Last Call for Dino Challenge

by Al Myers

I’m going to make one last “plug” for the Dino Challenge, which is this coming Saturday.   This is a meet you DO NOT want to miss!  It is the FIRST EVER Oldtime Strongman Competition sanctioned by the USAWA.  There is no entry deadline for this one – so at this point just SHOW UP and ENTER!  Even if you don’t feel prepared for it, enter and have a fun day lifting.  You will be glad you did.   This Oldtime Strongman Competition will be quite different than other strongman competitions.  Modern strongman equipment and apparatuses will not be used – such as Atlas stones, steel logs, and steel yokes.  Instead, each event is based on a strength feat of an Oldtime Strongman.  Also, the rules of the USAWA will be followed in regards to scoring, which are much different than other strongman competitions.  Each lifters total poundage will be adjusted for bodyweight and age.  Another big difference is supportive gear is NOT ALLOWED, with the exception of belts and wrist wraps.  This means no elbow or knee sleeves, no supportive shorts, and no knee or elbow wraps.  Chalk may be used – but no tacky.  This competition will be drug tested.   The USAWA is a drug free organization and all Oldtime Strongman Competitions sanctioned by the USAWA will be tested (which is ALSO different from other strongman competitions).  There is no entry fee to enter, but you must be a member of the USAWA.   Membership dues are $25 and you may join on Saturday. I will have forms available.

This Oldtime Strongman Competition is gearing up to be one of the largest attended meets in recent history in the USAWA.  Come and be part of it!

2011 USAWA Nationals Photo Project

by Thom Van Vleck

If you haven’t marked it on you calendar yet, put a big circle around June 25th right now!  I am hoping to do the USAWA proud hosting the USAWA Nationals this year.  I will have Al Myers as my “consultant” to make sure I don’t screw this up.  Al is an unpaid consultant, so I have to be careful I don’t get my money’s worth!  But seriously, we are looking to do some cool things this year.

One idea that I would like to do will require some help from all you!  I want to have a powerpoint  going that will be projecting pictures from the great history of the USAWA onto a wall nearby or even behind the lifting area.  So, I’m asking all of you to submit photos to me or Al.  You can send me a photograph or photographs, you can attach them to an e-mail, you can send me a CD with photos, just get them in and we’ll put them in the rotation!  I think it would add to the inspiration of the meet to have these photos scrolling on the wall while the meet goes on!

I will also have someone photographing every lift of the meet.  These lifts plus the historic lifts will be downloaded to ONE CD and will be sold for$15.

I will also have many photos, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia from the Jackson Weightlifting Club on display!  I will have a special table set up for the JWC and we will have the famous (or infamous) JWC photo album out as well as some of the old trophies and medals from 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.

More plans are coming along, so send your photos!

One Hand Snatch

by Arthur Saxon

Position 1 - One Hand Snatch

Place yourself in position 1 (see illustration), and as you pull strongly with the right hand and shoulder, press as hard as you can with the left hand on the left knee.  Then when the weight has reached a fair height, dip beneath same, the eyes to be all the time on the weight.  The secret of this lift is to use as many muscles as possible at the same time, that is, you press with your legs, pull with your arm, and push with the disengaged one, also pull with the shoulder and jerk with the back, suddenly, when the weight is over your head, dipping beneath same, and throwing it a little to the back.  There are two positions possible in snatching the weight, either of which are good, and both of which I will describe.

Position 2 - One Hand Snatch

One is to keep the body perpendicular and dip cleanly beneath the weight, the other is to suddenly fall to one side as in the bent press, when the bar is about the height of your head, and so place a straight arm beneath the weight, after which you recover to an erect position.  The benefit and advantage in this latter position being, given a a man who is enormously strong and a good side presser, if his arm should not go in the first attempt quite straight, then he may finish up the last inch or two by the body press, that is if no objection be made by referee or opponents in competition.  A variation of this is to snatch the bell overhead with two hands instead on one, the hands being held the same distance apart as in the double-handed barbell lift.  Those anxious to practice the single-handed lift all the way, as in the English Amateur Championship Competition, will find my instructions as to the snatch are, in reversed, directly applicable to the initial pull-in to the shoulder.  All that you have to do is place your hand on the bar with the palm to the front instead of to the back, then pull the bell up to the chest, stepping back with the left leg if pulling in with the right hand, and exerting as many muscles as possible as described.

NOTE:  – In all these positions where the weight is lifted to the shoulder from off the ground, the arm must NOT be bent at the first portion of the pull.

CREDIT:  The Development of Physical Power by Arthur Saxon

Habecker’s Gym – Club of the Year

by Al Myers

Habecker’s Gym is the 2010 Club of the Year

Denny and Judy Habecker have promoted several big meets in the USAWA. This picture of them was taken at the 2009 IAWA World Championships, which they promoted in Lebanon, PA.

It’s official!  The year 2010 is wrapped up, and after all points have been tallied, Habecker’s Gym wins the 2010 USAWA Club of the Year.  Ambridge VFW BBC was the runner-up, for the second year in a row.  Last year the Ambridge Club placed second in the Club Race behind the Dino Gym.  As per the Club of the Year rules, the defending Club Award winner is not eligible the following year and instead is responsible for presenting the award and passing the title to the next year’s winner.

Habecker’s Gym is a club gym operated and owned by our USAWA President Denny Habecker.  2010 was the first year Denny registered his club as a Member Club of the USAWA, and in return, immediately wins the USAWA Club of the Year by upsetting the perennial power Ambridge BBC.  Habecker’s Gym has 5 registered club members – Denny, Judy Habecker, Barry Bryan, Andrew Hess, and Kohl Hess.   Denny and Habecker’s Gym hosted the 2010 USAWA National Championships in Lebanon, PA.  The final standings were:

1.  Habecker’s Gym – 26 points

2.  Ambridge BBC – 19 points

3.  Frank’s Barbell Club – 17 points

4.  Clark’s Gym – 16 points

5.  JWC – 12 points

The 2010 USAWA Club of the Year Award will be awarded at this coming years National Championship, in Kirksville, Missouri.  Congratulations to Denny and Judy and all members of Habecker’s Gym!

The Heavy Lift Bar

by Al Myers

Steve Schmidt, arguable the BEST OVERALL Heavy Lift lifter in the history of the USAWA, maxes a Heavy Lift Bar out with plates in the Hip Lift under the watchful eye of Bill Clark.

A very unique bar that we use in the USAWA (and is ONLY used by our organization) is the Heavy Lift Bar.  Often a lot of mystery surrounds this bar.  You will see ads on various websites advertising the sale of  heavy lift bars, but in most cases these bars DO NOT meet our rules specifications.  The Heavy Lift Bar is used for the Heavy Lifts – which include lifts like the Harness Lift, Hand and Thigh Lift, Hip Lift, and Neck Lift.  Our new updated Rule Book contains the specifications for the Heavy Lift Bar, which were not included in the previous Rule Book.  Section V.I. 22 of the USAWA Rule Book states this regarding the Heavy Lift Bar:

The Heavy Lift Bar must meet the following specifications.

• The diameter of the bar must be a minimum of 1 15/16 inches.

• The bar may be a pipe or solid steel shaft.

• The maximum length of the inside sleeve is 16 inches.

• The maximum length of the bar is 8 ½ feet and the minimum length of the bar is 7 feet.

• Only one hook is allowed on the bar, located in the center.

• The bar must be straight.

• The weight of the bar must be clearly marked.

• The bar must contain no revolving sleeves.

A brand new Heavy Lift Bar that I made specifically to be used at the 2011 USAWA Heavy Lift Nationals, to be held in York, PA on May 21st.

The most common problem with “other” Heavy Lift Bars is they often contain TWO HOOKS.  Our Official Heavy Lift Bar can have only one – located in the center – which obviously makes the balance of the lifts much more difficult!  The Heavy Lift Bar requires several accessories.  Proper hooks for attachments are needed, along with bar lifters to make  loading easier.  Special harnesses and belts are needed, depending on which lift is being performed.  The shaft of the Heavy Lift Bar is a solid cold roll bar, of diameter 1 15/16 inches.  A hollow pipe would never hold up – it would bend (or break) immediately!  I am always surprised how much the solid Heavy Lift Bar will bend under loads of over 2000 pounds!  All of the Heavy Lift Bars that we use in the USAWA are home-made or custom-made.  Only a handful of gyms have one – the Dino Gym, Clark’s Gym, Habecker’s Gym, Ambridge BBC, Frank’s Barbell Club, M & D Gym, Schmidt’s Barbell Club,  and the JWC.  OK – so most ALL of the Member Clubs of the USAWA have one!!  The Heavy Lift Bar will be featured exclusively at this year’s Heavy Lift Nationals in York, PA on May 21st with the Neck Lift, Hip Lift and Hand and Thigh Lift being contested.  If you want to give the Heavy Lifts a try, and in the process get introduced to the Heavy Lift Bar, just sign up for this competition!

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