- Meat Hook Deadlift
- Loose Plate One Hand Pinch Lift – 2 x 20k, 2 x 15k, 2 x 10k, or 2 x 5k
- Pickaxe Lever to Rear (one hand)
- Half a Penny – Hold (one hand)
- Snapping of a Grade 5 bolt, a 6” nail or 9” x 6mm S275 steel bar
Meat Hook Deadlift
Our meat hooks arrived around 3 weeks prior to the competition starting which gave us time to get a bit of practice in. From checking out a few videos you could tell the meat hooks were going to be tough.. But we were unpleasantly surprised to feel that they were exactly as painful as it looked.
The first training session with them brought broken skin and a new found respect for those lifting upwards of 300kg.
We planned to do 3 training sessions before the competition first week staying light second week going heavy and third week light but with timed holds. Unfortunately for me, it seems like I am held back by my silky smooth hands in this event which ultimately lead to tearing them during training (second session) and again during the competition meaning I was unable to get a decent number up, 192.25k started the tear and 226kg was where I failed and my fingers gave up.
Laura on the other hand managed to get a huge lift of 156kg which was 30kg more than she had managed in training.
The winner of this event Reuben Hughes looked very impressive in this event, just doing enough to get the win but having seemingly plenty left in the tank, the day after at record breakers he actually took 2x Meat Hook World Records;
- Meathook Deadlift – 287.05k Class WR
- Meathook Deadlift Hold – 228k for 21sec – Class and Open WR
Loose plate Pinch (Timed Hold)
Unfortunately in The Grip Shed, we do not yet have any smooth sided plates, they are all either bumper or handled weights, (If you are selling any let us know !) we were also unable to source any before the competition started which meant we were unable to train for this event.
A classic feat of strength which was quite intimidating at first lead to a pleasant surprise for me. Comfortably lifting the 2x20kg plates and managing a 31 second hold before once again my skin started to let my down, tearing the webbing in my hand I had to drop the weight. But was very pleased with the overall time of the hold.
Laura was worried at first but managed to lift 2x10kg plates for a huge 37 seconds, I have no doubt the next time she will accomplish lifting 3x10kg plates for a timed hold over 5 seconds.
The winner of this event Thomas Head managed a huge 35 second hold, at just the age of (I believe) 20 he has great potential for not only Grip Sport but powerlifting too.
Pickaxe Lever to Rear (one hand)
Another event unfortunately we were unable to train for as we did not yet have the equipment the Pickaxe Lever to Rear, a good test of wrist strength. A strange lift which felt very uncomfortable on the wrist, I found it hard to keep my wrist locked into position.
I think as I work on mobility a lot this hindered my performance. According to David, anything over 7kg is pretty decent.. Which unfortunately I missed out on at 6.54k.
Laura managed a respectable 3.55k, Elizabeth Horne finishing at 5k shows just how difficult this lift is. Sam Parker started off with bulldozing lifts looking like he could have managed 10kg+ which is heading towards world record territory, however maybe a few too many lifts got the better of him.
Reuben came in towards the end, taking the event win with a 9.25kg lift. Definitely one for us to work on in the future.
Half a Penny – Hold (one hand)
Finally an event we were able to train for! The half penny, one of the pieces of equipment we obtained around December and have been training pretty regularly with. A very fun and challenging implement I was working on my holds with upto 12kg my one rep max lift being 13.2kg.
On the day I smashed my PB and managed a 14kg hold for 6 seconds which was very pleasing and a great personal achievement.
Laura has also been training for this lift and has been a couple of seconds off the 12kg Hold (6 seconds) a few times. On the day she managed 4 seconds + 3 seconds at 12kg before dropping down to 10kg and getting a huge 14 second hold.
Patricia Luxner extended the 12kg hold time world record to 8 seconds on her lift which was very impressive to watch.
This event is looking good for us both and we will continue to train with this great little implement into the future. The half penny king - Jerome Bloom - of course took the win in this event with a lift of 16k for 18sec. He actually managed a new class WR lift the next day too of 19.79kg.
Snapping a Grade 5 bolt, 6” nail or 9”x6mm steel bar
Not having attempted any sort of bends or snaps before Laura particularly was worried going into this event. I had attempted to snap 1 nail before the competition which took just under 2 minutes and was my only experience going into this event.
Most of the competitors attempted the Grade 5 Bolt snap which for me actually went much better than anticipated. Managing to snap the bolt in 2mins 6 seconds was a great achievement personally and something I actually found very fun to do.
This placed me in second behind probably the best steel snapper in the world and winner of the overall competition Reuben. Laura opted for the 6” nail and while failing to snap it she did manage to bend it which is a great achievement considering her lack of experience and technique.
Overall it was a fantastic learning experience for us both listening to the advice from other athletes who have many world records and grip title between them.
Also meeting David Horne and a few friends we have made recently through Grip Sport. Until Next Year!
