Jump to content

2019 January - LA Fit Expo - Eric Roussin


Eric Roussin

Recommended Posts

Yesterday I was at the Los Angeles Fit Expo competing in the Visegrip Viking All-American Armlifting Challenge. This was my third time attending this event, and as always, there were many very strong competitors.

In the 220-lb class, there were four men: me, Riccardo Magni, Steve Millard, and Devinlee Brown. Riccardo I know quite well at this point, but it was the first time I had met Steve and Devinlee. Both have previously competed in 2-3 grip contests, including King Kong in 2017 and 2018. I knew they were good a thick bar, as they had both lifted more than 200 lbs on the 2.5” Crusher. I put my hand against Devinlee’s because he looked like he had very long fingers. I was correct. I didn’t have a ruler, but I estimate his hand length is close to 9”. I believe he lives in Minnesota and he also armwrestles.

The first event of the contest was the double overhand axle deadlift. This event was part of the strongman contest as well as the armlifting. There must have been close to 50 competitors in all. Two axles were used: a brand new one for those who were lifting heavier weights and a well-seasoned one for those lifting (relatively) lighter weights. My goal heading into LA was to lift at least 425 lbs on the axle. Training for the Arnolds has been going well, and I felt this would be possible. (Note that I’ve been moving up in weight for the past three months, which has helped accelerate strength gains.) I started at 385 lbs for my first of four attempts, and it went up fine. I then moved to 407 and then 418 – smooth sailing so far. I went for 429 on my last attempt and was successful. This tied my contest record, which I set back in 2013 when I weighed close to 220 lbs. It was nice to hit this number again, and it has given me confidence in my quest to lift 440 at the Arnolds. I believe the most weight lifted by anyone in the contest was 462 or 473.

Next up was the Rolling Thunder. Traditionally, the RT has been contested prior to the axle in Odd’s events, but not this year. I don’t know if this played a part, but seemingly everyone’s numbers were down from usual. I expected to lift at least 231, but only managed 220. I just couldn’t get a comfortable grip on the handle. Martins Licis, Odd Haugen, and Carl Myerscough all lifted 220 and then moved to 242 --- and all three missed! Carl in particular couldn’t believe it because he hadn’t missed this weight in years. The only person to lift more than 250 lbs was Russian Roman Penkovski (he lifted 253 lbs). Even world record holder Alexey Tyukalov only managed a lift of 248. Everyone seemed a little confused by the results. The good news for me was that because there was a four-way tie for third place, being the lightest competitor I won the tie-break. This meant I also won the third place cash prize!

The Saxon Bar was up next. It was a beautiful bar recently made by Sorinex. Everyone agreed that the bar had a great texture. I wasn’t sure how I would do. I was expecting to lift close to 225 lbs if the bar was similar to mine. The dimensions of the bar were the same, but the texture was even better, so I was thrilled when I was able to lift 242 lbs! But in my opinion the most impressive Saxon Bar performance was Steve Millard’s. At a bodyweight of about 210 lbs and in his fifties, he outlifted everyone except Martins Licis! He lifted 253 lbs – a weight that even the great Alexey couldn’t manage!

The final event was the Silver Bullet. My goal is to be able to do a hold with the #4 at the Arnolds, but I’m not quite there yet. So I just attempted the 3.5. Judging by how my training had been going, I thought I should be good for about 15 seconds. I tried to set the gripper, and then it slipped out of position. I tried to set it again, but was still having trouble. Starting to panic that I would run out of time, I settled for a horrible hand position, and only held the bullet for a little more than 3 seconds. (I realized after that I still had plenty of time. Upon Riccardo’s suggestion, I will re-enact this scenario in training so that I can better manage my time at the next contest and avoid panicking.) Luckily, I had built up enough of a buffer to secure the overall class win.

The LA Fit Expo always get fantastic attendance and there was a great-sized crowd throughout the contest. If you haven’t been there before, I suggest putting it on your bucket list!

  • Like 14
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Aleksandar Milosevic said:

I'm having trouble finding any news or videos about the contest?

There's minimal coverage on it, but there's been some stuff posted on the other two threads. Thanks to @BigRedDoc:

Event Stream:

DOH Axle: https://www.facebook.com/OddEHaugen/videos/2176243889358098/

Saxon Bar: https://www.facebook.com/will.guiliani/videos/10155685480682693/

Clips:

Larry Wheels Fan Club 200kg axle (unofficial): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJkqvNFqli8

Martins 125kg Saxon Bar (WR): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL9z1wv5XeI&t=2s

 

Edited by DAVE101
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great write-up Eric! And congratulations on your performance.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy policies.