USAWA

Thanks Al. Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks Al. Hopefully we get a good turn out again this year.

ET, thanks for that article. That’s a really nice picture, too. Do you know anything about Lurich’s height and weight?

That is a good question. I read it, but cannot remember right off. He was not huge.

Looks like 5’9.5″ and 200 pounds. That is what I was able to find anyhow.

No, not huge, but certainly capable.

I know you’ll probably do this, but I’d be real interested in reading about the Lurich Lift after you guys give it a ride. Something tells me it’ll be a ball-buster…which ain’t a bad thing.

Capable indeed. Dan, I tried the lift out on Sat, and it will take some figuring out. I have the same issue here that I do on the normal HAck. Hamstrings get in the way. Only difference, is on this lift they start in the way.
ET

The Lurich lift is on the list for today’s work out.

Yeah, I figured as much, ET. I simply can’t get the barbell over my hamstrings…unless I rotate my hips. Thing is, that’s a very dangerous proposition, especially under load; my lifting longevity is infinitely more important to me than a single lift. So I gave that some thought for this year’s Grip Champs because of the contested Hack-Fulton bar.

For one, using a thick bar, I reasoned, would likely have less potential of getting hung up on my friggin’ HUGE hamstrings. And then I incorporated this: pull the bar up to behind my knees and while the bar is in contact with my bent knees, forcefully extend the knees thereby propelling the barbell backward and at the same time straighten out so that the barbell moves upward in an arc.

It took quite a bit of training to get the movement down pat, but I did real good and since my grip isn’t an issue, I was hoping to hit low 4’s on the Hack with the Fulton bar. Just one problem…

I was training in my BDU’s and unbeknownst to me, that created sufficient “slippage” for the barbell using shorts will not provide. As a consequence, and since I’m about as stupid as a bodybuilder, I never trained in shorts until I got to Grip Champs and found the barbell getting glued to my hams, losing my balance, and falling backwards on my ass- -right in front of the meet promoter and head judge- –twice! before getting one attempt in with low 3’s.

The moral of the story is that perhaps for the Lurich you can get yourself set up so that upon an initial pull you can thrust the barbell back and then up so that it will only make contact with your hams toward the end of the range of motion…and make sure you practice it in shorts!!