Clark's Gym 3rd Quarter Postal Meet

[Abe Smith]

I was on hand along with another new USAWA lifter, Tony Lupo, to complete the 3rd quarter postal meet under Bill’s strict judging. I weighed in at 176 lbs and now 40 years young. The one arm clean and jerk went well…I did 135 with both arms, cleaned 145 with the right arm but could not jerk it to arms length. So I claimed a 135 lb clean and jerk with the right hand. I believe that currently this takes the top spot for this lift. Then we moved on.

I was hoping to hit 250 lb push press. Instead hit a 265 push press. Very happy here. Also thinks this lift takes a record for weight class.

Then the most dreaded lift the straight legged deadlift occurred. My issue with this lift is two fold (1) added work for the back and (2) due to my chicken legs, a perfectly straight knee means my leg is not straight but an obtuse angle. Thus, after much back and forth on what is considered as “straight legged” actually means we began. 280 lbs went well, but 300 lbs cause my knee on my left leg to buckle backwards. Causing much alarm to not only myself but also to Bill and Tony. Tony did quite well but after seeing what happened to my knee went conservative with this lift. The left knee is currently not in the best shape.

We then went to complete several other lifts for the day. Did 200 lb reverse hang clean for 4 reps, clean and push press 265 and did a reverse snatch and press of 170 lbs. The reverse snatch seems like a decent lift and for a group that has a ziegler clean and van damm lift the reverse snatch seems like a decent lift to bring into the fold.

Bill started the day off looking a bit worn but by the end of the day’s lifting looked and sounded like his old self. Hope to see good turnout for the 3rd quarter postal.

[KCSTRONGMAN]

Sounds like some outstanding lifting, Abe! We did ours back in August the same day we did the world Postal. Is the reverse snatch just a regular snatch with your grip facing the opposite way?
ET

I'm the lyrical Jesse James

[dwagman]

Hey Abe, that’s some awesome lifting. If watching you wasn’t like giving Bill a caffeine injection, nothing will wake that boy up.

Sorry to hear about the stiff-leg DL. I had a Forum discussion about how horrible a lift it is a few years back. You felt what every exercise physiologist and functional anatomist knows—DON’T DEADLIFT THAT WAY! I have to admit that it bothers me deeply when I hear/read things like your story because it just doesn’t have to be that way. If there has ever been a lift that all-round should retire it’s that one, followed by the good morning (at least the way the rules read it must be executed—EXECUTE THAT MOTHER, TOO!).

Thanks for sharing and I hope your injury will heal quickly so that you can continue to set new records.

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[Abe Smith]

Hey ET – you are correct. The reverse snatch is just the snatch with a reverse grip. It was apart of the other group postal that shall not be named. Probably the last year I will be doing those postal competitions. Seems like too much to do on a monthly basis. I hope your hammy heals up well big guy.

Oh boy Dan…you are right there there are some lifts I would love to see go away. I really enjoyed reading Al’s post some years ago about lifts that should vanish. But in the future, I will be smarter on things I know I have limitations…use my mind over matter is becoming the name of the game for me – and something I know you know very well!

[KCSTRONGMAN]

Hope your knee heals quickly as well.

Most of the lifts I would like to see gone are due to their silliness factor. Lifts like the Steinborn and Zercher are part of what makes all-round all-round, but there is certainly an element of danger to both of them. Probably the closest I came to see someone die or sustain SERIOUS injury on a lift was on the Travis lift, when they almost pulled around 1200 pounds over on themselves (if memory serves). I believe that lift is named after the great Warren Lincoln Travis, who was a true all-rounder. I dislike the silly lifts such as combine a hodgepodge of different lifts to name after someone. Or anything where you wear a plate on your head. Might as well lift in a jester costume… Or a lift like the inman mile, which has never actually been done, so it can truly not have any records, since no one has actually completed a mile as such. It is not called the inman 200 yards.

I'm the lyrical Jesse James

[dwagman]

Geeez ET, thanks for nothing!

I’ve been giving some thought to the Wagman-Todd lift where you combine the multiple Wagman lifts with the multiple Todd lifts…

—
Dan

For Body Intellect Brochure click here: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0fcsokZWooW_1B1uZmL1AI5fA#BI-DW

Those who are enamored of practice without science
are like a pilot who goes onto a ship without rudder or
compass and never has any certainty to where he is going.
Leonardo Da Vinci; 1452-1519

[Abe Smith]

If we were to say, relax, the rules for the Inman Mile to allow for a safety bar to be used instead of a straight olympic bar, I think I can get the full mile. The weight never bothered me as much as how my arms feel numb and cold the longer the arms stay above my heart. I always felt like at any time the bar would just fall.

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