Whether you're a bodybuilding fan or not, there's plenty going on at the Mr. Olympia contest this weekend, and for all you grip guys, be sure to check out the GNC Gillingham Grip Gauntlet.


Making it look easy at the GNC Show of Strength, Wade Gillingham toys with a Blob in his right hand and a Rolling Thunder loaded to 187 pounds in his left hand. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Featuring the benchmark feats of hand strength, the GNC Gillingham Gauntlet gives everyone a crack at a Blob (to test their pinch grip), an IronMind Rolling Thunder loaded to 212 pounds (to test their supporting grip), and a No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper (to test their crushing grip).

Any one of these world famous tests of grip strength is more than enough to stop most mortals and almost nobody can do all three.

Wade Gillingham marches through these three feats of hand strength and his performances on the Blob are dazzling, but what else would you expect from a guy who just finished off a workout with five single on the Blob loaded with an additional 20 pounds!

Whether you're a grip specialist or just want to have some fun, be sure to stop by the GNC booth at the Mr. O and give the GNC Gillingham Grip Gauntlet a try.

Lifting in Reykjavik at the IPF Iceland Cup over the weekend, Benedikt Magnusson deadlifted 400.5 kg to become the first Icelander to hit the extraterrestrial 400 kg mark.


Former WSM competitor and top powerlifter Hjalti Arnason relaxes at the 2004 Arnold Expo, where he was on hand for the strongman competition. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

As reported by former WSM competitor and top powerlifter Hjalti Arnason, Benedikt Magnusson weighed in at 146.4 kg and along with his huge deadlift, he squatted 370 kg and benched 230 kg.

Iceland has a history of producing big deadlifters and following Benedikt Magnusson on Iceland's all-time list are: Auonn Jonsson at 382.5 kg, Magnus Ver Magnusson at 375.5 kg, Hjalti Arnason at 375 kg, Torfi Olafsson at 370.5 kg, and Jon Pal Sigmarsson at 370 kg.

Santa Monica, California - Jack LaLanne's 90th birthday party was as upbeat and energetic as the man who makes Duracell batteries look bad.


Jack LaLanne is ready to party at his 90th birthday celebration. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Hosted by IRONMAN magazine, Befit Enterprises and the LaLanne family, Jack LaLanne's 90th birthday party was a pure delight.

Set in the main ballroom of the Hotel Casa Del Mar, brushing against the beach, the party was packed with people ranging from near-contemporaries of Jack LaLanne (such as Jimmy Payne) through guys who were barely born when Jack first hit TV with his exercise program that transformed the way Americans thought about diet and exercise.

Jack LaLanne opened what is regarded as the first modern gym in 1936, and he said that at the time he opened, the local Oakland, California newspapers predicted that he would be out of business within six weeks. More than half a century later, Jack LaLanne is still going strong and never losing his optimistic outlook, he closed his comments by saying, "Anything in life is possible if you make it happen."

Today in the finals, it is Team UK against Team Ukraine.


Here's a shot of the Pole Push at the All Nations Challenge taken earlier this week. Dione Wessels photo.

Today in the finals, it is Team UK against Team Ukraine. Team Ukraine went first on the Island Stones. They were not only flawless, but also quick. They finished all six stones in a record time of 137.07. Team UK had a bit of flaw on the stones, but still managed to load all of the stones in a time of 212.07 for second in the event.

On the second event, the Log Lift, Team UK goes out first and completes 12 repetitions in the log. Team Ukraine comes out and has another flawless event and completes 13 repetitions tying the record number of repetitions that was set earlier by Team Canada and Team USA. This is the second win for Team Ukraine.

The third event is the Four Man Sudan Walk. Team UK goes out and sets a good mark with a time of 32.70 seconds. This time also beats the record setting time that was set by Team USA on Wednesday. Team Ukraine also looked flawless, and had one set down, so their time of 35.23 was not enough to beat Team UK. The score is now two to one Team Ukraine.

Event four is The All Strength Stone Carry. Team Ukraine starts with Michael Studoff (sp). He finishes with a little over 200'. Vasyl is the second man on the stone and finishes with an overall distance of 385'. They leave a big opening for Team UK. Team UK starts off with Mark Felix who goes over 200'. Brian Turner finishes the course with a win for his team, and finishes at 450'.

The next event is the wt. for ht. Team Ukraine finishes with 4 implements in a time of 38.49 seconds. Team UK comes out and also only gets four implements, but in a time of 39.21 seconds for second place in this event.

The sixth event of the day is the Pole Push. Neither team has been defeated in this event until today. Team Ukraine wins the first of the best of three in the Pole Push. After each team is holding each other for a moment, Team Ukraine has a surge of power and wins the push over team UK. It is obvious that Team Ukraine has won the contest, so they are dropping the wrestling event.

Team Ukraine has won their second straight victory in the All Nations Challenge!!!! The overall placings are Team Ukraine-1st; Team UK-2nd; Team USA-3rd; Team Viking-4th; Team Poland-5th; Team Canada-6th; Team Netherlands-7th; Team Germany-8th.

Reported by Dione Wessels, nastrongman.com / americanstrongman.org

In the second session of day 6, Team Ukraine breaks the USA's stone loading time for all six stones with a time of 6 stones in 152.44 seconds! Team Germany manages to only complete 3 stones in 103.87 seconds.

Team Germany is up first in the Log for reps. They complete 6 reps, so Team Ukraine completes 7 reps for the win.

The third event is the Island Stone walk for distance. Team Germany completes 253' total, not leaving a large mark for Team Ukraine to beat. Team Ukraine completes a distance of 301' for the win in the event, winning three to zero against Team Germany.

The fourth event is the Four Man Sudan walk, and Team Germany only has three men to do this event since one man is out with a hand injury. They manage to move the implement 3'8" so Team Ukraine says that in honor of Germany's injury, they will also do the event with three men. After two unsuccessful attempts, they put all four men in and win the event with 100'.

The next event is the Strongman wrestling. After wrestling around for over a minute, Team Ukraine takes the first victory. Vasyl comes out on the second bout and takes the win for Team Ukraine.

The 6th event is the Pole Push. Team Ukraine quickly defeats Team German in this event. In the second pole push, it takes a little more effort, but Team Ukraine manages to force Germany out again.

The 7th and final event is the wt. for Ht. Team Germany finishes the day off with 2 implements in 37.74 seconds. Team Ukraine comes out to win the event with 4 implements in 47.33 seconds.

Team Ukraine makes a clean sweep winning all seven events, and advancing on to the finals on Saturday against Team UK. Team USA will be in third overall.

Reported by Dione Wessels, nastrongman.com / americanstrongman.org

In today's events, the Island Stones were first. Team Poland puts up a very fast time with the first five stones. It is not enough for the win since Team Viking's Juha Rasssanen loads the black stone (6th) stone in 206.79 seconds for the win.

The second event is the log for reps. Team Poland completes 10 repetitions in the allotted time of 90 seconds. Team Viking comes out, and after completing 7 repetitions, says no more, so Team Poland takes the win.

The third event is the Stone Walk. Team Viking starts out with Tommy Latta. He completes 300', then Juha Rassanen finishes the walk off with another 300' for a total distance of 600'. Team Poland's first team member completes a little over 300', and the second team mate completes an equal distance in aiding Team Poland in the win with a total distance of 604'.

The fourth event is the 4 man Sudan Walk. Team Viking finishes with a great time and of 37.67 seconds. Team Poland starts out with a great stride going down the course, but drops the implement twice, and then fails to finish the course with an overall distance of 177' on the 200' course. Team Poland wins another event.

The fifth event is the Strongman Wrestling. Soon as the whistle blows, Jarek Dymek from Poland pins his opponent for the first of three matches. On the next match, Tommy Latta from the Viking team pins his opponent, but it is Team Poland that takes the match for the win in this event.

The sixth event is the Pole Push. Team Viking beats Team Poland in the first two of three Pole pushes for the win.

Going into the seventh event, the Wt. for ht., the score is tied three wins to three wins.

On the Seventh event, Team Poland fails on the fourth implement, and finishes with 3 implements in 33.15 seconds. Team Viking completes 4 implements in 42.49 seconds for the win, and also for the win against Team Poland.

Reported by Dione Wessels, nastrongman.com / americanstrongman.org

Check here for a correction on the Strongman Wrestling results and the latest on Team USA versus Team Canada.

[For Strongman Wrestling] I should have said Van Hatfield against Brad Carty; Geoff Dolan Pins Phil Pfister, and Travis Lyndon pinned Steve Kirit.

Also, Team USA has had the fastest time overall in the Island Stones so far with 2 minutes flat. They have had the best distance in the All strength Stone Walk (Phil Pfister and Jon Anderson), the fastest time in the 4 Man Sudan Walk with 33 seconds. Also, Team USA and Team Canada have had the most reps on the log lift (13 reps) and, Steve Kirit and Van Hatfield were the only two athletes to clear the 100 pound implement on the wt. for ht.

Reported by Dione Wessels, NASS and ASA.

"We finished up today's events with Team UK and Team Netherlands from yesterday," Dione Wessels said.< br>
In the Island Stones, Team Netherlands started the day off and completed five stones in 156.15 minutes and Mark Felix from Team UK does it again loading the 6th stone in 206.29 seconds for the win.

The 5th event for the group was the Log Press for reps. Team Netherlands completed 5 repetitions, and Team UK came out to complete 6 repetitions for the win.
,br>The sixth event group was the Sudan Walk. Team UK failed to carry the implement the entire distance due to a torn callous. Team Netherlands takes the win, finishing in a time of 105.18 secs.

On the All Strength Stone, Team Netherlands also takes the win completing 516' over Team UK's 150'.

Also, on the wrestling for the USA, Steve lost because he tried to throw Travis, tripped, and landed on his back first.

Reported by Dione Wessels, nastrongman.com / americanstrongman.org

Day five has started off wet and rainy. The contest was postponed for an hour to let the rain pass. Team USA and Team Canada start off in the Island stone load. Team Canada fails to load the black stone. Phil Pfister comes out and does a tremendous job loading the sixth stone. Team USA has injuries with all the competitors, but they still look flawless and are really working well together. Team USA wins event one.

In event two, the log lift, Team Canada completes 13 repetitions, and sets a high number for Team USA to chase. Team USA comes out and completes 13 repetitions for the tie.

The third event was the four man Sudan walk today. Team Canada completes it in 37.31 seconds which is fast, but Team USA takes the win completing the event in 33.90 seconds.

The fourth event of the day is the All Strength Stone, and Team Canada Starts out with Geoff Dolan, and finishes with Travis Lyndon for a total distance of 440'3". Team USA starts the walk out with Jon Andersen, and finishes with Phil Pfister for a total distance of 465'3" for the win.

The fifth event is the Strongman Wrestling; Van Hatfield goes out for the first match, and pins Brad Cardy fast. The second Match, it is Phil Pfister and Brad Cardy. They tangle for a while, but it ends up with Brad on top for the win for Canada. The next match is Steve Kirit and Geoff Dolan. Geoff takes the win so Team Canada wins this event.

The sixth event is the Pole Push, Team USA uses tremendous skill, endurance, and agility. They win the first two pushes and takes another win.

The 7th and last event is the wt. for ht. Lyndon and Geoff start off, but fails after the third implement. They finish with a time of 3 implements in 46.02 seconds. Team USA comes out to take the win with 4 implements in 41.42 seconds. Team USA finishes off the first part of the day with a win against Canada!!!

Reported by Dione Wessels, NASS and ASA

The second part of Day 4 is Team Viking against Team Germany. For the first event, Team Germany only gets 4 implements with a time of 152.11 secs. Team Viking finishes with the black stone in a time of 203.06 for the win.< br>
On the log lift, Team Germany finishes with 7 repetitions, so Team Viking comes out and does just enough for the win with 8 repetitions.

The third event is the throw for ht, and Team Germany is standing too far from the board to make the third wt. go over. They finish the throw with just two successful throws in a time of 23.77. Team Viking comes out with 3 successful implements in a time of 37.36 for their third win. It is clear that team Viking is dominating this contest.

The fourth event was the All Strength Stone Carry. Team Germany finished with a time of 309'8", but it was not enough to hold off the Vikings, who did just enough for the win, finishing with 337' for their fourth win.

The fifth event was the wrestling, and Team Germany was not going down without a fight with one successful win to Team Viking's two wins. This is the 5th win for Team Viking.

For the 6th event, the Pole Push, it was a matter of stamina and who could hold on the longest. Team Viking takes the first and second win out of three. This is the sixth consecutive win for Team Viking.

Team Germany only has three men to compete on the 4 man Sudan walk since Rheinholdt's hand is injured and infected. The three Germans move the implement 1', but they still have great spirits. Team Viking moves the four man Sudan Walk and finishes the complete course in 107.18 secs. They finish the day off with a perfect score of 7 to 0.

Reported by Dione Wessels, NASS and ASA.

As you tear through Dione Wessels' reports from the All Nations Challenge, you might be wondering just how this contest is run.


Jon Andersen on the Island Stones at the All Nations Challenge. Dione Wessels photo.

We had some questions, so we asked Dione Wessels to give a quick run down: "The format is round robin style; four teams compete each day in seven events. These are the same seven events.

There are two different pools, Pool A and Pool B. The best of team A after Friday will compete against the best of Team B in the finals. Team USA is in Pool A with UK, Canada, and the Netherlands. Team B is Ukraine, Germany, and Poland."

Team Ukraine faced off with Team Poland today in the fourth day of competition at the All Nations strongman competition.

Dione Wessels calls the action for us: "This morning Day 4 started off with Team Ukraine and Team Poland. Team Ukraine defeats Team Poland in the Island Stones, completing 5 stones in a time of 126.83 over the Team Poland's 4 stones in a time of 122.12.

The second event was the three man log lift with team Poland completing 10 reps, and Team Ukraine completing just enough to win finishing with 11 reps. Team Ukraine's repetitions appeared as though they were demonstrating a log lift clinic! They were totally flawless.

The third event of the day was the wt. for ht. Team Poland fails on one of the second attempts, which gives them only 4 more tries. They finish with 4 implements (86 pounds) in a time of 116.40 secs. Team Ukraine has flawless throws, and a quick time and wins their third event with a time of 4 implements in 41.05 secs. Team Ukraine takes the win again winning three to Poland's zero.

The fourth event is the All Strength Stone Walk. Team Poland finishes with an amazing distance of 378'6" to Team Ukraine's distance of 227'6". Team Poland takes the win in this event.

The fifth event is the strongman wrestling Team Poland wins the first match of three, then Ukraine, then Team Poland wins the best of two out of three for their second win in this tournament.

The sixth event is the Pole Push, and Team Ukraine uses great force to push Team Poland out of the circle. On the second push, it is a draw since Team Poland snatches pulls the implement forcing Team Ukraine to fall. On the next Pole Push, Team Ukraine again pushes Team Poland out of the circle for the win.

The seventh event is the 4 Man Sudan Walk. Team Poland goes out and finishes the event in 50.33 seconds, but Team Ukraine finishes the event in 49.94 seconds and with two drops. Team Ukraine takes the win over Poland."

Continuing to give everyone a bird's eye view of what's going on at the All Nations strongman competition, Dione Wessels calls the action for us in the second session of day three.

"Team UK against Team USA is set for the second session of day three. Team UK fails to get the Black stone loaded after an unsuccessful attempt by newcomer Mark Felix. Team USA comes in and although their times are slower, Phil Pfister finishes the Island Stone load off by loading the Black stone (6th) for the win. USA wins event number one.

On the second event, the log lift, Team USA goes first and locks out an easy 12 repetitions, setting a number for Team USA. Team USA starts off the log lift with Jon Andersen, Van Hatfield, and Steve Kirit. Van and Steve are on the outside, with Jon in the middle, and Phil giving the calls. Team USA finishes with 10 repetitions, losing a rep due to a lockout on the 11th rep. The two teams are now tied with one win each.

On the third event, Team USA failed to get the 5th implement, and Team UK threw the first four much faster with a time of 47.06 over the USA's time of 59.23 so Team UK has two wins to the USA's one.

On the fourth event, USA leads off in the All Strength Stone Carry, and Jon Andersen and Phil Pfister step up to the challenge. Jon starts off and finishes the first leg of the stone with an amazing 300'. Pfister completes the second leg with 314' giving the team a total distance of 614'. Team UK starts out with Brian Turner and completes a distance on the 1st leg with about 250' and Mark Felix finishes the 2nd leg off with a total distance of 437'6" so now Team USA has evened it up with two wins each.

The fifth event is wrestling, with Steve Kirit up for the USA team. Steve quickly pins his opponent for the 1st victory of three. For the second match, Phil Pfister, wrestles against Mark Felix, with Felix and Pfister both going down, so the referees have to look at a replay in what appears to have Felix going for the throw, but Pfister landing on top. The referees call the match a draw, so it is Mark and Phil again. Keep in mind that the current temperature is 110 degrees F. Team UK takes the win, and ties it at 1-1. For the third match, it will be Van Hatfield and Brian Turner. Turner tries to trip Hatfield, but Hatfield out powers him, spins him, and pins him for the win. The USA is now up 3 events to two.

The next event is the Pole Push and Team UK dominates Team USA in the best two of three of the pole pushe. The score is now tied three to three.

The last event is the four man Sudan walk. The Americans gut it out with an amazing time of 38.96 seconds. Hatfield has a pulled hamstring, but gutted it out all the way. Team UK sprints with a time of 36.27 secs and takes the win over the USA."

Dione Wessels gives us the scoop again from the All Nations strongman competition.

"Yesterday's finish was a blowout with Poland over Team Germany. Team Germany did not have a chance against them as they [Poland] totally dominated each event except the last in which they gave away without trying, since they knew they had the win. Team Ukraine won over Team Viking, but it was not a blow out."

Earlier, Dione had given us an update on Strongman Wrestling and on the Pole Push: "Team Ukraine dominates Team Viking in Strongman Wrestling. On the Pole push, Team Ukraine wins the best two out of three and also takes the win over all. Team Viking wins the 4 man Sudan walk with 153'3" over Ukraine that takes off with great speed, and just stops, and waves to the crowd at a distance of 65'3". Team Ukraine has a 4 to 3 win over Team Viking."

Congratulations to Brian Mottola and Masahiro Sawada, the latest guys certified on the No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper.

Both guys can be very proud of their accomplishment, and their names have been added to the official certification list for the No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper: /Main/captainswhosnew.html

Way to go, guys!

Congratulations to Paul Fleschler, who is now the Men's Resident Coach for USA Weightlifting at the US Olympic Training Center.


Asked about his favorite lift from his own competitive career, this is the first one Paul Fleschler named, and for good reason: Lifting in the 100-kg class, Paul hit this PR 152.5-kg snatch at his first World Weightlifting Championships, in 1990 (Budapest, Hungary). Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Paul comes from the long line of Chicago-area lifters who made good, and besides saying that he was very happy to be chosen for this job, Paul was quick to thank his own coaches (Roger Nielsen, Dragomir Cioroslan and Frank Eksten) for all he learned from them along the way.

Paul said that his training philosophy draws from diverse sources and the resulting hybrid won't be limited to the just the classical lifts, for example, and it won't be the same for each lifter since he will be working with lifters coming from varied backgrounds and having different sets of strengths and weaknesses.

Paul said he has to be open to seeing what works, as he prepares lifters to be ready mentally and physically to do their best on the competition platform, and for him to be successful, he can't just put blinders, and ignore the many options and choices facing his athletes. "That's what being an American is all about," Fleschler said.

Continuing to keep us on top of the action at the All-Nations strongman competition, Dione Wessels just filed this report.

"In today's events, it is Team Canada against Team Netherlands. In the first event, team Netherlands finishes with the 5th stone in a time of 134.95, and Team Canada finishes with all stones with a time of 201.52. Brad Carty becomes the second man to load the black stone. Team Canada takes the win for this event.

The second event is the three man log lift. Team Netherlands finishes with 5 repetitions before one of their members bangs his shin with the log. Team Canada comes in to do 6 repetitions for the win. Team Netherlands comes out in the weight for ht. and finishes with the 4th implement of 86#'s with a time of 47.43 over Team Canada's time with the 86# implement with a time of 101.18. The next event is the All Strength Stone Walk. Travis Lyndon walks an amazing distance of 306' , then Geoff Dolan finishes the walk with another 300'. Team Netherlands finishes the walk off at 528' giving Team Canada the win. Team Canada has now won 3 of the 7 events with 3 more events to go.

The fifth event is the Strongman Wrestling. Team Netherlands dominates the Canadians with two victories in the wrestling. Team Netherlands has won 2 events to Team Canada's three.

In Event 6, the Pole Push, Team Canada with Geoff Dolan as the anchor, drove Team Netherlands across the line in both events, totally dominating this event.

For the 7th event, the four-man Sudan Walk, the Dutch team will have only three men since one guy was injured on the log, so three of their guys try to pick up the implement but fail. They definitely gave it a lot of heart. Team Canada only needs to move it a couple of feet, but goes halfway with the implement instead. Team Canada wins 5 of the 7 events against the Netherlands."

Here's another news flash from Dione Wessels, at the All Nations strongman competition.

""On the Wt. for ht. Team Finland finishes with a time of 54.96 on the fourth implement of 86 pounds and team Ukraine finishes with a time of 52.96 for he win. USA is still the only team to finish with the 5th implement of 100 pounds.

On the Island stone carry, team Finland wins with a distance of 572' over Ukraine's 150'. The teams are now tied at 30 to 30 prior to the strongman wrestling."

We've got another red hot report from Dione Wessels at the All Nations strongman contest.

"Today is Team Viking (4 Finns and one Icelandic) against Team Ukraine (yes Vasyl is here). On the Island stones, Jarno has difficulty loading the blue stone which cost valuable time. They put Juha in, he loads it, and they finish with a time of 221.97 on the pink stone (stone 5). Team Ukraine has an upset in the stone load. A new member on the team has major difficulty loading the brown stone (stone 3), Vasyl pulls him out and goes in to load it. Later, they cannot load the pink stone, Vasyl yells at it, but still fails to load it. They finish with a time of 104.46 on the blue stone (stone 4). Team Viking wins this event.

On the 3 man log for reps, Team Ukraine finishes with a strong 12 reps. Team Viking finishes with 8 reps. Team Ukraine wins. They are tied at the moment 15 to 15. Next is the wt. for ht."

Dione Wessels sent in this report from the first day of the MHP All Nations strongman competition.

"Still on Day one. Team Canada and Team UK has finished 7 events. Team UK wins the first event which was the Island Stone Load. Newcomer Mark Felix loads the black stone for the win weighing in at 410 pounds! It is the first time this stone has been loaded in two years. Second event was the 3 man 680 Log lift for reps. Team Canada finishes with 10 reps, Team UK takes the win with 11 reps. Third event was the 2 man wt. for ht. Canada takes the win, as the UK team seemed out of sync. Not only was the wt. for ht. but also timed. The winning time by Canada was 4 implements 57.61. The 4th event was the Island Stone carry for distance. Canada takes the lead winning with 510'10" over the UK with a distance of 487'6". The 5th event was the wrestling with team Canada winning te best 2 out of 3. UK takes the pole push with a win for the first 2 pushes. Team UK clearly dominated this event as well as the 4 man Sudan Walk with tremendous speed and skill. UK wins day one over team Canada.

Team USA and team Netherlands also competed on day one. he USA came out very strong winning the first four events against the Netherlands. This clearly gave them the win for the day. The USA showed very good team work and skill on the three man log lift as they do enough for the win with 9 reps over the Netherlands 8 repetitions. Steve Kirit and Van Hatfield were the force in the wt for ht. as the USA was the first team to clear the 5th implement weighing 100 pounds. In the Wrestling event, Van clearly dominated his opponent as soon as the whistle blew. Pfister also dominated his opponent after figuring out the event. In the pole push, Team Netherlands wins the 1st out of three against team USA (Pfister, Jon, and Steve). On the ssecond of the Pole push, Jon Anderson sits out, and Van Hatfield goes in. Team Usa wins the second of the Pole Push for the tie for the best two of three. For the third Push, Steve Kirit goes out and Jon Andersen comes back in. Team USA totally dominates Team Netherlands and are now up 6 wins to 0. The last event is the 4 Man Sudan walk. Team Netherlands finishes with a distance of 175' with Jarno clearly giving up instead of finishing. Team USA goes out to the Sudan walk and goes 10' only and waves to the crowd, then runs and plunges in the water."

Many thanks to Dione for letting us know how things are going down there!

We have just posted grip master John Brookfield's latest Grip Tip and everyone who is trying to make progress on grippers, or who arm wrestles, or who just plain likes having a strong grip and overall lower arm power will want to dig into John's latest Grip Tip and give it a try. You can find John's latest Grip Tip by clicking on the icon on the IronMind home page or by following this link: /GripTips/griptip.html.

Besides being the second person certified for officially closing a No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper and the first person certified for bending an IronMind Red Nail, John has helped inspire and guide countless people in their quest for greater hand and wrist strength with his countless shows, and with his numerous articles in MILO: A Journal For Serious Strength Athletes, as well as with his two books, Mastery of Hand Strength and The Grip Master's Manual.

Mark your calendars for February 18 -20, when the Fit Expo will return to the Pasadena Civic Center (Pasadena, California).


Karl Gillingham turned in another great performance at the GNC Show of Strength last weekend, and he is expected be among the top competitors invited to the strongman event at the 2005 Fit Expo. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Featuring the IRONMAN Pro bodybuilding contest, this fitness expo will include plenty of things for strength fans as, for example, what began as a strongman exhibition last year has grown into a full-fledged, high-quality contest for next year. Plans are underway for powerlifting and weightlifting events as well, and rumor has it that the ever-popular GNC Gillingham Grip Gauntlet will be there, so all you grip guys will have a place to gather and have some fun.

Also setting the Fit Expo apart are the seminars it will offer: Featuring some of IRONMAN magazine's leading authors, stars and celebrities, here's your chance to meet the people behind those mighty pens, listen to them in person, and get a tip or two that will ratchet up your performance in 2005.

For more information, please contact Fit Expo at 1-888-FIT-EXPO or info@thefitexpo.com and be sure to check the details at www.thefitexpo.com and www.ironmanmagazine.com.

See you there!

Congratulations to James Smith, Steve Reagan and Nick Zinna for getting certified on the No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper.

Legitimately closing the No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper is an incredible feat of grip strength and IronMind is proud to announce that James Smith, Steve Reagan and Nick Zinna have achieved this benchmark standard of hand strength - we have just certified these guys, recognizing that they have closed the No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper under official conditions. Honoring their accomplishment, their names have been added to the official roster of people who have been certified on the No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper: /Main/captainswhosnew.html

Way to go, guys!

Dione Wessels, head of the newly-formed American Strongman Association (ASA), said that she has basic structure outlined for the 2005 competition schedule.


Dione Wessels played a key role in keeping strongman contests going in the US this year, for the pros as well as for the amateurs. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The goal, Dione Wessels said, is to hold four qualifiers in the US next year, and the national championships are planned for late May or early June.

Dione Wessels was instrumental in getting American professional strongman a replacement contest for the national championships that suffered a series of crashes as the wheels came off IFSA-USA and as this year's selections for World's Strongest Man competitors were made before a (professional) US Championships had been held. Wessels also helped run the NASS Heavyweight Nationals this weekend: NASS opens strongman competition to just about everyone and its top competitors graduate to the professional level (Jon Andersen and Van Hatfield, for example, are NASS alumni), and this is the group, Wessels said, that sold the tickets for the GNC Show of Strength.

Both strongman contests - the professional and the amateur - were very popular this past weekend, and while the pro show was the de facto US National Championships, Wessels explained that Canadian strongman Geoff Dolan had been invited to compete as a guest (Geoff lives in the US), although his points would not count toward the placings, and, as it turned out, Geoff's great performance would have netted him third place had he been a regular competitor.

Strongman is on the move in the US and around the world, and especially for US-based competitors, watch the official NASS web site for announcements: http://www.nastrongman.com/ .

You know how there's the line in Hollywood that you should always leave the fans wanting more, well that's the way things worked at the GNC Show of Strength because a too-tightly-packed schedule was putting extreme pressure on the strongman contests and on the US Rolling Thunder National Championships.


Odd Haugen, who defended his US National Rolling Thunder title, takes a shot at 260 pounds. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Thanks to the Herculean efforts of Dione and Willie Wessels, the NASS Heavyweight Championships and the MHP Professional Invitational Strongman Championships were pulled off in great style, and by splitting the Rolling Thunder Nationals into two sessions - characterized by a feverish attempts tempo and big jumps - we managed to squeeze in the contest for the die-hard grip guys who would not be denied their chance to compete.

The unquestionably-strong Odd Haugen prevailed once again as the US Rolling Thunder National Champion, even though he is coming off biceps surgery, and Odd's biggest disappointment seemed to be that due to scheduling conflicts, he didn't have a chance to match grips with Wade Gillingham or Phil Pfister.

Odd took a shot at 260 pounds - which didn't want to go on this day - but had to settle for a winning weight of 242 pounds. Chad Woodall got second (222 pounds), and Ryan Brown got third (207 pounds) and he graciously split his third-place prize with Chris St. Clair, who took a huge jump from 187 pounds (good) to 222 (missed), just to try to save time when we were on countdown with the Georgia State Trooper who, after somewhat tense negotiations, graciously granted us five extra minutes to finish the contest before getting booted from the expo hall.

Congratulations guys and next time we'll be sure to have a more leisurely pace.

As a way for guys to "show their stuff, set PRs and have fun," Steve Belanger is hosting a gathering of southern California grippers and benders at his home on December 11.


"Grippers . . . get your grippers." Mike Wayne (left) carries in the goodies, so that he and Clay Edgin (right) could have some fun at Muscle Beach this summer. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Steve said that even though this is in Southern California and will include such strong-handed guys as Clay Edgin, "any grip and bending enthusiasts whatever their experience and from anywhere are welcome."

Steve expects this to run all day, and you can contact him at bigsteve057@hotmail.com or Mike Wayne at mwayne@cox.net for all the details.

Atlanta, Georgia - He came in with everyone expecting him to do well, and Van Hatfield did just that as he won the MHP Pro Invitational Strongman Competition today.


Phil Pfister wins yet another Farmer's Walk. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

With the final two events today, it seemed like Van Hatfield's hold on the title was unbreakable, but there was quite a battle going on for the other top places. Phil Pfister won the Farmer's Walk, which used 350-pound implements on a course that had a turn every 30 feet, and Karl Gillingham won the final events, the stones, leaving Van Hatfield in first place, with 60 points, Phil Pfister in second place, with 55 points, and Karl Gillingham in third place, with 50 points.

The NASS title came down to the wire, reminiscent of the World's Strongest Man contest, because the winner of the last pair on the stones would get the title. Travis Ortmayer won, and Henry Cervenka was the runner-up. Please check the official NASS web site for full results: http://www.nastrongman.com/ .

Atlanta, Georgia - Van Hatfield continued to pile up points in the second day of the MHP Pro Invitational Strongman Competition today and has built up a huge lead.


Once again proving he is the deadliest deadlifter in strongman, Mark Philippi easily won the truck deadlift event today. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The day started off with a medley that proved to be a two-minute drill that drilled all the competitors as nobody finished the entire course. Don Pope won the event, followed by Van Hatfield and Phil Pfister. Next was the deadlift, and Mark Philippi was in a class by himself, pounding out 13 reps. Van Hatfield, Karl Gillingham and Geoff Dolan, followed, at nine or fewer reps, although after a protest lodged by one of the competitors last night, Geoff Dolan's points are not being counted since he is not a US citizen.

Van Hatfield holds the lead at 44 points, followed by Mark Philippi at 36 points, Phil Pfister at 33, and Jon Andersen and Steve Kirit, both at 32 points.

Atlanta, Georgia - The MHP Pro Invitational Strongman Championships got off to a rocking start at the GNC Show of Strength today and Van Hatfield is in the lead at the end of the first day.


Van Hatfield blasts away on the 340-pound log. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

One of the names on everyone's lips before this contest even began was Van Hatfield and he didn't disappoint his fans as he ended the first day with impressive performances that put him into the lead.

The car squat was the first event, and Mark Philippi won with 21 reps, followed by Jon Andersen at 20 and Van Hatfield at 19. Van Hatfield had actually completed 21 reps, but only 19 were counted.

The log medley was next, with a series of four logs lifted (285-, 300-, 320- and 340-pounds) and the best time determined the winner.

Once again, Van Hatfield produced a shining performance, and after he had turned in the winning time, he pressed the 340-pound overhead again just to please the crowd. Karl Gillingham was a close second to Van Hatfield (about one second slower), and Steve Kirit was third.

At the of the first day, the points are:

1. Van Hatfield 24 points
2. Jon Andersen 23 points
3. Mark Philippi 22 points
4. Phil Pfister 16.5 points
5. Steve Kirit 16 points
6. Geoff Dolan 15.5 points
7. Karl Gillingham 15 points
8. Jesse Marunde 13 points
9. Walt Gogola 12 points
10. Matt Matheny 9 points
11. Don Pope 7 points
12. Dan Ford, Shawn Smith 4 points

Mark your calendars for June 11th because that's when the 2005 AOBS dinner will be held and it promises to be even better than ever.


John Brookfield lays into a steel bar at the 2004 AOBS dinner. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

AOBS president Artie Drechsler said that one of the things that will be added to next year's dinner is a strength-testing event that will allow "the top [traditional] strongmen to perform under official conditions." This approach will allow these guys to not only get full credit for what they do, but it will also lend a level of legitimacy to some feats of strength that might otherwise have been lacking.

The 2005 dinner will be at the Saddle Brook, New Jersey Marriott, once again, so plan to be there. For details on AOBS and to join, please visit their web site: www.wlinfo.com/AOBS.htm.

Wade and Brad Gillingham will be running the GNC Gillingham Grip Gauntlet at the Show of Strength, so for everyone with a great grip, here's a fun way to put it to the test.


Wade Gillingham hoists the Blob for the nth time at the 2004 Arnold Expo. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

This event was extremely popular at the Arnold Expo earlier this year and it had a constant line of people ready to take their shot at hand strength fame by completing the three grip challenges: Close a No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper, lift 212 pounds on an IronMind Rolling Thunder, and hoist the Blob. Although the number of people who tried this challenge ran into four figures, Wade Gillingham said that only one person completed all three world famous feats of grip strength - Monte 'Alpha Male' Brown, a former NFL linebacker who now wrestles professionally - although even he was unable to do the lifts back to back.

Wade, on the other hand, casually knocked off the challenge repeatedly, and displaying one of his trademark feats of grip strength, Wade made lifting the Blob look like it was made of balsa wood. Wade said that he considering modifying the format a bit from the Arnold by imposing a time limit, for example, and possibly adjusting the weights to give more competitors a chance to succeed.

Don't think you have to be a hand strength king to join in the fun - everyone is welcome to try, so stop by the GNC booth, say hi to grip guy Wade Gillingham and two-time IPF world champion Brad Gillingham, and while you're there, put your hand strength to the test.

The GNC Show of Strength is October 8 - 10 in Atlanta and you can check details on their web site: http://www.showofstrength.com/.

Paradise Island, Bahamas - It could not have been any more exciting as the World's Strongest Man title came down to the last pair in the last event on the last day of the finals.


Vasyl Virastiuk wins his duel with Zydrunas Savickas. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D.

It was a battle up to the very end, but once the Atlas Stones started, Vasyl Virastiuk was not to be denied. Zydrunas Savickas finished second overall, followed by Mariusz Pudzianowski, Magnus Samuelsson, Raimonds Bergmanis and Svend Karlsen.

This year's contest was long, grueling and filled with excitement, and the TV shows will be broadcast to 75 countries beginning about Christmas time. For exact schedule times, please check with BBC in Britain, ESPN in the US and TV3 in Sweden.

Paradise Island, Bahamas - With the 2004 World's Strongest Man contest coming down to the finish line, ending tomorrow, the second event today was the Wheelbarrow race.


Magnus Samuelsson goes for the keg in Wheelbarrow Race. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The Wheelbarrow Race was held on a 35-meter course, with four 100-kg objects that had to loaded along the way. The TV shows, which the BBC and ESPN will begin broadcasting about Christmas time, will capture the excitement that built in this, the second to the last, event, but Magnus Samuelsson maintained the momentum he had established earlier in the day and he won again. The battle for the top positions is extremely tight and tomorrow's final event, the stones, will determine who leaves with what. Unofficially, Zydrunas Savickas and Vasyl Virastiuk are once again tied for the lead, at 32 points, followed by Mariusz Pudzianowski at 29, Magnus Samuelsson at 26 and Raimonds Bergmanis at 17.

Paradise Island, Bahamas - The second to the last day of the 2004 World's Strongest Man finals kicked off with a classic strongman event, the Truck Pull.


Magnus Samuelsson puts the pedal to the metal in the Truck Pull at WSM. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Coming into the second to the last day of the World's Strongest Man finals, Vasyl Virastiuk and Zydrunas Savickas were tied at 24 points, followed by Mariusz Pudzianowski at 21 points. Magnus Samuelsson was next, at 14 points, and he was followed by Raimonds Bergmanis at 13 points and Svend Karlsen at 9 points.

Before the events started today, Magnus Samuelsson had said, "I can't remember a tougher contest," given that there were 11 events in the qualifier and before the day's competition had started, five more events already completed in the finals. "This is the contest everyone wants to win," said Samuelsson, so you can believe the competitors were going to be giving it their all.

All of these scores are unofficial and be sure to watch the TV shows (on ESPN and BBC around Christmas) for the details, but when the dust had settled after the Truck Pull, Savickas had moved up to 29 points, followed by Virastiuk at 28 and Pudzianowski at 24. Samuelsson, with a huge win, was now up to 20 points, followed by Bergmanis at 15. Karlsen, who had injured his leg in the qualifiers, pulled out today, to avoid further injury.

Paradise Island, Bahamas - World's Strongest Man finals wrapped up the second day with the safe lift.


Zydrunas Savickas, pushing hard on the Safe Lift, at WSM 2004. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Mention lifting safes and iron game historians might well think of Paul Anderson's hip lifts or back lifts, but at the 2004 World's Strongest Man contest, it meant an overhead lift using an apparatus like a yoke.

The lift began by getting under the bar as if you were lifting it off the racks for a front squat, and from there it was push pressed overhead. Each rep was done from the ground, and although the weight of was not announced, the chief difficulty seemed to be controlling the yoke's tendency to swing.

The action continues tomorrow, with two events scheduled, and then the last event on Sunday.

Paradise Island, Bahamas - Continuing with its basic-lift theme today, the second event was the deadlift.


Defending WSM winner Mariusz Pudzianowski fights for position as he goes for broke in the deadlift. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The deadlift today continued the power-oriented theme begun with the squat this morning, and the event took the familiar form of a truck deadlift for reps. The weight at the bar was announced as 315 kg and the object was simple: Pull for as many reps as you could within the time limit.

In a schedule change, a third event will be held later today: the overhead lift.

Paradise Island, Bahamas - The second day of the World's Strongest Man contest kicked off with the squat today.


Zydrunas Savickas blasts up the barrels in the squat. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The squat event featured a ramp that dropped barrels into the cage on the squat machine, adding weight as the lifter succeeded with each rep. Starting weight was announced as 600 pounds and there were a total of six additional barrels that could be added, each said to weigh about 15 or 20 kg.

The competitors included mighty squatter Zydrunas Savickas, who has dominated this event in the past by being the only guy to squat with all six additional barrels.