British Grip Championships 2007

[Steve Gardener]

I'm posting this here so as to encourage more than the usual grip guys to compete. Please note the 'bonus' event. There will be a crate of beer (24 tinnies) as a prize (if, after winning, you wanna share...)

The first three are as they should be - those agreed and debated so as to cause no argument:

1) Grippers - usual standardized rules and a test of crushing power

2) 2 hand pinch - usual standardized rules and a test of pinch grip

3) V-Bar - usual standardized rules

4) One hand lift - I'll post rules and photos later. We need to get VP to make up a bar.

5) Table Top Wrist Curl. The WR is 300-kilos and I've done 140 in ther past so like the one hand lift I wanna see some mad plates being loaded. If I can hit 160+ I'll be well happy.

The deadlift hold is now a bonus event. As some of know we are heavily involved on strongman so we want them to come, watch and 'have a go'. Grip athletes can also do the 6th lift but no points will coulnt towards the main competition.

6) Deadlift hold using 'farmers bells'. A test of your grip endurance. Which is why it's last so as to not exhaust your power on the other events. Grip guys can show the strongmen what they can do. Please note this isn't from the floor (unless you wanna showboat ha ha) but will be a short range movement so as to work grip over deadlift power. That also opens it up to other lifters.

This competition, as grip comps go, is gonna be a heavy. Choose your weights carefully. Usual rules apply - rising bar on all except grippers and sixth event (will be around 130-150 kilos a hand). 4 attempts per lift. More rules to follow.

[wallyboy]

is there a date for this yet ?

[Steve Gardener]

may 19th

[Steve Gardener]

And the entry fee is £15.00 and must be paid by April 19th (1 month before).

[Steve Gardener]

Open Class
S Gardener aka Mobsterone
Sam aka CoC 3
Andy Christie
Mike Corlett aka Hubgeezer
Chris James

Chris Williams

Novice Class - note some name may be subject to moving to open class.
Pete 1006
Paul 'Noob Saibot' Wood
Tat 70 (guy)
Duncan 'dunkster' Williams (one of our guys)

Women
Ali
Liz Horne (Dave's better half)

[dunkster]

I thought Pete was in the open class as he could close a #3 etc

[Steve Gardener]

He may be. I wanna see this close first.

[Steve Gardener]

Competition report
With four days active rest (some walking and stretching only) my back was spasming all week - right up to the morning - this may have been a combination of competition anxiety and over training. Ibuprofen and paracetemol and the little buzz I always get on the day... I was ready.

Grippers were... easy. Left hand was as it always is - an easy three (2.96) but right hand was STRONG!! I actually though I might go for the 4.01 but had no need. Then, as we were half way through 2HP Chris James arrived and started catching up. With both hands at 3.29 (due to his log showing sets of 5 reps with only a '3' I suspect this was not enough). As you'll see later I nigh on got CoC3's 4. Still, as before, a first is a first.

Pinch - no problems with lower weight but as per Dunksters video hard work with the 98-kilos. I also felt like a tiny bit of metal or something sharp tore the skin in the usual place. Obviously I am well used to our equipment but pulled 99.3 on Davids just a few weeks ago. It was all I could do on the day and David was far enough ahead that had I pulled a potrential (on paper) 103 he'd have still beat me handily. But 2nd got me some points and evened out the scores.

V-Bar - off, off, off. 100 then 130 and I knew it was not gonna be a high day. The skin on my hands felt sore almost immediatly and I knew I would need to work hard to get close to 150-kilos. Chris was solid as a rock here - good baring in mind he was finally up to speed with the rest of us. A review of the results shows that this event is where I lost the top spot.

One hand lift. Several weeks ago I was pulling 265 RH and 245 LH. This was using the same handle but away from the body. One session with Nick and hand against thigh (as all use with super weights) and I hit 280 LH and 300 RH (see Sam doing same on video using identical technique). 3 sessions out and I could only manage 265 with either hand. That made me go back the same day (another daft idea - I was 'off' for a week after) and try again only managing 1 more rep (2 x 1) with the same weights. One very hard session with max weights (265 LH and 280 RH) and loads of reps with lighter weights but form, form, form (195-kilos only) was very hard - some micro skin tears. 1 session away from the event (last Monday) and I did 265 LH and 280 RH. I had a tad more in my right but nothing left in my other hand. This was also under a week out from the competition.On the day...frigging fire! Easy warm ups, locked in tight form. No errors and the usual gamesmanship (seeing what selections others made). A safe 250-kilos both hands, then (if memory serves) 280 RH and 265 or 275 LH. I did get confused and was debating with Nick as to whether or not I had taken 250 as a warm up or lift. Regardless I was close to the top and took 300 a fourth with 300-kilos left handed. I was well happy as I had worked out that a best with my left would have been either the 280 from a few weeks back or, if 'on' 300. 300 it was. My right hand was a lock and I had a lift to go. I knew, without any doubt whatsoever, 320 was a done deal if I wanted it. But we have a points game to play - could I do 340?? David has a 305 kilo TTWC but what if I miss 340 but KNOW I can get 330?? All this back and forth... someone says 330-kilos is more than Herman Goerner... sod it 330 it is (indeed it's just over 727). The video show me pull the chain tight, then - without relaxing 'pop' it off the floor. Could I have done 340? Yes. On May 19th I could have pulled 340-kilos. But it is history now and not only did I do 330kg - the most ever in this kind of event but got the total of 630-kilos as well. Sweet

TTWC: Dunkster platform is snug and so much that it is a very tight fit into the rack. We had not tested it and apart from adjusting for height as we set it up yesterday that was it. Using the slightly thicker 700-kilo rated bar (may actually add some weight to the total poundages everyone pulled) we set off. The bar quickly started to take chalk with 13 lifters at 4 attempts each. David, after the event, said he'd have prefered a bar with centre knurl and standard thickness but, of course, well all used it. I had only used this bar myself three times to practice on so had no real advantage. My log shows three sessions at Gymantion on a standard bar and the rest with dumbbells. use of the bells laso stopped me getting the injuries others suffered from. On the day 160, 180 and 200 were good. I had predicted (based on percentages) that I MIGHT just hit 205 or possibly 210-kilos. Getting 220-kilos was therefore bloody great but... I spoke to Nick (very good at judging this things) and he said I may have had 10 or possibly 20-kilos more. I felt that I hadn't reached my abolute max and that is easy to tell as there is no bone deep ache today (mild cramping yesterday and some hand and skin soreness only).

I knew, as I watched Jose and George, our Spanish competitors (we also had one from the USA - Mike Corlett) try and hit 240+ that I had only done enough for 2nd. That David had said weeks out that he was not competing and then, literally as he turned into the street, came 100% to have aq go and won shows his depth of strength and talent but how those 3 tiny points that seperated us stung. Not that he won - but that I was so BLOODY close!!

I can say, hand on heart, that I never trained so damn hard in my life on grip exercises and the demons or whatever it is that drives me were at full blast. In the what mkust be 16 weeks I trained I may have only made mistakes a few times and the rest was 100%. Did I make any mistakes yesterday? I might have done a bit more on grippers but was ahead enough of the others, after Chris tore his bicep and left so his points became nothing for me to worry about that only the extra advantage of he percetanges might have helped. On pinch I was only a little off and it was my best on the day. What happened with the V-bar?? I really don't know as it was almost identical to the super match with Theo. 1 hand lift - I could have gone a gnats ball higher and I dare not look to see if the few extra kilos would have pushed me over at the end - that really depends on if David had more on the TTWC. The wrist curl - my best ever and maybe, just maybe, a little more. Watching David appear to struggle at one point but knowing his limits are, when 'on' a hell of a lot higher and as Mikeal says - did he do just enough? Ahh who knows. Best not to dwell. I'll rest up and do some strething this week. A VERY light session Thursday and next week I'll do some general training. All weights will be down and I'll ease back slowly.

A great turn out, great help from Nick, Mike, Loz and Harry. Awesome prizes - I really, really love the 'HUGGGHHH' hammer from the guys at LKB and straight into the beer, cake, pizza and icecream and it was a good. day. It could have gone on ages but instead we ended up at about 7 ish. All in all a good day.

[chrismccarthy]

It is all too easy to look back and say "what if.....?" Best to put those thoughts behind bars and use them to fuel your workouts for future Comps/Feats!! Bearing that in mind, though, I was surprised to hear you say you were doing just enough for the win in the grippers.
By the way, I owe you 2 quid for spectating fees!

[Steve Gardener]

Cool - make it a beer when we meet. Left hand gripper for sure was pretty much maxed but right hand was spot on and I had more. The later attempt at Sam's 4 - I actually thought it might have touched briefly - shows that. In the MGC and Euros they have access to a 3.8 and I may need to borrow that for next year.

As I said I won grippers 'handily' (he he) but it is also a points game sometimes and so you either go all out for max points or hold something back for the next event. David gets this spot on.

[chrismccarthy]

I'll take you up on that.
I guess there's no easy answer to the "pacing yourself" question...