We caught up with Tim Graham, the President of the South Australian Arm of Armwrestling Australia. He was happy to have a chat about his experiences in Armwrestling. Tim has been working on increasing the sport & awareness of Armwrestling in Australia.

What got in you into Armwrestling and how long have you been training?
I first tried professional armwrestling at the 1st South Australian State Championships which were held at the Adelaide Fitness Expo in 2014.
I happened to be there for the expo, and competed as I always enjoyed armwrestling. I proceeded to get beaten easily and being the competitive person that I am, I immediately found Guntars Baikovs (Australian Super heavyweight Champion Left and Right) and co founded the Club we now have in SA.
I have been training exclusively for the intricate and technical sport for just over 3 years now.

Any big wins you can discuss?
My best result to date was 3rd place at 2016 Australian Nationals in the under 80kg category on my Left arm and 4th Right arm, following a gruelling 10kg weight cut in the week prior to the event! With this placing I qualified to represent Australia at the WAF World Championships in 2017. However Finances did not allow me to go and compete, though I hope to qualify again soon.

My favourite placing outside of this was at 2017 NSW State Titles where I went in the heavyweight class(I normally compete in middleweight) and took Fourth! This was a huge boost in confidence.

What weight class do you compete?
State titles have slightly different weight classes to Nationals.
In State I compete under 95kg
National: generally U90

What training do you do for Grip Strength?
My Training is about 80% hand strength, and some of my favourites include Towel based Pullups, farmers walk with a rolling handle(75mm Silarukov in my case) and a lot of rehab, mostly through balancing strength between protagonists and antagonists(ie. Flexors and extensors)

How often do you train and what is your favourite exercise?
I train between 5-7 days a week, I base this off my own body, and im very in tune with when I should train that day or not.
My Favourite exercise would be Armwrestling with the other members of my club without a doubt, as nothing quite replicates the angles and movements, but an exercise specifically would be, using my 75mm rolling handle on a cable machine directly in front and coming down in a 45* angle, and standing behind an Armwrestling table, I then proceed in a Lat Drag motion towards the pin pad. This exercise replicates a “Hook” movement quite well.

What Captains of Crush Gripper can you close and what one are you chasing?
I have not truly tested my crushing strength on CoC, however I have used Heavy Grips and can almost close the 250lb gripper. I do not use grippers for armwrestling, however my crushing strength has greatly improved as a result of armwrestling.

How to you keep injuries away?
In my experience nearly all injuries in sport are the result of muscular imbalances(minus impact injuries), So I spend about 10-15% of every workout working the opposite muscles in a movement, ie: if im working on my forearm Flexors, I will dedicate a small amount of my workout to my Extensors, so that they grow in strength together!

What is your favorite thing to cook on the BBQ?
Definitely Rump steak in a Brazilian “Churrasco” fashion, my Wife is from brazil and I lived over there for 6 months, and it is by far the best BBQ I have Had anywhere in the World!

If you were to give some advice to anyone looking to get into Armwrestling what would it be?
Get in contact with your local club, the are in every state, and some states have more than one. Google or Facebook “Armwrestling Australia” or if you are in SA Facebook search “@southausarms” to find my local club, and we post up regular trainings. In a club setting you can learn the appropriate techniques in a safe environment and will progress rapidly in good coaching.

What’s next for you? Any competitions / events coming up?
My main Focus is 2017 Nationals being held in Brisbane. However I am hoping to make it to the VIC State titles in October to gain more Competition experience before Nationals.

Thank you so much Tim for your time and we wish you all the best in your upcoming Competitions!

For more info and news please check out the South Australia Armwrestling Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/344809648974368/?fref=ts