Todd Hutchings Brings Science, Leverage and Physics to the Table

December 2nd 2014

For 48-year-old Todd “Todzilla” Hutchings, each trip to a World Armwrestling League table isn’t just about brute physicality.

It’s about science. And leverage. And physics.

The mechanical engineer and Arizona resident spends his days in a machine shop, designing painstaking parts of nuclear reactors, cranes and deep-space telescopes, he said, “pretty much anything that involves calculus and physics.”

So when the husband and father of two is pulling, he uses this knowledge to give him an extra advantage at the table.

It’s paid dividends so far. Hutchings has only lost two WAL matches during his career in the league.

He will be looking to extend that dominance during WAL’s 2015 breakout season, one which will be showcased for the first time on ESPN.

Hutchings recalled an argument among other pullers about whether it was better to have a long or short arm in competitions.

He printed out a picture from a medical guide showing the bones of a human arm, and showed how a longer arm length doesn’t help.

Like a long crowbar versus a short crowbar, the shorter one gives you more leverage, Hutchings pointed out.

“I resort back to physics and leverage,” he said of his argument. “They resort back to analogy and metaphor.”

A long arm is a disadvantage, he showed his buddies.

“The advantage of tall people and long arms is a giant hand,” Hutchings said. “What you’d want is an alligator arm with a gorilla hand.”

Hutching’s engineering background has also informed his training regimen.

“When it came to development training, a lot of the armwrestlers were just doing straight-up bodybuilding training,” he said. “There’s really no classic armwrestling training regimen. Every team, every person has got their own take.”

So Hutchings researched different training techniques and crafted his own plan that measures and incorporates different strength, power and force calculations.

“That’s more of an engineering style than those who just do 100 reps three times a week,” he said.

Hutchings started pulling in 2000, at the age of 35, so his professional background helped him get good fast.

“Most people have already been armwrestling for 10 years by the time they’re 35,” he said. “Hell, a third of them probably retired at 35.”


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