The Show Of Hands Grip Cup And Euro-tex Challenge

[EricMilfeld]

March 27, 2010

Euro-Tex Challenge

1)Eric Milfeld 226.9

2)Mark DeSouza 204.4

3)Casey Emery 178.4

3)Kevin Emery 178.4

5)Alex Graves 158.7

The inaugural Euro-Tex Challenge was a three attempt opportunity to get a hefty Euro Pinch lift.

The Show of Hands Grip Cup V

                   2 Hands Pinch   Blob L   Blob R   Thumbless   Crusher   #2 Gripper   Total
1)Ryan Johnson           15          5        16        57         54          54        201
2)Eric Milfeld           41          24       24        27         29          48        193
3)Tim Struse             38          17       13        24         43          38        173
4)Paul Knight            24          6        5         33         27          43        138
5)Kevin Emery            31          4        8         30         12          41        126
6)Casey Emery            25          1        17        23         6           47        119
7)Mark DeSouza           26          3        2         23         6           25        85
8)Sherrie Wheeler        2           7        1         21         8           29        68
9)Alex Graves            6           0        8         7          9           24        54

Events Explanation

All events were time holds measured in seconds. We used a 2.25" wooden pinch block with 140 pounds, followed by a 50 lb. Legacy Blob for both left and right hands, then a 2.75" revolving handle loaded to 95 lbs., then a 2.5" Crusher with 125 lbs., and finally a 112 lb. #2 gripper strap hold with 1 pound plate. Sherrie, our lone gal gripster, contested the same events with weights of 85, 25 lb. Blob, 50, 65, and a Trainer.

[rico300zx]

Good Job Sherrie I wish Jenn would get into this with me!

rico

[bencrush]

Great job and congrats to all! That's some HUGE pinching Eric! How much over your bodyweight is that now?

[The Natural]

Very nice to see Eric putting in some comp numbers on 2HP that more closely reflect his actual pinch strength. The 2HP list did not do him justice for a long time.

[thewicked]

what a fun contest..and the top 4 were neck and neck right up to the last event. Anyone could've taken this one.

Tim is definately an up and comer and SCARY strong with a drive I haven't seen in anyone in a long time. If his training keeps progressing the way it has he's going to be a force come into this sport that we haven't seen in awhile.

[Sher]

Good Job Sherrie I wish Jenn would get into this with me!

rico

Thanks! It's a blast to do. I'd like to see more women compete for sure.

This was a really interesting way to see where I stand in terms of strength without the gender factor; I found myself working harder for each hold too because of it. Kudos to Eric for coming up with this and finding a way to test it out. Plus, the "100% timed holds" comp format was tough and made for some great drama.

Congrats to Ryan (again? lol), Eric and Tim for the top 3. It was tight until the very end - very exciting.

It was great meeting you, Tim! What a nice guy/competitor. Sorry I didn't get back to Paul's after all - I pretty much crashed and burned between a tough DL workout Thursday kicking in and the comp.

[EricMilfeld]

In terms of the "fun factor" this contest was IT for me.

Ben, I've recently beefed up to 198, so I did about 29 pounds over body weight this time.

Rex, yes, it's been a while since I was truly satisfied with my contest Euro performance. I did come close with 229 and change on my third attempt, but for some strange reason it just wouldn't contact the wooden rod.

You did us all proud Sherrie! I'm so pleased you were able to get the sense that you were competing head to head with the guys.

Tim Struse is incredibly strong, and in light of the fact that he's relatively new to grip, watch out! He's also way too humble and a genuinely nice guy. It was great to meet you Tim, and I enjoyed chatting with. I look forward to paying a visit to Tucson and competing with you and Aaron on your home turf.

Why is it so fun to pick on Paul? Is it because he's a gripper god and he consistently humiliates me? Naahhh. Paul, you may want to reconsider your new training approach. Visualizing and meditating on grip while sipping on a Michelob Ultra just doesn't seem to be paying off so well.

Thanks again to all the regulars for coming over and supporting The Show of Hands. Every single competitor dug deep and gave it their all.

And Ryan, I will figure out a way to get you yet! Perhaps I should try getting stronger. That might do the trick.

[rico300zx]

Any vids?

[cemery]

It was a really fun comp. Ryan really came back to win with his big performances in the revolving handle events. Eric did great on all event as usual. Tim is a strong dude and a really nice guy, very equall strength with left and right hand. Everybody there did great. It was great to see everybody again.

[fortes mãos]

Another fun contest with good Cripsters. Yo Eric we didn't get prizes for the euro tech challenge? Like for getting second, can I get a 4pk of Guinness? H.K.C. were the show stoppers but Tim "Mr.Nicey" Struse is a super bass rocker with wizard status. Then you have Eric "THE MILF" Milfeld he was using his power vain in his head to run the contest until Ryan "Big Panties" Johnson blasted right out and jacked the gold. Oh and Thank you Sherrie for dealing with all these sexist men in the contest. Thanks Eric for the comp whens the next ETC?

[Sher]

The ETC Prize Patrol delivered - didn't I see chalk handprints on the back of your shirt? [Nice 2HP btw! That top 50 list is tough to get on/stay on!] "All these sexy men..."? I just deal with it the best I can, Mark... OH! Sexist. My bad.

[rico300zx]

I'm wondering, is having a mini comp before the comp to try and break 2hp records a new trend in grip contests, I think I've seen this here and overseas?

Rico

[timstruse]

Thanks very much to Paul and his family for putting me up in their home and treating me like a king this weekend. I had a blast! I'd strongly recommend Show of Hands if anyone is considering traveling to the comp in future years. To everyone I met this weekend, it was a real pleasure.

[EricMilfeld]

Mark, your post cracked me up! But, yes, Sherrie called it right. The Euro-Tex Challenge had a three pat for first, two for second, and one for third prize package. Did you not get your pats? I know that we will be contesting Euro in Aug., Sept., Oct., and Nov. as part of the series of contests David Horne promoting world wide. Can we sneak one in before then? Possibly, if there's enough interest.

Rico, we were very light in the vid department. I know that Tim caught my Euro on tape and I should be able to post that later. I'm not sure what else was captured. The reason I, personally, conducted the pinch contest was to provide an opportunity for guys to get contest PRs and possibly move up on the top 50 pinch list. I didn't incorporate it into The Show of Hands this year as it was entirely theme-based, with timed holds. This also gave guys the choice of whether to risk hurting their SoH performance by doing the ETC or not.

[bencrush]

That is really cool that you had the ETC before the contest to let guys climb the list if they were able to. From 2007 to current, the lowest spot has risen 20lbs!

[Paul Knight]

In terms of the "fun factor" this contest was IT for me.

Ben, I've recently beefed up to 198, so I did about 29 pounds over body weight this time.

Rex, yes, it's been a while since I was truly satisfied with my contest Euro performance. I did come close with 229 and change on my third attempt, but for some strange reason it just wouldn't contact the wooden rod.

You did us all proud Sherrie! I'm so pleased you were able to get the sense that you were competing head to head with the guys.

Tim Struse is incredibly strong, and in light of the fact that he's relatively new to grip, watch out! He's also way too humble and a genuinely nice guy. It was great to meet you Tim, and I enjoyed chatting with. I look forward to paying a visit to Tucson and competing with you and Aaron on your home turf.

Why is it so fun to pick on Paul? Is it because he's a gripper god and he consistently humiliates me? Naahhh. Paul, you may want to reconsider your new training approach. Visualizing and meditating on grip while sipping on a Michelob Ultra just doesn't seem to be paying off so well.

Thanks again to all the regulars for coming over and supporting The Show of Hands. Every single competitor dug deep and gave it their all.

And Ryan, I will figure out a way to get you yet! Perhaps I should try getting stronger. That might do the trick.

Changed ... time to hit it hard again ... Ryan's after comp trash talk was the straw that broke the camel's back. After this weekend I don't even want to drink anymore ... prolly worst hang over I've had in a while - jeez. It was fun though. I've been training in the gym real hard for about 8 weeks now and thought that would carry over to grip .... I haven't really had a chance to train grip specifically lately so I was counting on my gym work, but it didn't pan out. I was dissapointed in my personal performance. I still would've been okay with 4th as long as I personally did good because Tim, you and Ryan are monsters and don't feel bad losing to monsters, but I lost to myself.

The contest and contest idea was awesome .. no one should think for a minute that just because they may be strong at a quick heavy lift to lockout that they would be good at this contest because that's not the case. Timed holds are a whole other ball game.

It was awesome having Tim over .. he's super cool. Thanks Tim for all your help ... you and your family are welcome anytime.

[Bob Lipinski]

I am glad Eric had a non-traditional contest. That is part of the fun of grip, there are tons of fun and weird shit to lift. It is what makes Beatty's contest popular, and it is something I try to do with the MGC every other year or so.

Also Paul- You wait till the third or 4th event to start drinking. Drinking beer during any sledge event is a must.

[Sher]

I really wish we had more for you guys to see - my camera wasn't charged up or I'd have had everything I could get on vid. It was a blast to watch everyone give super max efforts all afternoon (as much fun to watch as bending events IMO) and the scoring was so simple it made it easy to see who was needing what times to do well each step of the way. Another bonus was that it didn't run overly long like other comp types can do.

Just an addendum, but you're looking at having to be able to make the lifts at all. I mean, the Legacy blob stayed in the single digits for most of the guys but it's still a 50# blob! How many out there would be thrilled to just get air - any air? Very cool to watch with very well chosen events to show different grip strengths including bilateral balance (see "Tim Struse" ).

I'd love to see another comp like this around here again. 1RM events are still the norm as they perhaps should be but, as Bob said, there's no reason to limit the options.

[EricMilfeld]

Ben, it really is amazing just how competitive the top 50 list has become.

Here's the video of my Euro Pinch. And thanks to Tim for uploading it:

[mightyjoe]

Eric, sorry me and Cody coudn't make it. I know it was fun.

Missed hanging out with my grip friends.

Will not miss again!!!

Good job to all!

Hats off to Sherrie. Great competitor!

[Sher]

Missed seeing you and Cody there, Joe! Y'all would have enjoyed it.

Eric was 3/4's of the way to the top with the 229. Just a matter of time for 240.

[fortes mãos]

Eric just so you know you are a legend in this sport and motivate me every time you PR. You just keep setting the bar that much higher. For the pulls you do at 200lbs is insane. I hope to follow what you and Paul have taught me thanks for everything.

Edited March 30, 2010 by fortes mãos

[EricMilfeld]

Joe, we did miss you guys. I might be able to make the Ronnie Coleman Classic this year along with Paul. Paul will be running a grip challenge, and I'd like to tag along and help out.

Mark, I don't know about all that, but I have no doubt about you going far. You have a lot more natural talent than me. But thank you for the compliments!

[fortes mãos]

Well take it as it is you've help mold 90 percent of gripsters in DFW area so there gray bush.

[The Natural]

Joe, we did miss you guys. I might be able to make the Ronnie Coleman Classic this year along with Paul. Paul will be running a grip challenge, and I'd like to tag along and help out.

I encourage all gripsters to do this at some point in their lives. Its value is similar to that which a clerkship provides for an attorney, or what a study abroad provides for a student.