IAWA Gold Cup Recap | Eric Todd

This past October, I competed in the IAWA Gold Cup meet.  It is like the World Championships of record breaker days.  You choose one lift and your opener must be a World Record.  There were lifters from the US, Britain, Scotland, Finland and Australia.  I chose a lift called Lateral Lift Lying.  The rules of the lift are as follows:

E13. Lateral Raise – Lying : two evenly loaded dumbbells are used for this lift. The lifter lies on the platform, face up. The dumbbells are placed on the platform on both sides of the lifter, who grips the dumbbells with the palms of the hands facing up at arms’ length, with the arms at a 90-degree angle to the body. Legs are to be straight and flat to the platform, and must remain that way throughout the lift. Width of legs spacing is optional, but must remain in that position throughout the lift. Maximum diameter of the dumbbell plates is 11 inches. The arms must remain straight and elbows locked during the lift. The arms must maintain a 90-degree angle to the body during the lift. Once the lifter is in the correct starting position on the platform, an official will give a command to start the lift. The lifter then raises the dumbbells to a position over the lifter’s body until the dumbbells touch. The dumbbells must be lifted simultaneously. Once the dumbbells are motionless, an official will give a command to end the lift. (USAWA Rulebook 79).

My goal for this meet was not only to break the age/weight class record, but to break the all-time record as well.  The record was 55 kilos (121 lbs.), which translates to 60.5 lbs. per hand.  Nick Mckinless, a UK all-round and strongman champion, held this record.  I ended up topping his 55 kilos with a final lift of 60 kilos (132 lbs.), which ended up being 66 lbs. per dumbbell. 

Since then my training has gone well.  I am slowly increasing my deadlift and squat while ensuring the integrity of my form to push my strength back up without injuring my back again.  I have even started doing the heavy lifts again in hopes of competing in this year’s championship.  This is after a year and a half layoff of those types of lifts.  Believe it or not, I am already back near record weights on them.  I attribute that to a cross of muscle memory and the powerful benefits of HMB.  With the help of PEAK ATP, I am still hitting all-time PRs in some of my lifts.

I get the privilege of working the booth at the Arnold Sports Festival again this year.  I look forward to visiting with you all and sharing the advantages afforded me in my training by supplementing with HMB and PEAK ATP, backed up with protein by Optimum Nutrition.  See you then!

- Eric Todd, Strength Athlete