Tag Archives: LaVerne Myers

Grip Championships

by Al Myers

2012 USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Group picture from the 2012 USAWA Grip Championships. (front row left to right): LaVerne Myers, Mike Murdock, Denny Habecker, Rudy Bletscher, Dean Ross (back row left to right): Chad Ullom, Al Myers, Darren Barnhart, Scott Tully, Dave Glasgow, Mark Mitchell

MEET REPORT

Saturday was a big day for the Dino Gym!  For the second straight year, it was the host site for the USAWA Grip Championships.  Eleven lifters participated, and I think every lifter had an enjoyable time.  I was expecting a few more, but there were some last minute “drop outs”.  All had good excuses (except one which was fishy) for not making their appearance.  I was hoping to “upstage” the IAWA(UK) in attendance (they had 18 in their grip champs the weekend before), but we fell a little short of this.    I’ll give them kudos this time, but NEXT YEAR will be our turn at grip glory! 

We divided up into two different groups to speed up the competition.  Since there were FIVE LIFTERS over the age of 60, they lifted together in one group while the rest of us lifted in the other group.  By doing this the competition only last 3 hours – and we even took a half hour lunch break!!!  I think we spent as much time after the meet presenting the awards and visiting than the meet itself.   The meet contained 5 grip lifts which are all official lifts of the USAWA.  I thought it was a good selection – but my old buddy Scott thought we should have had a pinch lift in the group.  Well next year Scott, I’ll just do that for ya! 

LaVerne Myers performing a 165 pound One Arm Fulton Dumbbell Deadlift. This is the top lift in the record books for any lifter over the age of 60!

I want to go over a few individual highlights of the meet.  First of all, my dad LaVerne surprised a few with his high placing overall (he was second overall).  He has been in training for this so I knew what he could do, and I wasn’t really surprised (maybe worried a little that he would beat me, but not surprised!).   He was solid in everything, but almost pulled off the biggest Dumbbell Walk of the day.  He had held the gym record in the Dumbbell Walk at 117# before this day, but Darren and I upped it to 122# in this meet.  He then tried to get his record back with a 124# effort, and came within a foot of accomplishing it.  His 165# One Arm Fulton DB Deadlift was amongst the best of the entire meet.  Scott Tully also had an exceptional day.  Scott had the top lifts of the entire meet in the One Arm Fulton DB Deadlift (192#), the One Arm No Thumb DL (225#) and the VB Deadlift (394#).  Scott tried 416# in the VB Deadlift and came very close to getting it.  We did it last and I know his grip was tired by that point which made the difference.  Scott has the top lift of ALL TIME in this lift (414#), and I know he has the ability to do more.  Scott was also the only lifter in the Senior Division (20-39) and the youngest competitor in the meet. 

Chad Ullom was solid in every lift as he always is.  Chad doesn’t really have any “weak spots” in his all round game.  His Index Fingers Deadlift of 231# tied me for the top lift of the meet in that lift.   He did it with more ease than myself, as I tore some skin at the base of my index finger afterwards which wouldn’t stop bleeding.  I guess it was worth it as I broke an overall record previously held by Kevin Fulton (225#) as I consider Kevin one of the best finger deadlifters the USAWA has ever seen.  The bleeding did affect my performance in the VB deadlift some, but “oh well”.  I don’t ever plan to attempt more than this ever again!! (we’ll see…).  Darren Barnhart had a great day.  Darren didn’t miss a single lift all day and could have done more on several of the lifts.  His Dumbbell Walk of 122# was outstanding!  Mark Mitchell is one of the best grip guys I know, and in certain grip lifts no one is even close to Mark, but these weren’t the best selection for him.  However, he still put up some great numbers and was one of five lifters who put up a total over 1000 pounds.  Wait till tomorrow’s story covering the record day and you will see what Mark can do in the Pinch Grip!

Denny Habecker made the long drive from Pennsylvania to compete again this year.  Denny pulled in a 6th place overall which is outstanding considering the depth of competition in this meet.  Denny was also the lightest lifter in the meet, and the only lifter under 200 pounds.  I’ll say this about Denny – having a light bodyweight favors a lifter in a meet when the Lynch Formula is used, but it does not favor a lifter in the after meet party (LOL – inside joke).  Mike Murdock and Rudy Bletscher had their usual battle.  You never know how things are going to turn out.  Rudy edged Mike out this time  around.  Both of these guys lifted exactly the same weight in all lifts except one (Dumbbell Walk in which Rudy did 10# more).  That’s close!!  I consider Mike one of the greatest assets the USAWA has gained – he is always there to help out with ANYTHING and you can always count on him for coming through on things. Mike is in the process of developing a computer program for the  USAWA scoring and we used it in this meet.  His program is getting at the point that all “bugs have been worked out”.   It won’t be long and Mike’s program will be available on the website for anyone to use to score their meets.

Dave Glasgow finished very strong with a fourth place overall finish.  I could tell Dave was surprised he placed this high – but he did well in all the lifts and it paid off in the end.  Dean Ross also made the trip to this meet.  There hasn’t been very many all round meets that Dean hasn’t attended this winter and fall.  He may be competing in more meets than myself!  I always enjoy having Dean at meets because I know I’ll hear a few new jokes throughout the day! 

As is the custom of Championship competitions in the USAWA, all age groups were recognized with best lifter awards.  I also was glad to give away my “special awards” to the top three BEST LIFTERS in the Senior Division, Masters 1, and Masters 2 Divisions.  Thanks to Rudy and LaVerne  for declining on of these awards everyone else took home some steel. 

BEST LIFTERS

Senior:  Scott Tully
Masters 40-44: Chad Ullom
Masters 45-49: Al Myers
Masters 50-54: Mark Mitchell
Masters 65-69: LaVerne Myers
Masters 70-74: Mike Murdock
Masters 75-79: Rudy Bletscher

BEST LIFTERS OF AGE DIVISIONS

Senior (20-39): Scott Tully
Masters 1 (40-59): Al Myers, Chad Ullom, Dave Glasgow
Masters 2 (60 plus): LaVerne Myers, Denny Habecker, Rudy Bletscher

MEET RESULTS:

USAWA Grip Championships
Dino Gym, Holland, Kansas
February 11th, 2012

Meet Director:  Al Myers

Officials (3 official system used):  Al Myers, Chad Ullom, Scott Tully, Darren Barnhart, Mike Murdock, Dave Glasgow, Denny Habecker, Mark Mitchell, LaVerne Myers

Scorekeeper:  Mike Murdock

Lifts: Dumbbell Walk, Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell One Arm, Deadlift – Fingers Index, Deadlift – No Thumb One Arm,  Vertical Bar Deadlift – 2 Bars, 2″

LIFTER AGE BWT Walk DB DL IF DL DL NT VB Total Points
Al Myers 45 247 122 185R 231 220R 334 1092 923.9
LaVerne Myers 67 249 112 159L 135 185L 259 850 864.9
Chad Ullom 40 238 102 170R 231 210R 334 1047 860.4
Dave Glasgow 58 252 92 160R 176 187R 294 889 835.8
Darren Barnhart 44 306 122 185R 200 209R 354 1070 808.0
Denny Habecker 69 187 52 125R 120 125R 224 646 779.3
Rudy Bletscher 76 217 77 105R 120 140R 224 666 779.2
Mark Mitchell 51 360 92 180R 220 204R 334 1030 770.3
Scott Tully 36 346 92 192R 187 215R 394 1080 733.9
Mike Murdock 71 233 67 105L 120 140R 224 656 712.4
Dean Ross 69 274 77 125R 140  135R  234 711 700.8

NOTES:  BWT is bodyweight recorded in pounds. R and L designate right and left. All lifts recorded in pounds. Total is total points lifted. Points are adjusted points for bodyweight and age.

EXTRA ATTEMPTS FOR RECORDS

Rudy Bletscher: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Right Arm 115#
Denny Habecker: Deadlift – No Thumb, Right Arm 135#
LaVerne Myers: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Left Arm 165#
Dave Glasgow: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Left Arm 160#
Mark Mitchell: Deadlift – No Thumb, Right Arm 210#
Darren Barnhart: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Left Arm 185#
Darren Barnhart: Deadlift – No Thumb, Left Arm 210#
Chad Ullom: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Left Arm 165#
Chad Ullom: Deadlift – No Thumb, Left Arm 198#
Scott Tully: Deadlift – No Thumb, Right Arm 225#

The JWC Monster Wrist Roller

by Thom Van Vleck

LaVerne Myers, of the Dino Gym, training on the JWC Monster Wrist Roller in preparation for next month's USAWA Grip Championships.

Recently, I made a monster wrist roller out of spacers from an old disc (farm implement that would bust up clods after plowing or aerate the ground).  These spacers look like giant spindles and are about 2″ in diameter in the grip.  I put three on a 1 1/4″ bar.  The two outside ones were for grip and the inside one was to roll up the rope which was attached to a vertical bar loaded with weight.   I was so pleased with it, I made one for Al Myers who then took it and improved up on the design.  I have to admit, Al’s is now better than mine, although I made some changes to mine based on Al’s ideas.

At any rate, I have been using it lately for my grip.  I use it just like a regular wrist roller but I set in in my squat racks  so that it take the pressure off my delts and puts all the emphasis on my forearms.  I try and get really aggressive rolling the weight up and use enough weight to really challenge me.  I pretend I’m trying to squeeze water out of a rock!!!!!

Wrist rollers are a great training tool, even if you don’t have a “Monster” one like me and Al.  If you come to either the Dino Gym or the JWC Training Hall, you will have to give them a try!  Grip has always been stubborn for me to make progress so any new toy adds new excitement to my training and for now, the Monster Wrist Roller is what’s new in my grip training!

Dino Days Record Day

by Al Myers

DINO DAYS RECORD DAY

Ben Edwards set the ALL TIME RECORD in the 2" One Arm Vertical Bar Deadlift with a lift of 251 pounds at the Dino Days Record Day.

MEET REPORT

There were not alot of records set today at the Dino Days Record Day, but the ones that were set were great!  Only five lifters showed up on this second day of the two USAWA competitions hosted by the Dino Gym this weekend; Mike Murdock, Scott Tully, Ben Edwards, LaVerne Myers and myself. Mike lead the way with setting records in 9 different lifts, followed by LaVerne with 8, and the rest of us tied at 7.  Every lifter had a record lift which I would call OUTSTANDING, and I had a hard time “choosing” just one feature picture, so I just decided I would show a picture of everyone who lifted, in which I would call their “BEST” record of the day. 

Ben Edwards showed up today to SMASH some USAWA grip records, and that he did.  Ben is the KING of the Vertical Bar, and that was the first lift he set his record breaking sights on.  I have watched Ben several times with the VB, but never have I seen him this strong with it.  He kept going up and up with the weight, finishing with an ALL TIME USAWA record of 251 pounds with his right hand.  This broke the USAWA All-Time mark held by Andrew Durniat of 250 pounds, set at the 2010 Dino Gym Grip Challenge.  I also got to see Andrew set his record, and at the time I wondered if it ever would be broken.  Well, Ben did it!  He also lifted 240 pounds in the 2″ VB with his left hand, setting the highest mark in USAWA history with the left as well.  The next “grip lift” Ben went after was the Fulton Dumbbell (of which handle is 2 inches in diameter).  He did 175 pounds with his left, and 185 pounds with his right. The “185” is the BEST EVER that has been done in the USAWA with a one handed Fulton Dumbbell. As some of you know, the Fulton Bar lifts utilizing the 2″ handle was named after Kevin Fulton, who was one of the grip-strength pioneers in the USAWA.   It all started that day when Kevin “upset” Wilbur Miller in a competition where a 2″ handle dumbbell was deadlifted with one arm.  Bill Clark “tagged” the name of the Fulton Bar to the 2 inch handle following this incident.  Now Ben better set his goal on Kevin’s best mark from the Old Missouri Valley Record List.   Just to let you know – Kevin Fulton lifted 195 pounds in the One Arm Fulton Dumbbell in 1983.  So get to work Ben!!!

Scott Tully set the ALL TIME RECORD in the Stifflegged Deadlift with a lift of 512 pounds at the Dino Days Record Day.

Scott Tully really did some damage to the Record List today as well.  Scott doesn’t mess around with “sissy lifts” when it comes to breaking records.  He gets right to the hard stuff!  He started off with breaking the record in the Stiff Legged Deadlift with a great lift of 512 pounds.  This not only broke the 125+ KG weight class record that was previously held at 502 pounds by Matthew Doster, but the ALL -TIME USAWA record of 507 pounds held by Ed Schock and myself.  Since I knew Scott was “taking my record down” as well, and I was the head official on his lift, I made sure he kept his legs straight!  This caused Scott to attempt this lift at least 4 times until he finally got it!  And well deserving.   Next Scott went on to some other “hard” lifts like the Fulton Bar Deadlift and the Fulton Dumbbell Deadlifts, of which he got several more records.  Scott is a great grip guy, and should get more recognition for his grip strength.  His One Arm Fulton Dumbbell of 175 pounds was unbelievable, and if it wasn’t for Ben overshadowing him on this day, I would be bragging that record lift up as well.

Mike Murdock set a new age group record in the Trap Bar Deadlift with a lift of 305 pounds.

Mike “Murdo” Murdock set the most records in the most events with 9.  Mike lifted the day before in the Team Nationals and I was surprised that he was planning on doing this much today!  He did a wide range of lifts.   I felt his best record lift of the day was his 305 pound Trap Bar Deadlift.  To me a guy lifting over 300 pounds at the age of over 70 in the Trap Bar Deadlift  is like a young lifter lifting over 600 pounds.  Not too many can do it either!   Mike has had an outstanding year in the USAWA, and has lifted in as many meets as anyone.  I’m keeping an eye on Mike as it won’t be long and he will be in the CENTURY CLUB for holding over 100 USAWA records.  And when he does, I’ll pat him on the back because he will be the first to do it starting in the 70 plus age group!

LaVerne Myers "stole the show" with his 117 pound Dumbbell Walk. The reason this picture is blurry is because he was moving so fast!

My father LaVerne made his faithful appearance today at the record day.  These past couple of years he hasn’t missed an opportunity to lift in the Dino Gym Record Days.  One of his highlights was setting a personal record in the One Handed 2″ Vertical Bar Deadlift with a fine lift of 182 pounds.  I was considering doing the Vertical Bar Deadlift myself but after watching his record setting effort I decided I better not!  I was worried that I might not be able to “measure up” to the standard set by ole Dad!  haha  However, Dad “stole the show” on the last lift contested at this record day – the Dumbbell Walk.   Of course when I got out the Dumbbell Walk handle, I “threw down the challenge” to Ben and Dad so they HAD to participate.  I hadn’t done any grip stuff all day so I was hoping to use this to my advantage  (I’m a crafty one!).   I was mainly concerned about Ben being my primary challenge, and I knew Ben had totally exhausted his grip by this point when he only managed 102 pounds on the Walk. If he would have done this first thing it would have been WAY MORE!  I then played a little “psych out” game with him  and made a big jump to 132 pounds which was outside of both of our limits, but I thought it would “finish of” his grip and then I would drop back and break his 102 mark, which I did with a Dumbbell Walk of 117 pounds.  At that point I thought I had it won, and was shaking Ben’s hand when my Dad, to our surprise, picked up the 117 and made the walk!!!  What can I say???  What a great way to end a record day at the Dino Gym. 

My "highlight lift" was this 772 pound Neck Lift, which is a personal record and USAWA record in the 120 KG weight class.

MEET RESULTS

Dino Days Record Day
Dino Gym, Abilene, Kansas
August 28th, 2011

Meet Director:  Al Myers

Officials (3-official System used):  Al Myers, Mike Murdock, Scott Tully, LaVerne Myers

Lifts:  Record Day

Scott Tully – 35 years, 346 pounds BWT
Mens Open Age Division & 125+ KG Weight Class

Deadlift – Stiff Legged: 512#
Deadlift – Fulton Bar: 503#
Curl – 2 Dumbbells, Cheat: 150#
Clean and Push Press – 2 Dumbbells: 210#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Right Arm: 175#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Left Arm: 165#
Deadlift – 2 Fulton Dumbbells: 290#

Ben Edwards – 36 years, 217 pound BWT
Mens Open Division & 100 KG Weight Class

Snatch – Kelly: 57#
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, Left Hand: 240#
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, Right Hand: 251#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Left Arm: 175#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Right Arm: 185#
Deadlift – 2 Fulton Dumbbells: 320#
Dumbbell Walk: 102#

Al Myers – 45 years, 256 pounds BWT
Mens 45-49 Age Division & 120 KG Weight Class

Bench Press – Alternate Grip: 330#
Bench Press – Reverse Grip: 330#
Bench Press – Feet in Air: 330#
Curl – 2 Dumbbells, Cheat: 120#
Lateral Raise – Lying: 90#
Neck Lift: 772#
Dumbbell Walk: 117#

LaVerne Myers – 67 years, 246 pounds BWT
Mens Master 65-69 Age Group & 115 KG Weight Class

Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, Right Hand: 125#
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, Left Hand: 125#
Two Hands Anyhow: 70#
Snatch – Kelly: 35#
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, Right Hand: 182#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbell, Right Arm: 135#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Left Arm: 135#
Dumbbell Walk: 117#

Mike Murdock – 71 years, 235 pounds BWT
Mens Master 70-74 Age Group & 110 KG Weight Class

Weaver Stick – Left Hand: 2.5#
Two Hands Anyhow: 100#
Deadlift – Trap Bar: 305#
Lateral Raise – Lying: 70#
Clean and Push Press – 2 Dumbbells: 100#
Curl – 2 Dumbbells, Cheat: 90#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Left Arm: 115#
Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, Right Arm: 115#
Dumbbell Walk: 62#

Ravenswood Formula

Thom Van Vleck flashes the "Red Light" at USAWA Heavy Lift Nationals as Head Judge Denny Habecker looks for the call. USAWA officials have a lot more to do than judging the lifts. There's a lot of math involved as well!

by Thom Van Vleck

I know we’ve probably overdone the talk on formulas to rate lifting performances, but here’s one more.  I got a copy of Peary Radar’s Lifting News (Sept. 1965) and notice a story on page 20 titled “A New Simplified Formula for Accurate Rating of Lifting Performances”.  This formula was being touted as an easy way to determine the best lifter.  Evidently, before calculators, the “long hand”  or “slide rule” multiplication using the “Hoffman Formula” often resulted on errors and hard feelings when the errors were revealed later.  As a result, the Ravenswood Formula was developed.

I’ll stop right here and say I’m not pushing this to be used by the USAWA nor do I know if it favors heavier lifters (which I’m not sure why anyone would think I would want that….well…maybe I would “like” that). This is just an interesting piece of lifting history from a time when formulas in lifting seemed to be quite the hot topic.

Laverne Myers and Denny Habecker have passed stringent testing to become USAWA officials

The Ravenswood Formula sought to remove the error prone difficulty of multiplication and replace it with the simplicity of adding two numbers together.  You were give two tables which are quite lengthy.  Table “A” had a bodyweight coefficient which went from 110lbs to 370lbs and Table “B” had a “Total” or lift poundage coefficient which went from 105lbs to 2550lbs.  You simply took the lifters weight and found the corresponding coefficient in Table A (a 4 digit number) and added it to the corresponding weight lifted/coefficient in table B (again, a 4 digit number).  The theory being that this formula was much more simple and less prone to a mathematical error.  You have to take the developer’s word that it’s “fair” or should I say “Accurate” as he does in the title.  The developer was Stanley Gorajczyk.  Not sure where “Ravenswood” came from….maybe easier to pronounce that “Gorajczyk”!   Stanley was an Olympic lifter who got 5th in the 1967 Senior Nationals, so he was a pretty decent lifter as well.

Al Myers looks like he's trying to talk Head Judge Denny Habecker into a good call, but really Denny is busy "doing the math" and calculating the winner using the formula!

I just found it another interesting part of lifting history and went with earlier articles on this website that discussed weightlifting formulas.   If you are interested in the tables let me know.  It might be interesting to compare the outcomes of this formula to others!

Never Too Old to Start Lifting

by Al Myers

LaVerne Myers wins his FIRST TROPHY EVER in weightlifting, at the 2010 IAWA Gold Cup.

One of the very interesting things about weight lifting is that you are never too old to start!  This isn’t the case with a lot of other competitive sports.  Take a sport like football or basketball – not something you could start over 60.  First of all your body wouldn’t hold up to it, plus there are minimal opportunities for competition even if it could.  Weightlifting is really a sport where you only compete against yourself.  Sure you compete against other athletes, but you pick the attempts at weights that you know you can achieve.   You only pick attempts that you have a shot at.  The joys of success often come from achieving a goal that you have set for yourself.  Plus, you can improve at any age in some lift.  The human body is made to adapt to training, and if you are willing to “put in the time” your muscles will become stronger and you will lift more weight.   I have seen all-rounders set personal records at ages most “normal folk” would have thought impossible.

Recently, my father LaVerne started competing in the USAWA.  He had competed in a few of my gym records days in the past,  but just this year he has entered some USAWA competitions.  He is 66 – not the age you would assume someone would start an athletic career!  But he has had tremendous success.  Last spring he placed 5th overall at the Dino Gym Grip Challenge amongst a very strong field. He even tied for the top Weaver Stick lift of the day.  This past November he accompanied me to the 2010 IAWA Gold Cup in Walpole – and of course he competed!  He very successfully set an IAWA World Record in the One Arm Ciavattone Grip Deadlift.  He was astounded that he set a World Record – something he would never have thought possible a few years ago before he became involved with the USAWA.   He should be an example for others as to what one can achieve in the USAWA!  You DO NOT need to have a lifetime of lifting under your belt to enjoy the successes of competitive weightlifting in the USAWA.  You can start NOW!!  I welcome ANYONE of any age to give the USAWA a try – and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Since my father’s involvement of competing in the USAWA, that now makes FOUR generations of the Myers family that have competed within the USAWA.   Has this been done before??  I’m sure it has but I would like to know.  If anyone knows of another family that has done this please email me (amyers@usawa.com) about them so I can share it with the readers of the USAWA Daily News.

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