2007 December - A Gripmas Carol - foxyj75

[foxyj75]

My Gripmas experience-

Well, lets see... First of all, when I first arrived at Chris' gym, I was immediately greeted and offered handshakes by everyone I spoke to. Overall, a very warm and friendly group of guys. Chris made sure to let me know that I was welcome and to feel right at home. On the way there, I thought that I might be nervous, but that wasn't the case at all. I felt relaxed, but anxious about the comp.

Once the event started, I was pumped and ready to go. The grippers in chokers were up first. Now I am fairly new to the grip world, and although I have grippers at home, I honestly rarely train with them. So I was surprised when I was deciding what gripper to open with, I closed a #3! So when the contest started, on my first attempt, I figured I would go for the 143 gripper so as to at least be safe and get a baseline score for the event. It was my turn, so I put set the gripper in my hand, and squeezed, and WOW it was hard! I don't know if it wasn't set right or what, but I failed on that attempt. So, the next time I picked the 141 gripper and closed it easily. On my last attempt, I took a gamble and picked the 156.4 gripper(I don't remember what it was, a #3 I think), and closed it fairly easily. Overall, I was pleased with my performance in this event.

Next up was the euro pinch. I had never touched this device before prior to the contest. After doing it though, I can tell you that your personal ceiling comes up real quick with this device. After a few warm-up attempts, my first real attempt was at 160. It came up fairly easily. My next attempt was at 170, and I got that too. Pretty difficult though. I tried at 180, but just couldn't hold on. I think I was trying to concentrate too much on pinching it and not enough on just getting it up and down. With some training on this, I think my numbers would jump way up, as this felt like a pretty comfortable lift for me. Overall, I am happy with 170, seeing as how this is the first time I tried it.

Then on to the axle dead lift. My powerlifting background really helped me out here. My biggest limiting factor on this was my grip strength. I had the back to pull more, but my hands couldn't hold on! This was also the first time I had ever tried to dead lift with a thick bar. With a regular bar, I use an over/under grip, and have pulled as much as 600 in the past. But with this thick bar, it makes all the difference in the world! I waited until 297 to make my first attempt, and it was a good thing too! The rest of my attempts after this all only got to about upper shin level before I just couldn't hold on any longer. I could really tell here that my left hand is a bit weaker than my right, as on a couple of attempts, the bar would drop to the left side as I was bringing it up. It didn't help much that my left hand was slightly injured also. I had pulled a muscle in that hand a couple weeks prior to the contest. Overall, I was happy with my performance. I am going to include thick bar training in my workouts in the future.

After that, it was the medley. I must say, Chris got very creative with the implements here! This was also my worst event. I think I was in too much of a hurry, and forgot to take notes of how the other guys were getting this stuff up. I got a total of 11 implements up. Just over half. Honestly, I don't have the pinch strength to get the blobs up, but I think with a cooler head, and more thought, I should have been able to get the other stuff up. Oh well, now I know better for next time! Had I done well in this event, I would have moved up a few places in the final standings.

Next was the reverse bending, which is strangely my strongest bending style. Anyway, for my first attempt, I chose a 7'' piece of FBBC 1/4'' square. I killed it easily. On my next attempt, I wasn't paying attention to when my turn was up, and wasn't ready when my name was called(sorry guys!) My piece of 6.5'' square was only half wrapped! I rushed to wrap it, and it was really loose. I got it to like 25 degrees, but I could tell I was losing alot of torque through the wrap moving around! I tried it again on my last attempt, and got it to the same 25 degrees. when I took off the wraps, I found that it was WAY off center, which was making it harder than it should have been. Next time I will have to be more careful with my preparation. I can see now that it cost me here. And I wanted to get the Bastard too!! Maybe next time.

The last event was the 100# plate hold. I did OK in this event, but I think I could have done better. I should have played with the plates beforehand, and found a comfortable grip position. I didn't, and I paid for it. When it was my turn at the plates, I picked them up at the signal, and my grip didn't feel right at all. I was holding the plate too far out on my fingers. I held on as best I could, and after my pinkies finally failed, I ended up with 51 seconds. Not too bad I guess. And a great way to get a forearm pump!! I'll have to work on this.

Now on to some of the guys I noticed. First of all theres Jedd. He's kind of hard to miss!! This guy is friggin huge! To look at him, you would think he would rip your head off, but in reality, he is a very warm and caring guy. Upon first seeing him, I was greeted with a "Hey, I'm Jedd. What's your name?" and a hearty handshake( which felt like shaking a catcher's mitt!). I was really impressed with the way Jedd was giving the other competitors friendly advice on how to do the different events better. He was also always shouting encouraging words to the contestant(s) on stage. I really liked this guy, and hopefully will get the chance to compete and talk with him more in the future. In the contest, Jedd reminded me of his Juggernaut avatar. Almost unstoppable.

Next there was Eric. A very friendly guy, and always interested in what you were saying. Eric's strength was impressive. Always a smooth and sure demeanor about him in competition. I was glad to finally get to meet him, and we chatted for a bit, and he gave me some pointers on my DO. He also gave me a tip on my card tearing, and it has helped that immensely. He was also nice enough to give me a really nice pair of heavy leather wraps. Thanks again for that Eric!

On to John Eaton. John seemed to always have have a smile on his face. He made sure to encourage me and make me feel welcome whenever he got the chance. I really appreciated that. I also don't believe in the supposed lax training schedule that he is supposed to have. This guy is STRONG!!! His wrists are as big as my ankles. He also has some of the thickest hands I have ever seen. Watching him face curl the blobs was awesome. I would like to talk to him more when I get the chance. John, tell me what you think of that shoe when you get the chance!

Dave was one of those guys that is super strong, but doesn't look like he is as strong as he is. He made the events look easy. I don't think I ever saw him show strain at all! Anson is also really freakin' strong. His intensity and focus, as well as his explosions of brute strength were inspiring.

I want be like Chris when I get older! His fitness and strength are some thing to be admired. He and his wife, Theresa, were the best hosts that one could hope for. Chris, you put on a top notch contest, and made your home our home for the night. Theresa, you are an awesome cook, and I appreciated you support from the sidelines.

Bob also really impressed me. He may not be huge, but his strength is! On the axle he was pulling double body weight! On the euro pinch, he was also pulling over bodyweight. Similar performances came from Bob the entire contest. Although humble and soft spoken, Bob was like a lion in disguise, with serious strength under the surface.

If I didn't mention you, I apologize, I met alot of great guys, but I was focused on the comp. I witnessed many great feats of strength and had an unforgettable time. I can't wait till the next time I can talk and grip together with you all. Later

God Bless,

Foxman