Frank’s First Time with the One Arm Deadlift

by Al Myers

Frank Ciavattone, at age 23, lifting 402 pounds in the One Arm Deadlift the first time he ever tried it.

You KNOW you are going to be good in the One Arm Deadlift when you lift over 400 pounds the first time you try it!  Well, that’s exactly what Frank Ciavattone did the first time he tried the One Arm Deadlift when he was 23 years old on December 15th, 1978.  This lift was part of the New England’s Strongest Man, which Frank went on to win (and again several times in subsequent years). Without a doubt, Frank has lifted over 400 pounds more times in USAWA competition than any other lifter and is the ONLY lifter to lift over 500 pounds in USAWA competition.  Frank’s personal record in competition is 562 pounds in the One Arm Deadlift set in 2005, which is the All-Time best in the USAWA.

Best Crucifix Lifts of All-Time

by Al Myers

Eric Todd and his USAWA record performance in the Crucifix, with a lift of 140 pounds at the 2005 Deanna Springs Memorial Meet.

I think it is only appropriate to HIGHLIGHT the best lifts ever in the Crucifix since it is our signature lift, as demonstrated by the USAWA logo.  The rules of the Crucifix are often misunderstood.  People will  assume it is the same as other similar lifts like the Iron Cross, Muscle Out or Side Lateral, but the Crucifix Lift is much different. The USAWA Rules of the Crucifix Lift is as follows:

Two evenly loaded dumbbells or kettlebells are used for this lift. The lift begins at the lifter’s discretion. The dumbbells are taken to arms’ length overhead with the palms of the hands facing each other and dumbbells touching. The lifter must bring the feet together so the heels are together and touching. The body must be upright at the start of the lift. Once in this position, an official will give the command to start the lift. The lifter will then lower the dumbbells to the side with arms’ straight and palms up. Elbows must be fully locked. The lifter may lean back to any extent when lowering the dumbbells. The wrists do not need to be held straight. The legs must remain straight and knees locked throughout the lift. The heels must remain together and the heels and toes must not rise during the lift. Once the arms are parallel to the platform, and the dumbbells motionless, an official will give a command to end the lift.

The best All-Time USAWA lift in the Crucifix is held by Eric Todd, with a lift of 140 pounds performed at the 2005 Deanna Springs Memorial Meet in the 110K Class.  This lift was judged under the strict judging of Bill Clark.  Eric holds a couple of other weight group records with lifts of 130 pounds and 120 pounds, so he is the REAL DEAL when it comes to the Crucifix Lift.  I have competed several times in meets with Eric when the Crucifix was being contested, and I am always amazed at what he does. Only four other USAWA lifters have ever done over 100 pounds – these being Sam Huff, Mike McBride, Bill Spayd, and Ed Schock (who has the top Master Lift in the Crucifix at 100  pounds). The top teenager in the Crucifix is Abe Smith, who did 70 pounds. Amokor Ollennuking has the top female lift in the USAWA with a lift of 60 pounds.

The famous picture of Joe Southard, performing a Crucifix Lift of 130 pounds in 1963.

What is the best Crucifix in history?  I did some research and their are several “claims” but most seem to have not been verified.  I consider Louis Cyr to be the best in history.  Cyr did a Crucifix with 94 pounds in the right hand, and 88 pounds in the left, for a total weight of 182 pounds. Marvin Eder and Doug Hepburn both were credited with a “Crucifix- like lift” of 100 pounds per hand, but were judged “less than strict”.  Among Old-Time Strongmen, George Hackenschmidt did a Crucifix 0f 180 pounds in 1902.  But even Hackenschmidt said in his own words that it was performed “in a less strictly correct style”.

One thing is certain – the description and rules of the Crucifix has been different throughout history, and not always conforming with today’s set USAWA rules. Actually, the USAWA rules make the Crucifix as difficult as possible with these criteria: heels being together throughout, elbows fully locked at finish, and the lift being completed upon official’s command, thus requiring the weight to be momentarily paused. Joe Southard, the great Illinois All-Rounder, did 130# in the Crucifix at 165# bodyweight in 1963.  This was considered the World Record for quite some time for a competitive Crucifix Lift. The picture of Joe Southard doing this record became well known to USAWA lifters, as it graced the cover of our Rule Book for several years.  But look at the picture closely – and you will notice the dumbbells Southard was using were not loaded evenly on both ends, which would not comply with  today’s USAWA Rules. How much that would help I have no idea. Another couple of lifters who excelled at the Crucifix in the Mo-Valley All-Rounds (before the USAWA was formed) was Steve Schmidt (110# Crucifix at 220# BW in 1985) and Bob Burtzloff (100# Crucifix at HWT in 1982).  Both of these lifts were officiated under the same rules as we use today.

The Crucifix has only been performed in one meet in the USAWA these past few years, and that is the Deanna Springs Memorial Meet, hosted by Bill Clark.  It is in the Deanna Meet EVERY year, as the events in that meet don’t change. The Crucifix Lift is the perfect example of a true “odd lift”, and for this reason makes a great “poster lift” for the USAWA .

Bill Clark and the Zercher Lift

by Al Myers

The founding father of the USAWA, Bill Clark, making a 405 pound Zercher Lift.

I recently found this picture of our USAWA  founder, Bill Clark, performing one of his favorite lifts, the Zercher Lift.  The Zercher Lift was named after the famous old time Missouri strongman Ed Zercher. This picture was taken in the early 1960’s at a meet at the Leavenworth Prison, which Bill was promoting.  Bill’s best lifetime Zercher Lift was 455 pounds – which would still be the best at most USAWA meets today. In a true Zercher Lift, the bar is taken from the platform, and not from a rack or stands. Notice that Bill is not even wearing a belt!

Tuesday Night at the Dino Gym

by Al Myers

This week's Tuesday night training group at the Dino Gym.

“Man – I love Tuesday nights!!”  That is my feeling every Tuesday night at the Dino Gym, because that is our club’s big group workout night of the week.  EVERYONE tries to make Tuesday night to train. The Dino Gym is a club gym, and membership is by invitation only.  We probably have 30 plus members that train at the gym at least once per month, and many more who live a ways off and just show up for a workout every now and then.  It is a “key gym” – meaning that each member gets a key that allows them to train when it is convenient for them, sometimes with another gym member and sometimes by themselves.  I often do several of my workouts by myself in the early mornings before work.  Occasionally, others are on the same schedule and I get someone to train with, but not always.  The Dino Gym caters to several aspects of strength training.  We have powerlifters, highland game throwers, olympic lifters, strongmen competitors, and of course my lifting interest, All-Round Weightlifting. It is quite interesting just watching the different gym members train – everyone has a different training focus and routine.  Most all members are actively competing in a strength sport and different members are always preparing for an upcoming competition.  There is NEVER  down time in the Dino Gym!

But Tuesday nights we all come together and train as a group  for a workout.  I “hit the gym” around five, and often don’t leave till things are “wrapped up” which often is as late as ten.  Some guys come early and leave early, while others come a little later and finish later. I like to be part of ALL OF IT!!  The problem is that when I’m in the gym I want to train, so I keep doing more and more until everyone’s done and I’m totally wiped out!  Four to five hours of continuous training is seldom recommended by ANYONE,  and I can just imagine the “experts” would say I am over-training. But I have done this for years and seem to never tire of it, and always look forward to Tuesdays. One thing it does for me is build up my training endurance, which I feel helps me on days of competition.  A long day of competition is nothing compared to what I put  myself through weekly on Tuesday nights.

Dino Gym member Chuck Cookson pulling his FIFTH rep at 600 pounds in the deadlift!

One of the things that makes me love “Tuesday Nights” is the hard-nosed, all-out training that is going on.  There seems to be energy and excitement  in the air, and it is contagious!  Everyone in the weight-room has one unified purpose – and that is to get stronger. If you are interested in doing a sissy workout, the Dino Gym is not the place to hang out at.  We don’t ALLOW anyone to “take it easy” on Tuesday nights – if YOU don’t know how to train hard we’ll introduce you to 20 rep squat sets or some timed deadlift singles.  I find myself “feeding” on everyone’s training intensity and I just want to push myself all the harder.  Watching efforts like  Scott hitting set after set in time squats with over 400 pounds, Chuck hitting heavy sets of 5 in the deadlifts, and Mark using weights over 500 pounds in the Zercher Harness Lift provides visual motivation more than words would ever do.   I lift harder than I would by myself, mainly because I don’t want to let the guys down.

As I said the Dino Gym has a very diverse group of members.  We have members who have been around forever, like founding members Mark Mitchell and Chuck Cookson, to young men just getting started, like Tyler and Matt and several others. We have inexperienced lifters just getting started, and we have VERY advanced competitors, like professional strongman John Conner.  Everyone helps everyone  get stronger.  That is what the Dino Weightlifting Club is all about.

Congrats on the New Website

I would like to thank Al for all his hard work on the new website.  He is a good friend of the USAWA and all of us and a credit to the iron sport in general.

I know that the annual meeting is coming up at Nationals and I wish I could be there, but I know that the guys who will be there will represent the USAWA well and I look forward to see what comes out of the meeting.

1 … 440 441 442 443 444 … 496