Under the Spotlight - Grip Profile - Steve Weiner

[anwnate]

Today's profile features Steve Weiner.

In 2014, I got the email.  "Steve Weiner has agreed to be your referee."  Anyone familiar with that phrase, knows that Ironmind contacted Steve and asked him to referee a cert.  In this case however, I was the one attempting the Ironmind Captain of Crush #3 certification.  When first reading the email, I really didn't appreciate the honor I was given.  I started in grip in 2011…and was still playing catch-up, slowly learning more about gripsters that came before.  Although his name was familiar, it wasn't until a bit of research revealed who I was dealing with.

"We started at his home gym…which is something to behold. It's a bit of awesomeness filled with strong man/man cave goodness. I wanted to explore it, but I was distracted by the impending cert. Needless to say…it was filled with rare items, great pictures and braced bent objects adorning the walls."  In a write up of my cert. attempt, those were the words I used to describe my entry into his  strongman's lair.

And that's exactly who's profile we cover today…a strongman's strongman.  Not only does this world record holder perform feats of strength up on stage, he's trained his body to be brutally strong.

Online, I had watched Steve's AOBS (Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongman) reunion dinner performances.  Previously, I had never seen someone create a Frying Pan Turducken (I call it that for lack of a better word…a frying pan wrapped in a frying pan wrapped in a frying pan) like he did in 2010.  Or at the AOBS 2012…a 200lb Water Hydrant neck lift while holding an 100lb Atlas Stone on the shoulder and performing a lever with a 13lb Log Hammer.  Or his 200lb neck and 500lb armed Frankenstein Farmer's Walk.  I mean…come on…who can do this shit?  Steve…that's the simple answer. 

Although Steve was a great host and referee, I didn't feel as though I got to know him until the 2015 AOBS reunion dinner.  Basically, the dinner was a who's who in the strength world with names including (but not limited to) Wilhelm, Greenstein, Farman, Rogers, Pleskun, Rider, Sorin, Povilaitis, Johnson…and Weiner.

In the hall during the dinner, I had the impromptu pleasure of falling into what turned into an hour long conversation with Steve and Pat (Povilaitis).  There is no small amount of amusement that come from these two.  In an "Oldetime" dinner, they are visibly considered "Young Guns" or "young un's" depending on who you spoke to.  He seemed completely relaxed and in his element.  I would dare say that the "Real" Steve Weiner showed himself.  We talked about the Gripboard and about the past and future of Strongman. Beyond his career, and his (welcome) duties as a husband and father, Steve's passion for Strongman brings him a visceral joy. 

It's a pretty awesome story, considering the actual chain of events. Years ago, Steve read a book called, "The Mighty Atom," (Joseph Greenstein).  Reading the book caused him to attend an A.O.B.S. reunion…which in turn, sparked a fire within him to train Strongman.  Years later… he himself was asked and has performed multiple times at the A.O.B.S reunion dinner…the very place that started him on his strongman journey.

Let's turn the mike over to Steve…

 

 

7 questions to get to know Steve.

 

1.  What are your stats?  Gripboard Name, Age, Height (inches/meters), Weight (lbs/kgs), R/L dominant hand size (in/cm), Country/City (or region … whatever you are comfortable with), Relationship Status, Children?, Occupation ("international spy" is acceptable)

Grip Board name: "3Crusher"

Age: 52

Height: 6’2” (188cm)

Weight: 250lbs (113kg)

Dominant Hand Size: Right 7.75” (19.7cm)

Country/City:  USA/NY, Long Island

Relationship Status:  I have been happily married for over 22 years

Children:  2 (one daughter and one son)

Occupation:  I am a budget director for a major New York State utility

 

2.  Why did you start training grip (and how long is it now)?

I started doing specialized grip training in 1998 after I read about Captains of Crush grippers in Brooks Kubik’s book, "The Dinosaur Files."  When I read about these grippers, I was fascinated with the fact that they seemed so tough to close. 

I got my hands on a Captain of Crush #1 gripper and closed that out of the box and also was able to close a #2 gripper after trying it a few times.  I ordered a #3 gripper and that was a different story.  It took me about two more years of hard training to close that little monster. 

During that time it was very difficult to find substantial information about gripper training.  I started contacting many of the early Captains of Crush.  I had the good fortune to correspond with Richard Sorin, John Brookfield, Joe Kinney, Bob Bollenbach (whose little upstate New York gym produced 3 of the first 6 Captains of Crush, Ron Mazza, Eric Fitzsimmons and Mark Smith), Charlie Lysak, Rob Sasso and Kevin Fulton.  All of these gentlemen were very generous with their time, were very serious about their training, yet all trained differently.  The common denominator was that all of these guys experimented to find out what worked best for them and that is what I had to do as well.

It was during this time that I stumbled across The Grip Page on The Internet, which later became The Grip Board.  It was at this time that I started corresponding with Bill Piche.  Bill and I wrote and spoke regularly about our training and what was working and what did not work.  Grip strength is not the most common obsession on this planet, so it was nice to meet somebody else had a common goal, was going after it as relentlessly as I was and was finding it as frustrating to improve as I was.  In the end, we both found what worked best for us (for me it was strap holds and limited volume) and succeeded in certifying on the #3 gripper.

 

3.  Before you die, what is your ULTIMATE grip goal/goals?

These days I train my grip for the fun of it, without having any ultimate goal in mind, but it would be nice to fully deadlift an Inch dumbbell (I have been fortunate enough to have tried THE original Inch dumbbell and got it about 6” off the ground) and pinch a pair of 45 pound plates.  If I never accomplish these two things, it will not bother me, because when I think about it, I have accomplished what I have wanted to accomplish when it comes to grip. 

June 25th, 2013 (in Los Angeles), I broke the Guinness World Record for rolling the most frying pans in one minute. (increasing the existing total from 8 pans to 12 pans) video here…

Although Steve didn't mention it in his profile, I feel it necessary to interject the following.  Just 19 months later, the Venetian paid for a 4 day all expenses vacation (for Steve and his wife) to Macau, China in exchange for performing (along with other record holders) for approx. 1800 high-rollers.  Somehow, in between gourmet dining and limousine service, he managed to break his own Guinness record…increasing it to 14 pans.  Back to Steve…

I've certified on the #3 gripper, successfully completed The Emerson Knife #3 gripper challenge, and have certified on The Ironmind Red Nail.  I have lifted a Blob (not a fatman), double hub lifted a pair of 45 pound plates, cleaned a 45 pound plate by the hub and one hand lifted 503 pounds.  I strict levered an 18.25 pound sledgehammer, did 400 non-stop hand to hand tosses and catches with a 25 pound blob and lifted 200 pounds on the Rolling Thunder.  I also farmers-walked with a pair of implements weighing a combined 383 pounds for 415 feet without dropping them and have farmers-walked with 300 pounds per hand for 35 yards.  All in all, I am pretty satisfied with this list.

 

4.  How do you currently structure your overall training/how do you incorporate your grip training? 

I currently train two days per week and depending on what I do in my workouts will determine how I train my grip.  Here is how I currently train:

Week One-Workout One:  Deadlift or stone lifting…or a bit of both, keg pushups, two different York Krusher exercises, Zottman curls, Formulator

Week One-Workout Two:  Hammer Strength Hip and Glute Machine, presses (either with dumbbells, a barbell or a stone), Nautilus pullover machine, one arm landmine row, Nautilus Bicep and Tricep machines, two different York Iron Horseshoe exercises, Hammer Strength gripper

Week Two-Workout One:  Squats, Squat lockouts with timed supports, keg pushups or timed  sandbag bear hugs, two different York Krusher exercises, Big Squeeze dumbbell hammer curls

Week Two-Workout Two:  Presses (either with dumbbells, a barbell or a stone), Nautilus pullover machine, one arm landmine row, Nautilus Bicep and Tricep machines, two different York Iron Horseshoe exercises, Ironmind wrist roller

I will alter my training depending upon upcoming shows that I may be doing or how I feel.  I also vary the weight and volume schematics on squats and deadlifts to keep things fresh. 

Lately, every other deadlift workout has been a marathon type. I will deadlift for a specific amount of time for maximum reps, or go after a number of specific reps no matter how long it takes.  This is a fun challenge and will work me hard, but since I do this once every four weeks, it does not totally destroy me. 

 

5.  What hobbies (other than grip/bending/lifting) do you enjoy?

I enjoy music very much and play the drums whenever  I get the chance.  I have been drumming since I was in second grade, so I guess you can say it is in my blood by now. I also think that all the drumming I did in my formative years only helped my wrist strength for activities related to grip later in my life. 

 

 

6.  Do you have a personal anecdote, topic or thoughts you'd like to include in your profile?

 

Think for yourself.  Don’t always let others do it for you. 

 

The only way we learn is from making mistakes.  Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because if you are, you had better be happy with being mediocre all of your life.

 

 

7.  Who's Grip profile would you like to see next?

 

I would like to see Richard Sorin’s profile. 

 

 

Thanks Steve.  Richard will be profiled in two weeks.  This series will return next Wednesday with Jason Otto.

 

[3Crusher]

Nate- I want to thank you for all of the hard work you put into to assembling my profile.  I really like the banner at the top of the article.  You did a stellar job my friend! 

[anwnate]

9 minutes ago, 3Crusher said:

Nate- I want to thank you for all of the hard work you put into to assembling my profile.  I really like the banner at the top of the article.  You did a stellar job my friend! 

Thanks man.  I've been very fortunate to meet a lot of really great gripsters (like yourself) from newbies to legends. As a whole, I know of no better group of guys with similar goals.

[Geralt]

Cool write up! Strong feats. Steve, what are your favourite drummers. Have to ask as a fellow drummer heh. Not doing that too much anymore lately but it has been a big part of my life. Later on perhaps again. 

[Bearcat 74]

Great write-up about a great man.

[Bill Piche]

Awesome!!  Shared to the GripBoard on Facebook!

[KapMan]

This is pretty cool, 14 FPs in 1 minute is crazy quick. Not sure I could do 3 in 1 minute. Really impressed with the Farmers walk, it's my worst event ever. One of my favorite write ups by far.

[3Crusher]

6 hours ago, Geralt said:

Cool write up! Strong feats. Steve, what are your favourite drummers. Have to ask as a fellow drummer heh. Not doing that too much anymore lately but it has been a big part of my life. Later on perhaps again. 

Thanks.  My favorite drummers are Buddy Rich, Carl Palmer, Keith Moon, Neil Peart, Mike Mangini, Phil Collins and Bill Bruford to name a few.  There are so many good ones out there, it is hard to pick just one favorite but if pressed, I would have to choose Buddy Rich.  The man was a machine!

[3Crusher]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

[Geralt]

5 hours ago, 3Crusher said:

Thanks.  My favorite drummers are Buddy Rich, Carl Palmer, Keith Moon, Neil Peart, Mike Mangini, Phil Collins and Bill Bruford to name a few.  There are so many good ones out there, it is hard to pick just one favorite but if pressed, I would have to choose Buddy Rich.  The man was a machine!

True. I also believe that there can be correlation between having good stroke techniques, loosened up wrists, combined with strengthtraining, thus keeping wrists healthy.  Virgil Donati also wrote this in an interview, years ago. Thnx for the reply, enjoy training and drumming! 

[Bill Piche]

I also want to add that having Steve as a virtual grip training partner (this is what it really was) no doubt fueled my passion for grip and for me to think way outside the box in my own grip training.  I just cannot believe it is now 16 years later! Wow...just wow....

 

[Alawadhi]

Nice write up!

[Terry Conjugate Iron]

14 frying pans in one minute.... I can't crush 14 paper cups in a minute lol... Very impressive athlete. Thank you for these great write ups!