Tag Archives: Grip Championships

Grip Championships

By Sanjiv Gupta

2024 USAWA Grip Championships

Group picture from the 2024 USAWA Grip Championships

Ten USAWA masters athletes took the platform to contest the 2024 USAWA Grip Championships held at Dino Gym in Abilene KS. Weigh-ins and rules briefings were conducted, and the meet was contested using three officials, Chad Ullom, Randy Smith and in training was Sanjiv Gupta. We started with the Pinch Grip, Strict and conservative openers were taking as lifting got underway. Being a grip event, the texture of the plates makes a big difference. The best competition lifts were between 80 and 120 pounds with Jason taking the top spot. We started with 25 pound plates, then 35 pound plates and finally 45 pound plates as the center plates and evenly loaded change plates on either side.

Next was the Vertical Bar, 1 Bar, 1” and hand declarations were made as this can be contested with the left or right hand. The range on this was more extreme with best competition lifts between 115 and 225 pounds. Ben had the top spot and did not even open until everyone else was done. Then came the Deadlift, Fingers, Index. This lift is as much about finger strength as it is about pain tolerance. The range on this was pretty extreme (95-225 pounds) with some lifters just taking a single attempt. Chad had the top spot. Chad opened along with Ben at 205 pounds after the rest of us were done.

Then came the Deadlift, Fulton, Ciavattone Grip. This lift is tough as hand size is as much a factor as raw grip strength. The range of lifts were from 173 to 318 pounds. Chad had the best lift at 318 pounds and took a successful extra attempt for a record at 323 pounds. Finally, we contested the Rim Lift. This is a relatively new lift that we contested on a bar with 20-inch collar to collar spacing. While straddle, hack or conventional deadlift is acceptable, we had one straddle lifter and everybody else pulled conventional. We used plates with a shallow rim depth for my liking. The range of lifts was tight with lifts between 180 and 290 pounds. Chad again had the top spot at 290 pounds.

A fun time was had by all.

MEET RESULTS:

2024 USAWA Grip Championships

February 17th, 2024

Dino Gym

Holland, KS

Meet Director: LaVerne Myers

Meet Scorekeeper: Sanjiv Gupta

Officials (3 official system used): LaVerne Myers, Chad Ullom, Dave Glasgow, Sanjiv Gupta, Lance Foster

Lifts: Pinch Grip – Strict, Vertical Bar Lift 1 Bar 1″ One Hand, Deadlift Index Fingers, Deadlift Fulton Bar Ciavattone Grip, Rim Lift

WOMENS DIVISION

LIFTERAGEBWTPINVB1DLIFDLFBRIMTOTPTS
Stacy Todd4119580180L150173180763705.1

MEN DIVISION

LIFTERAGEBWTPINVB1DLIFDLFBRIMTOTPTS
LaVerne Myers79216100160R1602632709531142.6
Randy Smith69196110180R1202632359081065.5
Chad Ullom52230105185R22531829011231051.3
Ben Edwards48230100225L2052832501063959.9
Sanjiv Gupta52200100160L125243250878886.6
Dave Glasgow7026090115R120233235793807.3
Jason Payne58286120160R95253260888784.8
Lance Foster5823690170R160173210803781.1
Chris Todd44278110170R160223250913721.7

NOTES: BWT recorded in pounds. All weights listed in pounds. R and L designate right and left. TOT is total pounds lifted. PTS are overall adjusted points corrected for bodyweight and age.

EXTRA ATTEMPTS FOR RECORDS:

Chris Todd Pinch Grip Strict 125

Stacy Todd VB1bar1″ 200

Chris Todd VB1bar1″ 180

Sanjiv Gupta VB1bar1″ 170

Chad Ullom VB1bar1″ 200

Lance Foster DL Index Fingers 170

Sanjiv Gupta DL FB CG 253

Chad Ullom DL FB CG 323

Randy Smith DL FB CG 273

Dave Glasgow DL FB CG 243

Grip Championships

By Al Myers

MEET RESULTS –

2023 USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Group picture from the 2023 USAWA Grip Championships

Group picture from the 2023 USAWA Grip Championships

It was a great weekend for the USAWA Grip Championships!!

Kevin Fulton back in action lifting the 1" vertical bar

Kevin Fulton back in action lifting the 1″ vertical bar

Four brave grip lifters made an appearance.  The legendary gripster Kevin Fulton made his return to USAWA competition in this event.   It was definitely the highlight of the meet.  Many years ago Kevin would promote the “super grip” competition at his gym which inspired me to start promoting the USAWA Grip Championships, so having him in attendance was a special treat.   Kevin still has that strong grip and he didn’t miss a single lift because his grip failed.

Our president Denny Habecker made the trip again this year to attend the meet.  Denny has competed in several of the USAWA Grip Championships.

Lance Foster had just been to the Dino Gym for the Dino Challenge and he had so much fun he came back for the Grip Champs!

LaVerne Myers was the overall champion of the day.  This makes it his SIXTH time winning the overall – the most ever in Grip Championship history

 

Meet Results:

2023 Grip Championships
Saturday, February 11th
Dino Gym, Abilene, Kansas

Meet Director: Al Myers

Meet Official (1 official system used):  Al Myers

Lifts: Strict Pinch Grip, Vertical Bar Deadlift 1 bar 1″ one hand, Deadlift Fingers Index, Deadlift Fulton Bar Ciavattone Grip, Rim Lift

MENS DIVISION

Lifter Age BWT Pin VB DLIF DLFB Rim TOT PTS
LaVerne Myers 78 220 107 145R 160 231 275 918 1182.0
Denny Habecker 80 183 78 105R 100 198 195 676 988.9
Kevin Fulton 63 313 127 205R 160 220 245 957 843.6
Lance Foster 57 256 112 170R 170 176 215 843 779.1

EXTRA FOR RECORDS:
Lance Foster  Strict Pinch Grip 117#
Kevin Fulton Strict Pinch Grip 137#
Denny Habecker VB DL 1 bar 1″  115#
Denny Habecker Index Fingers DL  110#
Kevin Fulton DL FB, CG  242#

All lifts recorded in pounds.  BWT is bodyweight in pounds. R and L designate right and left hands. TOT is total pounds lifted. PTS are overall adjusted points corrected for age and bodyweight.

RECORD DAY LIFTS – 2 officials were used on each lift (Al Myers, LaVerne Myers, Denny Habecker)

Al Myers – 56 years old, 229# BWT
Rim Lift  325#
Bench Press Hands Together 190#
Foot Press 1050#
Bearhug 235#
Holdout Raised 50#

LaVerne Myers – 78 years old, 220# BWT
Curl Cheat Reverse Grip 80#
Curl Cheat  101#
Continental to Belt 155#
BearHug 185#
Hack Lift Left Arm  125#

Denny Habecker – 80 years old, 186# BWT
Curl Cheat Reverse Grip 80#
Bench Press Feet in Air  140#
Dumbbell Press Right Arm 45#
Hack Lift Right Arm 135#
Jefferson Lift 220#

 

Grip Championships

By Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT – 2023 USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

The new year is now upon us and with that comes the announcement for the annual Grip Championships! The Grip Championships have always been the first Championship event in the USAWA every year.

This competition has been a popular one in the USAWA throughout the years.  At times it has been one of the largest events attended for the year in the USAWA.  I always try to “mix things up” with the chosen lifts, but have always kept them to official lifts of the USAWA.

MEET DETAILS:

Meet Director:            Al Myers  email: amyers@usawa.com

Meet Date:                 Saturday, February 11th, 2023  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:

Pinch Grip – Strict

Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, One Hand

Deadlift – Fingers, Index 

Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip

Rim Lift

Grip Championships

By Al Myers

2022 USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Group picture from the 2022 USAWA Grip Championships

Group picture from the 2022 USAWA Grip Championships

The Dino Gym hosted the USAWA Grip Championships for the 11th time this past weekend.  Usually this championship event gets a good turnout, but this year only three lifters took part.  However it was a heated contest as all participants have been past overall champions of the Grip Championships.

LaVerne Myers took the overall over fellow Dino Gym members Chad Ulllom and myself.  This makes LaVerne a FIVE TIME overall winner of the Grip Championships making him the most overall winner of all past Grip Championships.

I really want to thank Dave Glasgow for coming to the Dino Gym to officiate, which allowed me to compete in the meet.

Meet Results:

USAWA Grip Championships
February 19th, 2022
Dino Gym
Holland, KS

Meet Director: LaVerne Myers

Meet Scorekeeper: Al Myers

Official (1-official system used): Dave Glasgow

Lifts: Dumbbell Walk, Deadlift – 2 Inch Dumbbells, Deadlift – No Thumbs One Arm, Deadlift – Index Fingers

MENS DIVISION

Lifter Age BWT Walk Inch DLNT Index TOT PTS
LaVerne Myers 77 218 113* 240* 171L* 143* 667 851.7
Al Myers 55 230 113* 260* 204R* 198* 775 744.8
Chad Ullom 50 233 93* 260* 193R* 220* 766 699.5

Notes: BWT is bodyweight in pounds. All lifts recorded 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 within the meet are denoted with an asterisk (*).

RECORD DAY LIFTS

Officials (3-official system used): LaVerne Myers, Al Myers, Chad Ullom

LaVerne Myers – Age 77 years, BWT 222 pounds
Finger Lift – Left Little: 58#
Finger Lift – Right Little: 58#
Finger Lift – Left Thumb: 58#
Finger Lift – Right Thumb: 58#
Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Left Arm: 160#

Al Myers – Age 55 years, BWT 229 pounds
Finger Lift – Right Little: 88#
Finger Lift – Right Ring: 118#
Finger Lift – Right Index: 128#
Finger Lift – Right Middle: 143#
Finger Lift – Right Thumb: 83#

Chad Ullom – Age 50 years, BWT 235 pounds
Deadlift – Stiff Legged: 364#
Deadlift – Ciavattone Grip: 402#
Finger Lift – Left Ring: 118#
Finger Lift – Left Index: 118#

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.

1 2 3 … 5