2009 September - United States Grip Championship - gonnacrushtheno.3

[Magnus]

Andrew - Axle KING. Holy cow. Andy is unbelievably strong at everything. Only weak point is 2hp, which could probably be more accurately called a proportional weakness compared to his other numbers. Watching him and Jedd go through the medley was like the clash of the titans. Really smart guy, too.

Jedd - Jedd kicks butt. What else is new. Owned the US pinch record (in case you haven't heard), barely missed the WR, and was the only guy to get "Mr. Spongy" (which the rest of us had deemed impossible) in the medley.

Dave - Dave is "quiet-strong". Not the guy you expect to be as strong at everything as he his. Really, Dave has no weak areas. The fact that he managed to place top-3 or better in every event says it all.

John - Sits through the competition with about as much intensity as if he's on a recliner watching the Andy Griffith show, yet when it's his turn, gets up and pulls off some impressive lift. 2hp was awesome as usual, and he was well-rounded everywhere else. He scared everyone by jumping into the weaver stick very late, but apparently new what he was doing and made an awesome lift.

Brent - If it's cylindrical, and you grab it by the end, chances are Brent will lift it. The hub and v-bar man. Strong as always. Uber impressive performance in the medley as well.

Chris - Chris is like a walking strength encyclopedia. Awesome. Every question you could possibly have about something concerning strength, Chris has a

thorough, well thought-out answer. Grippers are his weakness, yet he was still able to close a #3. Awesome 2hp strength. His final attempt definitely looked easy for him.

Mike R - When you look at Mike's results, it's easy to forget that he is, for all intents and purposes, a newb This guy is gonna kick butt with a few more months of training. All his numbers were way up since the qualifier in August...he added 21lb to his 2hp in about 3 weeks (172 vs. 193), and closed a 166lb Elite (his best in August was 154). Speaking of that Elite, he missed it on his first attempt, and then went on to smash it on his next. Good show of mental strength.

Mike C - A lot of intensity and determination. Another #3 closer, and another one who's axle was limited by his back. After the comp I saw him doing some lifts with the IM hub. I was watching him and I'm thinking "how hard could that be?" So I walk over and gave it a pull. Nada. He then promptly pulled it again. Hence, "Hubgeezer"

Zach - I had a really good time hanging out with Zach. He put on a really good show in spite of his recent surgery. He closed a 156lb #3, and I'm betting his axle was definitely limited by his knee, not hand strength. I'm also indebted to him for his last-minute weaver stick instruction

Robert - I enjoyed meeting Rob. Really nice guy with well-rounded strength.

*Bonus*

Melissa Rinderle - This was one of the most impressive things I saw all day. I watched her close Mike's HG200 easily, so I gave her my remounted HG250.

This gripper is pretty stout. The only non-grip guys I've ever seen close it are my dad and my brother-in-law, who are both 6'4"+, 250lb+ guys. Melissa set it, and clamped it down to about 4-5mm Whoa. She could definitely close big grippers if she trained.