Tag Archives: Chuck Cookson

National Postal Meet Reminder

by Al Myers

Dino Gym member Chuck Cookson lifts 656 pounds in the 12 inch base Deadlift in the 2010 USAWA National Postal Meet.

I just want to remind everyone that the deadline for the 2010 USAWA National Postal Meet is the last day of December.  If you only do one postal meet – do this one.  The USAWA Postal Meet Director John Wilmot picked three lifts for this meet that ANYONE can do – 12″ base deadlift, heels together clean and press, and the cheat curl.   Make sure you include the signatures of the officials that judge your lifts.  For postal meets, you may use someone who is not a certified USAWA official and your lifts will still count for placings.  However, lifts MUST have a certified official in order to set a USAWA Record (and THREE certified officials for a IAWA record).  This information is recorded on the result sheet.

The USAWA Postal Meet Series has been a big success these past few years.  John Wilmot deserves the credit for this.  He really believes in Postal Meets as a way of encouraging participation.  And I agree with him!!  All you have to do is do the lifts in your own gym – and it doesn’t even require any expense!!!  It doesn’t get any easier than that.

This year I am going to recognize an OVERALL Postal Meet Champion.  The scoring for this will be very straight-forward.  You will receive points for EACH Postal Meet (of the four) you compete in throughout the year.  If there are 10 competitors, first will receive 10 points and last will receive 1 point.  If there are only 5 competitors, first will receive 5 points and last 1 point, etc.  The National Postal Meet will be worth double points.

There also will be awards for the winners in the National Postal Meet – and you get ALL THIS FOR FREE!!!

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.

Trap Bar Training

by Al Myers

Dino Gym member Chuck Cookson set a new Dino Gym Record in the High Trap Bar Deadlift this week, with a lift of 800 pounds.

The Trap Bar Deadlift has been contested in the USAWA since 1996. I think this is one piece of equipment that every gym should have. The original Trap Bar was the Gerard Trap Bar developed by Al Gerard, a powerlifter from North Carolina, over 20 years ago. Since then several other companies have developed Trap Bars that are very similar, but with minor design changes, getting around the original patent held by Al Gerard. For those not familiar with a Trap Bar, it is an apparatus that contains a frame around the lifter, and has parallel handles located at the lifter’s side for gripping.

Trap Bar training is beneficial and supplemental to deadlift training for several reasons. First of all, it gives a “different line of pull” than deadlifting with a straight bar. By having your arms to your sides, the hips and legs are engaged much more than a bar deadlift, with less demands being placed on the lower back. It is easier to maintain good lifting technique in keeping the shoulders up and the back curved (instead of rounded). More weight can be lifted with the Trap Bar than a straight bar, unless you are a very experienced deadlifter. The grip is easier to maintain. Also, unlike a traditional deadlift where bad technique can lead to “hitching”, it is impossible to “hitch” a Trap Bar Deadlift. I have in the past trained young kids in weight training during the summer, and I always include the Trap Bar Deadlift as one of their key exercises. It is very safe for young kids to do as long as you limit the maximum you allow them to lift. I have a rule that I only allow them to lift up to 150% of their maximum squat set with the Trap Bar. So if they want to improve their Trap Bar Deadlift – they better be improving their squat! I once started training a young girl on the Trap Bar Deadlift, and immediately she complained about the “rough knurling” on the handles. Well, at the end of the week when I was reviewing the kid’s training logs, I noticed she had written the name of this lift as “the Death Grip”. Apparently she misheard me call it “the Dead Lift”, and innocently named it what she thought it should be called!

The "Hex" Trap Bar

The "Hex" High Trap Bar

The Baier Trap Bar


I am not going into set and rep schemes done with the Trap Bar. There are several good programs that can be done -and in the gym we have tried them all. Describing all of these programs would take more space than I have for this story. We also have a couple of other types of Trap Bars in the gym – one with 3″ elevated handles (only regular handles are allowed in USAWA competition) and one very unique Trap Bar given to the Dino Gym by Shawn Baier, which we call the Baier Trap Bar. It has three adjustable handles with diameters of 1″, 1.5″ and 2″. The height of the pick is 12 inches from the floor (a normal Trap Bar pick is 9″). The use of these High Trap Bars is great for giving variety to Trap Bar Training. We will often add chains to the Trap Bar in order to increase the difficulties at the top of the lift. Chains really help in developing a quicker pull, as less weight is on the bar at the bottom position. I even like to do Trap Bar training in the same workout as straight bar pulls. I find I can do them after regular deadlifting and still able to workout heavy on them.

The Trap Bar Deadlift is going to be a big part of All-Round competition this year. It is in the USAWA National Championships and in the IAWA World Championships. This seems like reason enough to get one for yourself – if you haven’t already. You won’t regret it – and the progress you will make with it will pay off in overall strength gains.

Middle Fingers Deadlift Showdown

by Al Myers

Chuck Cookson pulling 340# in the Middle Fingers Deadlift.

More on the finger strength of Hermann Goerner…

Hermann Goerner trained the deadlift in many different ways. Pulling was always a part of his workouts – but he never really trained to have a maximum deadlift. He considered the variations of the deadlift to be more “showing” and useful in his strongman performances. He did one arm deadlifts in many different ways – thumbless grip, normal grip with no hook, grip with a hook, bent arm style, etc. He also did two hand deadlifts with different variations – such as an overhand grip with no hook, bent arm style, 2 bar deadlifts, finger deadlifts, etc.

This brings me to the topic of the day – The Middle Fingers Deadlift. Of all the Finger Deadlifts, the Middle Finger is the one where the most weight can be lifted. The rules of the Middle Fingers Deadlift are simple – you grip the bar with the middle fingers only (No other fingers may touch the middle finger when it is gripping the bar) and you do a deadlift. It is allowable to use an alternate grip on the bar.

Sam Cox topped Chuck's lift, with a lift of his own of 345 pounds.

Hermann Goerner claimed a best in the Middle Fingers Deadlift of 308 pounds set in the 1920’s. Compared with his other finger lifts, I don’t feel this “best” was anywhere near what he was capable of doing. The other day in the gym we had a Middle Fingers Deadlift impromptu competition – just to see what could be done. None of the guys participating in this are in training for finger lifting competition – and several of them had never even done a Finger Deadlift before. I was very surprised how well a couple of them did.

What is the best Middle Fingers Deadlift of All-Time???

I did some research of past USAWA record lists, and a brief internet search, and this is what I have found. I do not present this as an official list of the best Middle Fingers Deadlifts, as I am sure there are Middle Fingers Deadlift marks that I am not aware of. Also, some of these marks may have been judged by different standards. Some were in competitions and some just witnessed.

(Only lifts above Goerner’s Middle Fingers Deadlift of 308 pounds need apply)

Top List for the Middle Fingers Deadlift (that I am aware of)

1. 411 pounds by John McLoughlin.  Done at the German-American Athletic
Club in New York City in 1954.
2. 403 Pounds by David Horne.
3. 400 Pounds by Kevin Fulton.  Done at the 1994 Super Grip Challenge.
4. 345 Pounds by Sam Cox.  Done at the Dino Gym in Abilene, Kansas
in 2009.
5. 340 Pounds by Chuck Cookson.  Done at the Dino Gym in Abilene, Kansas
in 2009.
6. 330 Pounds by Steve Sherwood.  Done at the 1992 British Grip
Championships.
330 Pounds by Steve Gardner.
330 Pounds by John Gardner.
9. 309 Pounds by Bill DiCioccio.  Done at the 1994 Gold Cup.

If anyone knows of other lifters who have exceeded Goerner’s Middle Fingers Deadlift of 308 pounds, please let me know and I will gladly give them credit and put them on the list. Or do it yourself – and beat a “Best” of Hermann Goerner.

Other Middle Fingers Deadlifts that should be mentioned:

230 Pounds by Mary McConnaughey. Done at the 2005 Goerner Deadlift Dozen. This is probably the top women’s mark of all time.

237 Pounds by Roy Mason. This is probably the best Middle Fingers Deadlift for a lifter over 75 years of age. Roy weighed only 150 pounds when he lifted this.

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