Resorteras, Rehab, and Records

by John McKean

John McKean in the shooting position with his resoteras. A strong pull is needed, which works both the triceps and delts.

“THWACK!!!” A golf ball left mighty Paul Anderson’s tee after a typical set of ten with 800 pounds on the squat. You see, it is said that ole Paul had a three hole golf course set up on the grounds of his famous youth home, and he’d play the holes in between sets! This proved to be ideal “active rest”, well deserved fresh air, and much needed recuperation for the strongest man of all time.

“THWACK!!!” This is the noise that my nosy next door neighbor may hate worse than the clanging weights resonating from my open garage door. No, I’m not a golfer, but get this similar sound effect while target shooting my “resortera”, a Mexican term for a homemade, powerful, hunting-capable slingshot. Last year I renewed my acquaintance with slingshot target work, and find it a very relaxing, yet exercise oriented way of calming down from heavy, home gym lifts. The outdoor few minutes, alone ( I don’t rest quite as long as Paul Anderson did!) seems to energize me into better lifting efforts! Certainly the equipment is easy to acquire – the “resortera” concept dictates that you build your own slingshot from tree branch “Ys” (or cut from board or metal- a hunter/lifter/builder like Al Myers would probably weld one from thick steel to keep it HEAVY !), basic office rubber bands, and stones,marbles, or hexnuts for “ammo” (easy instructions for building lots of variations can be goggled at rebelslingshotforum ). I can attest to an actual increase of tone in my arms, delts, lats, and pecs from this unique band work (With the powerful hunting set up of seemingly simple office type rubber bands, a slingshot pull can get rather intense. You should see the wild game that my friends Jamie, Nico, Chepo, and Xidoo acquire with their homemade killing machines!) and nutrition habits (pizza!) of son, Rob,keeps me well supplied with cardboard boxes that serve as targets on my outdoor ” range”!

John demonstrating a band back press

Now in terms of bands, always a favorite subject of mine, the slingshot was not my only rubber training tool during this past summer. I’d been having really spirited productive lifting sessions early on, but was out fishing (another favorite outdoor activity- I tease Big Al by telling him that the fish I catch are so big & plentiful that I should apply for a “fish lift” category in the USAWA!)  and once found my foot shifting quickly on a hill over loose gravel; well,both the right knee and left lower back went into sudden ache mode,and stayed that way. Even a few days off, and a serious visit to my chiropractor didn’t give much comfort. But,  heck, there were meets approaching and records to set, so I just couldn’t take a long layoff!! While limping out to fire my nifty, homemade driftwood resortera one morning, I began to formulate a plan as the fresh air did its usual magic to invigorate me. I’d simply start all lifting sessions with Dr. Len Schwartz’ “Longstrength” concept, via Jumpstretch’s medium strength “mini-monster” bands. I did 50 reps with 2 bands over my shoulders for braced squatting, cable pulldowns while lunging toward my wounded knee for 35-45 reps, back presses while lunging over the other knee, high pulls along with wide squats, lying cable flys with leg pull-ins, and good morning bends + tricep pushes with the band over my neck. All light resistance, high rep combination style movements (which is the Longstrength concept) that really “gave an excuse” for blood to flush into the wounded areas. The fast paced  250+ reps also served as the best lifting warmup I’ve ever done!

My main workout,of course, had to be treated with “kid gloves”. The slingshot breaks kept me from getting really crazy (all you who know me, keep the laughter down and continue reading!!) , with restoring fresh air allowing time for common sense to intervene. So I’d take some of our most stable all-round lifts and do them in as perfect form as I could, adding control and slower tempo by placing a flex band over the bar (as I’ve displayed in past articles). With a single “mini-monster” band, I needed only to do a few singles up to about 60-70% of an anticipated record lift, that I was planning for the Fall meets. Often, especially if the knee or back started hinting that they were uncomfortable, I’d do the lighter build up singles without a band, then place it over the barbell to repeat the final top weight for the day for just that set. Usually a lift was completed in 4 easy sets (singles), and the five lift workouts were performed quickly with minimum agony.

John performs a "Longstrength" upright row and partial squat combo with a band.

As an aside, Dr. Schwartz often warned me that his Longstrength system was potent medicine. Shortly before his death (he was still exercising daily at 84 and could perform 35 consecutive, perfect chinups!), we’d had numerous spirited discussions on the great value of flex bands to supply constant tension during the fitness building, combination exercises.We even concluded that rubber cables fit in perfectly with his “moving isometrics” strength-aerobics concept. Yet I was still totally shocked to discover that my rehab program, seemingly quite mild, had reduced me to the middleweight division!

As I write this, I’m now mostly pain free and all set to try those records at Art’s Birthday meet in a few short days! Recent workouts, still with the same minimal approach, have been going great with emphasis on the prime commandment for Master’s lifting -” Thou shalt not injure thyself during training, ever! ” Now, if only I don’t go outside and catapult  a 200 fps rock into my thumb, I’ll be in fine shape!

The Second Apollon

by Dennis Mitchell

J.C. Tolson - the "second Apollon"

Most of today’s lifters are familiar with Louis Uni, who went by the stage name of Apollon. Uni was a 260 pound, 6 foot 3 inch strong man who lived from 1862 to 1928.  He was most famous for his railroad wheels barbell.  However,  there was a second Apollon named J. C. Tolson, who was born July 16, 1903 in Dewsbury, England.  Young Tolson got his inspiration to become a strongman after seeing a strongman at a traveling circus.  He was 17 years old at the time.  He started training and made very rapid progress, and soon was performing under the name of  The Mighty Young Apollon.  Tolson was much smaller than his name sake.  He stood 5′ 6″ tall, 17.5″ neck, 48.5″ expanded chest, 32″ waist, 14″ forearms, 17″ biceps, 24″ thighs, and 16″ calves.

Although Tolson was a very good all round lifter, he was outstanding at bending iron bars.  He entered a bar bending challenge in 1925 at the Empire Music Hall, put on by Alexander Zass, who went by the stage name of Samson.  This was his first competition and he took third place.  He rapidly improved and followed Zass as he put on challenges in other cities, always taking first place and the cash prizes.  By the time Tolson had won over 200 pounds, which was a lot of money in the 1920’s,  Zass changed his challenges to lifting a steel girder weighing 500 pounds.  Tolson again took first place, and the money, by lifting the girder with his teeth.   After this contest Tolson started issuing challenges for the title of Britain’s Champion Strongman.  The events consisted of bending iron bars in various ways, teeth lifting, the two hand military press, and the two hand dead lift.  Very few people took the challenge.  Tolson, billed as The Mighty Young Apollon, continued to perform as a professional strongman.  His act consisted of breaking chains with his fingers, lifting a 91.5 pound ring weight over head with his little finger (he later improved this to 108.25 pounds), bending iron bars,  and tearing playing cards still in their case into quarters.  He would drive a six inch nail into a wood plank and then pull the nail out with his teeth. He could support 20 men on his chest, and would have a tug-of-war with from 20 to 50 men, and at some shows would use two horses.  At a body weight of 168 pounds he did a pullover and press with 249 pounds. At 165 pounds he did a one hand dead lift of 500 pounds, and a press behind head with 214.5 pounds.  While weighing only 154.5 pounds he did a strict curl of 148 pounds. The heavy weight record at this time was only four pounds more.

As with many strong men of his time he also had a mail order muscle building course.  His course was mostly isometrics.  He would provide his students with various strength steel bars with instruction on how to bend them in order to work the different muscle groups.  His course sold into the 1950’s.  I could find no date for when or where he passed away.

My take on the Gold Cup

by Al Myers

A highlight at the Gold Cup for me was performing two 2-person lifts with my daughter Emily. On our first lift we did a 757# Straddle Deadlift, and on our second lift we did a 804# Deadlift. Both of these marks are ALL-TIME RECORDS in IAWA for a male-female team.

This is not intended to be a meet report, but rather “my take” on the 2011 IAWA Gold Cup held last weekend in Burton on Trent, England.  First of all, initially I was not planning on attending this meet since I’m going to the IAWA World Championships in Australia next month.  But when my good “mate” (that’s american for friend, haha) James Gardner invited me to stay at his place I could not turn him down. And after the fun-filled weekend I had, I’m glad I went! I made a quick trip out of it, only staying for the weekend.  I call a trip like this “pulling an Art” – after the the MAN OF STEEL  Art Montini and his reputation of going oversees to a big meet and only staying for the meet itself.  This weekend was EXTRA SPECIAL for me since I had my oldest daughter Emily traveling with me.  This was her first weightlifting meet EVER, and she only agreed to compete because that was the stipulation I had for taking her along!  

The person who made this event happen was our IAWA President Steve Gardner (in middle). To Steve's right is Chris Bass, who is the "official scorekeeper" for the IAWA.

Now for a  few general words on the Gold Cup.  This meet is one of TWO big IAWA competitions held each year (the World Championships is the other).  It was started years ago by Howard Prechtel as a meet to celebrate World Record Lifts by World Champions.  Initially, the only lifters who were eligible to compete were current World Champions.  A rule from the beginning in the Gold Cup is that the lifter must OPEN on his first attempt at a World Record in the lift of his choosing.  Also in the beginning each lifter could chose only one lift to perform their World Record in. You could call it the “ELITE OF RECORD DAYS” .  Since then the stipulations have been lessened and anyone can compete in the Gold Cup, regardless of whether they are a current World Champion or not.  If a lifter can not find a World Record they can break, they can enter the Silver Cup instead, and go for a National Record, or even just a personal best.  This way no one is excluded from this prestigious international event.  Also, at several Gold Cups of recent, time has allowed the lifters to have a second choice lift which they can perform as well.

I finally got to meet Steve Angell from England (right). Steve is a three time Overall Best Lifter at the IAWA World Championships (1996, 2000, 2001).

I felt the turnout for this meet was very good – 25 lifters took part.  Our IAWA President Steve Gardner was the meet promoter, and as he always does, promoted an exceptional meet.  I was glad the meet was held at his club in Burton, the Powerhouse Gym.  I like to experience the feeling of lifting in other all round clubs.  You feel “connected” to their involvement in All-Round Weightlifting.   Several outstanding records where set by the lifters in attendance. One of the neat things about a Gold Cup is that you get to see lifters perform the lifts that they are the best at, and in turn get to witness some great lifts.  The Gold Cup is not like any ole record day where the lifters go about their business lifting and doing records in a chaotic fashion.  One platform is set up and when it is YOUR time to lift you get it all to yourself while everyone else watches.  You perform all three (or four) of your attempts back to back, and the stage is all yours.  This allows one to watch EVERY LIFTER and gives each lifter a little extra recognition.  Like I said earlier, the Gold Cup is the ELITE OF RECORD DAYS.  The experience is WAY MORE than just setting a World Record, as it is about being part of something special offered by the IAWA.  I highly recommend that every All Round lifter go to the Gold Cup at least once in their life.  

James Gardner and his 96.5 KG One Handed Fulton Bar Deadlift. This is the most EVER lifted in this lift!

Now on to the lifts done.  I have done a lot of thinking what I would consider the BEST RECORDS of the day were.  This was a hard decision for me because I was very impressed with EVERY lifter, but I did come up with my TOP FIVE.   My vote for the NUMBER ONE GOLD CUP RECORD  was done by James Gardner.  James first lift was the newly formed IAWA lift, the Turkish Get Up.  In this he did the MOST ever done with a very fine lift of 70 KG.  But that’s not the lift that impressed me the most.  It was his second choice lift, the One Hand Fulton Bar Deadlift.  In this lift he lifted an UNBELIEVEABLE 96.5 KG (212 pounds).  This record is now the most EVER lifted in this lift, exceeding Frank Ciavattone’s mark of 210 pounds.  I consider Frank the BEST ONE HAND GRIP LIFTER in the history of the USAWA, so this really says something about James’ achievement in this lift.  Another lifter and lift that really impressed me, and was my second pick,  was Mark Haydock of England. Mark performed a 210 KG Front Squat breaking the previous World Record in this lift held by the current IAWA World Champion Chad Ullom.  I officiated Chad when he set his mark, and I remember how deep he took his front squat when he did it.  I was glad to see Mark break Chad’s record by taking his front squat just as deep.   My “third choice” in best records goes to England’s Steve Sherwood and his Ciavattone Grip Deadlift of 180 KG.  That is pushing 400 pounds for a lifter who is 60 years old and only weighs 80 KG!  What a grip!!   Later that night at the Gold Cup banquet Steve was inducted into the IAWA(UK) Hall of Fame, and it is no wonder why.  He lifts poundages that I would not expect him to lift.  He second choice lift of a 140 KG Fulton Bar Ciavattone Grip Deadlift was impressive as well.   Number 4 on my list goes to John Gardner and his 140 KG (309#) middle fingers straddle deadlift.   I would call John the “sleeper” in this group of great lifters because I didn’t expect a lift like that out of him.  That is a WORLD CLASS finger lift and on top of that, it appeared to me to be a submaximal effort on his part.  He made it look way to easy!  The last of my top five goes to the Scottish lifter Andy Tomlin and his 185.5 KG left handed deadlift.  Breaking 400 pounds in the one handed deadlift is always very impressive to watch, and currently there are only a small group of IAWA lifters who can do it.  To make Andy’s lift even that more impressive, is that he suffered a back injury a week earlier and wasn’t sure he would even be able to compete!   I will tell you this, later that night at the banquet when he was feeling really good (after a few pints of instant pain relief) he was really talking big – and issued a 2-man one arm deadlift challenge against Chad and myself at next year’s Gold Cup in Scotland.   He recruited Steve Angell to be his partner before even asking him, and of course I couldn’t turn him down even before asking Chad to be my partner.  Before long another “team” joined in this challenge as well (Mark Haydock and James Gardner).  So it looks like the 2012 Gold Cup is setting up to be a BIG SHOW of international competition in the 2-man one arm deadlift.  I did remind Andy that Chad and I have the BEST MARK ever set in this lift (done last year at the 2010 Gold Cup) of 800 pounds, so they better be in form “to bring it”.

Mark Haydock performing his record Front Squat of 210 KG.

I could go “on and on” about last weekends trip but I’m going to stop at this.  I especially want to thank Steve Gardner for his efforts in promoting this outstanding  meet.  It was a meet I will never forget.

Clark’s Gym Meet Schedule

by Al Myers

Bill Clark (left) and Rudy Bletscher (right). This picture was taken a couple of years ago, at the Deanna Springs Meet. Notice that Bill is tallying the scores using a hand calculator and pen and pad. No fancy computer, or even a printed scoresheet is needed for Bill to figure the day's results!

The Clark’s Gym Meet Schedule is now available.  USAWA events hosted in Clark’s Gym, Columbia, Missouri have been some of the longest running meets in the history of the USAWA.  Meets like the Zercher Strength Classic and the Backbreaker Pentathlon have been signature meets in the USAWA, and have the historic significance of defining the All Rounds in the United States.  As per custom in meets hosted by Bill Clark, there are no entry fees or entry forms to send in.  There are no awards given.  I have asked Bill in the past why he doesn’t give out awards, and his reply to me was “if you want one buy your own!”.   That sounded like a good reason to me!  After all, there are not very many events you can go to now a days that are free like Clark’s Gym Meets.  You get to enjoy a great day of lifting, along with all the free wisdom you want  from the Father of  All-Round Weightlifting himself Bill Clark, and it won’t cost you a dime! 

It is important that you contact Bill at least 3 days in advance that you plan on attending.  If not, you might show up on meet day and the meet has been cancelled (if no one has pre-entered).  

Clark’s Gym Meet Schedule

November 6th, 2011 – Schmidt’s Backbreaker Pentathlon

November 26th, 2011 – Goerner Deadlift Dozen plus One

January 28th, 2012 – Zercher Strength Classic

March 24th, 2012 – Deanna Springs Memorial Meet

Counting Your Chickens Before They Hatch

by Larry Traub

2011 USAWA Women's National Champion Amber Glasgow in action with the Dumbbell Snatch at the 2011 USAWA National Championships. The Ledaig Club won all the major awards at the 2011 Championship - Best Female Lifter, Best Male Lifter, and Best Team. (photo and caption courtesy of the webmaster).

I was competing in the USAWA National Championship last June, and I had just completed my second cheat curl attempt.  I was competing for the newly formed national champion team, Ledaig.  After I completed the attempt I was approached by the founder and fearless leader of the Ledaig club, Dave Glasgow, who proceeded to ask me, “What were you smiling about before you went out to lift?”

There was a not too subtle implication in his question that I looked like an idiot.  First, the attempt was successful, so the humiliation of looking foolish is superseded by attaining a successful lift. Second, maybe the foolish smile on my face facilitated the successful lift. Let me explain.  As the bar was being loaded I was visualizing the performance of that particular lift, and of course, the successful completion of that lift.  If completing a big lift on the platform brings a smile to your face then the visualization of that lift should do the same. I guess I was doing the thing that we’ve all been told not to do, and that’s, ‘counting my chickens before they hatch.’  I think that in this case the old adage fails us. Celebrating the success of the lift before the actual performance of the lift helps create the confidence and the desire to complete the lift.

Some studies have shown that in an activity that is primarily a skill movement, like shooting free throws, that mentally practicing may be just as effective as actually going to the gym and shooting. I don’t think that’s going to quite cut it in the lifting world, but I’m pretty sure that mentally doing a set of heavy squats, followed by the actual performance of that set might increase your chances of success.

We’ve probably all heard Yogi Berra’s quote, “90% of the game is half mental.”  His game was, of course, baseball and according to my math (and I’m a math teacher) baseball would be 45% mental. In our game it might even be more than that, but who can put a number on it?  A recent study shows that 67.3% of all statistics are made up on the spot anyway. The important thing would be recognizing how important it is to believe that you can perform a certain lift, and visualizing yourself doing it is a way of convincing your subconscious that it can be done.

Several years ago I was coaching a high school lifter at teenage nationals and he came up to me before his third attempt deadlift and said, “Coach, I don’t think I can pull this.” I just shrugged and told him that he might as well go to the scoring table and pass his third attempt. My coaching strategy at this point was to piss him off a little so he would get fired up and go pull the lift. I would like to tell you it was a brilliant piece of coaching that resulted in a big deadlift, but to tell you the truth, I don’t remember what happened.  I do believe, however, that I had to make some effort to change his mindset.  Telling him to go out there and give it his best shot would just reinforce his lack of confidence and would give him no opportunity for success.

Recognizing the mental aspect of our sport is one thing.  Learning how to utilize this mental aspect may require some effort, but you may be drawing on a previously untapped resource, and tapping that resource just might take you to a new level of performance.

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