High Country Vigour

There are (4) USAWA Lifts that require a Roman Chair. Bench Press – Roman Chair (A6) – 55 records Abdominal Raise – On Roman Chair (D2) – 21 records Extension – Back (D12) – 22 records Roman Chair Situp (I21) – 46 records The last time the topic of a Roman Chair was discussed in earnest was in 2011 on the forum and the website . Al does an excellent job of providing some history of the device, early lifts and the USAWA lifts. My revisit is a little more on the practical side of actually securing a device that meets the USAWA standards. Tuff Stuff “Roman Chair” I unofficially tried to do these lifts on commercially available Tuff Stuff “Roman Chair” that had an angled pad which does not meet the USAWA specifications. I considered having a shop cut and re-weld the post to make it comply with the rulebook but abandoned the idea. Dino Gym Roman Chair with Adjustable Safety Clark’s Gym Roman Chair with Adjustable Bench Height Frank Zane on a Roman Chair Bruce Lee’s Original Roman Chair The...

World Wide Grip Battle Head Promoter: Jedd Johnson Local Promoter: Sanjiv Gupta Date: February 7, 2026 Location: Lakewood or Greeley Events: 1.       20mm Grippers 2.       Euro Two Hands Pinch 3.       IronMind Axle Deadlift 4.       SSE Anvil Entry fee: $15. Please contact Sanjiv Gupta if you plan to attend. Please bring your CPW treated grippers, my highest calibrated gripper is RGC 92 Time: 9:30 – Weigh In 9:50 – Rules 10:00 – Contest Start 2:00 PM – Approximate end depending on attendance

The fledgling High Country Vigour club completed its 2nd year with (6) members.  We were able to host (7) events including (3) USAWA championships.   I participated in another (14) event remotely and traveled to (2) events.  These numbers do not include the (4) postal events and (12) BSAG events.  My daughters and I traveled to Nationals in Albany.  Ratna and I traveled to Belfast for Worlds. It was a tumultuous year as an organization with the Board of Directors rolling over multiple times, grievances filed and overall low enthusiasm for all-round in the second half of the year.  I was elected Secretary, resigned and was brought back on the board as VP.  Joe is the current President, Bill is the current Treasurer, Eric and Chad are board members at large. 1/18 Bayou Beast Bash (remote entry, 4th out of 7 entries) - Remote 1/25 Ed Zercher Memorial Strength Classic (remote entry, 4th out of 4 entries) - Remote 3/1 Colorado Single Arm Challenge (7th...

Sanjiv Gupta 205.9 pounds (95KG class) - 54 years old Deadlift, 3" Bar - 305 pounds Dumbbell Walk - 83 pounds Pinch Grip Deadlift, One Hand, Left - 45 pounds Pinch Grip Deadlift, One Hand, Right - 45 pounds Side Press, Dumbbell, Left - 50 pounds Diya Gupta 112.5 pounds (55KG class) - 18 years old Vertical Bar Deadlift, 1 Bar, 1", Right - 101 pounds Vertical Bar Deadlift, 1 Bar, 1", Left - 96 pounds Vertical Bar Deadlift, 1 Bar, 2" Right - 90 pounds Vertical Bar Deadlift, 1 Bar, 2" Left - 90 pounds Nisha Gupta Jarrod Fobes Kim Van Wagner

Leg 12 mercifully ended the 2025 BSAG Season. Reverse Blitzkrieg - 0 pounds - I have a hard time with reverse grip movements Snatch, 2 Dumbbells - 90 pounds Deadlift, One Arm, Left - 205 pounds Deadlift, Dumbbell, One Arm Left - 4 x 162 pounds Deadlift, Dumbbell, One Arm Left - 13 x 132 pounds I did complete all (12) Legs. Pros Exposed to new lifts and new challenges Cheap at $50/year for the whole family Convenient as all of the legs are postal Cons No sense of community or camaraderie Results reporting are months after the event I rarely looked forward or planned these, often squeezing them in near months end It was a no brainer decision for me to sit out the 2026 season.  If I miss it, I can always come back in 2027.

The Colorado venue of the Team Championship was a rollercoaster of testing the lifts with ad hoc teams, rearranging the teams, warming up and finally beginning competition. With the Clean & Press being the first lift, Kim and I quickly realized that our height difference would not allow anything more than a token lift. Diya decided to do double duty and joined up with both Nisha and Kim to allow everybody to compete. Jarrod, who had just recovered from an injury, was willing to lift with me. As none of us had much experience with team lifts, the warmups were crucial as each team seemed to have a faster puller and a slower puller. All the teams eventually figured out a communication style and pace so they could stay in synch. Jarrod and I struggled to find good positions on the bar. Eventually we found spots where we could have pressing power and stay out of each other’s way. The deadlift was infinitely easier than the clean & press. Once competition was underway, everything wen...

An exciting day of lifting in the IAWA OTSM World Postal.  Kim, Jarrod, Nisha and I were all present at High Country Vigour.  With the small crew of athletes and rising bar format, all athletes were following themselves which made for a challenging day. I set personal bests in all three lifts. Hackenschmidt Floor Press (200 pounds) - previous best - 190 pounds at 2025 Nationals Peoples Deadlift (405 pounds) - previous best 380 pounds at at 2025 One Ton Pentathlon Challenge Dumbbell to Shoulder (132 pounds) - previous best 126 pounds at 2025 Nationals Date of Lifts - December 13, 2025 Club for all athletes is High Country Vigour Nisha Gupta Female Age - 16 Body Weight - 38.4 kg Weight Class - 40 kg Hackenschmidt Floor Press - 29.5 kg (WR. USR) Peoples Deadlift - 52.3 kg (WR, USR) Dumbbell to Shoulder - 22.7 kg  Kim Van Wagner Female Age - 58 Bodyweight - 58.5 kg Weight Class - 60 kg Hackenschmidt Floor Press - 56.8 kg (WR, USR) Peoples Deadlift - 95.5 kg (WR, USR) Dumbbell...