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Possible Grip Mutant?


mightyjoe

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I don't find it hard to believe that Mark Henry might've snatched an Inch Replica (for the record, one that weighs 172lbs). I snatched a bit over 100lbs on an Inch training handle I used to have. It was very, very close to the feel of the Inch Replicas I have laid hands on over the years. So the thought of a monster pulling not even 70lbs more on this exercise is almost a "meh" moment. Okay, "meh" is not the word I want. But cleaning the Inch Replica does not really get my grip fire burning. It is obviously very impressive. And is a short list. But it shouldn't be. I have cleaned about 50lbs less than the Inch Replica weight and I am a normal guy. In fact, it might've been closer to 40lbs less than the Inch Replica.

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My "Gracie" bell is 146# and it's been cleaned a bunch of times (and snatched a couple) (I've even cleaned Gracie). The first thing you have to do is be strong enough to clean 172# with one hand (no matter the handle size). I can't do that - let alone have the grip strength to do it. Lots of big strong guys out there only have to worry about the grip part.

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Mark is truly a wonder of nature,an athlete that was trained and skilled in the snatch movement. His natural strength as I have seen personally is just mind numbing. He had thick handled bells and traveled with an Inch replica to train on ....a lot. Whether it was fully power snatched with a recovery , snatched to arms length and not held ,or snatch pulled very high and as in an Olympic snatch squatted under I can not say. Do I think he was capable and would he try and succeed when motivated ,yes, I would say in my opinion he could AND did. I will have to think quite a bit on the 4 no set( or to a lesser level ccs) stack up with Snatching the Inch. Both have very powerful arguments in their favor. I do also believe by observation , Burke, Williams and Henry all could do a legit cert with a 4 if highly motivated in their peak form. The Inch snatch fully done by a man of normal large hand size would be something truly amazing. If Mr. Burke trained just a little more and cleaned those bells and ideally pressed them overhead (or even jerked them )that would be right there at the very top.

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Mark is truly a wonder of nature,an athlete that was trained and skilled in the snatch movement. His natural strength as I have seen personally is just mind numbing. He had thick handled bells and traveled with an Inch replica to train on ....a lot. Whether it was fully power snatched with a recovery , snatched to arms length and not held ,or snatch pulled very high and as in an Olympic snatch squatted under I can not say. Do I think he was capable and would he try and succeed when motivated ,yes, I would say in my opinion he could AND did. I will have to think quite a bit on the 4 no set( or to a lesser level ccs) stack up with Snatching the Inch. Both have very powerful arguments in their favor. I do also believe by observation , Burke, Williams and Henry all could do a legit cert with a 4 if highly motivated in their peak form. The Inch snatch fully done by a man of normal large hand size would be something truly amazing. If Mr. Burke trained just a little more and cleaned those bells and ideally pressed them overhead (or even jerked them )that would be right there at the very top.

Also Shaw and Snook could do a legit cert with a 4.

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I still have Chris James (only in my thinking here) as the strongest known grip currently until

I see Shaw, Snook or other's axle DL, one hand DL, 2HP, and max gripper effort/close.

Here's a "Dream Grip Contest" I would like to witness in the heavy/super heavy weight class:

Competitors:

Brian Shaw

Chris James

Laine Snook

Rich Williams

Mark Henry

Events:

Choked Grippers from parallel (takes skill set of setting out of the equation) Pure Crush Strength!

2HP w/ Sorinex Saxon Bar (3" width) I chose the Saxon Bar for reasons I consider advantages of which

here's a few: a) constitutes dead lifting the weight, b) no excuses due to skin tears, c) no bickering over width selection, d) loading is hassle free without having to fiddle with tightening spin collars all the time, e) time to run the event would be minimal cause you're not having to change widths, tighten collars, etc. I guess 5 reasons is enough to choose the Saxon Bar over the traditional euro device in this Dream Grip Contest! :D

2" Axle Dead Lift

The last event could be a Medley with various implements to test the competitors overall grip strength

from every possible grip type. Not to mention this would add an endurance factor into the mix as well. Other words, who's grip is strongest the longest?

Speaking only for myself, I would pay good money as a spectator to witness this contest!

Edited by Mighty Joe
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Pure grip titans! I wish I saw more of Brian's grip at his present strength level. What do you use to gauge as his best recorded feat? Also , would not Burke be on the dream team as well?

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Pure grip titans! I wish I saw more of Brian's grip at his present strength level. What do you use to gauge as his best recorded feat? Also , would not Burke be on the dream team as well?

I didn't mean in any way to leave someone out and YES Burke would be on the competitors list as well!

I gauge Shaw's grip strength from several of his feats:

Pinching 3, #33's with one hand as if it was 2, #25's.

Pinching Blobzilla with thumb on bulged side. Thought impossible prior to Shaw pulling it off with style!

Not to take anything away from Pinch Monsters like Wade, Jedd, and the current world record holder but

it also wouldn't surprise me that after a few warm-ups that Shaw could open with the current world record

on the Euro 2HP. Could be wrong here but it wouldn't surprise me in the least!

On his axle performance (far as I'm aware) I'm only going by how easy he lifted the Sorinex Circus Bell

at the Arnold several years ago. I'm guessing Shaw could do an axle DL pushing 550. Wouldn't surprise me at all.

His crush strength with a gripper at parallel would be interesting to see as well! I'm also guessing with minimal

practice at this he would be well above a #200 rated gripper!

Lastly, I would love to have an opportunity to measure any of the competitors on my Dream Grip Contest list

with my Baseline Grip Dynamometer!

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On his axle performance (far as I'm aware) I'm only going by how easy he lifted the Sorinex Circus Bell

at the Arnold several years ago. I'm guessing Shaw could do an axle DL pushing 550. Wouldn't surprise me at all.

For those who are not familiar of which he speaks, here it is. It is a Classic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sivz0ysCFr8

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On his axle performance (far as I'm aware) I'm only going by how easy he lifted the Sorinex Circus Bell

at the Arnold several years ago. I'm guessing Shaw could do an axle DL pushing 550. Wouldn't surprise me at all.

For those who are not familiar of which he speaks, here it is. It is a Classic:

It's official, Brian Shaw has just become my favourite strongman

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This subject comes up pretty consistently - enough so that i wish one of them would just show up and put us all out of our misery. I enjoy seeing what the human potential can be. And without any doubt – these guys are incredibly strong and at the top of the food chain in what they do – in their entire bodies and in the case of grip strength “perhaps” the best on the planet. But I have stood beside all these guys, and at 6’2” tall and 205# I feel like a dwarf or midget or little person or whatever is PC these days. Not to belittle them in any way but 400# people who are Professional Strength Athletes having strong grips – why is this surprising to anyone? I’m impressed of course – but hardly surprised.

Saying they will rewrite all the grip strength records is like saying they will win the Gold Medal in the Olympics in the Snatch and C&J. Possible but until they actually show up and do it – meh……

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The real important thing is some guys just aren't too interested in competition, take Laine Snook and Chris James for example. Strong men, stronger hands but you can't make someone enter a competition if they aren't interested. As far as I can tell, neither seem to care much about comps or proving anything to anyone else, that is their decision and one I respect... though I must say if someone organized a comp like Joe described, I too would pay money to see that.

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It looks like rich pulled it easily also. I mean he had a weaker leverage advantage on it pulling it away from his body and not getting as deep at the start but he high pulls it and the thing doesn't rotate much in his hand at all.

Brian shaw got 4th out of the strongman on the dyno, Ervin Katona got 1st on it which is what they used to test who had the best grip strength for comparing stats.

On the axle he did 483 a few years ago the year going into his 3rd place finish at the WSM contest in 09. Its not unreasonable to assume he could do quite a bit more now.

And we know what he can do with wide pinch that is for sure, he is untouchable so far in that regard. I would be shocked if he couldn't do high 200's on the euro.

I doubt any of the top strongman would risk injury doing a really intense grip contest though when they support their family through strongman.

Shaw is my favorite strongman though, just brutally strong and seems to be incredibly humble/nice also.

Edited by Stephen Ruby
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When I visited the Stark center last year Dr. Terry Todd told me that he encouraged Mark Henry

to try and snatch the Inch DB and on the 3rd attempt he snatched it. I don't know if he's shared this

story with Richard or not but he told both me and my wife that he witnessed him do this in the hidden

room that's not open to the public where many, many vintage items are stored away at the Center.

For those that may not know. If Dr. Todd claimed he witnessed a strength feat and gives precise

details like he did. I believe it without question! The man is a true historian, weight lifting judge, and scholar.

If you are to ever meet Dr. Todd one thing becomes apparent rather quickly! The man knows all about

strength in any of its forms! He went on to encourage Mark to practice this feat over and over until he could consistently perform it and as you may or may not know, Mark Henry is not consistent at all when it comes to setting a goal and sticking with it. Does this make him a bad person? Absolutely not! It does make it frustrating for people like myself that know and realize what Mark could do with consistent, concentrated effort and practice.

Rather you choose to believe this account or not due to lack of a video keep in mind the generation that Dr. Todd came from. A time when most men could be taken for their word and a video camera was not needed nor a camera to snap a picture. Is video evidence better? Yes! Is it needed for an extremely credible witness like Dr. Todd? Not for me! There's very few individuals I would believe outside of video evidence but Dr. Todd is one of them as is Richard Sorin, Joe Roark, John Fair, Eric Milfeld, Bill Piche, and a few others.

Has the Thomas Inch ever been snatched with one hand? I believe it has indeed!

Which is more impressive and could go down as the single greatest grip feat of all time? Closing a legit COC #4 without a set or snatching the Thomas Inch? I would say closing a legit #4 without a set would edge out snatching the Inch. I believe this for several reasons but this is simply my opinion here. What do you think?

Joe- I have no doubt that Mark Henry can perform a snatch with the Inch dumbbell, but if he did this in front of Terry Todd at the Stark Center, then it was with a replica Inch dumbbell, not the original. This takes nothing away from Mark Henry's ability (I saw him clean and press a Sorinex Inch replica at the AOBS dinner over a decade ago and have it on video with Richard Sorin's comments as well), because he really does have one of the, if not the strongest grips in the world, but the Inch dumbbell never resided at the Stark Center.

Edited by 3Crusher
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When I visited the Stark center last year Dr. Terry Todd told me that he encouraged Mark Henry

to try and snatch the Inch DB and on the 3rd attempt he snatched it. I don't know if he's shared this

story with Richard or not but he told both me and my wife that he witnessed him do this in the hidden

room that's not open to the public where many, many vintage items are stored away at the Center.

For those that may not know. If Dr. Todd claimed he witnessed a strength feat and gives precise

details like he did. I believe it without question! The man is a true historian, weight lifting judge, and scholar.

If you are to ever meet Dr. Todd one thing becomes apparent rather quickly! The man knows all about

strength in any of its forms! He went on to encourage Mark to practice this feat over and over until he could consistently perform it and as you may or may not know, Mark Henry is not consistent at all when it comes to setting a goal and sticking with it. Does this make him a bad person? Absolutely not! It does make it frustrating for people like myself that know and realize what Mark could do with consistent, concentrated effort and practice.

Rather you choose to believe this account or not due to lack of a video keep in mind the generation that Dr. Todd came from. A time when most men could be taken for their word and a video camera was not needed nor a camera to snap a picture. Is video evidence better? Yes! Is it needed for an extremely credible witness like Dr. Todd? Not for me! There's very few individuals I would believe outside of video evidence but Dr. Todd is one of them as is Richard Sorin, Joe Roark, John Fair, Eric Milfeld, Bill Piche, and a few others.

Has the Thomas Inch ever been snatched with one hand? I believe it has indeed!

Which is more impressive and could go down as the single greatest grip feat of all time? Closing a legit COC #4 without a set or snatching the Thomas Inch? I would say closing a legit #4 without a set would edge out snatching the Inch. I believe this for several reasons but this is simply my opinion here. What do you think?

Joe- I have no doubt that Mark Henry can perform a snatch with the Inch dumbbell, but if he did this in front of Terry Todd at the Stark Center, then it was with a replica Inch dumbbell, not the original. This takes nothing away from Mark Henry's ability (I saw him clean and press a Sorinex Inch replica at the AOBS dinner over a decade ago and have it on video with Richard Sorin's comments as well), because he really does have one of the, if not the strongest grips in the world, but the Inch dumbbell never resided at the Stark Center.

You are correct. It was a Replica.

Brian Shaw is my favourite too !!

He's a gentle giant and is probably going to push all the strength boundaries known at the moment.

All factors considered here, you Mr. James are my current favorite!

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I still have Chris James (only in my thinking here) as the strongest known grip currently until

I see Shaw, Snook or other's axle DL, one hand DL, 2HP, and max gripper effort/close.

Here's a "Dream Grip Contest" I would like to witness in the heavy/super heavy weight class:

Competitors:

Brian Shaw

Chris James

Laine Snook

Rich Williams

Mark Henry

Events:

Choked Grippers from parallel (takes skill set of setting out of the equation) Pure Crush Strength!

2HP w/ Sorinex Saxon Bar (3" width) I chose the Saxon Bar for reasons I consider advantages of which

here's a few: a) constitutes dead lifting the weight, b) no excuses due to skin tears, c) no bickering over width selection, d) loading is hassle free without having to fiddle with tightening spin collars all the time, e) time to run the event would be minimal cause you're not having to change widths, tighten collars, etc. I guess 5 reasons is enough to choose the Saxon Bar over the traditional euro device in this Dream Grip Contest! :D

2" Axle Dead Lift

The last event could be a Medley with various implements to test the competitors overall grip strength

from every possible grip type. Not to mention this would add an endurance factor into the mix as well. Other words, who's grip is strongest the longest?

Speaking only for myself, I would pay good money as a spectator to witness this contest!

No Mike Burke???? I know ya can't be all inclusive but I think Burke would own this

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I think that a #4 ccs close is a lot tougher than an inch snatch;

as many said there are a couple of guys that can toy with the inch like shaw,burke BUT when you think about a coc 4 ccs there is only one name:nathan holle.

This is what really amaze me:a normal guy that in time has developed a crush that goes beyond human limit and remember:there is no one ,NO ONE that can even think about replicate his feat (GHP 9 close).

Just think about burke:he almost cleaned two inches(that is awesome)but his attempt on the #4 was ridiculous.

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I think that a #4 ccs close is a lot tougher than an inch snatch;

as many said there are a couple of guys that can toy with the inch like shaw,burke BUT when you think about a coc 4 ccs there is only one name:nathan holle.

This is what really amaze me:a normal guy that in time has developed a crush that goes beyond human limit and remember:there is no one ,NO ONE that can even think about replicate his feat (GHP 9 close).

Just think about burke:he almost cleaned two inches(that is awesome)but his attempt on the #4 was ridiculous.

I think Jonathon Vogt should be mentioned here too. He already came very close to completing it last year, and for his age I think it's nothing short of incredible.
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I think that a #4 ccs close is a lot tougher than an inch snatch;

as many said there are a couple of guys that can toy with the inch like shaw,burke BUT when you think about a coc 4 ccs there is only one name:nathan holle.

This is what really amaze me:a normal guy that in time has developed a crush that goes beyond human limit and remember:there is no one ,NO ONE that can even think about replicate his feat (GHP 9 close).

Just think about burke:he almost cleaned two inches(that is awesome)but his attempt on the #4 was ridiculous.

I think Jonathon Vogt should be mentioned here too. He already came very close to completing it last year, and for his age I think it's nothing short of incredible.

He was not close man.

I am not trying to take nothing away from him but the only real cert attempt i have ever seen is the Puscasu's one.

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I dunno man, this looks pretty close to me:

Obviously it's a training attempt but that's still damn impressive in my opinion.

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I dunno man, this looks pretty close to me:

Obviously it's a training attempt but that's still damn impressive in my opinion.

It was not out of the package;its another world.

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I dunno man, this looks pretty close to me:

Obviously it's a training attempt but that's still damn impressive in my opinion.

It was not out of the package;its another world.

Oh I know, but that's still impressive regardless and I think it shows real promise of getting it someday. There's not a lot of people who could close any #4 (out of package or not) that much.

That's a damn solid attempt at the 9 too.

I'm just trying to give credit where it's due. The guy has crazy strong crushing power and I've no doubt we'll see him cert on the #4 and the lvl 9.

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I dunno man, this looks pretty close to me:

Obviously it's a training attempt but that's still damn impressive in my opinion.

It was not out of the package;its another world.

Oh I know, but that's still impressive regardless and I think it shows real promise of getting it someday. There's not a lot of people who could close any #4 (out of package or not) that much.

That's a damn solid attempt at the 9 too.

I'm just trying to give credit where it's due. The guy has crazy strong crushing power and I've no doubt we'll see him cert on the #4 and the lvl 9.

I didnt say vogt is not strong;i simply said that RIGTH NOW there is no one near holle.

That is all.

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Two quick questions is there a video of Brian doing 3 - 35s ( hopefully York) held without a center bar? I think hat is truly an outstanding feat! Also , the Gracie Bell I wondered what the handle diameter is (for the record).

After watching the strongman contest this weekend I noticed the MANY ways the axle or dumbbell is termed "pressed". A press, push press, jerk press , push jerk and a jerk are all very similar looking but vary in merit by night and day. The use of leg drive double dip up and under bar or the pure grinding press is a WORLD apart. In most strongman events I see " those in the know" learn how to jerk the bell. I was there for Mark Henry's epoch clean and push press of the bell at the AOBS. He was injured in the shoulder at the time but was enough of "a gamer" to shove it overhead with a bit of leg drive.

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I can't do that - let alone have the grip strength to do it. Lots of big strong guys out there only have to worry about the grip part.

You also don't weigh 350lbs+, have 9" long hands, and a 400lbs+ power clean. If you did have those things, it just wouldn't have the big "wow" factor.

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