USAWA

First of all, welcome to the board!!!

Second, I want to make some comments and I want you to be sure and take these as intended. I want to HELP you and I would like nothing more than for you to break this record! So, I’m going to give you some advice on this. Remember, not as criticism, but to HELP!!!!!! I watched several of your videos and you are obviously somebody who CAN break this record! I hope you will make more videos and put them on here and I’m sure that some of the other guys will offer help and advice. I know Ben Edwards is good at this lift and has done it in the USAWA so he’d be someone to check out.

First, let’s look a the rules of the lift. The weaver Stick is an unusual lift so it’s important that we look at the USAWA rules so that when you make your record attempt you will be within the rules.

H26. Weaver Stick
A Weaver Stick is used for this lift. The Weaver Stick utilizes a wooden broomstick with these dimensions. The handle is 5 ½ inches in length. The junction of the handle and the rest of the Weaver Stick may be marked
with tape, or with any material that is raised to provide a distinct separation between the handle and the rest of the stick. This marking is ½ inch in length. At a point exactly 36 inches from the end of the marking, or 42 inches from the end of the handle, a notch is made in the stick to allow a cord to be attached to it. This cord may be of any length. Weight is tied onto the end of the cord. The Weaver Stick must rest on a flat lifting
surface with the weight hanging free. The lift will begin at the lifter’s discretion. The lifter will take a position alongside the Weaver Stick, and grip the handle of the Weaver Stick by one hand, facing the length of the stick. The lifting hand and arm must remain straight with elbow fully locked, and must not be in contact with the body during the lift. The lifting arm must remain at the lifter’s side throughout the lift. The heel of the hand must remain on top of the Weaver Stick. If the hand twists under the stick during the lift, it is a disqualification. The non-lifting hand must not touch the lifting arm, lifting hand, or Weaver Stick during the lift. The lifter’s body must be upright with legs straight at the completion of the lift, but the legs may bend when picking up the stick. The Weaver Stick must be lifted entirely clear from the lifting surface while maintaining the stick parallel to the floor. If the end of the stick containing the weight dips to any degree, it is a disqualification. If the lifting hand moves to a position in front of the handle marking during the lift, it is a disqualification. Once the Weaver Stick is motionless, an official will give a command to end the lift. Records are also kept for the Weaver Stick with the lifter facing backwards, away from the length of the stick.

Thom makes good points. Couple of other ideas. Imagine that you are picking up a piece of luggage. Your arm would remain straight, by your side and your wrist would not bend, because in the case of the luggage, the weight is all down below your hand. Now just substitute the stick for the luggage handle and maintain the same physical set. Good luck on the lift and welcome to the house.

Joe

The strength required in lifting the weaver stick is all in the wrist, and the arm muscles don’t come into play at all since the arm is perfectly straight.

Welcome to the USAWA Discussion Forum!!! Dinoman

It is good to have goals, Derrick, but you will need a wrist about as strong as a gorilla’s wrist in order to set the all-time Weaver stick record!

Although Willoughby credited Grimek with a lift of 11.75, the lift was actually invalid for two reasons: (1) the distance to the notch on the stick was only 33.75 inches instead of the correct 36 inches (Willoughby did point this out in a footnote), and Grimek’s method of performance was such that he would “scoop” the bar (i.e., analogous to getting a running start), as Terry Todd explained in something he wrote in MD decades ago.

David Horne is one of the all-time greats in the lift and here are the all-time top lifts that he posted on the Grip Board on 1/1/01.

Front

John Grimek — 10.0 lb.
Paul Von Boeckmann — 9.5 lb.
David Horne — 8.8 lb.
Steve Stanko — 8.0 lb.
John Davis — 8.0 lb.
Chris Moore — 8.0 lb.

Of course that is now out of date as Steve Gardener almost certainly belongs on that list somewhere, as does Al Berger. I suggested some years ago that David contact Glenn Middleton regarding Berger’s best lift, which Glenn witnessed. Glenn told me about it but I don’t recall exactly what the poundage was. I’m sure it was at least 11 pounds, however, and may have been more. (I can believe a huge lift for Berger because he held the world record in the reverse curl at one time and he could do some amazing grip feats.) Regarding Grimek, I wonder if he performed that 10.0 in accordance with the rules. I have my doubts.

Berger passed away in 2002 at the age of 84 and Glenn, who is 82, is practically on borrowed time as he was classified as 6-months terminal more than 6 months ago. When I spoke to him a couple of months ago, he told me that he hoped he would still be around for my next phone call but he didn’t sound too optimistic that he would be.

I sat across the table from Berger at the AOBS dinner many years ago. I believe he was 73 at the time and he still looked physically impressive.

Derrick, 6 pounds is very good in the lift and I consider 8 pounds to be the elite level. No USAWA lifter has come close to 8 pounds, however. When Andy Durniat assaulted the all-time USAWA records about a year ago, the only one that he didn’t break of the contested lifts was my Weaver Stick record, as he came up a bit short. I e-mailed him and thanked him for that. More or less. 🙂

Show us some more videos, Derrick, with you arm at your side throughout the lift and your elbow locked.

Tom

Tom, Is that the most current list you have (1/1/01) on the Weaver Stick rankings?? (and I assume those marks are all in the forward position?). Al

Speaking of which, does anyone have the marks for the rear position. Looks like anybody that can hit 8lbs would be in an elite group!!!!!