A New National Grip Strength Champion is Crowned

On Saturday, September 4th, the United States Grip Strength National Championship was held in Camptown, Pennsylvania and the home town competitor, Jedd Johnson, arose victorious amongst a crowd of perennial top-level contenders.

Grip Strength is a sport similar to Strongman that has been growing in size on the East Coast since 2003. Whereas Strongman contests, which often appear on ESPN involve lifting stones, pulling trucks and other FULL BODY strength endeavors, the sport of Grip focuses on testing the competitors’ hand, wrist, finger, and forearm strength.

Throughout the Grip season, contests are held throughout the United States, and competitors who meet specific qualification requirements can become eligible for the National Championship held in Bradford County each year.

For the 2010 installment of the Grip National Championship, the events included Heavy Hand Grippers, Two Hands Pinch Lift, Thick Axle Deadlift, Monster Medley and 75-Foot Wrist Roller.

The fight for the title of 2011 Grip Strength Champion was a nail biter from the start as the defending champion, Andrew Durniat from Wooster, Ohio, and Jedd Johnson tied on the first event, Grippers, each closing one rated at 182.1 lbs. The Grippers used in competition are tested with a device called a Rice Gripper Calibrator, a mechanism used to hold the Gripper while weight is applied to it in order to see how much weight is required to make the handles touch together.

Following the Grippers, Johnson pulled ahead slightly on Durniat in the second event, the Two Hands Pinch, a test of thumb strength. Johnson, who owns the World Record in the Two Hands Pinch with 256.04 pounds, had an off-day in the event, but still lifted 30 pounds more than Durniat, pulling slightly ahead of him in the standings with a lead of 2 points.

Johnson’s lead was cut in half after the next event, the Thick Axle Deadlift, as Durniat out-lifted Jedd with a pull of 423 pounds to Johnson’s 384. The Axle is a 2-inch thick bar with weights added that tests the athlete’s open hand strength, as most people are unable to get their fingers and thumb completely around the device.

With the score Johnson 29 to Durniat 28, the fourth event, the Monster Medley was upon them. This event involves a series of nearly 30 challenges that must be lifted, squeezed, ripped and bent in succession within the 4-minute time limit in order to acquire as many points as possible for the event. This Medley started outside with the athletes maneuvering a series of odd objects, and eventually working their way inside to another series of Grip challenges of ever-increasing difficulty. The Medley included carrying a 120-pound anvil with one hand by the horn, tearing a phone book, bending a bolt, ripping a deck of cards, and 20+ other challenges. Durniat once again edged out Johnson, successfully completing 24 while Johnson completed 22.

The score was now a dead heat with Johnson and Durniat locked in a tie at 38 points. The final event, the 75-foot Wrist Roller would decide the 2011 champion. This event involved pulling a sled loaded with 45 pounds up an inclined course 75 feet long. The sled was attached to a strap and was pulled up the course by turning a 3.5-inch Wrist Roller using Grip Strength. One of the most severe tests of forearm strength and endurance in the sport, this event leaves the hands, wrists and forearms completely fatigued. The competitors must give it everything they have left in order to pull the sled as far as possible within the 1-minute time limit. Johnson emerged victorious, successfully completing the 75-foot course in 49 seconds. The only competitor to do so, Johnson won the competition with a total of 48 points to Durniat’s 47.

In other highlights from Nationals, Brent Barbe from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania rose to the occasion of National Competition setting a personal best in Grippers and the Axle and finishing third with 42 points. Rounding out the group were John Eaton (Cuyler, New York) with 37 points, Chris Rice (Crooksville, Ohio) with 32 points and Zach Coulter (Temperance, Michigan) with 27 points.

“The sport of Grip is extremely fun,” says Johnson. “Just about anybody can train for it and excel at it if they put the effort in. I enjoy telling other people about the sport and showing them how to get started. I would like nothing more than to help increase the interest in the sport and help elevate its popularity.”

For more information on Grip Strength, visit Johnson’s website at www.DieselCrew.com.
Reprinted with permission of the author, Jedd Johnson.