USAWA

As I was updating the member clubs page on the website, I was wondering why we subdivide our small club into even smaller clubs.  I knew some obvious answers.

• Club of the Year – Awarded on membership, participation, hosting events and championships
• Club Championship – Awarded based on total Lynch points of the top athletes
• National Championship Top Club – Awarded based on total Lynch points of all club athletes

Outside of this, I did not see many references to clubs over the 17 years that the website has tracked club news.  There was a 2017 article by Al referring to club certificates.  Those have not been printed since I have been involved with USAWA.  At the time of this article, there are (41) athletes in the USAWA and the majority have chosen a club affiliation.

Active Clubs

• Al’s Dino Gym – 1 member
• Clark’s Championship Gym – 17 members
• Frank’s Barbell Club – 7 members
• Habecker’s Gym – 4 members
• High Country Vigour – 4 members
• KCSTRONGMAN – 1 member
• Ledaig Heavy Athletics – 1 member
• Iron Sharpens Iron WL Club – 2 members
• Per Aspera Strength – 1 member

Another (20) clubs have been founded over the years.  New England All-Rounders, Prechtel’s AC and Ambridge VFW BBC are the only non-active clubs to have over a decade of involvement.

Traditionally, the winner of club of the year has not been eligible for the following year.  However, Clark’s Championship Gym is living up to its name and has won the title 3 of the past 4 years.

• Dino Gym – (6) wins 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 – every other year for a decade
• Frank’s Barbell Club – (3) wins 2014, 2016, 2018
• Clark’s Gym – (3) wins 2022, 2024, 2025
• Habecker’s Gym – (2) wins 2010, 2023
• Ledaig Heavy Athletics – (1) win 2012

Questions that came up for me?

Do you have to be a member of a club? No

Does it cost extra to be join a club? No

How do I choose which club to join? This seems to be regional based on where you will compete most often, but you could join any club

What benefit is there to being part of a club? Building community, planning and coordinating events

Can I sanction a meet without being part of a club? Yes

Where does the $30 annual club membership dues go? All USAWA income goes to a general fund to maintain the website, perform drug testing, purchase annual awards, maintain incorporation and perform general administrative functions. All board members and special assignment directors are volunteers.

Why did I choose to start a club? I had attended the National Championships when promoted by Clark’s Gym and competed in Al’s Dino Gym, but did not feel connected to either organization. We are fortunate to have a core group of athletes who like to compete together. I filled out the paperwork in hopes to build a community in Colorado. Having a club has not been much of a recruiting tool, but we were able to compete in the Club Championship last year (losing to Clark’s Gym).

There are (4) USAWA Lifts that require a Roman Chair.

• Bench Press – Roman Chair (A6) – 55 records
• Abdominal Raise – On Roman Chair (D2) – 21 records
• Extension – Back (D12) – 22 records
• Roman Chair Situp (I21) – 46 records

The last time the topic of a Roman Chair was discussed in earnest was in 2011 on the forum and the website. Al does an excellent job of providing some history of the device, early lifts and the USAWA lifts.

My revisit is a little more on the practical side of actually securing a device that meets the USAWA standards.

Tuff Stuff “Roman Chair”

I unofficially tried to do these lifts on commercially available Tuff Stuff “Roman Chair” that had an angled pad which does not meet the USAWA specifications. I considered having a shop cut and re-weld the post to make it comply with the rulebook but abandoned the idea.

Dino Gym Roman Chair with Adjustable Safety

Clark’s Gym Roman Chair with Adjustable Bench Height

Frank Zane on a Roman Chair

Bruce Lee’s Original Roman Chair

Then I thought about having one fabricated in the style of Dino Gym, Clark’s Championship Gym, a design used by Frank Zane or even a design used by Bruce Lee. The Frank Zane design was part of a DIY youtube video by Buff Dudes last year.

Ad Hoc Solution

I eventually gave up and decided that it was not worth having a dedicated piece of equipment taking up space in my home gym. To contest the lifts, athletes would hook their toes under the lip of the barbell holder, sit on the utility bench and have a safety bench behind them if they lost control of the weight.

USAWA Compliant Solution

As luck would have it after 2 years of searching Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace a suitable product availed itself. It was about an hour away and overpriced, but I had to have it. I am looking forward to testing it and maybe contesting these lifts more often. The flat bench is adjustable and the foot pegs are fixed. In theory it could be used for back extensions also, but I have not tried that yet.