by Dave Glasgow
LEDAIG HEAVY ATHLETICS
PRESENTS:
18 DEC.-2010 1330 HRS.
RAINBOW BEND, KS, USA
THIS EVENT WILL BE IN A HEATED BUILDING!
FOLLOWING THE EVENT, A CATERER MEAL WILL BE PROVIDED, AS WELL AS LIBATIONS!!
PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND. I WOULD ALSO REQUEST AN RSVP.
QUESTIONS? DGLASGOW@COX.NET
SEE YOU THERE!!
by Al Myers
Meet Director: Al Myers and the Dino Gym
Meet Date: Sunday, February 13th, 2011 10:00 AM-4:00PM
Location: Dino Gym, Abilene, Kansas
Sanction: USAWA
Entry Form: None – just show up
Entry Fee: None
Lifts: Record Day – Pick any lifts you can set a USAWA record in!
Contact me at amyers@usawa.com if you have any questions.
by Al Myers
Denny Habecker (left), leader of Habecker's Gym and Art Montini (right), leader of Ambridge BBC relax together prior to this past year's National Championship. From the looks of this friendly picture, it's hard to tell that their clubs are in a heated battle for the 2010 USAWA Club of the Year.
As most of you know, one of the new programs I developed last year was the USAWA Club Award Program. I did this for the main reason of encouraging club participation in the USAWA, with the hope that clubs will become more actively involved. I really believe the future success of the USAWA lies with clubs. The many lifts we do are difficult to learn and it takes someone who is experienced in All-Round Weightlifting to be able to mentor and teach others, which happens in a club environment. It also takes a clubs support to be able to host and promote competitions. I know I couldn’t put on the meets I do at the Dino Gym if it wasn’t for the support of the gym’s membership. These guys provide “the muscle” needed to make a meet setup successful. Often all the work they do is “behind the scenes” – but they know how much I appreciate them!!
I am VERY PROUD to say that this year MORE CLUBS are registered as “member clubs” of the USAWA than ever before in the history of the USAWA. We have 10 clubs registered! This makes me extremely happy – because I feel that the promotion of club involvement is working. So I created a Club Award Program to recognize the clubs that are the most involved. It is a very straight-forward points program and the points can be calculated directly from information available on the website. The previous year’s winner is not eligible the following year, but is responsible for giving out the award to the next year’s winner at the Annual General Meeting in conjunction with the National Championship.
Club Awards are determined by adding up club points using this 4-Step System:
1. One point awarded to the club for EACH USAWA registered member that lists the club as their affiliated club on their membership application. This designation is also listed beside the members name on the membership roster.
2. Two points awarded to the club for EACH club member that participates in the National Championships, World Championships, and Gold Cup. Points are awarded for each competition, so if one club athlete competes in all three of these big meets it would generate 6 points for the club.
3. Three points awarded to the club for EACH USAWA sanctioned event or competition the club promotes.
4. Four bonus points awarded to the club for promotion of the National Championships, World Championships, and Gold Cup.
1. Habecker’s Gym – 26 points
2. Ambridge BBC – 19 points
3. Frank’s Barbell Club – 17 points
4. Clark’s Gym – 16 points
5. JWC – 12 points
The TIME is not up yet! Clubs STILL have till the end of the year to add points to their total.
(WEBMASTER’S NOTE: The following was written about Howard Prechtel by Bill Clark in the February, 1990 issue of the Strength Journal. It is the BEST STORY I have ever read concerning the life and lifting career of Howard Prechtel. It is worth sharing again for those who missed it the first time.)
by Bill Clark
Howard and Noi - an uplifting couple.
An All-Rounder is a person who gets a thrill out of lifting anything that isn’t attached – and some things which are. Possibly no individual in the USAWA more truly personifies the all-round mentality than Howard Prechtel. The 64-year old Cleveland native has been picking up iron for 45 years and seems to be enjoying it more now than ever before. Training is even made easier by coaching Noi Phumchaona, his wife and fellow all-rounder. That’s them in the picture.
When Howard lifted at John Vernacchio’s Valley Forge open last November 11th and finished off the day with his exhibition of the Travis Lift, it was simply another chapter in the rather amazing saga of Howard Prechtel and the iron pile. Howard was born in Cleveland and grew up there, dropping out of school to join the service when he was 17. He fought at Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima and was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds that eventually were the reason he’s still lifting iron at the age of 64. After war service, Howard returned to Cleveland, bounced from job to job for a decade, went thru a marriage, and wound up in a hospital with shrapnel from an old war wound threatening his future.
Along the way, Howard had become intrigued by strongmen, such as Warren Lincoln Travis and Louis Cyr. At age 31, Howard started to work on the things the old-time strongmen did. Now, 33 years later, he’s still at it. At the Valley Forge meet, Howard banged out 108 reps in the Travis Lift with 1027 pounds in 75 seconds. When Travis was at the top of his game, he did 100 reps with 1000 pounds in 75 seconds. And he was far short of being 64 years old. That effort, which was done under careful scrutiny headed by USAWA President John Vernacchio, currently is not an approved USAWA record – but the effort is on the table – not dead.
It also is the extension of a remarkable lifting career. Howard’s efforts have been aimed at three Travis specialties – the Roman Chair Sit-Up, the Hip Lift, and the Back Lift. He also has returned to Olympic lifting and has captured national and international honors. He’s lifted in two world masters meets and numerous national competitions. Howard’s record surge goes back to 1961 – not long after his stay in the hospital. He came up with a one-hand effort of 1020 pounds in the Hand and Thigh. That was on January 12th, 1961 – more than 29 years ago. In November, 1963, he broke the mark of Travis which had defied those who tried… he hip lifted 1025 for 105 reps in 75 seconds. It was 16 years before Howard would beat the mark again. In May, 1979, he did 108 reps with 1109 in 75 seconds. That effort remains his personal record.
In the Roman Chair Sit-Up, he started in 1973 with 713 pounds and today has raised the mark by over 200 pounds to 932. His efforts in the Back Lift border on the frightening. Travis had done 1000 pounds for 3000 reps in 101 minutes, and a total of 5,000,000 pounds in three hours, nine minutes. In 1980, Howard did 3547 reps with 1070 pounds in 85 minutes to erase Travis from the books with 3,795,290 pounds. Then, in June, 1982, he made 5460 reps with 1111 pounds in three hours, nine minutes to obliterate Travis’ mark with 6,066,060 pounds. Travis had done 1000 pounds for 5000 reps in the same time period.
Who knows what Howard will do next. He still keeps an active schedule as an Olympic lifter. After all, he was third in the 198-lb class Olympic Trials back in 1956 and loves the overhead lifts. Plus – he has Noi to train in those lifts as well. He’s become a leader in the USAWA, both on the platform and in the meeting room. He’s the chairman of the Ohio chapter of the USAWA and a member of the USAWA board of directors. he holds 60-64 age group records in the bench press feet in the air (90 kg), RH C&J (45 kg), Continental Clean (100 kg), RH deadlift (100 kg), Hack lift (127.5 kg), Hip Lift with traditional bar (648 kg), Jerk from Racks (90 kg), Neck Lift (115 kg), Two-hand DB press (62.5 kg), Two-hand Military Press with BB, heels together (72.5 kg), Pullover and Pushup (82.5 kg), RH Snatch (45 kg), Front Squat (127.5 kg), Steinborn Lift (92.5 kg), and Zercher Lift (137.5 kg).
Howard’s sincerest hopes for 1990 are that repetition records will be approved by the USAWA and that his mark set at Valley Forge will be accepted by the USAWA as a true record. If the rep records become a reality, look for Howard to load up the back lift again and see if he can get 7,000,000 pounds next time. If he does, you’d best bet on Howard. The barrel-chested, short-haired military determination of the 17-year-old fighting a man’s war on Guadalcanal has not diminished one bit.
by John McKean
Howard Prechtel as a young man, sitting and relaxing as he poses for a picture with over 1000 pounds on his back!
Howard Prechtel phoned me to describe, in his typical factual but low key manner, his idea for a meet where IAWA World Champions would strive to set individual world records in their favorite lifts. He was most pleased to inform that the Wide World of Sports was VERY interested in TV coverage! Of course a large Gold Cup would be awarded to each successful contestant in this “World Champions Record Breakers” meet (in later years , Gold Cup meet was easier to say & inscribe on trophies!).
Soon, all lifters were wildy excited about this concept, and planned to travel to Cleveland( Lakewood), where the meet venue was a large High school, famous for its legendary football teams, and other athletics. However, as Howard later told me, with a bit of mirth in his normally somber tone, one prominent US lifter wasn’t too thrilled. Seems this specialty lifter had not ever entered or won a World Championship, but, in his own ,rather unhumble opinion, was very worthy of competing ( a legend in his own mind !) in this unique record day event. He phoned, more than once I believe, and pleaded, begged, and implored Howard to let him appear before the TV cameras! But Howard was always very principled, and held his ground – ONLY legitimate world champs would grace the stage!
Another famous lifter was quite excited to demo his skills to a televised international audience. But, though “sparse” of hair,had a bit of vanity to him and often wore an absurdly thick , wavy brown wig when out on the town. So, in preparation for his network debut, he had his wife, a professional hairdresser, dye his sidehair to yield a perfect, flowing brown tone to exactly match the shade of the 6″ muffet that was to be pasted to the top of his bare skull.Only problem was, our boy fall asleep during the dying process, the extra time converting his remaining real hair to jet black!! The hair piece had to remain at home, and fellow contestants had to bite their lips to suppress chuckles when they saw their newly done old pal, the darkest haired chrome-dome in history!
During the meet, everyone marveled at Howard’s organizing skills -the weight set up & appearance of the large auditorium was spectacular! The Gold Cups on display lit up the room to create added excitement & atmosphere of a truly important, historic event. The only disappointment, and it really seemed minor at the time due to everyone’s enthusiasm with the lifting, was that the filming crews never showed.
Spectator involvement may have been the largest ever -as mentioned this was a Saturday at an athletic based high school and most student athletes were there for Saturday training. These kids didn’t even mind sharing their spacious weight lifting room with competitors; they were thrilled to see real competition style lifters warming up beside them. One of the bigger football players , a nice,polite young man, couldn’t help himself but ask my (then) 12 year old son,Rob, what he could possibly be lifting in what was deemed by them a virtual “professional” weightlifting contest. When Rob described his intent to do a hand and thigh with 800 pounds, the senior linebacker almost fainted! And when Rob went off to lift, EVERY athlete crowded in to watch a grade school child pull a hard fought 800 ! In fact, Rob was so intent on this performance that he apparently broke tiny blood vessels in his cheeks and was red faced for a week!!
In this, and following Prechtel meets, lifters were supplied every comfort and convenience by Howard. He was, indeed, a Bob Hoffman of all-round lifting, and even looked like the ole “Father of Modern Weightlifting”, with a similar beneficial demeanor! We’ll miss ya, Howie, your meets and your character were pure quality, and your hard work & dedication to promoting them will forever remain as “golden” as your cups!