3rd Annual Armhighland Gripstrongwrestling Powergames

[jasonotto]

This past Saturday, the Charlotte Pick-Up Artists held the 3rd Annual Armhighland Gripstrongwrestling Powergames in Hickory, NC which is about an hour outside of Charlotte.  We did not expect much in terms of a crowd since we didn't push the event as much as in years past.  With that being said, we held a decent event with some stellar performances.

A huge thank you to Used Gym Store in Hickory for allowing us to host the event at their warehouse.  They are the best of the best.  We literally have everything at our disposal, no questions asked.  It's a great partnership that we hope will carry on for years to come.  If you are ever near Hickory, NC, you have to stop by.  I'm terms of weights and exercise equipment, they have it all.

Thank you to Jedd Johnson and the Diesel Crew for sponsoring the event with giveaways and Diesel Crew swag.  Jedd has sponsored the event since the beginning and his help has been greatly appreciated. 

The way AGP works is that each competitor may pick 3 events in which to compete out of the 5 offered.  The events this year had the two mainstays of 20mm gripper and Lever Top.  We also included the Euro OHP, 2.5" Crusher, and the Sledge Choke.  We decided to forego the medley this year to save time, but...we have something crazy planned for the spring, so keep it on the back burner.

First event was grippers.  I personally haven't trained grippers in a couple years due to my push toward bending, but I gave it a go anyway.  I managed a 151, but missed on the 156.  Newcomer Russ Hilton did not miss a squeeze.  He finished with a huge feat of 156.  Look out for big things from him in the future.  His father Lee pulled out a 131 and he literally just learned how to block set.  He's going to be a force.  Porkchop (Sreven Samaniego) tied my contest PR of 160 and narrowly missed a 167.  He's been chasing that close for a while, it is going to down soon. Chop won grippers this time!

Next was the Sledge Choke.  James Retarides was the only competitor that chose this event.  He trains Sledge vigorously and had to see what he could muster on the big stage.  His first try was a monster pull of 324lb.  His contest PR and a lift that would push him up to 2nd on the leaderboard.  He just barely missed 342.  Had the height, but couldn't hang on.  Huge numbers from James!

The next event was one of our staples, the Lever Top.  We are one of the only comps that hold this event, but we always see monster numbers.  Cody Ward burst on to the scene with a lift of 73.42!  Not bad for someone right out of the gates.  His wheels are turning with this event, and being an armwrestler as well, I think we can expect big numbers from this guy.  Porkchop pulled out an amazing 95.1!  Talk about grit, he pulled it strict and with authority.  He moves into 3rd on the leaderboard and I see no ceiling for him.  James has not trained Lever Top since last AGP, but decided to throw his hat in the ring.  He pulled 114.71 and narrowly missed 117.  For anyone who has ever tried this event, it hurts.  It is not fun to train for and even worse to compete in!  These numbers were nuts!

Euro OHP was next.  We held the THP a couple years ago and decided to try the OHP this year.  There was no humidity and the device honestly felt terrible.  Lee and Russ Hilton tied at 71.87, but Russ will tell you, his dad has a heck of a pinch.  I see huge numbers coming out of the Hilton's next year.  I managed an 80.01.  Tried for a PR of 85 and just missed.  James won the event with 85.0 for a new PR.  James had a great day all around.

Finally, came the 2.5" Crusher.  Lee took 3rd with 153.11.  Russ and myself tied at 162.62.  I just missed 168 which would have been a 3lb PR.  Porkchop crushed his PR with a 177.85.  Huge lift!  This dude has nothing stopping him from becoming world class in gripsport and armwrestling.  Please, keep an eye on this guy.

At the end of the day, Russ Hilton decided to get a video to submit for MM0.  I filmed it and his hand went out of the frame as he was closing the gripper and I told him I couldn't get a clear view.  So with the gripper still closed, he decided to open it parallel and squeeze out another rep.  I think he even surprised himself!! It was epic.  He will be working his way up that ladder quick.

All in all we did not have a lot of competitors, but we had a great time.  As usual we thought of a few ideas to work into the event next year.  Hopefully it will be even bigger and better.  We got a couple newbies excited about grip competition, which is what it's all about.  And we witnessed some world class feats (Sledge, Lever Top).  Cant say that happens at every event.

Thank you to all who participated.  See you all next September!

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by jasonotto
Accuracy

[rphilton]

Thanks for running a great contest, Jason. My dad and I enjoyed it a lot and it was nice that it was low key for our first meet.

On a positive note, I did pass the MM0 with the attempts you filmed so onto the next one shortly. Gotta practice filming my own now.

Looking forward to the next comp in your neck of the woods.

[jasonotto]

Congrats on the close!  You mashed it with authority!  We were glad to have you both at the comp.

[Vinnie]

On 9/27/2021 at 9:34 PM, jasonotto said:

This past Saturday, the Charlotte Pick-Up Artists held the 3rd Annual Armhighland Gripstrongwrestling Powergames in Hickory, NC which is about an hour outside of Charlotte.  We did not expect much in terms of a crowd since we didn't push the event as much as in years past.  With that being said, we held a decent event with some stellar performances.

A huge thank you to Used Gym Store in Hickory for allowing us to host the event at their warehouse.  They are the best of the best.  We literally have everything at our disposal, no questions asked.  It's a great partnership that we hope will carry on for years to come.  If you are ever near Hickory, NC, you have to stop by.  I'm terms of weights and exercise equipment, they have it all.

Thank you to Jedd Johnson and the Diesel Crew for sponsoring the event with giveaways and Diesel Crew swag.  Jedd has sponsored the event since the beginning and his help has been greatly appreciated. 

The way AGP works is that each competitor may pick 3 events in which to compete out of the 5 offered.  The events this year had the two mainstays of 20mm gripper and Lever Top.  We also included the Euro OHP, 2.5" Crusher, and the Sledge Choke.  We decided to forego the medley this year to save time, but...we have something crazy planned for the spring, so keep it on the back burner.

First event was grippers.  I personally haven't trained grippers in a couple years due to my push toward bending, but I gave it a go anyway.  I managed a 151, but missed on the 156.  Newcomer Russ Hilton did not miss a squeeze.  He finished with a huge feat of 156.  Look out for big things from him in the future.  His father Lee pulled out a 131 and he literally just learned how to block set.  He's going to be a force.  Porkchop (Sreven Samaniego) tied my contest PR of 160 and narrowly missed a 167.  He's been chasing that close for a while, it is going to down soon. Chop won grippers this time!

Next was the Sledge Choke.  James Retarides was the only competitor that chose this event.  He trains Sledge vigorously and had to see what he could muster on the big stage.  His first try was a monster pull of 324lb.  His contest PR and a lift that would push him up to 2nd on the leaderboard.  He just barely missed 342.  Had the height, but couldn't hang on.  Huge numbers from James!

The next event was one of our staples, the Lever Top.  We are one of the only comps that hold this event, but we always see monster numbers.  Cody Ward burst on to the scene with a lift of 73.42!  Not bad for someone right out of the gates.  His wheels are turning with this event, and being an armwrestler as well, I think we can expect big numbers from this guy.  Porkchop pulled out an amazing 95.1!  Talk about grit, he pulled it strict and with authority.  He moves into 3rd on the leaderboard and I see no ceiling for him.  James has not trained Lever Top since last AGP, but decided to throw his hat in the ring.  He pulled 114.71 and narrowly missed 117.  For anyone who has ever tried this event, it hurts.  It is not fun to train for and even worse to compete in!  These numbers were nuts!

Euro OHP was next.  We held the THP a couple years ago and decided to try the OHP this year.  There was no humidity and the device honestly felt terrible.  Lee and Russ Hilton tied at 71.87, but Russ will tell you, his dad has a heck of a pinch.  I see huge numbers coming out of the Hilton's next year.  I managed an 80.01.  Tried for a PR of 85 and just missed.  James won the event with 85.0 for a new PR.  James had a great day all around.

Finally, came the 2.5" Crusher.  Lee took 3rd with 153.11.  Russ and myself tied at 162.62.  I just missed 168 which would have been a 3lb PR.  Porkchop crushed his PR with a 177.85.  Huge lift!  This dude has nothing stopping him from becoming world class in gripsport and armwrestling.  Please, keep an eye on this guy.

At the end of the day, Russ Hilton decided to get a video to submit for MM0.  I filmed it and his hand went out of the frame as he was closing the gripper and I told him I couldn't get a clear view.  So with the gripper still closed, he decided to open it parallel and squeeze out another rep.  I think he even surprised himself!! It was epic.  He will be working his way up that ladder quick.

All in all we did not have a lot of competitors, but we had a great time.  As usual we thought of a few ideas to work into the event next year.  Hopefully it will be even bigger and better.  We got a couple newbies excited about grip competition, which is what it's all about.  And we witnessed some world class feats (Sledge, Lever Top).  Cant say that happens at every event.

Thank you to all who participated.  See you all next September!

 

Great write up!  I would love to come to a comp there sometime.  And how old is Lee?  It's always cool to see older guys who get interested in grip.  And to be one of them lol (52).

[Vinnie]

1 hour ago, rphilton said:

Thanks for running a great contest, Jason. My dad and I enjoyed it a lot and it was nice that it was low key for our first meet.

On a positive note, I did pass the MM0 with the attempts you filmed so onto the next one shortly. Gotta practice filming my own now.

Looking forward to the next comp in your neck of the woods.

Yeah, I would practice the filming, because when you are near your limit going for a cert, say MM2, you won't necessarily be able to eke out the second rep.  But that gripper looked easy for you.

[rphilton]

9 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

Great write up!  I would love to come to a comp there sometime.  And how old is Lee?  It's always cool to see older guys who get interested in grip.  And to be one of them lol (52).

Hi Vinnie, my dad is 67. We've been around grip a while--we both closed the #2.5 about a decade ago, and after speaking with Matt Cannon found that one of the grippers my Dad owns was manufactured by Warren Tetting back in the 90s--but didn't really take it seriously until the last year. I was unable to close the #2.5 last September but worked back up to it in a month or two. 

We both like the minimal wear and tear on our bodies...years of rugby make other competitive lifting sports a non starter for me.

His top lift is the Ironmind Hub...he's done 60 lbs on it. We're both working towards the Crushed to Dust cert with the Rolling Thunder being the biggest roadblock. We've both done 175 on it.

I've enjoyed reading your contest write ups and your new log. Best of luck as you continue working towards the COC#3 and your other goals.

[jasonotto]

Vinnie, it would be great to have you down!  We will be having an event in March in addition addition out Annual September comp.  I will share details once we get closer.

[Vinnie]

10 hours ago, rphilton said:

We're both working towards the Crushed to Dust cert with the Rolling Thunder being the biggest roadblock. We've both done 175 on it.

Yeah, like you guys both, my best RT is in the 170s even though the 2 and the 45-hub are easy.  It's such a lopsided cert.

Hope to see you both at a comp soon!