2009 May - Pilgrim Grip Contest - mattcarl

[matthcarl]

OK, Brendan is taking his time posting the official results (just giving you a hard time!), so I might as well post my write-up from memory...there were only five of us, so there wasn't as much to remember as there could have been.

Grippers (MMS)

1) Brendan - 164 lb. Elite (missed on 180 lb. #3.5)

2) Matt - 141 lb. #3 (missed on 152 lb. #3)

3) Josh - 127 lb. #2.5 (missed on 136 lb BBM)

4) Charlie - #2 (missed on 120 lb #2.5)

5) David - #1.5 (missed on RB 180)

This is just what I remember, so I if I goofed, correct me. Brendan had a finger injury, so wasn't at his peak. I gt my first #3 close ever, and I'm very happy, even if it's a fairly easy one. I don't know what Josh was up to, but I've seen him close Alan's (AnimalCage's) #3, so I expect he's got more in him. Charlie was sooo close to the #2.5...tough miss. David didn't even know what a set was before yesterday, but still got the #1.5, and probably could have gotten the #2, but skipped to the RB 180.

2" V-bar

Brendan - 227-ish?

David - 212 lbs?

Josh - 202 lbs?

Matt - 187 lbs

Charlie - ???

Sorry Charlie, I honestly have no memory of what you got. David was doing v-bar for the first time, and lifted 200 like it wasn't even there! I think he could have gone even higher, but he started at 167 like Josh and I did. I was quite happy with 187 myself. Brendan had to use his final lift to pass David for first.

2-Hand Pinch

Brendan - 174 lbs?

Charlie - 162 lbs?

Matt - 137 lbs

David - 126 lbs

Josh - No lift...

This is a slick custom device Charlie made, and was very tough...at least for me. Charlie was over bodyweight on the thing, where I was 80 lbs below, in case anyone was curious. Josh started too high, I guess, but I happen to know he could easily kick my tail on this. David had a tough time, but it was his first time trying. Brendan, of course, won.

Medley (load onto a 2' platform)

Brendan - 20 items

Charlie - 11 items

David - 11 items

Josh - ???

Matt - 6 items

Blobs, blobs, and more blobs!!! Too bad I suck at blobs. Everyone had to lift their own item first for the medley. Again, I can't remember what Josh did. If you were ahead of Charlie and David, just slap me. I at least managed to lift my own item: an IM hub loaded to 30 lbs. I got some of the smaller block weights, and a 2.5" db handle loaded to 110 lbs, but yeah, it was not my time to shine. I think there were 26 items in all. Josh brought a half 70 db with the handle still attached and a small weight on the end to screw with your balance trying to lift it. Charlie had a truly weird one-hand pinch that I couldn't even get air on.

Bending

Brendan - 80d?

Josh - 4140

Matt - 4140

Charlie - ???

David - G5?

I was not at my peak for this event, and it's the fuzziest one of my memory. The 4140, whatever it is, wasn't too hard, but bends really wide. Looks neat. Brendan tried a piece of super-stainless steel I got from Tim I, but I can't remember if he finished it. Charlie had a tough time with some square, but David, who had never bent before, did very well. It wasn't an official bend, but I did attempt a red in IM pads to see if I still had it...Brendan timed me at 24 seconds.

Hub Lift

Brendan - 55 lbs?

Charlie - 50 lbs

Matt - 47.5 lbs

Josh - ???

David - No lift

I can't remember if Josh got the 45 or not...sorry. I think we were all pretty fried by this point. I failed twice trying 50 lbs, but then of course I lifted it right afterwards. Brenddan was going lefty due to his finger issue, and still had no trouble winning. I think he only just missed some ridiculous number like 65 lbs after his attempts were up. We were using Charlie's sweet Hampton plates with 1.25 and 2.5 lb. plates to load in small increments. I also mamanged a double hub lift on these hubs afterward, but it's not on video.

Tiebreaker

Brendan of course kicked all of our asses, but somehow Charlie and I tied for second, and someone came up wth the cruel idea of using a grip endurance feat for a tirbreaker. We had an 80 lbs dumbbell in each hand with cone a sort of cone-shaped foam rubber handle the slipped over the regular handle. It was extremely awkward to hold on to...at least for me. Charlie (who I might add weighs at least 55 lbs less than I do) held on for close to a minute. Bah. I'm stronger right? As soon as I picked them up, I knew this was just wrong. The dumbbells felt like they were slipping after only a few seconds. I don't remember what my time was, but it wasn't even close. Pretty weak finish, but I'm definitely happy with 3rd place.