For all coaches and athletes:

Here is a stone training tip guaranteed to help your athletes transition from conventional training means to non-conventional / strongman training.

You will find your athletes who have been trained primarily trained in deadlifts only, have a hard time stabilizing and adjusting to implements that are not fixed, rigid or lifted in close proximity to their own center of gravity.

In this example, we are talking about lifting atlas stones.

Nine times out of ten, their lower back strength is the culprit when trying to elevate the stone off the ground.

The solution? Shorten the range of motion. I just finished a workout with one of my wrestlers who couldn’t budge the 160 stone off the ground (at 155 lbs bw), but he can deadlift a lot more than that.

So I lifted the stone on top of one of my tractor tires and had him perform hip extensions for sets of 6-8. This not only conditions his hips and lower back for this position, but also his biceps.

As he becomes more proficient at the movement, you will lower the platform the stone is resting on, until he is performing the full range movement off the ground.

If you don’t have a tire, have your athletes work with the stones off a bench, a chair or a platform.

Keep training, good luck.

Smitty

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• How to Begin Training with the Atlas Stones
• Diesel Stone Lifting Chronicles – Part 1
• 7 Reasons to Start Lifting Stones
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• More Medley Training for Serious Athletes

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