HARDCORE GYM #117

 

May 2012 - Vol. 35 No. 6

MANA BARBELL

by Rick Brewer | rick[at]houseofpain.com

www.houseofpain.com

Last month we learned that drinking mouse urine makes you stronger, and sheep can usually read better than powerlifters when they receive equal schooling.

Or maybe we learned that it doesn't matter what I type because most of you can't read anyway. Color this page with your best blue crayon, and mail it to HOUSE OF PAIN for a free photo of a USAPL lifter taking a drug test.

The handful of you who aren't already digging in the couch for blue crayons know that we met the guys from the Twin City Powerlifting Club, near the border on PA and NJ. I promised we would go West this month, and the farthest West I can imagine is Hawaii! Years ago we had an HOP employee named Steve Mudd, and he recorded a song about 'coconut-clad women' from Hawaii. It was the worst song ever, and I don't know why I mention it here, except to ask how many of you remember Steve Mudd?

Back to Hawaii. The first news from our Hawaiian Gym (# 117), came to Mike Lambert, as usual, because 'coconut-clad women' cannot read the info at the end of each article where I list my email address. But skinny weak dudes can read, while the Hawaiians can SQUAT, so I bow to these islanders. Mike forwarded the following email to me:

 

Aloha Mike! I wanted to share with you that Team MANA finally has a fully equipped strength training gym in Honolulu, HI, called MANA Barbell. It is 2,200 sq. ft. warehouse located on 1318A Hart St., Honolulu, HI 96817. We had our gym blessing on December 31, 2011, and Grant Higa was there—he was on vacation in Hawaii—and had a training session at our gym and shot some video (how cool is that!).

 

We have:
- Elite FTS monolift with safety chains
- 2 ER combo racks with safety racks
- Eleiko bar, weights and collars
- Ivanko bar and weights
- Rouge multi-purpose combo rack (bands can be attached from top or bottom positions)
- Full line of strongman equipment (yokes, kegs, sleds, tires, axle bar, bumper plates, farmers walk, logs, stones, etc.)
- Glute Ham raise and Reverse Hyper
- Boxes, chains, bands
- Safety squat bar, bamboo bar, cambered rack-able squat bar and fat bar. (Wow, we have a PVC bar, but an authentic bamboo bar from Hawaii would be ultra-cool. Way jealous! RB)
We kicked off the year with a pound for pound squat-only competition on January 21, 2012, at our new facility. Owners are myself, Darren Matsumoto, Justin Pascual, and Jon and Donna Bareng. (That got my full attention; a squat-only contest is about as rare as a skinny powerlifter! RB)

Our elite members are:
- Anthony Harris: he is currently deployed for one year, but when he gets back he will be training at MANA Barbell.
- Darren Matsumoto: 1,631 total at 160 (47 years old).
- Jon Bareng:1,455 total at 132 (11-times body weight and, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe he is the only person from Hawaii to have an 11-times body weight total) (28 years old). (Readers: do any of you know of another? RB)
- Ren Yamashita: 909 total at 114 (21 years old).
- Stephanie Powell: 303 raw squat, and 402 raw deadlift at 148, in her first full meet 2011 IPL Worlds (24 years old).
- Brittany Pryor: 413 raw squat (2011 IPL worlds), 303 raw bench and 501 raw deadlift (USPA push/pull) at 198-plus. She will also be going to the Olympic trials this summer for throwing. She came to us from New York and was an all-American thrower from Virgina Tech (25 yrs old).

We also have a lot of up and coming lifters with decent totals! Now that they have a gym that fully supports their needs, we hope to have much improved totals for 2012. Just wanted to thank you for all that you do for powerlifting, and especially for never forgetting about us islanders. We are doing our best to keep Hawaii strong and competitive!!!

Aloha, Leo

 

In fairness, I should remind you that she is thanking Mike Lambert in the note above—not me. Her responses below are directed to me. When I followed up with Leo, I mentioned a recent trip to Hawaii, and asked about training there. RB

Aloha, Rick. Yes, we have a hardcore gym in Hawaii (finally!!!). We just opened our doors on January 2, 2012, so when you were here, we were "in the making." I am one of five owners and I handle all the public relations and the website—I'm the webmistress, as my team says. I will definitely get photos out to you tonight. (Webmistress sounds really kinky, but I say that will all due respect and admiration! RB)

We kicked off the new year with a pound-for-pound squat-only meet on January 21st, 2012, and we're following up by hosting our annual USPA (formerly USPF) Hawaii State Championships in April (4 of the 5 owners are USPA judges). We love squatting at MANA Barbell and on our record board we have one of your shirt sayings, "Heavy Squats Fix Everything!" (I love it; that is a classic HOUSE OF PAIN t-shirt! RB) We really appreciate this opportunity! Also, we would love to promote HOUSE OF PAIN and we can also add a link on our website: www.teammana.net.

Thank you again, Leo

 

In response, I basically gushed and grinned like a junior-high girl at the school dance because of my awe for their 'squat-only meet!' I also asked for squat-meet results. RB

 

Aloha, Rick. Hope all is well! I have attached the meet results of our squat-only meet as you requested. Of particular note is my team member Susan Salazar, IFBB Pro Figure. She participated in our squat-only meet and lifted 270 raw (no knee wraps) at 127 body weight and it was easy. She is five weeks out from the first ever IFBB Women's Physique show, Desert Muscle Classic on February 25, 2012, in Mesa, AZ. She is a U.S. Navy veteran having served six years as corpsman. Beauty, brains and brawn! I have attached a picture of her—she has that House of Pain look!

Have a great day, Leo

 

First of all, Susan Salazar is beautiful—look for her in future HOP ads and banners! Hats off to her for lifting heavy in the meet, even though she is training for the IFBB Physique Show. RB

 

There were ten lifters in this First Annual MANA Barbell Squat-Only contest. The meet was directed by Darren Matsumoto, who is a USPA national judge and executive committee member. Of course, Darren is also a USPA lifter. The equipment used in the meet was ER Combo Rack with Eleiko Bar, weights, and collars. First place winners got trophies and $50, while second place got medals and THP wraps. The meet was held on January 21st. Full meet results are below.

 

Open Women:
- Leonetta Richardson: (158 lb.) 430 lb./195 kg. SQ (Wilks Score 190.9)
- Susan Salazar: (raw at 127.2lb.) 270 lb./122.5 kg. SQ (Wilks 140.8)
- Shani Alvarado: (170.6 lb.) 331 lb./150 kg. SQ (Wilks 139.9)

Men up to 200 lb. BW:
- Chris Dela Cruz: (197.6 lb.) 579 lb./262.5 kg. (Wilks 167.9)
- Joey Cadiz: (180.6 lb.) 501 lb./227.5 kg. SQ (Wilks 153.0)
- Deron Agaran: (raw at 171.2 lb.) 380 lb./172.5 kg. SQ (Wilks 120.0)
- Nestor Bagayas: (193.4 lb.) 364 lb./165 kg. SQ (Wilks 106.7)
- Jon Bareng: (156.2 lb.) DQ

Men over 200 lb. BW:
- Nathan Olaiver: (215.2 lb.) 634 lb./287.5 kg. SQ (Wilks 176.7)
- Aaron Mizushima: (raw at 273.6 lb.) 672 lb./305 kg. SQ (Wilks 174.0)

These girls and guys know SQUAT! If any of you readers know about other squat only meets, please email the info to me. Very cool! But where were all the big sumo-islanders I see in Hawaii? Why didn't they lift? The heaviest guy at this meet weighed only 274 pounds!? Next time I see results on this SQUAT-ONLY meet, I wanna see some lifters in the 400-pound body weight range!

Also thanks to Leo and her friends at MANA BARBELL for hooking the Hawaiian powerlifters up with a place to train! I still wish we had a real piece of Hawaiian bamboo here at HOUSE OF PAIN—that is way cooler than stateside sticks or PVC. Next time I go to Hawaii, I am def training with these dudes. If you go to Honolulu, go tell 'em hey at:

 

Mana Barbell
1318A Hart St., Honolulu, HI 96817
Phone: 808.256.7273
www.teammana.net

 

Next month, it's back to the mainland. Until then, keep coloring, and don't eat the crayons. Email your colored pictures to: rick@houseofpain.com.

*photographs courtesy of Mana Barbell

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