Author Archives: Al Myers

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.

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!

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!

USAWA Drug Testing Program

by Al Myers

Over the past year, several changes  have been made  to our drug testing program.  I feel these changes have been VERY POSITIVE to insure that our organization may be called a drug-free weightlifting organization.  Last year at the Annual General Meeting of the USAWA we elected a Drug Enforcement Director.  Chad Ullom was  selected  for this role.  The Drug Enforcement Director is under the direction of the Executive Board, as outlined in the USAWA Bylaws.  He is the “man in charge” of insuring that drug testing is carried out at competitions and maintaining a vigilant testing program.  Last year we tested four USAWA events (the most events EVER tested in one year in the USAWA).  This year  more events will be tested than that.   Our Drug Testing Program was started in 2002.  Before that it was “hit and miss”.  At times meets were tested, but not with any consistency. No written policy was in affect.   The biggest obstacle in drug testing is expense.  For a small organization like ours, too much testing expense will break our bank account!  In 2009 we spent over $3000 in testing – and we tested ONLY TWO COMPETITIONS!  Last year we spent around $1000, which is our “budget” for this year.  A good Drug Testing Program has to be able to get “the most value for a dollar”.  I feel we are now going in the right direction with that.

I have always had problems with weightlifting organizations who tout themselves as “drug free” but never test at meets. How can you be a drug-free organization without testing?  YOU CAN’T!!!   You MUST sign a Drug Testing Consent and Waiver Form to be granted membership in the USAWA.  In the waiver it states, “I understand that selection for testing may be based on random selection, reasonable suspicion, or position of finish in an event.  I further understand that I may be selected for testing for no reason at all.”  This means you may selected “just cause we feel like it.”!  We WILL NOT pretend to be doing random testing if it’s not random!   I  have an issue with that concerning other organizations – proclaiming to be doing random testing but in reality lifters are selected for reasons other than random!   Seems hypocritical to me. I am pretty sure that I have been “the most tested man in the USAWA”  since 2002.  I don’t know of anyone else that has been tested as many times as myself.  I never mind being selected for testing because I know a good drug testing program insures that my competition is drug free as well. Most drug-free athletes feel the same way.

Several drug tests will be performed at the Dino Gym Challenge next weekend.  I just want everyone who is coming to know that in advance.  Now don’t think we will announce EVERY competition that we will test in advance – some will be surprises!  You just have to assume that every USAWA event might be tested.  We may even test at record days that have only a handful of competitors.  If you are selected for testing and then “dodge the test” the penalties may be as severe as a positive test.  The waiver also clearly states, “I understand that failure to appear for drug testing at the designated time will constitute withdrawal of my consent to be tested and will result in disqualification from the event and/or permanent suspension from the USAWA.”

We have a complete section in our Rule Book that outlines the USAWA Drug Testing Policy.

III. Drug Testing

1. The lifter must agree to and sign the Drug Testing Consent and Waiver Form in order to be granted membership in the USAWA.

2. The Drug Enforcement Director under the direction of the USAWA executive board will make the decisions on which competitions or events drug testing may take place, and when it may occur during the competition. The lifters may not be notified which competitions or events will be drug tested.

3. Drug testing may be done out of competition. The lifter will be notified no more than 48 hours prior to the test.

4. Drug testing will be only for elevated testosterone, anabolic agents, and anabolic enhancers. Diuretics and ephedrine are not tested for. A complete list of banned substances is available from the USAWA secretary.

5. An appeal may be made to the executive board by a lifter for an exception for a specific agent or agents. The appeal must be for medical reasons. The lifter must provide documentation supporting the appeal. This is done on an individual basis and must be done prior to a lifter being called for drug testing. The executive board’s decision will be decided by majority vote.

6. A positive test will result in a 6 month suspension from the USAWA for the first offense. All awards, records, and titles won will be forfeited if the positive test occurred in a competition.

7. A second offense for a positive test will result in a 2 year suspension from the USAWA.

8. A third offense for a positive test will result in a lifetime ban from the USAWA.

Truthfully, I hope that we don’t have any positive drug tests in the coming year.  That is the reason why I am making this very clear to everyone!  If you are in violation – please don’t enter any USAWA competition  because you will be caught.

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