Author Archives: Al Myers

Dino Gym Challenge

By Al Myers

MEET RESULTS –

Dino Gym Challenge
“Art Montini Tribute”

Group picture from the 2022 Dino Gym Challenge

Group picture from the 2022 Dino Gym Challenge

The Dino Gym Challenge this year focused on a tribute to the late great lifter of the USAWA Art Montini.  Art was a friend to all lifters.  I picked lifts for the meet that Art really liked.  It gave quite a variety to this meet, which is the way Art would have liked it.

We had four lifters this year which is a little down, but with the bad weather “blowing in” I was glad to see a turnout.   Veteran Chad Ullom put on quite a show and easily won the overall crown.   His big middle fingers deadlift of 325 pounds and one arm deadlift of 400 pounds were impressive. LaVerne Myers made his comeback after his recent carpal tunnel surgeries on both arms, and lifted exceptionally.  Brandon Rein put in a solid performance for third overall, with the longtime Dino Gym member Dean Ross getting fourth.

After the meet we had a special lifting contest in the Arthur Lift to honor Art’s legacy.  Brandon is the only one of us still flexible enough to do this lift, and he did a fine 100 pound Arthur Lift to finish off the day.  I presented him and Chad each a tshirt from past Art’s Birthday Bash meets, which is now a collector’s item.

I especially want to thank Dave Glasgow and Clint Poore for helping me officiate throughout the day.

Clint Poore setting a new USAWA record in the Bench Press Feet in the Air!

Clint Poore setting a new USAWA record in the Bench Press Feet in the Air!

The following day we had a record day.   Clint made the long trip from Kentucky to put up some new USAWA records in the Dino Gym, and that HE DID!  I was super impressed with his big bench presses.   He even got introduced to the Foot Press, which seemed to excite him just a little bit (watch his video!)

I want to thank everyone for attending as it was another great day to remember in the Dino Gym.

Meet Details:

Dino Gym Challenge
Dino Gym
Abilene, KS
January 15-16th, 2022

Meet Director: Al Myers

Meet Scorekeeper: Al Myers

Meet Officials (3-officials system used): Al Myers, Dave Glasgow, Clint Poore

Lifts: Teeth Lift, Deadlift -Fingers-Middle, Deadlift – One Arm, Hip Lift

MENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE Age Division BWT Weight Class Teeth DLMF DL1 Hip TOT PTS
Chad Ullom 50 50 230 105  — 325* 400R* 1320 2045 1879.7
LaVerne Myers 77 75 222 105  — 130* 180R 500 810 1025.5
Brandon Rein 26 Senior 153 70  — 155 180R 600 935 982.7
Dean Ross 79 75 189 90  39* 105* 115L* 400 659 936.1

Brandon Rein – 100 poundsArthur Lift for Record:

Notes:  All lifts recorded in pounds.  BWT is bodyweight in pounds. R and L designate right and left arms. TOT is total pounds lifted. PTS are overall adjusted points corrected for age and bodyweight. National records are denoted with an asterisk for the competition.

Record Day Lifts  (3 official system used):
Al Myers, LaVerne Myers, Chad Ullom, Clint Poore

Clint Poore – 48 years old, 246# BWT
Bench Press – Feet on Floor: 410 lbs/186KG
Bench Press – Feet in Air: 410 lbs/186KG
Hackenschmidt Floor Press: 424 lbs.
Reg Park Bench Press: 210 lbs.
Foot Press: 1213 lbs.

Chad Ullom – 50 years old, 231# BWT
Deadlift – Index Fingers: 209 lbs.
Piper Squat: 140 lbs.
Curl- Cheat, DB, Left Arm: 105 lbs.
Curl – Cheat, DB, Right Arm: 105 lbs.
Foot Press: 1213 lbs.

Al Myers – 55 years old, 231# BWT
Deadlift – Inch DB, Left Hand: 135 lbs.
Deadlift – Inch DB, Right Hand: 135 lbs.
Deadlift – Index Fingers: 199 lbs.
Pinch Grip Deadlift – Right Hand: 165 lbs.
Pinch Grip Deadlift – Left Hand: 165 lbs.

LaVerne Myers – 77 years old, 224# BWT
Deadlift – Inch DB, Left Hand: 135 lbs.
Deadlift – Inch DB, Right Hand: 135 lbs.
Deadlift – Index Fingers: 95 lbs.
Deadlift – Fulton DB, Left Arm: 165 lbs.
Deadlift – No Thumbs, Right Arm: 164 lbs

Lifting a Giant’s Stone

By Al Myers

The rugged coastline of the Giant's Causeway.

The rugged coastline of the Giant’s Causeway.

I know I keep carrying on about the great time I had in Belfast for the Gold Cup, but I have another story I would like to share with everyone.  First of all, Stevie had invited me to stay with him so I got to “live like a local” for a week.  Stevie and Heather (along with their great dog Hamish) treated me to a week I’ll never forget. They were extremely gracious hosts.  Stevie knew all the best pubs in town and we had a fun time, but those stories are more suited for private conversations – not a public blog.

A few days after the meet Stevie took Brandon and me to the Giant’s Causeway located at the northern point of Northern Ireland.  It’s a place I’ve always wanted to see because of its unique large rock formations.  We enjoyed a great scenic tour getting there which really set the stage for seeing the causeway. We were fortunate to have a nice day with clear skies for our visit (which is a RARITY in Northern Ireland).  On the way as we were driving along the coast Brandon asked “What is that land?” as we looked across the northern channel looking at a large land mass on the horizon.  Stevie replied, “that’s Scotland”, which left both of us amazed how close Northern Ireland is to Scotland!

Once we reached the Giant’s Causeway we had a little hike before actually getting to see this marvel of nature.  You’ve heard the expression “pictures don’t do it justice”, well, the Giant’s Causeway should be the example of that!  I’ve never seen such a large expanse of strange hexagonal stones stacked up in what seems like perfect symmetry.  Parts of it look like its man-made – but you know it’s not.  It all natural made from volcanic activity in some strange manner that I can’t explain.

This story of the Giant’s Causeway isn’t complete without the legend on how it came to be.  Stevie filled us in on this folk tale and it seemed a little unbelievable to me, but then again there’s leprechauns in Ireland so who am I to question it.    I’ll give a quick summary here.  Apparently at some past point in time there was an Irish giant living in the area who had a rival giant who lived across the channel in Scotland and they would hurl insults at each other across the water.  Finally things got personal to the Irish giant and he decided it was time to “face off” and fight the Scottish giant so he built this huge bridge out of stones (the remnants which are now the causeway) between Northern Ireland and Scotland.  However once reaching Scotland he snuck up on the Scottish giant and saw that he was MUCH bigger and stronger than himself, so he fled back to Ireland in fear. The Scottish giant seen him flee and then gave pursuit chasing the Irish giant across the bridge. Upon reaching home, the Irish giant ran into his house and told his wife what was about to happen – that he’s no match for the strength of the Scottish giant and he was on his way to beat him up.  His wife then took matters into her hands, wrapped the Irish giant in a blanket, laid him in the bed, and told him not to speak.  When the Scottish giant reached their house and asked where the Irish giant was, the wife told him that he was out hunting and it was just her there with their small child. The Scottish giant immediately noticed the large size of the Irish giant’s child (which was the Irish Giant!) and thought that this kid’s dad must be huge!  The nice wife then made the Scottish giant some biscuits but she secretly hid an Iron bar in them.  As the Scottish giant bit into the biscuit it chipped a tooth!  The wife profusely apologized and said that never happens to her husband when he eats her biscuits as he has super strong teeth!  Now the Scottish giant was feeling that he may have taken on a fight he couldn’t win, so he flees back to Scotland tearing down the bridge as he goes so the Irish giant couldn’t pursue him, leaving only the Giant’s Causeway on the Northern Ireland coast.

Now that’s a good story!  I still don’t get the moral of it though.  I assume it is that a wife can be quite convincing in telling a lie, or possibly you better not complain about your wife’s cooking or you will get an iron bar in your biscuit.  Either way, it does make a good point about a wife cleaning up a mess her husband got himself into……… but I’m getting off track here so back to the real story.

Lifting a Giant's Stone on the Giant's Causeway

Lifting a Giant’s Stone on the Giant’s Causeway

As we walked along the causeway I was amused watching Stevie pick up stone after stone as we walked along the rocks.  He was like a little boy in a candy shop finding perfect stone after perfect stone.  There were lots of tourists there and I noticed them watching Stevie with intrigue as he was rassling around with the stones.  I’ll say it – he did look a bit like a crazy man showing his extreme enthusiasm playing with those rocks.   Upon leaving we came upon a big stone just sitting right by the path leading down to the causeway.  Stevie and I looked at it as it had called our name and our instincts of being stone lifters and all round weightlifters took over and we just had to lift it!  The beauty of lifting stones is like catching fish – the story only get bigger after the fact.  Stevie estimated the stone to be well over 300 pounds, but both of us knew deep down it wasn’t really that heavy.  But that doesn’t really matter anyways, as it still gave me a great sense of accomplishment lifting a Giant’s Stone, which hopefully as the story grows it will become I lifted a Giant Stone!!!

Enjoying a Bushmills in Bushmills!

Enjoying a Bushmills in Bushmills!

After the long day, Stevie took us to a nice little pub in Bushmills which is located only a few miles from the Giant’s Causeway.  Brandon and I had a couple of drinks to celebrate a day we wouldn’t forget!

(BTW – I did leave the stone right where I found it. It’s located by the path just as you descend down to the causeway.  You can’t miss it.)

Grip Championships

By Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT – 

2022 USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

The USAWA Grip Championships will be here soon.  This has become an annual event in the USAWA over the past 10 years, and is one of the signature championship events of our organization.

LaVerne is the meet director and he has picked a fine selection of official USAWA grip lifts for the competition.  Make sure to put the Grip Championships on your calendar, and I hope to see you there!

MEET DETAILS:

Meet Director:            LaVerne Myers  785-479-2285

Meet Date:                 Saturday, February 19th, 2022  1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Location:                    Dino Gym, 1126 Eden Road, Abilene, KS 67410

Sanction:                    USAWA  – Membership required

Weigh-ins:                  12:00-1:00 PM the day of the meet

Divisions:                   Juniors, Women, Masters, and Open

Awards:                     None

Entry:                        None – But please give advance notification if attending

Lifts:

Dumbbell Walk

Deadlift – Inch Dumbbells

Deadlift – One Arm, No Thumb

Deadlift – Fingers, Index

There will be time for record day lifts after meet and the following day.

Dino Gym Challenge

By Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT –

DINO GYM CHALLENGE featuring a “tribute to Art Montini”

Art Montini was a very dear friend to me.  It’s hard to believe that this spring is coming upon 4 years since his death.  I had the opportunity to travel with Art to many overseas IAWA competitions and spent many a nights rooming with him.  Art was a very intriguing man.  One thing I know for certain – he loved the USAWA and all round weightlifting. He was always looking forward to his next meet and continued to train daily until his passing.

I have decided to make the Dino Gym Challenge this year as a tribute to Art.  I picked several of Art’s favorite lifts for the competition.  He was truly an all rounder and liked most all the lifts, but I feel these were his favorites as he often picked them for record days and his Gold Cup lifts.   I just had to include a heavy lift in the meets lineup as Art loved his “chain lifts” and made it to many Heavy Lift Championships.  I would say the Hip Lift was his favorite.  He always had a heavy bar in Ambridge BBC all loaded up for the Hip Lift.

Of course, a meet in Art’s honor wouldn’t be complete without the Arthur Lift. Most would give credit for this lift to another Arthur, but Art did bring it to the USAWA so I’ll always say the Arthur Lift was named after Art Montini!!!

After the meet I will have food available so please make plans to stay awhile to grab a bite before you head home.  Art just loved his Italian food so that’s what the menu will be.

Please let me know if you plan to be here so I can make proper arrangements.  I’m hoping there will be many stories told about Art  throughout the day.  I know I have my share!!

 

MEET DETAILS:

Meet Director:            Al Myers and the Dino Gym 785-479-2264

Meet Date:                 Saturday, January 15th, 2022  1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Location:                    Dino Gym, 1126 Eden Road, Abilene, KS 67410

Sanction:                    U.S.A.W.A Memberships cards can be purchased on meet day

Weigh-ins:                  12:00 -1:00 PM the day of the meet

Divisions:                   Juniors, Women, Masters, and Open

Awards:                      None

Entry:                         None – but please notify me in advance if you plan to attend

Lifts:

Teeth Lift

Deadlift – Fingers, Middle

Deadlift – One Arm

Hip Lift

A teeth bit and a hip harness will be available to use, but if you want to bring your own that is preferred.  A “shared” teeth bit probably wouldn’t meet any COVID precautionary protocols so if you got one please bring it.

After the meet there will be an exhibition Arthur Lift competition to honor Art and his legacy in the USAWA.  It will not count towards the meet total, but will have a special prize for the overall winner in the Arthur Lift based on adjusted points and an overall winner based on total pounds lifted.

The next day (Sunday) there may be a scheduled time for record day lifts, but that will depend on the interest.

Jack Shanks and his Stones

By Al Myers

One of the great highlights for me attending the IAWA Gold Cup in Belfast was getting to meet Jack Shanks.  Jack is “Stevie’s Father” and the person who has inspired many of us to take on the Dinnie Stone Challenge.  Jack is an extraordinary man and it was an honor getting to meet him.

Jack Shanks talking to the lifters at the 2021 IAWA Gold Cup prior to the Shanks Lift Challenge

Jack Shanks talking to the lifters at the 2021 IAWA Gold Cup prior to the Shanks Lift Challenge

After the completion of the meet Stevie had arranged for a special contest for lifters to challenge themselves in the Shanks Lift.  The Shanks Lift is a fairly new IAWA lift named in the honor of Jack Shanks.  Two years ago when it was approved Stevie performed an exhibition of it at the 2019 IAWA World Championships that I hosted in Abilene, KS in which he lifted an amazing total of 330 kilograms making Stevie the first person to set a record in the Shanks Lift.  At Belfast, seven lifters took part in the Shanks Challenge under the watchful eye of Jack.  There was some great lifting, with Paul Barette winning the event, followed by Steve Andrews in second and Gary Ell in third.  Before the contest commenced Jack gave a presentation of how he trained to be the first person to correctly lift the Dinnie Stones 50 years ago (1972).   No one had been successful with Donald Dinnie’s challenge to lift the stones in the previous 100 years! It was a very interesting presentation to me (and one I wish was recorded so I could listen to it again) as Jack was very meticulous in his training plan.  He had rings made to match the rings of the Dinnie Stones and even attached them to training stones so he could progressively advance his training poundages.  The talk ended by him recalling the day he lifted the actual Dinnie Stones in front of a large audience at a publicized event.  I’m sure he was very anxious at the time to accomplish something he had put a lot of work into!

A few days after the Gold Cup Stevie took me to his parents’ house and I got to sit down with Jack and enjoy a nice visit with him over a cup of coffee and biscuits.  He still lifts to stay in good shape and showed me his personal gym in his garage which contained weight equipment that’s museum worthy.  I was privileged to see his training stones which he still has in his back yard.  They have shown the wear of years in the elements but still quite impressive in size and shape.  The total weight of his training stones are over 800 pounds!  Jack told me he was pretty confidant after lifting his own stones that he could lift the Dinnie Stones.  I want to point out that the first time he seen the Dinnie Stones was when he lifted them!

Jack Shanks and his training stones.  Pictured left to right: Stevie Shanks, Al Myers, and Jack Shanks.

Jack Shanks and his training stones. Pictured left to right: Stevie Shanks, Al Myers, and Jack Shanks.

It was a great honor for me to be part of all of this.  Now onto some good news – next year the Gold Cup will AGAIN be in Belfast and everything is planned to make it BIGGER and BETTER than this year.   Stevie is hoping to get more lifters involved in the Shanks Lift Challenge, and Jack will be there to oversee things once again.   I encourage all lifters to put this event on your personal meet calendar!

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