This year's Testify Strongman Summer Showdown competition was held this past weekend in Omaha, NE and some of the action is highlighted below. The Epic Strongwoman award (Morgard the Manatee) went to Christine Miller, and the Epic Strongman award went to Wes Fuller. View full results.

At the 8th annual Testify Strongman Summer Showdown, Amanda cleans-and-presses the axle overhead with 105 lb and locks out her second attempt on the tire deadlift at 285 lb (she finished with 305 lb). This was Amanda's first competition, and she'll be competing in the annual IronFest in a few weeks, which is also held at Testify Strength & Conditioning in Omaha, NE. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]

Rob cleans-and-presses 255 lb on the axle for his third attempt at the Strongman Summer Showdown. Later, in the sandbag carry and truck pull medley, he finishes off the sandbag portion with both style and grace. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]

Paul locks out 485 lb on the tire deadlift for his second attempt (he finished with 505 lb) at the Strongman Summer Showdown and later faces off against Justin for maximum time in the farmer hold. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]

Geneva moves fast with 330 lb on the yoke walk and finishes up her day with the sandbag carry and truck pull medley. Geneva has competed in several Strongman Summer Showdowns and is already looking forward to next year's event. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]

Sstrpls

You mentioned on the revisiting the barbell row video that the under hand grip could hurt the shoulders. Any comments on the same subject regarding chin ups? Is the pull up more friendly to the shoulder joint than chin ups? Also which of the two helps bring the chest to the bar more efficiently? I mean mechanically and anatomically wise. Not like saying "the chin up helps you put more power to the movement, so you're more likely to touch your chest to the bar".

Mark Rippetoe

Refresh my memory: what exactly did I say about how a supine grip hurts the shoulders in the barbell row?

Sstrpls

Yeah I am talking bullshit. You mention the proximal bicep tendons. Not the shoulder. I have a bad shoulder so I probably heard what I wanted to hear. Does this mean there is no stress of the shoulder in either exercise? What about the range of motion part of the question ? So mkm5 you experience more shoulder pain in chin ups right?

Mark Rippetoe

Both of my long head bicep tendons are ruptured, and I do chins every week.

TheChubbyViking

Today marked the start of my 7th week on the NLP. Gripping the bar for Deadlift has become increasingly difficult over the past two weeks, but today was the first day that I genuinely couldn’t finish my fifth rep (250lbs) without the bar slipping out from my hands. (Yes, I am using chalk). At this point, is it best for me to get some straps and use those for my last warm-up set and my workset, or should I first try using the hook grip? I recognize that I almost certainly should have a sufficient grip strength to lift 250, but I don’t, so here we are.

Mark Rippetoe

Deadlift Grip Adjustments