This will make you think twice before you armwrestle

saudades · Apr 8, 2020

NeveReveN said:
I had to quit watching after the third arm popped.

Same here. I broke my upper left arm as a kid doing something stupid, and I remember in vivid detail the sound of the snap and the pain. Never want to go through that again.

lookslikesausage · Apr 8, 2020

saudades said:
Same here. I broke my upper left arm as a kid doing something stupid, and I remember in vivid detail the sound of the snap and the pain. Never want to go through that again.

did it sound like a tree branch snapping?

dj · Apr 9, 2020

My workmate is an armwrestler and is always wanting me to grip up with him but I just say no. He did get me to start watching it and I really appreciate how strong these guys are and the intricacy of the strategies and techniques they use. If I was younger I'd probably give it a go competitively, but my joint are fried enough so I'm just a fan.

It's interesting to follow the top ones as they post their training to see the difference. Larratt's home gym is looks like a high school kids set up with bodged together pulleys welded pipes with different brand weights in multiple states of oxidation. Todd Hutchins does a lot West Side style training, While Jon Bryzenk only armwrestles with no supplemental training. Micheal Todd does a lot HIIT style circuits.

You guys should check out John Bryzenk - LOL looks like a school teacher but at one time he held eight national titles in multiple weigh classes in the same year. Four left handed and four right. Super humble and a great guy. Total legend.

concreter · Apr 9, 2020

I get Challenged like this Alot...
I Offer Up a Headbutt contest instead!

TheAnabolicFreak · Apr 9, 2020

Don’t arm wrestle but don’t get offended and take it as a compliment. They see your huge size and think you can do incredible strongman type stuff like lifting a car.

nothuman · Apr 9, 2020

I always refuse to arm wrestle if someone challenges me but a few years ago, I was peer pressure do much by all these Australians so I had to beat 4 of them in a row. My arm was exhausted but it didn’t break and it felt pretty good to kick their asses

Mike Arnold · Apr 9, 2020

Armwrestlers, Bodybuilders, Arm-Breaks and Tendon Injuries

Two types of people normally break their arms in armwrestling--beginners who haven't learned proper technique and strength athletes/bodybuilders who possess a lot of strength without the appropriate amount of tendon strength.

These tendons are the supportive elbow tendons which keep the elbow joint from moving sideways. No muscle is involved in holding these tendons to the bone. The tendon is attached bone to bone. These tendons receive virtually zero strengthening through traditional bodybuilding training, as the kind of side pressure needed to strengthen these tendons is a completely unnatural movement and just isn't utilized in bodybuilding training. The tendons a bodybuilder uses during training attach to muscle, as he uses these tendons solely to work his muscle through a given range of motion. In armwrestling, the elbow tendons don't actually move. They just hold the elbow joint together. So, when you have a strong bodybuilder who is able to generate a lot of side pressure through muscular effort, the elbow tendons just can't handle it...and will sometimes snap. This is the worst type of injury an armwrestler can sustain, as the recovery is long and arduous...often many years to make a full recovery, which can greatly impact an armwrestlers career.

Arm-breaks, which are less serious, look bad, but can heal in just a few months. After that, it is just a matter of regaining strength. Arm breaks occur for two reasons. One, the armwrestler is in arm-break position-- a position in which the person's elbow-arm is allowed to move outward from his torso...to the side. I can best illustrate this position by examining how we perform peck-deck flyes. Imagine performing a peck-deck flye, in which you support the weight with your elbows on pads. Your forearms are held vertical as you pull your elbows inward towards your body for full contraction...and outwards to achieve a full stretch. In armwrestling, the more your move your elbow outward toward full stretch, the more stress is placed on the humerus bone. This is why one of the first rules an armwrestler learns is to "stay tight", which simply means keeping your elbows pulled in tight to the front of your torso. You don't ever want to let you elbow start moving out toward the side of your body. This is called arm-break position and it's how people break their humerus bones. It can take as little as 12 pounds of force to break the humerus bone when in arm-break position.

Another factor which contributes to arm-breaks in armwrestling is the inadequate strengthening of the humerus bone. You see, when stress is applied against any bone...over and over again...the body responds by laying down extra calcium (the opposite of osteoporosis) in order to strengthen the bone against that stress. The principle is similar to how bodybuilders build their muscle--the muscles respond to training by getting bigger. Bones do this as well, which is why the medical community says weight training is a great way to avoid osteoporosis. The simple act of just weight training places significant stress on the bones, which keeps calcium stores high. Because armwrestlers are constantly placing large amounts of stress on their humerus bone, the body protects itself by increasing calcium stores in the specific areas the stress is being applied to.

Long-time armwrestler have very strong elbow tendons and humerus bones, which allows them to apply full force in positions that other strength athletes cannot. This is just one of many reasons why professional armwrestlers are easily able to beat strength athletes which are much larger than they are. The second reason why pro armwrestlers are easily able to beat other strength athletes is because of hand strength. A pro armwrestler's hand is MUCH stronger than your typical strength athlete...and way stronger than your typical bodybuilder. Armwrestling on an advanced level requires certain types of hand strength which are never used in bodybuilding or other strength sports. For example, the ability to pronate, which bodybuilders don't ever even think about, is of massive importance in armwrestling and is trained chronically. This one strength alone can allow an armwrestler to easily beat a much larger (and generally stronger) opponent in an armwrestling match.

Of course, back-pressure (what a bodybuilder would normally just call "curling" strength) is also very important, but training for back pressure in armwrestling is much different from the type of back pressure that a bodybuilder develops by doing full-range curls. Armwrestling requires the individual to be very strong in a locked position--the position in which the arm is in a fully or near-fully contracted position. This ability to "hold" your arm in this bent position is crucial to armwrestling. The potential of the upper-arm to "hold" a weight in the full-partially contracted position is MUCH greater than what it is capable of doing through a full range of motion. Since bodybuilders typically train through a full or near-full range of motion when training their biceps, the never come anywhere close to developing maximum holding power. If a bodybuilder is able to strict curl 200 lbs, we would say he has very strong biceps. Very few bodybuilder are actually able to STRICT curl 200 lbs. It would be considered a tremendous feat in the eyes of most.

Well, the strongest arm-wrestlers in the world (from a back-pressure standpoint) are able to hold 200 lbs in ONE arm. This means they can put 200 lbs on a floor pulley, bend their elbow to a 90 degree angle (so their forearm is parallel with the floor) and lift that weight off the ground without their arm ever bending. No bodybuilder is strength athlete in the world can do that. Armwrestlers train for this kind of strength, as armwrestling is a limited range of motion sport. There is no need to have a strong arm in the lower range of motion...because by the time an armwrestler's elbow is bent beyond 90 degrees, he has already lost. An armwrestler must be strong in the upper-half range of motion, particularly when it comes to "holding" strength.

maldorf · Apr 9, 2020

Mike Arnold said:
Armwrestlers, Bodybuilders, Arm-Breaks and Tendon Injuries

Two types of people normally break their arms in armwrestling--beginners who haven't learned proper technique and strength athletes/bodybuilders who possess a lot of strength without the appropriate amount of tendon strength.

These tendons are the supportive elbow tendons which keep the elbow joint from moving sideways. No muscle is involved in holding these tendons to the bone. The tendon is attached bone to bone. These tendons receive virtually zero strengthening through traditional bodybuilding training, as the kind of side pressure needed to strengthen these tendons is a completely unnatural movement and just isn't utilized in bodybuilding training. The tendons a bodybuilder uses during training attach to muscle, as he uses these tendons solely to work his muscle through a given range of motion. In armwrestling, the elbow tendons don't actually move. They just hold the elbow joint together. So, when you have a strong bodybuilder who is able to generate a lot of side pressure through muscular effort, the elbow tendons just can't handle it...and will sometimes snap. This is the worst type of injury an armwrestler can sustain, as the recovery is long and arduous...often many years to make a full recovery, which can greatly impact an armwrestlers career.

Arm-breaks, which are less serious, look bad, but can heal in just a few months. After that, it is just a matter of regaining strength. Arm breaks occur for two reasons. One, the armwrestler is in arm-break position-- a position in which the person's elbow-arm is allowed to move outward from his torso...to the side. I can best illustrate this position by examining how we perform peck-deck flyes. Imagine performing a peck-deck flye, in which you support the weight with your elbows on pads. Your forearms are held vertical as you pull your elbows inward towards your body for full contraction...and outwards to achieve a full stretch. In armwrestling, the more your move your elbow outward toward full stretch, the more stress is placed on the humerus bone. This is why one of the first rules an armwrestler learns is to "stay tight", which simply means keeping your elbows pulled in tight to the front of your torso. You don't ever want to let you elbow start moving out toward the side of your body. This is called arm-break position and it's how people break their humerus bones. It can take as little as 12 pounds of force to break the humerus bone when in arm-break position.

Another factor which contributes to arm-breaks in armwrestling is the inadequate strengthening of the humerus bone. You see, when stress is applied against any bone...over and over again...the body responds by laying down extra calcium (the opposite of osteoporosis) in order to strengthen the bone against that stress. The principle is similar to how bodybuilders build their muscle--the muscles respond to training by getting bigger. Bones do this as well, which is why the medical community says weight training is a great way to avoid osteoporosis. The simple act of just weight training places significant stress on the bones, which keeps calcium stores high. Because armwrestlers are constantly placing large amounts of stress on their humerus bone, the body protects itself by increasing calcium stores in the specific areas the stress is being applied to.

Long-time armwrestler have very strong elbow tendons and humerus bones, which allows them to apply full force in positions that other strength athletes cannot. This is just one of many reasons why professional armwrestlers are easily able to beat strength athletes which are much larger than they are. The second reason why pro armwrestlers are easily able to beat other strength athletes is because of hand strength. A pro armwrestler's hand is MUCH stronger than your typical strength athlete...and way stronger than your typical bodybuilder. Armwrestling on an advanced level requires certain types of hand strength which are never used in bodybuilding or other strength sports. For example, the ability to pronate, which bodybuilders don't ever even think about, is of massive importance in armwrestling and is trained chronically. This one strength alone can allow an armwrestler to easily beat a much larger (and generally stronger) opponent in an armwrestling match.

Of course, back-pressure (what a bodybuilder would normally just call "curling" strength) is also very important, but training for back pressure in armwrestling is much different from the type of back pressure that a bodybuilder develops by doing full-range curls. Armwrestling requires the individual to be very strong in a locked position--the position in which the arm is in a fully or near-fully contracted position. This ability to "hold" your arm in this bent position is crucial to armwrestling. The potential of the upper-arm to "hold" a weight in the full-partially contracted position is MUCH greater than what it is capable of doing through a full range of motion. Since bodybuilders typically train through a full or near-full range of motion when training their biceps, the never come anywhere close to developing maximum holding power. If a bodybuilder is able to strict curl 200 lbs, we would say he has very strong biceps. Very few bodybuilder are actually able to STRICT curl 200 lbs. It would be considered a tremendous feat in the eyes of most.

Well, the strongest arm-wrestlers in the world (from a back-pressure standpoint) are able to hold 200 lbs in ONE arm. This means they can put 200 lbs on a floor pulley, bend their elbow to a 90 degree angle (so their forearm is parallel with the floor) and lift that weight off the ground without their arm ever bending. No bodybuilder is strength athlete in the world can do that. Armwrestlers train for this kind of strength, as armwrestling is a limited range of motion sport. There is no need to have a strong arm in the lower range of motion...because by the time an armwrestler's elbow is bent beyond 90 degrees, he has already lost. An armwrestler must be strong in the upper-half range of motion, particularly when it comes to "holding" strength.

Great info! How about overall forearm strength? The guy I knew that competed in the sport was always doing all sorts of wrist curls. His forearms were big and strong. He was big on doing heavy hammer curls too. What sort of exercises do you do for competition?

In that video I posted of arm breaks it indeed looked as if most of the incidents were tearing the ligaments holding the arm bones together at the elbow. Did you ever suffer an arm wrestling injury? The tip about keeping the elbow tucked in close to your body is really important!

Mike Arnold · Apr 9, 2020

maldorf said:
Great info! How about overall forearm strength?
When I say "hand strength", I am referring to everything which utilizes the hand, which includes the forearm, fingers, etc. A more accurate term in armwrestling would be hand-wrist strength but I often just say hand strength because the wrist works through the hand.

The guy I knew that competed in the sport was always doing all sorts of wrist curls. His forearms were big and strong. He was big on doing heavy hammer curls too.
The forearms are responsible for most of our hand strength, such as pronation, for example. The pronator muscle attaches up on the forearm, but is activated through the hand. Its the same with cupping (wrist curling) and gripping. All of these functions work through the hand, but the muscles originate in the forearm. So yes, forearm strength is a priority among armwrestlers. Cupping and pronation are the two most important factors in armwrestling, along with back-pressure.

What sort of exercises do you do for competition?
Upper-Arm: 5/8th range motion E-Z preacher curls, 1/2 range motion preacher hammer-curls, hammer-holds with cable on pulley system.
Hand/Wrist: Cupping work w/ country crush device and one-arm barbell wrist curls, Pronation work w/off-set pronation bar and cable, Supination work w/off-set supination bar, Rising work w/off-set rising bar and rolling top-curl apparatus, Chopping work w/off-set chopping bar and rolling top-curl apparatus, Grip work w/barbell holds.
Side Pressure: A variety of side pressure work on an amwrestling table with a pulley system attached to it.

I also do other supplemental work, but these are all arm-wrestling specific exercises.

In that video I posted of arm breaks it indeed looked as if most of the incidents were tearing the ligaments holding the arm bones together at the elbow.
Some of them were tendon tears, but most looked to be humerus breaks near the elbow. At least one guy looked like he broke his ulna (forearm bone).

Did you ever suffer an arm wrestling injury?
Nope, but I got into the sport with some of the most knowledgeable guys on the planet, so I learned quickly. I started with Team Relentless in Erie PA (about 80 minutes from my home in Ohio), which was part of the Game of Arms TV show. This group includes world champions Dave Chaffee, Travis Bagent and many other champions.

The tip about keeping the elbow tucked in close to your body is really important!

maldorf · Apr 9, 2020

I'm in Ohio too and the armwrestler I knew mentioned Dave's name.

Sounds like you were/are a serious armwrestler. Are there age groups for competition?

yomstf · Apr 9, 2020

How about PED's in the sport? Give an advantage? Professionals are tested? What kind of approach they take?

Also diet related... There is water cuts and such protocols?

Thank you, MA.

maldorf · Apr 9, 2020

There are weight classes, so if you're under 226 lbs as a pro it would be important to be lean and in shape. I wonder what it takes to turn pro.

Arm Wrestling Divisions & Weight Classes by tymarshal - Infogram

infogram.com

samgraves82 · Apr 9, 2020

Damn that!! Before weigjt training again, shattered elbow twice and ate up with deterioration arthritis and spurs. Im not gonna be the asshole getting his arm broke to prove a point.

buck · Apr 9, 2020

I think Victor Martinez gave up arm wrestling. Not as exciting to watch as it doesn't show him breaking it.

EWRECK · Apr 9, 2020

Trenson said:
This and knees going the wrong way send chills down my back and I twitch. I can't imagine the pain.

lady gets big booboo on her knees

Been there, done that. Not on a leg press but the end result sucked.

maldorf · Apr 9, 2020

EWRECK said:
Been there, done that. Not on a leg press but the end result sucked.

WOW! How is it for you now, today?

concreter · Apr 9, 2020

Howabout a Match of Mercy...
Swollen Hands and wrists for Days!

EWRECK · Apr 10, 2020

maldorf said:
WOW! How is it for you now, today?

Shitty but I still have a leg and I’m alive. Almost came off at my hip to but they managed to get it back together. I was one day away from amputation as I wasn’t getting blood flow to the lower part of my leg. I was on life support at the time so I was clueless to the extent of my injuries. Complete cadaver replacement of all ligaments done in three surgeries with approx 18 months of rehab. I’m screwed if a Grizzly ever chases me unless I’m with a guy in a wheelchair