The IronMind Crushed-to-Dust!® Challenge kicks off this weekend, with simultaneous events at the LA FitExpo and at Paul Knight’s 4th Annual Metroflex Grip Contest .


Got a grip?  Here’s how to prove it: The IronMind Crushed-to-Dust!® Challenge tests all five fingers on classic feats of grip strength—a Captains of Crush gripper, the Rolling Thunder and the IM Hub.  Artwork courtesy of IronMind.

The objective of the Crushed-to-Dust!® Challenge is to recognize outstanding grip strength with a quick, fun test: use it as goal, meet the challenge and IronMind will certify your accomplishment just as it has on the  top Captains of Crush Grippers since 1991.

Paul Knight, a top tier grip strength guy—he is certified on the CoC No. 3 and the CoC No. 3.5, as well as on the IronMind Red Nail—will be running a Crushed-to-Dust Challenge alongside his grip contest at the Metroflex Gym in Fort Worth, Texas tomorrow: "Weigh-ins are at 9:00 a.m. and first lift 11:00 a.m. sharp" for the grip contest, Knight told IronMind, and he will have the Crushed-to-Dust! Challenge available alongside his competition for any walk-ons or grip-strength pros who want to give it a shot.

Also, tomorrow, the Crushed-to-Dust Challenge will be featured at the LA FitExpo, California's largest fitness expo, over in the strongman/grip contest area, starting when the Expo opens at 10:00 tomorrow and again on Sunday until about 1:30 p.m.  Remember to use this coupon to save $5 on your ticket, so have a beverage of your choice on us with the money you save.

Here are the official rules for the IronMind Crushed-to-Dust!® Challenge; the three elements may be completed in any order, moving from one event to the next with a three-minute time limit from the start of the first event:

No. 2 Captains of Crush® Gripper
1. The gripper must be an authentic IronMind Enterprises, Inc. Captains of Crush® Gripper.
2. The gripper cannot have been modified or tampered with in any way.
3. Chalk (magnesium carbonate) may be used on the gripping hand, but rosin, tacky, etc. are specifically disallowed.
4. The free hand may be used to position the gripper in the gripping hand, but the starting position can be no narrower than the width of a credit/ATM card, and the gripster must show the official that he has an acceptable starting position by using his non-gripping hand to slide the end of a credit/ATM card in between the ends of the handles. Once this is done, the official will give the signal to remove the card and begin the attempt. Any contact between the
non-gripping hand and the gripper as the card is being removed will invalidate the attempt, and the non-gripping hand must stay at least a foot from the gripping hand at all times during the squeeze. Similarly, nothing may be in
contact with the gripping hand or the gripping arm from the elbow down (for example, the free hand is not allowed to steady the wrist of the gripping hand or hold the spring, etc.). The entire squeeze must be clearly visible to the official: the gripper cannot be closed while blocked from view and then turned and presented as already closed.
5. The gripper must be held with the spring facing up.
6. The handles must touch completely.


Hub-style Pinch Gripper
1. The Hub-style Pinch Gripper must be an authentic IronMind Enterprises, Inc. Hub; it cannot have been modified or tampered with in any way.
2. Chalk (magnesium carbonate) may be used on the gripping hand, but nothing else is permitted (tacky, for example, is specifically disallowed).
3. Weight is hung from the Hub with an Olympic-sized loading pin that is clipped to the underside of the Hub with a carabiner (generally, IronMind’s loading pin and carabiner are used, although substitutions are allowed).
4. The lifter starts the lift with all five fingertips of the lifting hand touching the plate at the base of the Hub, and from this position lifts the Hub. It is permissible that the fingers rotate somewhat from this position during the course of the lift, but holding the Hub as if grabbing a door knob is not allowed.
5. The lifter must stand up straight; once standing straight, the lifter waits for a down signal from the referee before returning the weight to the ground. Contact must be maintained between the lifter's hand and the Hub until the
weight is resting on the floor. The referee then indicates if the lift was accepted.


Rolling Thunder®
1. An authentic and current-model IronMind® Rolling Thunder® handle must be used; it cannot have been modified in any way, and it must be inspected to ensure that it revolves freely: holding the handle, lift the triangular
metal frame and rotate it until it is horizontal (parallel to the ground). Release the metal frame to demonstrate that it rotates back to its original vertical position (pointing toward the ground) under its own weight.
2. Chalk (magnesium carbonate) may be used on thelifter's hand, but nothing else is permitted (tacky, for example, is specifically disallowed).
3. The lift starts with the weight in between the lifter’s feet.  Weight is hung from the Rolling Thunder with an Olympic sized loading pin that is clipped to the frame of the Rolling Thunder with a carabiner (generally, IronMind’s loading pin and carabiner are used, although substitutions are allowed).
4. The lifter grabs the Rolling Thunder handle in its center, with no part of the hand touching the non-revolving part of the handle, and lifts with the handle remaining approximatelyparallel to the ground. Any contact between the
lifter's hand and the non-revolving portion of the handle disqualifies the lift.
5. A thumbless grip is not permitted.
6. The lifter must stand up straight; once standing straight, the lifter waits or a down signal from the referee before returning the weight to the ground. Contact must be maintained between the lifter's hand and the handle until
the weight is resting on the floor. The referee then indicates if the lift was accepted.

©2011 IronMind Enterprises, Inc.

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