Contest Memories Part III

By Eric Todd

After competing in Tri-States Strongest Man in Canton, and then the JWC Strongman meet a month later, I was hooked.  I could not wait to compete in another; however, at the time, there were not nearly as many opportunities to compete locally as there are now.  The next meet I could find strongman wise was the next May, over half a year away.  When you are chomping at the bit to compete like I was at the time, that was just too far.

In the meantime, I kept perusing the strongman sites and training.  Back then we had Worldsstrongestman.com forum, Samson power forum, and two forums for the North American Strongman Society.  I might be missing a couple, but these are the ones I frequented early on in my career.  It is while looking over these that I somehow found my way to the USAWA website.  While looking at the contest selection, I saw a meet close to me in March: The Deanna Springs Memorial at Clarks Gym in Columbia.  While I was certainly not familiar with all-round, or all of the lifts contested in this meet, I did notice the crucifix was in this meet.  Since I recognized this lift as a strongman event, I thought “why not?”  I called Bill Clark and told him I was coming.

Back in the day, when planning to travel to a contest, I would look up the directions on Mapquest.com and print off directions.  Though not as old school as reading a map or using a sextant,  it was a far cry from the GPS that many of us use today.  So, that particular day, I grabbed my printed directions and start to drive.  When I arrived at my destination as defined by these directions, I was clearly at a residence and not a commercial gym, like what I was expecting.  Turns out I had entered the address for Clark’s house and not the gym.  Not good, as the cell phones in those days were not advanced like what we have today, and I could not look up the correct directions on the fly. I needed to find my way from Grace Ellen Drive to Grace Lane.  I was in the neighborhood of giving up, as the weigh in time was coming and going, but then stopped at a gas station where they helped me find my way.

I found the gym a few minutes after the competition was supposed to be starting, but I gathered my bag and walked through the door.  You can imagine my surprise when I walked through the door to see only two other individuals sitting there.  Welcome to the world of all-round.  And I thought Strongman was fringe!  As I entered the gym, I was impressed by the dusty display of trophies, the York globe dumbbell set, and the assortment of equipment that resembled a torture chamber.  The two gentlemen were Bill Clark and Joe Garcia.  They accepted me into the meet, albeit late, and we proceeded to compete.

Bill served as the official, and Joe and I the competitors.  Though the crucifix was not the same as what is contested in strongman, I was still decent at it and lifted 120 pounds (or 60 pounds a dumbbell) on this discipline. My cheat curl was also decent.  It was when we got to the other three lifts that I needed help.  The last three were the Deanna Lift, the Hand and Thigh, and Hip Lift.  The Deanna was comparatively decent, as I am not sure anyone knew what they were doing with the lift at the time.  I did over 200 pounds more at a later date.  It was with the hand and thigh that I really got to witness the lengths of Joe and Bill’s expertise.  They worked tirelessly with me to help perfect my technique for that day.  With it only being two lifters, they took their time to show me the ropes.  I ended with a 1475 pound effort, and I have not done a boat load more than this over almost 20 years and much training.  The last lift was the hip lift.  Though Bill and Joe gave me the same attention that they gave me in the hand and thigh, it was not to be.  I only lifted 200 more pounds in this discipline than I did the hand and thigh, which is unacceptable.  Bill said that some people who excel in the hand and thigh are sometime poor in the hip lift.  I assumed that this was me, as I always fell in this same neighborhood.  That is, until I got my own hip belt and was able to spend some time playing with the belt placement to figure out what works for me.  I have since gone well above the 1675 I did that day.

This was my introduction to all-round and the USAWA.  Bill gave me a few of the recent newsletters, and signed me up to receive the new editions.  I read through the newsletters and ordered a record book.  From this point, I started competing in all-round on top of strongman.  For quite a spell, I did not compete terribly regularly in all-round, as I was heavily focused on my strongman career.   I would occasionally compete at Clark’s or at the Dino gym, but it certainly took a backseat to strongman.  It was not until my strongman career came to an end that I became much more focused on all-round lifting, and it has been the sole focus ever since.  I sometimes wonder what success I could have had in it if I would have focused on it more during my prime, but I reckon I have no regrets.

 

 

Iron Addict Poem

By Christopher Lestan

Roses may be red,

Violets may be blue,

However, I’m addicted to making PRs,

As so should you,

Nothing better than protein after the workout,

Such as steak and burgers at a cookout,

Training is a priority for me,

It’s part of my life,

Just like regular power cleans,

My gym bag is very dear to me,

It holds everything I need,

Ranging from knee sleeves,

To an Inzer Belt,

My family thinks it smells of sweat,

Obviously, they never have met,

The guy at the gym,

Who doesn’t shower for hours,

Barbells and Dumbells is all I need,

To gain muscle for all to see,

Notebooks are the best way to record,

All the weights and workouts I have lifted,

That way I never get bored,

And see my progress,

Week by week reminding myself I am not weak!

– Poem by Christopher Lestan

 

 

 

 

Contest memories part II

By Eric Todd

When I first decided to give strongman a shot, I was rather anxious to get rolling.  I found the aforementioned Tri-States Strongest Man contest in Canton, but a mere month later was another, even closer opportunity to see if I had what it took to compete in strongman.  It was in Kirksville, MO, just a couple hours away from me by automobile.  I went ahead and entered this meet as well, and trained for the 2 concurrently.

The events in this were as follows: a clean and press for reps with a railroad tie, anvil throw for height, sheaf throw  for distance, anvil/stone load medley, and truck pull for time.  The clean and press, I just trained with a barbell in the gym.  For the throw for height, I procured a keg to train with, though I was just launching it in the air, not over anything.  I just did repetitions with the 230 pound stone that I had made to try and get ready for the load medley.  I used the old tractor inner-tube as a harness to pull my brothers broken down car around what is now my yard.

It was the sheaf throw that threw me off.  When I studied up on it, I found it was a “bale” throw with a pitchfork for height, so I reckoned this was just a bale throw for distance  in the same fashion.  I already had a pitchfork, so I went out and bought a straw bale and went to work.  I had really no technique, and found this rather challenging.  I was maybe getting 10 feet.  My brother (of Lift for Leroy fame) was with me while I was training it one day.  I thought maybe it would  motivate me to throw further if I had a moving target, so I suggested he run away from me as I tried to hit him with the bale.  While this method did produce another foot or two in distance, it more closely resembled a Keystone Cops routine than a sound training method.

Contest time came.  I found my way to the park a little early and started looking over the implements.  I was at that time when I met Thom VanVleck and Brian Kerby.  As a rather introverted individual, I found it refreshing how engaging they were and how easily I was able to visit with them.  This is where the theme of “like minded individuals” began to draw me to strongman.

While I cannot remember the exact order of the events, I believe we started with the clean and press with the railroad tie.  While I am certain I was not the strongest presser (pretty sure that designation would go to Brian Kerby that day) i was able to hit more repetitions due to speed, resulting in an event win.  The sheaf toss for distance was not what I had envisioned.  The “bale” was much smaller and more compact than the straw bale I had been working with.  This discipline clearly required MUCH more technique that I was exhibiting that some of the other competitors with highland games experience had mastered.  I pulled my best throw of the day with my last throw where I left the fork in the bale, a throw that was ultimately good for last place.  I felt like that maybe was a nail in the coffin of a decent placing at the meet.  I would have to dominate the rest of the meet in order to place well.  It is usually the guy who is consistently toward the top who wins.  A last place finish can be devastating.

Well, I got to work.  In the anvil throw for height, I kept pace with the proficient highland throwers.  Seems like I tied for 1st or second in this event.  Then came the load medley. I consisted of loading 3 progressively heavier anvils, followed by 2 field stones to a platform a bit higher than waist high.  If I remember correctly, the heavier of the 2 field stones was a bit over 300 pounds. This type of event ended up being a strong suit for me. While I was one of 3 competitors who loaded all 5 implements, I did so the fastest, so another event win for me. The last event, we went up the hill to a parking lot for the truck pull.  We were to be pulling Thom’s father Earl’s semi-diesel truck.  It was probably the event I was most excited for, as this a feat I had watched the giants of World’s Strongest Man perform back in the day that I assumed  was something I would never be able to do.  While memory tells me that I won this event, I am not 100% sure that is accurate.  What I am 100% about is  that I performed well enough in the event for the overall contest win.

It was this win, coupled with my relative success at Canton that let me know I belonged; however, it was the absolute camaraderie that kept me coming back.  Though I was competing against Thom and Brian all day, they kept coming back to compliment me on what I had done.  They were explicitly positive influences on me that day, and this assured me that the strongman community was something I needed to be a part of.

As a side note, this was a two day event.  Day one was strongman, day two the highland games.  I competed in both. Make no mistake about it, what ego boost that had been a result of my day one success was quickly dismantled as I competed in the B class on day 2…

Open for Business

By Al Myers

The USAWA Executive Board has voted to start allowing sanctions again in the USAWA.  This has been a tough year for our organization without having organized meets/competitions.  Hopefully before long we can get back to “Business as Normal”, but for now these sanctioned events will have a few restrictions which must be adhered to. They are:

  • Sanctions are to be for RECORD DAYS only
  • Meet directors are responsible for lifters wearing masks and having social distancing
  • Proof of full vaccination status for COVID must be provided to the USAWA in order to be eligible to compete

 

The One and Only Heavy Lifts!

By Christopher Lestan

As I began my career in the USAWA in 2018 I only knew of the lifts such as the Ciavattone deadlift, or the Jefferson deadlift. Lifts that I could relatively understand and see mentally through my experience with Powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting. These times were simple and I loved it. I would head to Franks Barbell and do 1-4 lifts that would fit in the “push” or “pull” exercise categories. I seemed to gain a grasp on the whole idea of the USAWA and the lifts until Frank Introduced me to the Heavy Lifts.

Now for a time, I had heard of the “Neck lift”, for I would see awards in Franks basement that would say “700lb NECK LIFT” or something along those lines. Frank would also tell stories bout these “heavy lifts” and often was interesting to listen to because it seemed like a mythical lift. Something that was done in the past and only stories from the men and women who were present could tell about the tales.

Then one day I came into the gym. Set my bag down. Put on my converse and started to warm up for that day’s workout. Frank came into the gym but with a different look in his eyes. He had some excitement in his eyes. Some flare. I was curious so I had to ask him what was on his mind.

“What are we doing today Frank?”, I said gently.

He starred into my eyes and said calmly “Time to train the neck lift.”

Now before I could fully understand what was just said I said “Okay”. But then the whole sentence processed through my brain and then I quietly gasped “…. the neck lift….”. My whole day was turned upside down. Today was the day I tried this legendary lift. The day I decide to be calm and collective or look at Frank and tell him my C2-C3 in my spinal cord was hurting.

He pointed towards the corner of the gym and said “can you grab the harness and the heavy-lift bar”. I quickly stumbled over there and saw what looked like a medieval torture device. Then I turned my head to the barbell for the Heavy Lift. Now if you have never seen one of them well they are simply massive. I believe Franks is over 100 pounds. After starring at the medieval torture device and the pipeline for about 2 minutes I dragged them out to the platform. Then I just looked at them. I was lost. What was I supposed to do with them?

“Put 45s on the bar, and put the harness on your head,” said Frank. He then went on to explain which side the head harness should be, and the proper technique for the neck lift. After all the explaining I attempted my first ever neck lift….. and did it not feel good. For those who haven’t experienced the feeling of a neck lift imagine a massive amount of force being pulled from the back of the head. Now this sensation lasts about 1-2 seconds before you get the “down signal”.

The whole workout was centered on active and singles. The heaviest we went to that night was 300 pounds for a top single. The next week only consisted of me being super tight in my trap area and feeling like I got hit by a truck.

A classic example of what a neck lift looks like! This is 700 during training last year!

A classic example of what a neck lift looks like! This is 700 during training last year!

The next lif introduced to me was the Hang and Thigh lift. Now, this lift requires more of a leg drive in the extension part of the lift. However, if your hands are not strong then it will be challenging to get the lift off the ground in general. My introduction to this lift was when I was doing a typical deadlift workout. I was months away from my next competition and was doing the standard light reps but the emphasis on form. After I was done I was going to do rows however, Frank had other plans. He had me take out the Heavy Lifts barbell again along with something that looks like it came from a metal factory. It was a handle with chains on it. Again it looked like a device used in England in 1250.

After about 5-8 sets of Hang and Thigh singles, I woke up the next morning feeling super tired and sore. My whole back was weak feeling, and my glutes weirdly enough were extremely achy.

The last lift that I learned from Frank from the Heavy Lifts was the Hip Lift. This lift is less intimidating and more about power through the legs. There is a belt worn around the hip that attaches to the Heavy Lift bar itself. After attaching the chains together all you do is push with the legs and try to lift the weight about 1 inch from the ground. Now when I first tried this lift I loved it. I have strong legs so this type of lift suited me. However, the next morning my legs were screaming for help. The 1 inch off the ground doesn’t seem like much, yet the amount of stress on the legs is what really kicks in the soreness.

Now I know what you are thinking… WHY WOULD YOU TRY THESE LIFTS. Well, personally I love the idea of a challenge and something new. Additionally, like a lot of these, lifts the is history. These lifts were a staple in the 80s and 90s of the USAWA and IAWA and would be even part of National and Worlds. The amount of fatigue that would set after these lifts after Day 1 of a Worlds weekend would definitely affect the performance of some lifters. Another reason why I love these lifts is they really teach you how to control fatigue. You can’t just one rep max every week with these lifts. There is an art form to the quality and quantity of the workouts with these workouts. Lastly, they are just cool. How many you know personally that can lift hundreds of pounds with a lift named the Neck lift? Or even hip lifted a 1,000 pounds? I can answer that and it’s 0.

When the opportunity arises try these lifts. It’s very difficult to find the bar and harnesses to perform them. But I am telling you they are a blast to try and even perfect!

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