Tag Archives: One Arm

Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, One Arm

By Al Myers

Scott Tully performing the top Fulton Dumbbell Deadlift in the USAWA Record Books at the 2012 Grip Championships.

Scott Tully performing the top Fulton Dumbbell Deadlift in the USAWA Record Books at the 2012 Grip Championships.

The second lift contested this coming weekend at the USAWA Grip Championships will be the Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, One Arm. This is a great lift in the USAWA and has been contested before at the Grip Championships. It is one of my favorite grip lifts in the USAWA. Several years ago I wrote a blog over the origin of this lift. The following is an exerpt from that blog that I would like to share with you again.

Back in the early 80’s at a odd lifting meet in Liberal, Kansas, meet director Bob Burtzloff included a thick-handled dumbbell deadlift in the contest.  This dumbbell had a smooth 2 inch diameter handle.  Wilbur Miller, the “Cimarron Kid” and Kansas lifting legend,  was the hands on favorite to win this event.  Wilbur has huge hands with long fingers and was very rarely beaten in any lifting event that involved grip strength.  But this day was one of those rare days – when a young farm boy from Nebraska by the name of Kevin Fulton pulled off the upset! Upon Fulton’s winning – Bill Clark announced that this lift would be forever named the Fulton Lift.  This eventually lead to the naming of the 2″ bar as the Fulton Bar along with the Fulton Dumbbell.  As for Wilbur – upon the finish of the event he went back to the warm-up area and proceeded to pull more on this lift than he did in competition.  He went home knowing that he may not have won the event on this day,  but with the satisfaction of knowing he would next time!

This is the USAWA Rule for the Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, One Arm:

I7. Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, One Arm

The rules of the Deadlift – One Arm apply except the dumbbell used must have a handle of 2” in diameter. No knurling is allowed on the handle. The maximum diameter of the plates used is 18 inches.

I have some really nice Fulton Dumbbells that we will use in the Grip Championships.  I expect to see some really great lifts this weekend.  Since this is a One Arm event you must choose which hand you want to lift with on all your attempts. Below is the USAWA ALL TIME OVERALL RECORDS in the Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell, One Arm for the Mens Division.

LEFT ARM RIGHT ARM
CLASS LIFTER LBS LIFTER LBS
75 KG Stephen Santangelo 130 Stephen Santangelo 130
80 KG Art Montini 60 Art Montini 60
85 KG None Denny Habecker 125
90 KG Denny Habecker 100 Denny Habecker 100
95 KG None None
100 KG Ben Edwards 175 Ben Edwards 185
105 KG None None
110 KG Jeff Ciavattone 190 Jeff Ciavattone 190
115 KG LaVerne Myers 165 LaVerne Myers 187
120 KG Al Myers 170 Al Myers 170
125 KG None Dean Ross 125
125+ KG Darren Barnhart 185 Scott Tully 192

The Best overall All Time USAWA Record is held by Scott Tully with 192 pounds, set at the 2012 USAWA Grip Championships. But I’m sure you are wondering how much did Kevin Fulton lift on that memorial odd lift day in Liberal, Kansas?  It took me “some digging” but I found that Kevin lifted 195 pounds on that day in 1983!  So let’s see if anyone this coming weekend can beat this record mark set by Kevin in the pre-USAWA days!

Deadlift-Dumbbell, One Arm

by Al Myers

John McKean performing a One Arm Dumbbell Deadlift at the 2010 IAWA Gold Cup in Boston.

John McKean performing a One Arm Dumbbell Deadlift at the 2010 IAWA Gold Cup in Boston.

The third lift contested at the 2016 USAWA Grip Championships will be the Deadlift – Dumbbell, One Arm.  The name of this lift is pretty explanatory – it’s a deadlift using a dumbbell with the use of only one arm.  The choice of arm to use is up to you so pick the one you’re strongest with.  And remember you must stay with the arm you start with throughout all attempts.  I was once at at meet where a lifter tried to switch arms on his last attempt, and when told he couldn’t do that replied, “I was saving me strong arm for the hard lift!”.

The rules of the Deadlift – One Arm with barbell are followed by this lift.

E12. Deadlift – Dumbbell, One Arm

The rules of the Bar Deadlift – One arm apply except one dumbbell is used. The dumbbell may be placed to the side of the lifter or the lifter may straddle the dumbbell. The dumbbell may touch the lifter’s legs during and at the completion of the lift as long as the dumbbell is not supported by the body. If the dumbbell is loadable, the plates used may have a maximum diameter of 18 inches.

At the Grip Champs we will use a loadable dumbbell so we can add larger diameter plates.  The dumbbell handle will be a USAWA regulation handle.  For those unfamiliar with the rules of the One Arm Deadlift with bar, the main things to remember is to finish with straight legs, non-lifting hand removed from the body at finish, and center line of bar higher than the knees.  You do not need to be standing upright upon completion.  Once the lifter and implement is motionless, a down command will be given by the head official.

Deadlift – Inch Dumbbell, One Arm

by Al Myers

The Inch Dumbbell Replica that will be used at the 2016 USAWA Grip Championships.

The Inch Dumbbell Replica that will be used at the 2016 USAWA Grip Championships.

The USAWA Grip Championships will be here soon. The meet date is Saturday, February 13th, at the Dino Gym. I’m going to take this week to highlight the lifts in the meet.  A couple of the meet lift are ones that are not contested often so a little refresher on the lift rules might be beneficial as you train the lifts.

The first lift contested in the Deadlift – Inch Dumbbell, One Arm. The USAWA has tried to name lifts so the are self-descriptive in their name.  This is one that could be confusing if you were not familiar with the famous old time strongman Thomas Inch.  This lift is named after him because it simulates a lift based on his challenge dumbbell that he used in his old time strength shows. The handle of the dumbbell is 2.5″ in diameter, not 1″!

RULE FOR DEADLIFT – INCH DUMBBELL, ONE ARM:

 I8. Deadlift – Inch Dumbbell, One Arm

The rules of the Deadlift – One Arm apply except the dumbbell used must have a handle of 2 1/2” in diameter. No knurling is allowed on the handle. The plates must be firmly attached by collars so no rotation of the plates will occur during the lift. The maximum diameter of the plates used is 11 inches.

As you can see the rules of the One Arm Deadlift apply.  This means the legs must be straight upon completion, dumbbell motionless, and non-lifting hand removed from body contact before a down command is given.  Upon finish the dumbbell can not be supported by the body.  This is very much a grip lift! An increase of 5 pounds is the difference between an “easy lift” and a miss.