GNC Grip Gauntlet in Light Mode at the Mr. O
by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. © 2005
To better match the crowd at the Mr. Olympia Fitness Expo this weekend, GNC decided to run the Grip Gauntlet in light mode - making the challenge a bit more achievable.
After all, as someone said, this crowd thinks barbells are meant for curls, not for deadlifts.
In its normal "heavy" version, the GNC Grip Gauntlet uses 212 pounds in the IronMind® Rolling Thunder®, a No. 3 Captains of Crush® Gripper, and a Blob. In this light edition, the Rolling Thunder was reduced to 187 pounds, and a No. 2 Captains of Crush® Gripper was used, along with the infamous Blob.
Even in this lighter edition, only two men completed all three challenges, including strongman competitor Corey St. Clair.
The deal was also sweetened for this weekend's bodybuilding crowd as succeeding in two of the three grip challenges netted you a $100 GNC gift card.
Out of all the people who tried their hand at the GNC Grip Gauntlet over the Mr. Olympia weekend, 10 people completed two of the challenges, and only one of them succeeded with the Blob.
On the other hand, to let the crowd know who owned the gauntlet, Wade Gillingham wrapped up the two day challenge by lifting the Blob and holding aloft in his right hand before first lifting the Rolling Thunder and then crushing the gripper with his left hand, followed up with a walk around the stage.
We guess Wade figured this was as close as he could come to completing all three challenges simultaneously.