Author Archives: Al Myers

Store Items IN STOCK

by Al Myers

Australian John Mahon wears his new USAWA Hoodie in the "chow line" following the 2012 IAWA World Championships.

Christmas and the Holiday Season is approaching fast and if you are like me, you still have gift shopping to do!  I want to remind everyone that the USAWA offers an online store that features several items that would make the perfect present for the All-Weightlifting enthusiast!  I have just recently upgraded the inventory on hand – and right now everything of all sizes  is IN STOCK.  It’s not too late to order as orders are filled and shipped out daily.  Please remember to “write the check” to the USAWA and NOT to me.  All online store items are found in the lower left-hand column of the front page.

ONLINE STORE ORDER FORM – Online Store Order Form (PDF)

The REAL Hack Lift

by Al Myers

Demonstration of the REAL Hack Lift!

Yesterdays story on the Hackenschmidt Floor Press opened up another topic for me (the Hack Lift) which I briefly discussed, but I think needs a little more discussion.  George “Hack” Hackenschmidt has been often tied to the naming of the Hack Lift.  As I stated yesterday, I feel this is slightly incorrect as the term “hack” comes from the German word “hacke” in abbreviated form.  I have read several sources supporting this feeling.  In the USAWA Discussion Forum yesterday Dan Wagman provided an excellent post on this argument, which I feel should be repeated here.  These are Dan’s words:

I’m excited about trying the Hack FP and really liked the fact that Al went beyond just sharing the proposed rules in his latest blog. To that point, I’d like to add some info regarding the origin of calling a lift the Hack-something-or-another. I grew up in Germany and am fluent in all respects in that language and two dialects, so I can speak with some authority regarding the potential root of the name of the Hack-lifts.

Al is somewhat correct in that the German word “Hacke” can be used to denote a heel. However, this is commonly only used in southern German dialect. The proper German word for heel is “Ferse.” A Hacke is indeed an axe, pickaxe, or mattock type tool.

Now, there’s another consideration to bear in mind. It is highly uncommon in Germany to shorten names as we do in America. Joseph would be Joseph, not Joe; Alfred would be Alfred, not Al; Schmidtbleicher would be just that, not Smitty; and most certainly nobody in Germany would’ve called Hackenschmidt Hack. He was Estonian, where many Estonians are of German descent, and based on his name, I’d surmise he was one of them, so I would therefore venture to guess that he wasn’t ever called Hack there, either.

So where does that leave us? Since he spent most of his life living in London, and since it is also fairly common in British English to shorten names, I would venture to guess that he was just called Hack over there and since he was so good at the deadlift from behind the body, that lift was just called the Hack deadlift, though some sources also called it the Hack squat.

Hope this didn’t end up boring y’all, I just think this stuff is interesting as all heck.

Daniel (my German name )

George Hackenschmidt was very well-known for doing the Hack Lift and he was very good at it. That alone gives “his name” some bearing into the naming of this lift as the Hack Lift.  I won’t deny him that.  But the way he did the Hack Lift is VERY MUCH different than the way we do it under the USAWA/IAWA rules.  I’m going to quote the famous strength historian David Willoughby here on the description of the REAL Hack Lift, so it won’t be construed by my own interpretation.  This is straight from his book The Super Athletes:

George Hackenschmidt of Russia, performed 50 consecutive “Hacke” (or “Hocke”) lifts with 50 kilos (110 3/4 pounds).  This feat was done in front of the famous German weight-trainer, Theodor Siebert, at Alsleben, Germany, Feb. 15, 1902.  “Hack” also performed a single lift in the same style with 85 kilos (187 1/4 pounds).  The latter was equal to a flat-footed squat with about 522 pounds on the shoulders.  The “Hacke” lift is performed by knee-bending on the toes while holding a barbell with the hands together behind the hips, thus leaving the back muscles out of the effort and doing all the work with the legs.

WOW – as if the Hack Lift isn’t hard enough to do the way we do it!  Hack was doing them on his toes with the hands together!  I have read other reports describing the original Hack Lift, and as well as the hands being together, the heels were together as well. That would make it near-impossible for most lifters to even grab the bar that way. I was intrigued by the German meaning of the word Hocke. Again, Dan came to my rescue in the USAWA Discussion Forum and gave this reply:

Yes, Hocke is also a German word. It refers to what we might consider crouching down or when you without weight go into a deep squat where your hamstrings touch your calves. You know, the sort of “move” you do when you **** in the woods.

Since you sort of hock down when you do a Hack sq/dl, it’s also feasible that this is where the name came from. But I would have to guess no on that one, too. The reason I say this is because Hackenschmidt didn’t seem to have spent a lot of time in Germany at all and because he lived primarily in London. With that in mind, and of course without knowing for sure, I would guess that people would just see him do stuff, whether he was the first to do it or not, and they’d probably go something like, “Hey, what’s Hack doing there? Let’s try that…” and then they just ended up calling the lift the Hack-whatever.

Regardless, personally, I like thinking of it as being a reference to Hackenschmidt. The dude was stout as all heck and had a body that people today, even when saucing, couldn’t get. And let’s not even talk about his strength and dominance in wrestling. He was from an era when men were men and it motivates me to do a Hack when thinking of him as opposed to my heel.

Dan summed things up very well in his last sentence when he said,  “he was from an era when men were men and it motivates me to do a Hack when thinking of him as opposed to my heel.”   I feel the same way – and because of that I’ll always feel that the Hack Lift was partly named that way in memory of him.

Rule for the Hackenschmidt Floor Press

by Al Myers

Coming up in January on the USAWA Meet Schedule will be the Dino Gym Challenge – featuring a meet of Old Time Strongman Lifts. We are now into our third year of OTSM being offered by the USAWA, and I see that it is gaining momentum. This years meet at the Dino Challenge will include three OTSM lifts that closely mimic the three powerlifts. The lifts are two that have been contested within the past year (Anderson Squat & Peoples Deadlift), plus a new exhibition lift – the Hackenschmidt Floor Press. This new lift is viewed by the USAWA as an exhibition lift – meaning that it is an unofficial lift thus no USAWA records may be set or established in it. However, the USAWA rules DO ALLOW exhibition lifts to be counted in the meet scoring (Section VIII.11), thus it can legally be part of the competition. I have been working with the USAWA Old Time Strongman Chairman Thom Van Vleck on establishing an unofficial rule for the Hackenschmidt Floor Press that will be used at the Dino Challenge, and this is what we have worked up:

The setup position for the Hackenschmidt Floor Press.

Hackenschmidt Floor Press

A chest press (with a standard Olympic bar) will be performed while lying flat on the floor/platform.  The bar height, measured to the bottom of the bar from the platform, can be no greater than 15”.  The bar/plates may rest on blocks or supports to achieve this height.  The lift starts when the lifter, while lying under the bar with the bar above the chest, starts to press.  A time limit of 1 minute is given for each attempt, meaning the lifter may reset as many times as necessary within this time limit to complete a legal lift. The lift is complete when the bar is pressed completely with the lifter’s elbows locked out.  It is not an infraction to press unevenly, lock out at different times, raise the head, or allow the bar to lower during a part of the press.   It is an infraction if the hips/legs rise off the floor/platform during any part of the lift.  Once complete, an official will give a command to end the lift.

As you can see, this is a partial floor press since the bar height is set at 15 inches.  There has been an interesting discussion in the USAWA Discussion Forum regarding the development of this lift, and Thom and I have taken those comments into consideration in writing this rule.  A little over a year ago I wrote a blog outlining some of the “founding principles” of OTSM in the USAWA.   I don’t want to repeat all that here again, but here is the link for anyone who is interested – https://www.usawa.com/old-time-strongman/  Again, I want to emphasize that this is an unofficial lift and rule as of now.  I really think it is important that new lifts be tried in competition as exhibition lifts first before they are proposed for official lift status.  This allows a thorough competition evaluation of them, and if there are any “bugs in them” the rules can be fine-tuned before being presented to the Executive Board for an approval vote.  Think of it as a “trial-run”. 

George "The Russian Lion" Hackenschmidt

Now why is this floor press named the Hackenschmidt Floor Press?

I’m sure that question is being asked by some of  you reading this.  George “The Russian Lion” Hackenschmidt was a famous Russian strongman and wrestler who also had remarkable ability in weightlifting.  He also went by the nickname of “Hack”, which has been used in the name of another popular All Round Lift – the Hack Lift.  Most feel that the Hack Lift  was named after George Hackenschmidt, but from what I have read I don’t think that is the case. The name Hack comes from the German word “Hacke”, which means heels.  Thus I believe the Hack Lift originated by this name terminology, as the “lift done with the bar at the heels”, aka Hacke Lift.  However, Hackenschmidt was quite good at this movement and undoubtedly his name has some bearing on the legacy of this lift. But I’m getting off-topic here.  Another exercise that Hackenschmidt excelled at was the floor press.  At the time pressing a weight this way was not popular at all,  as a press was  meant for overhead lifting.  This was in the days long before a bench was used to press from the chest.  If you wanted to press from the chest,  you had to first bring the bar to the chest while lying on the platform, thus the origin of the Pullover and Press.  As most know, the pullover in this lift can sometimes be the hardest part, and definitely after that exertion the amount of weight that can be pressed is decreased.  Hackenschmidt was ahead of the times here.  According to David Willoughby in his famous book The Super Athletes Hackenschmidt performed the pullover and press using OVERSIZED plates, thus diminishing the effects of the pullover since the bar would come into position easier with these big plates.  I would say that qualifies him as the inventor of the Floor Press as we know it, and well-deserving to have this OTSM lift named after him.  His best lift was 361.5 pounds, which was claimed as a WORLD RECORD for over 18 years!!

Gracie Judo Club RD

by Jarrod Fobes

MEET RESULTS – GRACIE JUDO CLUB RECORD DAY

Jarrod Fobes, the meet director for the Gracie Judo Club Record Day, performs a USAWA record in the Miller Clean and Jerk.

We had a small but dedicated turn out Saturday.  Dan Wagman stepped out of retirement for “just one more” record day (I suspect that Dan is retired from lifting the same way I am retired from fighting). Newcomer Evan Sioros came and set a couple of records as he learned some of the lifts, but it was all Ruth Jackson’s show as she set a whopping 43 records! Rather she set records on 43 lifts, setting and crushing records in both the Master’s and Open categories. I myself broke the bone-head record. In the middle of the lifting I decided to set a repetition record for chin-ups. I managed 18 reps, however I forgot that the rules state that “the weight of the lifter is not factored into the overall weight of the lift”. So if any math whiz out there can figure out how to give me a record for pulling 18 reps of zero weight, I’ll be your friend for life!

MEET RESULTS

Gracie Judo Club Record Day
Gracie Judo Club
Littleton, CO
December 1st, 2012

Meet Director: Jarrod Fobes

Officials (1-official system used): Jarrod Fobes, Karena Fobes

Lifts: Record Day

Jarrod Fobes – BWT 190 lbs, AGE 35 

Miller Clean and Jerk: 115lbs
Chin up: 45lbs
Pull up: 45lbs
Hack Lift – Middle Fingers: 135lbs

Ruth Jackson – BWT 104 lbs, AGE 50

Crucifix:  22lbs
Lateral Raise – Lying: 32lbs
Lateral Raise -Standing: 22lbs
Swing – Dumbell, Right Arm:  48.5lbs
Swing – Dumbbell, Left Arm:  48.5lbs
Squat – Lunge: 106lbs
Good Morning: 101lbs
Bent Over Row:  90lbs
Deadlift – No Thumb, Right Arm:  81lbs
Deadlift – No Thumb, Left Arm: 81lbs
Deadlift – No Thumbs, Overhand Grip: 155lbs
Deadlift -Ciavattone Grip:  175lbs
Deadlift -Heels Together:  205lbs
Deadlift – No Thumbs: 225lbs
Vertical Bar Deadlift -1 Bar, 2″, Right Hand:  116lbs
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, Left Hand: 116lbs
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, Right Hand: 117.25lbs
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, Left Hand: 117.25lbs
Press – Dumbbell, Right Arm:  36lbs
Press – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 36lbs
Clean & Push Press – 2 Dumbbells:  62lbs
Clean &  Press – 2 Dumbbells, Heels Together: 72lbs
Clean and Seated Press:  56lbs
Clean and Press -Heels Together: 71lbs
Cleand and Press -12″ Base: 86lbs
Pinch Grip:  117.2lbs
Rectangular Fix: 50lbs
Curl – Reverse Grip: 55lbs
Curl – Strict: 55lbs
Curl – Cheat: 86lbs
Curl – Cheat, Reverse Grip: 86lbs
Finger Lift -Right Little: 16.25lbs
Finger Lift -Left Little: 16.25lbs
Finger Lift -Right Thumb: 23.75lbs
Finger Lift – Left Thumb: 23.75lbs
Finger Lift – Right Ring: 36.25lbs
Finger Lift – Left Ring: 36.25lbs
Finger Lift – Right Index: 38.75lbs
Finger Lift – Left Index: 38.75lbs
Finger Lift – Right Middle: 43.75lbs
Finger Lift – Left Middle: 43.75lbs

Dan Wagman – BWT 185 lbs, AGE 50

Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, Right Hand:  189lbs
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, Left Hand: 164lbs
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, Right Hand: 211lbs
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, Left Hand: 211lbs
Pinch Grip:  190.5lbs
Hack Lift – Right Arm:  275lbs
Hack Lift – Left Arm:  275lbs

Kevin Fulton & Dinnie Stones

by Al Myers

Group picture from Dinnie Stone Trip 2001.

I always like to find good pictures that supplement the history of the USAWA and the IAWA.  Recently Kevin Fulton shared this group picture with me from the day in 2001 when he lifted the Dinnie Stones in Scotland.  As most know by now, Kevin was the second American to lift both stones at the same time without the use of lifting straps.  He was 41 years old at the time. 

I can name a few lifters in this picture but I need help in identifying everyone.  If you know any of these individuals, please email me or post the names in the discussion forum and I will add it to this story.

UPDATE:  Andy Tomlin has provided some help in identifying the lifters in this picture.  There is still one lifter unidentified – so if anyone knows him please let me know!

FRONT ROW LEFT TO RIGHT:  John Monk (USA), Bill Wright (SCT)

BACK ROW LEFT TO RIGHT: Keith Murdie (ENG), Sam Hills (ENG), Dennis Mitchell (USA), Art Montini (USA), ????, Des Fenton (SCT), Andy Tomlin (SCT), Steve Angell (ENG), Neil Abery (ENG), Mike Archer (ENG), Kevin Fulton (USA)

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