First Feat of Strength for Beginners

I’m often asked by readers and viewers what is the best way to get started with Oldtime Feats of Strength, like bending and tearing things.

There’s one single feat of strength that I believe you should begin with…

First off, feats of strength require you to be able to produce tremendous pressure with the hands, so you should begin with something that checks that box.

Next, aside from being able to latch onto something hard with your hands, you also need to be able to make what you’re bending or tearing do what you want it to.

You have to be able to overcome whatever it is that you’re working on, so this introductory feat has to involve movement as well as the tension requirement

On top of all that, your first feat challenge needs to test you mentally. Often, when trying to bend or tear something, your mind gives up long before you hands do or your body does.

So you can’t just start bending paper clips or wire hangers. There’s gotta be some sort of mental challenge to it.

Finally, and I think this is something that a lot of new feat fanatics forget about, is there needs to be a low level of risk involved. This way, you don’t hurt yourself, and screw up not only your new hobby, but also all the other strength training and other strength goals you have.

For instance, it’s really easy to go overboard with steel bending, or pop something in your shoulder, because of the increased levels of strain.

As a bonus, it’s nice if the thing you’re starting off with is fairly affordable and easy to get, so you’re not blowing through paychecks and combing the edges of the internet trying to find some rare stock to work with.

So with all these factors considered, I believe the perfect feat for you to start out with is CARD TEARING.

Card Tearing teaches you not only about the application of force from your hands into the cards, but also how you can direct this force into the deck at various angles.

Once you learn this, it’s a much easier jump to bending nails, steel bars, horse shoes, etc.

Before you know it, you’re bending and tearing everything in sight!

While it may not seem so, tearing cards also requires mental fortitude, because it isn’t by any means easy, and you have to push yourself to complete the tear.

Finally, cards are available EVERYWHERE! From the local super market, to the various dollar stores, to ebay, casinos, and more – decks of cards are constantly at your fingertips.

For all these reasons, and probably more that I’m not thinking of, if you’re thinking about getting started with oldtime feats of strength, your best bet is Card Tearing, and I’ll show you everything you need to know in my ebook, the Card Tearing System

Thanks and all the best in your training.

NAPALM

P.S. If you’re not sure if you’re strong enough to start tearing cards, don’t worry – I got you covered with an extensive exercise index in my Card Tearing eBook Grab Your Copy Today!!!

How Beginners Should Start with Feats of Strength

Ya know what I would say if you asked me what to start with for feats of strength?

Believe it or not, I’d say Card Tearing.

There’s several reasons…

1. Cards are readily available.
You can get them at just about every store you go into.

2. Cards are very affordable.
When you’re starting out, you can go to the Dollar stores and pick up sometimes two packs for just $1.

3. Cards take up very little room.
Keep a couple decks in a spare drawer for when you are ready to tear.

4. Cards are easy to take with you to the gym.
Throw a deck in your pocket or gym bag, and hit it once you get warmed up.

5. Natural Progression Model.
You can start out with 1/4 of a deck and practice until you get it. Then, just add a few cards to the deck to increase the challenge ever so slightly. Just like with weight lifting.

But the best reason to make the first feat of strength you try is that tearing cards gets you used to creating force with your hands.

You can practice card tearing for a few weeks and before you know it your hands are stronger, thicker, and tougher.

And of course, once you master card tearing, then it is an easy step to the next feat, and your grip is strong, your joints are used to applying pressure, and it makes learning something like nail or horseshoe bending a much easier transition.

If Feats of Strength are something you’ve always wanted to try, my suggestion is to start with Card Tearing. And if you want to learn how to do it, I’ve got the perfect resource for you.

This makes it easy for you to learn how to tear cards => Card Tearing System

You’re gonna love shredding decks of cards with your bare hands.

Jedd

P.S. My Card Tearing System will teach you even more awesome things about card tearing, plus it will make it even easier for you to tear your first deck of cards. Get it today => Learn to Tear Decks of Cards

This Week in Grip

This Week in Grip – Episode 22 – 7/3/17

Want to Lever Bigger Hammers?
This Workout Shows You How to
Get it Done!

This Week in Grip

Who was the Strongest Strength Coach, Male & Female, at the Juniata Strength Clinic? Jedd Johnson and Allen Heineck reveal who had the sickest grip and who’s been pulling off the most amazing Grip Feats in this episode of This Week in Grip.

Take Your Training to the Next Level with the Diesel Files:

This Week in Grip

This week, Allen Heineck and Jedd Johnson discuss what went down at the North American Grip Sport Championship, also known as Grip Nationals.

Feedback on this episode: “Great episode guys! couldn’t make it to nationals, but felt like I was there with Jedd’s recount.” – Tom Scibelli

Want to Compete in Grip?
Start Out By Getting Your Crush Grip Right
With the CRUSH DVD:

This Week in Grip

This is a SPECIAL edition of the show today – episode 18, the day before a SPECIAL holiday here in the United States and around the world – Memorial Day, and the week before the North American Grip Sport Championship – Allen and I are ready to serve YOU and cover the LATEST in This Week in Grip!

How to Lift the Inch Dumbbell

This Week in Grip

Allen Heineck and I talk about the latest events in Grip Sport, Grip Training, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Modern Day Oldtime Strongman, and other Feats of Strength.

Steel Bending Resources

This past week, I released my latest steel bending product, the Less is More Steel Bending Workout.

One component of the product is the accompanying Workout PDF. I wanted to do something special for those who picked up the product, and I compiled a list of the videos about bending I’ve put up on YouTube and all the articles I’ve put up about bending here on the site.

Unfortunately, I can’t get the links to all of these videos to work, so I’m posting them here, and everyone will be able to check them out.

If you haven’t picked up your copy of the Less is More Steel Bending Workout, make sure you do it fast, while the introductory price is still available.

Steel Bending Videos

Grade 8 Bolt Bent with Head Removed

7″ FBBC Stainless Bastard Bar Reverse Miss

6″ x 1/4″ Grade 8 with Head Removed (Miss)

6″ x 1/4″ Square Cold Rolled Steel – Reverse Bend – 11/6/16

Grade 8 Bolt Reverse – 11/6/16

9/32″ x 6″ Reverse Bending | Prep for Gripmas 2016

Volume Bending to Improve Top Bending Strength | Cooking With Napalm

Mason’s Hope Strongman Show 2016: Horseshoe Bend

Mason’s Hope Strongman Show 2016: Bending a Widow Maker

Masons Hope Strongman Show 2016: Breaking a Nail to Pieces

Will Sledge Hammer Levering Help My Nail Bending?

Viewer Asks “What’s Your Biggest Accomplishment?”

Nail Bending, Inch Dumbbell, and My Physique – Cooking with Napalm

Red Nail Reverse Bend & Measure Only

Red Nail Reverse Bend – Full Wrap / Bend / Measure Video

Bending Steel | Red Nail Reverse Bend Attempt – 5/16×7 Cold Rolled Steel

Nail Bending Questions & Answers – Cooking with Napalm

Strongman Feats: Bending a Hammer

Strongman Feats of Strength: Bending a 60D Nail

Strongman Feats: Jedd Johnson Bends a Horseshoe

Strongman Jedd Johnson – Bending a Drop Forged Steel Wrench

Strongman Jedd Johnson – Bending a Carpenter’s Hammer

Strongman Jedd Johnson – Bending a Horseshoe

Strongman Jedd Johnson – Bending a Frying Pan

Strongman Bending 8″ Steel Wrench

Strongman Wrench Bend

60D Nail Break Under 3 Minutes

Nail Bending – Double Overhand Technique

Napalm Bends the Red Nail

Napalm Bends the Red Nail

Napalm Gets Called Out

Steel Bending Articles

5 Tips for Bending a Wrench

Welcome to the Jungle – The Ultimate Form of Bending

The Importance of Double Compression in Bending

Balancing Steel Bending with Other Training

8 Reasons to Start Bending Horseshoes

Success Stories: Bending Your First Horseshoe

How the Strength of Steel is Determined in Steel Bending

What You Need for Horseshoe Bending

What Sets Horseshoe Bending Apart from Other Strength Feats

The Journey Into Nail Bending

Isometric Hammer Work for Bending Success

4 Ways to Improve the Kink for Reverse Bending

Nail Bending and Variation of Metals

Intro to Nail Bending

Advanced Nail Wrapping

Will Sledge Hammer Levering Help Me Bend Bigger Bars?

Red Beard Power – Adam Moyers Bends the Red Nail

Interview with the Red Dragon Slayer – Nate Brous

Feats of Strength: Nail Breaking

Horseshoe Progression List

Rick Giese Bends the Red Nail

Rolling Frying Pans and Managing Radiant Tension

Chicken Winging and Angry Texting

What is the Best Material for Wrapping Nails?

Sledge Hammer Feats

With my ongoing back issues, I’ve been working on some feats that I don’t normally take time to work on.

Here are some quick clips of some of the training I’ve been doing.

16lb Slim Farman Floor Lever

This is a feat originated by one of the most widely recognized performing Strongmen, Slim “The Hammer Man” Farman. The objective here is to start with the hammer parallel to the floor, with your hand on a towel or pad, and then to lever it up into a vertical position, so that it contacts one of your shoulders.

Below, I do the feat with a 16lb Sledge. I’d like to work up to a 20lb Sledge though, which I’ve done twice in the past. I don’t recall seeing anyone but Slim go beyond 20lbs, so it would be nice to work up to that point as well.

20lb Sledge Face Lever

Next is the Face Lever, a classic oldtime strongman feat, popularized, again, by Slim, and done by many other strongman performers over the years.

The objective here is to start with the sledge vertical, lower it to the face or head, and then return it back to the vertical position with the strength of your wrist.

This is one of the most elusive feats of strength, for me. I struggle with wrist mobility, so I have trouble getting the hammer to my head, and as a result I end up dropping my arm down. So the video below is a poor example of execution of the lift, but it felt cool to add weight to the hammer and then take it off to make the 20 feel lighter. This is a technique that I showed in my program, Lever Bigger Hammers, but haven’t done for a while.

I’ll have more updates on the Sledge Training, since picking things up off the ground is still a no-go.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your sledge hammer training, check out the programs below.

Lever Bigger Hammers

Sledge Only Training for Bending Prep

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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After just about every contest, it’s a free-for-all of feats of grip strength.

Lots of times, especially at Gripmas, people bring cool stuff for other people to try that others might not normally get the opportunity to get their hands on.

One such item is the 2x25kg Plate Pinch.

Up until this year, no one in the world had ever pinched 2x25kg plates.

Then, all of a sudden, Juha Harju did it (shown to the right).

Then Bob Sundin did it a short time later.

Funny how once you see something can be done, it becomes that much easier for others.

Bob was nice enough to bring his set of 25kg plates with him to Gripmas, and several of us took tries on them.

So, the list of people who have achieved the 2x25kg Plate Pinch has grown again, with Kody Burns becoming the 3rd person EVER!

And you can bet in 2016 the list will keep expanding. The only question is who will be NEXT?

Stay tuned for more awesome feats that went down at Gripmas. Sign up for my free email newsletter:

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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Turn Steel Bars into Strongman Works of Art
The Art of Scrolling Steel

In September, my friend from Finland, Juha Harju put up a video of himself lifting the Inch Dumbbell in one hand while doing a #3.5 Silver Bullet Hold at the same time.

I have written about this type of training many times in the past, and it is called Bi-Polar Training.

Here are a couple of examples of past articles on Bi-Polar Training:

• Bi-Polar Strength Training
• Bi-Polar Training: Inch + Kettlebell Flip

This feat was called “Feat of the Year” by someone on Facebook, and the name stuck.

I tried the feat and couldn’t quite get it at first, but with time, I was able to get it.

I then challenged Juha to perform the feat both hands: the gripper in one hand and the Inch in the other, and then reversing the combination within 2 minutes of completing the first one.

This has been a crazy challenge for me, as it combines two of my poorest events, but it has been great seeing the progress come along, brotherrr.

First Attempt at Feat of the Year (Misses)

The FRUSTRATING Feat of the Year Challenge

First Successful Feat of the Year & First Attempt at Double Feat of the Year

First Official Double Feat of the Year

Training this feat has unfortunately slowed to an absolute HALT.

At some point along the lines of performing this feat, I strained something in both shoulders, either a triceps muscle, a lat muscle, or worst yet, a rotator cuff muscle.

At this point, deadlifting anything off the floor has become impossible to do without substantial pain, so I have shut down most one-handed grip lifts from the floor in order to give the injured tissues time to heal.

What this also means is that I can’t train most of the lifts in the King Kong of Grip Challenge taking place at the end of this month.

I was really looking forward to it, but I would rather write this one off in order to get back to 100%.

I will still be running the Pennsylvania Leg of the King Kong here at my place in Wyalusing though, and not competing will enable me to run a more organized contest and help out the new competitors.

So, if you have been kicking around the idea of competing here, by all means come over and go for it, brotherrr!

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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Are You Training to Lift the Inch Dumbbell? This DVD Will Help You:

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I was recently interviewed by Josh Hewitt in the Straight to the Bar Gym Chats.

The topic was Grip Strength and Feats of Strength.

In the video, we also talk a bit about how I got involved in strength training and what led me to loving Grip Strength and Feats.

If you are looking for information on Feats of Strength, you have come to the right place.

My collection of Feat of Strength information is the best that is available anywhere. My products leave you with a complete understanding of how to do the feats, how to train for them, and how to progress with them.

While I have a lot of respect for many of the other authors and producers out there, my products are simply better.

Check out my products below:

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Braced Bending
Get ready to turn your hands and wrists into weapons of mass destruction. This DVD will show you how to destroy EVERYTHING in your path. From frying pans, to steel bars, to horseshoes, and wrenches, Jedd and Mike team up once again to bring you everything you need to know on how to do odd object bending like a champion. It’s fun to destroy things around the house – start today.

Order the Braced Bending DVD today

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Nail Bending eBook
Steel Bending is often called the gateway drug of Feats of Strength. You literally get hooked on the feeling of steel bars, nails and bolts, giving way to your ever increasing wrist, hand and upper body strength. This ebook has produced over a dozen of official IronMind Red Nail Certified Athletes as well as countless other Red Nail Benders who are yet to be certified. With information on technique for all the major bending styles, a conditioning program, a HUGE strength training library and a progression of nail, bolts and steel bar, you will have everything you need in this ebook.

Get the Nail Bending eBook today

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Hammering Horseshoes
Learn how to what was never meant to be done – Horseshoe Bending – just like the strongmen of yesterday and the modern-day Strongman Performers as well. Learn to do the feat of strength that has stood the test of time from the Leaders in Grip Strength Feat Instruction, Jedd Johnson and Mike Rinderle. Discover horseshoe progressions, how to wrap shoes for protection and how to kink, sweep and crush them into heart shapes. Why would anyone NOT want to bend horseshoes?

Get the Horseshoe Bending DVD today

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Nail Bending: How to Melt Steel with Your Bare Hands
The Nail Bending DVD show you complete technical demonstrations of the three major bending techniques as well as information on strength building, injury prevention, and MORE. Get your bars, get your wraps, get warmed up and hit the play button. Soon, you’ll be able to wrap up your first bar and bend it right along with me. Soon, you’ll know the secrets of getting a tight, secure wrap, how to generate maximal strength, how to accomplish all your goals in steel bending.

Get the Nail Bending DVD

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Phone Book Mass Destruction
Phone Book Tearing, a classic feat of strength done by performing strongmen and grip enthusiasts for over 100 years, can be just as exhilarating as bending steel once you know how to do it right, or it can be frustrating as hell if you don’t. This ebook will set you straight.

How to Tear Phone Books Like a Strongman

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Card Tearing eBook
Card Tearing could be the best feat of strength for beginning strongmen to try, because it gets your fingers, hands, wrist and elbows used to producing the kind of tension that comes with doing feats of strength. The ebook shows you how to progress up to tearing your first full deck of cards, as well as how to strengthen your hands and wrists specifically for the feat of card tearing without having to buy endless decks of cards.

How to Tear Cards

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The Art of Scrolling Steel
In this DVD, Bud Jeffries and I team up to bring you the ultimate resource on scrolling steel bars into abstract art and purposefully shaped objects. You’ll learn long bar feats, mid-bar feats, and how to progress through the many different types of scrolls. We also packed this DVD set with incredible ways you can train with barbells and bands to get stronger at steel bending without always having to bend steel.

Get the Art of Scrolling Steel

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CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination
This product explores every aspect of Gripper Training you need to know in order to improve your crushing grip strength and even certify in the major gripper certifications. Learn how to maximize every facet of your technique in order to smash your target grippers and eliminate any possible weaknesses in your crushing grip. Be amongst the best in the world once you watch this awesome video. Normally an on-line DVD, but you can also upgrade to the hard copy as well.

Order the Gripper Training DVD today

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Napalm Pinch: How to Dominate the Two Hands Pinch
The Two Hands Pinch is contested in nearly 75% of all competitions. How well you do in it can make or break your overall performance in the entire contest. This DVD shows you everything you need to know to take your Two Hands Pinch training to the next level. With information on Technique, Hand and Device Prep, Drills, and Contest Programming, you’ll learn the ins and outs of Two Hands Pinch training.

New Low Price – Napalm Pinch DVD

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EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Buy the Nail Bending DVD, Braced Bending DVD, and the Hammering Horseshoes DVD and get either the Card Tearing eBook or Phone Book Mass Destruction FREE!

Use the button below:

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Blasting Apart a Phone Book

Hope you had an awesome Mother’s Day Weekend.

I have not had a chance to visit my Mom yet. I was only able to give her a call, as I was out of town from Thursday on and just got back late last night.

I was away to Spokane, Washington at the Empire Classic, a big expo consisting of bodybuilding, physique, strongman, and powerlifting competitions.

I had the opportunity to perform Feats of Strength in front of 1200 people and it is something I will never forget.

Strongman Feats Show

Here’s the video from Saturday Night’s performance…

You will see I struggle quite a bit with the phone book. I warmed up with the same dumbbells and plates that the bodybuilders were using and my hands got super greasy and were slipping on the pan and book.

Also, I have been fighting with a sinus infection for weeks and weeks and was struggling with the hot water bottle. The first night, I totally failed because my beard was not letting me get a good seal on my face. The second night, I just couldn’t breathe very well through my nose at all, making the feat 10 times harder.

I really wish I would have gotten the Friday show on tape, because I wasn’t as rushed and really did a better job speaking. Recognized the promoter, the competitors, talked about Grip Strength’s importance, the sport of Grip, explained the feats, and even recognized the Veterans in the crowd, which is something I always try to build into my shows.

Either way, I had a ton of fun and learned a lot over the course of the entire weekend about promoting contests. Ivan and Erin Ribic operate a whole other level compared to what we do in Grip Sport. I was blown away at the level of organization.

Public Service Announcement: If you try a hot water bottle, use safety glasses. I forgot my glasses both nights and could have really gotten hurt badly.

Grip Strength Challenge

While I was there, I also ran a Grip Challenge booth.

As always, one of the biggest attractions was the Grippers I had spread all over the table.

One dude, a strongman competitor, was trying as hard as he could to close a #1 gripper, but just couldn’t get it.

Just as I figured his technique was off.

He had it positioned wrong in his hand from the start.

Bad positioning throws off the way the fingers pull on the front handle, making a gripper 25 to 50 pounds harder to close.

So, I ran him through 3 or 4 simple technique modifications and within minutes he had not only smashed the #1 gripper shut, but had also managed to close the #2.5.

While this kind of a jump is rare, I see guys going from missing the #1 to closing the #2 just through technique improvements ALL THE TIME.

That is why I urge you to pick up CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination.

The technicality of Gripper training often surprises people.

They are blown away by how much easier it is to close grippers once they understand the right technique.

No other source out there comes close to my Gripper Video.

I show you the stuff you MUST know in order to get good at Grippers.

Pick it up here today: http://thegripauthority.com/gripper-dvd/crush-dvd2.htm

All the best with your gripper training,

Jedd

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Is Your Gripper Technique Holding You Back?
Click the Banner Below to Finally Find Out

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In November, Bud Jeffries and I met up for about 6 hours of some of the most intense training I have ever done.

We started a little after 11 AM and by 6PM, we had shot several hours of footage on one of the most challenging, and yet still most addicting forms of steel bending there is – Steel Scrolling.

As I got the gym ready to film and bend, I played some Pandora Radio on one of my favorite channels – Guns n’ Roses.

For once, a steady stream of songs from the band I actually wanted to listen to got played, and right before Bud arrived, Pandora kicked out the absolute classic Guns n’ Roses hit, “Welcome to the Jungle.”

And while Bud Jeffries was here, the one thing that kept going through my head was…

“Welcome to the Jungle, We’ve Got Fun and Games,” the first two lines in the song.

At first thought, that’s a strange comparison – a Jungle and Fun & Games…

If you think of the literal words, you have to wonder how a deep, dark jungle could ever be considered fun and games at all…

Of course, figuratively, the song is describing the vices you can be exposed to, which can be so thrilling while you experience them, yet they also pose the risk of all-out addiction, some of them, you are hooked for life, the first time you try them.

Ironic, how that describes Steel Bending perfectly as well.

Now, obviously there’s very little risk of being bitten by a poisonous spider or snake, when bending steel like there is in a jungle…

But getting “bitten” by the bending bug and feeling the cold hard steel bar buckling from your strength…

That can be as intoxicating as any drug or drink you can possibly be given.

The pump you feel in your arms and shoulders as you craft a straight bar into a crazy design with no tools and no heat – just your strength.

And the glory you feel when your battle with the bar ends and you stand victorious.

Bending nails into U’s.

Twisting Horseshoes into S’s.

These kinds of “Fun and Games” make you tougher both mentally and physically.

But they leave you wanting more.

And for people like you, me, and Bud, the only sensible next step is Scrolling.

Scrolling Steel is the ULTIMATE form of Bending.

The ultimate Feat of Strength.

And if you want to find out why, then grab this free video:

Why Scrolling Steel is the ULTIMATE Form of Bending.

Welcome to the Jungle – Click the Link Above

Jedd Johnson & Bud Jeffries

I am really getting pumped up.

The project that Bud Jeffries and I have been working on for a while now, our DVD on Scrolling Steel, is almost complete!

I have a pile of them in stock. They look awesome!

Now, we are down to the last few behind-the-scenes things and we will be ready to put this thing out for you all.

Don’t miss this. Grab it right when it comes out so you can get it at the best price possible.

Sign up for the update list today, so you get notification RIGHT when it is available.

Thanks and all the best.

Jedd

When I first found out about Grip Training, the only thing I really wanted to accomplish was tearing a deck of cards.

I had heard about Strongman Performers of the past ripping decks of cards, so I wanted to get strong enough to rip a deck of cards at the bar and at parties in order to impress people. I had no intention of ever doing a competition or anything like that.

In fact, it all seemed like a waste of valuable bodybuilding time to train for hand strength.

After all, why put so much effort into training 5% of the body?

Boy was I wrong. I am SO GLAD I eventually fell in love with Grip Training, because it has helped me out with so much of my other training.

But, as I said, in the beginning it was all about tearing cards, for me. And in my screwed up head, I pretty much figured that it would only take a few minutes for me to figure out how to do this feat and I would be able to do it any time I wanted.

Boy was I wrong AGAIN!

It actually took me like 2 or 3 weeks to tear my first deck of cards. I would dig and claw at this one deck and manage a few millimeters of damage, and my hands would be WHOOPED, and I would stuff them back into the box and place them back into my lifting bag until next time.

Then, one night I decided to try ripping them at home, in my living room, and I was FINALLY able to rip all the way through them.

I remember how pumped I was when I finally got through the deck. It was a feeling like finally being able to dunk a basketball. Finally being able to hit a ball out of a park.

I kept that deck for quite some time. I was proud of the battle and savored the victory when it was over.

Today, I got a similar message from someone who recently tore his first deck of cards, Tyler Shelton.

“Hey Jedd, just a quick note to let you know that I finished your card tearing ebook last night, so I decided to go to wal-mart and pick up a pack of cards to give it a try. I’m thrilled to say that I tore my first pack of cards, some generic playing cards (they’re made by a company called “Cardinal”) last night. Couldn’t have done it without the information you provided! I look forward to working my way up to the Bicycles and, as I am out of town right now, I am looking forward to getting home and checking out the dvd’s I ordered as well. Happy Holidays and keep up the good work!”

– Tyler Shelton –

The Cards Tyler Tore

Tyler, awesome to hear it brother! Thanks for the update. I am really super jealous though brother, because you were able to successfully tear a deck in your first time trying, and it took me the better part of a month. Oh well.

DIESELS, if you are thinking that training your hands is a waste of time, think again!!!

The work I did when I first started training my grip helped me go from about 365 on the Bench Press to 405.

I was able to hit Bent Over Rows for sets of 315 without straps, and…

I was able to work up to a Seated Dumbbell Curl of 90-lbs.

These were some of the main muscle building lifts I was focusing on back in 2003. Being able to increase my 1RM in all of them really helped me put on mass as well.

So I encourage you to work on your hand strength now. You won’t be sorry.

And if you want to have the same end-goal in mind that I did – to develop the strength to rip decks of cards, then my Card Tearing eBook will show you everything you need to know, including some awesome grip training exercises.

Get it today by clicking the image below.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Already Tearing Cards?
Maybe It’s Time You Graduate to Nail Bending

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Expectations for Horseshoe Bending

Written by Mike “Beast in the East” Rinderle

Jedd and I have been getting a lot of questions recently about what are good goal shoes for 6 months, 1 years, and top end. The easy way out would be to tell you it is different for everybody and just say do your best, but we don’t take the easy way out.

So here is a good breakdown for someone with a decent base of strength putting in 2 to 3 sessions a week working on shoes and always striving to refine their horseshoe bending technique:

Starter shoes

St. Croix (SC) UltraLites or in some cases SC Lite Rims if you have more natural strength. Diamond Classic (DC) 0’s and 1’s are right in the middle of those but know that they vary a lot!

6-Month Goal Shoe

By now you should have your technique dialed in and most people with even a reasonable amount of strength will be bending the SC Lite Rims 0-3. Those with above average strength or who have really dedicated themselves will be bending SC LITE Plain #3s and possibly the Kerckhart SSP 8 X 22 #3.

1 Year Goal Shoe

If you have put in serious time and effort and have reasonable strength you should now be bending what many call the Red Nail of horseshoes, the SSP 8 X 22 #3. This shoe is possible for most people to bend, but only if you put in the work. People with advanced strength may very well be bending something as hard as the SC Regular Plain #3. Only 5 people have bent this shoe under cert conditions on the Benders Battlefield, but it is attainable.

Upper Limit Shoe

This one really is going to vary greatly. It will depend on your strength level, if you can remain injury free, how much you weigh, and how much time you put in. Most people that bend horseshoes don’t progress past the SC Lite Rims. Those that put in the extra time usually get to the SC Lite Plain #3 or SSP 8 X 22 #3. There are a few out there that take it to the next level and bend the Regular Plain #3 or harder.

The current upper, upper end is the St. Croix EZ Plus #3. We had to add it and other shoes to the list in order to accommodate two time World’s Strongest Man finalist Jason Bergmann. It is significantly harder than the Anvil Brand Draft Keg #6. Jason has also bent the ridiculously hard AB5 in doubles.

So what is your upper limit? Only you know for sure, but if you put the work in the sky is the limit.

Mike Rinderle
Hardest shoe certed: Kerckhaert SSP 10mm X 22mm #4 (tied with Wigren for 2nd)
Hardest shoe to 180 in any wraps / no time limit: Anvil Brand 3/8″ X 1″ Draft Keg #6
Hardest shoe opened up past 90 degrees: Anvil Brand 3/8″ X 1″ Draft Keg #5
Hardest shoe using IMPs for wraps: St. Croix Forge Plain Regular #3

P.S. Need to see a listing of where the most common types of horseshoes rank? Go here: Horseshoe Ranking List.

P.P.S Want a copy of the DVD that has helped HUNDREDS of people learn how to bend horseshoes? Get it here: Hammering Horseshoes DVD

P.P.P.S. Want to watch Hammering Horseshoes on your Laptop/Computer/MAC or other favorite device? Go here = > Hammering Horseshoes – Digital < = Buy it TODAY. Watch it TODAY

DIESELS!

I am knee deep in preparing for the World’s Strongest Hands 2012 Contest, taking place here in Wyalusing PA tomorrow, August, 18, 2012. So, I want to tell you about that as well as several other things taking place…

1. Worlds Strongest Hands 2012

This is taking place tomorrow right here in Wyalusing, PA, in Bradford County, which is in the northeastern portion of Pennsylvania. There is no “entry deadline” so even if this is the first time you ever heard of World’s Strongest Hands, you can feel free to show up. Just let me know you are coming with a comment below or an email.

If you’d like to see more specific information on the contest, then make sure to check out this post. This is a great contest to try out if you have been wanting to do a Grip Competition for a while. Even if you are a complete newbie to Grip, come to the comp and learn as you go. There is NO BETTER WAY to learn about Grip Sport than competing.

2. Vulcan V2 Grippers, Springs, Thumb Screws

I have a modest inventory of Vulcan V2 Grippers, Orange Springs, and Thumb Screws in inventory. They literally just arrived yesterday afternoon and I immediately packaged all of the reserved equipment into flat rate boxes and shipped them out to the future owners.

If you are looking for an all-purpose gripper, this is the one that I recommend. The Vulcan V2 varies in strength from below a #1 Captains of Crush to above a #4 Captains of Crush, without having to own a dozen grippers in order to have the variety. Plus it takes up virtually no space in your gym and can be hung on a wall hook or placed inside a drawer for safe keeping.

Thumb Screws are a tool that some folks are not familiar with. These are attachments to train dynamic pinching which go right on the ends of the handles of the Vulcan V2 and also accommodate regular torsion spring grippers like those from IronMind as well.

The V2 comes with its own Black Spring, which is the standard strength spring, but if you plan on using the Vulcan to train further below the #1 Captains of Crush level, or if you have training partners or clients who are just starting out with crush grip training, then the Orange Spring is a good choice.

To order a Vulcan V2 Gripper and/or the accessories, click the banner below.

3. Injuries – Yuck

On Tuesday of this week, I woke up with appreciable pain in my right big toe. It felt like the combination of stepping on a stone inside your sandal and kicking someone in the shin with a bare foot. On Wednesday, it was even worse, so I went to the doctor. We got some X-rays done and I am waiting on the results, but I also talked to the doctor about my left knee as well.

In early 2008 I was playing in an adult basketball league and after one of the games, we stopped at Subway from some grub and when I stepped out of the truck I nearly collapsed. I had to have my buddy help me walk into Subway. It was crazy. My knee was still all messed up the next morning, so I played around with my leg while seated at my work desk and with a combination of manual force and leg isometric flexion, I heard this loud CRACK! It was as if my tibia had dislocated somehow and through the manipulation I was able to pop it back in. Since then, it has felt bad off and on, but not always, more of a come and go type of thing.

So, while I was at the doctor this week, I had him check my knee out, and he was amazed at how swollen it was. He proceeded to take 40 cc’s of fluid out of my knee. I got a picture of the syringe with this yellow piss-colored fluid in it, but for some reason my phone did not save the pic, so I can’t show it to you. Unfortunately, the doc showed me that swimming around inside all that fluid is also little shreds of what he thinks might be torn meniscus tissue, so time will tell what happens there. My toe is feeling better and so is my knee, but I can tell already that the swelling is coming back, so stay tuned.

4. Slim Lever Progress

I am continuing to train for the Slim Lever about once a week and have been seeing very good progress. Below is the latest video I shot of some near misses.

The pressure on my knee when in position for this lift gives me no pain whatsoever, that I can recall, so that is good.

5. Assessment and Exercise

Lastly, my friend, Rick Kaselj, with whom I released Fixing Elbow Pain back in April, put out Assessment and Exercise this week. This program builds off his previous release Muscle Imbalances Revealed for the Lower Body. This installment in the series takes a look at the assessment techniques you can use to identify imbalances with your personal training clients and athletes. Everyone has imbalances, but some are more severe than others. This program can help you distinguish between the varying degrees of movement issues your clients might have and then show you how to address them. If this sounds like something that can benefit you in your work, be sure to check it out, because Rick joined up with a group of people with experience along these lines. Right now it is priced at just $37, but today is the last day of the introductory sale, so don’t wait too long if you want to get the program at the biggest discount.

6. Chain Breaking Technique

The latest video feature to be added to TheGripAuthority.com is Chain Breaking. I am rendering the video right now as I type this post, so within an hour it will be loaded to the site. My Feat-aholics at TGA wanted to know the technique I was using for chain breaking during my Strongman Shows last month. So I filmed everything and showed them exactly the equipment they needed in order to break chains the way I did it. Like I told the crowds at my shows, this feat gets the show started with a “BANG!”

Special thanks to the T-Rex, Jeff Bankens, for showing me the set-up he uses, which I modified slightly in order to use more equipment I already have in my collection, and having to buy and build less new gear. If you want to learn Chain Breaking as well as many other feats of strength and grip training secrets, join up at TheGripAuthority.com today for just $7.

That is about all of the updates I have right now. Once tomorrow’s contest is out of the way, and now that the other trips are wrapped up for the most part, it should get back to business as usual around here. So make sure to stay tuned and if you haven’t already, join my newsletter for future updates and new things coming your way.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Horseshoe Bending may sound crazy, but indeed, people all over the world are doing it. From shoes made to outfit small ponies to shoes designed for larger animals such as draft shoes, tough dudes around the globe are mangling them – twisting them from their characteristic U-shape and into a flattened S, or even completely around on themselves until they resemble a heart!

Bending Horseshoes may just be one of the most beneficial types of bending. Many of the benefits are listed below.

Why Bend Horseshoes?

Now, you may be wondering why the hell someone would want to bend a horseshoe. Well, if you are a student of the art of feats of strength, then it is a natural progression from regular steel bending such as bending nails and bolts.

However, if you have a more traditional strength training or muscle building background, then you may need some more reasons to try horseshoe bending. So here’s a few right now:

Benefits of Horseshoe Bending

Conquering the Impossible:
Horseshoes are made to be durable and resist wear, so to be able to straighten them and tie them into a knot, it’s as if you are defeating the undefeatable enemy! Nothing gives you a bigger rush than finally taking down the next level of shoe, especially if you’ve missed it a couple of times already!

Excellent Core Strength Builder:
While the hands, and arms are extremely important for horseshoe bending, the level of core strength needed to bend horseshoes is unparalleled by other strength feats. You must be able to send shock-waves into the shoe with explosive core power in order to make the shoe start moving in the sweep and crush and you have to be able to maintain longer durations of straining in order to keep the legs moving. NO other feat of strength matches this level of intensity.

Horseshoes Build Horseshoes on Your Arms:
The straining and dynamic effort associated with horseshoe bending can’t be beat, even by the most rigorous of conventional bench pressing programs or the most demanding bodybuilding routines. Your triceps blow up seriously blow up from this kind of work.

Builds Character and Mental Toughness:
Horseshoe Bending takes hard work, dedication, a strong will, and a remarkable heart. You have to be able to deal with struggle and with failure, but the feeling you get when you bend that next level of shoe for the first time is indescribable. This kind of tenacity carries over to other training as well, and bending horseshoes can revolutionize the way you approach the iron in the weight room.

Incredible Grip and Wrist Strength:
It was once an accepted belief that Bending would take away from your Grip Strength, but with the increase in benders participating in horseshoe bending, we are seeing more and more often that this is untrue. Your hands and wrist have to be strong in order to bend shoes and with the force required to excel, you end up building hand strength that carries over into many other types of Grip Training. And it goes without saying that stronger hands and wrists will be mean bigger lifts in the gym.

Chicks Dig It:
Just imagine how impressive it will be to the girls in your class or the ladies in the office when you wrap up a horseshoe and bend it right before their eyes. Horseshoes bent into a heart shape are second only to chocolate as a gift on Valentine’s Day! Screw tearing a deck of cards or a phone book! Who’s impressed with ripping paper? The ladies want to see you mess up the hard stuff, brother!

Tendon Strength:
Horseshoe bending requires high tension throughout the body, and with this comes tendon strength, the kind of strength that will set you apart from others at the gym and will keep you injury-resistant in your workouts. This kind of strength can’t be produced with conventional lifting means. This is something that only comes about from battles with horseshoes.

Technique over Force Production:
This is actually reason number eight, and it is the most important reason of all. Horseshoe bending is heavily dependent on technique. In fact, some of the best horseshoe benders in the world are under 200-lbs and can’t lift much more than 300-lbs on the bench press. This is because while full body strength is important, technique is what sets the biggest horseshoe benders in the world apart from the rest of the pack. This is why horseshoe bending is one of the most skill-dependent feats that there is.

For more information on horseshoe bending, check out our DVD, Hammering Horseshoes. I worked on this with Mike “Rindo” Rinderle, the first ever US Steel Bending Champion, and crazed steel bender.

Hammering Horseshoes is by far the most detailed resource on horseshoe bending that exists today and we will show you everything you need to know to get started kinking, sweeping, crushing and hearting big horseshoes.

Get the Hammering Horseshoes DVD and get started bending horseshoes. Right away.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Happy Hammering Horseshoes Customers:

“I bought the hammering horseshoes dvd before I even had a shoe to bend,they give everything you need to know to get going no question about that. Well worth the money.”
David Mitti
Recreation Horseshoe Dominator

“The DVD is well worth it! I tried to bend some easy shoes before watching the DVD and didn’t do anything but bruise my leg up. After watching the DVD about halfway through, I tried the same shoe and finished it off with a lot less effort than the first try.”
Jason Bergmann
Professional Strongman Competitor

“If you are really interested in progressing on shoes, use the money you would spend to buy some easier shoes to buy Hammering Horseshoes….watch that a couple times and you will bend your DC0. All bending is technique, but it’s almost impossible to just muscle a decent shoe, you HAVE to have some technique and strength too. Don’t waste a bunch of time like I did. The info wasn’t readily available when I started bending shoes but anyone wanting to start out today should watch Hammering Horseshoes. I am in no way associated with the DVD, and I paid full price for it. It will teach you an efficient way to bend shoes for sure.”
Andy Thomas
Competitive Steel Bender

I was thinking about my training back in June and I realized that I have been bending nails for nearly 10 years. However, in all that time, I had never successfully done any nail breaking.

Nail breaking involves bending a nail back and forth over and over until it breaks. This is much harder than simply bending the nail into a U-shape, mainly because it takes so much longer to do it, requiring much more grip strength endurance and mental toughness and determination than simply bending it over. I’d tried several times in the past to break 60D nails, but after flipping it around and having it slip in my grip, I’d generally get frustrated and say, “Screw it,” and move on to the next thing.

This time, I really wanted to give it a solid effort and see if I could do it.

When I decided to take on the challenge of nail breaking, I immediately set my sites on the 60D nail, also often referred to as a spike.

If you are not entirely familiar with nails, I will explain. The term, 60D, means 60-penny, coming from England in the 15th Century.

From Wikipedia.org: “Penny sizes originally referred to the price for a hundred nails in England in the 15th century: the larger the nail, the higher the cost per hundred. The system remained in use in England into the 20th century, but is obsolete there today. The d is an abbreviation for denarius, a Roman coin similar to a penny; this was the abbreviation for a penny in the UK before decimalisation.”

Benchmark Nail

The 60D Nail is also kind of a benchmark nail of Strongmanism, the practice of being a performing Strongman. So if you successfully bend a 60D nail, you can consider it a comparable feat to what most performing Strongmen of the past and present have done as well.

My first attempt at breaking a nail was long and tedious. It took me upwards of 20 minutes because my bracing technique was very poor and my wraps kept slipping over and over. To top it all off, my conditioning was lacking and between running out of breathe, my hands were also cramping up on me big time.

I continued to do my nail breaking training one or two days a week. I didn’t want to go overboard with it and end up with some kind of forearm or elbow pain, so I spaced my nail breaking days out pretty far.

Each time I bent I was able to whittle away more time, with my ultimate goal to finish the nail break in less than three minutes. On the second session, I was able to cut my time by more than half, going from nearly 20 to less than 10 minutes. I actually did two nails that session.

Finally, earlier this week, I was able to reach my goal of under 3 minutes.

In fact, it was around 30 seconds.

But there was something about that break that just didn’t seem right. I talk about it the following video.

60D Nail Break Under 60 Seconds

I could tell right away on the initial kink double overhand that this nail, although it looked similar was no doubt a much weaker nail. In addition, the subsequent efforts to open the nail back up felt like I was twisting jello.

Below is the second 60D I broke in the workout. This one is one of two types of 60D’s that I was given in the past:

• Zavaco 60D – That may be miss-spelled, so I apologize if it is. Strongman Chris Rider, who penned this awesome article on Chain Breaking last year, gave me a stack of these in 2009. I had never heard of the Zavaco brand of nails/spikes before but he said they were much more difficult than regular 60D’s, and he is right.
• Canadian 60D – The other possibility is that these are some of the Canadian 60D that I got from Canadian Grip Competitor, Jonathan McMillan. He gave them to me in 2008. It is entirely possible that Zavaco nails are a Canadian brand, or that McMillan go this hands on some Zavaco’s up there and then brought them across the border, or just simply that 60D nails produced in Canada are the “real deal.”

Here is the second, more difficult 60D nail broken in under 3 minutes.

60D Nail Break Under 3 Minutes

You can see right away that this nail is just plain stronger than the other one as I had more difficulty with the initial kink, as well as the opening and the re-kink on every single effort. Plus, the lighter 60D never got to the same temperature as the harder one. With the harder one, I could feel the heat going through my pant-leg when I was bracing it on my thigh to open it up.

Comparing the Two Nails

Obvious Differences:

• Coloring – The Zavacos are lighter and duller in color. The easier 60’s are much brighter, but that does not serve much meaning as to their difficulty in this case.
• Hatches – The Zavacos come with a much deeper series of hatch marks that are etched into the side of them near the head. My assumptions is that it helps keep the nail from working its way back out of wood, once pounded into the project.
• Size – Both nails are roughly the same length, but the Zavacos may be slightly thicker. I don’t own a micrometer, so I can’t get a perfect measurement, but by eyeball, they look a bit heftier.

In closing, I will say that the coolest thing about breaking nails is the way the steel heats up as you work it back and forth. Like I pointed out above, the heat was so intense it felt like it was going through my pants and burning my leg. I have also had my finger get off the wraps and get in contact with the nail and gotten a noticeable burning sensation.

Next, I plan on working on some longer nails/spikes but continue down the path of breaking, as I like the endurance factor that it trains as well as the mental toughness.

The Big Take-Away

The thing to learn from all of this is that nails will vary. Some are made to withstand more punishment than others.

How do you know if what you are bending is tough or not compared to other suppliers stock? You don’t. In fact, you will never know until you try other stock that is available. That is just part of the game that is Steel Bending. For more insight into the variation that can be seen between various nails, bolts, and bar stock, check out this post: Variation of Steel and Nail Strength.

More videos to come of Nail Breaking. Until then, all the best in your training.

Jedd

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There have been many great Strongman Performers in the past, that it is impossible to point to all of them and the amazing feats of strength they accomplished.

One of the all-time greats that is still a living legend is Slim the Hammer Man Farman.

Slim Farman is called the Hammer Man because of his prowess with Sledgehammers. They are his trademark and he has done some things with Sledges that most likely will never be duplicated.

The Story of Slim the Hammer Man is a long one, but in a nutshell, he worked in stone quarries with sledgehammers from a very young age. During his youth, he would often watch the Mighty Atom perform his strength act. Eventually the two interacted during one of the shows and a simple challenge turned into a friendship that lasted years and years. The Mighty Atom took Slim under his wing and coached him to be a professional strongman performer.

The Mighty Atom has long since passed, but the Hammer Man is still alive today. I first met Slim when he traveled from his home in PA to the location of the Global Grip Challenge, 2007.

I also was in attendance when York Barbell inducted Slim into their museum, last year. I wrote about that trip and posted videos here: Slim Farman Inducted into York Barbell Museum.

Slim has also taken on a position of a mentor for many of my colleagues in the area of Strongmanism, such as Dennis Rogers, Chris Rider, and David Whitley. Although I have never had the occasion to sit and train or be coached directly by Slim, I still marvel at some of the feats he has accomplished.

Slim and many of his friends he has trained with over the years

The Slim Lever

One of the feats he is famous for has been labeled, The Slim Lever, and is sometimes contested in Grip Contests, especially in medley events. It can be done with one signle sledgehammer or with two sledgehammers that are bolted together.

I do not know the weights that Slim Farman has done with this sort of set-up, but I am sure it is way more than I have done.

Execution of the Slim Lever

1. The Sledgehammer starts out with the head positioned vertically and the handle nearly parallel with the ground.

2. A small pad can be used to cushion the knuckles. A wash towel should work perfectly.

3. From there, the hand is placed at the end of the handle and the hammer head is raised with wrist strength until the handle is vertical, then the hammer head is returned to the ground.

You can see an actual picture of Slim performing this lift, above. That hammer there looks to be a 20-lber with a pin attached that allows for even more weight to be added – SCARY!

Recently, I was training with my friend, Kyle Kintner, and I showed him this maneuver and for the first time I was able to hit 16-lbs. The video is below.

16-lb Slim Lever

I was so PUMPED about getting the 16-lber up, that I had to try the 20-lber as well, and to my surprise, I was actually about to get it up a few inches…

20-lb Slim Lever

With this feat being this close, I just HAVE to try it some more in the next few weeks. This would be a feat that would blow away anything I have ever done, and it would be something that I would be very proud of accomplishing. To be this close to it also tells me that the other limited stuff I have been doing for wrist strength has been helpful, even though it has not been a major factor in my training.

I will keep you posted. Until then, keep training hard on your goals as well.

Jedd

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Want more Sledgehammer Training Ideas?
Check out the Nail Bending eBook.
The World Renowned Nail Bending eBook is loaded with sledgehammer training methods that will build your wrist strength like no other form of training can. Click the image below.

“I bought Jedd’s E-book because I was interested in steel bending but didn’t have the knowledge to start out on my own. I had no clue about the many types of metal stock, steel bolts, nails, how to wrap…I could go on and on. This book taught me so much in one day, I was blown away. No stone was left unturned. This E-book brings a wealth of information to the table and is worth every penny and more. It has instructional pictures, terminology, techniques and exercises that no one but the Diesel Crew could possibly come up with. It is all done in a very clear and concise manner that anyone can follow. Thank you Jedd.
Frank DeLuca”

 

 

 

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Place Your Comments Below:
What are you working on? How can I help you out? Thoughts on this post?
Thanks.

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DIESELS, this kind of thing gets me PUMPED UP!

When an expert performing strongman like Mike Gillette takes a look at a product and not only gives it such a glowing review but also puts some of the instruction into action and improves his performance in some of the feats, I just want to spike a football.

When it comes down to it, Mike Rinderle and I put our DVD’s together so that you can enjoy these feats as much as we have. PERIOD.

And we like producing the kind of products that give you EVERYTHING you need to know.

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Check out the kind words from Mike “Savage Strength” Gillette:

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Again guys, another experienced strength athlete and coach relates how important it is to have the right information and technique when it comes to being a successful featist.

If you want to ROLL FRYING PANS, BEND STEEL BARS, BEND SPIKES, and DESTROY WRENCHES, then Braced Bending is for you.

We’ll show you how to prepare for a showdown with steel, the technique for vanquishing it, and the way to stay in tip-top battle form for years to come.

Pick up Braced bending today = > Braced Bending: How to Destroy Everything in Your Path.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Today, I have a review on my Nail Bending DVD from EJ Livesey, a guy who has accomplished quite a bit in his short time bending, certifying on the IronMind Red Nail, among other elite-level bends.

As you read, you have to understand that to say that EJ Livesey is “intense,” would be a huge understatement. This guy is willing to look for, buy and put instruction into action, and he’s willing to put in the work to be great. EJ, like many others I have helped, (and maybe even like you) had the potential to be great at bending already – I just showed him how to turn all of his strength into being a nasty bending machine. Check it out…

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My name is EJ Livesey, and I have been bending since 2010. When it comes to learning new things, I am a very visual person. My luck and progress in Bending came slowly until I got Jedd’s DVD NAIL BENDING: HOW TO MELT STEEL WITH YOUR BARE HANDS.

When I saw the DVD advertised, I knew right away this would skyrocket my success, so I had to have it. Now some of the information in the DVD, such as the different types of wrapping materials, I was already familiar with. Other things, such as the correct mechanics for the different styles of bending I was not so familiar with.

With the DVD playing in front of me, I was able to wrap up a piece of 9/32″ drill rod in a set of Ironmind Pads. At the time, this piece of metal I could only kink in these pads (IronMind Wraps make the bend much harder, due to the lack of padding). So I studied the DO (Double Overhand) section over and over.

For me, DO was always weak and painful, until the “circle of strength” was discussed and explained in the DVD. I finally saw the error of my ways, and right away my DO was strong.

Within a few weeks (as opposed to months), I was strong enough to bend the Red Nail in IronMind pads. I was amazed and a true believer.

There are tons of little secrets to be learned in all of the different styles of bending, and these secrets are explained by one of the best in the community, Jedd. These secrets need to be explained by an elite bender, or you are in for a long road of pain and disappointment.

Other very important aspects of this DVD, are the Recovery and Strength sections. There are tons or exercises out there and tons of products that claim to make your hands and arms stronger. However, all you need are a few simple exercises/movements. This is the information you could spend months trying to find and never get a credible answer. Jedd does all the work for you and his reputation speaks for itself.

The end of this August I will have been bending for 2 years. I have certified on the Red Nail, bent the King of All Bastards Bar in 1.25″ double wraps, Stainless Steel Hex Bar in IronMind Pads, and my favorite: an 8″ adjustable wrench unbraced Double Overhand. All those bends in less than 2 years, and your DVD helped, a lot.

Jedd knows what will work, and work fast. If your dream is to bend the Red, be the “freak at work” or bend some bastards, buy HOW TO MELT STEEL WITH YOUR BARE HANDS. You will be satisfied.

Sincerely,

EJ Livesey
Certified Red Nail Bender

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EJ – Thanks for the awesome words. Looking forward to more awesome bending exploits from you, dude!

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Two Bent Shoes by Jason Bergmann

Bending your first horseshoe is one of the milestones you will never forget when you practice feats of strength. After all, these damn things are made to go on the feet of horses and ponies and to take a freakin’ beating.

Bending horseshoes is no joke.

I recently got an order from one of the members of the Diesel Universe, for the Hammering Horseshoes DVD. Shortly afterwards, I got an email from him as well. His name was Jason Bergmann, a Strongman Competitor who does strength demo’s for youngsters in his area, and he said he was looking to add Horseshoe Bending to his repertoire of grip strength feat.

Check out the email he sent me below:

I just ordered the Hammering Horseshoes DVD from your site. Since it will take a few days to get the DVD I really wanted to order some horseshoes as well. Since that info is in the DVD could you give me a few suggestions for beginners? I currently compete in Strongman and my brothers and I do demo’s for k-8 schools and I would like to add this in to my program along with a few other grip feats. So If I can order some shoes and get them around the same time as the DVD it would save me some time. Thanks, Jason Bergmann

Ordering horseshoes ahead of time actually seemed like a damn good idea, so I pointed him to this post, Horseshoe Progression List, and told him to check out Ken-Davis.com to pick up some shoes.

Well Jason Bergmann is a true action taker, because he jumped on the Ken-Davis site and had the shoes at his house before the DVD even got there! And I don’t wait when I send in these orders. I could see right now that this dude was serious!

Today, I got another email from Jason and this time, and this time I could tell he was excited. Check this out:

Jedd, I came home from strongman training and saw the DVD arrived today! I was going to wait to watch it and maybe try some shoes tomorrow since I had already tried to bend a few before watching the DVD (didn’t even nudge a diamond classic #2). But after watching about half the dvd on wrapping technique and learning more about the kink I gave it a go.

After giving it a few tries on the lightest shoe I had bought (St. Croix Forge polo #0), I knew something wasn’t right. Repositioned the shoe and followed the tips in the video and started to bend the shoe! I will admit that I used a towel on my leg to get it past 180 degrees and I’m sure I will have a bruise or two. After about 5 minutes I had to see if I could do it on my right side as well (torn pec on that side) and after getting everything set up right that went as well.

Without the tips and technique on your DVD it would have taken me a lot longer to figure it out if at all. I can say after bending my first shoes that it is not a trick. Getting the leverages right yes, but trick no! Thanks for putting the DVD together and putting so much information in it. Well worth the money and when I’m looking to try another feat of strength I will be checking out your other products. Thanks, Jason Bergmann

The Hammering Horseshoes DVD, Two Slain Shoes, and the Wraps Used to Slay Them

DIESELS, this kind of stuff gets me pumped up!!

I love hearing about success stories such as this one! Being a part of their success is even more awesome. That is why I put together these instructional videos – I know how cool this stuff is and I want you to experience it too.

That is also why I partnered up with my buddy, Mike Rinderle on Hammering Horseshoes and Braced Bending – he gets pumped up hearing about new benders’ success every bit as much as I do.

If you want to see what it feels like to have the crafted steel of a horseshoe bend to your will, make sure to get our DVD, Hammering Horseshoes. We’ll get you going on the right path, just like Jason Bergmann is doing now.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Ever since releasing Hammering Horseshoes last August, one of the most common questions I have received about Horseshoe Bending has been regarding the Horseshoe Progression.

These are some of the examples of questions I have gotten:

Which horseshoes are best for beginners to bend?

Are there any more shoes in my difficulty level I can bend to add to my collection?

I have hit a wall with my horseshoe bending – are there other shoes I can use to break through my plateau?

These are all perfectly valid questions, and I think today’s post is going to help a lot.

After all, when you are new at Bending Horseshoes, it’s nice to have some shoes that are on the easier side so you can work on technique on lighter shoes before progressing upwards.

And of course, once you hone your technique, you will want some reasonable jumps to make as you move up the ladder.

And, if you happen to be a gifted Horseshoe Bender and are aiming to be one of the best, then you’ll need to know which ones to choose in order to climb the mountain.

All levels of bending prowess need variety and that is what this post will give you.

Hammering Horseshoes DVD Progression List

In our DVD, Hammering Horseshoes, Mike and I laid out a nice progression of the most common shoes – the most widely available, and most often bent. We ended up with more than a dozen horseshoes for people to choose from.

However, as time has gone by, we found that people wanted even more shoes. We found that people are willing to put in the work to find some of the more rare shoes, just so that they can make smaller jumps without running into a wall on the track to Horseshoe Bending Heroism.

So, Mike and I reached out to one of the top horseshoe benders in the world, David Wigren. You see, David actually designed the progression for the current horseshoe certification list that is used by most benders on-line at Benders’ Battlefield.

One of the things David and I talked about was, why, if there are so many more shoes on the market, are they not included on the current horseshoe bending certification progression list?

This is what he had to say:

“The #1 reason why there aren’t more shoes on the cert list is to avoid unintentional overlapping. As you know steel varies, and because of that my idea was just to have a “safety” distance between each shoe, so that the easiest level 10 shoe won’t be easier than any level 9 shoe.

The 2nd reason is that not a whole lot of shoes meet the criteria. Some shoes vary a lot, so they won’t be added to the list. Clipped and healed shoes won’t be added, since it would be easy to manipulate a clipped shoe and get away with it.

I also wanted all the shoes (with one or two exceptions) to be available in most parts of the world. However I’m only that picky when it comes to the cert list. I do have a list that is more “approximated” and contains more shoes. This list contains most of the shoes I’ve bent (or partially bent) and I’ve rated them by the difficulty I experienced while bending them.

Unfortunately not all shoes are on there. But I think Rinderle could fill in with some other shoes he’s bent, and you’ll end up with a pretty good list.”

So, Mike and I put out heads together and placed a few more shoes on the list to help you guys out. What we came up with appears below.

Horseshoe Variation

Now, remember as you look at and utilize this list that shoes will vary, even within the same shoe. You may find weaker shoes in a given variety that could be easier than shoes that are ranked below them on the list. This is just the reality of the feat of strength of bending. Use this as your guideline to greatness with horseshoe bending.

Horseshoe Progression List

Beginner

1. St. Croix Forge Ultralite #2
2. St. Croix Forge Ultralite #1
3. St. Croix Forge Polo #2
4. St. Croix Forge Polo #1
5. St. Croix Forge Polo #0
6. St. Croix Forge Polo #00
7. Diamond Classic 1
8. Diamond Classic 0
9. Diamond Classic 2
10. St. Croix Forge Lite Rim 0

Novice

11. Kerckhaert sx7
12. St croix Lite rim 2
13. Nordic Delux 2
14. St croix lite rim 3
15. Nordic Delux 3
16. St croix lite rim 1
17. Werkman 3
18. Kerckhaert SSP 8×22 #3
19. St croix Lite plain #3

Advanced

20. Kerckhaert SN 8×25 #5
21. Kerckhaert SSP 8×22 #2
22. Diamond bronco PL 000
23. 5/16×7/8 healed
24. Wide sliding plate
25. Kerckhaert SSP 8×22 #1
26. st croix forge regular plain 000
27. Kerckhaert SN 8×25 #3
28. Diamond special 5
29. Kerckhaert SSP 10×22 #5
30. St. croix plain regular #3
31. SSP 8×18 #000
32. SN 8×20 #000
33. Kerckhaert SN 10×22 #3
34. Kerckhaert SSP extra 8×22 #0
35. Unmarked healed shoe 3/8×3/4
36. AB #6
37. Kerckhaert WH 10×28 #6

I hope this new Horseshoe Bending Progression List helps you all out. You now have a huge list of shoes to choose from. Take note, some of these shoes are much more common than others, and some can be nearly impossible to find.

What you should do right now is Bookmark this post, because I can assure you from time to time I will hear from more people who have bent lots of horseshoes over the years and I will add to this list from time to time.

Of course, just because you know which shoes are easy and which ones are hard, don’t be surprised if you can’t bend one of the easier shoes. Horseshoe Bending is extremely dependent upon technique. You can be strong as a son of a bitch and still get your ass handed to you by a shoe that is residing way over on the lighter side of the spectrum.

So, when you go on-line or to the local Farrier supply shop to order your shoes, add the Hammering Horseshoes DVD to your shopping list as well so you can learn the right techniques for horseshoe bending. Pick it up below:

All the best with your horseshoe bending,

Jedd

P.S. HUGE thanks to David Wigren and Mike Rinderle for helping me put this together for everybody!

Hello DIESELS!

There’s nothing that bothers me more than when I buy something and it doesn’t meet my expectations.

To give you an idea of what I mean, I recently picked up one of those lights with the flexible bodies that you can hook around stuff and direct light where you want it.

Yeah, too bad when you hang it upside down, the light portion literally falls off the body part.

GARBAGE!

It is experiences like this one that have forged my approach to designing information products. My goal is always to exceed your expectations.

When you buy one of my DVD’s or eBooks, I want you to finish going through it and not only learn exactly what you wanted to when you picked up my DVD, but also many other things that will help you in your training.

To illustrate this, check out the feedback we recently received from Carlos Rodriguez about the Braced Bending DVD:

“I received the Braced dvd this past weekend. Jedd I was literally blown away by the dvd. I admire the fact that Mike and yourself take a no B.S. approach to giving instruction and demonstration. There is no fluff, no corny
soundtrack , and rock solid advice!!! Great job and congrats on a really awesome product Jedd.

There are a couple of things that I was doing wrong with my bending, but I believe the Braced dvd has helped me tremendously. Also the pics of Carl Ansara are pretty impressive, the Bazooka Joe tee was very cool. He is one strong dude.”

Thanks for the compliments, Carlos, and I am glad the DVD is helping you so much.

My partner on the Braced Bending DVD, Mike Rinderle, has the same approach I do – to provide you with the absolute best information about Feats of Strength.

We take a great deal of time planning our products and we even add things in as we go along to enhance them throughout the process, such as close-ups, voice-overs, slow-motion replays, and more.

We even added a a presentation that Carl Ansara, one of the best braced benders in the world, put together for us for the Bonus Section.

If you want the best information on Feats of Strength, you’ve come to the right place. Check out everything we cover in this DVD:

This is the cool collectible Chapter Card
that comes with your Braced Bending DVD.

Go get it here: Braced Bending DVD.

All the best in your bending.

Jedd

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK!

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!

Grab it today at this link: Hammering Horseshoes DVD

All the best in your training,

Jedd

The Strength of Steel and Bending Stock

Over the years, lots of people have asked me questions about the strength of steel and bending stock. Because steel bending can be so obsessive, and the need to constantly bend more stuff can overtake an individual so intensely, it can be easy to understand why so many people are hungry for this knowledge.

Common Questions about Bending Stock Strength

Here are some of the types of questions I get most often:

“How Strong is my Steel?”
People will be bending a certain nail, bolt or piece of stock and want to know if it is a good bend or not. This is understandable, because people like to know where they stand.

“What nail/bolt/stock should I go to next if I am bending THIS and want to bend THAT?”
Most people want to ultimately be able to bend a certain bar, whether it is the Red Nail or some other high level bend like the Bastard from Fat Bastard Barbell or the Battle Bar from Benders Battlefield. Along the road to this goal it’s nice to know which bends to attempt along the way.

“How far am I from the Red Nail if I am bending this or that…”
Sometimes people are seeing progress by cutting what they can bend down to shorter lengths, or they have been moving up to harder graded bolts or slightly thicker stock, but they still want to know how far away they are from their goal.

And there are many, many more questions I receive about the strength of bending stock.

Comparing Strengths of Various Pieces of Bending Stock

There is a system that is used to rate the strength level of bars. This has proven to be quite useful in getting an idea of where different bars lie in relationship to one another, and it even works well for a variety of different stock, including Round Steel, Graded Bolts, Drill Rod, and even square and hex steel.

This system was innovated by Eric Milfeld and later Mike Krahling. These are just the guys that I am most aware of in the United States who are doing it. There may indeed be many more who are doing this.

This process involves special attachments that are put onto the bending stock being rated, followed by using the steel to pull against weight until it bends to the desired angle. Once the stock bends to that angle, it is assigned its strength level.

This process is often labeled “calibration,” although there has also been debate about whether that is the proper term. Perhaps a better term to describe it would be simply “rating the stock.”

Regardless of what you call this process, it has proven to be a fairly reliable method for a solid comparison tool, as well as something to base your progressions and purchases upon.

In the video below, Mike Krahling demonstrates the process of rating the strength of a steel bar.

Now, what you see here is just one bar being rated, but over the years, many bars have been rated and also logged for comparison at the AZ Grip website. You can see the strength comparison chart here: Steel Bending Progressions.

Now, there are limits to this process, and that needs to be understood from the beginning.

For instance, steel varies and it can vary quite a bit. Just because you bought a Red Nail back in 2004 does not mean that a Red Nail that you buy right now will rate out at the exact same number. New stock might have been selected to be used at some point. (Of course, the Red Nail is still a Beast to bend, so no disrespect to IronMind.)

Variance of Steel Strength

As I point out in this post, Strength Variations of Steel, it is possible to see strength variance within the same piece of steel. Remember that steel is created in long lengths and then cut down in order to bend in shorter lengths. There can be quite a bit of variation within one of those virgin bars pulled out at the factory. So in that regard, you have to understand that just because you buy a 7-inch by 5/16-inch length of Cold Rolled Steel, it does not guarantee that you are ready to certify on the Red Nail, even though the Red Nail, too, is 7 X 5/16 CRS.

Variance in Steel Strength & Differences by Length

Also, you have to remember that you must take the readings of bars of different lengths very carefully. For instance, if you look at that chart, it lists the Red Nail, 7 X 5/16 in length and diameter, at 420-lbs in order to bend. Also, that chart lists a Linear “S” Grade 5 Bolt 6 X 1/4 in length and diameter at 425. An assumption that has often been made is that if one can bend that Linear “S” Grade 5 Bolt, then they surely must be able to bend the Red Nail, which is rated at 5-lbs lighter.

Unfortunately, this assumption is completely wrong, because the Grade 5 bolt is only 6 inches long, meaning there is less leverage available to produce a bend using the testing device. In reality, if the Grade 5 in question were 7-inches long, it would feel like bending a coat-hanger.

Comparing Different Bars

So, as you utilize the chart, make sure that you remember that comparisons should be made between different pieces of stock of the same length only. Also remember that the way the calibrating set-up bends the bar is not completely the same as the way the bar bends when you bend it, so just because a piece of stock rates higher than another piece of stock using the device, does not necessarily mean it will feel harder to bend when you try it.

Solid Resource

Even with this handful of limitations, the “Steel Progression Chart” is a very good resource for you in your bending training. It has been an extremely helpful tool for both new benders looking for ways to progress in their bending, as well as seasoned veterans who are looking for stepping stones to their ultimate bending goal.

In fact, I reference this chart quite often with my coaching clients who are looking for progressions in their steel bending programs. And now, it is a tool you can place in your toolbox to reference whenever you need it.

All the best in your bending,

Jedd

The Braced Bending DVD is now available world-wide: Destroy Everything in Your Path.

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!

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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.

(Coming Soon)

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

One of the topics you been asking about lately is “how do I get started with 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.

Braced bending Basics

Why This Video is Awesome

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.

Plus it costs you nothing – $0.

All the best in your Feat of Strength training,

Jedd

The video below shows the first time I ever lifted the Blob by the Face.

The Blob Face Lift Grip Position

Lifting the Blob by the Face, or a Face Lift, involves turning the Blob over so that you must spread the fingers out and hook over the edge in order to lift it (as shown above).

This feat, for me, was something that I had to work long and hard on. Aside from specifically training on the Blob, in order to train my hand to be strong out in that position, I also taped a 25-lb plate to the bottom of an old rusty brake rotor. Once that got too easy, I put duct tape around the gripping edge of the rotor in order to make it tougher.

Still, even with a consistent training approach, it took me a very long time to be able to do this feat, so when it came up, I was pretty excited.

If this is the first time you’ve seen this crazy PR video, let me explain what is going on.

I am a HUGE wrestling fan and love watching old wrestling from the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s. I have a sizeable collection of Classic Wrestling Videos, and I am always trying to expand it.

One of my favorites from this era was the Ultimate Warrior, and he was FAMOUS for cutting insane promos.

Here is an example of some of his promos. As you watch, check out the 0:44 to 1:04 section, as this will be fairly similar to what I say in my video clip.

I was watching a LOT of Ultimate Warrior stuff during the time this video was shot, which I’d estimate to be January 2005, because my hair is short and I am wearing the beard that Triple H eventually stole from me.

Obviously, I didn’t spout the promo as a word for word match to what the Ultimate Warrior said, but I don’t think Ultimate Warrior even used to get the right word-for-word himself.

As you can tell, I had tons of support from my buddy, Brad Martin, whom you can hear slaying the cheers. It’s hard NOT to perform well in that kind of an environment. Boy, do I miss those days…

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year, all!

All the best in your training,

Jedd

I have continued to train my ass off on the Inch Dumbbells the last few weeks.
Even though the Inch Dumbbell and Thick Bar itself was not an event that was part of Gripmas, I continued to train it hard because I was seeing a relationship develop between my performance on the Inch Dumbbell and my Two Hands Pinch lifting, as I highlighted in this article: Continued Progress with the Inch Dumbbell Deadlift.

Here is my first lift, which I luckily caught on tape.

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The Inch Dumbbell is named after the traveling strongman, Thomas Inch, who used to take his challenge dumbbell around the country and defy others to lift it. Replicas of it these days are about 172-lbs with a handle approaching 2 inches thick. The implements are cast iron and one piece, so when the globe heads start to rotate so the handle tries to tear out of your hand.

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I have since carried the dumbbells a longer distance, but I have not had the opportunity to cut up the videos yet. When I do another batch of editing, I will do my best to get more footage uploaded.
Training continues to go well each time I get to the gym. I have begun training specifically for the Arnold Sports Festival and the Sorinex Mighty Mitts competition. I have not actually been selected yet to compete, nor do I know what the events will be. However, if I wait to be told I am in, then I will be wasting time, and I have a hunch of the general idea of the events, so I am not wasting any time getting started.
If you have any interest at all in going to the Arnold Classic, which is the first weekend in March, then I hope you will come and cheer me on from the crowd. Having the support of the people watching when you are up on stage feels amazing.
I competed at the 2010 Mighty Mitts competition, and was selected to participate in the 2011 competition as well, but I had injured the middle and index fingers on both hands and was able to do almost no Grip Training from February to May, and so I had to write the organizers and tell them I could not make it.
This year, I am not even thinking about that. I am just focusing on training smart and staying healthy, which has been working very well for me over the last few months.
On the work side, I just went to Bucknell University yesterday and shot footage with my good friend, Head Strength Coach, Jerry Shreck. We looked at the system he uses to reduce and eliminate knee injuries in his collegiate athletes, especially his basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball players. I am anxious to bring this project out.
In addition, I am working as hard as I can to finish up Braced Bending: How to Destroy Everything in Your Path. Between computer snags, babysitter call-offs, and other commitments, my progress has slowed, but I know this one is going to be awesome for those looking to bend stuff like wrenches, short, mid-length, and long bars, frying pans, and other things. If this is something you are interested, make sure to get on my Feats of Strength Newsletter below.

Feats of Strength Newsletter

I am also in the planning stages of a collaborative effort with Rick Kaselj on preventing and eliminating forearm pain. We don’t have everything worked out yet, but we do have a general idea of what we want to do and we spoke on the phone earlier this week and he is just as excited about it as I am. While many gripsters, strongmen, and powerlifters come to me for advice on how to fix what they are feeling in their forearms, Rick, I am sure gets even more in his line of work because he covers a much broader scope. I think be working together on this we can really put something together that will help a lot of people.
Another iron I have in the fire is a DVD that I shot the footage for with Steve Slater when I was in Ohio on Strongman Atlas Stones. There was more to shoot when I left his place but we were not at the position to shoot it, so he had to shoot it a few days later. he will be compiling the footage on his end and sending it to me so that I can process the video and get the ball rolling. More on that down the road.
And, I think the last video project I am working on here and there is another documentary on my Two Hands Pinch Record. I had the camera running during every training session and you will be able to see everything I did leading up to the event, including many tactics I have never tried before, but have come to love very much.
That is enough of the updates for now. There is still a ton of stuff I am working on. I will share this at a later date.
The plan for the next post here on the site will be a Diesel Classic. This one has recently come up as a request from multiple people across the land, so I am going to dust it off and post it for all to see soon.
Thanks and all the best in your training.
Jedd
If you are into feats of strength, check out Hammering Horseshoes. It’s gotten incredible reviews from many satisfied customers. Click the image below…

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I have continued to train my ass off on the Inch Dumbbells the last few weeks.

Even though the Inch Dumbbell and Thick Bar itself was not an event that was part of Gripmas, I continued to train it hard because I was seeing a relationship develop between my performance on the Inch Dumbbell and my Two Hands Pinch lifting, as I highlighted in this article: Continued Progress with the Inch Dumbbell Deadlift.

Here is my first lift, which I luckily caught on tape.

---

The Inch Dumbbell is named after the traveling strongman, Thomas Inch, who used to take his challenge dumbbell around the country and defy others to lift it. Replicas of it these days are about 172-lbs with a handle approaching 2 inches thick. The implements are cast iron and one piece, so when the globe heads start to rotate so the handle tries to tear out of your hand.

---

I have since carried the dumbbells a longer distance, but I have not had the opportunity to cut up the videos yet. When I do another batch of editing, I will do my best to get more footage uploaded.

Training continues to go well each time I get to the gym. I have begun training specifically for the Arnold Sports Festival and the Sorinex Mighty Mitts competition. I have not actually been selected yet to compete, nor do I know what the events will be. However, if I wait to be told I am in, then I will be wasting time, and I have a hunch of the general idea of the events, so I am not wasting any time getting started.

If you have any interest at all in going to the Arnold Classic, which is the first weekend in March, then I hope you will come and cheer me on from the crowd. Having the support of the people watching when you are up on stage feels amazing.

I competed at the 2010 Mighty Mitts competition, and was selected to participate in the 2011 competition as well, but I had injured the middle and index fingers on both hands and was able to do almost no Grip Training from February to May, and so I had to write the organizers and tell them I could not make it.

This year, I am not even thinking about that. I am just focusing on training smart and staying healthy, which has been working very well for me over the last few months.

On the work side, I just went to Bucknell University yesterday and shot footage with my good friend, Head Strength Coach, Jerry Shreck. We looked at the system he uses to reduce and eliminate knee injuries in his collegiate athletes, especially his basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball players. I am anxious to bring this project out.

In addition, I am working as hard as I can to finish up Braced Bending: How to Destroy Everything in Your Path. Between computer snags, babysitter call-offs, and other commitments, my progress has slowed, but I know this one is going to be awesome for those looking to bend stuff like wrenches, short, mid-length, and long bars, frying pans, and other things. If this is something you are interested, make sure to get on my Feats of Strength Newsletter below.

Feats of Strength Newsletter

I am also in the planning stages of a collaborative effort with Rick Kaselj on preventing and eliminating forearm pain. We don’t have everything worked out yet, but we do have a general idea of what we want to do and we spoke on the phone earlier this week and he is just as excited about it as I am. While many gripsters, strongmen, and powerlifters come to me for advice on how to fix what they are feeling in their forearms, Rick, I am sure gets even more in his line of work because he covers a much broader scope. I think be working together on this we can really put something together that will help a lot of people.

Another iron I have in the fire is a DVD that I shot the footage for with Steve Slater when I was in Ohio on Strongman Atlas Stones. There was more to shoot when I left his place but we were not at the position to shoot it, so he had to shoot it a few days later. he will be compiling the footage on his end and sending it to me so that I can process the video and get the ball rolling. More on that down the road.

And, I think the last video project I am working on here and there is another documentary on my Two Hands Pinch Record. I had the camera running during every training session and you will be able to see everything I did leading up to the event, including many tactics I have never tried before, but have come to love very much.

That is enough of the updates for now. There is still a ton of stuff I am working on. I will share this at a later date.

The plan for the next post here on the site will be a Diesel Classic. This one has recently come up as a request from multiple people across the land, so I am going to dust it off and post it for all to see soon.

Thanks and all the best in your training.

Jedd

If you are into feats of strength, check out Hammering Horseshoes. It’s gotten incredible reviews from many satisfied customers. Click the image below…

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Beginner Horseshoe Bending Information

Since the DVD HAMMERING HORSESHOES came out this summer I have had numerous people ask me what they need to start bending shoes.

Common Beginner Horseshoe Questions: Can you give me a good horseshoe progression for a beginner? What types of wraps should I use and where do I buy horseshoes and wraps for them?

It’s really pretty simple to prepare for successful horseshoe bending. You will need four things:

• Horseshoes You Can Bend
• Horseshoe Bending Wraps to Protect Your Hands
• Padding to Protect / Desensitize Your Body
• Proper Horseshoe Bending Technique / Instruction

Now, let’s take a look at each one of these in more detail.

Beginner – Level Horseshoes

The best place I have found to get a good selection of shoes is a local farrier supplier. These shops have a wide selection of shoes from most of the major manufacturers of horseshoes. If you don’t have a farrier supplier local to you, a great resource is www.ken-davis.com. They will have every shoe you need to get started.

Another option is Tractor Supply Co. They carry many of the Diamond Classic shoes. Many people will need to start with easier shoes than these though. A good progression of beginner to intermediate shoes is:

• St. Croix Forge Ultralite
• St. Croix Forge Polo
• Diamond Classic
• St. Croix Forge Lite Rim

Make sure you get different sizes to work on.

Wraps for Bending Horseshoes

Most people use suede/leather wraps to bend horseshoes. I purchase my wraps from the local Michael’s Craft Store. They are Tandy Leather suede. They come in 8.5” X 11” pieces and sell for around $6. Each piece will make one set of wraps. Just cut the piece up the middle in the longest direction and you have a great set of 11” X 4” wraps.

Make sure you feel the suede before you buy it. These pieces are remnants and some are thinner than others. You want the thicker pieces.

Padding for Horseshoe Bending

Padding for horseshoe bending is a personal choice. I recommend that beginners use padding when they start their journey for safety reasons. After you have bent shoes for awhile, you can decide whether or not bending shoes without any leg padding is for you.

What I have found works best is a folded up hand towel. You don’t want this to be too big or it will absorb too much energy and hurt your bending. The other option is a few pieces of the wrapping material folded up. The suede makes a good transition from using a towel to going with no padding as well.

Horseshoe Bending Instruction: Hammering Horseshoes

Finally, you need to get our DVD Hammering Horseshoes. This DVD has helped countless people become horseshoe killers and has received great reviews from some of the best shoe benders in the world!

Now go kill some shoes!!!

Mike “The Beast in the East” Rinderle

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Hammering Horseshoes DVD Reviews

Mike and Jedd have managed to condense the knowledge that would normally take years of potentially dangerous trial and error training to acquire into a concise and entertaining video package. I enthusiastically recommend this comprehensive tutorial for anyone interested in pursuing the rewarding and richly historical pursuit of bending horseshoes with your bare hands!

Eric Milfeld
(Captain of Crush #3 & Red Nail Certified / Horseshoe Bending Legend and Steel Benders Hall of Fame Member)

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Bravo! Hammering Horseshoes was a pleasure to watch. The video is very structured and organized, how a training video / “How to” video should be, including step by step examples, some of which are even in slow motion. I especially liked the horseshoe progression ladder. I was impressed. I already know a thing or two about horseshoe bending and frankly I didn’t think I was going to learn anything from watching it, but I was pleasantly surprised. That being said, “Hammering Horseshoes” is good for beginners through advanced and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to make a name in the bending community or even if you just want to show-off your horseshoe bending skills to family and friends. Five stars Mike and Jedd!

Paul Knight
(Captain of Crush #3.5 & Red Nail Certified / Extraordinary Horseshoe Bender and Steel Benders Hall of Fame Member)

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Pick up Hammering Horseshoes today: How to Bend Horseshoes Instructional DVD.

I’ve never really discussed heavy bicep curling that much here on the site. It hasn’t seemed to be something that was all that Diesel.

All I have really done with any consistency over the last five years for my biceps has pretty much been Reverse Curls with an E-Z Curl Bar.

That is one of the lifts I do week in and week out in order to fend off and negate any connective tissue inflammation near the elbow. I mentioned this for the first time in the Card Tearing eBook in the section on injury prevention, I believe.

Recently, when I got the Grip 4orce handles, I added in Alternating Dumbbell Curls because I absolutely love the way it hits deep in the thumbs.

When I am feeling Ultra Napalmish and want to not only blow up my biceps but also work my wrist radial deviators statically, I will hit some Scale Weight Hammer Curls. I might do these once a month if that.

But lately I have added one other Bicep Execution into the fray. Here’s the story.

The Rob Vigeant 100-lb Dumbbell Curl Challenge

I was looking through my YouTube subscriptions the other day and the name Rob Vigeant caught my eye. If you don’t know who Rob is, don’t worry, because I am going to tell you. Rob is now a professional arm wrestler, but in 2003 and 2004, Rob was probably the best Grip Athlete in the United States, bar none.

I’ve watched him nearly beat Steve McGranahan at the first Grip Contest I ever competed in, and I watched him beat the likes of Dave Ostlund, Shane Larson, and myself in Minnesota in January of 2004. And then he came to PA again in the Fall of 2004 and wreaked havoc one more time, taking the title at the Global Grip Challenge, beating Clay Edgin, Dave Morton, and Tommy Heslep, among others.

So this dude is built like a Diesel Truck from the shoulder down. He might however, have a smaller lower body than me, which is damn hard to do… (Sorry, Rob. With all the ass kissing I am doing for you, I need to take a shot somehow)

Since Vigeant has not been involved in Grip since pre-2005, any time I see his name come up in the title of a new video on YouTube, I am damn sure going to watch it.

The video was by Josh Dale, the People’s Dietitian, and he talked about a challenge that came from Rob Vigeant. As it turns out, several years ago Vigeant had made the statement that he did not think there was a man alive who could curl a 100-lb dumbbell in a strict curl fashion.

To put aside any speculation, let’s watch the only video that I can find of Rob Vigeant performing his strict curl:

Rob Vigeant: 85+ Lb Curl

Now, there may indeed be a set of rules somewhere in the USAWA handbook or some other listing that details a different set of requirements for the “Strict Dumbbell Curl,” but I am honestly not going to look for them.

Josh did post a curl at the end of his video and he did an impressive 75-lb Curl, as you will see below…

Josh Dale: 75-lb Dumbbell Curl

This challenge seemed very interesting to me for many reasons. First and foremost because I know Josh Dale well and have competed with him many times, but also because I have seen Rob Vigeant’s power up close and so thought it would be a good way to compare my abilities against one of the strongest lower arms out there.

So I gave it a try and during my first set of attempts, I got up to 70-lbs.

Jedd Johnson, Dumbbell Curl with 65 & 70 lbs

A few days later, I gave this another try while waiting for a friend to come to the house and train, and I ended up getting a 75-lb Curl for a couple of singles with each hand.

Jedd Johnson: 75-lb Dumbbell Curl

Notice at the end of the video, 100-lbs is not going ANYWHERE.

Of course, since I am putting up videos of curls, there is somebody out there who put up a Thumbs Down on one of my videos. Tough guys. Oh well.

So, I stand at 75-lbs right now. And that would be the end of the post, but Josh has thrown down the gauntlet and topped me by about two pounds, with the following submission to the challenge.

Josh Dale: 77+ lbs Dumbbell Curl

Ohhh no he didn’t!!!

So it looks like I will have dig out and dust off my loadable handles and give this a try with it.

Incidentally, I think I still have some gas in the tank to call upon, some turbo boosters if you will, as back in 2002/2003 or whatever the following video was shot in, I did perform a seated curl with a 90-lb Dumbbell in each hand.

Jedd Johnson: Seated Dumbbell Curl with 90-lbs

If you want to give this challenge a try, go ahead and jump in and then send the video link to Josh on YouTube. His channel is FeatCheater. Also make sure that you subscribe to my youtube as well: Jedd Johnson’s YouTube.

All the best in your training!

Jedd

P.S. I know there are probably tons of guys out there that can curl more than this. So please don’t go overboard when you see the titles I put on my videos. This is just my Napalm Psychology at work against Josh.

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This is a guest post by professional strongman Chris “Hairculese” Rider. Chris is a master strongman, and protege of Dennis Rogers, who performs internationally and is regarded as one of the top oldetime strongmen in the world. He is also a personal strength coach and co-star in the feature film “Bending Steel”. Standing at 6′ 04″ and weighing in at just over 300 #’s Chris has performed a wide range of world class strength feats such as bending 6″, 8″, & 10″ adjustable wrenches into “S” shapes, bending 3/8″ x 12″ steel spikes with just his hands while using an overhand grip, and even pulling airplanes & braking chains with his HAIR! Speaking of chain breaking, that brings us to Chris’ guest post.

How to Break a Chain, the Classic Feat of Strength

A lot of the strongman performers throughout history have incorporated the feat of breaking chains into their shows at one time or another. Not only is this a great visual feat but it also captivates the audience and furthers the strengthening and toughening of the performer.

Many styles of this feat have been deployed and adapted over the years. Strongmen like The Mighty Atom and his protege Slim the Hammerman Farman would use a belt and break the chain with expansion of the chest cavity.

Others like Dennis Rogers and Tommy Heslep would fasten the chain to the floor in some manner and break it with a one hand dead lift style motion. Steve “the Crusher” Weiner would attach the chain to the floor and break it with a head harness.

I generally perform the feat similar to this but I don’t use my hand or a head harness – I use my HAIR. Still others like Stanless Steel and Irish strongman John McGrath would simply grab the chain and pull it apart with just their hands. This is the style I am going to discus here.

The Type of Chain to Use for Chain Breaking

First off let’s talk about the chain to use. It is a non-welded link chain referred to as “jack chain” or “single jack chain”. I have seen jack chain made from aluminum, brass, steel, or stainless steel. Steel variations can be raw uncoated steel, galvanized, nickel plated, etc. The coatings generally do not affect the strength of the chain only the appearance and the ability to inhibit rust formation. The strength comes from the make up of the underlying steel. Steel is the most commonly available and more often than not has a coating on it.

Chain Size and Breaking Strength

Now let’s discus sizing. Jack chain is described by what is known as trade sizes. The larger the trade size number the smaller the chain. A good size to start with for breaking with the hands for someone who regularly trains their hands is #12. From there is #10 (a respectable feat), #8 (which can take around 300 pounds of pressure to fully separate), and finally the largest of the jack chains #6 (which fully separates at around 400 pounds of pressure).

Now these poundage numbers are not the same as chain working load limit numbers. In an industrial setting chain failure occurs when the link opens just enough for the interlocking link to pass through. This is a much different thing than fully parting the chain in a direct pull. These numbers will also differ from one manufacturer to another depending on the grade of steel wire used to form the link and the overall link design. If you decide that this is something you would like to pursue, get chains from different manufacturers of the same trade size and find what you like best – everyone will have different preferences.

Safety Precautions in Chain Breaking

Next let’s discus safety precautions. As with any feat of strength there are inherent risks associated. Since the hands are the contact point to the chain, they will need to be protected.

A heavy leather/canvas set of work gloves should satisfy this. There are sharp edges on the ends of every link, without gloves those edges will dig directly into the hands. When the chain parts it could easily cut or tear away the flesh of the hands. Quality heavy industrial style gloves are a must for this reason.

Both gloves and jack chain up to size #10 are widely available at most hardware and home improvement type stores.

How to Break a Chain with Your Hands

Now that the chain and gloves are covered let’s move into the feat itself. Start with a length of chain somewhere around 3 to 4 feet in length. Trial and error will soon let you know what length chain works best for you. Everyone will have a different preference with their hand width and thickness and how many times they are comfortable wrapping the chain around their hands.

With gloves on, grasp one end of the chain in each hand. The end should be near the pinky side of the palm. With the chain held in place with the finger tips, wrap the chain around the back of the hand and up the palm again over-lapping the end so it does not slip under tension. Repeat this as many times as desired.

When finished there should be one to three links visible between the thumbs of the clenched fists.

Now take the non-dominant hand and post it to the outside of the non-dominant leg about mid thigh. Squeeze the chain securely in your grip and pull with the dominant hand and break the chain. This motion is very similar to the one used for bending horseshoes.

Speaking of horseshoes, pulling on chain in this manner with a size you are unable to part or with a welded link chain has an isometric training effect that can help improve your horseshoe pulling power.

I am a firm believer in working directly with what it is you want to get better or stronger at, but this is one of the occasions where one feat has carryover into another. There are dynamics to both of these feats that can compliment each other and there are also elements that are unique to each feat.

Other Safety Precautions for Chain Breaking

Another aspect to be aware of with chain breaking with the hands in the manner described above is the possibility to hyper extend the non-dominant arm. If effort is being exerted in a downward motion with the posting hand and the chain gives way, there is no longer resistance to that force and the extension range is not substantial enough for proper deceleration to occur. Point being, post with the posting hand and limit the downward thrust – focus on pulling with the dominant hand instead. This will somewhat lessen the size of chain you will be breaking but in the long run I feel it will develop greater power and a more conditioned body for this feat while lowering the risk factor for injury.

With this introduction to chain breaking with the hands you will be able to build power to compliment your horseshoe bending, train isometrically for increased strength, join those who have gone before us in the realm of strongmanism, and add an impressive feat to your resume.

There you have it, what you need to get started with chain breaking. That is one of the many feats that are featured in the upcoming film “Bending Steel”. To learn more about that film, it’s story, release date, and cast go to http://www.bendingsteelmovie.com and watch the special teaser videos with clips from the film. There are even clips of the “Coney Island Strongman Spectacular” that Rider coordinated with Coney Islands Adam “The First Real Man” Rinn. The show that received “Time Out New York’s Critics Pick” and was given press by the New York Times & the New Yorker! At http://www.bendingsteelmovie.com there is also a way where YOU can be a part of this movie too!

In strength,
Chris “Hairculese” Rider

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