Tag Archives: Dino Gym

Grip Championships

By Sanjiv Gupta

2024 USAWA Grip Championships

Group picture from the 2024 USAWA Grip Championships

Ten USAWA masters athletes took the platform to contest the 2024 USAWA Grip Championships held at Dino Gym in Abilene KS. Weigh-ins and rules briefings were conducted, and the meet was contested using three officials, Chad Ullom, Randy Smith and in training was Sanjiv Gupta. We started with the Pinch Grip, Strict and conservative openers were taking as lifting got underway. Being a grip event, the texture of the plates makes a big difference. The best competition lifts were between 80 and 120 pounds with Jason taking the top spot. We started with 25 pound plates, then 35 pound plates and finally 45 pound plates as the center plates and evenly loaded change plates on either side.

Next was the Vertical Bar, 1 Bar, 1” and hand declarations were made as this can be contested with the left or right hand. The range on this was more extreme with best competition lifts between 115 and 225 pounds. Ben had the top spot and did not even open until everyone else was done. Then came the Deadlift, Fingers, Index. This lift is as much about finger strength as it is about pain tolerance. The range on this was pretty extreme (95-225 pounds) with some lifters just taking a single attempt. Chad had the top spot. Chad opened along with Ben at 205 pounds after the rest of us were done.

Then came the Deadlift, Fulton, Ciavattone Grip. This lift is tough as hand size is as much a factor as raw grip strength. The range of lifts were from 173 to 318 pounds. Chad had the best lift at 318 pounds and took a successful extra attempt for a record at 323 pounds. Finally, we contested the Rim Lift. This is a relatively new lift that we contested on a bar with 20-inch collar to collar spacing. While straddle, hack or conventional deadlift is acceptable, we had one straddle lifter and everybody else pulled conventional. We used plates with a shallow rim depth for my liking. The range of lifts was tight with lifts between 180 and 290 pounds. Chad again had the top spot at 290 pounds.

A fun time was had by all.

MEET RESULTS:

2024 USAWA Grip Championships

February 17th, 2024

Dino Gym

Holland, KS

Meet Director: LaVerne Myers

Meet Scorekeeper: Sanjiv Gupta

Officials (3 official system used): LaVerne Myers, Chad Ullom, Dave Glasgow, Sanjiv Gupta, Lance Foster

Lifts: Pinch Grip – Strict, Vertical Bar Lift 1 Bar 1″ One Hand, Deadlift Index Fingers, Deadlift Fulton Bar Ciavattone Grip, Rim Lift

WOMENS DIVISION

LIFTERAGEBWTPINVB1DLIFDLFBRIMTOTPTS
Stacy Todd4119580180L150173180763705.1

MEN DIVISION

LIFTERAGEBWTPINVB1DLIFDLFBRIMTOTPTS
LaVerne Myers79216100160R1602632709531142.6
Randy Smith69196110180R1202632359081065.5
Chad Ullom52230105185R22531829011231051.3
Ben Edwards48230100225L2052832501063959.9
Sanjiv Gupta52200100160L125243250878886.6
Dave Glasgow7026090115R120233235793807.3
Jason Payne58286120160R95253260888784.8
Lance Foster5823690170R160173210803781.1
Chris Todd44278110170R160223250913721.7

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

EXTRA ATTEMPTS FOR RECORDS:

Chris Todd Pinch Grip Strict 125

Stacy Todd VB1bar1″ 200

Chris Todd VB1bar1″ 180

Sanjiv Gupta VB1bar1″ 170

Chad Ullom VB1bar1″ 200

Lance Foster DL Index Fingers 170

Sanjiv Gupta DL FB CG 253

Chad Ullom DL FB CG 323

Randy Smith DL FB CG 273

Dave Glasgow DL FB CG 243

Club Championships

By Al Myers

MEET RESULTS –

2019 USAWA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

USAWA Club Champions - Ledaig Heavy Athletics

USAWA Club Champions – Ledaig Heavy Athletics

The battle of the USAWA Club Championships was heated at the Ledaig Club on this past Sunday.  As been the case these past few years, the Club Champs have been a “2 horse race” between the hosting Ledaig HA Club and the Dino Gym.  The victory has been an even split over the past 6 years – with each club standing at 3 wins while the other club was the runner up.   So this year was GAME SEVEN to see who would would reign supreme of the best of 7.  HATS OFF to Dave and the Ledaig HA Club as they put the smack down on my Dino Gym Club.

I always really enjoy going to Dave’s.  He has built the ultimate home gym.  He has a power rack that would make any HS strength coach drool over, plus loads of steel plates and seasoned bars.  As you look around his gym everything sweats strength.  As been the tradition of the Club Championships each club brings club members with the top three performers in each event being the “scorers”.  This gives an advantage if you bring several lifters as if someone has an off event it doesn’t hurt the team score.  But this year Dave and I could only manage to barely fill our roster of 3 lifters so every lift  of every lifter was important.

Runnerup Club - the Dino Gym

Runnerup Club – the Dino Gym

I once seen a T-shirt that had the printing of “Youth and Skill are no match for Old Age and Treachery”.   Well – this pretty much sums up Dave. He definitely schemed up some  “fast ones” on me for this club championships.  All above board of course so I’m not saying he cheated or anything like that. First of all I noticed he picked up a RINGER for his club that caught me by surprise.  He didn’t even pre-register him before the meet thus keeping his secret intact until it was time to show his cards on meet day.  For those of you who don’t know Eddie “THE DYNAMO KID” Johnson you will after this meet.  Eddie is a gifted Highland Game athlete who made his first venture into the All Rounds at this meet. His explosive strength is off the charts and he lifted fantastically.  He’s so athletic he just takes to the All Round Lifts with ease.

But then the treachery continues.  I have worked hard to get John “THE HOSS” Douglas to join the Dino Gym Club this past year, and he was been a solid addition to my club.  I’ve even made big promises to him like I’d give him a gym tshirt and give him a sandwich when he comes to the Dino Gym.  So I was feeling good.  But “lo and behold” Dave steals him back from me and he’s there representing the Ledaig Club!!! How did Dave do that???  I still pondering how that happened.

I actually felt like it was close after the first couple of events.  Ole Dean and Dad were pushing hard on their lifts.  But then Dave puts in this special rule about using your non-dominate hand in the Clean and Jerk with the Dumbbell for the 3rd event and it starts to get “in our heads” a little, and after a big discussion of what really constitutes your non-dominate hand Dave just says “use the hand you conscious tells you too”.  I pretty much knew it was over for us then as Dad and Dean were scratching their heads in confusion as to which arm to use.

But his treachery is not over yet!!!!  His next trick had to be one for the ages. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve never seen this type of sabotaging your opponents before.  At this point Dave declares it’s time for lunch before the last event the Dumbbell to Shoulder. He had his good buddy Gomez come in with his food truck and he freshly baked the best pizza you’ve ever had and brings it into the gym for us to eat. It’s piping hot and  the tasty aroma just fills the gym. He followed that up with homemade bread pudding with his special whisky sauce. Plus Dave brings in a sampler pack of Sam Adams to just add to the temptation.  The Dino Gym Club was doomed at that point.  Dean ate so much pizza he couldn’t tie his shoes, ole Pops was just sitting on the bench in a food coma, and I was polishing off my second beer.  The whole time Dave just sat in his big chair with a smile on his face not eating a thing!!!!

Great meet and great times!  But now I’m calling for the best of nine.

Meet Results:

2019 USAWA Club Championships
Ledaig Heavy Athletics Club
Rainbow Bend, Kansas
Sunday, December 8th, 2019

Meet Director: Dave Glasgow

Official (1-official System used): Dave Glasgow & Al Myers

Meet Scorekeeper: Al Myers

Meet Caterer: Gomez with his amazing pizza

Lifts: Curl – Cheat, Reverse Grip, Deadlift – 2 Bars, Clean and Jerk – DB, Dumbbell to Shoulder

1. Ledaig Heavy Athletics – 2197.6 Adjusted Points

LIFTER AGE BWT Curl DL C&J DB
Dave Glasgow 66  249.5 160 370 86.5L 134
Eddie Johnson 28  269.5 225 410 139.5L 214
John Douglas 56  310.5 200 310 86.5L 214

2. Dino Gym – 1834.5 Adjusted Points

LIFTER AGE BWT Curl DL C&J DB
Dean Ross 77  236 95 210 30L 80
LaVerne Myers 75 229 120 270 35L 99
Al Myers 53 233 155 450 30L 99

Notes: BWT is bodyweight in pounds.  All lifts recorded in pounds. R and L designate right and left arms. Adjusted Points were calculated using age and bodyweight corrections.

Dino Gym Spring RD

By Al Myers

DINO GYM SPRING RECORD DAY

Group picture from the 2019 Dino Gym Spring Record Day

Group picture from the 2019 Dino Gym Spring Record Day

What an exciting weekend at the Dino Gym!!!  We celebrated LaVerne’s 75th birthday with a record day and a big fish fry afterwards.  The weather was perfect for a fun day.

Seven lifters made their way to the gym for the event. Each lifter set their “usawa max” of 5 records each. I want to really thank these guys for making it, as a few of them came quite a long way.  Our President, Denny, made the longest drive from Pennsylvania.  Dean never misses an event at the gym and made his normal drive from Oklahoma.  Lance and Scottish Johnny came from Kansas City, and John Douglas made his several hour drive from western Kansas.

LaVerne putting his new cane to use!!!

LaVerne putting his new cane to use!!!

Many great record day lifts were made.  As I inputted the results a few really stood out to me.  Regrettably, I was tied up with work and made it to the gym late so I missed out on most of lifts.  Scottish Johnny put up a 425# front squat which is a huge lift for a lifter over 40. The birthday boy LaVerne put up some great finger lifts. Big John put up over 400 pounds in the Neck Lift, and Lance combined many different types of lifting to put up the most well rounded set of records.  Dean exerted himself fully by back lifting and harness lifting over 1000 pounds. Denny put up big records in the one arm dumbbell deadlift with both arms.  My highlight was doing the Lurich Lift for the first time and realizing I like it much better than the Hack Lift!

The evening festivities were held on my deck.  We had a few other gym members join us that night – including Brandon, Casey, Hunter, Molly, K dog, Katie, and Cale.   Each of us took our time giving a roast and gag gift to LaVerne for his birthday. Even though we didn’t get the 75 new records I was hoping for, we did give LaVerne a birthday he won’t forget!

Meet Results:

Dino Gym Spring RD
Dino Gym
Holland, KS
May 4th, 2019

Meet Director: Al Myers

Scorekeeper: Al Myers

Lifts: Record Day Lifts

John Strangeway – BWT 207#, Age 40 years
3 Official System – LaVerne, Denny, Lance
Front Squat: 425#
Deadlift – No Thumbs: 474#
Deadlift – Ciavattone Grip: 418#
Finger Lift – Left Index: 135#
Finger Lift – Right Index: 135#

LaVerne Myers – BWT 235#, Age 75 years
1 Official System – Denny
Finger Lift – Left Little: 65#
Finger Lift – Left Thumb: 71#
Finger Lift – Right Thumb: 71#
Finger Lift – Left Index: 90#
Finger Lift – Right Index: 111#

John Douglas – BWT 314#, Age 55 years
3 Official System – Denny, Lance, LaVerne
Front Squat: 350#
Bench Press – Feet in Air: 275#
Bent Over Row: 303#
Deadlift – Trap Bar: 501#
Neck Lift: 410#

Al Myers – BWT 233#, Age 52 Years
3 Official System – Denny, LaVerne, Lance
Back Extension: 150#
Lurich Lift: 579#
Deadlift – 2 Inch Dumbbells: 241#
Habecker Lift: 320#
Wrist Curl: 230#

Lance Foster – BWT 348#, Age 53 Years
3 Official System – LaVerne, Denny
Anderson Press: 135#
Clean & Jerk – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 50#
Deadlift – No Thumbs: 275#
Harness Lift: 1240#
Bench Press – Fulton Bar: 144#

Dean Ross – BWT 235#, Age 76 Years
1 Official System – LaVerne
Back Lift: 1050#
Harness Lift: 1010#
Bench Press – Feet in Air: 135#
Bench Press – Hands Together: 135#
Back Extension: 75#

Denny Habecker – BWT 193#, Age 76 Years
3 Official System – LaVerne, Lance
Press – From Racks: 100#
Push Press – From Racks: 100#
Deadlift – No Thumbs: 243#
Deadlift – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 147#
Deadlift – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 187#

2018 Yearly Awards

By Al Myers

Members of the Dino Gym who attended the 2018 USAWA Nationals enroute to a club victory and the winner of the 2018 Club of the Year. (left to right: Cale Dunlap, Al Myers, Brandon Rein, Dean Ross, Cody Lokken, and LaVerne Myers)

Members of the Dino Gym who attended the 2018 USAWA Nationals enroute to a club victory and the winner of the 2017 Club of the Year. (left to right: Cale Dunlap, Al Myers, Brandon Rein, Dean Ross, Cody Lokken, and LaVerne Myers)

Every year since I’ve been the USAWA Awards Director (2009) the USAWA has given out special awards recognizing individuals who the membership feels should receive “extra attention” for their contributions and efforts.   These awards are entirely selected by the membership, with the nominations and voting done by the USAWA members.  All I do is tally the votes and organize the ordering of the plaques.  However, I also get to have the honor of presenting the awards, which is something that I really enjoy doing and makes the work I do all worthwhile.

Every year the Awards Presentation coincides with our banquet at the National Championships.  This year we had our banquet at a fantastic seafood restaurant in Cocoa Beach.  However, we thought we were going to have a private room but this was not the case!  We were all seated at a couple tables side by side in the large dining area – and a live band was performing!  Needless to say, a traditional awards presentation was not going to take place so I improvised and handed the awards out individually after the meal.

Listed below is this year’s winners.  This information is stored on the website in the history archives. Again, congrats to all of the winners!!

 

2017 Award Winners

WINNER RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year Al Myers Eric Todd
Leadership Award Denny Habecker Al Myers
Sportsmanship Award Dean Ross LaVerne Myers
Courage Award Frank Ciavattone Dennis Mitchell
Newcomer Award John Douglas Greg Cook
Club of the Year Dino Gym Schmidt Barbell Club

 

Dino Gym: Club of the Year

By Al Myers

The nomination & voting period is over  for the 2017 USAWA yearly awards, to be awarded at the National Championships in several categories for outstanding performances within the USAWA.  I have just finished the tabulations and I am getting ready to contact the awards shop to get the awards made up.  So – I KNOW who the winners are but that’s still a secret until the awards presentation time!  But there is ONE AWARD that is announced ahead of time – the USAWA Club of the Year.  The reason it’s announced early is that it is really not a mystery as to who the winner is as this is the one award that is based on generating points instead of votes.  I have outlined this point system several times in the past so I won’t rehash all that now.  What I’m trying to say is this – anyone can add up the points on their own as ALL of the information is available on the website to do so, thus this winner is “no mystery”.

No club can win an award like this based on one individuals performance or effort.  It takes contributions of several.  I want to thank EVERYONE who was part of CLUB DINO GYM this past year, because this is EVERYONE’S AWARD.  I was VERY pleased how our gym functions were attended by gym members.  For the year 2017, the Dino Gym had a total of 16 lifters joined the USAWA that listed the Dino Gym as their member club. I want to recognize and thank these lifters now (in alphabetical order): Emily Burchett, Cale Dunlap, Ben Edwards, Calvin Heit, RJ Jackson, Cody Lokken, Zach Lucas, Dan Mather, Al Myers, LaVerne Myers, Molly Myers, Jason Payne, Brandon Rein, Dean Ross, Chad Ullom, and Dan Wagman.

The final standings for the 2017 USAWA CLUB OF THE YEAR (only top 5 listed):

1.  Dino Gym – 41 points

2.  Schmidt Barbell Club – 25 points

3.  Habecker’s Gym – 23 points

4.  Ambridge Barbell Club – 17 points

5.  KC Strongman – 13 points

As per the original rules for the Club of the Year, the defending USAWA Club of the Year is not eligible the following year, and instead is responsible for “passing the title” at the next year’s awards presentation.  Thus, Frank’s Barbell Club, the 2016 USAWA Club of the Year, is not in this year’s  rankings.

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