This past Saturday I went to Michigan to compete in the Michigan Grip Champs 5. It was a great time and I will write up my lessons learned at a later point. I want to capture my results and experience on the events here. There were 14 lifters and the contest went down like this:
Warm Up - I did some light snatches with a dumbbell and bodyweight squats to get my temperature up.
Grippers - I hit the HG200 and HG250 in attempts 1 and 2. Attempts 3 and 4 I failed on the #2 that stopped me last year. I was actually closer than last year, which was unexpected. I have not seriously trained grippers in at least a year. I hit my expected performance on this lift. I was tied with several others for second to last on this lift.
3/4" Thin Pinch - I hit 70lbs on my first attempt, bombed on 90 on my second attempt. The next lowest lift at that point was 100 or 110, so I just passed on my last two attempts. There was no sense in making everyone weight to change weights for me on a lift I hadn't even trained for. My expectation that other pinch work would carry over to this lift was completely incorrect. It was all about finger strength. I took last on this lift.
V-bar - I hit a PR weight of 183lbs with each hand on my first attempt. From there I failed on 203lbs, 193lbs, and 188lbs. No complaints on a strong start, the jump to 203 was my attempt to hit a bodyweight v-bar lift. No luck, but I still exceeded my expected performance on this lift. I tied for last on this lift with one other.
One Handed Deadlift - I hit 135 easily on my first attempt, so I bumped the weight to 165 for attempt 2. I got that, which was my expected weight. I then went for 185, but missed it on my 3rd attempt. Everyone else was well ahead of me by attempt 4, and I had met my goal, so I passed. I took last on this lift.
Unbraced Bending - I opened with 6" x 1/4 Round FBBC, which tied my PR. My 2nd attempt on a 6" Grade 5 bolt was a total failure, I didn't even kink it a little. All that was left was shorter stock, so on attempt 3 I took down a 5.5" x 1/4 Round FBBC, setting an unexpected PR. Attempt 4 I put a slight kink in a 5" piece of the same steel, but didn't have what it took to finish it. I took third to last on this lift.
At the end, I was 14th place. 13th place was only 2 points ahead of me, but there really is no way I would have made up those 2 points. Everyone in the contest was significantly stronger than me. The only reason I came as close as I did to others is that I have specialized on grippers, bending, and v-bar.
However, I am pleased with my performance. I showed up at the contest at 200lbs, which is about 45lbs lighter than I was last year. Despite the drop in weight, I set unexpected PRs on two events, and tied my PRs on the other 3 events. Doing that all in one day makes me very happy. I did exactly what I set out to do, and even got an unexpected award (Vice Gripper!) for my efforts.
Visiting Don's gym is a treat, and the promoters put on an excellent contest. I will be back for the next one.
Warm Up - I did some light snatches with a dumbbell and bodyweight squats to get my temperature up.
Grippers - I hit the HG200 and HG250 in attempts 1 and 2. Attempts 3 and 4 I failed on the #2 that stopped me last year. I was actually closer than last year, which was unexpected. I have not seriously trained grippers in at least a year. I hit my expected performance on this lift. I was tied with several others for second to last on this lift.
3/4" Thin Pinch - I hit 70lbs on my first attempt, bombed on 90 on my second attempt. The next lowest lift at that point was 100 or 110, so I just passed on my last two attempts. There was no sense in making everyone weight to change weights for me on a lift I hadn't even trained for. My expectation that other pinch work would carry over to this lift was completely incorrect. It was all about finger strength. I took last on this lift.
V-bar - I hit a PR weight of 183lbs with each hand on my first attempt. From there I failed on 203lbs, 193lbs, and 188lbs. No complaints on a strong start, the jump to 203 was my attempt to hit a bodyweight v-bar lift. No luck, but I still exceeded my expected performance on this lift. I tied for last on this lift with one other.
One Handed Deadlift - I hit 135 easily on my first attempt, so I bumped the weight to 165 for attempt 2. I got that, which was my expected weight. I then went for 185, but missed it on my 3rd attempt. Everyone else was well ahead of me by attempt 4, and I had met my goal, so I passed. I took last on this lift.
Unbraced Bending - I opened with 6" x 1/4 Round FBBC, which tied my PR. My 2nd attempt on a 6" Grade 5 bolt was a total failure, I didn't even kink it a little. All that was left was shorter stock, so on attempt 3 I took down a 5.5" x 1/4 Round FBBC, setting an unexpected PR. Attempt 4 I put a slight kink in a 5" piece of the same steel, but didn't have what it took to finish it. I took third to last on this lift.
At the end, I was 14th place. 13th place was only 2 points ahead of me, but there really is no way I would have made up those 2 points. Everyone in the contest was significantly stronger than me. The only reason I came as close as I did to others is that I have specialized on grippers, bending, and v-bar.
However, I am pleased with my performance. I showed up at the contest at 200lbs, which is about 45lbs lighter than I was last year. Despite the drop in weight, I set unexpected PRs on two events, and tied my PRs on the other 3 events. Doing that all in one day makes me very happy. I did exactly what I set out to do, and even got an unexpected award (Vice Gripper!) for my efforts.
Visiting Don's gym is a treat, and the promoters put on an excellent contest. I will be back for the next one.