2024 King Kong - NJ Venue - Vin's Report

[Vinnie]

I have my tail between my legs, because I asked Eric to put me in the 74kg weight class for stats because I was 74kg in August for Stronghold 3, and I wasn't going to do King Kong this week.  I was 80kg and hurt my left hand at Stronghold, so I was just gonna wait until next year and get back to 74kg when my hand felt better.  And I was so freaking busy at work that I did not expect I could attend KK anyway, as I would need to work every available minute.  But things calmed down there a little, and Tim Butler is a good friend and texted the day before to see if I might be coming, and I know from when I attended last year that he and Chaz Strange would host a great comp, so I was like, heck, I'm gonna just show up and hang and not compete!

Um, right, just show up at a grip comp and not compete, yeah, that's what I will do.  So I got there 10 minutes late and they were just starting and I weighed in just for the heck of it, since I wasn't gonna compete.  79 kg.  Usually I'm 82kg, or I cut to 80 by not eating or drinking for a couple days before, if it is dual sanctioned and I want to make arm lifting's 80kg.  But this time I was 79kg after breakfast with clothes all on, without having thought about my weight at all. So, not having trained, not making weight, I really didn't think it made sense to compete.

I competed.

Here's my perspective of the NJ event:

We had only about 5 or 6 competitors:  Chaz (who recently beat Jedd at Feat Meet), Ben Aquilina (the guy who lifted an Inch in each hand the first time he found out what an Inch was), me, and a couple of strong 30-something-year-old dudes who were sort of new to grip but getting into it, so a couple of them had trained on a couple of the things, but I hadn't met them before.  One of them was "Sean" and had his wife or girlfriend there taking pics and vids for him, which she was kind enough to do for me when I asked.  Tim was injured and said he couldn't compete, so he just lifted a little more than the highest anyone else did, at the end of each event, to show that he would have won.  Chaz was fastidious about always changing the weights and announcing and making sure everyone got the attempts they wanted.  So it was all smooth and fair.

I'm used to being the smallest and/or the oldest or both, and I think I was both.  There was a guy there who was smaller than me who was just watching, and he said he would compete next year; I think he was there because he was Sean's trainer.  So I think I was the only 83kg at the venue, but since this is combined with all the venues, that doesn't mean much anyway.  The events!

-2.25 Crusher

I got 184 on this last year, when I weighed almost exactly 83kg instead of 79, and was a year younger.  We were doing small jumps, and it was LMS, so I just took all the small jumps and landed at 181, barely missing 186.  Not a PR, but can't complain!  While we were doing the event, Tim predicted that Ben, Inch guy, would get over 230, and after Ben got 231, I looked at Tim and said, "I think you were right."  Ben then attempted the weight class world record, I think 242, and just just missed it, by a hair.  Nice work for a guy who had only seen that implement once or twice before, I think he said.  I think Chaz and maybe one of the other guys beat me on this as well, but I really felt like 181 was just fine for me.

-IM blockbuster

I got 88 pounds on this last year, which was a huge PR for me, so I did not expect more.  On the other hand, 88 last year went up fine and I tried to jump to 95 and just missed.  This year I kept my jumps smaller and I finished on 92 pounds, another PR!  While I did not expect that, pinch was the one area where I thought I might do OK because I've been doing chokered grippers and sledge work in my office, and those two things seem to keep my pinch pretty good.  I've always seen correlation between my pinch and crush, less so with the thick bar and vertical movements.

As it turns out, had I made the 74kg weight class, 92 would have been the class record.  In 83kg, it was 3rd all time (unless other KK participants beat it this year, which of course I realize is not unlikely).  But, not too shabby for little ole me.

-Finnish Ball

I just hate this thing and I wish they would pick a less novelty-based and more grip-based event soon, but hey, it is what it is.  I tried to vary my pathetic grip that has only ever landed me with a result in the 60s, and I got -- a result in the 60s.  Well, at least it was 69, and a PR.  But I own a Finnish Ball and I moved into a house from an apartment, so I have a better space to train.  Next year I need to break 70 on this.  So I think what I will say, actually, is that next year I want 80 on the Finnish Ball.  And if I don't break 70, I am quitting grip lol.  C'mon.  I can suck 70 pounds up a straw, I should be able to lift it with a couple of well-placed fingers.

-Little Big Horn

Final result for me:  79th out of 243 overall, and 2nd out of 8 in Masters over 50 (I'm 55), and 9th out of 33 in the 83kg weight class (I was 79kg).

I hate this too, as it is another implement that I just have not figured out.  I have never improved on this from my very first try 7 years or so ago.  Never cracked 170.  Finished at 161 this time, which is about 6 pounds short of my PR.  Not that I deserved to beat my PR, not having trained, but I have yet to see even newbie gains on this implement, even from improving my grip on it.  Nada.  Maybe I should try to get 170 next year, but unlike Finnish Ball, I do not have one of these to train on.  

Anyway, it was a bit of a surprise to me that I ended up attending this, and as usual, I got lucky and pulled out a PR (well, two actually, if you count my pathetic Finnish Ball PR lol).  But for next year, a little more structure:  I will train for Blockbuster and Finnish Ball, at least, because I can train those at home.

Be well all, see you at the next one!

 

Edited 14 hours ago by Vinnie

[Vinnie]

And holy guacamole batman, that Carter with the first ever King Kong win by an 83kg dude!  Congrats to him!