Author Archives: Al Myers

Atomic Athletic Meet

MEET REPORTS and RESULTS

The 2011 Atomic Athletic Tractor Pull Weekend Meet

Dave Polzin, at age 61, performed a 220 pound Clean and Push Press at the Atomic Athletic Tractor Pull Weekend Meet.

MEET REPORT by Scott Schmidt

On August 20Th, Roger LaPointe was the Meet Director of another fun and successful USAWA All Round Weightlifting event. Located in Bowling Green, Ohio, the competition drew several Hall of Fame members as well as a good amount of new members. I am providing this brief overview for our organization for 2 reasons. One, to inform our readers what took place.  And two, to say Thank You to Roger for his efforts in helping grow our membership by being able to conduct competitions at his facility.

The lifts that took place were; The one arm dead lift, the clean and push press, and the trap bar dead lift. Since we had acceptable weather that day, the competition was held outdoors. Roger will be providing the detailed results from each lifter. I just wanted to let everyone know that we all had fun, many records were set, and a great spirit of camaraderie was felt by all participants.

As we know, to be successful in our sport takes a lot of effort. What was another great characteristic of this event was all the participants enthusiasm. Encouragement to one another, and a happy conclusion with the top 5 athletes receiving medals. Enjoy competing showing your strength? Join the USAWA. You will have an opportunity for recognition and be rewarded for your efforts. We have many lifts to chose from. So if you want to attend a record day meet and see what you can do, I am certain you will enjoy participating in the USAWA. We highly respect the accomplishments of any strength athlete. And you will feel  proud once you can get your name on the record list.

Stay Strong!

MEET REPORT by Roger LaPointe

Boy, we sure had a great day to lift.  Last Saturday, August 20, 2011, turned out to be a beautiful day.  Really, any day with a weightlifting meet that goes without a hitch is a good day, but this was a GREAT day.   The competition platform was outside at the Atomic Athletic Tractor Pull Weekend USAWA Meet.  Outdoor meets are always a risk in Northwestern Ohio, we can have all four seasons in one day.  Yet, just as it started to heat up, we had a few clouds roll in, making it slightly overcast.  Perfect.

Meet Highlights

Here are some highlights from a flawless three lift All Round Weightlifting event.  The lifts were: the One Hand Barbell Deadlift, Clean & Push Press, and Trap Bar Deadlift; which were competed at in that order.

The Top 5 Male Lifters, by formula were:

1stPlace: David Polzin

2ndPlace: John McKean

3rdPlace: Dennis Habecker

4th Place: Scott Schmidt

5thPlace: Roger LaPointe

While all the lifting was very well done, I really have to congratulate Dave Polzin for winning Best Lifter.  His first All Round Meet was our Atomic Athletic Great Black Swamp Picnic Meet, of this last May.   Dave was a National Level Olympic style weightlifter in the late 1970s through the mid-1980s.  Dave’s highest placing was second in the US Nationals, in the 110 kg weight class.  He was known for his powerful clean & jerk, with which he hit 200 kg (440 lbs.).  It was obviously a good background for the All-Rounds, which is not always an easy transition.  Dave had never done a one hand barbell deadlift until last April, yet, on Saturday, he pulled 132.5 kg (292.1 lbs.).  His clean & push press was another world record for his 61 year old age group (60-64 years), at 100 kg.  I believe he has more than that in him and he has to power clean the weight.  Like many of us, his knees are not what they used to be.  Dave had never seen a trap bar until he started training at Atomic Athletic and he pulled 205 kilos (451.9 lbs.).  Today, Dave lifts in the 100 kg weight class.  We hope to see a good deal more of his lifting in the All-Rounds.

Meet Facts

The officiating was outstanding, having five international level officials taking turns as judges.  This was also a drug tested event.  We have had two USAWA events here at Atomic Athletic, with both of them being tested.  There are an increasing number of officials and regular USAWA lifters checking out what we have going on here.  I really think they are most pleased by the number of new lifters we have been bringing into the organization.  There were three brand new lifters competing on Saturday, with many of the new lifters competing for a second time.  While attempting to maintain professionalism, we also like to keep it fun, with a relaxed and positive atmosphere.

Make sure to check out our next meet.  It will be announced in the very near future.  Call me at Atomic Athletic if you have any suggestions for lifts (419)352-5100.

MEET RESULTS

Atomic Athletic Tractor Pull Weekend Meet
Bowling Green, OH
August 20th, 2011

Meet Director:  Roger LaPointe

Officials (3 official system used):  John McKean, Denny Habecker, Scott Schmidt, Art Montini, Bob Geib

Lifts:  Deadlift – One Arm, Clean and Push Press, Deadlift – Trap Bar

Womens Division

Lifter Age BWT DL-1arm C&PP Trap Total Points
Shannon Watkins 32 76.4 165-R 115 275 555 548.7
Susan Sees 48 89.8 99-R 94 209 402 393.8

Mens Division

Lifter Age BWT DL-1arm C&PP Trap Total Points
Dave Polzin 61 99.5 292-R 220 452 964 999.0
John McKean 65 74.9 264-R 88 341 693 873.9
Denny Habecker 68 88.0 242-R 148 330 720 824.7
Scott Schmidt 58 110.0 275-R 193 358 826 792.2
Roger LaPointe 40 74.6 270-R 165 308 743 752.9
Tom Ballengee 59 79.2 165-R 143 308 616 714.9
Art Montini 83 86.1 176-R 77 242 495 656.1
Bob Geib 68 117.0 154-R 88 375 617 621.8
Tom Montague-Casillas 14 130.1 165-L 132 341 638 567.8
Andrew Titkemeier 32 112.5 0 0 529 529 421.5

NOTES:  BWT is bodyweight listed in kilograms.  All  lifts recorded in pounds.  Total is total pounds lifted.  Points are adjusted points corrected for bodyweight adjustment and age allowance.

EXTRA LIFTS FOR RECORDS:

Tom Montague-Casillas
Clean and Push Press: 143 pounds

Shannon Watkins
Deadlift – Trap Bar: 286 pounds

Susan Sees
Deadlift – Trap Bar: 220 pounds

John W. Schubert

by Scott Schmidt

Recently, one of the Icons of our Strength Sports, John W. Schubert passed away. He was approaching his 90Th birthday. As a tribute to all his involvement with perpetuating weightlifting in my hometown, Cleveland, Ohio, I thought it would be appropriate to let our USAWA organization know some of the history of all of John’s success.One of John’s closest ties to All Round Weightlifting was our past President, Howard Prechtel. The fellow Marines trained together, and both loved to conduct competitions in Olympic weightlifting and All Round weightlifting.

John started his weightlifting career in 1940.  By the 1950’s, he won several physique contests. In 1957, he won the Junior National title in Olympic weightlifting. He also started his very well known and extremely successful Olympic Health Club. For years, he coached hundreds of athletes. In addition to his training many National Olympic Weightlifting Champions, John also had a good deal of influence on the success of 2 time Olympic Gold Medalist Chuck Vinci. Based on his coaching and individual success, John has achieved Sports Hall of Fame status at both the Local and National level.

Besides John’s passion to help others reach the very best of their ability, he also had a strong desire to compete himself. Even before the Masters program was introduced, when John was in his 40’s then 50’s, he was often in a medal winning position in his weight class in the Open Division. He stayed very competitive for years. Once he was able to compete in the Masters, not only did he win many titles, he set a tremendous amount of National records. While Olympic weightlifting was his primary sport, John was also highly successful in All Round weightlifting. Again, winning titles and setting records.

Regarding any event involving strength and fitness, John would gladly assist with his connections and organizational ability so the competitions would draw great attendance.

 A true strength sport legend and innovator that helped positively influence and shape the character of hundreds of successful individuals.

May John Rest in Peace. And our thoughts and prayers go out to John’s family.

Dino Days Record Day

by Al Myers

DINO DAYS RECORD DAY

Ben Edwards set the ALL TIME RECORD in the 2" One Arm Vertical Bar Deadlift with a lift of 251 pounds at the Dino Days Record Day.

MEET REPORT

There were not alot of records set today at the Dino Days Record Day, but the ones that were set were great!  Only five lifters showed up on this second day of the two USAWA competitions hosted by the Dino Gym this weekend; Mike Murdock, Scott Tully, Ben Edwards, LaVerne Myers and myself. Mike lead the way with setting records in 9 different lifts, followed by LaVerne with 8, and the rest of us tied at 7.  Every lifter had a record lift which I would call OUTSTANDING, and I had a hard time “choosing” just one feature picture, so I just decided I would show a picture of everyone who lifted, in which I would call their “BEST” record of the day. 

Ben Edwards showed up today to SMASH some USAWA grip records, and that he did.  Ben is the KING of the Vertical Bar, and that was the first lift he set his record breaking sights on.  I have watched Ben several times with the VB, but never have I seen him this strong with it.  He kept going up and up with the weight, finishing with an ALL TIME USAWA record of 251 pounds with his right hand.  This broke the USAWA All-Time mark held by Andrew Durniat of 250 pounds, set at the 2010 Dino Gym Grip Challenge.  I also got to see Andrew set his record, and at the time I wondered if it ever would be broken.  Well, Ben did it!  He also lifted 240 pounds in the 2″ VB with his left hand, setting the highest mark in USAWA history with the left as well.  The next “grip lift” Ben went after was the Fulton Dumbbell (of which handle is 2 inches in diameter).  He did 175 pounds with his left, and 185 pounds with his right. The “185” is the BEST EVER that has been done in the USAWA with a one handed Fulton Dumbbell. As some of you know, the Fulton Bar lifts utilizing the 2″ handle was named after Kevin Fulton, who was one of the grip-strength pioneers in the USAWA.   It all started that day when Kevin “upset” Wilbur Miller in a competition where a 2″ handle dumbbell was deadlifted with one arm.  Bill Clark “tagged” the name of the Fulton Bar to the 2 inch handle following this incident.  Now Ben better set his goal on Kevin’s best mark from the Old Missouri Valley Record List.   Just to let you know – Kevin Fulton lifted 195 pounds in the One Arm Fulton Dumbbell in 1983.  So get to work Ben!!!

Scott Tully set the ALL TIME RECORD in the Stifflegged Deadlift with a lift of 512 pounds at the Dino Days Record Day.

Scott Tully really did some damage to the Record List today as well.  Scott doesn’t mess around with “sissy lifts” when it comes to breaking records.  He gets right to the hard stuff!  He started off with breaking the record in the Stiff Legged Deadlift with a great lift of 512 pounds.  This not only broke the 125+ KG weight class record that was previously held at 502 pounds by Matthew Doster, but the ALL -TIME USAWA record of 507 pounds held by Ed Schock and myself.  Since I knew Scott was “taking my record down” as well, and I was the head official on his lift, I made sure he kept his legs straight!  This caused Scott to attempt this lift at least 4 times until he finally got it!  And well deserving.   Next Scott went on to some other “hard” lifts like the Fulton Bar Deadlift and the Fulton Dumbbell Deadlifts, of which he got several more records.  Scott is a great grip guy, and should get more recognition for his grip strength.  His One Arm Fulton Dumbbell of 175 pounds was unbelievable, and if it wasn’t for Ben overshadowing him on this day, I would be bragging that record lift up as well.

Mike Murdock set a new age group record in the Trap Bar Deadlift with a lift of 305 pounds.

Mike “Murdo” Murdock set the most records in the most events with 9.  Mike lifted the day before in the Team Nationals and I was surprised that he was planning on doing this much today!  He did a wide range of lifts.   I felt his best record lift of the day was his 305 pound Trap Bar Deadlift.  To me a guy lifting over 300 pounds at the age of over 70 in the Trap Bar Deadlift  is like a young lifter lifting over 600 pounds.  Not too many can do it either!   Mike has had an outstanding year in the USAWA, and has lifted in as many meets as anyone.  I’m keeping an eye on Mike as it won’t be long and he will be in the CENTURY CLUB for holding over 100 USAWA records.  And when he does, I’ll pat him on the back because he will be the first to do it starting in the 70 plus age group!

LaVerne Myers "stole the show" with his 117 pound Dumbbell Walk. The reason this picture is blurry is because he was moving so fast!

My father LaVerne made his faithful appearance today at the record day.  These past couple of years he hasn’t missed an opportunity to lift in the Dino Gym Record Days.  One of his highlights was setting a personal record in the One Handed 2″ Vertical Bar Deadlift with a fine lift of 182 pounds.  I was considering doing the Vertical Bar Deadlift myself but after watching his record setting effort I decided I better not!  I was worried that I might not be able to “measure up” to the standard set by ole Dad!  haha  However, Dad “stole the show” on the last lift contested at this record day – the Dumbbell Walk.   Of course when I got out the Dumbbell Walk handle, I “threw down the challenge” to Ben and Dad so they HAD to participate.  I hadn’t done any grip stuff all day so I was hoping to use this to my advantage  (I’m a crafty one!).   I was mainly concerned about Ben being my primary challenge, and I knew Ben had totally exhausted his grip by this point when he only managed 102 pounds on the Walk. If he would have done this first thing it would have been WAY MORE!  I then played a little “psych out” game with him  and made a big jump to 132 pounds which was outside of both of our limits, but I thought it would “finish of” his grip and then I would drop back and break his 102 mark, which I did with a Dumbbell Walk of 117 pounds.  At that point I thought I had it won, and was shaking Ben’s hand when my Dad, to our surprise, picked up the 117 and made the walk!!!  What can I say???  What a great way to end a record day at the Dino Gym. 

My "highlight lift" was this 772 pound Neck Lift, which is a personal record and USAWA record in the 120 KG weight class.

MEET RESULTS

Dino Days Record Day
Dino Gym, Abilene, Kansas
August 28th, 2011

Meet Director:  Al Myers

Officials (3-official System used):  Al Myers, Mike Murdock, Scott Tully, LaVerne Myers

Lifts:  Record Day

Scott Tully – 35 years, 346 pounds BWT
Mens Open Age Division & 125+ KG Weight Class

Deadlift – Stiff Legged: 512#
Deadlift – Fulton Bar: 503#
Curl – 2 Dumbbells, Cheat: 150#
Clean and Push Press – 2 Dumbbells: 210#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Right Arm: 175#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Left Arm: 165#
Deadlift – 2 Fulton Dumbbells: 290#

Ben Edwards – 36 years, 217 pound BWT
Mens Open Division & 100 KG Weight Class

Snatch – Kelly: 57#
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, Left Hand: 240#
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, Right Hand: 251#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Left Arm: 175#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Right Arm: 185#
Deadlift – 2 Fulton Dumbbells: 320#
Dumbbell Walk: 102#

Al Myers – 45 years, 256 pounds BWT
Mens 45-49 Age Division & 120 KG Weight Class

Bench Press – Alternate Grip: 330#
Bench Press – Reverse Grip: 330#
Bench Press – Feet in Air: 330#
Curl – 2 Dumbbells, Cheat: 120#
Lateral Raise – Lying: 90#
Neck Lift: 772#
Dumbbell Walk: 117#

LaVerne Myers – 67 years, 246 pounds BWT
Mens Master 65-69 Age Group & 115 KG Weight Class

Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, Right Hand: 125#
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, Left Hand: 125#
Two Hands Anyhow: 70#
Snatch – Kelly: 35#
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, Right Hand: 182#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbell, Right Arm: 135#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Left Arm: 135#
Dumbbell Walk: 117#

Mike Murdock – 71 years, 235 pounds BWT
Mens Master 70-74 Age Group & 110 KG Weight Class

Weaver Stick – Left Hand: 2.5#
Two Hands Anyhow: 100#
Deadlift – Trap Bar: 305#
Lateral Raise – Lying: 70#
Clean and Push Press – 2 Dumbbells: 100#
Curl – 2 Dumbbells, Cheat: 90#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Left Arm: 115#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Right Arm: 115#
Dumbbell Walk: 62#

Team Nationals

by Al Myers

MEET REPORT

Group picture from the 2011 USAWA Team Nationals. (front row left to right): Al Myers, Chad Ullom (back row left to right): Russ Morton, Rudy Bletscher, Mike Murdock, Dean Ross

The 2011 USAWA Team Nationals was again an outstanding success this year.  It contained a couple of  regular teams (Myers/Ullom & Murdock/Bletscher) and one new team that made their debut (Morton/Ross) in team lifting.  Team lifting is MUCH different than just individual lifting. Teamwork is essential in being successful – things like timing and coordination between partners can either help you or hurt you in a big way.  The teams this year seemed very balanced in regards to the lifters size and height.  

Dean and Russ put up the top Team One Arm Dumbbell Press with a lift of 180 pounds.

The Dino Gym brought another new lifter to the USAWA arena in this meet and he did a phenomenal job considering this was his first exposure to the crazy things we do in the USAWA, and I consider this meet an extreme meet in our yearly meet lineup. This man is Russ Morton. He is a VERY seasoned powerlifter who has MANY powerlifting meets under his belt, and it was obvious he was not intimidated in the least by the lifts that faced him.  He teamed with Dean “the Boss” Ross who in my opinion, has made his presence known in the USAWA this year.  Dean is one of the STRONGEST GUYS his age I have ever met.  He powers through any lift whether it requires technique or not, and through brute determination makes big lifts.  These two guys put up the TOP Team One Arm Dumbbell Press of the meet with a fine lift of 180 pounds. I’m sure you are wondering – how do you do a Team one arm dumbbell press??  At first it sounds next to impossible, but after “scratching our heads” awhile we came up with a way.  First of all, there is barely enough room to get two hands on a 6 inch dumbbell handle so the grip on the dumbbell is not the best.  All of us pressed the dumbbell standing to the side of each other facing opposite directions.  So it can be done.

We were entertained during a break in the lifting action when Rudy and Dave sang a harmonized duet.

The second lift was the Team Continental Snatch using the 2″ Fulton Bar.  I was concerned grip might be an issue for the lifters but it wasn’t for anyone.  The difficulty with the lift was the minimal hand spacing on the bar.  You had to use a snatch grip much narrower than the normal snatch width, which made the lift slightly more difficult.  Chad and I had the top lift here with a lift of 320 pounds.  Mike and Rudy made a solid lift of 117 pounds, and Dean and Russ finished with 177 pounds.   Chad and I used a power snatch technique while the other two teams used the hang snatch technique.

Mike and Rudy teamed up for a 175 pound Team Continental to Chest and Jerk. Not too bad for a couple of lifters over 70 years of age!

The third lift was the Team Continental to Chest and Jerk.  Chad and I had the top lift of 452 pounds, which is now the top lift done in this lift in both the USAWA and IAWA record books.  I was hoping that we could also break the mark from the old Missouri Valley Record List which record is an outstanding lift of 463 pounds set in 1983 by two legendary mid-west lifters, Bob Burtzloff and Kevin Fulton.   We simply ran out of attempts and didn’t start high enough.  Maybe next time!!! 

Chad and I had to use some tight teamwork to lift 1000 pounds in the Team 2-bar deadlift.

The last lift done was the Team 2-bar deadlift.  Each lifter gripped each bar just like in the individual 2-bar deadlift.  I actually thought this would be an easy lift for a team to do since the balance issue would be removed that presents when doing this by yourself.  I thought for sure that the lifters could lift more as a team than the sum of their individual lifts.  I was wrong!  This lift turned out to give the lifters the most failed attempts of all the lifts, because if both bars didn’t rise in unison, the weight would “shift” to the lifter on the lower end and force the lifters feet to move.   We tried it all ways – facing away from each other, facing each other, and even standing facing the same direction. I don’t think we ever decided which “lineup” was most favorable.  Mike Murdock took a nasty fall on one attempt after the weight “shifted”.  Luckily, Mike was not hurt (at least he was not bleeding!).   Chad and I had the top lift on this one with a lift of 1000 pounds.  I think we could have done a little more, but at this time we were ready to call it a day and head to town for supper!  Thanks to everyone who showed up to lift, and special thanks goes to Dave Glasgow for serving as the official the entire day.

MEET RESULTS

USAWA Team Nationals
Dino Gym, Abilene, Kansas
August 27th, 2011

Meet Director:  Al Myers

Official (1-official system used): Dave Glasgow

Lifts:   Team Press – Dumbbell, One Arm, Team Continental Snatch – Fulton Bar, Team Continental to Chest and Jerk, Team Deadlift – 2 bars

Lifters:

OPEN AGE GROUP & 115 KG WEIGHT CLASS
Al Myers – 45 years, 253# BWT
Chad Ullom – 39 years,  244# BWT

MASTERS 50-54 AGE GROUP & 125+ KG WEIGHT CLASS
Dean Ross – 68 years, 281# BWT
Russ Morton – 50 years, 275# BWT

MASTERS 70-74 AGE GROUP & 105 KG WEIGHT CLASS
Mike Murdock – 71 years, 231# BWT
Rudy Bletscher – 75 years, 217# BWT

RESULTS

Lifters DB Press Snatch C&J DL Total Points
Myers/Ullom 175-R 320 452 1000 1947 1535.4
Ross/Morton 180-R 177 253 617 1227 1019.9
Murdock/Bletscher 90-R 117 175 440 822 896.7

Notes:  All lifts recorded in pounds.  Total is total pounds lifted.  Points are adjusted points for bodyweight correction and age correction.

EXTRA LIFTS FOR RECORDS:

Murdock/Bletscher: MASTERS 70-74 AGE GROUP & 105 KG WEIGHT CLASS
Team Curl – Reverse Grip: 205#

Ross/Murdock: MASTERS 65-69 AGE GROUP & 125+ KG WEIGHT CLASS
Team Curl – Reverse Grip: 205#

Dean Ross:  MASTERS 65-69 AGE GROUP & 125+ KG WEIGHT CLASS
Swing – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 70#
Swing – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 70#
Swing – 2 Dumbbells: 100#

Time Change for Team Nationals

by Al Myers

ANNOUNCEMENT

There has been a time change for TEAM NATIONALS this weekend on Saturday, 27th.   Weighins will begin at 12:00, and the meet will start immediately following this.  Note that this is two hours later than announced earlier.   I have not received very many entries, and the attendance looks to be small so meet time won’t be an issue and we should still be done by 4 PM.  I just want to give everyone plenty of time for travel Saturday morning.

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