Monthly Archives: January 2011

Successful Fundraiser

by Al Myers

The silent auction at the Dino Challenge raised $800 for the Friends of the Salina Animal Shelter.

After an unbelievable day of lifting at the Dino Old-Time Strongman Challenge,  a silent auction was conducted as a fundraiser for the Friends of the Salina Animal Shelter.   My training partner Mark Mitchell and his wife are actively involved with this compassionate organization.  Their concerns are genuine, and this group has helped HUNDREDS of pets find new homes and bring love and happiness to many, many families.  This group does not receive financial help outside of private donations and fundraisers like this.  ALL money raised will go directly where it should go – to help in finding homes for dogs and cats.  It was a fantastic feeling to be able to help them in this mission.   All together,  $800 was raised!!!!  It was my honor to present this check to Mark Mitchell and the Friends of the Salina Animal Shelter on behalf of the Dino Gym and all USAWA participants who donated to this auction.  THANK YOU to everyone who was part of this!!

Smoking & Weightlifting: Part 2

Hey, I'm a patriotic guy!

by Thom Van Vleck

Ok, so if smoking is so bad for you why did so many lifters  do it?  And why were those lifters so successful while smoking.  The quick answer might be that they would have been even better without cigarettes.  This may surprise you, but I DISAGREE!

You may be thinking, “What! Thom is saying smoking will help your lifting”!  Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.  Just like steroids, amphetamines, and the dozens of other drugs people use to increase their performance.  But don’t confuse helping your lifting and helping your health.  Also, there are better ways to achieve the same positive effects of smoking without the long term health problems that smoking brings.

First, how does smoking help.  Nicotine is a stimulant.  When you smoke, you are introducing a stimulant to your system.  A stimulant can help you focus.  By focusing, you can reduce anxiety (which is how cigarettes can calm you down when they stimulant you).  Since it enters through the lungs, it is wickedly fast in how it does it and why it is so addictive.  It has an incredibly fast stimulus-reward connection.  But you have to remember, there’s a DIFFERENCE between short term and long term benefits.

When I used to work in substance abuse counseling patients would often have a “dual diagnosis”.  They would come into treatment as a result of substance abuse, but the reason they would abuse substances had to do with an underlying problem.  I’ll used Depression as an example.  If you are depressed and you take methamphetamine you will no longer be depressed.  As a matter of fact, I’ll guarantee INSTANT results.  If you simply go on the instant results, then “meth” would be the greatest success story of all time in the treatment of depression.  But we all know there are many consequences of using “meth”.  The consequences of cigarettes are slow, but the benefits are quick.

I bring this up because when I was a teenager and I was faced with the opportunities to use alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, steroids, I would hear only that they were “bad” for you….but what I often saw conflicted with that and as a result, I would question just how “bad” they were!  I even recall people saying that steroids didn’t work at all and that it was all psychological…..yeah, right!!!  If we want to modify our behavior or the behavior of those around us for the better, we have to be honest

Now that we are being honest, let’s back up to the “dual diagnosis” example a little.  So, if you take away the way a person is self medicating, you must find an alternative or they are doomed to go back to their self medication.  With cigarettes, you must find some healthy alternative, or at least a relatively healthy alternative (when I did substance abuse counseling we often encouraged cigarette smoking to deal with withdrawal  from hardcore drugs as it was the lessor evil).

As lifters, we are always looking for an edge.  I don’t know how many supplements I’ve tried over the years.  But if we are willing to work, and wait for results, we can find effective replacements for things like cigarettes that deliver short term but make us pay long term.

Breath easy!

Smoking & Weightlifting: Part 1

If smoking makes you stronger.....this guy will be the World's Strongest Man in no time!

by Thom Van Vleck

When I was a kid and my Uncle’s were lifting on a regular basis I would often go the gym to watch them workout.  During their workout, they would chain smoke cigarettes.  Cigarette smoke often filled the gym and the ash tray was next to the chalk box!  I recall my Uncle Wayne, taking a drag off his cigarette, setting it on the edge of the platform (with the “cherry” end dangling off the edge) and hitting a set of Power Cleans.   Then he would retrieve his cigarette and, while trying to catch his breath, take a drag off of it and then cough!

Those who are under 30 won’t understand how prevalent smoking was back then.  It was normal for smoking to happen everywhere.  Even at weightlifting meets.  It was a smokers right to light up, not the other way around like it is now!  I recall going to sporting events and people lighting up right next to you, attending classes and people smoking the the classroom in college, and the only reason you wouldn’t smoke at a hospital had nothing to do with health….it was so an open flame didn’t make contact with Oxygen!  Same reason for no smoking in a theater….they were worried about a fire…not people’s health!

We are now taught how bad smoking is for you.  We have a lot of older lifters who used to smoke and if they didn’t, they were like me growing up with it wherever they went.  Both my parents chain smoked, I can’t recall my Dad not having a cigarette dangling from his mouth!  We now know just how bad second hand smoke is for you!

Today, my Dad is gone.  He passed away at age 65 and I’m certain the cigarettes cost him at least 10 years.  My Uncle’s Wayne and Phil, are in their 60’s as well and smoking has taken a toll.  They all told me they wished they had never started.  It’s an addiction and a powerful one.  My point is, these were the strongest men I knew growing up.  And Smoking cost them dearly…..and it cost those of us who loved them dearly.  My grandfather never smoked and he lived to be 85 and was in great shape.  His death was the effects of a car accident….or he probably would have lived much longer!  Sure, there’s lots of factors in that….but he removed the factor that cigarettes could have played in his health and it certainly would have been negative!

We all know smoking is bad for us, but did you younger guys realize not so many years ago that being tough and strong, often meant being a smoker and if you went to a lifting meet you could expect a wall of thick smoke.   David Rigert, one of the greatest Oly lifters of all time lifted in the 70’s and he often chain smoked at meets (and drank vodka in the warm up room between lifts) and would put down his cigarette to go lift!  Or if you joined a gym, people would be smoking….even while lifting!  Things have changed, but in this case…..for the better!

National Postal

by Al Myers

MEET RESULTS –

THE 2010 USAWA NATIONAL POSTAL MEET

Dino Gym member Mark Mitchell had the highest Heels Together Clean and Press of the meet with a lift of 260 pounds.

I just received the results for the 2010 National Postal Meet from the meet director John Wilmot.  I was quite surprised to see 16  lifters compete in the Grand Finale of the USAWA Postal Meet Series.  The lifting was fantastic – and it goes to show what quality lifters are members of the USAWA.  I have been very pleased with the participation in the postal meets this year.  Much better than the year before!  John picks only three lifts for each quarterly postal meet, and usually always picks lifts that anyone can do.  Most of the time the meet can be completely done in under one hour in the gym – so there is really not a reason as to not compete.  I just add the lifts to one of my weekly workouts every quarter.

MEET RESULTS:

National Postal Meet

December 31, 2010

Meet Director:  John Wilmot

Lifts:  Clean and Press – Heels Together, Curl – Cheat, Deadlift – 12″ Base

Officials:

Rudy Bletscher – Certified Official Al Myers
Chad Ullom – Certified Official Al Myers
Mike Murdock – Certified Official Al Myers
Mark Mitchell – Certified Officials Al Myers and Scott Tully
Chuck Cookson – Certified Officials Al Myers, Scott Tully, and Mark Mitchell
Scott Tully – Certified Officials Al Myers and Mark Mitchell
Al Myers – Certified Officials Scott Tully and Mark Mitchell
Joe Ciavattone Sr. – Certified Official Mike O’Brien
Jonathon Ciavattone – Certified Officials Mike O’Brien and Joe Ciavattone Sr.
Joe Ciavattone Jr. – Certified Officials Mike O’Brien and Joe Ciavattone Sr.
Mike O’Brien – Certified Officials Joe Ciavattone Sr.
Helen Kahn – Certified Official Randy Smith
Randy Smith – Witnessed by Helen Kahn
John Wilmot – Witnessed by Kay Wilmot
Orie Barnett – Witnessed by Samual Rogers
Denny Habecker – Witnessed by Andrew Hess and Kohl Hess

Womens Division

Lifter Age BWT Press Curl Dead Total Points
Helen Kahn 58 161 65 55 125 245 296.3

Men’s Division

Lifter Age BWT Press Curl Dead Total Points
Al Myers 44 246 220 200 617 1037 871.1
Chuck Cookson 40 275 255 220 656 1131 864.4
Mark Mitchell 50 357 260 220 573 1053 830.9
Joe Ciavattone Jr. 17 208 185 205 450 840 770.9
Chad Ullom 39 242 203 213 501 917 739.7
Randy Smith 56 198 140 195 345 680 715.0
Scott Tully 35 344 220 179 601 1000 710.9
Orie Barnett 49 228 174 163 433 770 703.9
Denny Habecker 68 193 132 110 309 551 647.8
Joe Ciavattone Sr. 42 241 200 205 365 770 641.3
Jonathon Ciavattone 16 220 150 160 350 660 615.7
Mike O’Brien 28 140 105 135 300 540 602.7
John Wilmot 63 213 105 105 340 550 588.6
Mike Murdock 70 234 135 120 265 520 559.1
Rudy Bletscher 75 220 100 100 265 465 536.3

NOTES: BWT (bodyweight)  and all lifts are recorded in pounds.  Points are bodyweight and age adjusted.

Womens Best Lifter – Helen Kahn

Mens Best Lifter – Al Myers

Best Junior Lifter – Joe Ciavattone Jr.

Dino Strongman Challenge

by Al Myers

MEET RESULTS –

THE DINO GYM’S OLD-TIME STRONGMAN CHALLENGE

Group picture of the 2011 Dino Gym's "Old-time Strongman" Challenge.

WOW!!!!  That  sums up this past weekend.  I have to admit – I was a little nervous before this meet – and not because I was competing, but because I wanted this meet to be a big success considering it was the FIRST EVER Old-time Strongman Competition sanctioned by the USAWA.  I feel VERY relieved now.  The competition exceeded my expectations by far.  The field of competitors consisted of 18 athletes determined to take on this challenge issued by the Dino Gym.  There have been only a handful of USAWA competitions in the last 10 years that have had more than this number of competitors entered.  I want to thank everyone who showed up to compete, officiate, or help.  Without this group effort, this event would never have been the successful event it was.  We also have to thank Mother Nature for sending the snow days earlier in the week as to avoid any travel complications.

Where do I start with this report?  So much happened over the weekend that it will be impossible to cover everything.  The lifting performances were UNREAL.  The women’s class had only one entrant – Felecia Simms.  Felecia is primarily a Highland Game athlete who decided to give All-Round Weightlifting a try in her off-season.  In her USAWA debut, she definitely turned some heads!  She hit 90# in the Cyr Press, with two close misses with a 100# dumbbell.  Both times she had the 100# overhead but just couldn’t hold the lockout.  I have two broken 100# dumbbells to attest to this fact!  Don’t let this bother you Felecia – because the two broken dumbbells are worth the story I’m going to tell about this from now one!  I’ll even have them fixed by the next time you are at the Dino Gym and I’ll let you try that 100# dumbbell again.

I was very pleased to have two teenagers enter in the Junior Class.  These two very strong 16 year olds, Cody Lokken and Nolan Berry, showed great promise as all-rounders. This was the first time either of them had seen these events, but they picked up on  things pretty darn fast!  Cody edged out Nolan by 15 pounds in the total to take the overall Junior Title. They both seemed to get stronger as the meet went along, and both finished with strong lifts in the Dinnie Lift (355 pounds) and the Goerner Stroll (270 pounds). Hopefully, I can keep them interested in the All-Rounds because I know with a little more specific event training they will have great success.  Young lifters like these guys are the future of our sport, and when you see potential like what they have, you need to encourage it.

The over 60 mens masters class was hotly contested.  Three VERY STRONG lifting elders duked it out – Rudy Bletscher, Mike Murdock, and Dean Ross.  Dean (the youngest of the bunch at 68) pulled out the victory in the end with his great performance in the Dinnie Lift and the Goerner Stroll.  His 425# Dinnie Lift was tops in the group as well as his 270# Goerner Stroll.  Mike ended up in second place, and in the process avenged his loss to Rudy at the Goerner Deadlift last month.  I am sure there will be more match-ups between Rudy and Mike in the future, and I just love watching these two guys push each other.  Dean is not a newcomer to the USAWA as he has competed in several of my Dino Challenges in the past. Dean would do well in ANY all-round competition anywhere.  He has overall body strength and doesn’t appear to have any strength weaknesses.

The over 40 mens masters class also was a tough one.  Seven very seasoned strength athletes were in this group, all with different strength backgrounds.  Before it started, it would have been a guess as to who would win. I was able to get the victory, mainly on the performance of my Goerner Stroll as the last event.   I didn’t get what I wanted on the Dinnie Lift, so I had to EXCEED what I wanted on the Goerner Stroll (I finished with 550#).  John O’Brien had the next highest total in the group (1570#), but when the scoring was tabulated John ended up in third place behind Joe Garcia.  These Oldtime Strongman meets will use USAWA scoring, which gives adjusted points for age and bodyweight, and with Joe being higher than John in the age department and less in the weight department, edged him out.   I want to stress that John had an EXCEPTIONAL day, and had the TOP lift amongst this group in 3 of the 5 events, and if traditional strongman scoring was being used, he would have been the top athlete.  John impressed the crowd by using my Apollon Axel Replica instead of a loaded Fulton Bar like the rest of the lifters used (which is WAY harder to clean because of the fixed wheels and the fight against rotation), yet he ended up with the BEST Apollon’s Lift at 300 pounds.  I consider this lift of his as one the highlight lifts of the meet.   Joe really surprised me with his performance.  I didn’t know for sure how Joe would do with these strongman events, and whether his back would hold up. (haha – just kiddin you Joe!).  But he finished with a 560# Dinnie Lift and on a fourth extra attempt got 600 pounds!  Fourth place went to the 2009 USAWA Newcomer of the Year Dave Glasgow.  Dave was solid in every event and is showing progress as an All-Rounder.   Fifth place went to D.J. Satterfield, and 6th place went to Richard “Vince” Vincent. Both of these guys made the trip together from Omaha, Nebraska and I can just imagine the good natured banter between them over this on the way home!  These two made the competition in our group lots of fun – as both seemed to really enjoy themselves and it spilled over to the rest of us throughout the day!  Thanks D.J. and Vince!  You guys are great!  Rounding out the group was Lance Foster.  Lance is a great guy, and has attended EVERY competition the Dino Gym has held over the past few years.  His outstanding work ethic and training spirit inspires me – so much I asked him if he would be a Dino Gym Member which he agreed to.  Thanks Lance!

Dino Gym member Sam Cox won the Open Class and the Overall Best Lifter at the Dino Gym Challenge. Sam lifted 280 pounds in the Apollons Lift at a bodyweight of only 212 pounds.

The Open Class turned out the be “THE SHOW”.  Again, a very tough field of 5 athletes were in attendance – Eric “ET” Todd, Chris Anderson, Sam Cox, Chris Walter, and Chad Ullom.  I knew it would be a battle before it even started. When the chalk had finally settled and the last event was completed,  the top four placings were decided by less than 15 points!!  It couldn’t have been any closer than this.  All four of these guys deserved to win.  Sam Cox ended up the victor by only a five point margin over Eric Todd.  Sam had a great day – 280# Apollon’s Lift, 150# Cyr Press, and a 655# Dinnie Lift, all of this at only 22 years of age and 212 pounds bodyweight. Sam – aren’t you glad I talked you into competing in this competition last week in the gym?  I TOLD YOU that you had a good chance to win it!   ET placed second, but in the process put up some UNBELIEVABLE Lifts!  He had the top Apollon’s Lift of the entire day at 325 pounds, and the top Cyr press of 190 pounds.  Yes – that’s 190 POUNDS and not a typo!   A lift like that you have to see to believe.  Chad came in third, and had the top Goerner Stroll of the entire meet at 560 pounds. He only picked that number to exceed what I did.  (I’m glad for ya Champ!).  After the meet was over, Chad wanted to try more in the Dinnie Lift as he knew he used up his attempts before he reached his max in the competition.  Can you believe he proceeded to lift 785 pounds in the Dinnie Lift??  If he would have done that in the meet he would have won the overall!  Fourth place went to Chris Anderson.  Chris trains with Eric, and in the process has picked up some of Eric’s traits. The main one is that he is not afraid of ANY WEIGHT. The weights fear him.  He had the top Saxon Snatch of the entire meet at 105 pounds, and tied for the top Dinnie Lift of the entire meet at 735 pounds.  Also worth mentioning is his 170 pound Cyr Press. If it wasn’t for ET’s mind-blowing 190 we  would be talking about Chris’s 170.  Fifth place went to Chris Walter.  This was Chris’s first time to the Dino Gym and did quite well, and I hope he is not discouraged by running up against these other four phenoms.   Anywhere else he would have been a top placer.

Events like this are not successful unless there is “help behind the scenes”.   I want to thank the officials – Scott Tully, Mark Mitchell, and Thom Van Vleck.   Their  judging was superb.  I also want to thank the loaders – Bill Cookson and Ryan Batchmen.  These two guys SHOULD have been competing, but it is really nice to have a couple of very strong guys like them to help load.   It makes everything go smoother.  I want to thank my daughters Katie and Molly with helping at the scoretable and organizing the silent auction to benefit the Friends of the Salina Animal Shelter.  I plan to do another story about that in a few days. I also want to thank Wilbur Miller for attending this meet as a spectator.  Wilbur – you are a legend in the all-rounds and you  have no idea how much it means to us that you attend these competitions at the Dino Gym!

Well, I hope I covered everything!  But to sum things up – this meet will go down in history as one of the best of ALL-TIME  in the USAWA.

MEET RESULTS:

Dino Gym Old-Time Strongman Challenge
January 15th, 2011
Dino Gym, Holland, Kansas

Meet Director:  Al Myers

Officials:  Scott Tully, Mark Mitchell, and Thom Van Vleck

Loaders:  Ryan Batchman & Bill Cookson

Events:  Saxon Snatch, Apollon’s Lift, Cyr Press, Dinnie Lift, and Goerner Stroll

Women’s Class

Lifter Age BWT Saxon Apol Cyr Dinnie Stroll Total
Felecia Simms 28 312 70 150 90 375 190 623.4

Men’s Junior Class

Lifter Age BWT Saxon Apol Cyr Dinnie Stroll Total
Cody Lokken 16 152 65 150 75 355 270 1061.8
Nolan Berry 16 245 65 135 75 355 270 793.5

Men’s 60+ Mens Master Class

Lifter Age BWT Saxon Apol Cyr Dinnie Stroll Total
Dean Ross 68 281 55 135 80 425 270 932.3
Mike Murdock 70 234 70 150 60 355 190 887.0
Rudy Bletscher 75 225 45 100 50 275 190 751.9

Men’s 40+ Mens Master Class

Lifter Age BWT Saxon Apol Cyr Dinnie Stroll Total
Al Myers 44 250 90 270 140 630 550 1399.7
Joe Garcia 57 212 90 180 105 560 340 1301.5
John O’Brien 42 279.5 100 300 150 560 460 1214.1
Dave Glasgow 57 249.5 80 200 90 505 380 1176.1
D.J. Satterfield 46 218 80 180 90 505 310 1062.3
Richard Vincent 40 305 90 220 115 575 400 1018.4
Lance Foster 45 329 80 180 85 505 280 832.8

Men’s Open Class

Lifter Age BWT Saxon Apol Cyr Dinnie Stroll Total
Sam Cox 22 212 95 280 150 655 520 1470.7
Eric Todd 36 256 100 325 190 735 520 1465.7
Chad Ullom 39 242 95 300 150 705 560 1460.1
Chris Anderson 22 248 105 300 170 735 520 1457.9
Chris Walter 39 207.5 85 220 120 550 410 1212.7

BWT is bodyweight in pounds.  Total is adjusted points corrected for age and bodyweight.

1 2 3 4 5 6