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If you don’t mind my asking, what’s to stop you from getting to a practice if there was one near you?..

a house arrest type situation?

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On 1/17/2022 at 3:04 AM, Tommy J. said:

If you don’t mind my asking, what’s to stop you from getting to a practice if there was one near you?..

a house arrest type situation?

.

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2 hours ago, Thatdude said:

Lol... maybe i ain't old enough drive.  ain't under arrest afaik

Ah okay. Lol

hope it didn’t seem odd that I ask… I was in a similar situation at one time.

 

so to answer your question, yes, you’ll do okay training at home on a table with no opponents. So long as you train specific with some sort of setup that mimics various angles that might happen on the table. Obviously many pullers agree that there is no substitute for table time with actual pullers. But guys like Corey “Flash” Miller tend to defy that logic. That guy mostly trains at home alone with his machines. And can still cut a rug to this day.

 

and for the record, I dig hearing about guys like yourself starting so young, and at the same time already inquiring about real concerns when it comes to training for the sport. That said… who knows.. I may be talking to the next Devon Larratt here.

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On 1/17/2022 at 6:49 AM, Tommy J. said:

Ah okay. Lol

hope it didn’t seem odd that I ask… I was in a similar situation at one time.

 

so to answer your question, yes, you’ll do okay training at home on a table with no opponents. So long as you train specific with some sort of setup that mimics various angles that might happen on the table. Obviously many pullers agree that there is no substitute for table time with actual pullers. But guys like Corey “Flash” Miller tend to defy that logic. That guy mostly trains at home alone with his machines. And can still cut a rug to this day.

 

and for the record, I dig hearing about guys like yourself starting so young, and at the same time already inquiring about real concerns when it comes to training for the sport. That said… who knows.. I may be talking to the next Devon Larratt here.

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If you're an absolute beginner then I don't think it's possible to become very good in isolation. If you already have a base of table experience, then you can better apply weights to the right areas and make great progress since you know where pressure should be applied in a way that isn't possible without actually feeling it.

If I didn't have any one to pull I'd spend the vast majority of gym time working hand and wrist, since it's very easy to get the arms to catch up later but harder to do the opposite. 

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Anything that can resist your palm being turned up (pronation) …that’s what I feel most when arm wrestling someone. And keeping your elbow in tight as you can. Once it separates…or as the gap increases you’re compromised. And obviously shoulder and elbow is going to benefit from table time. Bands are the best option if you can’t be a table trainer. IMO 

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On 1/17/2022 at 1:08 PM, slazbob said:

Anything that can resist your palm being turned up (pronation) …that’s what I feel most when arm wrestling someone. And keeping your elbow in tight as you can. Once it separates…or as the gap increases you’re compromised. And obviously shoulder and elbow is going to benefit from table time. Bands are the best option if you can’t be a table trainer. IMO 

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Are you certain that you don’t have any clubs nearby? If not I would suggest trying to at least travel to large open practices or different events to find other pullers. Even though there might not be any clubs nearby there could be actual pullers nearby that are in the same predicament as you who live nearby and have to travel far to the nearest club. They might even have a table and could be eager to meet other armwrestlers they can train with so they don’t have to travel far anymore.

When I started the nearest club was 2-3 hours away. I found some pullers who lived close and we started training together and have slowly added more and more members since then. Today we are just under 40 active pullers. So I went from not having anyone to pull to a giant crew that comes to my facility to train.

Edited by David_wigren
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On 1/17/2022 at 3:49 PM, David_wigren said:

Are you certain that you don’t have any clubs nearby? If not I would suggest trying to at least travel to large open practices or different events to find other pullers. Even though there might not be any clubs nearby there could be actual pullers nearby that are in the same predicament as you who live nearby and have to travel far to the nearest club. They might even have a table and could be eager to meet other armwrestlers they can train with so they don’t have to travel far anymore.

When I started the nearest club was 2-3 hours away. I found some pullers who lived close and we started training together and have slowly added more and more members since then. Today we are just under 40 active pullers. So I went from not having anyone to pull to a giant crew that comes to my facility to train.

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58 minutes ago, Thatdude said:

 

The closest club I've found is over an hour away.. I dont think I can get a ride as my parents don't know anything about my armwreslting.  ive not found any one closer on armbet or a couple other sites .

  it should be less than a year till I'm driving then I hope to join the club or at least go to some tournaments 

A year isn't that long, but if you wanted to get to something sooner, would your parents not allow it?  That would seem silly, not to support something athletic.  My son is about a year away from driving and I take him to tennis every week 45 minutes away (he's not interested in strength sports), and even play with him sometimes, to support his athletic interest.  On the other hand, if it's over an hour away, they may find that a bit much.  Maybe they'd offer to take you once, like a birthday gift or something, and then when you drive you'll start to go more often on your own?  Anyway, good luck.  I've been meaning to learn how to arm wrestle for a few decades, but just when I made the move to start learning about 5 years ago when I was 47, I discovered grippers and got distracted from arm wrestling for a couple more years.  Then COVID hit.  I should check into it again soon, as things start happening again more often.

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On 1/17/2022 at 6:17 PM, Vinnie said:

A year isn't that long, but if you wanted to get to something sooner, would your parents not allow it?  That would seem silly, not to support something athletic.  My son is about a year away from driving and I take him to tennis every week 45 minutes away (he's not interested in strength sports), and even play with him sometimes, to support his athletic interest.  On the other hand, if it's over an hour away, they may find that a bit much.  Maybe they'd offer to take you once, like a birthday gift or something, and then when you drive you'll start to go more often on your own?  Anyway, good luck.  I've been meaning to learn how to arm wrestle for a few decades, but just when I made the move to start learning about 5 years ago when I was 47, I discovered grippers and got distracted from arm wrestling for a couple more years.  Then COVID hit.  I should check into it again soon, as things start happening again more often.

.

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Friends from school, 

you could start a club

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On 1/17/2022 at 7:05 PM, slazbob said:

How about your dad? I used to get my father to practice with me all the time.

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On 1/17/2022 at 7:37 PM, John Knowlton said:

Friends from school, 

you could start a club

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10 hours ago, Thatdude said:

Also thank every body for the ideas etc  it's the only sport where people that have been doing it for years will give a noob a bunch of advice. Part of why I love it.

I know nothing about armwrestling, but keep plugging away and training, a year is nothing. Stay humble and prepare to get your ass kicked, but even when you lose its a win, as long as you learn something from it.

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Even when i go to tournaments, Especially if i think i'm gonna lose i treat it like one big training session, It really helps keep humble and enjoying it

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12 hours ago, Thatdude said:

Also thank every body for the ideas etc  it's the only sport where people that have been doing it for years will give a noob a bunch of advice. Part of why I love it.

Quick story about my experience with arm wrestling:  I got pushed around in middle school.  I was a geeky kid and wasn't gonna be a fighting type anyway, especially because I had cancer when I was 11 in 1980.  Two weeks after I had exploratory surgery in my abdomen, a kid punched me in the stomach and knocked my books over.  For the next year, I was on chemotherapy and getting irradiated, and it gave me sunburn-like welts.  I was vomiting a lot.  I had to take 20 or 30 pills a day and go to the hospital all the time.  It sucked, and preteens can be real assholes or just stupid.  And it didn't help that I had to drop out of little league baseball and not take gym class for a year; I really lost ground and had no shot at catching up (well, at least I didn't try).

So when all the treatments were over and I was getting back to normal, I started to work out a bit just to not be such a wimp. And it turns out I have pretty strong arms. So somehow I got the idea I should arm wrestle guys who gave me trouble in the hallways to show them I was no wimp -- and it worked.  I beat everybody, and I was 145 pounds standing just 5 feet 6 (now I'm 180 pounds).  The only person I couldn't beat, I tied -- and that was Jim Mecir, who went on to pitch for the New York Yankees and Oakland.  Over the years after that, every now and then at a bar after work or whatever, I would surprise bigger guys by beating them at arm wrestles.  Or sometimes I'd tie them if they were really strong.  But I don't look like I should beat or tie those guys.  

Fast forward to about 5 or 6 years ago or so, when I was 46 or 47.  I got cocky, thinking I am a natural or something, so I went to an arm wrestling competition (I never learned how, or practiced, or met anyone who had competed -- I just thought I was good because every few years I beat bigger guys in casual matches at bars lol).

Well.  Guys my own size, in my own weight class, destroyed me.  Easily.  Every time.  And I did this twice.

So, ok, maybe those guys were stronger than they looked, and maybe they were stronger than me, and I will never know for sure.  But they beat me worse than just being stronger.  I'm strong enough that if it was just about the strength, it would have been closer even if they were very strong because I'm really not a wimp.  This was technique.

So I know if I wanted to learn a bit of technique, I could be a passable arm wrestler at my body weight and for my age.  But it is in large part about that technique.

Silver lining from this lesson:  (1) I realized at the meet, from the generous attitude of the experienced arm wrestlers there, that there are really cool people in the sport who just enjoy sharing the sport with others, which is kind of what you were saying there; and (2) I discovered grippers, because they had some COC grippers there and I was intrigued.  I went home and ordered some, and got addicted to grippers, and found this forum, and became a gripster (and recently a certified Captain of Crush!) -- and all this because in 1980, Erik Russell knocked over my books and I was tired of being a wimp.  And I guess also because IronMind sponsored the arm wrestling meet.

But it took decades and a circuitous route for me to get there.  Awesome that you are looking into it while still a teen, and you can develop this interest for your lifetime enjoyment.  I hope your parents encourage and support the interest.  It will improve your life, and they should want that.

Good luck.

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On 1/18/2022 at 9:26 AM, Jermiah Merciconah said:

Even when i go to tournaments, Especially if i think i'm gonna lose i treat it like one big training session, It really helps keep humble and enjoying it

.

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On 1/18/2022 at 9:40 AM, Vinnie said:

Quick story about my experience with arm wrestling:  I got pushed around in middle school.  I was a geeky kid and wasn't gonna be a fighting type anyway, especially because I had cancer when I was 11 in 1980.  Two weeks after I had exploratory surgery in my abdomen, a kid punched me in the stomach and knocked my books over.  For the next year, I was on chemotherapy and getting irradiated, and it gave me sunburn-like welts.  I was vomiting a lot.  I had to take 20 or 30 pills a day and go to the hospital all the time.  It sucked, and preteens can be real assholes or just stupid.  And it didn't help that I had to drop out of little league baseball and not take gym class for a year; I really lost ground and had no shot at catching up (well, at least I didn't try).

So when all the treatments were over and I was getting back to normal, I started to work out a bit just to not be such a wimp. And it turns out I have pretty strong arms. So somehow I got the idea I should arm wrestle guys who gave me trouble in the hallways to show them I was no wimp -- and it worked.  I beat everybody, and I was 145 pounds standing just 5 feet 6 (now I'm 180 pounds).  The only person I couldn't beat, I tied -- and that was Jim Mecir, who went on to pitch for the New York Yankees and Oakland.  Over the years after that, every now and then at a bar after work or whatever, I would surprise bigger guys by beating them at arm wrestles.  Or sometimes I'd tie them if they were really strong.  But I don't look like I should beat or tie those guys.  

Fast forward to about 5 or 6 years ago or so, when I was 46 or 47.  I got cocky, thinking I am a natural or something, so I went to an arm wrestling competition (I never learned how, or practiced, or met anyone who had competed -- I just thought I was good because every few years I beat bigger guys in casual matches at bars lol).

Well.  Guys my own size, in my own weight class, destroyed me.  Easily.  Every time.  And I did this twice.

So, ok, maybe those guys were stronger than they looked, and maybe they were stronger than me, and I will never know for sure.  But they beat me worse than just being stronger.  I'm strong enough that if it was just about the strength, it would have been closer even if they were very strong because I'm really not a wimp.  This was technique.

So I know if I wanted to learn a bit of technique, I could be a passable arm wrestler at my body weight and for my age.  But it is in large part about that technique.

Silver lining from this lesson:  (1) I realized at the meet, from the generous attitude of the experienced arm wrestlers there, that there are really cool people in the sport who just enjoy sharing the sport with others, which is kind of what you were saying there; and (2) I discovered grippers, because they had some COC grippers there and I was intrigued.  I went home and ordered some, and got addicted to grippers, and found this forum, and became a gripster (and recently a certified Captain of Crush!) -- and all this because in 1980, Erik Russell knocked over my books and I was tired of being a wimp.  And I guess also because IronMind sponsored the arm wrestling meet.

But it took decades and a circuitous route for me to get there.  Awesome that you are looking into it while still a teen, and you can develop this interest for your lifetime enjoyment.  I hope your parents encourage and support the interest.  It will improve your life, and they should want that.

Good luck.

.

Edited by Thatdude
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22 minutes ago, Thatdude said:

thats amazing you beat all those guys without  technique

Well, they had no technique either lol.  That's why I lost so badly when I finally met up with guys who did.  I should learn a little soon though, I think I would enjoy it more if I knew what I was doing.  But grip has been plenty for me for the last few years and fills the same kind of space in my life that arm wrestling might for some others.

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