Category Archives: USAWA Daily News

Coney Island’s Iceberg Club Lives On!

by Thom Van Vleck

Yes, it was cold!!!!!

On February 13, 2010 I plunged into the icy waters of Thousand Hills Lake as part of the Polar Bear Plunge Charity Fundraiser. The Lake was iced over with 12” to 14” of ice and they had to clear it out with a backhoe just so we could swim. The temperature was in the 20’s and with all the ice and snow….I felt like a polar bear, only I didn’t have a nice, warm, fur coat!

The fundraiser was part of a school effort. A.T. Still University fielded a team and we raised over $4000, part of $25,000 raised overall for Special Olympics. A.T. Still is an Osteopathic Medicine school with a history of “whole person” health. The Polar Bear Plunge was fitting as it has a history not as some masochistic ritual, but for health benefits.

The event reminded me of Vic Boff and the Iceberg Athletic Club in New York City. I first heard of Vic from my grandfather and about their “Polar Bear Club”. I also read about Vic when I was a kid in the 60’s and 70’s when I perused my Uncle Wayne’s Ironman Magazine collection. I recall an article or two that mentioned Vic and the Iceberg Athletic club taking their winter dip in the ice cold Atlantic Ocean on the beaches of Coney Island. They would then lie around in the snow touting the health benefits of ice cold bathing.

You might think that there would only be one group that would take a winter plunge in icy waters. But you would be wrong. There were several in the New York area and their history is as murky as the cold Atlantic and often bitter feuds have come over beach turf and who’s been around the longest. There were major groups fighting over turf in the 90’s: the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, the Arctic Ice Bears, the Arctic Icebreakers, and the Iceberg Athletic Club.

The slowpoke at the left is me.....I took my time!

Bernarr Macfadden was a physical culturist who started the ritual of “winter bathing” on Coney Island. Around 1903 Macfadden started the “Coney Island Polar Bear Club”. He believed that a swim in the ocean in winter had great health benefits. However, the club I remember most is the fabled Coney Island Iceberg Athletic Club. By most accounts it was organized in 1918. This was the one I remembered my grandfather talk of and perhaps its most famous member was Vic Boff. They are the only club that actually has a physical address. It is 3046 W. 22nd St. Brooklyn, New York, but a phone number I found is now disconnected. I have since found out they are no longer….or are they. I’m researching as you read this as they might still be hanging in there! I have contacted several people who are telling these wonderful, rich stories of a “sport”.

I am in the process of researching this interesting topic. There were numerous clubs I have found, some have been around nearly 100 years, such as the L Street Brownies in Boston. I hope to put a comprehensive story together on this topic. The fact is, it is a part of weightlifting and strongman lore. Now, I have taken the plunge and I feel a part of the legacy. I can say this; whether it is good for you or not, it will definitely wake you up!

2010 Grip Challenge

by Ben Edwards

The 2010 Dino Grip Challenge started on time, as Al mentioned already, and it ended 3 hours later – which is an unofficial record as far as I know for grip contests. Most that I have competed in have been anywhere from 5 hours to nearly 8! A shorter contest is much more competitor-friendly and allows more time to do after-contest feats and record attempts. And more time to drive back to wherever the competitors call home.

Before listing who the competitors were, I want to mention the competitors who had planned on competing, but couldn’t make it for various reasons. Kevin Fulton, Mary McConnaughey, Nick Zinna, and Josh Dale. You were all sorely missed!

I’m going to list some thoughts and observations on each competitor, starting with 1st place and working my way to 8th place. The placings were age-adjusted and also used the Lynch formula, as is standard in USAWA competitions. I like the age adjustment and use of the Lynch formula in competitions because it lets many different ages and weights compete against each other on what I believe is fair footing.

1st Place: Andrew Durniat is fast becoming a legend in the grip strength world. His accomplishments are too numerous for this meet report. Simply put, he is the 2009 Grip Champion and the US Kettlebell Champion.

He stayed the night before the contest with me and my wife, Carrie. I really enjoyed getting to chat with him and pick his brain on everything that I had planned on asking him – and a few other things that popped into my head as we spoke. He’s very friendly, has a quiet demeanor, is extremely humble and generous with his time and help, and he pays close attention to the relevant details of anything relating to strength.

I expected a mindblowing performance from Andrew and was definitely not disappointed! He won every event except for the Deadlift – Fingers, Little. He went on to pull 25lbs over my event-winning performance on an extra record attempt! His loss in that event was only due to inexperience with choosing his attempts on a lift that he had never even attempted before the contest.

With all due respect to my fellow competitors, it quickly became apparent to me that this contest was really a case of who was going to be 2nd after Andrew! He won $100 cash for his 1st place finish!

Andrew did so many record-breaking lifts that it’s hard to pick the one that most impressed me. One that really strikes me as unbelievably strong is his 308lb Deadlift – No Thumb, One Arm! That lift was 33lbs over the previous all-time record that Al Myers and I co-owned. Andrew also pulled it to full lockout – in front of his body, which I always found to be harder than straddle style – and then paused it with plenty of strength to spare. Phenomenal lift!

Andrew is an incredible addition to the USAWA membership pool. He brings a passion for strength sports and a vast in-the-trenches knowledge of many training methodologies from his personal training experience. He also generously gave out some of his great personalized shirts after the meet. I love collecting shirts from contests and from strength friends, so thanks Andrew!

2nd Place: Larry Traub was an unknown to me. He turned out to be a “sleeper” in this competition. Someone who most competitors probably wouldn’t have predicted would get 2nd place since it was his first grip contest. It definitely wasn’t Larry’s first strength competition though! He is an elite powerlifter with terrific deadlifting strength. Larry put that hard-earned horsepower to work and plowed through some heavy lifts. Along the way he set many age-group and weight class records. Larry is in very good shape and Al can attest to the fact that I had no idea Larry was 56 years old. I was very surprised since I thought he was somewhere around 48-50 years old.

He was a joy to talk to and a quick learner on the grip lifts! His homemade wine that he generously set out as an after-contest refreshment was well received. I liked the picture of Larry and his wife on the label too. Larry won $50 cash for his 2nd place finish!

Larry’s 203lb Deadlift – No Thumb, One Arm was really an exceptional lift! His bodyweight was only 2lbs more than that. And it was his first time doing the lift! He has an incredible future in USAWA competitions.

3rd Place: I won 3rd place after age and bodyweight adjustments were calculated. My performances consistently netted me 2nd place in each event, sometimes tied with others, and one 1st place. My Deadlift – No Thumb, One Arm performance really let me down, but I was very pleased to pull 175lbs on the Deadlift – Fingers, Little. An attempt at 200lbs on that lift left me with a sore tendon for my effort. I forfeited the $50 cash prize to the 4th place finisher.

I enjoyed showing a few competitors with no experience with the Deadlift – Fingers, Little how to efficiently set their fingers on the bar and what to do with their other fingers and wrist position to maximize their poundage. I think I was the only one there that had consistently trained that lift. I needed all the experience I could get because Andrew and Chad pushed me all the way to the 3rd attempt.

4th Place: Chad Ullom is a great all-round lifter and Highland Games competitor who I’ve competed with before this contest. His hand strength on the Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 bar, 2,” was much higher than he anticipated. And that’s an understatement! I heard him say that he might open with 120lbs. I told him that I estimated he would pull around the 200lb mark. He surprised himself by lifting an outstanding 212lbs on an extra record attempt! Someone coined the nickname, “Chad – I Don’t Train Grip – Ullom,” since Chad remarked during the first part of the contest that he doesn’t train grip. I think it rolls off the tongue nicely!

Chad is always very entertaining and quick to share tips or knowledge on any lift that he’s familiar with.

5th Place: LaVerne Myers is Al Myers’s dad. LaVerne (and Rudy!) has a great sense of humor and endured my wife’s comical remarks and catcalls throughout the 3 hours of competition. He has big, strong “farm hands.” I used to work for some farmers and they all had the same type of powerful hands that LaVerne has.

He had some really solid lifts but I was most impressed by his fantastic 6lb Weaver Stick – Forward! That performance (although LaVerne’s was an extra record attempt) tied Andrew’s event-winning performance!

6th Place: Dave Glasow performed very well and seemed to enjoy the grip lifts even though he had little experience with them. His 209lb Deadlift – No Thumb, One Arm was the 3rd highest (tied with Chad) of the contest! I wish I had more time to talk to Dave and Larry about lifting in general. They are both very knowledgeable and have a knack for picking up very quickly on any new lifts.

7th Place: Rudy Bletscher is incredibly nice and my wife had a great time teasing and harassing him throughout the contest. We both enjoy talking to Rudy and have seen him at several contests since 2005.

He always seems to perform better than he thinks he will. I enjoyed seeing him do some lifts that he didn’t think he was going to get initially. In particular, the Deadlift – Fingers, Little was one that he really had to grit through the discomfort to pull the solid 70lbs that he worked up to! He originally thought that the 44lb bar would be his max on this lift. He added quite a bit to that original estimate. During everyone’s attempts he good-naturedly teased me and asked why I picked this lift to be in the contest. I jokingly replied that it was because I hated everyone! I think some of the guys probably thought that was true, but of course it wasn’t. I just thought it would be a good test of pain tolerance and grip at the same time.

8th Place: Jason Payne is a friend of mine who is a very strong armwrestler. He hasn’t trained grip specifically for a long time and has lost a lot of weight, but gained a lot of fitness in the process. He’s always bull-strong regardless of how much he weighs. He was inexperienced with a few of the lifts, but quickly figured them out and dialed his form in for the next attempts.

His 176lb Deadlift – No Thumb, One Arm was very impressive since it was a lift he had never done before. It takes great balance and a strong grip to get that bar to come up evenly and then hold it at the top before the bar peels the fingers back and races back to the platform.

Jason really shined in the after-contest feats demonstration and record breaking session. He really excels at kettlebell feats and it was entertaining to watch him do flips and other exercises that required great control, strength, timing, and dexterity.

Dino Gym Record Day

Records Fall at Dino Record Day

by Al Myers

Dino Gym Record Day Participants Front left to right: Chad Ullom, Molly Myers, Al Myers Back left to right: Dave Glasgow, Darren Barnhart

This past weekend was the weekend for the Dino Gym’s double header – the Grip Challenge on Saturday and the Record Day on Sunday. Five lifters made it to the Record Day yesterday – two of which competed the day before, Dave Glasgow and Chad Ullom. The youngest lifter to compete was my youngest daughter Molly. She picked a diverse group of lifts to set records in – from dumbbell lifts to squats and deadlifts. Her highlight was pulling a 185# Trap Bar Deadlift. Chad Ullom came with his eyes set on upping his One Arm Deadlift Records. He accomplished his goals – 413 pounds with the left and 419 pounds with the right. Darren Barnhart did some great One Arm Dumbbell Deadlifts and also put up the highest mark of ALL-TIME in the Rectangular Fix at 132 pounds. He had more in him! Darren and I went head to head in the Dumbbell Walk – with him edging me out 100 pounds to 95 pounds. Both of our marks exceeded the previous Dino Gym Record. My highlight was finally getting an official Roman Chair Benchpress of 200 pounds. Dave Glasgow made it to his first record day – and did he go to work! He first demonstrated his great flexibility by doing a DEEP Overhead Squat of 160 pounds. He mixed in some overhead lifting with One Arm Clean and Jerks and One Arm Snatches. Dave is willing to try any lift in the USAWA. He picks up on the lifts very quickly. His years of throwing in the Highland Games obviously help him tremendously – as Dave is very athletic for a 50 year old. As Dave often says, “I lift to throw, not throw to lift.”

Overall, this has been a great weekend of competitions. I want to thank everyone who took the time out of their busy schedules to lift this weekend at the Dino Gym.

FULL MEET RESULTS:

Dino Gym Record Day

Dino Gym, Abilene, Kansas

February 14th, 2010

Meet Director: Al Myers

Officials (3 officials used): Al Myers, Chad Ullom, and Darren Barnhart

Results:

Molly Myers (Female, 11 years old, 130 pounds bodyweight)

Snatch – Dumbbell, Right Arm 30#

Snatch – Dumbbell, Left Arm 30#

Swing – Dumbbell, Right Arm 30#

Swing – Dumbbell, Left Arm 30#

Squat – 12″ Base 100#

Deadlift – Trap Bar 185#

Chad Ullom (38 years old, 240 pounds bodyweight)

Deadlift – Left Arm 413#

Deadlift – Right Arm 419#

Miller Clean and Jerk 121#

Scott Lift 254#

Rectangular Fix 100#

Good Morning 230#

Gardner – Full 100#

Darren Barnhart (42 years old, 295 pounds bodyweight)

Deadlift – Dumbbell, Right Arm 305#

Deadlift – Dumbbell, Left Arm 305#

Dumbbell Walk 100#

Rectangular Fix 132#

Al Myers (43 years old, 253 pounds bodyweight)

Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Right Arm 175#

Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Left Arm 165#

Dumbbell Walk 95#

Scott Lift 254#

Rectangular Fix 100#

Bench Press – Roman Chair 200#

Dave Glasgow (56 years old, 251 pounds bodyweight

Deadlift – No Thumb, Left Arm 198#

Squat – Overhead 160#

Squat – Front 265#

Steinborn Squat 242#

Clean and Push Press 176#

Clean and Push Press – Fulton Bar 198#

Scott Lift 154#

Maxey Press 170#

Push Press – From Rack 210#

Good Morning 135#

Clean and Jerk – Left Arm 100#

Snatch – Left Arm 100#

Dave Brown

by Al Myers

Dave Brown becomes ONLY the fourth person to ever pick up the Dino Gym's Inch Dumbbell Replica.

This past week the Dino Gym had a surprise visitor for our Tuesday night workout. It was my old friend Dave Brown, who was on vacation and decided to “stop by” and pay me a visit. He picked a good day – because Tuesday is our BIG NIGHT in the gym. This a big DEAL for the Dino Gym – having a STRENGTH CELEBRITY join us for a workout. It has been a few years since I have seen Dave – but he is still as big and strong as he used to be. Dave stands 6’3″ and weighs a little over 350 pounds – but carries his weight very well. His build reminds me of Paul Anderson when Paul was in his younger days. Dave has been a top level professional Highland Game athlete for 15 years. Before this, he was a record setting amateur athlete with the 28# and 56# weights for distance. Dave now resides in Redding, California and works as an engineer for a timber company. He is married to Shauna, and they have two children, a son Taylor (10 years old) and a daughter Arabella (2 years old).

Dave currently holds the WORLD RECORD in the 56# weight for height with a toss of 20’1″, which he set in 2006. I remember when I started throwing in the Highland Games (over 20 years ago) and athletes would “talk about 20 feet” in the WOB with anticipation that maybe someday someone would top that mark. Much like Olympic Lifters talking about a 600 pound Clean and Jerk. It seemed like an impossibility at the time, but the hope was always there that a SUPERMAN would come along and make the impossible happen. Well, that SUPERMAN is Dave Brown. Yet, Dave is as modest as they come. I have known him for close to 20 years and he is the same guy now as when he first started throwing. I remember many years ago when Dave was a 19 year old kid living in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was just starting in the games. Dan DeWelt commissioned me to “come down to Tulsa” to put on a Highland Games Clinic for new throwers, as I was the only Highland Games Pro around in the Midwest in those days. That was the first time I met Dave, and when we got to the weight over bar and he was matching me throw for throw – I knew he was going to be something special someday in the Highland Games. For a couple of years Dave would drive to my place so we could train together. He started going to more games. It wasn’t long before Dave turned professional and we were seeing and competing with each other several weekends a summer. And then it wasn’t long before Dave was far surpassing ALL of my throwing distances!!

I introduced Dave to an All-Round lift I knew he would excel with - the One Arm Barbell Snatch. In his first workout ever he snatched an unbelievable 170 pounds!!

Dave is a “student of the game”, and when mixed with his amazing genetic ability and work ethic, has accomplished things that others just dream of. I really believe if Dave had decided on focusing on another sport besides the

Dave has tremendous squatting ability. Here he breaks a Dino Gym record in the Zercher Harness Squat to a 15" box with a lift of 515 pounds.

Highland Games he would have been just as successful. In 1998, he tried Strongman Competition and with minimal implement training won the NAS Heavyweight Championships! And this was against seasoned Strongmen. I wonder what his Strongman career could have been if THAT was his focus? Dave also has a WORLD CLASS grip without working on it much. Many years ago at a Pro Highland Games in Arlington, Texas I will never forget him closing the #3 COC grippers with ease. This was in the days when that was a BIG DEAL! Carl Braun brought along a #3 gripper to “Challenge” Dave over our noon lunch break. I don’t even know if Dave had ever seen one before – but while he was sitting there with a sandwich in one hand and the gripper in the other he SMASHED it shut! Then he switched hands with the sandwich and #3 gripper – and did it again with his other hand! I’ll never forget how nonchalantly he did this! It just wasn’t that big of deal to him at the time. World renowned Strength Historian Dale Harder has been measuring athletes grips with a Baseline Dynamometer to get a very accurate reading of gripping strength. He has done this for over ten years now and has tested 1000’s of athletes. To date, Dave has the HIGHEST Dynamometer reading of ALL-TIME with a squeeze of 122 kilograms. Now THAT’S a firm handshake! It’s a shame Dave never gave football a try. With his size and agility I’m sure he would have had a lucrative pro career as an Offensive Guard in the NFL.

I only wish Dave would have planned his vacation so he could have made it to today’s Dino Grip Challenge. He would have been a MAJOR FORCE in the gifted lineup of grip-masters that are entered in this meet. Hopefully, the USAWA will see more of Dave Brown in the future.

Dino Gym Grip Challenge

by Al Myers

Group Picture of the athletes at the Grip Challenge Front Left to Right: Chad Ullom, Larry Traub, Ben Edwards, Jason Payne Back Left to Right: LaVerne Myers, Dave Glasgow, Andrew Durniat, Rudy Bletscher

I knew this meet had the potential of being a major “grip showdown” – but the record lifts that were done even exceeded my predictions. Andrew Durniat, of Wooster, Ohio made his comeback to the USAWA and lived up to the hype by not only winning every event but setting ALL-TIME USAWA records in 4 of the 5 events. Andrew has competed once before in the USAWA, at the 2008 USAWA National Championships in Columbus, Ohio. It was at that meet that his great gripping ability became known. In the One Arm Deadlift, he did 440 pounds with his left and 429 pounds with his right to set overall weight class records! Andrew is the 2009 US Grip Champion and by his performance today, he left no doubters as to why he is the best! A quick run-down of his highlights today – first he did 250 pounds in the one handed 2″ Vertical Bar Deadlift, followed by 308 pounds in the One Armed No Thumbs Deadlift. If this wasn’t enough he broke the UNTOUCHABLE record in the Inch Dumbbell Deadlift of 344 pounds held by Matt Graham, by lifting TWO Inch Dumbbells weighing 180 pounds apiece, for a total weight of 360 pounds. Next up was taking out Kevin Fulton’s ALL-TIME record in the Little Fingers Deadlift by becoming the first USAWA lifter to lift 200 pounds. Andy has been invited to lift in a major grip competition next month held at the Arnold Classic. In this competition he will be going up against TEN of the best grip men in the World.

Meet Director Ben Edwards Awards Andrew Durniat his Cash Prize

Pulling in a surprising second place was USAWA newcomer Larry Traub of Georgetown, Indiana. Larry is a member of the newest club in the USAWA, the Ledaig Heavy Athletics. Larry has had a story book career as a drug free powerlifter, and has won several National Championships. Larry is 56 years old, but doesn’t look much over 40. I’m hoping that he has caught the “All-Round Bug” and we will see more of him again in the future. Larry is a fabulous deadlifter, and I can only imagine how great he would do in a more traditional All-Round meet.

Third place was held down by the Meet Director Ben Edwards. Ben put in solid lifts in every event. On top of this, he ran one of the most organized All-Round meets that I have seen. From start to finish the meet was done in three hours, and it started ON TIME. Ben gave back all of the entry fee money and then some in prize money. First place received $100, second place $50, and third place $50. Being the great guy Ben is – he forfeited his winnings and passed them along to the fourth place finisher Chad Ullom. Chad had a great meet. He left two BIG extra attempt records off the scorecard – 212 lbs. in the VB and 165 lbs. in the Little Finger Deadlift. These two lifts would have given him 60 more pounds on his total. Fifth place overall went to my father, LaVerne Myers, in his very first weightlifting meet. In the last event, he tied Andy for the best lift of the day in Weaver Stick with a lift of 6 pounds. Dave Glasgow made it to his second All-Round Meet in less than 30 days, and was very consistent in all the lifts. Rudy Bletscher was the oldest competitor in the meet, but pushed hard on all the events. I was glad to see Jason Payne make it to another All-Round meet. Jason saved his BEST performances for after the meet. He did some HUGE hub lifting and block pinching after the meet was over. He even demonstrated his kettlebell routine that involves “tossing” a 70 pound kettlebell and catching it over and over.

This was a great competition. It is exciting to see new faces in the All-Rounds. I want to thank Mark Mitchell and Scott Tully who helped me judge. By the success of today’s meet, I’m sure Ben will want to host this meet again next year.

FULL MEET RESULTS:

Dino Gym Grip Challenge
Dino Gym, Abilene, Kansas
February 13th, 2010

Meet Director:  Ben Edwards

Officials (3 official system used): Al Myers, Mark Mitchell, Scott Tully

Loaders:  Scott Tully and Mark Mitchell

Lifts:  Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 bar,  2,” 1 hand; Deadlift – No Thumb, One Arm; Deadlift – 2 “Inch” Dumbbells; Deadlift – Fingers, Little; Weaver Stick – Forward

Results:

Lifter BWT Age 2″VB DL-NT Inch DL
 DL-LF Weaver Total Points Adj Pts
Andrew Durniat
 225 31 250 R
 308 L
 360 165 6 R
 1089 912.36 912.36
Larry Traub
 205 56 187 R
 203 R
 230 110 4 R
 734 646.87 756.84
Ben Edwards
 220 34 230 L
 220 R
 240 175 5 R
 870 737.85 737.85
Chad Ullom
 235 38 182 R
 209 R
 240 135 4 R
 770 630.71 630.71
LaVerne Myers
 244 65 177 L
 176 R
 180 80 5 R
 618 496.43 625.51
Dave Glasgow
 252 56 157 R
 209 R
 200 70 5 R
 641 506.65 592.78
Rudy Bletscher
 222 74 112 R
 154 R
 140 70 2 R
 478 403.43 544.63
Jason Payne
 252 44 182 R
 176 R
 200 60 3 R
 621 490.84 515.38


BWT is bodyweight in pounds.  Total is total pounds lifted.  Points are bodyweight adjusted Lynch Points.  Adj Pts are adjusted points for age correction.

Extra Attempts for records:

Chad Ullom  Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 bar, 2″, one hand:  212 lbs. R
Chad Ullom  Deadlift – Fingers, Little: 165 lbs.
Andrew Durniat  Deadlift – Fingers, Little: 200 lbs.
LaVerne Myers   Weaver Stick – Forward: 6 lbs. L

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