ReallyStrongNerds

This year I made it back out to the ever popular Arnold Classic, I hadn’t made it since 2019. In 2020, the entire expo was obviously limited, and I believe so in 2021 due to COVID. 2022 was the year it began to pick back up, and over the last couple years now, it’s begun to rise back to the popularity and attendance that it once was.

For those who don’t know, The Arnold Classic is a gigantic fitness expo, the biggest in the world, really. They have bodybuilding shows, Powerlifting, Oly lifting, Strongman, and so much more. The event has spread across to so many sports, including things like chess and ping pong. They obviously have many martial arts tournaments as well, which I’ve competed in myself twice, actually. I have never won the Jiu-Jitsu tournament at the Arnold but I competed twice and have made it on the podium a handful of times. 

I have so many fond memories of the Arnold, meeting so many inspirational people, hanging out with friends, and one time my hotel got overbooked and I slept in my back seat in a parking garage in downtown Columbus. This year was unique, as I got to re-unite with an old friend who I used to attend The Arnold with, and I got to take my fiancé, my soon-to-be wife to her first Arnold. 

Of course, I loaded up on some supplements at lower prices, the standard at The Arnold. I also watched a lot of the Strongman, and spent plenty of time at the Animal Cage as well, naturally. I love the energy at the Animal Cage. Watching someone hit a PR or an unofficial world record and everyone is just there to hype them up, shaking the cage and yelling. The energy is incredible. 

However this year I was also able to meet some competitors of a, new-ish sport, Armlifting. I have heard of it before, but didn’t know too much about it. So after talking to some competitors, learning the ins and outs, the format, etc, I decided I want to compete next year in it. 

Armlifting is somewhat of an offshoot of Strongman, but focused on grip strength. They do all sorts of, double overhand axle deadlifts, unique bars like the Saxon bar deadlift, and of course, classic grip stuff like hub-pinch lifts and such. 

After 14 years of BJJ, 10 years lifting and the last 2 competing in Strongman, grip strength is naturally something I’ve developed over time. So, of course something like Armlifting is right up my alley. I obviously don’t have the crazy highest expectations as a lot of these people have been doing it for years, but I’ve set some goals up for training my grip over the next year to compete. 

I’ve added some simple, effective things to my training to train my grip. Part of this is because in my competitons I’m currently prepping for, each has a grip event. But, also they are things I can continue to train to prep for next year.

The exercises I was already doing, consisted of Farmers Carries, Farmers Holds, double overhand deadlifts, and Hercules Holds with a cable cross. Generally I do my warmup sets on deadlifts double overhand for a few sets, with the intention of not only warming up but working my grip strength. The Farmers Hold, is actually an event I’m prepping for a “record breakers” event, where I’ll be attempting to beat the USS National Record. So, obviously I’ve been training that for a bit now. Then the Hercules Hold is an event I have coming up in a competition, however I have to do a modified version with a cable cross, since I don’t have access to a real one. 

A couple things I’ve added in though are Plate Pinch holds and Suitcase lifts. Suitcase lifts are absolutely killer, as you have to stabilize the entire barbell itself, because you’re holding it from the very center. Now, personally I’ve been doing them out of a rack, rather than from the floor, but you could do it from the floor too. Then the plate pinches are an exercise I’ve done in the past, I actually competed in a grip competition back in December, and won my division. I mostly just did plate pinches and double overhand deadlifts to prep for it, I didn’t do anything special. Just basic stuff, carries and holds. 

I’d like to invest in some pinch blocks and potentially other grip products too, however I don’t want to overtrain it. Just some implements to add into my programming to get used to doing more things with my grip. 

Regardless, The Arnold 2025 was awesome once again, watching all the best Strongmen and Strongwomen compete is an awesome experience every year. Also discovering a new sport is great too. My goal is to compete in Armlifting next year, then make it to the Amateur Strongman for the Arnold 2027. I would love to be able to say that I have competed in three sports at The Arnold. I think that in and of itself would be an incredible achievement and I would love for it to happen. And honestly, there are other sports there as well that peak my interest, such as 100% Raw’s Stronglifting, where they do the normal Squat, Bench and Deadlift, but also add in weighted pullups, hip thrust and Strict Overhead Press. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to do 4 sports at The Arnold. 

As usual, The Arnold 2025 was another great experience, that opened my eyes up to new opportunities, meeting more awesome people, such as World’s Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper, and spending quality time with friends.