Monthly Archives: June 2013

Team Championships

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT

2013 USAWA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

I'm a little reluctant to share this picture, as I don't want to discourage participation in the Team Championships. But Team lifting can be a different challenge - and when things go bad - there can be a disaster! It's pretty easy to tell how this lift ended for Chad and I as we were preparing for the Team Champs a few years back!!! Not good and it was all Chad's fault.

Every year the Dino Gym has an annual weekend celebration which we call the DINO DAYS.   It usually includes competitions of different kinds, and lots of good food and socializing!   This year will be no exception to that.  It is a gym affair, but the invite goes out to anyone else who wants to show up and be part of the fun.  Also, as has been the case the past few years, the USAWA Team Championships will be held at the Dino Gym that same weekend. 

The Team Championships are different than any other type of meet that you can enter.  It involves having a teammate that joins you in lifting – with BOTH of you lifting on the bar at the SAME TIME!  Team Lifting has three categories for Team Lifts:  2-Man (male & male), 2-Female (female & female), and Mixed Pair (female and male). The weight class the team is entered in is the weight class of the heaviest lifter, and the age group the team is entered in is the age class of the youngest lifter.  An exception is if a Junior lifter is teamed with a Senior (20-39 age) or Master Lifter (great than age 40).  In that case, the age class designation will be designated as open.

This is a fun event to compete in.  As I’ve said before – if you have a bad day you can always blame it on your partner!  And if you have a great day – you can take all the credit!   This is one of the “signature events” in the USAWA since it is one of our Championship Events, and the winners will be declared the USAWA Team Champions for the year. 

ENTRY FORM – TeamChampionships2013

Joe the Turk OTSM

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT

“Joe the Turk” Old Time Strongman Meet

Tim Piper has rescheduled his Old Time Strongman meet that was cancelled due to the unfortunate flooding that took out their gym last month.  I’m glad to see that Tim has been able to get the gym back to order, and hasn’t forgot about the USAWA meet he was planning on having!  I highly encourage everyone to try to make it to this meet of his and show great USAWA support! 

The following was written by Tim in the “first” meet announcement.  I want to reprint it again here as it gives a little understanding why the name “Joe the Turk” was given to this competition.

“Joe the Turk” was the first “strongman” in Macomb Illinois. He came to town as a part of the Salvation Army, ran the crooked mayor and his henchmen out of town, and some accounts claim he actually took over the ousted mayors duties for a short period of time.  “Joe the Turk” holds a unique and special place in the history of the Macomb Salvation Army, and what better way to honor his memory but to host an OTSM in his memory.  The awards for this event will be unique collectors items bearing his likeness.  The meet with be held at the very same Salvation Army building that the Joe once called home.  Weather permitting the meet will take place outside.  My daughter and I had a great time last year at the OTSM championships and thought it would be fun to host an OTSM in Macomb.  We will likely get a decent crowd of lifters from our gym but hope that more will make the trek to Macomb for some heavy lifting. 

MEET DETAILS:

Date:  July 27th, 2013

Location:  505 N. Randolph Street Macomb, IL 61455

Divisions:   Juniors, Women, Masters, and Open

Rules:       USAWA rules and scoring apply to all lifts.  Drug testing rules apply.

Lifts:         Apollon’s Lift

                Anderson Squat

                Dumbbell to Shoulder

                Peoples Deadlift

Weigh-in:    10:00 – 11:00  a.m. of meet day

Lifting:     11:00 a.m.

Entry Fee:  $20, all profits benefit the Salvation Army lifting program

Awards:  For all weight and age classes

ENTRY FORM (PDF): Joe the Turk OTSM 2013

Deanna Springs Meet

by Joe Garcia

DEANNA SPRINGS MEMORIAL MEET

On October 5, 1995 Deanna Springs was killed in a car accident.  Her husband Al, a long time member of the USAWA, and also her coach, created the Deanna Springs Memorial Meet in her honor.  The first event was held March 30, 1996 in Al’s garage in St. Joseph MO.  There were 5 contestants who showed up, Amorkor Allennunking, Dennis Mitchell, Al Springs, Bill Clark and myself.  For the first two years the lifts were the Crucifix, Cheat Curl, Jefferson Lift, Zercher Lift, and the Hand and Thigh.  In 1998 a new lift was created, called the Deanna lift, which is a combination of the Hand and Thigh and the Zercher.  That lift replaced the Zercher and the Hip Lift replaced the Jefferson Lift, with the 5 lifts remaining the same for the event over the years.  This year three of those original participants, Al, Bill and myself were on hand though Bill was limited to the role of head Judge.  Rounding out the cast were Dean Ross and Lance Foster.  Mike Murdock was at the gym but elected not to lift in the competition.

Meet Results:

Deanna Springs Meet
Clark’s Gym
Columbia, MO
March 23rd, 2013

Meet Director: Bill Clark

Officials (3 official system used): Bill Clark, Joe Garcia, Mike Murdock

Lifts: Crucifix, Curl – Cheat, Deanna Lift, Hand and Thigh Lift, Hip Lift

Lifter Age Bwt Cruc Cheat Dean H&T Hip Total Points
Joe Garcia 59 205 60 135 485 1200 1600 3480 3682.39
Dean Ross 70 262 40 95 355 500 755 1745 1772.06
Lance Foster 47 314 40 145 430 700 1050 2365 1815.00
Al Springs 70 195 40 65 325 425 525 1380 1639.12

Extra Lifts for Record:

Dave Beversdorf – HVT  – Age 46 – Left Hand Bench Press – 150lbs

All weights are listed in pounds. Points are adjusted points for age and bodyweight.

Moving Past the Hype of Science

by Eric Todd

This is a picture of Eric "ET" Todd training strongman events at the Dino Gym a few years back. Eric is one of "very few" men that have loaded the Dino Gym's 405# stone to a 48" platform. (photo courtesy of webmaster).

It has been quite obvious that a number of you on here are very interested in the science behind weight training.  I tried to go down that road once.  I had been competing a few years, won some meets, won a strongman nationals and placed well in others, and had won my pro card in strongman.    I heard other guys who would talk about the science behind what we were doing.  I began to think that if I was more knowledgeable in this arena,  it may lend itself to further success.   So I delved in.  I ordered some books on programming, read some online articles about the science between diet and nutrition, and so on and so forth.  It was about 10 minutes into this venture that I realized I may better enjoy myself (and understand what I am doing) if I were to go watch the grass grow or possibly find a recently painted wall somewhere that I could enjoy watching dry.  I guess it is for some, but not for everybody.  As luck would have it, I have surrounded myself with some very knowledgeable people in that area that I can go to if I have a question.  I just bring a translator along to decipher what they are saying.

No, what fascinates me the most about strength training/competition is the psychology involved.  I love the concept of man against immoveable object.  I love facing the worthy adversary and conquering it with a successful lift, or coming back to defeat the iron a different day.  Falling down, but coming back again, and again, and again.  Even if George Kennedy is standing over you telling you “Stay down.  You’re beat.”

My way at looking at weightlifting, strongman (or any physical conquest for that matter) is a rather primordial one.  When attacking a top end or PR type weight, I am often able to go inside my head, and establish a fight or flight frame of mind, if only for a moment or two.  Shoot, there have been times when I came back out of my head to attack the iron, I found I had tears in my eyes and a rage in my heart.  That heap of scrap didn’t stand a chance!   When I set myself up for a heavy lift I sell my soul to the devil.  Did the same thing when stepping on a wrestling mat, a football field, or preparing to run a 400m dash.  I throw everything I have into it, and when it is said and done, I will have won or I would have lost, but there would be no doubt either way.  No excuses.  Now for the disclaimer.  This methodology has often left me with  injury, and has left me a crippled, hobbled old man at 38.  But I wouldn’t do it any other way.

I will have to say, that seeing a big lift gets me going.  But what really jacks me up, almost to the point of swinging at the fences my adrenaline is running so, has nothing to do with the amount of weight moved.  It is when you see somebody who sells themselves out on a lift.  One of those deadlifts that takes 15 second to complete.  Or the yoke walk that was so slow and arduous that the individual never had a chance of a decent placing, but they never set it down, never gave up on it, all the way to the end.  That kind of effort is a real inspiration.  Where it is cool to see someone make a lift look easy, what really shows the do or die attitude I am talking about is when the lift is not easy, as a matter of fact, there are a few times when there is grave doubt about the lifter completing it.  But they dig in, they grind it out.  They exhaust themselves physically.  And most importantly, they exhaust themselves mentally. 

Now, this article was not written in an effort to make me seem like a   bad ass.  It is just an effort to explain the mentality that has been engrained in me through where I came from.  Everything you got, you earned, and there was no place for excuses.  If you were not tough, you were going to get tough.   Nor is it in an effort to slam those who enjoy the science behind it.  I know it has its place, and I seek help from those smarter than me all the time.  My point is that science does not have an answer for everything.  And sometimes when George Kennedy is standing above you, you have to get up one more time, and reply “You’re gonna have to kill me.”

The Makings of an Olympic Champion

by Al Myers

A picture of Dr. Wright (left) and Olympic coach Bob Hoffman (right) that was included in his book.

NOW that’s a book title that will grab your attention!!  I have a huge bookshelf in my office, full of all kinds of books.  Some I’ve read several times, and some I have never even opened a page of.   I love these early summer nights in Kansas this time of the year.  The temperature stays in the low 70s, and the bugs aren’t in quantities that they are trying to devour you yet.  There’s nothing better than to grab a good book and relax in a comfortable chair on the deck for the evening.  I usually  have the BIG GREEN EGG smoking some delicious piece of redmeat in the background as I just sit back, smell the mouth watering aroma,  and relax! Now that’s the good life – especially if you had got a good workout in beforehand.

The book, "The Makings of an Olympic Champion", by Russell Wright D.O.

Well, this book on my bookshelf caught my attention the other night.  I had never read it before, but for some reason, it looked right for the reading.  What caught my attention was that the book, “The Makings of an Olympic Champion”, was written by Russell Wright, DO.  His name “rang a bell” inside my ole noggin.  I must have received this book at some point from Thom, because I had remembered Thom writing a website story about Dr. Wright some time back.  I had to do some website research (YES THAT CAN BE DONE WITH THE SEARCH FUNCTION AT THE TOP RIGHT CORNER!), and sure enough, Thom had written a lengthy blog covering the life of Dr. Russell Wright. I would recommend you reread Thom’s story: https://www.usawa.com/dr-russell-wright/ I won’t go into detail on Dr. Wright’s life history, as Thom covered that quite well in his story.

Dr. Wright was a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. He is regarded as one of the early sports-specific doctors.  He also had a special interest in weightlifting.  In his book, he talks in detail about his involvement with such notable weightlifters such as Tommy Kono, Norbert Schemansky, Bob Bednarski,  Bob Hoffman, and others.  “The Making of an Olympic Champion” was published in 1976.  My copy is even signed by Dr. Wright on the front page!  Lots of the information in the book is “dated”, and several of the ideas that he discussed have since been disproved by science. But none the less,  it contains a wealth of insight into the mind of a brilliant medical professional who’s main goal was to improve athletic ability through the use of Osteopathic Medicine.  I especially liked his chapter centered around the importance of stretching and flexibility as it applied to a trained weightlifter.   He was also very much against the use of anabolic steroids in strength sports, which I applaud.  He spent much time demeaning their use, and summed up his feelings with this paragraph that gets right to the point, which I think is worthy to repeat here in closing.

You get an athlete who destroys himself with anabolic steroids.  He may become a great champion with the use of the drugs, and then he wears a peanut shell and a rubber band for a jockstrap the rest of his life because his testicles are atrophied.  I don’t consider it worth it.  You’re an athlete only a few years, but you’ve got to be a man a long time. – from Dr. Wright’s book  “The Makings of an Olympic Champion”

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