2014 July - New York Grip Throwdown 2 - Anthony C.

[Anthony C.]

Well guys, I'm back. Yesterday I competed in the NY Grip Throwdown. Here is my write-up:

My lifts were as follows:

Grippers 20mm: 133 COC 2.5 As estimated

This was what I was expecting, but was secretly hoping for the 138 GM block set. I attempted the 2.5 as my 2nd attempt, and then the GM on my third. I felt like I closed it, but the ref said I didn't swipe the block through the handles convincingly. Oh well! It's not a close unless it's a close under the rules. For my fourth attempt I tried it again but just didn't have the strength to make the handles touch.

Hub: 55 lbs NEW PR

This was incredible. We used John Manna's hub and man, that apparatus is sent from the gods. It is seasoned so perfectly that you can really just get a solid grip on it and yank the crap out of the weight. This was a 5 pound PR for me and left me feeling very satisfied (no homo). I plan on trying to season my apparatus more by chalking it, wetting it slightly and putting it out in the sun.

Rolling Thunder: 120lbs..5lbs under what I anticipated

Well by now my hands were getting pretty fried. I haven't done much training with this thing (that will change) and my lift showed it. I got air with 125, but no lockout.

Sledge Deadlift: 0 lbs...not what I anticipated LOL

Here's the thing...this was under new rules, which I agree with. Beings as none of us have trained with the sledge with the set-up being used, we all took turns practicing before our attempts to see what we could and couldn't do. I took 3 practice attempts and nailed 10'' perfect. But I think I used too much strength up on the practices. My first and second attempts I tried with 10 and just missed the ledge...scraped it and the ball fell off. After that my strength went to hell and I couldn't keep the damn ball on the hammer. I had nightmares of that ball last night. It happens. I think this is a great concept for the event and would be much better with a smaller ball. Will be very interested to see what happens from here.

Had a great time. The guys were all very friendly and everyone cheered each other on, regardless of who was competing for what spot. One gentleman made the trip up just to watch us and learn about our sport, and is going to try to get in on the next event. Got to see Carl Bonati do some badass S*it with horseshoes, hub and nails, Chez destroy a massive 189 gripper, and Eric Roussin pull 240 on the Rolling thunder. Jose Cabrera also unofficially broke the world record for hub in his weight class with a monster 60lbs at 146ish pounds. He plans to officially set the record at the king kong this year.

So I'm disappointed that the sledge destroyed my score, but I will chalk it up as a learning experience and will come back stronger from this. Now, back to training!