Tag Archives: Dino Gym

Dino Gym Shooting Competition

by Al Myers

Dave Glasgow won the Handgun Division, as well as the Small Bore Rifle Division.

I’m sure everyone is wondering how the shooting competition following the Dino Gym Challenge turned out.   Well, it ended up taking about as long as the meet to complete!  I had several entrants in each shooting division, with some outstanding marksmanship taking place. Luckily, we had a perfect day of weather with very minimal wind.  Four divisions were contested, and each person could enter whichever division they wanted, depending on what their shooting expertise was.  Darren Barnhart was the only one to  enter all four divisions.  The four shooting divisions were:

1.  Shotgun Trap Shot
2.  Small Bore Rifle (.223 caliber and smaller)
3.  Large Bore Rifle (above .223 caliber)
4.  Handgun

Darren Barnhart entered all four divisions, showing his diversity as a shooter. He's indeed an All-Round shooter!

The TOP THREE in each division are as follows:

Shotgun Trap Shot  – 25 blue rock targets were throw from an electric trap thrower, with each shooter getting one shot per target.

1.  Darren Barnhart – 18/25
2. Thom Van Vleck – 16/25
2 (tie). Chad Ullom – 16/25

Small Bore Rifle – 5 shots at 100 yards and 5 shots at 200 yards.

1.  Dave Glasgow – 61 points
2.  Darren Barnhart – 58 points
3.  Chad Ullom – 36 points

Large Bore Rifle – 5 shots at 100 yards and 5 shots at 200 yards.

1.  Thom Van Vleck – 71 points
2.  Darren Barnhart – 16 points
3.  Dan Wagman – 0 points!

Handgun – 5 shots at 3 yards, 5 shots at 7 yards, 5 shots at 10 yards

1.  Dave Glasgow – 176 points
2.  Dan Wagman – 152 points
3.  Chad Ullom – 96 points

World Champ Dan Wagman takes aim - I just don't know at what!!!

Now for a little commentary on the days shooting.  First, I didn’t compete, but instead acted as the official to make sure everything was done on the “up and up”.  I was most surprised by Chad  Ullom.  Chad continues to show everyone that he seems to be a natural at everything.  He doesn’t even own a gun, and very rarely has ever shot one, but wanted to compete so he borrowed a shotgun from Darren to enter the shotgun contest.  He started off miserably – missing his first half dozen shots. At this point – he made a newbie mistake and jammed up Darren’s gun so it wouldn’t work anymore.  I then had to let him borrow one of mine to finish his shoot. At this juncture I gave him a few shooting tips and reminded him of the value of my shotgun, and that I would hold him accountably for it if he broke it.   Well, this motivational talk of mine must have got him focused and he seemed to “get on fire” and started hitting every target!!!  Thom was solid as expected in the Trap Shoot, but still ended up with a tie with Chad for second.  Darren won the event with a very good 18 out of 25.  Next up was the small bore rifle competition.  Again, Chad was up against a couple of seasoned shooters in Darren and Dave, but made a fine showing to get third with again a borrowed rifle, edging out John O’Brien who scored a 27.  Darren had the lead after round 1 at 100 yards, but sharp-shooter Dave eclipsed him in round 2 at 200 yards to win the small bore.  The large bore rifle had three entrants: Thom, Darren, and Dan. A controversy immediately resulted as Dan was going to enter using his 5.56 M4 Colt Carbine.  A discussion ensued that this division was for .223 caliber and above, but after a group consensus, it was determined that the 5.56 caliber was indeed just slightly larger than the .223 caliber, and thus within the rules to be entered.  Thom was one hand with his trusty 6mm Remington rifle.  I could tell by the way he carassed his gun that it was a trusty ole friend of his, and that he had an intimate relationship with it.  I want to mention something here about rifle shooting.  Long distance rifle shooting requires a steady hand and a silent concentration – not exactly the mindset that most  weightlifters have.  Most of us that have been around Dan in the weightroom know that he gets about “as jacked” as any lifter could before an attempt.  I could see his jugular pulse beating away as he set up for his shots.  I thought for a moment that he was going to pull an ammonia cap out of his pocket to give him more of an adrenalin rush.  Add in the fact that he was shooting “open sights” and that the M4 Colt is designed to be shot as “accuracy through volume”, it was not adding up well for him.  I was slightly embarrassed to tell him that not only did he not hit the target once – but that he wasn’t even on the paper!!!  Now Thom was another story.  He destroyed the target with each shot using his bolt-action rifle in systematic fashion, and won by a HUGE MARGIN.  But Thom told me afterwards that his years in the Marines trained him well for distance shooting, and that paid off in his victory in this division.  We finished the day with the handgun division.  We conducted the event under the rules established for qualifying for the Kansas concealed license.  Darren was shooting a ultralight handgun that looked like it would fit in your front pocket without being noticed.  Chad borrowed a .22 pistol from Darren, Dave was shooting a 9mm semiautomatic, and Dan was shooting a huge 45 caliber.  Quite a diverse set of handguns for this competition.  Dave showed his years as a policemen training on the 9mm that he was in a “class of his own”.  His shooting technique was superb and hit the center on practically every shot.   Dan shooting his huge 45 made it about impossible for me to tally his score as he shot the entire center of the target out, and Chad really surprised me by hitting the target on every one of his shots.  Overall, this was a great competition and a fitting ending to a great day at the Dino Gym!!!

Hoghton Barbell Club Victorious!

by Al Myers

Mark Haydock, the leader of the Hoghton Barbell Club, performing a 272.5 kg Squat at the 2012 IAWA Gold Cup in Glasgow, Scotland. Spotters include Chad Ullom (left), Alex Rigbye (center), and Steve Angell (right).

The Dino Gym was issued a challenge from the Hoghton Barbell Club of Preston, England in last weekend’s Dino Gym Challenge. Well, the results are in and have been tabulated and the Hoghton Barbell Club has came out victorious! Congratulations to the Hoghton Barbell Club!  This “challenge” was mentioned several times on Saturday and I’m sure it pushed the Dino Gym members to greater lifting numbers.  I’m very proud of the Dino Crew and their lifting in the Dino Gym Challenge, however, it just wasn’t quite enough to overcome the powerful Hoghton club.  The finish was pretty close though:  1. Hoghton BB Club 4287.7 points, 2. Dino Gym 4126.3 points.  The only “consolation prize” the Dino Gym got was that in total pounds lifted the Dino Gym had 5237 pounds to Hoghton’s  4961 pounds.

It was agreed beforehand that the points of the top three performers of each club would be added together to form the TEAM SCORE.  The Hoghton Club consisted of Josh Haydock, Alex Rigbye, and Mark Haydock.  The scoring members of the Dino Gym were Alan English, Scott Campbell, and Mark Mitchell.  Other Dino Gym members that competed in the Challenge were Darren Barnhart, Scott Tully, Dean Ross, Ben Edwards, and Chuck Cookson.

The leader of Hoghton Barbell Club, Mark Haydock, sent this note to me when he sent me his club’s results:

A brief report on todays lifts, the squat went really well, all three of us hit personal best lifts I was 6kg up on training, Josh was 30kg up, and Alex was 90kg up!! The press was a bit of a damp squid and we didn’t really feel it was much different to a normal bench press. Josh and Alex were slightly up on the deadlift poundages and finished their days lifting with a smile on their faces, but with sore bodies! I only took 2 deadlift attempts, both were very strong pulls but I am currently nursing a strained finger injury and my grip is compromised at the moment, I made both lifts with a double overhand hook grip. We will be waiting with baited breath to see how we drop into the total set of results…     Thanks Mark H

I think it is worth pointing out that Mark Haydock performed a 917 pound Anderson Squat!  That’s a big lift!!!!  Again, congrats to the Hoghton Barbell Club for winning this challenge.   The next time I see ya Mark, I’ll have those Dino Gym T-shirts to “pay up” the bet!!!!!

MEET RESULTS:

Lifts: Anderson Squat, Hackenschmidt Floor Press, Peoples Deadlift

1.  Hoghton Barbell Club – 4287.7 points

LIFTER AGE BWT SQ FP DL TOT PTS
Josh Haydock 22 80.0kg 642 264 440 1346 1293.8
Alex Rigbye 24 92.0kg 751 313 610 1674 1484.2
Mark Haydock 37 118.0kg 917 341 683 1941 1509.7

2.  Dino Gym – 4126.3 points

LIFTER AGE BWT SQ FP DL TOT PTS
Mark Mitchell 52 316# 672 365 624 1661 1329.4
Scott Campbell 38 287# 881 325 654 1860 1378.8
Alan English 29 231# 694 320 702 1716 1418.1

NOTES:  BWT is bodyweight.  TOT is total pounds lifted.  PTS are adjusted points corrected for age and bodyweight.

Club of the Year Award

by Al Myers

Group picture of the Dino Gym members accepting the USAWA Club of the Year Award.

The Dino Gym won the USAWA Club of the Year for the second time since the USAWA Award Program started.  It was a great honor for the Dino Gym to win this award again, especially since the increased club activity within the USAWA these last couple of years makes it harder to win an award like this one now.  Denny Habecker of Habecker’s Gym presented us the award, as is the custom of the past Club of the Year Award winner.  One of the stipulations in winning this award is that you are not eligible the following year for it, but instead have the duty of presenting the next year’s winner, or “passing the crown” in a sense.

WINNER – DINO GYM

RUNNERUP – LEDAIG HEAVY ATHLETICS

I also was very glad that the Dino Gym was well represented at this year’s Nationals. I want to thank the guys who made this trip on behalf of the Dino Gym: Chad Ullom, LaVerne Myers, Dean Ross, Scott Tully, and Darren Barnhart.

The Ledaig Heavy Athletic Club accepting the Runnerup Club of the Year Award.

Runner up for the Club of the Year is the Ledaig Heavy Athletics.   The Ledaig Club has become a major force amongst USAWA Clubs the past couple of years.   Last year the Ledaig HA won the team title at the USAWA Nationals in Kirksville.  Team members Dave Glasgow and Larry Traub competed this year in Vegas as well.  Congrats to the Ledaig Heavy Athletics!

Dino Gym: 2011 Club of the Year

by Al Myers

The centerpiece of the Dino Gym.

The nomination & voting period is over  for the 2011 USAWA yearly awards, to be awarded at the National Championships in several categories for outstanding performances within the USAWA.  I have just finished the tabulations and I am getting ready to contact the awards shop to get the awards made up.  So – I KNOW who the winners are but that’s still a secret until the awards presentation time!  But there is ONE AWARD that is announced ahead of time – the USAWA Club of the Year.  The reason it’s announced early is that it is really not a “mystery” as to who the winner is as this is the one award that is based on generating points instead of votes.  I have outlined this point system several times in the past so I won’t “rehash” all that now.  What I’m trying to say is this – anyone can add up the points on their own as ALL of the information is available on the website to do so, thus this winner is “no mystery”.

No club can win an award like this based on one individuals performance or effort.  It takes contributions of several.  I want to thank EVERYONE who was part of CLUB DINO GYM this past year, because this is EVERYONE’S AWARD.  I was VERY pleased how our gym functions were attended by gym members.  For the year 2011, the Dino Gym set a record for the most individual memberships to represent any USAWA club – EVER!  A total of 25 lifters joined the USAWA that listed the Dino Gym as their member club. I want to recognize and thank these lifters now (in alphabetical order): Chris Anderson, Darren Barnhart, Casey Barten, Nolan Berry, Rudy Bletscher, Scott Campbell, Chuck Cookson, Matt Cookson, Tyeler Cookson, Sam Cox, Ben Edwards, Lance Foster, Brian Krenzin, Chris Krenzin, Tyler Krenzin, Cody Lokken, Mark Mitchell, Russ Morton, Al Myers, Emily Myers, Molly Myers, LaVerne Myers, Dean Ross, Scott Tully, and Chad Ullom.

The final standings for the 2011 USAWA CLUB OF THE YEAR (only top 5 listed, for clubs generating over 10 points):

1.  Dino Gym – 56 points

2.  Ledaig Athletic Club – 21 points

3.  Jackson Weightlifting Club – 16 points

4.  Clarks Gym – 14 points

5.  Ambridge Barbell Club – 12 points

As per the original rules for the Club of the Year, the defending USAWA Club of the Year is not eligible the following year, and instead is responsible for “passing the title” at the next year’s awards presentation.  Thus, Habecker’s Gym, the 2010 USAWA Club of the Year, is not in the rankings.

Grip Champs Reminder

by Al Myers

The BEST LIFTER AWARDS for the 2012 USAWA Grip Championships, held at the Dino Gym on Saturday, February 11th.

This upcoming weekend is the USAWA Grip Championships and the Dino Gym Record Day.  This gives you the opportunity to make two competitions in the same weekend!  Saturday will be the Grip Champs, and I have already received commitments from several lifters. It looks like it will be a big meet (if there is such a thing in the USAWA, LOL).  I expect at least 15 lifters.  Our USAWA Prez Denny “the LIFTING LIAR”  Habecker is going to make an appearance again this year.  Believe it or not, but Thom “BIG T” Van Vleck is going to compete as well!  Newcomer Jarrod Fobes from Denver is going to make his first appearance at the Dino Gym.  Several others are “committed” as well (in the Dino Gym Asylum that is) – Murdo, The Champ, Ross the Boss, the Professor, the Barn,  and BIG POPPA..   All weight divisions & age groups will be contested individually, as is the custom of Championship competitions within the USAWA.  But to add “icing on the cake”  I have made some special awards for the BEST LIFTERS.  I have decided to give awards to the top three best lifters in the Senior Division (20-39 age group), Masters 1 (40-59 age group), and Masters 2 (60+ age group).  The awards given will be a Dumbbell Walk handle, a 2″ Vertical Bar, and a Dinnie Lift Ring with pin loader.  What better awards than this????  You may win an award that you can take home to train with.  I plan to make this lifters choice – top lifter gets first choice of these three things, second lifter gets choice of the two remaining items, and the third best lifter gets whats left.  Of course, if you want to do some trading with the other division winners that is acceptable!

The IAWA(UK) hosted their grip meet last weekend, directed by my English nemesis, Mark “HAYSTACK” Haydock.  They ended up having 18  lifters enter.  Let’s show the English and Scots  that we can do better than that!

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