The reason was two fold: first, we wanted to use equipment that we thought was the most commonly available. We guessed that a large portion of the population who train grip have access to RT, AA, and grippers.  The second reason was that our Armlifting USA rankings are predicated on those 3 events and we thought that the credibility of the Arnold as a venue could draw the best American talent, which would then help us put together the best Team USA possible for worlds next year. The Armlift