Category Archives: USAWA Daily News

A Day in the Life of Eric Todd

by Ben Edwards

Give this video 5 minutes of your day if you have ever wondered what a high level strongman’s normal day looks like. I’ve had the pleasure of competing in a few of the same USAWA contests as Eric. He is a very nice guy who has encouraging words and motivational wisdom for everyone around him. He’s also a Special Ed teacher, which isn’t what most people would guess a strongman would be. Not all strongmen are bouncers in other words. I hear that a lot from people who just don’t know how sterotypical and outdated that is on many levels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBCzgcuv7Kw&sns=fb

(WEBMASTERS COMMENTS:  This was written by Ben on Facebook, and I just think it needs to be shared here in the USAWA Daily News for those who missed it.  It gives a little insight into the life of ET, who has been a big part of the USAWA this past year.)

Writing Contest

by Al Myers

It’s been awhile since I have had a writing contest for the USAWA Daily News – so I think it’s time for another one!  The topic I’m going to choose for this contest is a “report on an unusual training implement/device that you use in your gym for training”.  The more unique the better.  I would like to hear about the purpose or function of the implement/device, as well as its history.  Every club gym I have been in has a few pieces of unusual equipment that is not seen in most other gyms – so pick something you like and write a little story on it.   The deadline for story submission is by the date of the USAWA Grip Champs – February 9th.   The stories will run on the USAWA website.  I have not decided yet on prizes – but there will be nice prizes for the winners. I promise!

Rules for Contest

1.  Submit story by February 9th
2.  Must include a picture with story
3.  Story length between 500 and 1000 words

You may submit your story to me by email, through a letter, or by writing it yourself on the USAWA website.  If you want to write it on the website and you  don’t have “author status”, send me an email and I’ll make the changes to give you this access.  It’s not hard.  My goal with doing this is to increase future writing contributions to the USAWA website.  I want to keep reminding everyone that this website was set up to represent the viewpoints and contributions of the membership, not just mine.  Now get to work!!!!!

Dino Gym Shooting Competition

by Al Myers

Dave Glasgow won the Handgun Division, as well as the Small Bore Rifle Division.

I’m sure everyone is wondering how the shooting competition following the Dino Gym Challenge turned out.   Well, it ended up taking about as long as the meet to complete!  I had several entrants in each shooting division, with some outstanding marksmanship taking place. Luckily, we had a perfect day of weather with very minimal wind.  Four divisions were contested, and each person could enter whichever division they wanted, depending on what their shooting expertise was.  Darren Barnhart was the only one to  enter all four divisions.  The four shooting divisions were:

1.  Shotgun Trap Shot
2.  Small Bore Rifle (.223 caliber and smaller)
3.  Large Bore Rifle (above .223 caliber)
4.  Handgun

Darren Barnhart entered all four divisions, showing his diversity as a shooter. He's indeed an All-Round shooter!

The TOP THREE in each division are as follows:

Shotgun Trap Shot  – 25 blue rock targets were throw from an electric trap thrower, with each shooter getting one shot per target.

1.  Darren Barnhart – 18/25
2. Thom Van Vleck – 16/25
2 (tie). Chad Ullom – 16/25

Small Bore Rifle – 5 shots at 100 yards and 5 shots at 200 yards.

1.  Dave Glasgow – 61 points
2.  Darren Barnhart – 58 points
3.  Chad Ullom – 36 points

Large Bore Rifle – 5 shots at 100 yards and 5 shots at 200 yards.

1.  Thom Van Vleck – 71 points
2.  Darren Barnhart – 16 points
3.  Dan Wagman – 0 points!

Handgun – 5 shots at 3 yards, 5 shots at 7 yards, 5 shots at 10 yards

1.  Dave Glasgow – 176 points
2.  Dan Wagman – 152 points
3.  Chad Ullom – 96 points

World Champ Dan Wagman takes aim - I just don't know at what!!!

Now for a little commentary on the days shooting.  First, I didn’t compete, but instead acted as the official to make sure everything was done on the “up and up”.  I was most surprised by Chad  Ullom.  Chad continues to show everyone that he seems to be a natural at everything.  He doesn’t even own a gun, and very rarely has ever shot one, but wanted to compete so he borrowed a shotgun from Darren to enter the shotgun contest.  He started off miserably – missing his first half dozen shots. At this point – he made a newbie mistake and jammed up Darren’s gun so it wouldn’t work anymore.  I then had to let him borrow one of mine to finish his shoot. At this juncture I gave him a few shooting tips and reminded him of the value of my shotgun, and that I would hold him accountably for it if he broke it.   Well, this motivational talk of mine must have got him focused and he seemed to “get on fire” and started hitting every target!!!  Thom was solid as expected in the Trap Shoot, but still ended up with a tie with Chad for second.  Darren won the event with a very good 18 out of 25.  Next up was the small bore rifle competition.  Again, Chad was up against a couple of seasoned shooters in Darren and Dave, but made a fine showing to get third with again a borrowed rifle, edging out John O’Brien who scored a 27.  Darren had the lead after round 1 at 100 yards, but sharp-shooter Dave eclipsed him in round 2 at 200 yards to win the small bore.  The large bore rifle had three entrants: Thom, Darren, and Dan. A controversy immediately resulted as Dan was going to enter using his 5.56 M4 Colt Carbine.  A discussion ensued that this division was for .223 caliber and above, but after a group consensus, it was determined that the 5.56 caliber was indeed just slightly larger than the .223 caliber, and thus within the rules to be entered.  Thom was one hand with his trusty 6mm Remington rifle.  I could tell by the way he carassed his gun that it was a trusty ole friend of his, and that he had an intimate relationship with it.  I want to mention something here about rifle shooting.  Long distance rifle shooting requires a steady hand and a silent concentration – not exactly the mindset that most  weightlifters have.  Most of us that have been around Dan in the weightroom know that he gets about “as jacked” as any lifter could before an attempt.  I could see his jugular pulse beating away as he set up for his shots.  I thought for a moment that he was going to pull an ammonia cap out of his pocket to give him more of an adrenalin rush.  Add in the fact that he was shooting “open sights” and that the M4 Colt is designed to be shot as “accuracy through volume”, it was not adding up well for him.  I was slightly embarrassed to tell him that not only did he not hit the target once – but that he wasn’t even on the paper!!!  Now Thom was another story.  He destroyed the target with each shot using his bolt-action rifle in systematic fashion, and won by a HUGE MARGIN.  But Thom told me afterwards that his years in the Marines trained him well for distance shooting, and that paid off in his victory in this division.  We finished the day with the handgun division.  We conducted the event under the rules established for qualifying for the Kansas concealed license.  Darren was shooting a ultralight handgun that looked like it would fit in your front pocket without being noticed.  Chad borrowed a .22 pistol from Darren, Dave was shooting a 9mm semiautomatic, and Dan was shooting a huge 45 caliber.  Quite a diverse set of handguns for this competition.  Dave showed his years as a policemen training on the 9mm that he was in a “class of his own”.  His shooting technique was superb and hit the center on practically every shot.   Dan shooting his huge 45 made it about impossible for me to tally his score as he shot the entire center of the target out, and Chad really surprised me by hitting the target on every one of his shots.  Overall, this was a great competition and a fitting ending to a great day at the Dino Gym!!!

A Poet and Didn’t Know it. Part II

by Thom Van Vleck

Here it is, the “long lost” poem from my past around 1979:

Each and every day, when time is free

I head to the weight room to pay my fee

Sometimes alone or with a friend

I lift the weights to no end

My chest, covered with muscle and sinew

Is filled with happiness that is not new

From the first rep to the last

I build strength that cannot be past

I am above the rest

In my happiness

Because weightlifting is like no other sport

It’s just me and the weights, from beginning to end

and if I am true, I will always win in the end

Now….I’m not going to be submitting this to any poetry competition anytime soon but this really got me to thinking.  What motivated me back then?  Had I lost some of that?  I “self analyzed” myself and looked for what the 15 year old me could tell the 48 year old me.

Each and every day, when time is free how do I use my free time. Back then, I looked forward to every free moment and filling it with training or thinking about training.  I was excited!

I head to the weight room to pay my fee lifting it paying the price. Every time I go to the gym I want to pay the price and NOT sell myself short.

Sometimes alone or with a friend. I can have a training partner, but you have to lift first and foremost for you!

I lift the weights to no end. I leave it all in the gym

My chest, covered with muscle and sinew. I am there to get strong!  Never forget the main goal!

Is filled with happiness that is not new. I found joy in the journey and not just the goal.

From the first rep to the last. Make every rep count, never just go through the motions.

I build strength that cannot be past. Regardless of what “chicken salad theory” says, I have to have the attitude that I can be as strong as I want to be as long as I am willing to work hard enough.

I am above the rest in my happiness. I am exceptional.  American was built on exceptional-ism.  As long as I don’t bring anyone else down in the process.  If you want to be your best you have to think you are the best and find joy in that.

Because weightlifting is like no other sport. Weightlifting is special.  If you don’t get that….I can’t explain it.

It’s just me and the weights, from beginning to end. It starts with me and ends with me.  I can want help, I can accept help…but I should never NEED help.  I take personal responsibility for all that I do and if I get help, then it’s icing on the cake.  I have to do this for myself.

and if I am true, I will always win in the end. Fate or destiny…..I believe I am in control (no matter how delusional that may be) because when I believe I’m in control then I will believe that what I do will actually make a difference and if I believe that I’m more likely to actually do it.  I must stay true to my belief if I want to have any chance at getting stronger because if I don’t, I will most certainly not get strong.

Now, I’m not sure if 15 year old Thom really believed all those things….I like to think that in some way the seeds for my beliefs had been sown.  But the reality is that I don’t know what I was thinking then…but it my thoughts can say a lot of where I’m at now.  My mother used to tell me about the “Rawlings Curse” (my birth name was “Rawlings”…that’s a long story).  It was almost this idea that those of us with Rawlings blood couldn’t help but fail.  I hated that idea.  I wanted to be successful.  I rejected her logic and decided that I wanted to be in control of my fate.  I made that decision at a very young age.  However, one time my Uncle Phil did tell me, “If I believed in bad luck…and I don’t…..you have it”.   I could let life kick the life out of me.  But I choose not to and I lift on.  It’s all a matter of how you want to look at it….your perception is your reality.  My perception is that every challenge I’ve had in life has made me stronger.  I look forward to the next challenge.  

Hoghton Barbell Club Victorious!

by Al Myers

Mark Haydock, the leader of the Hoghton Barbell Club, performing a 272.5 kg Squat at the 2012 IAWA Gold Cup in Glasgow, Scotland. Spotters include Chad Ullom (left), Alex Rigbye (center), and Steve Angell (right).

The Dino Gym was issued a challenge from the Hoghton Barbell Club of Preston, England in last weekend’s Dino Gym Challenge. Well, the results are in and have been tabulated and the Hoghton Barbell Club has came out victorious! Congratulations to the Hoghton Barbell Club!  This “challenge” was mentioned several times on Saturday and I’m sure it pushed the Dino Gym members to greater lifting numbers.  I’m very proud of the Dino Crew and their lifting in the Dino Gym Challenge, however, it just wasn’t quite enough to overcome the powerful Hoghton club.  The finish was pretty close though:  1. Hoghton BB Club 4287.7 points, 2. Dino Gym 4126.3 points.  The only “consolation prize” the Dino Gym got was that in total pounds lifted the Dino Gym had 5237 pounds to Hoghton’s  4961 pounds.

It was agreed beforehand that the points of the top three performers of each club would be added together to form the TEAM SCORE.  The Hoghton Club consisted of Josh Haydock, Alex Rigbye, and Mark Haydock.  The scoring members of the Dino Gym were Alan English, Scott Campbell, and Mark Mitchell.  Other Dino Gym members that competed in the Challenge were Darren Barnhart, Scott Tully, Dean Ross, Ben Edwards, and Chuck Cookson.

The leader of Hoghton Barbell Club, Mark Haydock, sent this note to me when he sent me his club’s results:

A brief report on todays lifts, the squat went really well, all three of us hit personal best lifts I was 6kg up on training, Josh was 30kg up, and Alex was 90kg up!! The press was a bit of a damp squid and we didn’t really feel it was much different to a normal bench press. Josh and Alex were slightly up on the deadlift poundages and finished their days lifting with a smile on their faces, but with sore bodies! I only took 2 deadlift attempts, both were very strong pulls but I am currently nursing a strained finger injury and my grip is compromised at the moment, I made both lifts with a double overhand hook grip. We will be waiting with baited breath to see how we drop into the total set of results…     Thanks Mark H

I think it is worth pointing out that Mark Haydock performed a 917 pound Anderson Squat!  That’s a big lift!!!!  Again, congrats to the Hoghton Barbell Club for winning this challenge.   The next time I see ya Mark, I’ll have those Dino Gym T-shirts to “pay up” the bet!!!!!

MEET RESULTS:

Lifts: Anderson Squat, Hackenschmidt Floor Press, Peoples Deadlift

1.  Hoghton Barbell Club – 4287.7 points

LIFTER AGE BWT SQ FP DL TOT PTS
Josh Haydock 22 80.0kg 642 264 440 1346 1293.8
Alex Rigbye 24 92.0kg 751 313 610 1674 1484.2
Mark Haydock 37 118.0kg 917 341 683 1941 1509.7

2.  Dino Gym – 4126.3 points

LIFTER AGE BWT SQ FP DL TOT PTS
Mark Mitchell 52 316# 672 365 624 1661 1329.4
Scott Campbell 38 287# 881 325 654 1860 1378.8
Alan English 29 231# 694 320 702 1716 1418.1

NOTES:  BWT is bodyweight.  TOT is total pounds lifted.  PTS are adjusted points corrected for age and bodyweight.

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