My name is Steve Slater. I developed the Slater’s Stone Mold and I have made many world record atlas stones for the best competitors and the best strongman competitions in the world.

Making stones for this level of competition involves a painstaking process in order to control many variables.

In reality, if you are going to make stones, you might as well make them to the best of your ability. After all, you want your homemade atlas stones to be something you can be proud of, train with for years, and show off to visitors who come to your facility.

With all of that in mind, I’d like to share with you some of the steps I have found to work the best in making high quality stones. I am convinced that if you too follow these steps, you will also be able to make stones worthy of being used in competitions on some of the biggest stages, so here we go…

Strength and Resiliency of the Stone

When you make a world record stone, it has to be strong, have a clean surface and be well balanced or attempting to lift it can be disastrous.

Some of the world record stones have as much as 300 pounds of lead added into the center of the stone, so you need to make sure the stone is strong enough to hold this large amount of lead to avoid any cracking or breaking.

In addition, the surface of the stone must be smooth and solid in order for tacky to work properly.

The Story of the Disintegrating Stone

In the way of stone making, I have made my share of mistakes and that’s one of the reasons why I’m writing this article so you don’t. I can remember when I made the record breaking stone for the world’s strongest woman, Jill Mills. I did not finish the surface properly and used a standard grade concrete, which resulted in the tacky pulling off of the surface of the stone while Jill was lifting it during the world record attempt.

I will never forget when, in front of thousands of spectators, after Jill attempted to lift the stone and failed, Jill said, “Steve the stone is falling apart!”

Jill Mills

She was able to lift the stone on the second attempt, and when she finished she had small chunks of concrete and dust all over her arms and hands that the tacky had pulled off the stone. The weak stone surface made the lift more difficult because the tacky wasn’t able to work properly.

Since this incident, I have come up with a solution to this problem. In this article I will explain the techniques to making a stronger, more efficient stone.

How to Make Atlas Stones

After determining the stone size you want to make, the first step is to purchase the appropriate Slater’s Stone Mold. Keep in mind, Slater’s offers inserts to alter the weight of your stone.

For now, we’ll focus on making a stone without any inserts.

Step One: Lubricating the Mold

Lube the inside of the mold. We suggest silicone or Triflow Teflon, both of which you can purchase from Slater’s.

Spray it on, and use a paper towel or rag to spread it evenly inside the mold. I then put the mold together, and tape it using 2-3” Gorilla Tape.

While doing this, I check inside the mold several times to make sure that no gap has occurred at the parting line which is the seam where the mold comes together. If a gap has been created, I press down on the mold while I apply more tape to that area. When in doubt of how much tape to apply, use more.

Step Two: Shrink Wrapping the Mold

The next step is shrink-wrapping the mold. We offer a 5” shrink wrap, which allows for easy wrapping. Wrapping the mold is not only to support the mold, but to keep the concrete from sticking to the surface of it, by creating a barrier that you can remove.

After the mold is wrapped, place it in two old car tires, so that it is supported when you pour the concrete into the mold. Using two tires instead of one will make sure that the bottom of the mold will not touch the ground and result in a flat spot on the bottom of the stone.

Step Three – Mixing the Concrete

The next step is to mix the concrete. I have a special complicated concrete formula that I use for my Slater’s Stones. However, I will explain a more basic formula for you to make your own quality stones.

Quikrete 5000 works well or any type of Sakrete concrete mix. You may also add Portland cement to the mix to add extra strength. This is also a good product to use to make the mixture thicker if it turns out to be very wet.

To mix the concrete, I prefer a concrete mixer, but a hoe and wheelbarrow will also work. As another efficient and inexpensive option, we also offer a reusable concrete mixing bag.

How Much Concrete?

Make sure to buy the same weight in concrete that you want your stone to weigh, so that you have extra in case you spill some or make any other mistakes along the way. You will have some extra because the water you add to the mix will account for some weight too.

How Much Water?

For example, if you are making a 150 pound stone, buy 150 pounds of concrete. For a solid mixture, add about 1 gallon of water per 80 pounds of concrete mix. Combine these two parts completely so it is a smooth mix, not soupy and not clumpy. If it is soupy add some Portland cement or more dry concrete mix.

Pouring the Concrete into the Mold

Once you have everything prepared, add the mixed concrete into the mold, using a funnel. You want to add the mix in small batches. I prefer to add the concrete in about 90 pound increments because it is standard for concrete mix to come in 80 pound bags and the water accounts for about 10 lbs.

Once I add 90 lbs in I will shake the mold and slightly bounce it to get the mix to settle. I then mix up more concrete and once I add the next batch I will probe a broom handle up and down and stir some to blend the two mixes together. Then I will shake the mold and slightly bounce it again.

I do this until the mold is filled. Once it is completely filled I will add some more mix to slightly over fill the mold. I will then let it sit for 10 minuets or so and then go back to the mold and press some slightly dry mix into the mold if water has settled to the top. This will help to force some water out.

There are times when I will press a brick into the full mold thus pushing some of the mix tighter to the side of the mold walls helping to make a smoother top surface. If I do the brick technique I will also top it off as I described above. I will then tap the mold with a rubber mallet around 50 to 100 times driving more water out. You will probably need to add some more dry mix to the top after the tapping to keep the water from settling to the top. Too much water on the top can cause weakness on that part of the stone or an excessive flat spot (or both).

I usually keep the mold together for 2-3 days if it the temperature outside is above 60 degrees or so. If it is colder out, or if the ambient temperature of your building or room is less than 50 degrees, then I will leave the stone packaged to sit for 5 days.

Once the two to five days have passed, it is time to remove the mold. The first step is to remove the tape and use the provided tap stick to separate the mold. I also have a mold release I use that is available on Slatershardware.com to make the separation process easier, called High-Performance Mold Release (12oz).

What if There Are Holes in the Stone?

Occasionally, after removing the mold, the atlas stone will have some holes. If you do have some holes in the stone you can patch them with concrete resurfacer. I make sure I wet the stone prior to adding the resurfacer and I only add it to the holes. I then take an old damp t-shirt or cloth and pull it across the filled holes. This will help to push the mix into the holes and wipe it off the solid surface of the stone. You really don’t want the patch on the solid surface of the stone as it will most likely come off on your tacky while you lift the stone. Be accurate and conservative when applying the patch. Fill the holes but don’t get it all over the place.

Training with Your New Atlas Stone

I always suggest waiting at least 5 days before training with new stones. Stones need time to dry, and 5 days is usually a pretty safe bet, especially if you will be dropping them from shoulder height or off platforms. After all, you do not want to damage the stone you just worked so hard at building.

I hope this article proves to be helpful for you in making your atlas stones. Stone lifting is an extremely beneficial activity if you are interested in developing serious real world strength that is applicable to other forms of training and other sports.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

Stay Strong.

Steve Slater

Get Your Atlas Stone Molds: Slater Stone Molds

Need to Learn Stone Lifting Technique? Pick up the Fundamentals of Stone Lifting DVD.

Want to go even further with implementing Strongman Training in your program? Check out the Introduction to Strongman Training DVD – click the banner below.

Today I have an awesome guest post from Steve Slater. Steve and I teamed up on the Intro to Strongman Training DVD and he recently put together an article on how he approaches Stone Lifting when he works with new guys in the sport. I just did a Strongman Workshop with Steve two weekends ago and he is loaded with knowledge on Strongman. Look for more articles and videos from Steve down the line. Enjoy!

Atlas Stone Training for Beginner Strongman Competitors

Atlas Stones are a fundamental test of strength in many strongman competitions, and they have also become a staple among strength training enthusiasts who are looking for the ultimate strength workout.

Stones literally tax everything from head to toe. In fact, try not contracting any major muscle group like your legs, glutes, back, chest or biceps during a stone lift, and let’s see if the stone even comes off the ground – fat chance.

When it comes to Atlas Stone training, you’ve just got to know how to do it right! So let’s get into that right now.

LEARNING THE STONES

It’s time to get your hands on some stones and get to work.

At first, it can be easy to get frustrated with atlas stones as they fight you the whole way up. Since they are round, they make your job of lifting them very difficult, and once they start to get loose on you, they often win the battle.

Learning how to conquer the atlas stones takes time and requires understanding the proper technique. Once you master the technique you then can really start to work on using the stones to take you to a new level of fitness.

SAFETY FIRST

Stone lifting is generally done by pulling the stone from the ground and either placing it on top of a platform or barrel, or it is put over a bar of a designated height (usually 4 feet or higher). Whatever you choose to lift the stone onto or over, make sure that it is stable. Here are some examples of loading strategies we have used.

Normally, we lift the stone over an adjustable strongman yoke bar. We also at times use solid platforms to load several stones one after the other. To make the platforms, we fastened wood pallets on top of each other, and attached plywood to the front and around all sides. We sometimes use whiskey barrels or oil drums, but if you use a barrel watch out for the lip, as it can be a finger pincher.

With all platforms, please use caution making sure the back side of the platform is braced; this will keep the platform stable so it will not tip if the stone hits it. Once you’re more experienced you can work on shouldering the lighter stones. Incidentally, the world record for a shouldered stone is held by Derek Poundstone. In 2009 he shouldered a massive stone in the range of 420 lbs.

If you practice stone shouldering, make sure you use plenty of rubber mats to drop the stones on. At our club we use four of the 5/8” thick stall mats with plywood under them so we can just drop the stones off of our shoulder or the top platforms without damaging the floor or the stones.

As for lifting the stones, there are some basic cautions to be concerned with for safety.

I have seen athletes twist at the top of a stone load. If you are going heavy or you are doing reps to failure for conditioning, once you get the stone to the tip of the platform, do not pause in that top position longer than a few seconds, and do not twist in order to try to get it onto the platform, as accidents have happened at this point before.

HEIGHT OF PLATFORM

If you use a platform for stone loading, for most stone training I think it is best to use a platform that is around sternum height or somewhere below. This is a good position, especially if you are training for a particular sport that requires hip drive and/or triple extension like a football player exploding off the line of scrimmage or a swimmer leaping off the diving block.

As a variation and progression from the normal platform, we also sometimes use a hanging target. It may be a jump stretch band or a large rope hanging from a rafter or a power rack. We dangle the band or rope from the rack as a goal upon which to touch the stone. When you touch the top of the stone to the bottom of the band, you have achieved your goal. You can also have a partner pull the band/rope up slightly after each successful rep, so you try to increase the height on each rep.

LEARNING THE TECHNIQUE

I will discuss the best way that I have found to lift an Atlas Stone, although we all may lift them slightly differently.

In training, strive to keep good form so you can strengthen your body using the safest way of lifting. As for myself, when it comes to lifting the stone, I first position the stone about 6”-8” away from what I may be loading it onto. I then face the Atlas Stone and straddle my feet over it so that my calves are around 1” from it on both sides. I make sure I stand almost directly over the stone so the balls of my feet are positioned at the center point of it.

Next, I squat down to near parallel, grabbing the stone with my arms straight down and hug the center of it with my forearms and hands trying to get my fingers as far under the stone as possible without smashing them. My finger nails will likely be touching the ground at this point.

I then squeeze hard with my fingers, hands, forearms and begin to pull with my legs and entire back. This is when I think of contracting with everything I have. My legs straighten slightly as the stone begins to come up, although the legs are never completely straight. As the stone starts to pass my knees, I then re-bend my knees back into a near parallel squat and I roll the stone onto my lap. If possible, I also may try to walk my feet in slightly. Since I’m resting the stone on my lap, bringing the feet together will position the stone higher on the abdomen when I start the second part of the lift.

From here, I will reposition my hands more towards the top of the stone maybe about 1/3rd of the way up but not all the way on top or the stone will drop down. Your palms will not be facing each other any longer. They are now angled more towards the ground. I squeeze the stone again and press it against my chest so my chin is as far over the stone as possible. Then I will dip forward and down slightly to get a stretch reflex and pull back explosively with my upper body, forcefully standing up and driving my hips forward.

If I am just lifting the stone to the high chest and then returning it to the floor, I try to keep the center of the stone directly over my feet and lean back slightly to keep my balance. If I am loading the stone to a platform or over a marker, then I will propel it upward and forward, as shown in the image above. If loading on the platform, I also quickly reposition my arms just in case I don’t quite make it and I have to push it fully onto the platform.

BEGINNER WORKOUTS

You now have an idea on technique. Let’s look at how to train with the stones.

For a beginner workout, I suggest you work with a light stone and focus on reps so you get used to the proper technique as well as conditioning your muscles for something they are not used to doing.

Even if you are a very strong athlete, I suggest that you keep to a stone around 200lbs or under to start with. If you are in good condition and you are new to stone lifting, try not to exceed a stone that is anything above 70% of your bodyweight. In other words, if your bodyweight is 100lbs, use about a 70lb stone, or if you weigh around 180lbs you would use about a 130lb stone, plus or minus a few pounds.

Take this stone and load it for 2-3 sets of 5-8 reps and 2-3 times per week for the first three weeks so you work on technique and conditioning. You may be tempted to go heavier, but just remember the best is yet to come so take it slow. Just try to improve your technique with the lighter stone.

For a stone workout that is centered on hardcore conditioning, you might try the following variations. Pick out a lighter stone and break the stone lifting technique down into segments. You will do the following stone lifting segment work for 3 sets of 10 reps.

The first 10 reps will be the LAP, SQUAT, DROP drill. To begin, pick up the stone, LAP it to the SQUAT position and stand up driving hard with the hips, pushing the stone upward and forward as high as you can. Then, DROP the stone on rubber mats and repeat.

For the next 10 reps, try the LAP, SQUAT and RETURN drill. In this drill, you will LAP the stone, SQUAT it up, and then this time RETURN the stone under control to your lap. Do this for 10 reps but DO NOT drop the stone.

Rest again and for the last 10 reps, do the LAP AND DROP drill, lapping the stone and then dropping it back down between your legs. Repeat this for 10 reps.

If you still have some gas in the tank, you might also finish off with 10 reps of bent over rows with an even lighter stone.

Start light with this series of drills because this can leave you exhausted and sore for days.

REVIEW

As you can see, Atlas Stone lifting can be a very beneficial practice that can quickly have you building muscle, burning calories, and becoming more powerful. This is particularly helpful for power and combat athletes that need to drive with the lower body, and also certain professions such as Law Enforcement and Corrections Officers who have to be able to subdue perpetrators.

With all the benefits of stone training, there are some risks involved, but the benefits far outweigh the risks. As you train, start out light and use caution. Also, condition yourself to the stresses of stone lifting. As you progress, you can add equipment into the mix such as loading platforms, hanging targets, and drop areas, and before you know it you will be performing drills for speed, explosiveness, and conditioning. In time, you will be extremely rugged.

For more information on Atlas Stone training and many other types of Strongman Training events, please check out my Strongman DVD, Introduction to Strongman Training. Loaded with technique and safety tips, I can show you how to correctly train like a Strongman or Strongwoman. And whether you ever enter a competition or not, you will definitely be a stronger version of yourself in no time.

Steve Slater
Click here for the Introduction to Strongman DVD

Hello DIESELS!

I wanted to share a note that I got from a member of the Diesel Universe this week about the Intro to Strongman DVD. This comes in from Carlos Rodriguez…

“Thank You Jedd for the Strongman DVD!!! It was freaking Great!!! You and Steve put together a rock solid production that is extremely helpful & fun to watch, both of you kick ass man!!! I will definitely use that info on the warm up section, a lot of stuff I was not aware of!” – Carlos Rodriguez

Thanks Carlos for the awesome report on the Strongman DVD that Steve Slater and I recently put out. It’s great to hear from all of you guys when you pick up a product I put out. I always try to over-deliver on any ebook or DVD I produce. It’s just engrained in me, I guess.

If you haven’t seen out DVD, you can check it out here: Introductory Strongman DVD

As you can see from Carlos’ statement, Steve and I didn’t just cover Strongman Training Technique in this DVD, although that portion of the DVD is, of course, killer and loaded with golden nuggets.

We also wanted to cover the maintenance and recovery side of Strongman Training in this DVD.

In short, we wanted to show you how to do everything safely as well as prepare for awesome workouts and recover from them as well.

With that in mind, the night before we shot the DVD we sat down and mapped out all of the things we had ever heard about that had caused injury to us, our friends, training partners, competitors and others who had reported bumps, bruises, sprains, and strains. We then tried to identify possible causes of the injuries and how to prevent them.

What we found is that a lot of it came from either lack of warm-up or improper technique.

So, we then made sure that we incorporated each item into our outline and instruction.

The Contents of the Strongman DVD

This brought about our Warm-up Section, Support Gear Section and Recovery Section, which as you can see, has been pretty helpful for people who have bought the DVD, especially my boy Carlos, above.

So, if you’re thinking about implementing Strongman Training into your program, you should consider this DVD for sure.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Click the image below to get your copy of the Introduction to Strongman Training DVD…

It didn’t take long for the feedback to start coming in on the Intro to Strongman DVD that Steve Slater and I released last week.

My fellow Pennsylvanian, Mike Puchalski, one of the first to order the DVD, was also the first one to hit me back on it. He writes:

“I watched it last night. I really enjoyed it. A lot of great info on it. Great job bro.”

Thanks a lot for the awesome feedback, Mike!

Also, this morning, I received a mail order from Michael Malfi. Along with his order, he also sent a note and it says:

“This DVD was well over-due for late comers to Strongman like myself. I hope this DVD is well received by the strength community.”

Thanks, Michael. Damn glad to provide you with the information you need to succeed, get strong, and stay healthy!

If you haven’t picked this DVD up yet, I encourage you to do it. Steve Slater and I loaded this thing with solid info on some of the most common Strongman Events, so that anyone looking to get involved would be able to get going on the right foot.

Click the image to order…

After all, working hands-on is the absolute best way to truly learn how to do something right.

So Steve and I put our heads together on how we can make this happen and we decided that there’s no sense in waiting!

On Sunday, July 17, 2011, Steve and I are going to present the first ever Strongman Training Workshop in Lancaster, Ohio.

This will be an information-intensive workshop where we will go over the basics of several powerful strongman events and then you will get the chance to participate by working out on the pieces of equipment.

The Strongman Training Workshop will cover many issues related to proper technique using strongman equipment so the athlete or coach can master the fundamentals of the strongman events. It is well known that strongman events and their dynamics carry over to sport more so than conventional gym lifts however one must use proper technique with these lifts to launch new strength gains.

No matter how strong you are you can always develop better technique to lower the chance of injury and this is what this workshop is about.

We have introduced many athletes to the sport of strongman and the first time they pick up a log, flip a tire or lift a stone, they need instruction on how to do these things properly just like they did with a barbell when they first started.

It is our goal with the Strongman Training Workshop to show you how to use Strongman events to get stronger, healthier and increase your physical performance.

As a BONUS we will also include a seminar by Dr. Eric Serrano, a field expert when it comes to strength training and nutrition. At the conclusion of Dr. Eric Serrano’s seminar Steve Slater will discuss techniques on how he makes his Slater Atlas Stones so you to can make the best stones possible.

This is the layout for this killer Strongman Workshop:

• 8:00 Registration
• 8:30 Networking / Meet-and-Greet
• 9:00 Intro to Strongman Preview
• 9:30 Gear and Warm-ups
• 10:00 Atlas Stones / Odd Objects
• 11:00 Overhead Lifting
• 12:00 Tire and Carrying Events
• 1:00 lunch
• 2:00 Dr. Serrano
• 3:00 Making Atlas Stones with Steve Slater
• 4:00 Review / Q & A
• 5:00 Closing Comments

Each segment will begin with a solid demonstration followed by an intense hands-on break-out section where you will work on the implements as Steve and I coach you and help you progress.

The afternoon will be led by world-renowned Dr. Serrano who will cover nutritional and health practices for ultimate physical strength and performance.

To purchase tickets to this one-of-a-kind workshop, please use the buttons below.

We will also be selling tickets for just Dr. Serrano’s talk, starting at 2 PM. Dr. Serrano is an expert on sports performance and will be talking about nutrition, soft tissue care & regeneration, supplementation, and other topics for athletes and coaches interested in high level training.

We will be training at the Slater Strength Field, where Steve does the majority of his training, located at 1700 W. FAIR AVE in LANCASTER OH 43130.

Because of the hands-on emphasis we have planned for this workshop, we can only accept 10 trainees for the training portion of the day. I know more than that have asked about something like this, but I don’t want to get too many people there and not get the full value out of the training.

Due to limited seating for Dr. Serrano’s presentation, we must limit this portion to 60 participants.

I look forward to working with you in Lancaster on July 17!

All the best,

Jedd

P.S. Because of our schedules and the distance we live from one another, we are unsure when Steve and I will be able to do another Strongman Workshop. If you want the best instruction from two natural athletes who have competed in the Sport and worked with dozens of other athletes over the years, then make sure you sign up for this workshop TODAY!

Hello DIESELS!

I want to take a minute and tell you a bit about the DVD I released this week called Introduction to Strongman Training.

You can get it right now, right here = > Introduction to Strongman Training.

If you have just recently found out about the site, you may not realize that I used to do Strongman Competitions.

The truth is, Strongman was my first true love in the strength training world. I began in 2003, pretty much on a whim.

Smitty called me up one day in April (I think) and said, “Hey we’re doing a Strongman Contest.”

“When?” I asked.

“August,” he said.

“OK,” I replied.

Until then it was, “Hey we’re going to do a Bodybuilding Show,” or “Hey, we’re going to do an Olympic meet,” and each time it never really took place, but I didn’t really care because all that really interested me was getting big. I wasn’t even that concerned about being cut, I just wanted to be big.

When Smitty had made these announcements we would usually modify our training to include more intensity around the particular goal. For instance, we started doing more giant set style training when we were going to do a bodybuilding show and we embraced the full Olympic style lifts when we were going to do an Olympic meet.

We just never ended up fully committing to those things, so they never came true. The Strongman contest ended up being a different story, though, because we laid the entry fee out there. Once we were financially committed, there was no turning back.

Sorry ladies, he’s married

I think the reason this full-on commitment took place this time was mainly because of CJ Murphy from TPS (above). He readily posted on the DR Squat forum, and at the time so did Smitty.

I barely knew what forums were back then. In fact, when I first joined the forum, I would log in as “Napalm Jedd” and find posts that Smitty had put up and I would go in and tell Smitty he was a punk, or a wuss, or that his information was wrong, etc., etc., etc. At the time I thought all of the people on forums were a bunch of nerds or something for spending so much time on the internet.

However, at some point, I saw some things that Murph from TPS had posted about applying Westside Speed Training to Stone Lifting (Which I had just recently learned about also) and it all caught my attention.

So, we had no Strongman equipment, at all. No log, no stones, no tires, no thick bars, nothing, except for a #1 Gripper. “Screw it, we’ll figure that shit out,” we figured.

One of our first procurements was a keg. My dad grew up with a guy that owned a beer distributor so I walked in there and asked for some kegs. He gave me a bunch of what he called “retired” kegs. We did the majority of our Strongman training with the half keg we filled with water. The keg’s shape lends itself to Atlas Stone training, Log Clean, Log Press, etc very well.

Of course, we had no farmer’s walk handles either. We started out holding 110-lb Dumbbells and running down the hallway in our gym, dodging people who were walking towards us and passing people who were in front of us. Utter mayhem. I remember this one dude Mark did them with us one time and used straps to hold the dumbbells – LOSER!

The point of all of this is back then, it was pretty hard to find Strongman equipment for sale, plus it cost you an arm and a leg, so we had to improvise. I thought the work-arounds that we developed worked pretty well for us as well.

One thing that sticks out in my mind is that there was very little information out there for the new strongman competitor. Really, Murph’s DVD’s were all that I remember being able to find. A few workout DVD’s from Pro Strongmen have come out since then, and there’s a couple other DVD’s on the market, but not much.

First Strongman comp, August 2003 at TPS

So the time for the first Strongman comes and I figured I was going to just plain dominate my weight class. All through Baseball and Basketball growing up, I was used to striking everyone out, hitting lots of extra base hits, and over-powering people on the court, so I figured with as hard as I had worked I would walk through all of my competition.

And, I did well, but I didn’t win. I think I finished either third or fourth, which really only meant I lost.

That initial loss was probably why I got so interested in excelling at Strongman. If I had won, I probably would have lost interest and just gone back to my regular training. But since I didn’t win, it pushed me even harder.

I continued to compete at Strongman until 2006. I went back to the TPS contest in 2004 and finished second and then won it in 2005, becoming Massachusetts Strongest Man for the under 265 weight class. Remind me sometime to tell you about the 2004 contest… I also won the title of Maryland’s Strongest Man in 2004 and 2005.

Aside from becoming “Strongest Man” in a couple of states, I also did well in non-sanctioned prize money contests. I won a bunch of cash in 2005 at the Wise Wellness Strongman Contest and won a bunch more at a contest called Strength Fest – that was 2005 also. If I remember correctly, I got beat by a few dudes at the Wise Wellness show in like June and then came back and beat the same dudes easily in August.

My good buddy, Rick Walker, Don Pope, and Me

In fact, the only dude that beat me at Strength Fest was Don Pope, who is/was a Pro Strongman that competed in the World Championship on ESPN that year. That was a pretty proud accomplishment of mine.

In 2006, I started having a lot of back injuries, re-aggravating an old baseball injury and it was all downhill from there, and my last competition was in August of that year.

However, I have always continued to do many of the strongman and odd object lifts that don’t bother my back. For instance, the Log, I feel, will always be a staple of my weekly routine. I rarely miss a Log workout in a week. I just plane love the Strongman Log!

Other stuff that I do very frequently is Kegs, Sandbags, and Stones. I freakin’ love the medieval feeling of lifting big, bulky stuff.

However, what drives me absolutely insane about Strongman Training is the fact that I have been away from the sport since 2006 and the level of quality information available to new competitors, strength coaches, and hardcore trainees is still limited. In fact if you search Strongman Training DVD you get roughly 6 resources you can pick up.

The Strongman Lifts are very technical. You can’t just walk of to a stone or the log and hoss that thing around and hope to be successful, unless you are an absolute freak or the load is very, very light.

Not to mention the fact that if you go into Strongman Training blind you could end up getting injured.

So, I was talking with Steve Slater last Fall. Steve Slater is the guy who invented the first Atlas Stone molds. He has poured more stones than anyone else that walks the earth. I wanted to talk to him about selling some of his equipment on my website, including Stones because I usually get about one email per month about someone asking about them.

As we spoke, we both became more and more irritated at the fact that the knowledge base for Strongman Training has grown very little over the years, and we decided we would get together and do a DVD that could be used by anybody who wanted to start including Strongman in their training, whether they were competitors, coaches, or enthusiasts.

In November of last year, I was in Ohio for a Grip contest and after the comp I stayed at Steve’s house. The following day we went to his buddy’s gym where they did inside Strongman Training and we shot our product.

And now, the Strongman DVD is ready. You can see it here = > Introduction to Strongman Training

I am pretty proud of this DVD, because I think it is the best one I have done, for many reasons.

First off, the footage turned out AMAZING. The quality is pristine because I used my Flip Cam and it produced video that is more crisp than some DVD’s I have spent $60+ for.

Next, the audio came out great. Sometimes when you shoot outside, you get a ton of background noise. This happens to me any time I shoot outside. We shot the Yoke and Farmers portions of the video outside but the background traffic had next to no effect on the video!

Also, I am very proud of the text and overlays I built into the final product. I had my good buddy Rory from StrongerDesigns.com helping me with the art and it all came out awesome.

So, to say the least I am pretty damn happy about this DVD, and I think you will too.

Again, if you want to compete at Strongman, this DVD is for you. If you are a coach that wants to include Strongman implements, Odd Objects, Tires, etc, into your athletic program, this is for you. And if you are just a dude that isn’t happy with a conventional workout and want to include something new like Strongman in your program, then you should get this thing.

If you have any questions on this, leave your comments below, as it is just about time for me to take the baby to the sitter. If I get her out of her schedule, she likes to pick up Odd Objects, herself, and throw them, like stools, my cardboard foam roller, and my cell phone.

All the best in your training!

Jedd