Since Mike Rinderle and I released the Hammering Horseshoes DVD, we have continued to receive outstanding feedback, and Mike and I really appreciate it when you all write in to us. We truly tried to put out a video that would break away all the chains that could keep someone from performing this awesome feat of strength.
We recently received this note from David Mitti through Facebook:
Hey Mike, Just bent my first horseshoe, a St. Croix Ultra Lite #2 the other day. A LOT harder than it looks, but I got it past 180. It was an awesome feeling. Just wanted to say thanks for all the info provided on the Hammering Horseshoes DVD. I now have the bug…LOL. Thanks again, David M. Peace – Out
Thanks a lot for the note, David – keep on slaying the shoes.
Occasionally, we not only get an email from the customers, but we also get a video – very cool!
This is performing strongman and missionary evangelist, Peter Mehl, bending his first horseshoe. Peter related to us that he had always wanted to include horseshoe bending in his act, but was unsure of how to go about doing it.
As you can see, Peter now has very good technique for horseshoe bending, to go along with his already present strength, so he was able to knock out his first shoe no problem.
From Peter’s YouTube video description:
Peter Mehl Bends a Horseshoe past [180] degrees and then attempts to bend it into a shape of a heart. Peter is a Missionary Evangelist in Ukraine and Moldova where he oversees more than 150 crusades each year. In many of them he does feats of strength youth outreaches. He also has a team of Ukrainians he has raised up to do the same feats.
Peter, keep up the good work with the feats, and much respect for the work you are doing overseas – very awesome.
If you would like to get started bending horseshoes, now is the time. All you need to do is pick up our DVD and we will tell you everything you need to know!
I have had lots of questions from people wanting to know exactly what braced bending is and what is covered in the Braced Bending DVD, so I wanted to answer some of those questions right now.
Here is some information about the practice of Braced Bending and our DVD.
Braced Bending Information
There is a lot that is involved in Braced Bending. Below is a list of common questions about Braced Bending. The list of questions and answers about Braced Bending below is really just scratching the surface. Our DVD goes into much more detail than this and covers much more information as it gets into the instructional portions and technique demonstration within the DVD.
What is Braced Bending
Braced Bending is the act of bending steel, tools, or other odd objects through the use of your hands and the rest of your body, except your feet (the feet are used for what is called Scrolling).
In this DVD, we show you the basics of Braced Bending, as well as many specific Braced Bending techniques. This DVD is packed with instruction, running nearly 2 hours of solid information, and no fluff or filler.
What Feats are Included in Braced Bending?
Braced Bending includes but is not limited to bending all of the following types of objects:
Short Bars: These are steel bars that usually 14-inches or shorter.
Mid-length Bars: These are steel bars that are usually 14 to 30-inches in length.
Long Bars: These are bars that are 30-inches or longer.
Wrenches: There are a LOT of different kinds of wrenches available to bend, combination wrenches, tappet wrenches, and adjustable wrenches, just to name a few.
Hammers: Framing hammers are the most commonly bent style of hammer, and many types are bendable.
Spikes: There are many types of spikes out on the market, especially if you include bolts into this category, along with nails. Their difficulty can vary quite a bit depending on the manufacturer and other variables.
What are the Basics of Braced Bending?
Wraps: The ends of the bars, tools, and other objects that are bent can often be very rough and possible cut you, so they are often wrapped as a means of protecting the skin. These are generally made out of suede, cordura, or towels.
Gloves: For some feats, such as Hammer bending, it can be almost impossible to wrap the object with wraps. In these cases it is more common to wear gloves in order to protect the hands.
Pads: Since these feats require you to press the object against a part of your body, padding is often used. Beginners will often use additional padding until the areas of the body toughen up.
Materials to Bend: As you can see there are many things you can bend, once you know how. Being able to bend a variety of objects of varying lengths and thicknesses will make you a more well-rounded bending machine.
Knowledge / Technique: Obviously brute strength will only get you so far. Knowing the proper techniques for Braced Bending makes an incredible difference in your bending success. That is especially where our Braced Bending DVD comes in.
On top of covering all of the above information in complete detail, Mike and I also take you through the proper Warm-up Techniques, Strength Training Movements, and other measures you can take to be a great bender, while remaining injury free.
Mike and I also have a little something special planned for those who pick up the DVD before January 26th, so make sure to check this out right now: How to Do Braced Bending.
Make sure your order your copy of Braced Bending today in order to take advantage of the special bonus offer and start your bending journey on the right foot!
When I was a kid, maybe 8 years old, I was caught in a tornado.
It was one of the scariest moments of my life and to this day I still have nightmares about it.
You see, my family and I were fishing in a pond in our small boat. It was something we did quite routinely in the summer-time.
I remember the fish were biting, the sun was out, and it was an awesome day.
But then, all of a sudden, it was like the fish just shut down. The sun moved behind the clouds, and the breeze quit blowing.
It was really quiet, a strange and eery quiet – more like an absence of sound, where your ears start pumping as if they are desperately searching for something to hear…
Then, CRACK! There was an immense thunder-clap followed by a crack of thunder and instantly the rain started coming down.
My dad rushed us back to shore and we sprinted to our truck where we waited the storm out. I still remember the tornado shaking the truck.
Even as scary as the storm was, the thing that I remember most is that strange calmness that came about – the Calm Before the Storm, so they call it.
Well, right now is the Calm Before the Storm, because very soon the Tornado of craziness that is the Braced Bending DVD will come out.
I’ve worked very hard on this DVD to make it a winner for you.
I’ve edited and re-edited the video. I’ve added voice-overs, and put in slow-motion replays so that you can get the absolute best look at these amazing feats being done, so that you too can perform them.
Yes, this is the Calm Before the Storm, and just as that Tornado tore through the countryside shaking cars, ripping down branches, and knocking over old barns leaving a path of destruction behind it, when you get this DVD, you will be able to cut your own swath of damage as well.
After all, this DVD is called Braced Bending: How to Destroy EVERYTHING in Your Path.
As I put the final touches on everything that needs to be done, it is the Calm Before the Storm.
And the Tornado is this DVD.
More to come later. Keep your eyes open for more storm warnings from me, because this a storm you HAVE to see.
Jedd
P.S. No DVD anywhere will show you the detail that Mike and I do. There is nothing that compares to it. Believe me – I’ve seen them all.
When it comes to Feats of Strength, people know where to go in order to get the proper technical instruction they need.
They come to me.
They know I most likely either have an ebook or DVD showing them the exact techniques for the feat of strength they want to accomplish, OR I have explained it at The Grip Authority.
Common Questions about Performing Feats of Strength
You want to know what wraps to get for bending. This is very important because there are many options out there and some are better than others.
You want to know what kind of protection to use on their body, especially when doing things like braced bending or horseshoe bending which requires you to press the object against your body.
You want to know what kind of steel to buy. This one REALLY varies, depending on what kind of feats you want to do – Braced? Unbraced? Log bars? Mid bars? Short bars? When you get into shapes, then it just gets even more confusing.
How to Get Started – The Essential Basics
To continue with this tradition of being the go-to guy for learning feats of strength, I asked my good friend, Mike Rinderle, to put together something that will cover EXACTLY these principal topics:
What Kind of Wraps to Buy
Where to Go to Buy Your Wraps
What Steel to Buy for Bending
What Kind of Steel to Avoid for Bending (Safety-Wise)
What Kind of Odd Objects the Pro’s Bend
If you are into Feats of Strength and you want to learn the basics from one of the best all around benders in the world, then you need to check out the video that Rindo put together.
The best thing about this video is that it is no fluff. I do a quick Intro, Mike covers everything in about 8 PowerPoint slides, and then I close it to give you an important message, and that’s it.
Once it is queued up, it will take you like 5 minutes to watch it and take notes, then it is just up to you to get the stuff.
The other day I decided to try a Bipolar Strength Feat (combination feat of strength with a different implement in each hand; read more here: Bipolar Training).
David Horne’s World of Grip is having a contest – a video tournament for a tee-shirt giveaway, and I have been meaning to put in a video for it for quite some time, but I couldn’t seem to fit it into my training.
I wanted to do something that had never been done before by anyone that I know of, and I was coming up short, but it finally came to me the other day – Lift the Inch Dumbbell, hold it at lockout, and perform a kettlebell flip with the big 95-lb Kettlebell.
If you are a loyal reader of this site, you probably know what the implements are in this video, but many of the people who watch YouTube do not know exactly what some of the implements I train with are, so I am going to try my best to explain everything below.
Inch Dumbbell
In my left hand in the video, I am performing a suitcase deadlift with the Inch Dumbbell. The Inch Dumbbell is NOT named due to the size of the handle, the gap between the fingers when gripping the dumbbell, or anything like that. It is named after the performing Strongman from the late 1800′s who originally introduced the dumbbell, Thomas Inch. Inch would take his challenge dumbbells (there were three, if memory serves) with him to his performances and challenge on-lookers to lift it. This most likely almost never happened, since the level of thumb and fingertip strength required to do so are pretty substantial.
The thing that sets the Inch Dumbbell apart from other Grip Strength challenge items is it’s weight, size, and design. Check out the specs on this piece: Inch Dumbbell Specs
Weight – 172-lbs
Handle Size – 2.38 to 2.47 inches, depending on the manufacturer of the replica
Design – One solid piece of Cast Iron
A lot of people scoff at the Inch Dumbbell when they hear that it is only 172-lbs, but because of the handle diameter and the fact that it is all one piece of cast iron, it is a bitch to lift. The globe heads reach way outside of the handle, so when they start to turn, the handle also wants to turn as well, and it begins to rip out of your hand. To lift it, you need a strong thumb to resist rotation, strong fingertips to lock in on the handle, and / or a strong wrist to compensate for weaknesses in the other two areas.
95-lb Kettlebell
This dumbbell came from Max Kettlebells, a now defunct Kettlebell company that was located in Pennsylvania, so the design is not the same as the more widespread Dragondoor Kettlebells and others that are so popular out on the market these days. Instead of being completely round, the handle actually has what feels like corners and flat spots on it, so when you flip it you want to catch it just in the right spot or else it can hurt pretty badly.
Aside from the fact that the Inch is so damn hard to lift and the Max Kettlebell is so damn hard to flip and catch, there is more to this feat that makes it feat so challenging.
When flipping and juggling kettlebells, the power to elevate the bell comes from the hips. Because I was holding the massive Inch Dumbbell beside my hip, I could not hinge at the hip or generate any drive from my glutes in order to propel the kettlebell upwards, so essentially what you are seeing is a really big cheat front lateral with the kettlebell, instead of a powerful swing that you would normally see.
So, all together, this is a giant combination feat that involves the Grip Strength needed to lift and hold the Inch Dumbbell, the strength to flip the 95-lb Kettlebell, and the coordination to maintain all of the tension to not crumble under the uneven loading of the Inch and the continuity to then catch the Kettlebell and recover to the standing position.
I am looking forward to continuing my experimentation with different Bipolar Lifts in the coming year, as I feel it is a very good form of training in order to hit multiple aspects of strength all at the same time.
You should give it a try too! Put together a Bi-Polar lift, give it a try in your next workout, and then post a comment below to tell everyone in the Diesel Universe about it!
Thanks and all the best in your training.
Jedd
P.S. Need help learning to Flip and Juggle Kettlebells? Check out Logan Christopher’s DVD, The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling, the most complete resource on the planet for Kettlebell Juggling.
