2008 June - Michigan Grip Championship - Bencrush

[bencrush]

The contest was awesome! Had a great time before, during, and after the contest. Seeing all the stunts that people were doing after the contest was worth the drive right there. I found myself watching various performances in one room for a few minutes and then walking throughout the gym to see what everyone else was doing. I didn't want to miss something really remarkable. There was a lot of pretty neat stuff going on after the contest. The food and drinks were a great addition too. Here's a short list of some of the post-contest feats that I can remember offhand.

-Josh Dale did a 1 finger full deadlift with 325 pounds. Used the same padded ring that we all used during the contest for the 175 pound 1 finger lift. I was really surprised when I saw how much weight it was especially since he doesn't train the 1 finger lift for a max. It was done with total control.

-Brad Manion bent a 5/8"X25 and 5/8" HRS braced. Took over 5 minutes but the tips were under 6" when he finished. Not bad for coming off a Sheiko cycle and not training braced bending.

-Jeff Flynn bent a 5/8"X22" HRS to about 90 degrees over the course of 30 minutes to an hour. There were others that messed with the same piece but I'm not sure if they moved it. He rowed it to kink it. Great strength.

-John Eaton strolled over to the field stones and rowed the 260 into his lap and then pulled it to his chest as easily as a bear mauling a backpacker.

-I think Zach Coulter did a 1 finger pullup with 75 pounds tied around his waist. Not sure what the other guys did but I'm sure it's noteworthy.

-Jeff Flynn was showing us his ability to do flags. Those are freakish.

-I did one thing worthy of mention. Ring and pinky lifted, with both hands, Don's 100 pound 2.25" dumbbell on video. It was the perfect size for my hand span and gave everyone a decent challenge because of the width of the bells.

-John Eaton curled a 46 pound calibrated plate with his left and right hand. He also pinched (2)25s and then curled them with his left and right hand. And he pinch lifted a blockweight (don't know the weight) by a nut that was protruding from both the top and bottom with his thumb and index finger. None of the rest of us could budge it.

-Jeff Flynn is also a really strong stone lifter and was giving me some tips on getting the 260 in my lap. I just didn't have the strength for it but I made up it in desire. I think the highest I lifted it was a foot off the ground.

-Taylor Wilson amazed us all with his impressive beer drinking prowess and his ability to go through what I'd guess was most of the contest in a legally drunk state. Bravo! I will admit that he tied my TNS gripper performance so apparently the joke's on me. His boisterous variations of "Bencrush!" cheers during my attempts had me wondering if he hates me or likes me. I'm guessing it's the former but it didn't affect my already subpar performance any.

-Sean Rice Slim-style levering a 20lber while everyone took notes.

I've got to congratulate Bob on giving me a sound beating in the overall placing! He got 5th and I got 6th but it wasn't even close on points. I've vowed to get my pinch strength up to snuff by the time the contest rolls around next year and give Bob a real challenge.

Where to begin? I drove up to the contest with Brad and Josh. On the trip up we had a really good time just BSing and talking strategy for the contest. We got there the day before the contest and spent some time familiarizing ourselves with all the equipment in Larkin's Gym. I spent a little too much time getting familiar with the grippers and a bunch of other stuff and paid for it the next day. I won't repeat that mistake ever again but I still had a wonderful time. Being familiar with the setup on the medley was probably worth the tradeoff of losing around 10% of my top end strength on vbar and grippers.

We got there and were greeted by Don & Jerri Larkin, Bob & Paula Lipinski, Zach and Ryan Coulter, and Scott Styles. It was really cool that Don opened the gym for us and Bob took the time out of a super busy schedule to walk us around and answer all of my endless string of questions on the events. Paula, Bob's wife, was very nice and kept the scorecards updated. You've got to have a great sense of humor to be married to a grip guy. Bob is a modest guy. Because if I had beaten him it would've been mayhem. I would've been running around with my shirt off and my bloated gut swinging dangerously around the room like a wrecking ball.

Being around Don and Jerri seems to infuse me with a berserkerish tendency to keep attempting anything I fail at regardless of how raw my hands are or how underpowered my body is compared to my grip. This morning I feel like a trash truck ran over me and that's mostly from the huge amount of attempts I took on the field stones. My thumbs are a mess after all the times I pinched the 100 pound 2.25" dumbbell. Bruises and skin tears line my arms, chest, and legs from the field stone and keg lifting. I still wonder if Don and Jerri will adopt me so I can live in what has quickly become my favorite gym. Don's got the gift of gab too. He and Eaton are kindred spirits. For Christmas I'm going to buy them both an 8,000 minute phone card and then I'll check back in 5 months and see if either of them has hung up even once during that time.

Got to meet Zach Coulter and his brother, and both are very strong. I think his brother's name is Ryan. He's a stocky guy with solid hands. Zach is a 1 finger pullup machine by the way. I think he ended up doing his bodyweight plus 75lbs tied around his waist on the 1 finger pullup challenge after the contest. His sledge levering looked really solid and I owe him and Bob a big thanks for their input both before and during the contest. Zach is also a horseshoe bending maniac and he demonstrated that ability after the contest.

It's always nice to see Scott Styles and wow he's looking fit! Down a bunch of weight from last year's contest. I know he hit a PR of 9lbs on the sledge lever and maybe a PR on the 2" vbar. His performance during the medley was also the highest he's ever lifted the 100 pound dumbbell with the 2.25" handle. I tried to put it into perspective for him by reminding him he matched a few of his PRs from last year but he did them at a much lighter bodyweight. I'd consider that a stronger performance overall.

Brad got PRs on the sledge lever, 5/8" HRS braced bending, and the FBBC 2" vbar. He did some horseshoe altering after the contest too. He beat me easily on the sledge lever which we both predicted before the contest. Brad's got a ton of strength and doesn't train much grip. If he actually put in some training time on the grip stuff (he puts in plenty of time on his Sheiko workouts) he'd be a monster.

Josh had one heck of a contest. He tied for 1st on grippers, tied the new record on sledge lever (23.75lbs) for a huge PR, and did some other well balanced performances to get 3rd place overall. His thumb web ripped pretty badly on 180 in the 2HP so he passed on the rest of his attempts. I think he would have done 200 with room to spare if he hadn't stopped there. He did a ton of stuff afterwards like split cleaning a 70lb anvil by the horn, getting air on a 45 hub with R&P, and lifting a bunch of stones and snatching the lighter keg. Getting 3rd out of the 20 guys here is pretty good stuff. There were a good number of guys here that weren't just walking in with little grip training and no idea of scoring tactics. Ironic that a guy who can't stand TNS training actually tied Jedd for 1st, and in the process beat me at an event that is usually one of my best. He doesn't have any weak points so I think he'll be top 5 at any of the major grip contests.

Dan Sweeney drove to the contest and did really well. He doesn't train grip much at all but is a very strong guy so there's a lot of carryover. He got a levering PR with the 12lber and did well in the other events too. He did some stone lifting too and put all that strength to use. Always good to see Dan and hear some great stories about chasing posse. I don't ever want to wrestle Dan. When Josh compliments you on your forearms you know you're doing something very right.

What can I say about John Eaton that I haven't already? He brightens my mood no matter what's going on. He's modest to a fault. Called me the day before the contest and left a message of encouragement. I'm so glad he brought everything together and hammered out a 4th place overall finish in a big contest. This is what his friends knew he was capable of. And there's plenty left untapped. I know he was disappointed with his sledge levering performance of "only" the 20lber but his strength is top notch. I link his next contest placing with my ability to get Skype installed on my computer. Allegedly the only time he trains is when he's on Skype with close friends. I've tried several times to get it installed but never had luck. I'll keep trying because if I can get it installed a few of us can come up with a rotating schedule that fools John into training without realizing he's training. John takes the time to encourage anyone regardless of their strength level. Oh, did I mention that he gives the best hand massages this side of Tijuana? I shouldn't tease him because my hands really do feel better this morning and are recovering faster than they ever have before.

Chris Rice and Sean Rice and Chris's wife. I don't remember his wife's name, sorry! Chris Rice is an incredible guy. Old enough to be my dad and still whooping up on me and a bunch of the other younger guys. His 2HP strength always leaves me envious. One of the prizes that I was lucky to win was a 2 and 3/8" dumbbell handle that Chris made. A thing of beauty and I'll be training with it. I knew Sean was strong when I first saw him. Found out he's a superb highland games athlete which didn't surprise me at all considering who his dad is. Watching Sean Slim-style lever the 20lber was nuts.

Brent Barbe really impressed me with his overall strength. This was my first time meeting him so I didn't know what he looked like. I walked by him a few times before finding out who he was. He has some big forearms and great vbar strength. He also smoked the (3)25s that I didn't even budge from the floor in the medley. That really got my attention and so did the strength he showed in his vbar warmups. He could have pulled 300 if everything had worked out just right. I had to place a hex on him to steal some of his vbar mojo since mine was drastically stinking the place up.

It was my first time meeting Jesse Reimann too. He's a big strong guy. I saw him cranking out some good sledge levering performances but I don't know where he ended up on the 2" vbar. Looked like he was hauling them up with ease though.

Brian Amundsen is a beast. Doesn't train grip but his carryover from the strongman training is pretty high. Also a pretty damn funny guy. Loved hearing him yell "Put some weight on the bar!" when he was lifting.

Jedd Johnson is Triple H's body double. What a freakshow. Strong on everything. Hope his stomach problems got better the next day. He high pulled the Inch in the medley and that was a sight to see. No weaknesses.

Dave Thornton is one of those super nice guys that you'd thank even if he was a state trooper and had just given you 5 tickets and had then slapped the cuffs on to take you to jail. Very strong overall and has no weaknesses at all.

Stew Rosendaul impressed me with his performances since he hasn't really been training for the contest. Very good strength on the stones especially for his bodyweight.

Sean "Rage" was also strong and it was my first time meeting him. I think he got some PRs but I'm not sure what they were.

[David Horne]

Nice read.

Well done!

[bigmatt]

Nice. Thank you for the wright up!!

[The Mac]

Good stuff Ben!!

[odin]

Great write-up Ben! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[lifesnotfair]

Great write-up !!!

[odin]

-John Eaton curled a 46 pound calibrated plate with his left and right hand. He also pinched (2)25s and then curled them with his left and right hand.

I forgot to mention that John has uploaded his astonishing 46 lb. plate curls (and Fatboy Blob scoop ) here.

He claims it isn't strict enough, but there aren't a whole lot of other PC w/ this amount of weight to compare it to, looks pretty darn good to me.

Edited June 24, 2008 by odin

[twig]

John has uploaded his astonishing 46 lb. plate curls (and Fatboy Blob scoop ) here.

What the flock did he just do with that plate??? That's one of the most impressive things I've ever seen!!!

[jad]

Ben pretty much covered everything but I just wanted to say thanks to Don and Jerri for all of their hospitality. It was a pleasure to hear Don speak about all the great strength athletes of the past and present. I especially enjoyed the stories about Joe Pullio (sp?), Steve Stanko and Don and Jerri hunting natural stones for the collection. Like Ben said, you definitely want to step it up a notch when you're in Larkin's gym. Don showed us the secrets of the black spring or I don't think Ben or myself would have got it, Brad probably still would have . I was a little disappointed I didn't get the black gripper shut for Don, after the contest but I think next year, I'll just suck it up and shut it the night before; after the contest is just a little too rough for me. The pinch was just too humid. Depending on the competitor, people were 20-30lbs below there maxes. I was initially pretty pissed when I couldn't get 190 but then after watching the other competitors I realized what was going on. I passed my other attempts because I tore my hand and I had no shot at 200 so there was no reason to keep trying 190 when it wouldn't change the point spread.

Some of the more impressive things I saw

Ben: Don had a 100lb welded db and Ben would put his hand over each globe like a blob and pick it up. He ended up doing it R&P. I believe Jedd and John Eaton were the only other ones to even pick it up and I don't think either did it R&P. I think Ben also surprised some people with his stone and keg lifting since the common consensus is that he only trains grip.

Dan: like Ben said, doesn't train grip too much, but the guy soaks up technique like a sponge. Stuck on the H&T lift, I shout him some technique, BOOM, done. One of the only other guys that figured out you need to "stand tall" while levering and I was glad to see he got a nice pr out of the deal. I think he got the 220# stone, don't remember about the 260?

Sean Rice: 20lb slim lever, not much else to say, WOW!!!!! He also told me some great stories about his Dad training squats in the woods for hours

Chris Rice: Watching him H&T lift that thing so easily and hit the 1 finger lift was awesome to behold! Gives me hope for when I get older. He also hit 200# on the pinch and given the ridiculous amount of humidity I'm sure he would have been good for 220 during optimum conditions.

Eaton: We all know he can plate curl so I wasn't really surprised by his prowess there but he went over to the 260 stone and basically bent over at the waist with a slight bend in the knees, and rowed it up to his belly and then stood up with it and then walked off like it was nothing! He also picked up what I would guess was probably at least a 40lb block weight by a nut that was welded to it. It makes a hub lift look worthless.

Jedd: did some INSANE blob farmers walks with an old,portly, York. I won't say much more as I don't want to ruin the video. His medley performance was also the most dominant performance of the contest. He did everything, to the highest platform, in 2:15!!!!!! To put this in perspective, Dave was 2nd and he loaded the Inch to the first platform.

Dave: He dominated on the 2" Vbar. I think he just shut it down there because that's all he needed to win and he's modest. The thing I noticed about after contest feats with him is that I don't recall him having any pet feats but he just quietly duplicates everybody else's and makes it look easy.

Brad: I loved watching him do the spring because just like his bending; he just horsed it down with minimum technique. I know he also hit some big bends but I wasn't around to see them.

Jeff: got to watch him do some flags which was fantastic because for those of you that haven't met him; he's not some 150# gymnast. He also made 1 hand pressing the 100# natural stone look way too easy!

Brian A: He grabbed the black spring and just started repping it and saying something like "oh, is this supposed to be hard!". It was freakin awesome! Then Bob comes over and does the same thing!! I felt like I was trying to pull off some advanced kata to get everything aligned for me to close it once so to watch them toy with it was great!

Might add some more later but I have to supervise some workers that are coming to fix the basement.

[Florian Kellersmann]

Sounds like an awesome contest!

[bigmatt]

Josh,

Thank you for your wright up as well!!

[bencrush]

Thanks for the writeup Josh! I totally forgot to mention how badass that was to see Brian Amundsen mash out reps on the black spring when I had to virtually hyperventilate and meditate beforehand to get a single rep on it. Bastard...

[climber511]

After every contest we all kind of pat each other on the back so people on other boards can make fun of our “group hug” kind of thing as I've heard it called – and that’s OK with me – telling people I meet that I appreciate them isn’t a bad thing.

1. Dave Thorton – he wins, he almost wins, he does everything superbly, and he’s still the nicest guy that everyone under estimates contest after contest. No weaknesses that anyone has ever found – and many have tried.

2. Jedd Johnson – there’s not much anyone can say about the Jedder – the guy everyone comes gunning for every meet – the guy we promoters stay awake nights trying to figure out medleys hard enough to stump him – and someday we will hehe! He will break the 2 HP record here before long I believe.

3. Josh Dale – he just gets better and better each time I see him – a couple small weakness’ (think pinch buddy) are all that keeps him out of the winners circle. Given a little time, he’ll make it there. Huge sledge lever improvement!

4. John Eaton – The Freak! - we always talk about him being the “natural” but while I think he drew a good gene pool number – his upbringing on the farm laid his strength foundation wide and deep. If John trained as hard as some others – he would be incredible. His biggest weakness is his inability to combine his mind and his body when he needs to during a competition setting – but it’s coming. The guy is Mr. Feat of Strength – doing feat after feat of stuff that just leaves you shaking your head in amazement.

5. Bob Lipinski – I have a big knife hanging on my gym wall that Bob won at BBB and then gave me (pretty classy in my eyes) – it hangs with pride there in his honor. He gives a lot to the sport of grip – if his hands were as big as his efforts to grow the sport – he’d be something else again. He doesn’t do a bad sledge hammer lever either.

6. Ben Edwards – known mostly for his bending – his other lifts are darn good as well – a little pinch training will bump him even higher next time. Ben is a thinking gripster - studying the "how to" of each lift.

7. Jeff Flynn - Kind of an well known unknown – this guy is one strong overall athlete – flags, one finger chins with weight, Inch overhead – dang! Not a bad grip on him either hehe!

8. Brent Barbe – I don’t know who all noticed but Brent has to be the most improved guy there – since Gripmas – he has exploded every single lift – and looks like he put on 15# of muscle as well. Might be a good idea to keep an eye on him as he is coming on strong.

9. Chris Rice – skinny old man – hey that’s me hehe!

10. Sean Rice – my middle son – he just came home from Colorado on vacation and came along with me to the MGC – I was pretty proud of his performance for a total non grip guy. A father son tie overall – now that’s pretty darn cool!

11. Jesse Reimann – cool guy to talk to – new to grip I think but acts like one of those darn powerlifters – strong all over kind of guy.

12. Brian Amundsen – a second rate beer drinker compared to Taylor but knowledgeable about the lifting game – fun to talk to him – also darn strong - stay away from the coil springs on my car!

13. Brad Manion – big bad Brad – bends straight steel – straightens bent steel – just a bull strong and friendly fellow.

14. Stew Rosendaul – the Larkin award winner and my good friend – Stew has the mind/body connection that lets him do 250# lifting at 185# bodyweight. He gets the most out of what he has, every time. Intense!

15. Zach Coulter – I’m just glad this kid is not 6’ 3” and 260# - he’d bend horseshoes with the horse still attached. If grip had either weight or size classes – Zach would be a force.

16. Taylor Wilson – a most excellent beer drinker and darn strong too – his grippers surprised me.

17. Sean – has more strength than he was able to show – looked like he hadn’t done a lot of this stuff before – he’ll figure it out and be back I bet.

18. Ryan Coulter – new comer (brother) Zack drug along with small but very very thick working man hands – another great kid (not an insult buddy – everyone under 40 is a kid to me)

19. Dan Sweeney – not a real grip specialist kind of guy, Dan has really put on some muscle since I last saw him – diet him down and make a BB out of him. Looking thick buddy!

20. Scott Style- Scott is one of the guys I truly respect – super smart but not blessed with great strength genetically – he’s always in there giving 100% at different contests. His Grip FAQ site is an awesome resource – he has also hosted my website for several years now and won’t let me pay him a dime. He stands tall in my eyes – so many guys won’t even show up and try because “I’m not ready” – learn from this guy – show up and do your best – respect is what you’ll earn from it – big time respect!

I had some interesting conversation with Don Larkin (I love talking to him) – the one thing he talked about was how some people manage to get everything they have out of their body and others hadn’t learned how to do it just yet. Part of it is skill and training but most of it is just having that body/mind connection that guys like Slim, The Atom, Pat P, Dennis Rogers, Larkin and all the greats have – maybe that’s why they are great? You suppose they sell that in a bottle?

[AP]

Good reviews by all so far!

I'll go by person (though lighter and more cryptically) that seems to be pretty cool.

1. Bionic hands, The warden, Michigan's strongest hands, once again, he's the most quietly competitive person you'll ever meet. Humble and gracious with a fire behind his eyes for grip that scorches and burns all in his path, invincible, unrelenting, tireless, unbeatable when he's on his game, and on home turf he's been mostly that.

2. Triple H; a humbly fierce opponent, he'll cheer you on and beat you at the same time. Never (ever) backs down from a battle and is always prepared, no excuses. Curious, humorous, and fierce. That's how I'd describe him, fierce.

3. JAD; Real men armwrestle! Josh seems poised to bolt to the top, he really has no weaknesses. Strong feats and freakish forearms, Josh cleaned the keg and pulled 325 with one finger, he should be slapping people out of his way, but he's too nice for that JAD for president, feat cheater party forever!

4. Big E; for god's sake don't train John. I swear,there's no need, really. Yes your daughter kicks butt on tha speed bag!

5. Bloberto; My grip bro/nemesis. I beat you in 2 events, you beat me in three! Thanks for staying in the one finger challenge, though you were worried about your widdle fingahs, oh oww. Thanks for another great contest! Paula deserves a trophy too. She said you were her trophy but nobody bought that bs. Solid gold!

6. Ben.. how are the nightmares? More frightening everyday, 260... 260... 260... Bust ass and you'll get it next year, you better worry about grip also cause I'm coming for you...

7. this guy was a prick so I won't comment on him.

8. a newb (at least in my eyes) but SOB if he wasn't breathing down my neck all day so much Bob thought me got me. He'll be beating me soon, but i will bleed trying to hold him off.

9. Geezer power; first time I beat Chris, I better soak in how it feels... AAAAAhhhhhh. A gracious competitor, oh yeah no big deal until he whips your ass. 'Oh yeah I'm an old man' until he kicks your ass in a contest, a serious man for an Ohioan. I'd trust him to hold my wallet but I wouldn't turn my back if a placing was at stake... Climber is all game.

10. Another dude that will whup me soon, sigh

11. Incindy; grip nerds and computer nerds mix and they can get chicks and make kids who will become super grip and computer nerds, and whuip my butt, this will be Incindy 2.0

12. B.A. GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME! BA rows are my favorite name for a lift ever. In case anyone wonders BA doesn't train grip (the steel stock is for emergencies only) Also nobody needs calves for squatting haha!

13. Keep at the 60d chain its worth it, 8ft or so and your done. Also, seriously no need to be bigger and more bad ass than me, its totally just showing off if you are. Also, no need to worry about grip, you're already good enough :P

14. My ohioan kidhavin family farmbro, I feel competitive to you because (I feel like) we seem so similar, but really its like a mirror of awesomeness, keep rocking.

15. WTF its only 75 lbs? Can't you chin with an extra 75 lbs? Also get your benchpress up! A master of shoes needs to be able to hit double bodyweight, you'll get there. You better! A Last chance qualifier might be in the cards... If I can be persuaded to come down there and kick your butt! Aldso, your bowing was hardly satisfactory!

16. Carnal Salvation, my one internet fan, my one salvation. He thinks I'm witty, I'm screwed

17. Hey I brought you dude! Your not a member of the gripboard, nah nah nah! I still have your shoes.

18. Wrestling is the most physically/mentally demanding sport there is. If you can succeed there you can succeed anywhere. Oh course grip you might want to bow out of, that way I can keep my placings in the future.

19. we got to get together dude! And not to wrestle I mean push each other toward grip! Detroit area grip baby! Also, can you show me the vulcan neck pinch?

20. Styles; He's got the ladies, he's got the respect, he's got the styles! Don't ever give up baby! If you are where we are, we're all chasing Dave Thorton; the point is to crush hands, and rip cans, and tear through boundaries. Shoot I might go through another pinch workout even though its tuesday after a contest. Tear it up, explode into the bar, train ignorantly, ignore the pain. No you don't "have" what it takes, you ARE what it takes, iron will, cheers you and me, I'll see you at the next workout.

[bencrush]

Great writeups guys!!!

[MalachiMcMullen]

15. WTF its only 75 lbs? Can't you chin with an extra 75 lbs? Also get your benchpress up! A master of shoes needs to be able to hit double bodyweight, you'll get there. You better! A Last chance qualifier might be in the cards... If I can be persuaded to come down there and kick your butt! Aldso, your bowing was hardly satisfactory!

As a matter of fact I cannot chin with an extra 75lbs But neither can Bob, and if he can't do it then at least I'm not alone! I forgot about the bowing Here you go :bow :bow :bow :bow

Oh, I don't know about the kicking my butt, Jeff. For you see, I have home field advantage. That means I know where all the trip wires are

Edited June 25, 2008 by MalachiMcMullen

[Scott Styles]

Great reads. I am glad to see so many people take the time to share their experience. I appreciate the kind words as well.

[Jedd Johnson]

Jedd Johnson is Triple H's body double. What a freakshow. Strong on everything. Hope his stomach problems got better the next day. He high pulled the Inch in the medley and that was a sight to see. No weaknesses.

I don't know what happened there but I ended up having a terrible stomach bug on the way back. I puked all over a stall at a rest stop. I thought for sure Eaton would strand me so he didn't have to deal with my malady. Thanks buddy. Puking pure green gatorade rain along the side of the road was the low point of the weekend for sure.

[climber511]

Jedd Johnson is Triple H's body double. What a freakshow. Strong on everything. Hope his stomach problems got better the next day. He high pulled the Inch in the medley and that was a sight to see. No weaknesses.

I don't know what happened there but I ended up having a terrible stomach bug on the way back. I puked all over a stall at a rest stop. I thought for sure Eaton would strand me so he didn't have to deal with my malady. Thanks buddy. Puking pure green gatorade rain along the side of the road was the low point of the weekend for sure.

Man - hope you're feeling better!