Lets get it started.

[Trob]

 If you had it to do over again.
What would you change about pulling when you first started.  ( never meeting me is not an answer) 

[Casey Quarles]

I would have started pulling earlier.

[Casey Szparaga]

I would have taken some shots at the bigger boys in the sport much earlier on and not waited for the perfect moment. Perfect training, etc.

Also, I would not have worried so much about chasing titles, weight and weight classes.

[Kyle Fitzpatrick]

Nothing. I was on fire when I first started. Hitting all the events I could. Even travelled out of state a couple of times. I was consistently getting better. Training with the team constantly.
Then I moved. I moved 5 hours away from my teammates in Sacramento to a place that has no armwrestling. Pismo Beach. I posted adds on Craigslist and put up flyers trying to get someone to take the bait or show interest. While I was working at the local Round Table for a few months, fate showed me a dude in a booth eating pizza that I recognized from some tournaments. I introduced myself to him and he recognized me. We exchanged info and it turned out he only lived 11 miles from my house. We've pulled a few times over the last few years but our schedules just don't quite jive. He is still active though and is making a name for himself here in Southern California. I made trips up north fairly often at first to try and pull with the guys so I didn't lose my touch. Then the drive just became too much. I started making a point to at least get up there to film events whenever I could, just to keep the link strong. Even that has withered away quite a bit recently. A good side effect of this though, is that my home training is way beyond what it ever was. I train all week every week (except Saturday) with my weights and my heavy bands and even an intense hour of cardio on my elliptical 3 of the days. I train with myself on the table and try to mimic all the angles I can. I still have the bug inside me and don't want to lose the feel of being on the table. You never know when you might find yourself balls deep in the middle of an armwrestling street fight.

[Las Botha]

REHAB:

Every new guy thinks he's a T1000 Terminator (test 1000+ng/dL).
Estimate the amount of rehab you need and can fit into your schedule.
Then triple it.
You now have roughly half the amount of rehab you require.

Research, rest, repetition, roi... uh... rubs. Massaging works.

EQUIPMENT:

Build a regulation table earlier. You're going to do it anyway.
Acquire a thick spinning bar earlier.
Todd Hutchings has a damn 200mm drain pipe hanging horizontally from his container roof by 2 nylon loops for pullups for crying out loud. Do that. Use that.

TRAINING:

DO NOT TRAIN WITH LAZY PEOPLE!
Do not bribe the black rock drill operators and assistants at the mine with KFC and watermelon on Fridays to armwrestle; they only last 5 minutes on a wheelie bin.
Save your money and buy supplements.
The "casual armwrestling clubs" are a waste of time.
DO NOT SPONSOR lazy people.

Train your legs.
Forget weight divisions. You're weak as shit anyway.
"Table-time-only" is a myth! ...or solely for the genetically- and pharmaceutically blessed.

Last, but not least. IMPORTANTLY:

Do not take advice from anyone. They're all idiots.




P.S.
Don't buy that JEEP cap.

[TK]

I wished i'd talked less and trained more.

[Mike Cocchi]

Training. More cupping, more pronating and more rising.

Hi Mac

[Las Botha]

Jun 10, 2016 13:54:09 GMT -5 TK said:

I wished i'd talked less and trained more.

Found the reader's digest version for you, Todd;

[Trob]

LAS...awesome post. I can live with the hat.

[TK]

Jun 10, 2016 14:20:34 GMT -5 Las Botha said:

Jun 10, 2016 13:54:09 GMT -5 TK said:

I wished i'd talked less and trained more.

Found the reader's digest version for you, Todd;

you're still a Troll lmao.

[Deleted]

Pulled backerds not sideways...

[Trob]

Jun 10, 2016 14:36:14 GMT -5 TK said:

Jun 10, 2016 14:20:34 GMT -5 Las Botha said:

Found the reader's digest version for you, Todd;

you're still a Troll lmao.


Nice to see TK is still on point. Lol

[David Owens]

I would not have had a 7 year gap for one, I would do a lot less talking and more paying attention

[John Wilson]

Jun 10, 2016 12:12:55 GMT -5 Casey Szparaga said:

Also, I would not have worried so much about chasing titles, weight and weight classes.

Boom. The story of my life, too. Could not have said it better.


If I could redo my mistakes... I'd give any team about one hour to actually teach me something. If they wanted to use me a tackling dummy, I'd never go back. I wasted too much time pulling with people who were happy to beat me at practice every week. The one thing you can never get back is time. Get in your car and go find VETERAN PULLERS who are willing to teach you.

[Anthony Lowe]

I would have started pulling at a much younger age.