USAWA

by Mike McIntyre

Mike McIntyre, of the JWC, pulling a 604 pound Peoples Deadlift at the 2013 Dino Gym Challenge, his first USAWA competition. (caption courtesty of the webmaster)

I am a graduate student at A.T. Still University, an Osteopathic medical school in Kirksville, Missouri. I have had the pleasure of meeting many great people while working on my master’s degree. I have also found the time and motivation to re-discover my passion for weightlifting. This is something I had been away from for many years prior to moving to Missouri. One of the people I have formed a great friendship with is Thom Van Vleck. Thom has written a story about the Osteoblasters before and I’d like to extend upon it. Thom has introduced me to the USAWA and Highland Games, both of which I have come to love for the competition and camaraderie. A few weeks ago I was able to experience my first USAWA event at The Dino Gym and this was just awesome! Well, that’s a little about me, now, on to my story.

“You are your own first healer”… “I am my own first patient”… These principles are repeated hundreds of times throughout the educational adventure known as medical school. However, the time crunch and fast paced learning environment make it very difficult for students to truly embrace this attitude. It seems as though one of the first things to be put on the back burner is personal health and wellness, especially when it takes so much time, commitment, and energy to stay afloat in such a demanding curriculum. Motivation quotes are plastered throughout the internet but one of the easiest to believe, and one of my favorites is that “a one hour workout is only four percent of your day, no excuses.” This is the very attitude that is pushed at A.T. Still University by the Osteoblasters Weightlifting Club (OWC). I put in so much time and work to officially establish the OWC as a University club because I honestly believe that the benefits of exercise go far beyond the body; to the mind and spirit. This trifecta, “Body, Mind, and Spirit” is another principle that is mentioned countless times at any Osteopathic medical institution. With the help of Thomas Van Vleck, the director of counseling, Dan Martin, the director of the Thompson Campus Center and Jared Nichols, a medical student, I was able to see my dreams for this club come true.

Mike performed a 410 pound Hackenschmidt Floor Press. He was one of only 3 lifters who exceeded 400 pounds at the meet. (photo and caption courtesy of webmaster).

With the New Year (2012), came the beginning of the Osteoblasters. I started to design a fitness approach that would be fun, effective, and fit within the confines of about an hour. Even if I could reach out to only a dozen students I was going to consider this a successful endeavor. I designed a blend of circuit training, powerlifting, olympic lifting, strongman training, Crossfit, and I even incorporated exercises to promote the maintenance of basic movement skills, and what I came up with has evolved into the “Osteoblasters.” If people who cherish time so much are willing to devote an hour to me several times a week I figured I owed it to them to make every minute worthwhile.

At the end of my grueling workout, with several people near complete exhaustion, some people seemingly in pain, I walked around to ensure that everyone was okay and get some feedback. What I got back were “high-fives”, some “wows”, and even some comments that are inappropriate to put in print. Thinking I may have scared some people away I prepared for the next class to be smaller and have less energy overall. What actually happened was over 50 people showed up! It did not take more than a few days for the word to spread about how great this “Osteoblasters” program was and how much everyone enjoyed the challenge. I was in no way prepared for this influx of people and was forced to scramble to adapt a workout that would accommodate fifty or so people. It was not easy but I made it happen.

This blend of so many exercise styles seems to be appealing to everyone. We are not training for a competition, a race, or even to get better at a sport, we are training for life. Everyone can find at least a few things they are good at, and I force them to work through things that they may find difficult. One of the things that I never imagined would become part of this workout “class” was the camaraderie most people experience when being part of an athletics team. The majority of people do not continue competitive athletics after high school so this is an area that is easily lost as we “grow up.” The Osteoblasters are just that, a team. We are a team of individual working towards a common goal, not to win a competition or break a world record, simply to get better. Everyone is always looking to break their own personal records whether it is the number of pull ups, weight of a deadlift, or the duration of a hand stand, everyone shows up to get better. This camaraderie extends far beyond the gym as well. I see these people studying together, working together, and hanging out together. This makes all the time and work that I put into this program completely worth it.

I have been able to reach beyond the student population as well and have members of the faculty, staff, and even significant others of students as members of the OWC. We have established a great program that I hope will last for many years. Sometimes people need a push to remember that you are your own first patient. It is extremely important to study and do well while in school but it is also very important to remember your own personal health and wellness. The OWC takes this responsibility to the core of its mission statement: “The OWC will work to improve the well-being of its members through strength training and conditioning. The OWC aims to reach out to people of all levels of experience and offer a safe and structured platform for physical health and wellness.”

Hope you all enjoyed this little story of how I am keeping weightlifting and competition alive and well, even in the demanding environment of a medical school!

by Al Myers

Thanks to Dan Wagman, there has been an improvement in the USAWA Forms and Applications.  NOW we had PDF’s that have the ability to be edited! No longer will you even have to “hand write” anything when sending in your USAWA applications.  I’m hoping this will help me out as well – because some of you have handwriting as bad as mine.  I’m going to include these new forms in this blog  just so you can see firsthand how nice they are!

These documents  are available on the website column on the left, under “Forms and Applications”.

Individual Membership Application (EDIT PDF)

Meet Sanction Application (EDIT PDF)

Club Membership Application (EDIT PDF)

HOF Nomination Form (EDIT PDF)

Online Store Order Form (EDIT PDF)

By John McKean

Steve "THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR" Angell, on holiday, performing Tai Chi on the beach of Sri Lanka.

“THUMP!!” Ohhh, seein’ stars and feelin’ pain! This new training equipment is gonna kill me yet!

Strangely enough, I’d not yet started my morning workout; rather, good wife Marilyn was busily twirling her arms in our kitchen, intent on swinging the very well sculpted, long chunks of wood known as “Indian Clubs.”  She CLAIMED that her eyes were closed while thriving within the healing, calming powers of the circular motion, obviously not sensing me walking in when her “war club” bounced off my noggin!  (But why was she grinning??) And to think this handsome set of clubs, recently obtained from that master purveyor of old time gear, Roger LaPointe, had been my loving, thoughtful birthday gift to her! Actually Marilyn has greatly enjoyed this 2500+ year old exercise mode, also finding it necessary and beneficial to stabilize a recent arm/shoulder condition.

This is just part of Steve's Indian Club collection.

My own major incentive to employ mere 1 to 2 pound wooden weights as a huge improvement to my weightlifting program came from an Angell! No, not a vision from a winged and white gowned type, but directly from a LIVING LEGEND of All-Rounds, England’s super strong Steve Angell !! Through his insightful “Peaceful Warrior” concept, which tones mind, body, and spirit through such disciplines as tai chi, gigong, yoga, Indian Clubs, and high rep kettlebell work, Steve has found the way to acquiring  physical/mental BALANCE to help recuperate from years of overzealous max poundage weightlifting. This well thought out and age-proven regimen hasn’t exactly diminished Steve’s awesome strength or mind blowing physique, if you’ve seen photos of last season’s “impossible” 20 reps with the Dinnie Stones, or his impromptu all-round successes!

Emailing back and forth with mighty Steve came encouraging words that very few ever need employ more than a pair of one, two to three pounders for healing, warm-up, shoulder restoration, and a terrific sense of well-being. Then, while discussing this matter, we both arrived at a theory simultaneously that most martial and meditative arts may well have been derived from ancient club training! (History shows that all martial arts forms originally traveled from India). In fact, Steve had an instant epiphany on this thought, realizing a vital movement known as “Cloud Hands” from Tai Chi, was also one of his very favorite traditional maneuvers with wooden pins! It would be a bit hard to describe Cloud Hands, even with photos, but fortunately Steve made a dynamite YOU TUBE video for me that you can see here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRbio87dHAM

Hmmm, although I doubt that those 20” guns came exclusively from club work,  you can readily detect the dreamlike, circular toning (the gigong effect) and rhythmic tranquility of deep breathing  that Steve and I (and Marilyn, when she’s not intent in whacking the crap outta me-much as I usually deserve it!) enjoy daily.

So our little home garage gym has what can be considered “unusual equipment” by today’s standards, with my growing collection of Indian clubs.  I doubt you’ll find many commercial gyms, high tech spas, or even old time “pits” which have rows of these well-balanced chunks of wood that once surrounded lairs of Goernor, Saxon, and Sandow!

Following Steve Angell’s lead, I, too, looked to various martial arts to discover circular strategies of movement for my lightweight clubs. Some traditional Indian and British exercises are often used, but prove boring within the necessary high rep format.  However, from the concise rotational motions of Indonesian “Silat” jurus (forms) came a more meaningful, often thought provoking, type of exercise. Also this proved to be a refreshing and needed change from our usual linear weightlifting, and tends to heal through more gentle pressure of leverage resistance. Now, at last year’s Bowling Green, Ohio meet, ole Roger took a video of my unique Silat club program, so hopefully sometime soon he’ll release this on his Atomic Athletic site (put McKean on screen and there goes the business, Rog is probably thinking!!).

No, I’ll never get near the phenomenal Indian Club endurance record of Australian Tom Burroughs during the early 1900s of over 100 consecutive hours of swinging a pair of 3 pound 6 ounce clubs (no food or water breaks, no sitting or resting, no pause whatsoever in achieving an average of 80 reps per minute!). By the way, Indian club work was Tom’s primary and most beloved form of exercise to achieve world class status also in boxing, wrestling, swimming, fencing, gymnastics, and track! For me, if it keeps this cranky, crotchety senior citizen from feeling any older from day to day, I’ll be content; however, last year it did get me down, with little effort, into a lower weight class, gave relief to my always aching shoulders, instilled some of the best warm-ups ever prior to lifting, and seemed to yield a special form of energy for everything I did! The only downside to club training that I’ve found is worrying about  my nicely curved “bowling pins” getting smudged when training at the Ambridge VFW; not that the old gym isn’t always kept spotlessly well maintained, just that prodigious bowler Art would get chocolate on the wood, when he tried to roll a donut between them!

by Al Myers

For the fourth year now, I have done a 2012 USAWA Year In Review.  This book contains all of the information that has been placed on the USAWA website throughout the prior year.  If a blog was written – it is included in this review book.  All together, this review book is 476 pages and contains 164,701  …… More

by Al Myers

I’ll start this writing contest off by writing about a piece of equipment in the Dino Gym that is very “dear to my heart”.   I’m talking about Bob’s Bombs.  Yes, that’s right – these are actually bombs!!!  Years ago we lost a very special friend and training partner Bob Maxey.  Bob was the type of training partner  …… More

by Roger LaPointe

Old guy lifters are finally getting a little respect.

The world sure is changing. I re-posted a cool photo within Facebook that Facebook “Friends” seem to be loving. It’s an old black & white photo of this old guy lifting a home made barbell with two of his buddies hanging off the ends. I would re-post it  …… More

[ March 16, 2013; 6:00 pm; ]

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT
FRANK’S BARBELL CLUB RECORD DAY

Frank Ciavattone, owner and Club President of Frank’s Barbell Club, has sanctioned a record day at his gym on March 16th, 2013.   Most  lifts can be contested for USAWA/IAWA records, but to be sure I recommend you contact Frank beforehand.  Below is the contact information for Frank:  …… More

by Ben Edwards

Give this video 5 minutes of your day if you have ever wondered what a high level strongman’s normal day looks like. I’ve had the pleasure of competing in a few of the same USAWA contests as Eric. He is a very nice guy who has encouraging words and motivational wisdom for everyone around him. He’s also  …… More

by Al Myers

It’s been awhile since I have had a writing contest for the USAWA Daily News – so I think it’s time for another one!  The topic I’m going to choose for this contest is a “report on an unusual training implement/device that you use in your gym for training”.  The more unique the better.  I would like  …… More

by Roger LaPointe

Impossible right?

173 1/4 Pound One Hand Dumbbell Swing at a bodyweight of 168 pounds, was the British record in 1930. Yep, you read that correctly. The record was an OVER body weight dumbbell swing. How did they do it with all that centrifugal force? I’ve been doing my research. Yes, I am a detail oriented guy  …… More

by Al Myers

I’m sure everyone is wondering how the shooting competition following the Dino Gym Challenge turned out.   Well, it ended up taking about as long as the meet to complete!  I had several entrants in each shooting division, with some outstanding marksmanship taking place. Luckily, we had a perfect day of weather with very minimal wind.  Four divisions  …… More

by Thom Van Vleck

Here it is, the “long lost” poem from my past around 1979:

Each and every day, when time is free

I head to the weight room to pay my fee

Sometimes alone or with a friend

I lift the weights to no end

My chest, covered with muscle and sinew

Is filled with happiness that is  …… More

by Al Myers

The Dino Gym was issued a challenge from the Hoghton Barbell Club of Preston, England in last weekend’s Dino Gym Challenge. Well, the results are in and have been tabulated and the Hoghton Barbell Club has came out victorious! Congratulations to the Hoghton Barbell Club!  This “challenge” was mentioned several times on Saturday and I’m sure it  …… More

by Al Myers

2013 DINO GYM CHALLENGE
“PRESENTING AN OLD TIME STRONGMAN POWERLIFTING MEET”

MEET REPORT:

I was expecting maybe 10 or 12 lifters for the annual Dino Gym Challenge – but then to my amazement lifters kept showing up and showing up!!  The total number of entrants came to 21 lifters!!!!  That’s only  …… More

by Thom Van Vleck

I was going through some old magazines recently.  These aren’t just magazines that are old…they are magazines that have been in my possession since they were purchased by me from the newsstand (yes, we had one in Kirksville…and it’s still here!) since I started training.  The past 20 years I have spent a lot of my  …… More

by Roger LaPointe

Have you ever studied how a shark tears flesh? It is more than just a bite. The shark grabs flesh with its mouth and then twists the limb and grinds the teeth in a smearing motion. A sharks teeth cut like a serrated knife while wrenching the animal against the natural bio-mechanical direction of that limb’s joint.  …… More

by Al Myers

MEET RESULTS
2013 USAWA NATIONAL POSTAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations to all the lifters that took part in the 2013 National Postal Championships!!!  It was a well represented meet – with a total of 19 lifters taking part.  Gabby Jobe was the lone female entrant – and for that she gathered the title of National Postal  …… More

by Al Myers

A while back on the IAWA(UK) Facebook page Steve Gardner posed this question to the membership, “How many countries have been represented in IAWA competitions over the past 25 years?”  This may include just 1 lifter from any given country.  Several responses were given to fully answer this question.  The final count came to 15 NATIONS that have  …… More

by Al Myers, IAWA President

Another year is underway in the World of All Round Weightlifting and the IAWA.   Our history has been a rich one over the past 25 years in IAWA.  I feel the time is here that I should make my “presidential speech” – since being elected the IAWA President last October at the AGM of IAWA.   …… More

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT

2013 USAWA CLUB CHALLENGE

The date for the USAWA Club Challenge has been set!  This meet has become the premier meet in the USAWA which features club (or team) competition. It is unique in that it is NOT a personal competition, but instead a 3-person competition of the representatives of each club.   …… More

by Roger LaPointe

I have always loved the Steinborn Lift. So, the question is, why do a thick bar Steinborn lift?

Well, one good reason is if you can’t seem to clean the bar, this is a good way to get it in position for lifting the bar overhead. On a non-rotating thick bar that doesn’t have knurling, there is  …… More

HMB: THE LIFTER’S SUPPLEMENT?

Fact vs. Fiction and Hype

By Dan Wagman, PhD, CSCS

Publisher/Editor in Chief, Journal of Pure Power (JOPP)

I’m writing this because as a sports scientist, and dedicated barbell bender, I want people to understand that supplement companies realize that most of you hold science in high regard—which is why they use “science” to  …… More

by Al Myers

The Annual Dino Gym Challenge is now only ONE WEEK away.  I have received several commitments from lifters that plan to compete.  It is looking to be a well-attended meet.  I’m hoping for 15-20 lifters – and I think I might get that many.  The entry form is available on the website, and I’m  …… More

by Roger LaPointe

Wouldn’t you think that a Man Cave would have some cool fitness equipment?

“Man Caves” have apparently become big business. I was at Home Depot and saw a book on building a man cave and there is even a magazine devoted to the Man Cave. Strangely, I expected at least one of them to include weightlifting equipment,  …… More

[ October 13, 2013; 4:00 pm; ]

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT
ART’S BIRTHDAY BASH

Meet Details:

Date: October 13th, 2013
Venue:  Ambridge VFW BBC, Ambridge, PA
Meet Director: Art Montini

ENTRY FORM – available at later date

[ June 29, 2013; 5:00 pm; ]

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUCEMENT
2013 USAWA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Denny Habecker, the USAWA National Championships meet promoter, has just released the entry form for this years Championships.  It will be held the last weekend of June, which has become the traditional time of the year for the National Championships.  Denny is a very seasoned Championship promotor and  …… More

By James R. Fuller

Wasn’t exactly sure how to best mark the lovely below freezing tar I’d be squatting upon for the USAWA National Postal Championships Squat-12” Base event. As my girlfriend looked around for a ruler, I spied a painter’s stir stick. Stick looked to be close to 12”. Tape measure confirmed it. Some irony there, for you  see,   …… More

by Roger LaPointe

George Hackenschmidt was one of the greatest wrestlers and weightlifters of all time. While his writings on weightlifting were relatively limited, if you take every word very seriously and actually do everything he recommends, you will get extremely strong indeed.

The wrist roller is a tool to which Hackenschmidt devotes more than an entire page and a  …… More

by Thom Van Vleck

Just curious if anyone else is a “goal setter”.  As the new year approaches, I try to ponder the coming year.  I have often set “New Years Resolutions” as many do and as many that set them also do….I break a lot of them!  Here are some things I’ve learned about setting goals.

First, don’t box  …… More

by Roger LaPointe

Have you ever tried lifting a bucket of water?  Or maybe you have done some roofing work? How about raising a bucket of tools?

Check out this video:
http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=VID111

Lifters from way back, like the Shaolin Monks, would look at a concept and study it from every possible angle. Yes, I called the  …… More

by Al Myers

Congratulations goes to Ruth Jackson for being named the USAWA Lifter of the Month for December 2012.  Ruth was the OVERALL BEST WOMENS LIFTER at the 2012 IAWA World Championships in her first All-Round competition.  She followed up that stellar performance with setting 43 records at the Gracie Judo Club Record Day on the 1st of December.  …… More

by Thom Van Vleck

I was looking through a 1979 edition of Bill  Clark’s “Weightlifting Newsletter”.  There was a meet report for the 1979 Weightlifter’s Weekend.  This was an annual meet that included a wide range of competitions that spanned more than lifting.  Here’s a list of what was competed in the two day event:

Judd Lift, Miller C &  …… More

BY DAVE GLASGOW

THIS MAY SEEM A STRANGE TITLE FOR A HOLIDAY STORY, HOWEVER, LET ME SAY THIS IS MORE A STORY OF ONE MAN’S DISCIPLINE AND MORAL FIBER THAN THE STORY OF A “LOSER”. OH, AND MIGHT I ALSO MENTION KARMA?? LET ME EXPLAIN.

I AM, BY TRAINING, A PARAMEDIC AND AN EMERGENCY NURSE. I ALSO HAVE A BACKROUND  …… More

by Al Myers

Now it’s time to finish the  count down of the TOP PERFORMANCES of 2012! 

5.  Bryan Benzel and his 355 pound Apollons Lift.

Bryan “THE BIG YOUNG BULL” Benzel made his “name known” at ET’s Battle in the Barn OTSM meet last spring.  Included in the list of events was the Apollons Lift, which represents the performance done  …… More

by Al Myers

Today I was thinking about all of the GREAT lifting performances done in the USAWA throughout this past year.  I have been fortunate to have witnessed many of these performances firsthand.  I’ve given it a little thought and I have came up with the LIST of PERFORMANCES that I have watched during this past year, and compiled  …… More

by Roger LaPointe

Gruesome, Creepy or Cool?

Zombies are fun, and they seem to be awesomely strong without much technique, but they really have no place in the weight room.

Check out the illustration to the left.  I think this study of an overhead kettlebell lift that Sandow did, over 130 years ago, is super cool, as well as very  …… More

by Roger LaPointe

I am really excited about this topic. I have unearthed a “new” lift.

Did you see yesterday’s photo of that 1928 French gym with Prof. Desbonnet? Look at the equipment in the background and on the floor. I can pick out at least four different kinds of kettlebells. Each one has a slightly different shape and handle  …… More

by Roger LaPointe

You want to know how you measure up?

1936 Olympic Team Heavyweight (181+) Dave Mayor told me that the greatest impact on Olympic sport world records was technology. In fact, he was one of the first men to clean & jerk over 400 pounds. Of course, it was an unofficial lift done on what he called a  …… More

by Al Myers

Hard to believe that another year of the USAWA is coming to an end!  This has been a great year for our organization.  Now is the time to renew your USAWA membership so you can take advantage of a full year’s membership.  I want to remind everyone that membership in the USAWA is for “the calendar year”.   …… More

[ February 9, 2013; 11:00 am; ]

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT
USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

For the fourth year in a row now, the USAWA will feature the Grip Championships.  This event allows the showcasing of unique strength, that of grip strength, in crowning a yearly champion.  The USAWA has in its list of lifts numerous lifts that focus on gripping strength, and these are the lifts that  …… More