Under the Spotlight - Grip Profile - ZACH EBEL

[Vinnie]

Why the heck didn't someone kick me in the pants that I forgot to post this on December 1?  It's all your faults!

Zach has been a household name in grip lately, all over Canada and lately also the US.  He submitted his answers to these questions well before December 1, and I just totally forgot to post.  Sorry guys.  Here we go:

1. What are your stats?

    GripBoard name: Zach Ebel 
    Age: 36
    Height: 6’2.75
    Weight: 220
    Dominant hand, and hand size: Right handed 8”
    Country/City: Kemptville (Near Ottawa), Canada
    Relationship Status: Single
    Children: 1 daughter (2^nd place in girls under 7 at King Kong! :D)
    Occupation: Financial Advisor

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

I did not start training for grip specifically until 2021. I discovered grip sport and grip feats through strongman, which I got into during the pandemic. I briefly started and ran a small “Ottawa Strongman” Club, where I outfitted my large home gym at the time with tons of strongman gear. I noticed that I could typically outlift people on atlas stones when there was no tacky, but once tacky was involved people were able to blow past me haha. This, coupled with seeing some awesome grip strength videos on youtube featuring Jujimufu, pushed me to buy the captains of crush grippers. At the same time, through the local strongman and armwrestling community, people kept mentioning the name Eric Roussin to me, and how he ran grip strength competitions and training sessions. I reached out to Eric mid 2021, and started training with him regularly. By the end of 2021, I had completely switched focus from strongman to grip, and that has been my main focus ever since.

3. What are you most proud of accomplishing in grip already, and what is/are your grip goal/goals?

I am really fond of the memory of picking up the Inch Dumbbell at Eric’s house on my first attempt. I didn’t quite understand how big a deal it was at the time, and once I learned the history of it, I was hooked on grip! I am also super proud of winning the Arm Lifting World Championships in 2022, and the Canadian Nationals for my weight class in 2023.

My next goal is to certify the CoC #3, and then I would like to win Armlifting at Arnold’s in 2024 in my weight class. I am also hoping to place well at North American’s in June 2024.

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

I have been all over the map with this, but I like keeping grip to once a week for recovery purposes. If I do more, then my hands suffer. I am also not super consistent when it comes to training, so this helps keep me consistent since it’s not too demanding.

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

I enjoy personal finance, philosophy, fantasy type content (D&D, novels, shows, etc), rock climbing, cycling, and spending time with my daughter.

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

Just want to say thank you to Eric Roussin for being my grip mentor, my buddy Kal (OSM Training) for all his personal training advice and awesome photos, and Nemesis Grips for equipping me with a bunch of rad stuff.

7. Whose Grip profile would you like to see next?

Nick Spencer!

[Douglas Carney]

Thanks Vinnie!  I had the pleasure of meeting Zach in-person at Heavy Hands (where unfortunately for my podium potential - we were competing in the same weight class).  But it was just a few minutes of talking here and there...nothing in-depth.  So I really appreciate your grip profile series so I could learn a bit more about Zach.

[Eric Roussin]

Cool dude that Zach.

[Vinny F]

Food stuff. 

Glad I had opp to meet Zach @ Heavy Hands.  Real down to earth guy and real strong!