these two in the near future?

As always, it was a great time pushing myself over the course of the last few weeks and challenging myself to do more. I look forward to the next and final leg of the WSH Series on November 13, 2010.

For more information on these contests, check out this link: World’s Strongest Hands Series.

Below are some videos showing how everyone did. There are six videos overall and each one is between 2 and 6 minutes long…ENJOY!

Men’s Two Hands Pinch

Ladies’ Two Hands Pinch

Men’s Wrist Developer

Ladies’ Wrist Developer

Men’s Vulcan Gripper

Ladies Vulcan

Great job to everybody, all over the globe, that laid it on the line this past weekend.

Keep hitting it hard.

Jedd

See More Grip Videos here => Jedd’s YouTube Channel

In December 2009, I broke the World Record in the Two Hand Pinch after a 5 year chase.

During the last two months of my training, I recorded every Pinch workout and turned it into a documentary, called The Road to the Record: How I Broke the Record in the Two Hand Pinch.

While I worked very hard on the DVD, you never really know how people are going to like it once it’s done. After all, when I was training my ass off from October to December, I wasn’t always thinking about the best camera angles, lighting, etc.

I’ve gotten some pretty good feedback on my DVD from some people who recently picked it up. Check it out:

“I learned a lot from the dvd … The whole thing has put a fire under me to get my pinch up there to a compettive level now. Great DVD Jedd!”
Jason Steeves
Alberta, Canada

“I just watched this and it’s a great dvd. I’m new to 2HP and learned a lot but I bet you’d learn some things even if you’ve been doing pinch for a while. Thanks Jedd!”
Russ Farver
New Mexico

Thanks for the great feedback, guys. Use some of the techniques I use in the DVD and you will be well on your way to a Sick Pinch.

If you want to see some extreme ways to build pinch grip strength, exactly how I trained to break the record, then you need to pick up my DVD, and you can do that here = > Two Hand Pinch DVD.

Make it a great day.

Jedd

My Links:
Jedd on YouTube < = Tons of Grip Training and Other Strength Videos Jedd on Facebook < = Friend Me Up! TheGripAuthority.com < = Grip Strength Instructional Site
GripStrengthRadio.com < = Covering everything in the World of Grip Strength
Napalm’s Corner < = My old Blog. Tons of Info There

Photo Courtesy Michelle Carns

In December 2009, I set a new World Record in the Two Hands Pinch Lift with 256.04 lbs after many years of trying. The picture above shows the record breaking lift.

This was one of the main focuses of my training for quite some time and finally breaking the record was a tremendous thrill for me.

For whatever reason, during my training for the Gripmas Carol, I felt more confident than I ever had been. My left thumb, which gave me trouble throughout much of 2009, for some reason felt better after Nationals, adding to my confidence.

One day, Smitty said to me, “Man could you imagine if you taped all of your workouts from now until December. You could have a complete documentary if you actually break the record.”

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This weekend, I will be holding another massive Grip Training session at my garage in preparation for the annual Christmas season Grip contest, the Gripmas Carol. 

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This weekend is the 2009 United States Grip Strength Championship.

Athletes from all over the country will be traveling to Bradford County Pennsylvania to test themselves in 5 grueling hand, finger, thumb and wrist strength events to see who is the United States Champion in 2009.

Here are the events:

Grippers – Parallel set. All grippers have been calibrated and range from 127 lbs (BBSE) and 209 lbs (IM#4).
Two Hands Pinch – Variety of widths used to accomodate hand size. Will the record fall?
Axle Deadlift – Double Overhand Deadlift with the IM Axle. Will a new record be lifted?
Weaver Stick (Rear) – Weight will be hung from a stick and lifted parallel to the floor
Medley Menagerie – 20+ mystery implements will be lifted, loaded, dragged and destroyed.

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