Art Montini

by John McKean

This is Art from his "younger days'. This picture is prominently displayed in the Ambridge VFW Barbell Club.

” I LOVE the aches and pains every morning! They tell me that I didn’t die in my sleep!!” Then, to assert this positive life-force, eighty four year old Art Montini heads to the gym every morning at 5 AM to lift weights. HEAVY ones!

You see, Art Montini of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania is perhaps the premiere Master (over age of 40) weightlifter in the world! He has been a competitor in olympic style weightlifting, powerlifting, and all-round lifting for 64 years and a master lifter for 44 of those years.He currently holds around 250 US national records in All-Round weightlifting for the USAWA which places him as first or second on the list for most records ever ( Art laughs at his good friend and record-numbers competitor, Denny Habecker, the USAWA national president. “He’s just a “kid” of 67!”,crows Montini.).But Art has proven that heavy training, rather than lightweight “over 50” programs is the fountain of youth & vitality.

With no sign of letting up (Art has been known to leave a hospital from minor surgery and typical age related procedures to drive straight to the gym for a workout!),  Montini plans to compete in this year’s All-Round National Championships in Lebanon,PA , set a few more records in the World’s Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, and finish the year by lifting in his own , annual birthday meet in Ambridge,PA.These days in his age group division of 80+ , ole Art doesn’t have a lot of head-on competition, but is quick to reveal his current secret of success -“If at first ya can’t outlift ’em, OUTLIVE ’em!”

My Pullum Patent Bar

by Roger Davis

Pullum Bar - made to exact patent specifications

“Thought you may be interested in my Pullum Patent bar. One of my engineer friends helped me make it to the exact specifications of the 1921 Patent. It has a brass sleeve that rotates around the bar, pre-dating the Berg Olympic Bar by some years. I also have an almost full set of CWLC (Camberwell Weightlifting Club, the famous gym of WA Pullum) plates to complement it. It is a real work of art, but it lives a full and useful life rather than being a museum piece. I train with it almost every day.”

Arm Over Arm Drag

by Al Myers

" A couple of weeks ago at the Dino Gym we did a training session with the Arm Over Arm Drag. These pictures show Dino Gym member Scott Tully pulling a 400# sled over a 80 foot course for time. This exercise will test the strength of the entire upper body, along with increasing your heart rate! Eric Todd is helping Scott by keeping the rope tight and out of Scott's way, while providing encouragement." - Al Myers

Seven Priniciples for Cleaning and Pressing Dumbbells

by John McKean

Mark Mitchell, of the Dino Gym, holds the Overall Record in the Clean and Press - 2 Dumbbells in the 125+ KG Class with a lift of 230 pounds (this is a picture of that record). This record was performed in the 2004 IAWA Postal Meet.

1.) Principles of cleaning and pressing barbells apply. You need an easy clean. If you’re stumbling all over as you rack the dumbells, or have to muscle them in over the last few inches, your chances of making a maximum single, triple, or even a set of five are slim.

2.) Concentrate on speed when you clean dumbells. You have to turn the dumbells over fast which requires getting the elbows to move rapidly. Remember, you’re not doing hammer curls.

3.) Dumbell cleans are easier if one uses ‘bells with thin, flat-style plates. I prefer 12½’s myself, the fewer plates the better. Hexagon-shaped dumbells are noticeably harder to clean, at least 90’s and up.

4.) For home training, spiral-lock dumbells are best. They can be changed quickly, and you never have to worry about the collars falling off and causing potential injury.

5.) For pressing heavy dumbells it’s essential to have a solid base. Total-body work comes into play here as you must maintain tight thighs and hips.

6.) When pressing the heaviest dumbells, I prefer palms facing each other, with elbows facing forward and angled slightly outward (as opposed to elbows to the sides).

7.) Keep dumbells directly over the shoulders and concentrate on driving them straight up, always being attentive to prevent the ‘bells from wandering out to the sides.

The Farmers Walk

by Al Myers

Big John Conner of the Dino Gym training the Farmers Walk with 405 pounds per hand!!

One of the most physically taxing exercises you can train is the ole’ fashioned FARMERS WALK.  All it takes is two identical implements to carry. Just pick them both up at the same time and start walking.  This event is very popular among strongmen and is contested at many strongman competitions. I think it is also a good training exercise for All-Rounders.  It works the entire body – and when you are finished with a WALK your legs, back, shoulders, and arms will be exhausted.  The Farmers Walk is an excellent last exercise (or often called “the finisher”) to your workout.  I would recommend you do it last because if you “push it hard” you will have had enough!  Brooks Kubik made this comment regarding the Farmers Walk in his book Dinosaur Training, “if you do this exercise the right way, you won’t have anything left for any other exercise.”

Like I said, you can carry about anything in the Farmers Walk.  If you don’t have special made FARMERS IMPLEMENTS – use dumbbells.  If you don’t have dumbbells –  use 5 gallon buckets filled with sand, water or rocks. When I was a young 12 year old kid my Dad would make me carry 5 gallon buckets of milk to feed the calves. I would have to carry these buckets over 100 yards from the milk barn to the calf shed.  Sometimes, I would have to come back for more milk-filled buckets!  I remember when I started doing this chore I HATED it and considered it HARD WORK, and thought my Dad was mean spirited making me work like that. But Dad knew what was best for me, and he kept making me do this every day after school. Soon afterwards, I felt stronger and in better shape, and I had suddenly developed muscles I didn’t have before. I’m sure this is one of the reasons that first got me interested in weight training.  I could feel myself getting stronger carrying the buckets, and soon it became easy – and I LIKED the way it made me feel!  My Dad knew farm work like this would make a young boy strong, and I got to thank him today for introducing me to progressive weight training using the FARMERS WALK the FARMER’S WAY (in which the Farmers Walk includes productive hard physical work)!

Give the FARMERS WALK a try in your training program.  If you are like me, you could use a little more cardio work in your training program!  This exercise is very challenging and easy to improve on.  You can always add a little more weight to your carry, go a little faster, or maybe go a farther distance.

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