3x3 min at 5 mph, rest 1 min between rounds. This felt rough.
Biceps Curls
8x25
8x30
8x30
Behind the Neck Lat Pull Downs and Box Jumps
Calf Extensions
30 minutes total workout. Nice facility. Kind of dark and hot, but a nice mix of machines, dumbbells up to 55 pounds and cardio equipment. The PowerLift box jump was a nice surprise
Sheaf Toss - 16' (estimated 13' to estimated 14') finally cleared the standard PR!
Weight Over Bar - 10' (10', 10') no improvement
I PR'd the Braemar and Open Stone. I lost about 6" on the HWD and 12" on the LWD. I PR'd the heavy hammer, but lost 10' on the light hammer. I finally flipped the M1 caber and posted a score of 12:15. I finally cleared a bar on sheaf and my WOB has been flat at 10' for all three games. Numbers in parenthesis are from Thornton Celtic Festival and Colorado Scottish Festival in 2023.
Despite the improvements, I am still well behind the men's field. I would need a roughly 25-50% improvement across the board to crawl out of the cellar.
We started with stones and I was moving well. Coaching cue to get my elbow up. I wore a wrist wrap and elbow sleeve.
Next we moved to weight for distance and I was moving poorly. I really need to work on my footwork. I wore a leather glove.
Then we we went to hammers and I thought I was doing OK with heavy hammer. I had a late release followed by a couple of good tosses. On the light hammer, I had a late release, scratched my second attempt and then barely had any speed on it for my third attempt. I did not wear any support equipment.
We then broke for a lunch of pulled pork which was very good.
Following lunch we started with WOB. I made 9' and 10' on my first attempts, before missing all three attempts at 11'. I wore a leather glove and a lifting belt. My peers were at 12' and up.
Then it was time for sheaf. I had yet to clear the 16' standard the past two games and was thrilled to make 16' on my 3rd attempt. When the standards were moved to 18', I missed all three attempts. My peers are all 20' and up.
Finally it was time for cabers. The master's men selected from the following four cabers:
15'-2.75" 45 pounds
17'-0" 51 pounds
18'-0" 62 pounds
18'-0.25" 76 pounds
I got a flip on my first attempt with the light caber and then failed all three attempts on the 17' caber. My peers were all posting scores with one of the 18' cabers.
Overall, I am very happy with my performance. During the competition, I was a little frustrated being at the back of the pack, but still enjoyed my grouping. I threw with the Grand Masters (Craig, Skip, Wayne and Al) and a couple of the Masters (Josh and Tyler). Josh and Tyler managed 5th and 6th respectively.
The next event is in two weeks at the Colorado Scottish Festival. I definitely want to focus on hammers and light weight for distance.
Total workout time was just under 40 minutes. It was nice to be invited to participate in BSAG and it is a good variety of events. I have not received the rulebook, but Kim was kind enough to give me pointers. I made a point of not using any supportive equipment and filmed all of my lifts as well.
I was fortunate enough to secure a spot in Dub's Grip Classic sanctioned by GSI, hosted at Barratt Strength Premier Strongman and Strongwoman. The event drew (16) athletes and was sponsored by Arm Assassin Strength Shop, Nemesis Grips, Cannon Powerworks and Ironmind. Barratt Strength even had a food truck and supplement company on hand to support the athletes. It was above and beyond my expectations.
The event was in Colorado Springs and drew athletes from across the state of Colorado and Wyoming. My drive from Denver was just over an hour.
The event would include:
Max Gripper Close (Various rated brands)
Two Hand Napalm Nightmare Saxon Blocks (Arm Assassin Strength Shop)
On the grippers, I opened with a comfortable 66 RGC on a CPW adjustable gripper. My second attempt at 77 was good also. I also closed 83 pounds to go 3 for 3. I was beyond excited. I have grippers at 71 and 92 RGC at home and have not been able to span that gap. PR! This event was tough as a spectator. It was hard to see if the gripper was closed and harder still to appreciate the technique, focus and strength to close grippers above 150 RGC.
Next was the Napalm Nightmare. I opened way to light at 75 pounds. I wanted to get a feel for the implement. I then made lifts at 91, 116, 126, and 136 before missing 146. My plan is usually to get 2 warm-ups and then 3 legitimate attempt (5 total). In this case I failed the 6th attempt, but felt good about the effort. PR! This event has records ranked on gripsport.org.
Next on deck was the Apollon's Axle. I have trained with thick bars before, but never a proper 2" barbell. Typically, I have used a 1.9" painted pipe. The seasoning was good, but less grippy than I had hoped. I opened at what I thought was a reasonable 151 and followed that with 180, 200, 226, 241 and 251 before missing 261 (7 total attempts). I was very pleased with this result as it approached the 253 pound mark I set with a Fulton Bar. PR! This event was probably the most exciting for spectators. It also has the most impressive records having been contested since 1994 with Carl Myerscough and Lyudmila Galduchenko taking the top spots at 237.5kg and 137.9kg respectively.
Fourth up was the Mini Inch Pinch. I had fortunately trained with this exact implement at home and matched my performance in the basement making 20, 25 and 28 pounds before missing 30.5 pounds. This was the only case where I made the appropriate number of attempts (4). This implement is relatively new and there are fewer records on gripsport.org. The listed records were very much challenged by Dub's Grip Classic.
The final event was the 2" FBBC Vertical Bar. This was a mere 2" lift and the implement was very well seasoned. I opened at 103 and followed that with 133, 153, 168, and 189 before failing 204 pounds. I got greedy wanting to break 200 pounds, but felt good about the effort. PR! This is another one on gripsport.org with records going back several years.
The athletes were the usual suspects from King Kong and Rolling Hills and included Kelsie Sherman, Sarah Chappelow, Colton Storm, Jeremy Everding, Jaland Worley (host), Jesse Hagendorn, Jonathan Hamrick, Steve Millard and myself. Newcomers included Kayla and Haley Witt (junior), Shelby Delp, Clint Cook, Brandon Barratt and Konrad Sherman.
I am curious to see the official scores when they are posted. Sarah set some overall women's world records and several athletes set weight class records.
While scores were being tabulated the sponsor prizes were awarded including a gripper set from Cannon Power Works and gift cards and posters from IronMind. A gift from Nemesis Grips was given to our junior lifter who was crushing it all day on the platform. The final set of gifts from Arm Assassin Strength Shop will be announced post competition. An interesting teaser was from Michael Thomas, who donated $50 to the winner (in this case second place as Jaland was not accepting prizes) on the mini inch pinch.
Gripsport.org/lists: 93kg
Max Gripper Close (Various rated brands)
Two Hand Napalm Nightmare Saxon Blocks (Arm Assassin Strength Shop) - 136 lbs (15th)
Apollon's Axle (Ironmind) - 251 lbs (outside top 25)
