Under The Radar - Grip Profile - Maria Bascetta

[anwnate]

So far, these profiles have covered a number of elite and journeymen gripsters. Today's profile welcomes a newcomer to grip Maria Bascetta. When it comes down to it, those new to grip, are the future of Gripsport. I'm happy to say that since I've been involved with grip, it's been a nearly universal idea amongst gripsters, that we should warmly welcome those who are just starting.

While Maria is new to Gripsport, she is not at all new to physical training. She has been a personal trainer for 12 years and even went back to grad school to earn her Master's of Science in Health Promotion Management, and Nutritional Education. She is FMS Level 2 certified and Indian Club certified as well. She maintains the website http://mariabascetta.com/ as a personal coach/trainer/nutritionist. Her favorite clients are non-athletic people who are afraid to get started.

Although she hails from Connecticut, she now "hangs her hat in Tennessee." I got to meet Maria at Tom Scibelli's "National Capitol Grip Championship (and CTD challenge)." During the contest, her spirit and enthusiasm was contagious. She's now made it her personal mission to introduce Gripsport to the masses…particularly our most underrepresented faction…women. Let's find out a little more about this "Yankee in the South."

7 questions to get to know Maria.

1. What are your stats? Gripboard Name, Age, Height (inches/meters), Weight (lbs/kgs), R/L dominant hand size (cm/in), Country/City (or region … whatever you are comfortable with), Relationship Status, Kids?, Occupation ("international spy" is acceptable)

Gripboard Name: MCrushetta

Age: 32

Height: 5’2.5” (159cm) ----I wasn’t going to leave out that half inch!----

Weight: 148lbs (67kg)

Hand: RH 6 ¾ inches (17cm). ----Although R Handed, most of my grip stuff is better lefty. Except for pinch, which I’m convinced is because I pinched pencils so hard with my R hand learning cursive in a very uptight Catholic School. That had to translate to something good right?----

Country/City: USA/Nashville, TN ----From: Torrington, CT. Lived in Washington DC for 13 years in the middle of that.----

Relationship Status: Quite smitten with Squeezus (Gil Goodman)

Kids: Vinnie + Knox (Two Rescued Bassett hound mixes)

Occupation: Personal Trainer + Health Coach / Nutrition Educator

2. Why did you start training grip (and how long is it now)?

Because I couldn’t hold onto a Kettlebell. Seriously. I was training with Master SFG (Strong First Girya…Girya is Russian for Kettlebell) Phil Scarito in 2013 and we realized that my left hand had hardly any grip. I had been through Lymes Disease which came out in the form of some pretty brutal rheumatic arthritis. My hands were swollen, puffy and they HURT but I didn’t want to give up training. So, I bought really light COC grippers - the Guide / Sport / Trainer to help me even out my hands. It worked.

I left grip alone and then in October 2014, I met Squeezus when I moved to Nashville. On our first date we chatted a lot about fitness and grip came up. Shocking right? Once I encouraged him to compete, he did…and then he decided to enter me into a comp, against my will. I had a blast though and have finally started regularly incorporating grip training into my weekly routines. If anyone is curious about what my entry into competition looked like they can read the blog I wrote up about the Southern Squeeze: http://mariabascetta.com/blog/2016/1/17/how-the-southern-squeeze-came-to-be-a-gripping-tale-of-strength-why-you-should-grip-contest-highlights-musings-on-strength

3. Before you die, what is your ULTIMATE grip goal/goals?

HMM. I consider myself a beginner here so I’ve been operating mostly on short term goals. I'd like to pinch 50lbs one handed on the flask and close a Coc #1. BUT, long term - I’d really like to close a Coc #2, Double Overhand Axle 250lbs and VBar 200lbs. You know…bad ass shit. I also want a 400lb DL, a 300+ squat and a 185 Bench.

I’ll get there. Patience in strength is necessary and I don’t mind it. "The process and the journey." As cliche as that may sound, it's really amazing and fun. Consistency is a cool thing - it really does work.

4. How do you currently structure your overall training/how do you incorporate your grip training?

I love lifting. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I think my inner child is just a little square meathead in a girl's body. I don’t do well without structure or a plan so sometimes my OCD comes out and I can get a little hard on myself (when things don't play out exactly as I hoped. As for right now, I have a Wendler type program I’m following. I am using the 531 Wendler system on my grip training - except for grippers b/c I suck at them and need a little more volume there.

Monday: Wendler Bench / Dips / Pendlay or DB Rows / Wendler Flask one handed pinch

Tuesday : Wendler Squats /Alternate Front Squats or Zerchers / DB Lunges / Weighted Chinups / Grippers (volume) in between Squat sets / KB Swings or Hill runs

Wednesday: Rest / Eat lots of food … play pool … read books

Thursday: Wendler Overhead Press / Bench Floor Presses /Band Pull aparts / Meathead bi and tri exercises / Reverse Curls for Wrist / Wendler V Bar practice. Timed V Bar holds for assistance

Friday : Rest or some type of MRT (metabolic resistance training) for fun

Saturday: Wendler Deadlift / - My favorite day! / Hip Thrusts or Pause Deadlifts / Axle Deadlifts (not too many) / Pullups / Ab wheels or weighted planks / Repeat Tuesday Grippers.

This is a fairly new set up. I’ll stick with it for 3 months and then evaluate what’s working, what’s not and make changes. Staying open to what is effective and listening to your body is something I think is super important. You have to give something time to work. Jumping around too frequently is something I see in the fitness world a lot. Treating strength as a SKILL rather than just a workout can really help with the mental games that can come up with all this stuff.

5. What hobbies (other than grip/bending/lifting) do you enjoy?

Oh fun question!

I love birds and bird-watching. I have a nice set of binoculars and lots of bird seed. Nothing is more grounding to me than getting out and searching for bird species. They keep systems in balance, mark us for the changing of seasons, and connect us to what little remains that is still wild. The ubiquity of birds makes them unavoidable and hard to ignore if we can slow down and pay attention to what’s around us. My dogs also rock.

I also play pool regularly. Gil and I have a deal - whoever runs a whole rack on the other person first get’s a party. I want to win that really bad. I read a lot, and like to cook a whole bunch.

I also love shoes, red lipstick, nail polish, and tattoos. This can throw people off. I get sick of the stereotypes that exist around women in strength sports. We can still be girly and lift a lot of weight.

6. Do you have a personal anecdote, topic or thoughts you'd like to include in your profile?

I was really pumped when Amy Wattles read my write up of "The Southern Squeeze" and picked me for this. I was also a little nervous because I just started gripping. But when compared to other strength communities that I have been a part of, the grip community is really supportive of each other and encouraging. I am not competitive with other people by nature. The grip competitions were daunting to me and there are a lot of big intimidating implements. I was excited when Gil made "The Flask" because I couldn’t one hand pinch the Euro and didn’t know how to get there.

In my job, I work a lot with people that are intimidated of the gym and starting something strength related. They are intimidated by the way the industry targets aesthetics…and because of the way it shames or guilt's people into engaging. It doesn’t have to be like that. The grip world isn’t that way. It's my hope is that even though I’m super novice, I can bring this stuff to people that need it. They might otherwise not try because all they see are big burly guys smashing number 3’s closed and grunting. Grip CAN be for everybody and it translates to strength EVERYWHERE else. ALL of my lifts are better since starting grip.

If you need to find me, I’ll be spreading the word somewhere. You can bet on that. This is FUN and it’s important and I’m going to make sure this community grows in a positive way!

7. Who's Grip profile would you like to see next?

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL WITH THIS QUESTION NATE!

After the Southern Squeeze, Gil and I sat around with our mouths open in amazement at all the strong people that came out. I had never heard of so many of these people and they ROCKED. I want to read about ALL of them!

I’m going to go with Jared Goguen though. He has been youtube and internet friend since I started this. He knows A LOT and has come a long way on his own. I think he’ll have some cool shit to say.

Thanks Maria. Jared will be profiled in two weeks. This series will return next Wednesday with Juha Harju.

[Sam Radford]

Great profile Maria . . . and like the gripboard name too!

[Juha Harju]

Cool! Nice stuff here.

[Lucasraymond]

Nice to hear about you...I didn't realize you were older than me (31)...great read Maria!

[Chez]

Its awesome that you are trying to get more women at comps. I have tried in the past and it has been very difficult. I noticed right away that both Gil and Maria have a terrific attitude. Its very evident by the turnout at their first comp that they are going to really help get people involved in the sport.

[MCrushetta]

Thanks for reading ya'll. And thanks for the grandma status shout out Lucas. LOL

[Geralt]

This 'nail polish' you describe, is this some kind of 'tacky'? Cause that would be cheatin ya know. Don't hear those phrases a lot over here - spits on the floor - but you sure as hell look like a strong lady ma'am. - tips his hat with a finger - Welcome aboard Maria.

Lol

[Evan Raftopoulos]

this is great, thanks for sharing all that Maria, I've been trying to get more females (and males) into grip sport here in the SF Bay Area. I've been able to convince a climber and ninja warrior friend to start training and she is seeing a lot of carryover from grip sport to climbing and obstacle course training. Elizabeth Horne told me that the best bet is to get her involved in grip contests as soon as possible, where she can learn a lot and have fun doing it. It looks like you had a lot of fun at the Southern Squeeze! Btw you and Gil have the best usernames on the gripboard.

[Anthony C.]

Good read, looking forward to meeting you and the main squeezus soon!

[MCrushetta]

This 'nail polish' you describe, is this some kind of 'tacky'? Cause that would be cheatin ya know. Don't hear those phrases a lot over here - spits on the floor - but you sure as hell look like a strong lady ma'am. - tips his hat with a finger - Welcome aboard Maria.

Lol

LOL. Can you imagine if there was cheat nail polish? How lame. Thanks.

[Geralt]

We're laughing about this, but I saw a news item on the tv recently of an off road cyclist pro sports(wo)man who was caught having an actual motor secretely build into the bicycleframe lol so I guess the greater the number of sportspopulation the bigger the chance! But ehm a bit of nailpolish is more than welcome in this scene lol it is very interesting and nice to see that a wider female audience is starting to like this sport. You go get that #2 cert! And other stuff.

[burkhardmacht]

Awesome read! Keep it up, Maria!!

[JHenze646]

I didn't know there was a certification for Indian Clubs. Great profile.

[MCrushetta]

I didn't know there was a certification for Indian Clubs. Great profile.

YES! Dr. Ed Thomas does not emerge from hiding out West very often but a couple years ago he came to Philly and did a course with Brett Jones. It was unreal.

[Jedd Johnson]

Maria, great write-up. Keep doing what you're doing. It's totally awesome following you.

[MCrushetta]

Maria, great write-up. Keep doing what you're doing. It's totally awesome following you.

Thanks Jedd. You Rock.

this is great, thanks for sharing all that Maria, I've been trying to get more females (and males) into grip sport here in the SF Bay Area. I've been able to convince a climber and ninja warrior friend to start training and she is seeing a lot of carryover from grip sport to climbing and obstacle course training. Elizabeth Horne told me that the best bet is to get her involved in grip contests as soon as possible, where she can learn a lot and have fun doing it. It looks like you had a lot of fun at the Southern Squeeze! Btw you and Gil have the best usernames on the gripboard.

Thanks! Gil and I are going to do a post soon about how we got so many people to come to the Southern Squeeze. Keep eyes open for it.

Awesome read! Keep it up, Maria!!

Thanks for reading! Will do!!!!

Good read, looking forward to meeting you and the main squeezus soon!

Thanks! Likewise!

Its awesome that you are trying to get more women at comps. I have tried in the past and it has been very difficult. I noticed right away that both Gil and Maria have a terrific attitude. Its very evident by the turnout at their first comp that they are going to really help get people involved in the sport.

Thanks. Gonna post soon about how we promoted.

[Alawadhi]

Nice read!

[MCrushetta]

Nice read!

Thanks for reading!!