2024 June - Dub's Grip Classic - Sanjiv Gupta

[TeamGupta]

I was fortunate enough to secure a spot in Dub's Grip Classic sanctioned by GSI, hosted at Barratt Strength Premier Strongman and Strongwoman.  The event drew (16) athletes and was sponsored by Arm Assassin Strength Shop, Nemesis Grips, Cannon Powerworks and Ironmind.  Barratt Strength even had a food truck and supplement company on hand to support the athletes.  It was above and beyond my expectations.

The event was in Colorado Springs and drew athletes from across the state of Colorado and Wyoming.  My drive from Denver was just over an hour.

 

The event would include:

• Max Gripper Close (Various rated brands)
• Two Hand Napalm Nightmare Saxon Blocks (Arm Assassin Strength Shop)
• Apollon's Axle (Ironmind)
• Shallow Mini-Inch Pinch (Arm Assassin Strength Shop)
• 2" Vertical Bar (Fat Bastard Barbell Company)

On the grippers, I opened with a comfortable 66 RGC on a CPW adjustable gripper.  My second attempt at 77 was good also.  I also closed 83 pounds to go 3 for 3.  I was beyond excited.  I have grippers at 71 and 92 RGC at home and have not been able to span that gap.  This event was tough as a spectator.  It was hard to see if the gripper was closed and harder still to appreciate the technique, focus and strength to close grippers above 150 RGC.

Next was the Napalm's Nightmare.  I opened way too light at 75 pounds.  I wanted to get a feel for the implement as I was training at home with a Saxon Bar.  I then made lifts at 91, 116, 126, and 136 before missing 146.  My plan is usually to get 2 warm-ups and then 3 legitimate attempt (5 total).  In this case I failed the 6th attempt, but felt good about the effort.  This event has records ranked on gripsport.org.

 

Next on deck was the Apollon's Axle.  I have trained with thick bars before, but never a proper 2" barbell.  Typically, I have used a 1.9" painted pipe.  The seasoning was good, but less grippy than I had hoped.  I opened at what I thought was a reasonable 151 and followed that with 180, 200, 226, 241 and 251 before missing 261 (7 total attempts).  I was very pleased with this result as it approached the 253 pound mark I set with a Fulton Bar.  PR!  This event was probably the most exciting for spectators.  It also has the most impressive records having been contested since 1994 with Carl Myerscough and Lyudmila Galduchenko taking the top spots at 237.5kg and 137.9kg respectively.

 

Fourth up was the Mini Inch Pinch.  I had fortunately trained with this exact implement at home and matched my performance in the basement making 20, 25 and 28 pounds before missing 30.5 pounds.  This was the only case where I made the appropriate number of attempts (4).  This implement is relatively new and there are fewer records on gripsport.org.  The listed records were very much challenged by Dub's Grip Classic.

 

The final event was the 2" FBBC Vertical Bar.  This was a 2" lift and the implement was very well seasoned, compared to my chrome barbell sleeve at home that I was struggling to break 100 pounds on.  I opened at 103 and followed that with 133, 153, 168, and 189 before failing 204 pounds.  I got greedy wanting to break 200 pounds, but felt good about the effort.  This is another one on gripsport.org with records going back several years.

 

The athletes were the usual suspects from the Colorado King Kong venue and Wyoming Rolling Hills Grip Challenge and included Kelsie Sherman, Sarah Chappelow, Colton Storm, Jeremy Everding, Jaland Worley (host), Jesse Hagendorn, Jonathan Hamrick, Steve Millard and myself.  Newcomers included Kayla and Haley Witt (junior), Shelby Delp, Clint Cook, Brandon Barratt and Konrad Sherman.

 

I am curious to see the official scores when they are posted.  Sarah set some overall women's world records and several athletes set weight class records.

 

While scores were being tabulated the sponsor prizes were awarded including a gripper set from Cannon Power Works and gift cards and posters from IronMind.  A gift from Nemesis Grips was given to our junior lifter who was crushing it all day on the platform.  The final set of gifts from Arm Assassin Strength Shop will be announced post competition.  An interesting teaser was from Michael Thomas, who donated $50 to the winner (in this case second place as Jaland was not accepting prizes) on the mini inch pinch.

 

Edited July 14 by TeamGupta

[dubyagrip]

Thanks for the write up and feedback on the event.  If we do grippers again, I will make it more interactive and exciting for the spectators.  I have a few ideas about having the gripper handles facing the crowd or even setting up a camera projecting to a large monitor so it is easier to see the gripper action.

[WorksinaPinch]

Good write up, Sanjiv. That was a great group of people to spend a Saturday with for sure.

[WorksinaPinch]

This would be fantastic if you can sort out a screen for the audience and a camera angle that clears the judge's head. I wonder if shooting from directly above would work?

[dubyagrip]

35 minutes ago, WorksinaPinch said:

This would be fantastic if you can sort out a screen for the audience and a camera angle that clears the judge's head. I wonder if shooting from directly above would work?

Dubyavision - The future is now.

[PinchByPinch]

"This event was tough as a spectator"

I'd like to incorporate grippers into a contest here in Australia next year but this aspect is putting me off. Silver bullet seems more audience friendly but for competitors who have never tried it knowing what to attempt at comp would be a challenge.

 

[dubyagrip]

10 hours ago, PinchByPinch said:

"This event was tough as a spectator"

I'd like to incorporate grippers into a contest here in Australia next year but this aspect is putting me off. Silver bullet seems more audience friendly but for competitors who have never tried it knowing what to attempt at comp would be a challenge.

 

I had many who had never touched one.  I think as long as you have a wide range of grippers, you'll be able to get everyone at least one good close.  My idea was to try and get people interested in training them more than anything else.