New York Grip Throw Down

[Chez]

I ordered some grip stuff tonight. We are going to have a prize for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in both the heavyweight and lightweight divisions. If you live remotely close, come and compete. Even if you little experience, its a great learning experience.

[bubba29]

is that a 10 minute medley?

[Chez]

is that a 10 minute medley?

I get 10 minutes to complete it and everyone else gets 4 minutes.............I'm kidding. I have been spending way too much time studying. 4 minutes for everyone.

[bubba29]

is that a 10 minute medley?

I get 10 minutes to complete it and everyone else gets 4 minutes.............I'm kidding. I have been spending way too much time studying. 4 minutes for everyone.

i guess if i think about it, that is not a large amount of items for a 4 minute medley.

Edited November 29, 2012 by bubba29

[daniel reinard]

From personal experience, 30 items and 3 min and 40 and 4 seems to be real good times to be a tad on the hard side.

[Chez]

Contest Prizes:

I also hauled 530 lbs in weight plates to get weighed on a postal scale the other day. That was a freaking workout.

[Mike Sharkey]

Contest Prizes:

I also hauled 530 lbs in weight plates to get weighed on a postal scale the other day. That was a freaking workout.

Monk moving stones

[Chez]

Contest Prizes:

I also hauled 530 lbs in weight plates to get weighed on a postal scale the other day. That was a freaking workout.

Monk moving stones

right.........If I was the monk I would rather be moving bags of money.

[Jedd Johnson]

Good luck to everyone at the contest this weekend. Wish I could be there, but I can not.

[daniel reinard]

By my calculations, there is probably 3 ingested bottles of wine already post comp. I hope everyone had a great time and hit some nice PRs.

[anwnate]

By my calculations, there is probably 3 ingested bottles of wine already post comp. I hope everyone had a great time and hit some nice PRs.

LOL not quite. We were pretty exhausted and quite tame at afterwards. The medley really kicked everyone's butt (much fun though)!

Spoiler...I took second to Chez in the Medley...need to buy a kettlebell...and practice sledge coin lifts dammit.

I just got home and got stuff put away. I'm sure Chez will update later. I'm gonna wait until tomorrow.

Had a great time and PR'd like crazy!

Big thanks to Chez and John for hosting and John's willingness to Ref today.

Until tomorrow...

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[Chez]

I am super tired. We had so many cancellations but the guys who showed up gave everything they had. Just a great group of guys. We are doing it again this summer. Every one has home work to do. I want everyone who showed up to bring at least one other man/woman for the summer comp. Yep, we are doing it again this summer. I will build the the New York grip movement no matter what. I am a hard worker and I am very stubborn. This was a great starter comp and I learned a lot from the experience. I will post the result tomorrow once I get some sleep.

[anwnate]

I posted this in my log, but since I don't expect that most people read it(with good reason lol), I'm posting it here also since it's event related.

ANWNate's Throwdown Report

(disclaimer: this report is someone egocentric, however…it is MY report heh)

It's an hour North of my home so I left fairly early. I awoke with just a shadow of back pain from my recent tweaking. I decide to be very careful about my movements today…including loading and unloading my weights and platform. Due to some slight mixup with the gym's owner, we ended up waiting in the front of the place for 30-45 min due to the presence of some chick class going on. Not exactly an ideal thing in the Winter, but it wasn't brutally cold out and we got to catch up a bit. I think we were a bit noisy for all the ladies though. There were a number of cancellations. Numbers that once (in the beginning) swelled to 12 (semi-solids) and 16 (possibles) had fallen all the way down to 5. It would have been 6 but Wojo eventually decided (most likely wisely) that discretion was the better part of valor and sat this one out(injured arm). We can't thank him enough for showing up as a ref, judge and mentor. Not to kiss your butt John, but it shows a true respect for your word and for the Sport to show up and help facilitate the day.

The Venue

It was held at Botticelli's extreme fitness in Thornton NY. The owner was friendly and accommodating…yet another of Chez's friends. Because the gym shares it's little strip mall with other places of business, there's a bit of contentiousness that goes on with the parking, so it was important not to ruffle feathers and find a safe park (not difficult). http://www.botticellifitness.com/ The place isn't overly big, but houses a crazy assortment of training equipment. They had some limited business going on during our event, but all in all…it worked out pretty well (from our prospective at least). In retrospect, we could have done a few things differently (like stand the loading platform/extra weights out of the way to give them more room etc), but it was both Chez and the gym owner's first go at something like this. I'd call the venue pretty ideal.

The Players

Chez of course…is a legend, so no need to go further. John (Wojo) showed to ref and facilitate. Myself. Brian (matrixsleeper…armwrestler extraordinaire, bending/grip guy) showed. We had met at Chez's before. Anthony. I also met at Chez's for a training session. Dude pulls 300+ on the Axle at 170. Joe (Anthony's friend) I was meeting for the first time…turned out to be a tough bugger too. These guys are very new to grip, but you can already tell with minimal work could really explode. Joe and Anthony's ladies attended to support their men (and film etc).

Entering

We finally entered the building and brought in a parade of block weights, pins and grip paraphernalia. We got a few odd looks from the departing sweaty ladies but we were pretty focused on getting started. I had brought my screwgun (with extra batteries) and set up the medley platform, while Chez set up his gripper table. He had prelabled the table (smart) with blue tape, so it was pretty easy to place the grippers and keep in order throughout the event. The medley table went back together without a hitch and I went into the back to get changed. I had to sport my new Diesel Crew shirt. It came with Guaranteed PR's for a full year. I was pretty psyched to try it out. I weighed in at 243ish.

Grippers 20mm both hands

Chez has got like a gazzillion grippers. I don't mean Mighty Joe league, but just for the average gripper bear. It's almost like going to an honest to goodness Candy house when you are like 5-8 years old. You want to try everything! I admit I glazed a little when Chez was explaining grippers, my mind was on my back which had stiffened since the morning. I drank a little wine from my waterbottle…hoping to loosen up a little. Chez failed epically in bring my one request…"Papawine". What could he possibly have on his mind…except running an entire grip event? Hmmmm. Slacker! Turns out we were following through with both hands (dominant/off) due to the limited turnout. I did a few practice squeezes with both.

First go..I failed righty on a #149 due to skin squeeze. Got it the following one. I decided to do some squats with light dumbbells (35's) in between my closes. I think it helped with the back pain…which in turn helped with the closes. Anthony and Joe are very new to grippers, so (I think) they ran into trouble when they hit Chez's only real gap in his gripper collection 118-126. If anyone has a solid rated 120-123 they want to get rid of, Chez might be interested. I believe Chez PR'd on Lefty…some sick number I haven't gotten with my dominant. My memory is a little vague but I think I ended up like 152/153 Righty and like 137ish(GHP6?) Lefty. Both are competition PR's for me. While I have closed a #3 with my off hand twice…they were outliers…most of the time I'm like 1/4" from a close. Whatever…my left hand is retarded. heh…I'll keep working it though.

What I've noticed about my gripping is that my set width isn't as important to me as the overall rating of a gripper. So say that I can close a 152 at MMS…I can also close it at a 1.5"-2" set…however that doesn't translate into me closing a 155 at MMS. In general, I am more of a slow closer than a fast one. Perhaps some speed work is in order. I haven't figured my body/gripper relationship yet. I'm all over the place day in, day out.

A side note…the guys again suggested I do my MM0. Wojo did the video. It came out alright. I sent it in.

2HP

I don't have much to say about this event. Chez's setup seasoned well. I'm starting to get a better feel for the event…though my numbers are still on the low end. Basically I've never really turned my attention to it. I will down the road though. I'll have to check the event stats...but I'm pretty sure I PR'd. It's kind of hard not to at this point in my 2HP career. I definitely want to incorporate 2HP training but right now I've got a lot on my goal plate. In time.

Axle

The bet. The back. The bet. The back. These are the two things that are going on in my head in regards to the Axle. I made a bet with Chez (for after comp tabs) that he wouldn't beat me by 20lbs in the Axle in February's comp. Now when we made the bet, I was at 273 and he was at 336 with only 6 weeks to go. That same day I pulled 285 and he 340 at his house…meaning I needed to close the gap by 46 pounds…in addition to any improvement he comes up with in those 6 weeks. A bit of hubris yes…but also bit of fun for me. Now, I've got a chronic back problem, but deadlifting hadn't bothered it, so when I left Chez's I went out and created a homemade axle. Unfortunately, my second workout with it tweaked it hard enough to scare the crap out of me. So, I'm approaching this bet very carefully from a back perspective.

Back to the throwdown. I asked Wojo for advice on form and with all his thickbar and deadlift experience he was able to immediately pick up on things I only suspected were going on. That, and Chez lending me (Thanks man) his belt were two keys to me avoiding further aggravation to my back. I did some warm ups and when I hit 253, I decided I was going to come in at 273. I managed that pretty comfortably. I hit 283 next. I hit 293 also. 303 left the ground…but way crooked for some reason. Even if I had locked it, it wasn't going to be legal. But hey…293's another PR…and I'm making good progress…chipping away at Chez's lead. Hopefully the bet will be a squeaker. If I win that's great, but even if I lose, I'll have made insane progress in a short time…besides, bets are no fun if there is no suspense. I left the Axle with some new confidence and some training ideas to (quietly) incorporate these next few weeks. BTW…have to mention Andrew pulling 300+ at 170lb BW. Monster strong.

The Medley

I was really looking forward to my first medley. Chez really designed it well. There were a lot of items at different skill levels (Blob50, IDL50, slick 35x2pinch, 5x10pinch being the only questionable ones at my/Chez level). Although Chez says I'm made for the medley, I somewhat disagree. I'm fairly strong and have big hands, but 4 minutes is really too long for my heart. (If you are unaware, I have a heart condition) If I climb like 6 flights of stairs, I can barely close a #1 Gripper. Stairs aren't taxing on the grip, but I get very weak when things turn too cardio. Squats over 10 reps don't go over so well with me. I'd probably be more comfortable with either a 2 minute medley, or something with a crapload of time…like 10 minutes. 4 minutes is more like a sustained sprint.

In the medley, strategically…going as close to last as possible is the way to go. You get to better map out your plan and see which things people have the most trouble with. Additionally, it allows a bit more rest between events. Chez and I talked about competitor order in contests like this. Apparently, in general, you would go in reverse order to the lead. Anyway…Chez asked me to go first…which I really didn't want to do. lol I hemmed and hawed a bit, but understood he wanted someone familiar with the equipment to show the newer gripsters what to expect and in general how to approach the event. While I've never done one, I was familiar with the setup and could do exactly what he requested.

So I went first. Unfortunately it was the only medley that didn’t get filmed so I can't go back and study it. I got 37 out of 42 points possible. In the interest in conserving time, I didn't give my blob50 much effort. I tried once…it didn't go right up so I moved on. With more time, there's no way it wouldn't (I had put it up the night before…since I own the blob and made the table, I tested it). The 5 dimes were slick (not exact matches) and again, after one try I went to 4 dimes. I straight up failed on the kettlebell press. I honestly didn't pay enough attention to Chez when he went over that station. I tried to clean it up rather than stabilize and press it slowly. I've no experience with kettlebells, but after my event, I gave it a shot and succeeded. But I burned through valuable time…and energy giving it like 4 tries before giving up on it. The 2x35's were very slick…I don’t think anyone got them. By time I reached the sledge coin lift, I was a bit weakened and just failed at the top. (One of those I would have gotten had I placed it in the beginning of my medley) I managed the IDL 50 no prob…don't think anyone else even bothered with it. Overall, I was happy with my effort, but think I would likely would have gotten the sledge and kettlebell had I gone later(and or paid more attention). The 5dimes/blob50 and 2 35's…who knows if I could have gotten even one if I used my last resource of time on it.

So…right before Chez went…I was kind of peeved. Why? After watching the rest of the competitors (who learned what not to do with the kettlebell after I did it)…it became apparent to me that Chez was going to win 39 to 37.

I actually verbalized it. This is part of life where you ask yourself…why am I, a 40 yo annoyed that I'm going to lose another event? That's it in a nutshell. I actually thought I had a shot at winning an event. I had to ask myself…why is that important?

It's funny how we all have that competitor in us, and how we rationalize and justify things to make us feel better about ourselves. I had to ask myself…how many times have I competed…do I even deserve to win? Have I worked hard enough? What is really more important? A win or a PR? Unless a win is accompanied by a fat check…you damn well better say a PR.

The fact is… Chez has worked really hard to become a well-rounded monster. He's put the time in. He's showed up at multiple events and learned how to succeed. He's done his homework, and done the work at home. You can look at his log and see how varied his training is, and how he trains everything…like the weaver stick, the coin lift, the hub lift, etc. etc. He earned the win. Me wanting to win the event is just that…wanting a win. You don't win an event, or a contest by "wanting"…you put the work in.

Overall

I got to say, overall, it was a great contest. We all gained valuable experience. Chez and John ran a smooth event, where everyone PR'd. As promised, Chez gave up his first place awards to those below him. I made out like a bandit with two lovely grippers, but more importantly…a little bit more awareness about myself and an even stronger desire to train hard and compete more fiercely. Thanks to everyone who showed, and those awesome sponsors who so generously donated to the event.

[Cannon]

Great write up!

Chez, who took home the CPW gift certs?

[anwnate]

Great write up!

Chez, who took home the CPW gift certs?

I got one (one of my lovely grippers is actually a piece of paper...however I'm sure it will eventually be lovely) heh. I'm gonna need to go over my grippers and ask some advice before requesting one.

[Cannon]

Congrats! The certs were funded by Chez and Daniel Reinard. Shout to them.

Hit me up any time! Info@cannonpowerworks.com

[Chez]

I'm still alive. I needed a day to fully recover physically and mentally. It’s been a crazy month for me. I got very little sleep for weeks while studying for finals and I'm actually taking a condensed winter intersession course right now before the actual spring semester starts. I have been pretty sick and just certified on the MM3 and if you watch the video you will see how much that cert took out of me.

As for the contest...........I had many people cancel on me due to being sick, injured or something else. Oh well, no biggie. I'm going to forget the negative and focus on the positive. Through my brief time in this sport I have met many great friends. I have gotten to know and train with grip board members in the area: Nate (anwnate), John (Wojo) and Brian (matrixsleeper). I got 2 friends of mine in the area who aren't gripboard members into the sport. These were the guys who came out and even though there weren’t many of us, we had a blast.

By the way, I had so much going on with school that we decided not to use a point calibrated scale and postal scale weights so the results won’t count towards the top 50 list. We used the weights that the gym had to make things quicker. I did weigh all my weights though so I plan on using them in the future when we do another competition.

Competitor Body Weights

Brian Burgos 154.4 lbs

Andrew O’Leary 172.6 lbs

Joe Scarinci 193.0 lbs

Nathaniel Brous 243.4 lbs

Cesare “Chez” Ricchezza 252.0 lbs

RGC Rated Grippers Right + Left Hand 20mm Block Set Close

Chez – 174 lb Right Hand and 171.5 lb Left Hand = 345.5 lb Total, 10 Event Points

Nathaniel Brous – 152.7 lb Right Hand and 137.6 lb Left Hand = 290.3 lb Total, 8.40 Event Points

Brian Burgos – 126.45 lb Right Hand and 126.45 lb Left Hand = 252.9 lb Total, 7.32 Event Points

Andrew O’Leary – 118.9 lb Right Hand and 108.9 lb Left Hand = 227.8 lb Total, 6.59 Event Points

Joe Scarinci – 118.9 lb Right Hand and 93.7 lb Left Hand = 212.6 lb Total, 6.15 Event Points

Euro 2 Hand Pinch – We all used 54mm to make things run quicker.

Chez – 187.5 lbs = 10 Event points

Nathaniel – 167.5 lbs = 8.93 Event Points

Brian - 137.5 lbs = 7.33 Event Points

Andrew – 167.5 lbs = 8.93 Event Points

Joe – 177.5 lbs = 9.47 Event Points

Double Overhand Ironmind Axle Deadlift

Chez – 333 lbs = 10 Event Points

Nathaniel – 293 lbs = 8.80 Event Points

Brian – 278 lbs = 8.35 Event Points

Andrew – 303 lbs = 9.10 Event Points

Joe – 263 lbs = 7.90 Event Points

Medley (42 Objects)

Chez – 39 = 10 Event Points

Nathaniel – 37 = 9.49 Event Points

Brian – 31 = 7.95 Event Points

Andrew – 26 = 6.67 Event Points

Joe – 31 = 7.95 Event Points

Final Standings

1) Chez = 40 points

2) Nathaniel = 35.62 points

3) Joe = 31.47 points

4) Andrew = 31.29 points

5) Brian = 30.95 points

I got to run and do homework but I’ll upload some videos of the comp in the next couple days.

[anwnate]

Competitor Body Weights

Brian Burgos 154.4 lbs

Andrew O’Leary 172.6 lbs

Joe Scarinci 193.0 lbs

Nathaniel Brous 243.4 lbs

Cesare “Chez” Ricchezza 252.0 lbs

Final Standings

1) Chez = 40 points

2) Nathaniel = 35.62 points

3) Joe = 31.47 points

4) Andrew = 31.29 points

5) Brian = 30.95 points

I got to run and do homework but I’ll upload some videos of the comp in the next couple days.

Um...does this mean if I put on 10 pounds I'll take first?

[Chez]

Competitor Body Weights

Brian Burgos 154.4 lbs

Andrew O’Leary 172.6 lbs

Joe Scarinci 193.0 lbs

Nathaniel Brous 243.4 lbs

Cesare “Chez” Ricchezza 252.0 lbs

Final Standings

1) Chez = 40 points

2) Nathaniel = 35.62 points

3) Joe = 31.47 points

4) Andrew = 31.29 points

5) Brian = 30.95 points

I got to run and do homework but I’ll upload some videos of the comp in the next couple days.

Um...does this mean if I put on 10 pounds I'll take first?

Probably not if I'm competing................haha

[Chez]

I gotta get to bed, but i figure I would load one video tonight. This is my friend lifting 130 lbs more than his body weight on the ironmind axle double overhand. Hes only been over my house for 5 or 6 training sessions I think.

[David Horne]

http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/gripcontestsprevious.html

Top 3 in contest results page

Well done all!

[Broly]

Figured I'd do the same and post my thoughts in this thread better than my own thread. Overall this was an awesome experience and managed very well so huge thanks to Chez, John and Nate for your efforts in getting this organized and helping out. I've done a few arm wrestling tournaments and this was my first grip comp and all I can say is I think the tides will be changing with Arm Wrestling turning more into a hobby and grip turning more into priority training. It's just way more fun, more options to train and the strategy element is pretty cool. Health wise I was well enough to compete but still recovering from almost a 2 week lay off of the flu followed by the side effects from the anti biotics right after. But I was extremely grateful that I was well enough to stop by and actually put up some decent numbers in a few of the events.

Grippers

First event was grippers and the adrenaline was pumping! Nailed a #126 and almost had a #131 Right handed which was a huge PR especially for a block set. It's no secret that grippers have been a weak link for me but I'm starting to get into a groove and see some better gains. Left handed I did pretty good also nailing a #126. The pain in my palm is still present and might have kept me from a higher number but PR'd none the less.

Euro Pinch

Surprised how poorly I did at this event only getting a137lbs. My one handed pinch is way better but was surprised how weak I felt at this event. Not sure if it was a comfort thing or whatever it was but at least I know where I have to focus some major attention if I want to be competitive.

Axel

Went for a sumo stance this time and felt more comfortable in my lifts. Was so close to hitting 280lbs with my 278lb lift. Will be looking to make an axel asap to get more serious with the training. Looking to break into the 300's by summer with dedicated work.

Medley

Got 31 out of 41 items and was happy with my performance. Speed during the medley felt good but was feeling a strain in my back probably due to bad form on my DB deadlifts.A few items I tried right after the comp I was able to get so it could've been a technique issue more than a strength issue. By far the most fun out of the other events.

Ever since the comp I've been dreaming of Axels, Euro pinch and Olympic plates. If I was into grip before the comp then I'm officially addicted now more than ever. In fact the very next day I looked on craig's list and scored flat back plates, 2 of each size so now I can offically make a euro, axel and 2 inch vbar.

My immediate focus right now though is getting the Red Nail. I'm so freaking close! After the comp feeling very tired, Nate conviced me to try the Red again in double wraps. Went for the bend and got stuck in the same spot but this time I was completely shot so I can only imagine how this would've went if I was fresh. I put the nail down and decided to move the wraps up and try again and actually got it a bit further.I want to certify and be the lightest guy ever to cert the Red Nail. My Parallel focus is to build a 2 inch axel, 2 inch vbar and with my new olympic flat back plates, make a ghetto Euro pinch (will eventually make a real one but trying to stretch the funds as far as I can).

Thanks again to everyone for a great comp and look forward to doing this again hopefully in the summer.

[anwnate]

My immediate focus right now though is getting the Red Nail. I'm so freaking close! After the comp feeling very tired, Nate conviced me to try the Red again in double wraps. Went for the bend and got stuck in the same spot but this time I was completely shot so I can only imagine how this would've went if I was fresh. I put the nail down and decided to move the wraps up and try again and actually got it a bit further.I want to certify and be the lightest guy ever to cert the Red Nail. My Parallel focus is to build a 2 inch axel, 2 inch vbar and with my new olympic flat back plates, make a ghetto Euro pinch (will eventually make a real one but trying to stretch the funds as far as I can).

Thanks again to everyone for a great comp and look forward to doing this again hopefully in the summer.

You'll definitely do it. In my somewhat uneducated nail bending opinion...you've got the hard part (kink/beginning sweep). It seems that most people can't get past that. It's just a matter of getting stronger and finding the sweet spot to crush...since it moves as the nail bends. Can't wait for Throwdown Part Deux!

[acorn]

The performances in the gripper event for this contest have been added to the gripsport.org site as open class. Unfortunately the other events were not eligible for list consideration since the plates were not accurately weighed pre-comp.

- Aaron

[Jedd Johnson]

Way to step up Aaron!