Gold Cup

By Steve Gardner

Reflections on the 2021 Gold Cup – 6th November in Belfast:
Group picture from the 2021 IAWA Gold Cup in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Group picture from the 2021 IAWA Gold Cup in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Well following last year when everything was cancelled, Stevie Shanks and I did finally get to run our Gold Cup competition a year late. It was always going to be difficult in the aftermath of Covid, a lot of people still unsure about travel and interaction etc so we knew we would not be as well attended as it might have been and of course we did not expect any foreign lifters to be present, so it was absolutely amazing that we still had 19 lifters on the Gold Cup Platform including Al Myers and Brandon Rein who made it in all the way from Kansas USA. We were blown away by the support, and the competition was really outstanding, in all its three parts this time.
Firstly we had The 2021 Gold Cup first, with 19 lifters aged from 9 to 74, with Sonnie W Gardner and Ray Dews, and a whole range between ranging from Juniors to Open Division lifters and Masters. The variation of different lifts was superb to witness making the whole thing a very exciting spectacle. All the lifters were just amazing, of that there is no doubt! James Gardner took the top amended spot with his Shoulder Drop of 91 kilos to win the Howard Prechtel Award, ahead of Ray Dews with his Bent Arm Pullover of 51 Kilos, with Steve Sherwood in third place with a great 2 hands 2″ Snatch of 62.5 kilos.
Secondly by the usual record attempts where lifters get the chance to lift on the second choice lifts if they haven’t used them already (again all were fantastic, but worthy of special mention was Steve Sherwoods 2 hands 2 inch Dumbells Deadlift of 158.6 kilos which not only took the 70+ Masters record but broke the much younger division record that had been held by Bob Hirsch of the USA since the 90s by over 30 kilos (truly outstanding) .
And then Thirdly, a special one off ‘Shanks Lift Challenge’ because we were at the home of the great Jack Shanks (who was not only present but was right up front as he had been all day, watching and supporting every lift). After Jack relayed his story of how he became the first person in modern times to lift the Dinnie Stones correctly fifty years ago, one hundred years after Dinnie himself did it, and explained how he devised ways to train to lift the Stones…hence the Shanks lift we have today) Seven lifters stood up to the Challenge and it was super entertaining to watch them battle it out, with Paul Barette coming through to win the event, with Steve Andrews in Second and Gary Ell in Third.
The Presentation of Awards after the Banquet was terrific, and after the main prize giving we witnessed the Hall of Fame induction for Paul Barette who had earlier received the Shanks Lift Challenge from Jack Shanks…I think Paul was on cloud nine as they say…what a night!
We were not finished of course because we then moved back into the function hall where Stevie Shanks and his amazing band ‘Flash Harry’ performed a fantastic gig from 10pm through to 1.30am…and well what can you say about it? I am running out of good descriptive words here, they were absolutely electric…what a show, we all felt privileged to be present as we rocked the night away!
This trip was one of the best, and i have done nearly every single World Championships and Gold Cup since day one. Howard Prechtel (God Rest his Soul) who was IAWA’s first President and started the Gold Cup tournament in 1991 would have been so proud that 30 years later, not only that it is still going but that it was as fantastic as it was. The whole trip and event will be remembered by those who were there for a long time, I thank all of the lifters who made the trip, from wherever they traveled, to those who refereed and loaded, to everyone who played a part in it, BUT ESPECIALLY to my great buddy Stevie Shanks who went the extra mile for us all……..and you know what is the most exciting thing?….because this event was held under difficult circumstances because of Covid and restrictions…we have been asked to put the event on again in November 2022 so that we may be able to receive a greater number of lifters from more destinations….and boy o boy Stevie and I cannot wait, I don’t know how we will top this year’s event, but you can bet your bottom dollar we will try….
MEET RESULTS (PDF) – 2021 Gold Cup Results

Hating to Squat, Part II

by Thom Van Vleck

I really appreciated Dan’s article. I’ll name drop a little here myself. I used to train with John Ware. He broke Bill Kazmaier’s total records and O.D. Wilson broke John’s record just weeks later as I recall.  As Dave Glasgow would say, “WHATEVER, TOPPER”.

I have never been a great bencher. I remember maxing out after a year of hard training and getting a 5lb PR.  I went from 360 to 365. It was so disappointing after so much work. A week or so later John Ware was spotting me on a set of 10 on the bench. He made the comment, “Not a single one of those reps looked the same”. His observation cause me to think.

I had no “groove”.  I had been a serious practitioner of the singles, doubles, and triples.  I rarely did more than 5 reps in a set.  What I realized was I was not getting and keeping a “groove”.  My bar path was all over the place as a result.  My solution was to go unconventional and do 10 sets of 10 with a focus on keeping the same bar path on every rep.  I did this for three months.  I then maxed out and I benched 405!  So one year of training had led to 5lbs of progress and 3 months led to 40lbs of progress!

I had fallen into that same trap.  I had not been focused on my form.  Just trying to lift as much weight as possible every set and every rep.  I figured out in that 3 months I got in 1200 reps.  In that year of low rep training I had gotten in maybe a 1000 reps.  I’m not saying 10×10 is the best power routine but I think at the time I needed the reps to reset my groove.  And it worked!  I remember hitting 370, 390, and 405.  I’ve never had a 40 lb PR on any lift before or since.  I was literally jumping for joy!

As a Highland Games thrower I video myself all the time.  Most every throw.  Because I find that over time, no matter how much I try to not let this happen, my form degrades.  I think it’s from trying to throw too hard to feed my ego.  Same goes for the weights.  Feeding my ego led to a degrading in form.

So find that love again, like Dan said!  And if you don’t have an O. D. Wilson or John Ware to check your form then set up a video.

Hating to Squat…No More

By Dan Wagman, Ph.D., CSCS

 

Dan squatting in the good ol' days. Those days are now in the future, too.

Dan squatting in the good ol’ days. Those days are now in the future, too.

Prolog

It’s late 2021 now and I’ve recently been taken back to thoughts and feelings I had training while stationed at Ft. Bragg in the late 80’s. At some point I developed a hard time benching and endured my strength dropping to 425 – with effort – and frustrating the living heck out of me. On one of those benching days, my training partner O.D. Wilson spotted me and gave me a liftoff, which turned into him doing a deadlift to save me and sharing this observation: “Dan, why’s your grip so narrow?” I gave him the stupid look, not knowing what he was talking about. After setting up again and working through things, it became clear to me that over time, for some reason, my grip had migrated inward turning the bench press in to a close-grip bench press. I had no idea how that had happened and set out to correct it immediately. And here we go again…

2021

So here I am, hating the squat like I once hated the bench. I’m weak, my body feels like I’m straining to get out of a straightjacket every time I bend my knees, I’m frustrated, and ready to stop squatting all together. I’m thinking, “Who needs to suffer like this? Training is supposed to be fun. I’ve had it!” And yet I continued to force myself through squat sessions…again and again and again. I reached a point of despair and was but a few ounces away from giving up. Then I finally decided, ”This is the last time I’m squatting.”

It’s difficult for me at times, remembering the principles of science. Training to me is fundamentally a raw, barbaric, testosterone laden activity where the blood drains from my brain in to my muscles…and oh, how good that feels. The consequence is, of course, a less than optimally functioning brain. Just as I was ready to complete the last squat session of my life, a drop of blood somehow entered my brain, a neuron or two fired, and I thought to myself, “Why not take a movie of your squat?” Such a simple thought. Such an easy thing to do. I have my Mac with me in the gym every time I train so that I can crank to some nasty metal and the shelf it rests upon is adjacent to the squat rack. Perfect vantage point for a squat movie…

I hadn’t analyzed my squat in forever and after taking a movie on that day I was disgusted with what I saw. Mind you, there were many more problems than just squatting high…as if that wasn’t bad enough. Exercise science research has determined what the fundamental principles of a proper squat must be and it appeared as though I had violated all of them. How could my squat technique deteriorate by so much, to the point where the movement crushed me, hurt me, sucked the life out of me, and me hating to do it?

2021 and Beyond

Just like my bench press deteriorated decades ago, so did my squat, and unbeknownst to me. As an exercise scientist I have to recognize that there must be a reason this happened. But frankly, I don’t really care about expending too much brain power on trying to figure that out; I want to get the squat back instead.

The main symptom, both times, was an inexplicable loss in strength for the affected lifts. In a properly designed program, that should not occur. So looking at technique can provide clues as to what might be going on. Once I determined technical errors, the solution was clear: start over.

The first thing I did was to stop squatting, albeit, unlike before, not with the intention of never squatting again. Quite the contrary. For much of the summer I didn’t squat at all and found other exercises to maintain some degree of quad strength and muscularity. I was basically wiping the squat hard drive clean. Then, at the beginning of fall I started to squat again, but started from scratch. I started to populate the hard drive with new data, the proper-squat sorta data. Basically I’m forcing my body to relearn the movement. And if you’re curious as to what that looks like, let’s just say that I’m benching way more than what I’m squatting.

Epilog

I’m writing this just after getting done squatting…less than bench weight and yet I feel GREAT. My mood is positive, I’m excited about squat days, and I’m motivated, driven even, to make improvements with every week. Proper technique is the main goal; squatting what I can bench—and eventually more—comes secondary. And my body feels incredible. I just started my second mesocycle for the squat and things are, for a lack of a better description, clicking. My body is going through the movement and it feels natural and easy. I’m no longer fighting the weight; I’m one with the weight.

Having something like this happen to me twice in a training life-time is enough. Never again. Don’t learn the hard way like I had to. If you find yourself struggling with a lift, assess your technique and determine what errors might exist. Then delete the hard drive (stop training that lift for a while), then begin putting little pieces of data back over time (train the movement again with perfect technique, increasing the weight little by little over a prolonged period of time). In the process you’ll not only begin to love that lift again, but your body will feel oh so good during and after training.

Heavy Lift Championship

Meet Results

By Eric Todd

Group photo from the Heavy Lift Championship

Group photo from the Heavy Lift Championship

The 2021 Heavy Lift Championship is in the books!  Though not necessarily ideal to have it in November as opposed to May when it has been held for years, it was refreshing to get this one in after having to miss in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.  Though we lost a couple of our entrants prior to the meet, the remaining lifters had a fantastic day of lifting and catching up.  Quite a few records were broken in the meantime.

It was pretty cool for the meet, but after getting the 2 wood stoves going, it was tolerable. As has been the custom for quite some time, this year’s heavy lift consisted of 3 lifts: the neck lift, the hand and thigh, and the hip lift.  The meet started with the Neck lift.  Unfortunately, Lance opened a bit too high on this event and failed to make a lift.  As Dean is recovering from some health issues, he decided to take on some lighter weights to avoid further issues.  He got a good lift of 100 pounds.  Dave Hahn and I both set a record in this event. Dave DeForest was able to hit a good 475 for a record on 4th attempt.

Dave Hanh with a record attempt on the Hand and Thigh

Dave Hanh with a record attempt on the Hand and Thigh

Next up was the hand and thigh.  For me, this lift is always a fickle mistress. This time, Lance was successful in his attempt at 500 pounds.  Both Daves and I were able to hit a record mark in this discipline. Dave Hahn hit a successful record lift of 500 pounds on a 4th attempt.

Lance Foster completes a successful Hand and Thigh lift

Lance Foster completes a successful Hand and Thigh lift

After we finished the last attempt on the Hand and Thigh, we stopped for a lunch break.  My wonderful wife and daughter brought us out sandwiches, chips, cookies and pastries.  We may have sat too long telling stories, as when it came time to begin the hip lift, we all needed to get warmed up again.

Dave DeForest grinds out a hip lift attempt.

Dave DeForest grinds out a hip lift attempt.

The hip lift was the last lift in an enjoyable day.  All lifters finished with a successful attempt.  Dean got the good lift call on a 300 pound attempt.  Lance was successful in all 3 attempts, ending up with a lift of 800.  Dave Hahn was successful with a 900 pound record attempt.  Dave DeForest got a good attempt at 1100 pound in the meet, and a successful record lift of 1230 on a 4th attempt.  My top lift of the meet was 2000 pounds.

Below are the results of the 2021 Heavy Lift Championships.

Heavy Lift Championship
ET’s House of Iron and Stone
Turney, MO
November 13, 2021

Meet Director: Eric Todd

Meet Announcer: Eric Todd

Score Keeper: Eric and Phoebe Todd

The hostess with the mostest and sandwich maker/deliverer: Jenny “From the Block” Todd

The One Official system was used for all lifts

Officials: Eric Todd, Lance Foster

Loaders:  All lifters

Photographer and award presenter: Phoebe Todd

All lifts are recorded in pounds, as is the total. Adj is the adjusted score after Lynch and Age adjustment.  All records are denoted with an asterisk *

Lifts:

Lifter Age Age Division BW Weight Class Neck Lift Hand and Thigh Hip Lift Total Adj Place
Eric Todd 46 45 261 120 900* 1300* 2000* 4200 3486.89 1
Dave Hahn 84 80 137 65 400* 450* 900* 1750 3221.48 2
Dave DeForest 61 60 193.8 90 450 810* 1100 2360 2617.49 3
Lance Foster 56 55 334 125+ 0 500 800 1300 1049.49 4
Dean Ross 79 75 186 85 100 200 300 600 860.43 5

Lifts outside of the meet for a record:

Dave DeForest-Neck Lift-475, Hip Lift 1230

Dave Hahn-Hand and Thigh-500

 

Hermann Goerner Deadlift Dozen-Plus One

By Bill Clark

Once again, the Gym offered a competition open to the world – and the world wound up being those who work out in Clark’s Gym. Regardless, there was plenty of good lifting.

The easy winner was Nick Frieders. Had Abe Smith been available for the weekend, he and Nick could have squared off fairly even.

The final results are as follow:

Lifter Age Age Division BW Weight Class DEADLIFT, NO THUMB, LEFT DEADLIFT, NO THUMB, RIGHT DEADLIFT, ONE ARM, LEFT DEADLIFT, ONE ARM, Right
Nick Frieders 21 Open 153 70 170* 150 270 300
John Carter 62 60 216 100 150* 180 250* 250
Dave DeForest 61 60 187 85 120* 150 210 220
Tony Hose 52 50 230 105 200 200 260* 250
Bill Clark 89 85 205 95 100* 120 140* 140*
Lifter Jefferson Hack Lift Deadlift-Heels together Deadlift-2 Bars Reeves Deadlift Deadlift-Finger-Index
Nick Frieders 330 325 400 350 280* 145*
John Carter 325* 320* 300 350 240 140*
Dave DeForest 275 315 350* 340 185* 135*
Tony Hose 315 300* 300 340 275 165*
Bill Clark 205 150* 200* 200 0 75*
Lifter Deadlift-Finger-Middle Deadlift-Finger-Ring Deadlift-Finger-Little Total Adj Place
Nick Frieders 210 125 105* 3190 3331.4 1
John Carter 205* 100 100* 2950 3140.39 2
Dave DeForest 155 125* 95* 2645 2994.56 3
Tony Hose 165 115 75* 2960 2781.52 4
Bill Clark 75* 85* 65* 1255 1948.27 5

RECORD LIFTS AFTER THE MEET

Dave DeForest – Neck lift – 400; Deanna lift – 410; Kennedy lift – 420; Peoples lift – 410; 2-hand cheat curl – 135.

OFFICIALS – Bill Clark and Dave DeForest.

All lifts are recorded in pounds, as is the total. Adj is the adjusted score after Lynch and Age adjustment.  All records are denoted with an asterisk *

1 … 135 136 137 138 139 … 545