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My Biggest Strongman Performance Ever


Jedd Johnson

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I did a feat show in front of a 1200- and 1000+ person crowd this past Friday and Saturday nights (respectively) at the Empire Classic in Spokane Washington. It was an awesome rush.

You will see I struggle quite a bit with the phone book. I warmed up with the same dumbbells and plates that the bodybuilders were using and my hands got super greasy and were slipping on the pan and book.

Also, I have been fighting with a sinus infection for weeks and weeks and was struggling with the hot water bottle. The first night, I totally failed because my beard was not letting me get a good seal on my face. The second night, I just couldn't breathe very well through my nose at all, making the feat 10 times harder.

I really wish I would have gotten the Friday show on tape, because I wasn't as rushed and really did a better job speaking. Recognized the promoter, the competitors, talked about Grip Strength's importance, the sport of Grip, explained the feats, and even recognized the Veterans in the crowd, which is something I always try to build into my shows.

Either way, I had a ton of fun and learned a lot over the course of the entire weekend about promoting contests. Ivan and Erin Ribic operate a whole other level compared to what we do in Grip Sport. I was blown away at the level of organization.

Public Service Announcement: If you try a hot water bottle, use safety glasses. I forgot my glasses both nights and could have really gotten hurt badly.

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Makes one appreciate people like Dennis Rogers. Its not enough to be so strong that you can do feats, you must be so strong that you can do feats with confidence. Overall good performance. Hopefully someone in audience tried to rip phonebook when back home and when noticing need for more grip, finds his way to sport.

Out of curiosity, is it considered cheating to use chalk in phonebook ripping?

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Jedd,

Congratulations and a great performance. One thing that I use is some hand sanitizer like purell to remove any oils from my hands before ripping a phonebook. Don't try the kind with moisturizers in them but there's one kind I use that really helps prevent what you are describing.

Nice job.

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Makes one appreciate people like Dennis Rogers. Its not enough to be so strong that you can do feats, you must be so strong that you can do feats with confidence. Overall good performance. Hopefully someone in audience tried to rip phonebook when back home and when noticing need for more grip, finds his way to sport.

Out of curiosity, is it considered cheating to use chalk in phonebook ripping?

Absolutely not, it isn't cheating.

I SO WISH that I got the first night on tape. Aside from failing on the hot water bottle due to my beard, I feel it was my best performance ever.

Jedd,

Congratulations and a great performance. One thing that I use is some hand sanitizer like purell to remove any oils from my hands before ripping a phonebook. Don't try the kind with moisturizers in them but there's one kind I use that really helps prevent what you are describing.

Nice job.

That's a good tip. Again, just like my glasses, my hand sanitizer was in my hotel room about 500 yards away. Darn it. Will remember for next time.

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great feats! do you think some of it took longer because there was the increased pressure to factor in. As it was quite a large crowd!

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great feats! do you think some of it took longer because there was the increased pressure to factor in. As it was quite a large crowd!

No, not at all. Friday night, the phone book went like cake. The problem was I got the bodybuilder grease stuff on my hand back-stage when I was warming up with their dumbbells and plates. You can see me trying to wipe my hands off.

The Hot Water Bottle was hard because I have a bad cold/sinus infection, plus it is just plain tough anyway. That is the hardest feat I do in my shows.

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