Mike Rinderle and I have had this double cert planned for quite a while. Sunday was the only day our schedules meshed up, so it was set. My buddy Neal has been messing around with some of my grippers at the office for about two months now and he's regularly closing my CoC #2. Neal has also closed my HG300N and is getting really close on my CoC #2.5, so he's made quick progress. AND he's a damn lefty! I asked Neal if he wanted to ride with me up to Mike's place in MD for the cert and he was quick to sign up for the trip. We planned on getting to Mike's house around 2:00PM, but Mike shot me a text saying Chuck Carns was coming up and we would have a full-blow grip-together after the cert, so get here early. Done. We arrived at Mike's around 1:00PM. Mike and Missy were welcoming and hospitable, per usual!
After thorough non-specific and specific warm-ups we got ourselves dialed in for the MM2 cert. Mike and I agreed I would lead-off, just like our MM1 cert. "Let's not mess with a good thing." he said. I agreed. Missy was running the camera and with Neal manning the back-up. We went through the standard, the box is sealed, here's the gripper, etc. I had three solid attempts on the MM2 gripper; my confidence increased with each attempt. After our first attempts (I think), Neal asked me, "Hey, Bobby...why is this thing counting down?" I took a look at my camera only to see the final seconds of countdown and the blue camera message screen tell us the damn memory card was full! Seriously!?!? What the hell is wrong with me? Mike had back-to-back bad sets on his first two attepmts, missing both, but not by much! Mike really got himself focused for his final attempt, closing the gripper. Mike and Missy were quick to upload the video to assess our footage.
The grip after-party was killer. We all hit PRs, we had some firsts, and we tested the weight capacity of Mike's deck. Good times.
Neal Cole - New guy at the office, new guy to grip, and all around good dude. Neal recently started lifting again on a simple 5X5 program I wrote up for him, so I'm expecting a big increase in overall strength to help push along his grip strength. Neal puled Chuck's 30lb York blob and got his 37.5lb York blob to knee height (first time he ever touched a blob), he got Mike's CoC #3 past parallel, he pulled about 120lbs on Mike's 2HP set-up, and floated around 200lbs on Mike's FBBC 1" v-bar. For his first day doing anything other than grippers, I'd say this was a banner day for the new guy. Neal's got the grip bug bad too!
Chuck Carns - I met Chuck a few years ago at a strongman contest in Waldorf, MD. He approached me because I was wearing a Diesel Crew t-shirt. I lost track of him shortly thereafter. Mainly because he took an extended hiatus from grip and the Gripboard. His 18 month break makes what he did on Sunday even more impressive! I think Chuck said he'd been messing around with grippers again for only a few months. Chuck closed Mike's CoC #3 with both hands, pulled most of the lighter York blobs, got his first-ever 45lb plate hub lift on Barbe's plate, pulled around 165lbs on Mike's 2HP set-up, and just ROCKED the 1" FBBC v-bar with a 302lb full-pull! Seriously awesome stuff! Chuck pulled the 30lb York blob with his thumb and index fingers. Not to mention, Chuck also brought a million grippers, York blobs from 30-47.5lbs, an 8lb sledge, a 10lb sledge, a 16lb sledge, and the craziest plate I've ever seen: a cast iron, rubber-rimmed, 50lber with a wide/shallow hub. We affectionately named it, "the Thing". Chuck also brought his wife Michelle (awesome) who manned the silly-fast digital camera for amazing still photos of the action. Somebody please talk Michelle into competing at Gripmas next month! She came damn close to closing Mike's HG200 sitting down with a crappy set and I bet she could pull that 30lb York blob with a little training.
Mike Rinderle - Mike was all kinds of fired up on Sunday, hitting some BIG numbers all the way around! After he pulled Barbe's 45lb plate by the hub and pulled a few plus weight, Mike easily pulled a PR on his 54mm 2HP set-up to the tune of 197.7lbs. We loaded the set-up with 200lbs and change and he pulled it right up (I think it would have been high enough to hit the bar on a proper Euro 2HP), but the skin on his right thumb let loose and he dropped it. Mike lost some serious skin on the inside of his right thumb...about the size of a nickel. Thankfully, it wasn't very deep. I super glued that sucker down and Mike was right back at it. 1" FBBC v-bar - Mike pulled 302lbs to full lock-out and floated 352lbs twice, but couldn't quite get it there. Mike pulled Jedd's 50lb York Blob a few times and I think he got the 50lb Thing to float around a bit. Mike levered his 17lb sledge to his face and I think he got a DL with his 8lber. He came within 1/16" of closing Eaton's 170lb CoC #3.5...at the END of the day. Mike snatched the 30lb York blob and pulled it with his thumb and index fingers a few times. Mike had a killer day.
Me - I had a good day all around, starting off with the MM2. We rolled out the hubbing plates: Barbe's 45lber and the 50lb Thing; I pulled both with ease. I got the 50lb Thing for several high pulls and pulled it with 5lbs added (tried with 10lbs, but it only floated around a few inches). I pulled Barbe's 45lb plate by the hub with both hands, pulled it with 10lbs added with my RH, and got several hub curls and presses with both hands. I tried for a 50lb York Fatman Blob (RH) and a 50lb Thing (LH) double lift, but I couldn't hang onto the 50lb Thing with my LH. Bummer...that would have been very cool. I pulled around 182lbs on Mike's 2HP set-up, which is super cool. I never get to train 2HP, so I was pretty happy with that lift. I also pulled 252lbs on Mike's 1" FBBC v-bar. Again, I never train this lift, so I was happy to get this lift. I was able to float 302lbs on the 1" v-bar with my LH, but was nowhere near a full lift. Maybe next time (?). I pulled my 50lb York Fatman Blob several times with my RH and I pulled Jedd's 50lb York Blob with both hands. I pulled the 30lb York blob with my thumb and index finger with both hands. I got a 10lb sledge DL and levered Chuck's 16lber and Mike's 17lber to my face...clean and easy. I went back to the 50lb Thing and tried to curl it by the hub. Not a good idea at the end of the day: I missed the curl and had to glue some skin back on my right thumb. Nothing like Mike's tear, but I should have known better. I will curl the 50lb Thing buy the hub - trust me. I closed out by doing a bunch of snatches with Chuck's 37.5lb York blob.
It was a fantastic day for grip! AND I found out on Monday, I got three whites from the judges on my MM2!!!
Here's the vid:
I'll be using some of the killer pics to spruce things up a bit around here.
Pics and an update on last night's workout later.
Goody
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