National Championships

By Al Myers

2019 USAWA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Another year and another outstanding USAWA National Championships!

Meet promoter Denny Habecker put on a great Championships for the USAWA. It was held in a large facility at Acernus Crossfit.   This year’s Championships was a one day meet with six lifts, so it made for a long day of lifting.

It was great to see two lifters make their first appearance at Nationals.  Chris and Eric Lestan of Frank’s Barbell Club made their National debut and both lifted exceptionally.  Chris is a young strong lifter who put up the top total of the meet, and had the top lift in several of the competition lifts.  Eric is a Junior lifter and won best lifter in the Junior Division.  He had stiff competition from Aidan Habecker, and in the end less than 1 adjusted point separated them!!!   I love to see competition battles like that!

It was great seeing Frank Ciavattone on the platform. Frank has just went through a serious surgery so he was not at 100%, but still he got a mark in in every lift.  His courage and passion for the USAWA really impresses me. Frank is a pioneer in the USAWA and has influenced many lifters through the years.

Denny Habecker and Dennis Mitchell have been regulars at Nationals.  Both of these guys hit a milestone that probably can only be topped by themselves.  This year’s Nationals marked 30 YEARS of competing in the USAWA National Championships for the both of them.  I plan to do a more thorough followup story on this accomplishment at a later time.

Michigan native Randy Smith lifted great AGAIN at Nationals.  We normally only see Randy once a year in the USAWA – but he does it right and shows up for the organizations biggest event.  Randy started in the USAWA at the same time I did, so we have lifted together now for 20 years!!!

The over 70 group had the most lifters of the meet.  LaVerne Myers, Dean Ross, Barry Pensyl, and Denny Habecker showed everyone that being a senior citizen doesn’t mean you can’t lift heavy weights!!!  I was very impressed with their performances.

The Club title at Nationals was a close race, with the Dino Gym, Habeckers Gym, and Frank’s Barbell Club all putting together great teams.  The overall club title went to the Dino Gym.

I want to really thank Judy Habecker for her help at the scoring table.  Judy does so much behind the scenes to make sure events run smoothly.  I also got to mention my new announcer assistant Aidan.  Aidan wanted to help, and he did outstanding while I had to step away from the mic to lift.  I can’t say enough about the veteran loading team of Terry and John. These two have loaded at Nationals for Denny more times than I can count – and deserve as much recognition as the lifters.

MEET RESULTS:

2019 USAWA National Championships
Acernus Crossfit
Lebanon, PA
June 22nd, 2019

Meet Director: Denny Habecker

Meet Announcer: Al Myers with assistant Aidan Habecker

Meet Scorekeeper: Judy Habecker

Loaders: Terry Barlet and John Horn

Officials (3-official system used): Denny Habecker, LaVerne Myers, Frank Ciavattone, Dennis Mitchell, Randy Smith

Lifts: Curl – Cheat Reverse Grip, Deadlift – No Thumbs Overhand Grip, Clean and Jerk – One Arm, Snatch – From Hang, Pullover and Push, Continental to Belt

MENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE BWT Cur DLNT C&J Sna P&P Belt TOT PTS
Al Myers 52 229 75 170 50R 57.5 130 175 658 616.7
Randy Smith 64 195 70 140 42.5R 37.5 92.5 132.5 515 583.3
Chris Lestan 23 275 90 192.5 47.5R 90 145 182.5 748 565.6
Denny Habecker 76 184 47.5 110 25R 35 85 105 408 522.4
Barry Pensyl 71 151 45 85 12.5R 32.5 55 90 320 448.2
LaVerne Myers 75 228 55 130 20L 35 55 100 395 446.8
Eric Lestan 14 150 40 97.5 25R 35 60 60 318 405.8
Aidan Habecker 15 203 50 110 37.5R 45 65 90 398 405.1
Dean Ross 76 232 40 110 17.5L 30 65 80 343 387.2
Dennis Mitchell 87 142 20 71 0  0 27.5 45 164 267.5
Frank Ciavattone 64 306 30 90 15R 15 40 70 260 233.7

EXTRA ATTEMPTS FOR RECORDS:

Aidan Habecker  Curl-Cheat, Reverse Grip 55
Denny Habecker Curl-Cheat, Reverse Grip 50
Barry Pensyl Clean and Jerk – One Arm 15R
Denny Habecker Clean and Jerk – One Arm 28.5R
Aidan Habecker Pullover and Push 70
Barry Pensyl Pullover and Push 57.5
Dean Ross Pullover and Push 70
Barry Pensyl Continental to Belt 92.5

NOTES:  All lifts recorded in kilograms.  BWT is bodyweight in pounds. R and L designate right and left arms. TOT is total kilograms lifted.  PTS are overall adjusted points corrected for age and bodyweight.

BEST LIFTER AWARDS

Best Junior Lifter – Eric Lestan
Best Senior Lifter – Chris Lestan
Best Master 50-54 Lifter – Al Myers
Best Master 60-64 Lifter – Randy Smith
Best Master 70-74 Lifter – Barry Pensyl
Best Master 75-79 Lifter – Denny Habecker
Best Master 85-89 Lifter – Dennis Mitchell
Best Overall Total – Chris Lestan
Best Overall Lifter – Al Myers
Best Club – 1st Dino Gym 1450.7 points (Al Myers, LaVerne Myers, Dean Ross), 2nd Habeckers Gym 1375.7 points (Aidan Habecker, Barry Pensyl, Denny Habecker), 3rd Franks Barbell Club 1205.1 points (Eric Lestan, Chris Lestan, Frank Ciavattone)

My Reflections on WSM

By Darren Barnhart

DarrenFiretruckWorlds Strongest Man 2019 is over. And the armchair commentators are already coming out on social media. So I normally don’t do this but here is my rant.

I will never say that I was the best at anything. Or that I was even competitive at the sport. But guess what…I lived it and loved it for years. Yeah I made it to Nationals a couple of times but it was way past my prime. So what was my “prime” you may ask? My “prime” was the point in which my body wasn’t broken down. Spoiler alert!! This sport can break you. It can hurt you. It can make you have bad days. But only the individual can decide when that is. Not people on social media.

So let’s go back to the early days. The days when no one had even heard of the sport. Yet there were guys getting together on their buddies farm, harnessing up with rope, and pulling farm equipment. Or grabbing the worn out combine tire and seeing how many times they could flip it faster then anyone else. This is truly where the phrase “hey ya’ll get a load of this” comes from. Those my friends were the glory days. When you train all day on Saturday and then can’t walk during church on Sunday. When you get a friendly contest put together at someone’s house then BBQ and drink beer afterward. That is the root of the sport my friends. This is what makes strongman the best.

So before you start judging my friends because of how they did this year. Judge them based on what they HAVE done. How many times they cheered their opponent on. How many times they loaned their opponent gear. How many times they smiled and thanked God for their talent and skill. This is what makes strongman the greatest sport on earth.

Take some time and Thank the early guys. The old guys. The guys that built equipment in their barn. The guys that wish to this very day that they could get out on the platform and “move heavy shit”. We are still out here and we smile every time WSM comes on TV. We don’t nit pick or belittle the guys doing it. Because we have been there.

So here goes the beginning of my list:

Scott Tully
Al Myers
Nick Best
Travis Ortmeyer
Brian Shaw
Chuck Cookson
Mark Mitchell
Lon Beffort
Willie Wessels

And the list goes on and on. A lot of these guys you may never have heard of. But they prefer it that way. That’s what makes strongman great. Thank you for what you did for the sport and what some of you are still doing. I will forever be grateful.

Exercise and Mental Health

by Thom Van Vleck

This is your brain on barbells!

This is your brain on barbells!

As many of you know I work as a Counselor at A.T. Still University.  We have several programs all related to the healthcare field and all graduate level.  My job it to make sure our students are taken care of from a mental health standpoint.

A long time ago I realized there was a connection between mental health and exercise.  My first test subject was myself!  When I was a teen I had a heavy dose of angst, depression, and anxiety.  I found that lifting weights and exercise did me a world of good.

So when I came to ATSU I started a weightlifting club.  They go by the Osteoblasters Weightlifting Club because our school is the founding school of Osteopathic Medicine.  I did it because of my interest in weightlifting but also I realized the importance of exercise and mental health.

So why does exercise impact mental health positively?  For one thing exercise stimulates the production of endorphins and enkephalins.  These are the body’s natural “feel good” hormones.  But it goes beyond that.  Exercise requires focus.  That focus takes us away from the negative self talk that often dominates our thoughts.  The things we worry about and obsess about are pushed out as we focus in the moment on the exercise we are doing.  Exercise also gives us a place where we belong.  A positive social group and interactions.  Like the USAWA!

Let’s take this a step further.  We have for a long time separated mental health from physical health.  We even call physicians who deal with mental health a whole different name!  Psychiatrists!  But I’ve preached for a long time that mental health is physical health.  The brain is an organ attached to the rest of the body.  It suffers illness just like any other organ but the symptoms are behaviors not pains.  The brain has no pain receptors so often the only way you can tell something is wrong is through behaviors.

There is now research that shows that mental health conditions are associated with reduced neurogenesis in the hippocampus.  Guess what increases neurogenesis in the brain?  You guessed it.  Exercise. Anti depressants also increase neurogenesis and that is why they are believed to work.  I think a good workout would be the preferred method.  Then if that doesn’t work try the anti-depressants.

So it’s not just muscles you’re building.  It’s mental health!  And don’t forget, Mental Health is Physical Health that involves the brain as an organ.  It’s not “All in your head….it’s all in your brain!”

1 … 112 113 114 115 116 … 483