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North American Grip Sport Championship 2013


andurniat

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I had a great time at my first Grip Sport Nationals! Andrew and company did an outstanding job with everything -- I was impressed.

It was a lot of fun to watch the different competitors in action:

  • Eric Milfeld - I don't know how he was able to perform the way he did (breaking world records and such) after two months of sub-1,000-calorie days. Incredible!
  • Kody Burns - This guy seems to be strong at everything!
  • Jedd Johnson - It's so fun to see Jedd get fired up. His reactions were priceless when he hit the highest number on the 2-hand pinch and when he took the lead in the wrist-roller event.
  • Andrew Durniat - It's inspiring to watch him perform -- especially the way he effortlessly moved through yesterday's medley.

As for my personal performance, I pretty much hit the numbers I was expecting for the main three events. I performed slightly below my expectations in the medley, and bombed on the wrist roller. I just couldn't get a grip and kept slipping. I really regret not having tried the wrist roller out earlier in the day just to know what to expect.

I was happy to achieve a couple of milestones, however: a body weight 2-hand pinch as well as reaching the "elite" status for the 105 kg class (assuming the threshold is a 770-lb total).

It was great meeting everyone and I look forward to next year!

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Eric,

AWESOME seeing you again and finally getting the chance to compete with you. Great job. The wrist roller can really be a bastard sometimes. I messed up on it in 2011.

I got your email and will look into it this week. Just trying to get recovered from the traveling and get a plan for both work and grip promo's this week.

Take care!

Jedd

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Big shout out to Maryanne McKeague who handled the score sheets and computer data entry during the competition yesterday! It is hard to put into words what Maryanne does for Grip. This kind of stuff is a LOT of work and she does it at several contests a year.

Thanks a bunch Maryanne!

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Thanks everyone for such a great event! Thanks judges, score keepers, sponsors and everyone else. Made it home (MN) tonight at 6:45pm. Left Wooster this morning at 5am. I needed to use a fat gripz on my steering wheel all the way home because I was too sore to close my hand all the way. Anyway, great experience. I need to increase my training volume a ton!

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Another amazing contest. I thought last years comp was hard to beat, but Andrew found several ways to make it even better this year !

Andrew as always is a sight to see ! Top Notch performance ! Congrats on another victory brother !

Eric Milfeld did some amazing things. Shattering world records that might not ever be broken ! Pound for Pound one of the best grip athletes I've ever seen.

Jedd was fired up ! It was awesome seeing him perform as well ! Nice to see the intensity and power he has go to work !

Brad Ardrey really impressed me with his level of strength and determination. The numbers he hit are straight up crazy considering he just got off crutches not too long ago. True Badass !

Met Eric Roussin. A great guy, very strong with one hell of a future ahead of him in grip. He brings alot to the table, and to the armwrestling table I'm sure ! lol. One strong dude.

Congrats to a couple new training partners of mine, Shayne Scantland (my brother), and Jon Vance on making it to your first grip contest. You guys have worked your asses off to get there. Jon has put in alot of work and is strong as hell already. I think he's gonna be a great addition to the sport. Very knowledgable and all around great guy. Glad I reached out to find you on the board.

Shayne was a half pound over before weigh ins and had to take off down the road to burn some off to reach weight. He did great for never really training grip before a couple months ago. He has showed tremendous determination in training. Congrats on making it to Nationals Shayne. Great Job bro. Keep up the hard work. Thanks for all your help.

It was nice to see everyone else and all the new faces. Hope to get to talk to some of you new guys in the future. Great Job everyone.

Thanks to Chris Rice, Sean Dockery, Maryanne, and all others involved in making this a great contest ! - Peace !!!

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74kg Class

1) Eric Milfeld

2) Micheal Hann

3) Darrin Shallman

4) Shayne Scantland

83kg Class

1) Eric Milfeld

2) Stew Rosendaul

3) Zach Coulter

93kg Class

1) Kody Burns

2) Paul Knight

3) Brandon Gerber

4) Jonathon Vance

5) Jacob Layer

105kg Class

1) Andrew Durniat

2) Brent Barbe

3) JT Straussner

4) Paul Knight

5) Andrew Pantke

6) Eric Roussin

7) Nick Bronkall

120kg Class

1) Jedd Johnson

2) Nick Rosendaul

3) Martin Braun

4) Greg Gorecki

5) Ryan Maier

120kg+ Class

1) Brad Ardrey

2) Nick Pivato

3) Luke Rose

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Absolute Scoring

1) Andrew Durniat

2) Jedd Johnson

3) Brad Ardrey

4) Kody Burns

5) Brent Barbe

6) JT Straussner

7) Paul Knight

8) Eric Milfeld

9) Brandon Gerber

10) Andrew PAntke

11) Jonathon Vance

12) Nick Pivato

13) Stew Rosendaul

14) Luke Rose

15) Micheal Hann

16) Nick Rosedaul

17) Eric Roussin

18) Darrin Shallman

19) Jacob Layer

20) Shayne Scantland

21) Martin Braun

22) Nick Bronkall

23) Greg Gorecki

24) Ryan Maier

25) Zach Coulter

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Big shout out to Maryanne McKeague who handled the score sheets and computer data entry during the competition yesterday! It is hard to put into words what Maryanne does for Grip. This kind of stuff is a LOT of work and she does it at several contests a year.

Thanks a bunch Maryanne!

i have to second this. she was a tremendous help at my event in April. very unselfish and a HUGE help.

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Lost and Found items:

1) Valeo weightlifting belt - I believe I saw Kody using it for axle.

2) David Horne Vulcan gripper

3) purple water bottle - Bryan 1st Brethren Church - guessing from one of Stew's girls

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Another shout out for Mary Ann - She and Doc pretty much run Gripmas anymore (and other contests as well) - not sure I could do it without them. And very sure I hope I never have to! Lots of tremendous performances Saturday - by the old veterans of course but the crop of new guys to Nationals were very impressive. What I noticed was that the old veterans stayed strong longer and were still going strong at the end when others were showing more fatigue. Great group of guys once again - I have yet to meet someone at a Grip contest I wouldn't enjoy being around more. And my grandson was impressed with the whole thing - especially being turned loose in Andrews giant playhouse! I re learned something also - I hate watching - judging was all right but I really like competing a lot more. Next time!

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thanks to the loaders and judges. Mostly I was working on Doc's platform and I don't think he even left to go to the bathroom all day long. dedication.

grippers went okay with a pr right and good number left. in the past I used to be good for about 20# better than I hit in training. it seems like that's done with and I'm hitting much closer to home numbers in comp. strangely the same thing happened with 2hp numbers a couple of years ago. so, I had been hoping for a bigger comp jump than I got but, am happy with my right hand. my left hand kicked butt. I was only beaten lefty by paul, andrew and brad ardrey. and tied with kody and martin. considering I am not a gripper guy and that I never even trained my left hand specifically until a couple of months ago this was much much better than expected. also, I didn't manage to knock the block off the table while I was reaching for it this year.

2hp. somehow I strained my right trap setting grippers. I don't know how much of a roll this played in the 2hp and axle but it bugged me all day. Not until I mentioned it to my wife did I put anything on it. she coated it in Raw Heat after the axle and it started to loosen up. wish I had done that before hand. Anyway... I had cleaned my pinch with alcohol and a scotch brite pad. I don't think I scrubbed it enough since the comp plates still felt much smoother. I changed my plan and came in way earlier than I was going to. took 205, 215, 225. 225 didn't even break the ground and felt terrible. passed on my 4th. not what I wanted but, I was able to adapt and get lifts in which was the smart move.

axle went ok but not as planned. I had hit 370 in training pretty easily. when I was pulling in the comp the weights felt deadlift heavy. I think it might have been the trap acting up though it didn't really seem to be. for whatever reason I was pulling stupid with the weight way out in front of me. only got 363. I feel like that wasn't the pull I was capable of but, 376 missed 2x. part of the issue is that andrews kilo plates force you to make jumps that are different than the pound plates I use in training. I need to get a copy of the available weights and start training with the jumps available.

medley. just moved too slow. a couple things I missed that I should have gotten. and couple things I didn't even get to that would have been easy points. I had done several weeks of medley traing for the wounded warrior comp. basically I was making it a volume day. I needed to run a clock as well and work on improving time not just getting all items. specificity.

roller. I thought it was going to be heavy so I trained it to make the full 60 secs. instead it was light and all about speed. not sure if I missed the note or just misunderstood. either way I did ok and not sure how much I would have improved if I had done things differently.

I know some things I need to change in my next training cycle and I know a couple things I need to do differently as far as comp prep. always learning.

it was nice to meet some new people but, there's never enough time for that as well as catching up. thank you to andrew, doc, chris, mary ann, loaders(even though I have competed with several of them before names escape me, sorry)

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That's most likely my Vulcan, Andrew. I'll grab it the next time I come through, thanks buddy.

Lost and Found items:

1) Valeo weightlifting belt - I believe I saw Kody using it for axle.

2) David Horne Vulcan gripper

3) purple water bottle - Bryan 1st Brethren Church - guessing from one of Stew's girls

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Some reflections:

Highlights:

1.) Hitting gripper PRs on both hands of 156#

2.) Seeing Jedd in action!!! Youtube doesn't do Jedd justice - you have to see him live to get the full effect!

3.) Meeting everybody! So nice that the veteran guys of grip are willing to talk with, share tips, and cheer on the newcomers!

4.) Picking up things in the medley I thought I would never have got - the rope DL, and the circus bell in particular - Thanks Kody for suggesting the bell!

5.) The WSJ guy was there and asking everybody questions all day - very impressed with his dedication.

6.) Wooster - really nice town! My brother and his g/f really enjoyed the First Amendment both nights, and all the shops, etc. I really appreciated the food for lunch on Saturday and getting to watch the bending at first amendment Sat night.

Things I need to work on for next time:

1.) Need to work on more medley items at home.

2.) Need to chalk up a LOT more for my sweaty hands on the wrist roller!

Lowlights:

1.) SouthWest delay got me home at 2:30AM last night. I got here safely, so I can't really complain too much.

Edited by bwwm
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Anybody know where Michael Hann is from?

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Anybody know where Michael Hann is from?

He currently lives in McKinney, Texas. He's only an hour from me. Originally, he's from Oklahoma.

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Thanks my man.

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First of several videos that I have to upload. JT Strausner - Medley

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Lost and Found items:

1) Valeo weightlifting belt - I believe I saw Kody using it for axle.

2) David Horne Vulcan gripper

3) purple water bottle - Bryan 1st Brethren Church - guessing from one of Stew's girls

Thanks Andrew, But it's not mine. I think I seen Straussner with that Vulcan maybe.

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To say that I exceeded my expectations is an understatement. Losing 29 pounds in less than two months (I weighed in at 161), starting from an already low fat percentage, and trying to maintain some semblance of grip strength proved to be the greatest physical challenge of my life. I was even running, spitting, and blasting the heater of my car to make weight the morning of the contest. Of all the athletic goals I've been fortunate enough to achieve, what I accomplished Saturday is by far the one I'm proudest of. I often questioned my own sanity in continuing with my quest. I was literally hungry and light-headed for over seven weeks. Often, even standing up was a chore. I'm sure it was not the healthiest thing I ever chose to do. But despite my workouts often being occasions for major disappointment as my energy levels tanked, it somehow all came together in the end. Perhaps replenishing my body for the two hours between weigh-ins and the start of grippers was enough to finally tap into my strength reserves. I don't know. But I can't help but feel I shouldn't have been able to do what I did. I'm overwhelmed and humbled. Thanks to all those who supported me with words of encouragement along the way. You guys believed in my abilities way more than I did.

Okay, the contest: First off, it was great meeting all the guys from the Gripboard in person. Kody is the nicest, most unassuming and humble world class athlete you could ever meet. I really enjoyed talking with you, man. Your'e accomplishments and the way you carry yourself are an inspiration to me and a great endorsement for the sport of grip. Talk about pound for pound strength! Eric Roussin, I was delighted to discover that the approachability, intelligence, and just all around friendly disposition I saw in your videos is simply a reflection of the real you. Loved talking with you about arm wrestling and everything else! Darrin Shallman, I don't think he's a board member here, but the guy's enthusiasm is contagious. Super friendly and positive guy! He's got tons of strength in those hands, and if his fingers were even close to as long as mine I could have been in serious trouble. Andrew, great job!!! I know what's involved in hosting a local meet AND competing in it, so to do that with Nationals like you did is a stellar feat. Thanks so much for all your hard work and being a great grip ambassador. Chris and Doc, you guys were tireless. Much appreciated! Mary Ann (spelling?), thanks for putting up with all my questions and doing a fantastic job of keeping up with the most important job of the day: scorekeeping!

By the way, anyone who's interested in seeing the specifics of how I trained and dieted for the past couple months are welcome to check out my log here on the board. This experiment was a learning experience for me and hopefully might contain something that could prove beneficial for someone else.

Grippers: Both right and left hand closes were personal bests for me with a 20mm block set (156 and change and 141 and change), regardless of body weight. Missed by 1/32" a 161 righty Elite close. My one miss of the day.

Pinch: I was holding out hope for a high 180s pinch after my pinch workouts fell apart as my bodyweight fell into the mid 170s. My Euro has a better texture than the freshly cleaned ones (great idea, btw) at Nationals. So, how I pulled 200 I'll never know.

Axle: Pulls in the low 320s range were feeling very heavy recently in training. I nailed 343 at the contest... makes no sense. This was probably the lift I was proudest of. I think it ties my best in the 183 class.

Medley: I had the strength to lift several more items that I overlooked or simply didn't have the time to try, but this was a medley of speed, strategy, and endurance. Freakin' awesome medley! Loved it. Very happy with my performance.

Wrist Roller: Great event. I trained it hard, and feel it paid off. I saw a lot of mind-boggling times on the event.

I have no right to regret anything about my performance, but I will say that had I an inkling of my capabilities Saturday, I would have been less "timid" in my weight choices and probably could have gone a bit heavier on axle and pinch. But right now I don't care, and think I may have just completed my one perfect contest performance.

Oh, wait till you see what Andrew gave me to hold for a year as the winner of the Diesel Award! Epic.

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Thank you Eric for such kind words. I am on the board I just don't really post anything here yet. It was really nice meeting you. Congrats on the wins and all the world records man. I am glad you made the 74 kg class. You made it really fun and exciting to be apart of. It was pretty amazing that you, me and Mike broke the 2HP record eight times before it was all over. It was also pretty cool that both you and I opened the 2hp with more than the old world record. Thanks for setting the bar high in the 74kg class. It gives me something to shoot for. Thanks for the advice on the 2hp width. It was dead on and helped a lot. Hope to see you again soon.

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Thank you Eric for such kind words. I am on the board I just don't really post anything here yet. It was really nice meeting you. Congrats on the wins and all the world records man. I am glad you made the 74 kg class. You made it really fun and exciting to be apart of. It was pretty amazing that you, me and Mike broke the 2HP record eight times before it was all over. It was also pretty cool that both you and I opened the 2hp with more than the old world record. Thanks for setting the bar high in the 74kg class. It gives me something to shoot for. Thanks for the advice on the 2hp width. It was dead on and helped a lot. Hope to see you again soon.

Oh cool, you are a board member. Well, don't be a stranger. Yes, it was exciting trading off record attempts like that. Not something that happens every day. And best of luck as you train to regain your world pinch record. And I sincerely mean that. Pushing each other to do our best in this sport is what it's all about!

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Eric,

You did great - congrats!

Your world rec is obviously up on the page.

Thank you, David! Yes, I must admit I've already been to your site to see my name "up in lights". :) And thank you for all the labor you've put into tracking all these contests and records the globe over all these years. It really is an impressive collection of history you've amassed at World of Grip.

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Cheers Eric, we try.

I enjoyed reading your post on how you lost the weight. What weight will you go back to?

It was obvious some strength would drop with such a big B/w drop in a relatively short period of time. But 90.8k 2HP at 74k is a very large lift!

And yes you should be proud of it!!

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Cheers Eric, we try.

I enjoyed reading your post on how you lost the weight. What weight will you go back to?

It was obvious some strength would drop with such a big B/w drop in a relatively short period of time. But 90.8k 2HP at 74k is a very large lift!

And yes you should be proud of it!!

I think I'm best suited for, not to mention healthiest, at 83k. Almost there at the moment! I weigh 179 today. And thanks for the kind words!

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