Atlas Stone Lifting

20-inch Diameter Stones weighing in the 320-530lb Range

Want to Learn to Lift Atlas Stones?
Check Out This DVD:
Stone Lifting Fundamentals DVD

I have a few sayings I’m known for.

One of them is, “It’s not about how much you lift, It’s about how much you LOVE Lifting.”

What that means is, lifting is about being passionate about something and doing it with fire.

Lifting is about setting goals to always be improving.

Lifting is about feeling good, and feeling good about yourself.

So, a couple months ago, or so, when I really took a look at some of my training, I came to realize I wasn’t following my own advice.

The whole idea about that saying is that you should be pushing yourself because you love lifting.

It has nothing to do with pushing yourself so hard that you reach your goals at the expense of everything and everyone else.

But, there I was, trying to reach some goals related to the Barbell Bench Press, and instead of getting closer, I was coming further and further away each session because the exercise was tearing my shoulders up, and leaving me in pain.

It’s now been the better part of this year, that I have quit Benching with the Bar, and moved exclusively to Dumbbell Bench Press. And although my numbers were completely embarrassing at first, I now feel like I’m living more in tune with my beliefs.

And, after a couple months, or however long it’s been, I’m starting to see some good increases, feeling better in the shoulders, and I think even seeing a bit of growth.

I LOVE LIFTING, but I think I was coming severely close to having the majority of my training SHUT DOWN due to the pain I was feeling in my shoulders.

I encourage you to do the same as well – by all means train hard – don’t just go through the motions in the gym.

But, if there’s a movement that is tearing you up inside, don’t feel the need to push through pain and suffer because of it.

Remember…It ain’t about how much you lift. It’s about how much you LOVE lifting.

All the best in your training.

-Jedd-

P.S. Along these lines, I want to help you out as much as I can, to get you to your goals. And that means helping you learn to do your goal lifts properly and as safely as possible.

Check Out the the Special Offer I’ve Got Going On This Week:

Get Introduction to Strongman Training AND Stone Lifting Fundamentals TOGETHER and SAVE $20! CLICK HERE or click the images below …

Strongman Training For Powerlifters

by Ian Driscoll

Coming from a powerlifting background and previous to that, a kid who just wanted to get bigger and stronger for high school sports, strongman training has proved to be the most effective and fun training that I have ever done.

Strongman training is hard, damn hard. However, the benefits are hard to ignore whether your goal is to add slabs of muscle mass, becoming a more explosive athlete or simply put pounds on your gym lifts.

Getting Started in Strongman Training

First I’ll start off with a little bit of personal history. My first year of college, I was a hungry 18 year old powerlifter looking to up my game. I had always enjoyed strongman competitions on TV and decided I was going to give it a shot.

I drove two and a half hours to a garage gym known as Jobe’s Steel Jungle every weekend. There I had the opportunity to experience what “Strongman Sunday’s” were all about. Log presses, axle presses, deadlifts (of all varieties), keg loading, stone loading, yoke walks, farmers walks, sandbag carries, and sled pulls are a list in a vague memory of what I have done there.

On these weekends I only did three or four strongman events and I was left exhausted. The two and a half hour drive back was always euphoric. My t-shirt was stained with sweat, tacky, and chalk but the recent memory of strongman training was all that was on my mind.

My Improvement in the Powerlifts from Strongman Training

This weekly strongman training carried over to my powerlifting in a noticeable way. I used to have trouble stabilizing my body under 405 pounds in a squat. I would look like a baby giraffe coming out of the womb. Heavy yoke walks took care of that problem. The yoke walks taught me how to create tension and brace my body. Instead of having a coach tell me abstractly how to create tension and brace the trunk, I threw myself under a heavy yoke, kept my body as upright as possible and I learned exceptionally quick what bracing and creating tension feels like.

I used to have problems double overhand deadlifting anything over 315 pounds. Farmers walks took care of that, something about walking with 260 pounds in each hand for 100 feet will cure most grip problems. My deadlift and squat were suffering from the inability of pushing the hips through. I loaded a stone 20 times in a row, you have no choice but to learn how to use the hips.

Enough about my personal experience; here’s how strongman training can benefit you:

Benefits of Strongman Training

Loaded Triple Extension:
Triple extension is simply the simultaneous extension of the ankles, knees, and hips. Classic barbell lifts such as the squat, deadlift, and power clean demonstrate this.

With strongman implements, one can take it a bit further. Loading an atlas stone to a relatively high platform trying not to let the stone break one’s spine in half or flipping a heavy tractor tire will have one go from a deep squat position through to the tippy toes. With these implements being odd objects, the awkwardness is a nice change of pace and the technique is not as comprehensive as a barbell lift.

There is something primal about flipping an 800 pound tire or loading a 300 pound stone. For powerlifters, we don’t need to go extremely heavy with strongman implements. Just getting out of the gym and doing something exciting that provokes hard work is beneficial. We can argue all day about what is optimal or what’s best for triple extension and to be honest I see a lot more carryover from strongman based triple extension movements to the gym than what the gym brings to strongman.

Bracing the trunk:
In order to walk with 600 pounds in the hands, 800 pounds on the back, or load something over 300 pounds to a platform it is critical to brace the trunk. It is impossible to do any of these disciplines efficiently without bracing effectively. Yes, one can learn how to brace the trunk very well in a squat, bench press, or deadlift but walking with the weights one can deadlift or squat takes the bracing concept to a whole new level and makes them more efficient when they go back to traditional squatting, bench pressing or deadlifting.

Grip strength:
Bearhug walking with a heavy keg, farmers walks or doing some axle deadlifts will develop that manly handshake and improve upon the ability to lift heavier weights. It is called the law of irradiation, the harder an individual can squeeze something, the more efficiently the chain of muscles can be utilized. Nothing fancy here, just hard, grueling work.

Explosiveness:
Along with loaded triple extension, and bracing the trunk that aid in explosiveness, strongman events are supposed to be done fast. Things are timed in strongman, we need to be as efficient as possible. A classic example of developing explosiveness would be tire flips as fast as possible for 50 feet or cleaning a heavy axle up to the shoulders. Personally, there is a direct correlation to the speed of my power lifts when I add in strongman training.

Mental strength:
What makes strongman appealing to me is the amount of mental strength it takes to endure the events. There have been a couple times I literally thought that I was going to die. Everyone wants to set down a heavy yoke, drop the farmers when their shoulders feel like their being pulled out of socket, let go of an atlas stone when it rips into their forearm, grind through a 15th rep on a deadlift for reps or drop the log when it is crushing their lungs. The intense commitment and desire to plow through these mental barriers is, to me, invaluable.

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How to add strongman events to a powerlifting routine?

There are many ways to go about doing this. Here are a couple of examples…

Full Strongman Day:
I suggest replacing a gym day for an event day if one is lucky enough to have access to the implements. For example, you can get your main powerlifting work done during the week, and then do your Strongman Training on Saturday or Sunday.

Strongman Lifts as Accessory Movements:
Another way to add Strongman Training is by using strongman events in place of other accessory movements. For example, after deadlift training one could hit five sets of five on tire flips, instead of straight leg deads. Another example would be an axle clean and press for three sets of five after bench training. An additional example could be three sets of 50 feet on yoke walks after squatting.

The options are limitless, but one must be smart about it. Strongman training has a funny way of leaving the body in a pile of ash if one gets carried away. One event day consisting of three events or substituting a main accessory for a similar strongman event.

Wrapping it Up

In summary, strongman training is great. On the other hand, it is not the end all be all of training. A lot of elite level powerlifters have never touched strongman equipment. For strength athletes, strongmen included, the classic barbell lifts are going to be the priority of a training system. My thoughts and ideas are to give you a few tools you can try out on your own and see if they aid in your strength sport. There is a time and a place for several tools, I am under the impression strongman training is one of those under-utilized tools that has a great carryover to the powerlifts.

-Ian Driscoll-

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New Strongman Trainees: Get Your Technique Right with out DVD,
Introduction to Strongman Training. It covers everything you need to know
to perform the most common and beneficial events the right way.
Click the banner below or go to this link => Strongman Training DVD

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I recently attended a seminar with several other fitness guys, many of whom were personal trainers and strength coaches. After one of the talks, it was time to get some coffee and one of the personal trainers, Lance, came over and talked to me.

He told me that he trains in some major chain gym with a bunch of machines and not a speck of chalk in the place at all. (If I had to train in a place like that, I might last two weeks before I went to another gym, just not my kind of long-term place)

So, as it turns out, Lance is sick of this place too. He said he just doesn’t think all the machines are helping him or his clients build “Real World Strength.”

He basically said, “What is sitting on a padded seat pushing against weight-stack resistance going to do to help me be strong enough to push a car out of a ditch?”

Ya know what? Lance is right.

Machines just don’t cut it when it comes to building the kind of strength that you need when your car is stuck in a ditch, or if you have to carry a giant recliner down a flight of stairs.

That’s why I like Strongman Training.

Strongman Training, especially in the sense of lifting big, round, odd objects, like Stones, Sandbags, and Kegs, helps you develop the kind of strength that you can call on when you need it.

When you train with bulky implements like those, you literally feel like you can lift anything that crosses your path.

That kind of confidence can really come in handy in “Real World” situations.

So, now Lance is on a MISSION. He has a two-car garage just like mine and he wants to start Strongman Training.

But, he wanted to know what Strongman Gear and what types of Strongman Lifts he should focus on.

So, I told him about the Top 5 Strongman Training Lifts I suggest.

Top 5 Strongman Lifts/Events that Build REAL WORLD STRENGTH

1. Log Lift / Overhead Lifting

Bill Kazmaier – Log Lift

I LOVE Overhead Lifting and for that reason my favorite implement is the Log. It builds tremendous overhead strength, and it makes you develop a strong Core, Grip, and Power, especially when you perform dynamic overhead lifts.

2. Atlas Stones

Loading Atlas Stones

When you lift atlas stones, it makes you feel like you are capable of superhuman feats. There’s just something awesome about pulling a big, ugly, round stone off the ground and then either popping it up onto a platform or dropping it right back to earth (train outside if you are going to drop it, ha ha ha)

3. The Yoke

Phil Pfister – Refrigerator Yoke Walk

The Yoke is an implement that you carry across your shoulders. I absolutely HATE this event, but it makes you RUGGEDLY STRONG both physically and mentally. A heavy-ass Yoke draped across your back wants to crush you into the ground like a soda can, but you don’t let it. You just take one step at a time and show it who is boss.

4. The Tire Flip

Ready for the Tire Flip

You would be surprised at how big of a tire you can flip. Flipping a giant industrial tire may seem like a daunting task, but when you apply the strength you have worked to build with the proper technique, like I show you here, you can EXCEED your own expectations.

5. Farmer’s Walk / Frame Carry

Derek Poundstone – Frame Carry

This lift just plain makes a MONSTER out of you. Obviously, this exercise builds your Grip Strength, which is something I LOVE, but it also beefs up your Traps, Shoulders, Erectors, and Glutes. I like this exercise so much, I generally do it TWICE A WEEK.

There you have it – in my opinion the TOP 5 LIFTS from the world of Strongman Training. If you do these lifts, I guarantee you will develop strength that you can use in MANY other facets of life where you need to be able to lift heavy, bulky stuff.

The only caveat I would throw out there is NOT to try these lifts until you know the proper technique, so you can GET THE MOST OUT OF THEM.

If you need to learn the technique for these lifts, all you need to do is go here: Strongman Training DVD

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Many times over the years I have heard statements like the following:

“I don’t train arms, because I am not a bodybuilder, I am a strength athlete.”

“I don’t train arms, because I do rows.”

“I don’t do curls, because I only do multi-joint exercises.”

“I don’t do curls, because blah blah blah.”

I will be honest, I have even made statements such as these in the past because I thought it was a waste of time.

After all, for quite some time, I didn’t do dedicated Bicep Training and my arms are still bigger than most people’s.

However, ever since this past August when I watched a friend tear his bicep during a grip contest, I have taken a different viewpoint on this “issue.”

I talk about it in this video:

(more…)

Many times over the years I have heard statements like the following:

“I don’t train arms, because I am not a bodybuilder, I am a strength athlete.”

“I don’t train arms, because I do rows.”

“I don’t do curls, because I only do multi-joint exercises.”

“I don’t do curls, because blah blah blah.”

I will be honest, I have even made statements such as these in the past because I thought it was a waste of time.
After all, for quite some time, I didn’t do dedicated Bicep Training and my arms are still bigger than most people’s.
However, ever since this past August when I watched a friend tear his bicep during a grip contest, I have taken a different viewpoint on this “issue.”
I talk about it in this video:

(more…)

I am pumped up to post today’s entry on the Blog. This one comes from Daniel Reinard.

This dude has made incredible progress within the ranks of Grip Sport in a very short time. His improvements in such a short time are comparable to some of the very best in the sport.

I think part of that progress is due to the fact that he is constantly looking to build overall strength and not just get good at Grip Lifts. This pursuit for all-around strength development was evident when he picked up our instructional DVD on Strongman Training. Considering Daniel’s background is in rock climbing, strongman work isn’t really the natural progression, but he understands the importance of full body strength and power to improving overall performance.

Check out his review of our DVD and our customer service, something I have always worked hard to be on top of:

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First thing’s first. Jedd’s customer service is nothing but top notch. I’ve bought several DVDs and pieces of equipment over the last couple years from him. His quick shipments and customer follow-up make for the most comfortable of transactions. He genuinely wants everyone to enjoy his products and to receive the maximum benefits they can achieve. I recently purchased the Intro to Strongman DVD and ran into a most unusual predicament.

I immediately watched half the DVD at home before heading to work. I proceeded to try watching the last half on my work computer. This did not fare well. The computer drive tore the hell out of that DVD, rendering it completely unreadable, even back at home. I sent Jedd an email thanking him for quick shipment and an excellent first half of the DVD. He was not content with me only knowing part of the DVD, particularly the fact I’ll never be able to revert back to watch it again because as a noob strongman I will need to focus on technique to stay injury free. Watching only part and then never again was setting myself up for an injury. Jedd sent out another DVD right away. I cannot thank him enough for this. He is really about making sure customers not only receive their purchase but can gain the most out of their journey.

The DVD Jedd Johnson and Steve Slater put together is packed with lots of technique instruction on core strongman lifts and also packed with prehab/rehab with an injury free focus on the lifts. What that says about these guys is that their concern is you will enjoy their product for as long as you wish. This isn’t a “how to be a competing strongman in 60 minutes” DVD, or any other fad how-to DVD that is all hype and no common sense. These guys spend a lot of time growing strength sports and they not only know how to get you into strongman, but they know how to keep you in strongman.

The DVD is broken down into nice segments that make it easy to pull up a chapter on a particular subject. Each segment moves quickly yet is full of information. Information covered includes prehab/ rehab work, personal gear, technique do’s and don’ts, common mistakes, and visual demonstrations. The experience showed when the don’ts and common mistakes of each lift were explained. This is extremely valuable information!

Overall the DVD is a great purchase if someone is looking to get started in Strongman. I’m very happy to have purchased it. I know I’ll be watching it many times as I take on the various lifts over the course of my strength journey.

Daniel Reinard

Rock Climber

Grip Athlete

Strongman Sport Trainee

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Thanks for the kind words, Daniel. Keep up the great work in all your strength endeavors.

If anyone else is looking for top quality information on Strongman Training, look no further, because Steve and I lay everything out for you that you need in Intro to Strongman Training.

All the best,

Jedd

Some quick thoughts today on the Overhead Press. Some of these I have shared with you before, but they have been spread out all over the site and you might not have seen them. Hopefully these will help you improve at the overhead press.

How to Improve on the Overhead Lifts

1. Work the Overhead Lifts Regularly

Make sure you are doing some form of overhead lifting in your program on a regular basis, provided you are healthy enough for it, meaning you have no injuries that could get compounded or aggravated by doing the lifts. I like to overhead lift at least once a week, and sometimes I will get in two workouts within a 7-day period.

More Related Posts:
Improve Weaknesses in Your Press

2. Use Many Different Types of Overhead Lifts

Do not do only one type of overhead lift. Even if your main goal is to improve in one specific type of overhead lifting, other types of overhead lifting will serve to strengthen individual portions of the movement pattern as well as give your body a chance to work in different ways and not get beaten up by the same training stimulus all the time.

The reason I point this out is because in my personal experience if I do only Barbell Military Press week in and week out, my workouts seem to get stale and improvement is slower in coming. However if I mix in several different types of pressing as well as overhead lifts using different implements and speeds, then I see better results, like I have been throughout this year.

More Related Posts:
Thoughts on Exercise Selection Here

3. Practice Tension Management

I have used the term Radiant Tension here on this site many times. Gross Tension throughout your body can help you lift more weight. However, some people go overboard with tension. Tension is a skill that must be learned and constantly improved, just like they tell you with your driving skills. To get started with this, try squeezing the barbell or dumbbell handles harder than normal from the time the barbell/log is at your shoulders until the point the implement passes your forearm. You may have to squeeze very hard at first in order to feel the effects of radiant tension, but later on you will understand when you have to squeeze harder than others.

More Related Posts:
Tension Management for Strength Training
How I Improved My Kettlebell Press

4. Improve Movement Quality

There are many more people out there to go into a full discussion on movement quality, assessment, and correction than me. However, I know enough about it to tell you that if your body can’t move right, you can’t get as strong as you want to. I have seen eye-opening results this year after I finally admitted to myself that I had to start improving my movement abilities. As soon as I put emphasis on this, my numbers started improving faster than I ever could have expected.

More Related Posts:
Results of Working Flexibility Between Sets
Upper Body Warm-up for Healthier Shoulders
Addressing Tightness for Increased Pressing Strength

5. Incorporate Heavy Dumbbells

The biggest change in my overhead lifting practices has been the inclusion of heavy dumbbells in my training again. I haven’t had a set over 70-lbs in my gym since I built it, so I didn’t get that individual arm stimulus. Dumbbells make each arm work individually. You don’t get that same synergy effect with dumbbells that you get from a barbell, log or stone. Since it is somewhat tougher to press heavy dumbbells, when you go back to barbells, you should see some pretty good improvement.

Those 5 points are the main points I have worked on for years and many of them are key factors I have been using recently. To illustrate how much these points have helped me, check out the video below, where I recently pressed two 100-lb dumbbells for a set of 3, the first time ever.

100-lb Dumbbell Military Press X 3

To recap the first 7 months of 2012, until earlier this year, the best I was doing was high-rep sets of 50’s. In February, shortly after beginning to work on my poor movement demons, I was able to get 3 sets of 10 with 70’s, and eventually I began testing myself on the 100’s, and I have gradually worked up in reps with them.

If you are looking for more information on Overhead Lifting, make sure to check out the links to other posts here on the site. If you need to bring up your Overhead Lifting Strength for the sport of Strongman, then check out our Introduction to Strongman DVD. The Log Press, one of the most awesome tests of overhead strength, requires excellent technique, and if you don’t know it, you will never reach your full potential and be completely competitive in competition.

Look for more info on Improving Overhead Lifting coming up in the future here at DieselCrew.com. Make sure to subscribe to the newsletter for more lifting tips and updates.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

DIESELS,

There’s been a lot of stuff going on recently.

My dedication to bringing you the absolute best information for your training needs has never been higher.

Let me bring you up to date of just some of the things I have in the works…

1. How to Make Atlas Stones

I got together with Steve Slater from SlatersHardware.com and StrongmanStuff.com a few months back and we shot the complete DVD on how to make the best Atlas Stones.

That DVD should be ready this week. I have been running into some technical issues, but I am working through them.

If you have a set of molds and want to make better stones, or if you are thinking about getting some, stay tuned, because we left no stone unturned during the shooting of this DVD. Steve has made more stones than anyone else in the world and he is going to show you exactly how he makes the world’s best atlas stones.

2. Hub Lifting Mania

The Workout of the Month at The Grip Authority is uploaded and the members are digging it.

You can join The Grip Authority here for just $7.

I’ve got tons of awesome features on that site. If it’s grip or feats of strength related, then it is on TheGripAuthority.com.

3. Flexibility / Mobility Update

I have really been working hard on my stretching, ROM work, and soft tissue efforts the last couple weeks and my pecs and shoulders are starting to feel much better.

I also got the Horse Liniment that I mentioned in a newsletter last week. It is called “Absorbine Veterinary Liniment.”

I will report back to you about it, but I do have to warn you that it says right on the bottle “for livestock only,” so I am not going to tell you to go out and get it.

4. Grip Training for Track and Field

At a recent seminar, I met Matt Ellis from PrimalATC.com, who works with Track and Field Athletes. Matt and I decided to get together and shoot a DVD on Grip Training for Track and Field Athletes.

I never joined the Track team in High School because I was a baseball player, but Grip Strength is very important for Shotput, Javelin, Discus, Pole Vault, and even the Sprinters in the starting blocks. Plus, as it turns out, there are plenty of hand, finger, and wrist injuries that take place in Track, especially for the throwers.

We put together a DVD of drills that Track Coaches can do with their athletes to strengthen and bulletproof their lower arms.

Stay tuned for that. One of Matt’s colleagues is working to find a video editor to get that product ready, because I am working on another product already for you guys…

5. Next Project – ACL Tear Prevention

Tomorrow, I will start aggressively on completing a DVD I shot with Jerry Shreck from Bucknell University, on ACL Tear Prevention.

ACL Tears are a career threatening injury for nearly all athletes, and the statistics for college athletes are pretty eye-opening, but Jerry has been using a conditioning progression for several years with his athletes and it has been very effective in preventing them with his athletes.

Goal to release that DVD to all of you animals is 2nd week of June. Keep your eyes open…

As you can tell DIESELS, it has been a hot-bed of productivity around here the last few weeks.

I am dedicated to bringing the DIESEL UNIVERSE the information you all need to excel, whether you like to rip, bend, and twist things or if you dominate more conventional sports.

You are in the right place.

If you want to stay up to dat on the developments about these upcoming products and features, make sure you are signed up for the daily updates here at the site:

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Although that thing looks like a toilet, the stamps says “Stone Lifting.”

The first time I touched Atlas Stones was in my first ever strongman competition in 2003 at Total Performance Sports. Prior to that we used Kegs in our training in order to assimilate the stone lifting technique.

Ever since that first competition, I have loved Stone Lifting. It became something I would do on a nearly weekly basis every year from the time the weather broke in April until the time the weather got too cold to train outside in the Fall every year. And then sometimes, we’d just train inside.

I was seeing some pretty good success both in training with the atlas stones and in competition, many times winning the event at the strongman contests I was competing in.

Then, around 2006, all my buddies seemed to have lost interest in doing strongman, so if I was going to train, I was going to be alone doing it. Training alone is cool and all, but it’s even cooler with buddies challenging one another and talking some serious trash.

If I remember right, I peaked on atlas stones with a lift of a 405-lb stone in the Summer of 2007, but then I didn’t really train them again until the Fall of 2009. And that was the last time I trained them…

Lately, the stones have been calling my name. Each time I walk past them, I would think to myself, “The next time it’s nice out during training time, I’m coming out here and lifting some stones.

I got down to the gym the other day – it was a day for Axle work, back, and some other stuff. I went through my normal routine of systematic warm-up, then on to Axle, and then my Grip Training.

But when it came time to train back, I was like, “SCREW IT – I’m going outside to lift those stones – that will be my back workout today.”

DIESELS, I can’t even describe in words how fun it was to get out on the stones again. It brought back so many memories of training with my friends, listening to loud music, talking smack to everyone, strongman comps, and barbecuing steaks.

I got the whole stone lifting session on film, so you will see it below.

I have no idea what the first three stones in the video weigh. They were marked at one time, but weather and the passing of time wore those chicken scratches off long ago. So, I arranged them by size and went to work.

Questions on Stone Lifting

In the comments section of the video, I received some questions, so what I thought I’d do is paste them below and answer them for you guys. Here are the first couple…

Do you ever shoulder the stones Jedd?

Sure – shouldering is a good drill to do with Atlas Stones. I like shouldering because it requires more hip explosion and is a faster movement. When you explode with hips, you are able to propel the stone upwards and create more momentum. Then, if you are quick and agile with your hands, you can usually place the stone up on top of your shoulder with just two or three quick movements of the hands.

We cover Atlas Stone Shouldering in our DVD, Stone Lifting Fundamentals, as a way to replicate the explosive qualities of the Olympic Lifts using an odd object instead of the regular bar.

I didn’t do any shouldering in this particular workout, simply because it had been so long since the last time I trained stones. I wanted to stick with the basic techniques on this occasion, but I definitely will do some shouldering soon.

Doesn’t stone lifting go against the rules of deadlifting when it comes to not rounding your back?

Yes, Stone lifting does differ from deadlifting as far as the back angle is concerned. In deadlifting, most people will tell you to avoid rounding, and I would agree with them when deadlifting. However, stone lifting is a bit different.

First off, it is almost impossible to lift a stone without modifying your back angle to a degree. This is because you have to reach your hands way down to the ground. In the deadlift, you are not reaching down that far, so it is much easier to avoid the rounding.

Second, the shape of the stone forces you to take a different grip on it. As you’ll see, the hands and forearms go down along the sides of the stone and you pick it up by both flexing the wrist to brace beneath the stone, and by clamping in with the chest, to compress with the upper arms onto the sides of the stone. This requires a forward torso angle in order to accomplish.

If you keep your torso upright while lifting stones, I think it would put a great deal of pressure on the bicep attachments, and could cause a tear.

Third, when lifting stones, most people incorporate a transitional phase in the lift where the stone is propped on the lap while a re-grip is taking place. The reason this is important to this discussion is because it may seem like a round back is being used from the point of lift-off to the point of loading (high chest), but this is slightly misleading, because while re-gripping the stone, you can also re-position your lumbar spine for a more straight to lordotic curve, which is safer on the back.

Everyone is always stressing good form and not rounding the back while deadlifting. How do you feel about that when stone lifting is the complete opposite?

Because Stone Lifting is, without a doubt, much different from deadlifting, I think it is best to work your way up slowly in stone weight, volume of stone work, and speed of stone work.

For instance, beginners at Stone Lifting should start out with very light stones, and perhaps even start with an abbreviated range of motion and then gradually work toward pulling the stone from the ground or floor. This will enable the beginner stone lifter to slowly get used to the forces and positions involved in stone lifting, which they most likely have never done with a great deal of resistance before. It will help them develop proper technique as well.

If there is any question as to proper stone lifting technique, then I suggest you pick up our DVD, Stone Lifting Fundamentals, which will show you exactly how to begin doing stone lifting with proper form.

It’s a good practice for beginners or people who have not lifted stones in quite some time to limit the volume of stone work they do. I, for instance, knew that I hadn’t done this in a long time, so I didn’t do a lot of volume with the lighter stones. I mainly used them to ready my body, mind, and CNS for the heavier stones. By limiting the volume, you are able to keep your form tight from the beginning to the end of the workout. Doing too much volume too soon in the stone lifting workout could wear out the postural muscles in the back, and then put you at risk for poor form near the end of the stone workout.

As far as the risk of hurting the back, sure, there is a chance. However, there is also a chance to hurt your back in the deadlift as well. I can tell you this, I have never hurt my back by lifting atlas stones. I have, however, hurt my back on many occasions performing the deadlift.

I did notice, while watching my footage after lifting the stones, that my hips are a bit tight to really get where I want to at the beginning of the stone pull. I like to get a little lower with the hips on the initial pull, which helps me to keep my lower back straighter.

I hope this has been helpful. There were some more questions in the comments section of the video – I have not forgotten about them – I just don’t want to overload anyone with new information, so expect another installment of questions to come along here soon.

If you like info on Strongman Training, make sure to subscribe for my Strongman Training Updates in the form below.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Start Your Journey in Stone Lifting Today.
Pick up the Stone Lifting Fundamentals DVD Below.

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Beginner Atlas Stone Lifting Information

Atlas Stone lifting is something many get excited about and for good reason. The thought of lifting an object that is not meant to be lifted, absent the advantages of holes, handles, crevices, or edges would excite even the strongest individuals in the world. Propelling a perfectly round heavy Atlas Stone either to your shoulder or on to a barrel can be extremely rewarding, especially if it is a personal record.

Pre-Requisites to Stone Lifting

What I’m going to share are beginning techniques related to strongman Atlas Stone lifting. Notice, I emphasize the word “strongman” not “weakman” because this is about max effort. If you’re not familiar with max effort training with iron then you really aren’t ready for attempting max effort stone lifting. Atlas Stones are not designed to be lifted, barbells and dumbbells are.

This being said, you, the novice, should progress at lifting weights first. This way when you do start stone lifting you will go in ready with the needed foundation both physically and mentally.

At times lifters come to visit me at our Slater Strength Club and want me to instruct them on lifting Atlas Stones. I never assume that because a man is not massively developed that he has not spent time weight training. I always ask “How long have you been training?” If the answer isn’t definitive, or doesn’t directly address the question, and the answer is along the lines of, “Ahh a few months or something like that.”

I then tell them that they’re not ready for such a challenge so “Let’s do some deadlifts.” I take this route as not to spoil what will be a good thing by lifting stones too early.

I always suggest that beginners weight train until they develop a good base then attempt the challenge of stone lifting. My first rule of thumb is this: if your deadlift is not yet 160 kg or 350 lbs then continue to weight train progressively and build up your basic strength.

The New Stone Lifter’s First Stone

BEGINNERS: Click the image above to check out the Stone Lifting Fundamentals DVD

Once your basic strength is there, I suggest picking a 16″ atlas stone for starters. This stone should weigh around 170-180 lbs and is an optimal size for developing motor skills and technique. If you choose a lighter one it should only be for warm ups if you’re doing traditional Atlas Stone lifting.

Warm-up for Stones

For warm ups I prefer band exercises for the biceps and back. I also include roller work massage such as Self Myo-Fascial Release (SMR) that targets the back, biceps, glutes and hamstrings. After that I will move into light stones. This will get me warmed up and ready to lift safely.

Further Preparation: Tape and Tacky – Yes or No?

I like to tape my forearms, using athletic tape though some use duct tape. If you want, shave your forearms to keep the tape from slipping. The tape will grip your skin much better if the hair is removed and the addition of a pre-spray on your forearms will provide for good adhesion.

I like Rugby Spray Wax by Trimona as a pre-spray, available on StrongmanStuff.com. I flex my forearm and then tape it, starting just below the elbow and working my way to my wrist. Once it is taped I relax my forearm and then pat down and smooth the tape to my skin. Flexing the forearm prior to taping will prevent the tape from being too tight and If done correctly, the tape will stick well.

I learned from Team Boss Strongman’s Rick Freitag to tape the forearms not so much to help the grip but to cut off the signal of pain. If you are in pain them the mind is fighting the pain and not focusing on the lift.

Apply tacky or handball wax (pine resin) to get a better grip. Personally I like PR Champions Blend Tacky because it is made in Ohio and I’m from Ohio. It is a very good general weather tacky but most other tacky works well too. I apply some on my hands, fingers and forearms and at times onto my chest, especially during competitions. This helps to keep the stone from spinning off of the chest.

When you first start stone lifting apply a slight amount just to get a feel for it as you will learn quickly how much you like to use. I do believe the use of tacky can reduce the strain on soft tissue.

Safety Points for Beginner Stone Lifters

As for lifting the stones, there are some basic precautions to be concerned with for the safety of the lifter and those in the vicinity of the stones.

It goes without saying that new lifters should always consult a health care provider prior to starting any exercise program. Especially since stone lifting differs so greatly from other forms of resistance training, it just makes sense to make sure your doctor okay’s that you give it a try.

You may choose to lift it over a large diameter bar that is fixed so it will not spin. For example, we lift the stone over an adjustable strongman yoke bar. We also use solid platforms made out of wood. You can fasten wood pallets on top of each other, and then fasten plywood to the front or around all sides. There is a great wood platform on StrongmanStuff.com. We sometimes use whiskey barrels or oil drums, but if you do use a barrel be sure to avoid pinching your fingers on the lip!

Steve MacDonald, WR Stone Lift Over Bar
That is Steve Slater kneeling near the platform, on the left

Whatever you choose to lift the stone onto or over, either a large non rotating bar or a platform, make sure that it is stable. With all platforms please use caution making sure the back side of the platform is braced. This will insure platform stablility so it should not tip if the stone hits it. Once you’re more experienced and stronger you can work on shouldering the stones.

At Slater Strength Club all novice lifters are forbidden to twist with the stone during the lift. The risk of injury far outweighs any benefits.

Once you get the stone to the tip of the platform you may begin to struggle to place it on the top. During the struggle to get past the “tip point”, avoid pausing in that vulnerable position for more than a few seconds and no matter how difficult the struggle to complete the lift, do not twist in order to get the stone to the top of the platform.

You may be tempted to do this but this potentially dangerous maneuver should be avoided. Additional strength and experience will get you past this critical point in the lift. Atlas Stone lifting with a grouped series of stones is less about struggling at the top but rather an example of utilizing one’s strength with precision.

Don’t practice struggling at the top, practice a precise finish. A precise and fast finish wins competitions. As with any lift there are some risks, but the benefits of safe stone lifting far outweigh the risks.

Time to Lift Some Stones

I hope that this information helps you make the move into Atlas Stone lifting so you can continue to make great strength gains and appreciate this awesome raw form of training.

Stone lifting makes you seriously strong, ruggedly strong, and for lack of a better expression, “animal strong.” Simply stated, if a good stone lifter puts his hands on a man of above average size, even one flailing and squirming to resist, he could place him on his shoulders, run with him and squeeze the crap out of him in seconds! He could probably even press him over his head and toss him high or far. That is stone lifter strength and as stone lifter Bill Crawford says “stone lifting makes you strong in ways that only stones can.”

Steve Slater
Slater’s Hardware
StrongmanStuff.com

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Further Atlas Stone and Strongman Training Information

For more information on Stone Lifting, check out Stone Lifting Fundamentals.

To learn about even more about Strongman Training, check out Introduction to Strongman Training.

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Hello DIESELS! Today I have an interview for you with Chris Miller from Maximum Fitness. Chris and I met through Nick Tumminello, and as I found out more about him, I realized he was doing a lot of similar training in his gym that I do in mine, especially Strongman Training, only he has been doing it with athletes and personal training clients, turning them into brutally strong, DIESEL-powered monsters. So I wanted to get some thoughts from him to see how he has been able to work Strongman Training into the routines with his clientele. I hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions, please a comment below.

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Jedd: Please tell us a little about yourself – your athletic and training background and how you got involved with training athletes.

Chris: My name is Chris Miller, and I’ve been a certified Personal Trainer, and Strength/Conditioning coach for over 10 years in Columbia, Maryland. My company is called Maximum Fitness; which is located in Columbia, Maryland. My athletic background consists of playing Pop Warner football as a child, High school football, as well as college football. My training background consists of clients that are; little league football players, high school football players, basketball, lacrosse players, college football and soccer players, as well as MMA fighters, and boxers. I also do personal training and boot camps for the novice clientele to experienced clients.

I became involved with training athletes from the passion I had for sports growing up, and as an adult currently. I looked back on how I trained and viewed the workouts I used in order for me to prepare myself for football; and realized it was a totally different way of life training in the 1980’s. After I graduated from college, I started coaching little league football and high school football. I would see how uneducated these athletes were, and how wrong their workouts were in the weight room. This encouraged me to branch out, and develop ways in which I thought would be more effective in training these athletes. The fitness industry is ever changing; so I researched different training methods and products and created my own system in working with athletes; as well as used pieces of other systems I would see during my research.

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Jedd: Many members of the Diesel Universe either compete in strongman training or do strongman training on a regular basis. Do you have any experience with Strongman Training?

Chris: Yes, I have trained with various strongman techniques; but have never competed. I’ve always wanted to compete, but never took the plunge to pursue it. Working at a landscaping company throughout college; me and a few other guys use to perform lifts of logs, trees, cement bags, and rocks all the time. We thought we were the famous guys that competed on ESPN. LOL…

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Jedd: Have you included Strongman Training or Odd Object Training into your athletic training protocols?

Chris: Yes indeed! Strongman training is a great way to turn any athlete into a powerful force. I’ve used everything from Keg throws and lifts, heavy cement bags and tires, as well as tractor-trailer rims; before all the common day objects became available to purchase.

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Jedd: Since incorporating Strongman Training into your routines, what benefits have you seen?

Chris: I’ve noticed an increase in power, strength, range of motion; as well as muscular endurance.

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Jedd: Which athletes do you incorporate Strongman Training with? Football Players? Baseball? Etc.

Chris: I incorporate Strongman Training with all of my athletes; from high school age, college as well as my MMA/Boxing clients.

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Jedd: What lifts do you find to have the best carry-over to athletic performance?

Chris: Tire flips, Sled pulls, Sled push, heavy med ball throws, sledgehammer slams on tires.

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Jedd: How do you include Strongman Lifts into the routines? Primary movements? Explosive Movements?

Chris: With my offensive/defensive line clients, I like to use explosive movements, since the average play in football is 3-4 seconds; I like to work on explosive movements that simulate coming off the ball in a violent, but controlled manner. The MMA fighters I train explosive and some primary movements; due to the nature of simulating the actual combative movements during competition. I’d say I combine the two on occasion, but mostly using the explosive method for stimulating the fast twitch muscles which are used very much in these sports.

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Jedd: How do you go about monitoring your athletes’ performance when using Strongman lifts? Do you ever “dial back” the intensity of the strongman lifts?

Chris: I monitor my athletes by measuring his/her threshold and tracking results through reps and time. Measuring how effective their body reacts pre- and post-lift is key for me. I try to “Dial back”, the intensity a few days before games or matches, because I don’t want to over work a particular muscle group; causing fatigue and muscle tear-down before they compete. I try to keep the intensity at 70-80% 2 days before games, and 60-70% a week before my MMA clients compete.

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Jedd: What is the number one Strongman Lift you suggest other strength coaches put into their programs, out of all of the possible choices?

Chris: I’m glad you asked this question, because I personally say, don’t prescribe an exercise to a client, that you wouldn’t do yourself. I suggest all strength coaches incorporate the Deadlift into their programs. Every athlete needs a strong back and core in order to compete week in and week out. There are many variations of the Deadlift; therefore you can reap benefits from many variations, as long as safety and form is monitored.

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Jedd: Have you had athletes push back on you when you introduced Strongman Training?

Chris: I train a college Division I Lacrosse player and Division III football player currently; and I’ve been training these kids since I coached them in high school. When I introduced the heavy chains and sled pulls 3 years ago; they looked at me and thought I was crazy. They refused at first, because their college strength coaches were stuck on the basic barbells and dumbbells exercises. After a few days of training, and 3 years later; they can’t get enough of the Strongman exercises.

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Jedd: What is one piece of advice you would give to other Strength Coaches about instituting Strongman Training into their routines?

Chris: Great question! I first would advise the coaches to research the routines and experiment amongst the staff, then introduce the routine to their athletes. I would also remind them of the safety issues concerning these routines.

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Jedd: Thanks so much for your interview. Please feel free to tell us where we can learn more about your training.

Chris: Thank you sir; it was a pleasure having the privilege to participate in this awesome interview! The Diesel Crew is doing big things, and I appreciate the education, and information that is being delivered daily by you all!

My company is called Maximum Fitness, and we are located in Columbia, Maryland. Website and contact information is below.

Maximum Fitness
Email: maxxfit@comcast.net

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Chris thanks so much for the interview. DIESELS, Strongman Training is an excellent way to take your athletic training to the next level of Strength and Power. If you want to include this type of training in your programs in order to start reaping the benefits that Chris Miller is seeing with his athletes, pick up our Intro to Strongman DVD, so you can see how to perform the lifts properly and keep your athletes injury free while also becoming brutally strong!

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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Pick up Introduction to Strongman Training TODAY by clicking the image below.

For more information on Strongman Training, sign up for the Strongman Training Newsletter:

Scottish Highland Games:

An Introduction to the Heavy Events

Adriane Wilson
3X Women’s World Champion

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This is a guest post by Adriane Wilson, world-renowned Track and Field Throwing Athlete, 2X Champion at Highland Games and the first ever certified Women’s Captain of Crush. To read more about this unbelievably well-rounded athlete, check out my interview with Adriane Wilson or check out her youtube channel.

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My athletic background has been focused around track and field, specifically the throwing events. I have trained at the elite level for the shot put, discus and hammer throw for 10 years and I have competed in two U.S. Olympic Trials.

Upon contemplation of professional retirement from the Olympic events, I was lured into the Scottish Highland Games as a competitive substitute. It was an easy transition in the weight room, I continued to focus on the development of a strong posterior chain to handle the heavy implements but the time in the trig proved to be the most time consuming with nine new events to master.

After a year of training for the heavy events, my need for competition was rekindled in the Olympic shot put and I managed a 4th place finish at the 2010 USA Championships in the women’s shot put. It was clear that training the heavy events complimented my Olympic dream. London is calling for 2012. Until then, I will train for a few World Records and my third World Championship title in the Women’s Scottish Highland Games.

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What are the events in the Scottish Highland Games?

Braemar Stone

(Standing Stone Toss)

The heavy stone is thrown with one hand and the stone is held at the neck until release. There is minimal movement with the feet, specific instructions may be regulated by the head judge.

Men: 20-26lbs.
Women: 13-18lbs.

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Open Stone

(Similar to the Olympic Shot Put)

Any style of approach is acceptable to throw the stone but one foot must remain inside the trig at all times. Most throwers use the glide technique or a variation of the rotational spin to complete their throw.
Men: 16-22lbs.
Women: 8-12lbs.

Why is there no standard weight for the stone events?

Stones are chosen by the Athletic Director and it is up to their discretion the weight, texture, and shape of the stone. The stone is weighed prior to the game and will be used annually for the festival. Throwers may use tape or an elastic wrap for their throwing wrist for support.

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Weight for Distance

Metal weight is held with one hand and thrown from one or two turns inside the trig. One foot must remain in the trig at all times and throwers frequently use tape on their fingers to prevent ripped calluses and blisters. Occasionally, throwers will use a hook grip on the round ring or D-handle for the throw.

Light Weight for Distance
Men: 28lbs.
Women: 14lbs.
Masters: 28lbs.

Heavy Weight for Distance
Men: 56lbs.
Women: 28lbs.
Masters: 42lbs. or 56lbs.

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Scottish Hammer Throw

Round metal ball attached to a long rod made from rattan, wood, bamboo or PVC. The hammer is thrown with two hands on the handle of the stick and generates speed by winding the hammer around the thrower’s head. The thrower’s feet must remain stationary throughout the throw and cannot pass the wooden trig at any time. Occasionally, throwers will wear boots with hammer blades or spikes attached at the toe for added leverage.

Light Hammer Throw:
Men: 16lbs.
Women: 12lbs.

Heavy Hammer Throw:
Men: 22lbs.
Women: 16lbs.

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Caber Toss

Most recognizable event of the Scottish Highland Games. The caber does not have a regulation size or weight but must be made of wood. The caber is positioned upright for the thrower with the heavy end on top. The bottom may be tapered for easier hand placement and the attempt is established when the caber leaves the ground.

Generally, the fingers are interlocked together and the bottom of the caber rests in the palms of the hands. The thrower manages control of the caber by hugging the caber close to their shoulder and neck during the throw. The caber is an event of accuracy, there is no measurement for distance but each thrower has three attempts to turn the caber.

The toss is scored when the caber is flipped end over end and its position on the ground in relation to the thrower determines a clock score. For example, the thrower is standing at 6 o’clock and the caber flips over and lands slightly left of center. If the foot placement of the thrower upon the pull is 6 o’clock, the score would result in 11:00 or a time decided by the judge following behind the thrower.

A turn can be scored between 9:00-12:00 or 12:00 to 3:00. The perfect throw is 12:00. However, quite often the caber is too heavy or long for a thrower and the caber does not reach past a vertical position to score a turn. A side judge would establish the score by the degree of movement of the caber. A protractor would be handy to score 0-90° from the sidelines.

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Weight for Height

Implement is thrown with one hand overhead to clear a fixed or knock off crossbar.

Weights Used in the Weight for Height:
Men: 56lbs.
Women: 28lbs.
Masters: 56lbs. or 42lbs.

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Sheaf Toss

Burlap sack filled with rope or twine that is thrown for height over a fixed or knock off bar crossbar with a pitchfork.

Sheaf Toss Weight:
Men: 20lbs. or 16lbs.
Women: 12lbs. or 10lbs.
Masters: 20lbs. or 16lbs.

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How are the height events scored?

Similar to the high jump or pole vault, each competitor has three attempts at each height. The thrower may pass earlier heights; however, once the thrower has begun the event, he or she must attempt each progressive height throughout the competition. Three misses at a height results in the elimination of the competition. In the case of a tie, the judge will determine the winner based on the fewest number of misses from the tied competitors throughout the event.

Some athletes choose the spin technique but Scottish tradition recognizes a standing throw only in the height events.

What is the trig?

The trig is a wooden toe board in the front of the competitor’s throwing box in the distance events. It is secured in the ground to provide a stop board for the thrower and establish a common measuring site.

How do you score the events?

The Athletic Director determines the number of events for a particular game but generally the winner of each event will receive one point for first place and second place will receive two points etc. The competitor with the lowest score is the winner.

How do you compete in a game?

Most games ask you to fill out a registration form with an entry fee and poof! You’re in. Make sure you show up with your kilt, a good attitude, and a lot of ibuprofen. There are many online forums to help out the new throwers with questions on technique, game schedules, and general inquiries regarding the events. Most throwers visit the North American Scottish Games Athletics site (www.nasgaweb.com) to view results and records. There are regional clubs and athletic groups as well to aid in the networking of Athletic Directors and competitors.

Many thanks to Adriane for putting together this great article explaining the events in the Scottish Highland Games. Once again, congrats on your fantastic accomplishment on becoming the first woman certified as Captain of Crush as well. All the best to you in your future training, Adriane! -Jedd-

ON SALE 50% OFF UNTIL 10/28/2011 AT MIDNIGHT

Axle Clean and Press for Max Weight

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In any strongman competition there is going to be an overhead event of some kind. This event could be in the form of Maximum Log Press, Log Press for Reps, Max Axle, Axle for Reps, or it could involve the Viking Press, or the Circus Dumbbell, etc.

When most strongman contests involve 5 events with one of them being overhead, if you suck at overhead press, can you afford to give away 20% (one out of 5 events) of the points?

If you can afford to give that much of the score away to your competitors, then you’d better be heads and shoulders above the rest of them in all four other events in order to negate all of the points you’re handing over to them in the overhead.

If you have identified the overhead lift (regardless of the implement used or whether for reps or max weight) as an event that you must improve upon, there are a few ways you can go about improving your performance.

Which one you choose will depend on what your weakness is, and one of these points of attack may be something you have not thought of before.

Liability #1 – Weak Clean

If the event involves cleaning the implement to the shoulders before pressing, and you struggle with the clean, then you are going to be in trouble for the press.

When you have to labor in order to make the clean, then you will be burning energy reserves that you need for the press.

If you have to struggle in order to get the log or axle up, and it is a clean-every-rep event, then you will be in even more of a rough spot.

If you knowingly have a hard time with the clean, then you will need to dedicate time to it in your training sessions.

One way you can do this is to over-load the clean beyond the weight you can comfortably press or jerk overhead. I show you how to do this in the video below, from 2006.

Strongman Training DVD

Without a doubt if your difficulty is a technique flaw, then you need to fix that. Getting stronger in order to power through it will only get you so far. It is much better to hone your technique, make it efficient, and then improve your strength levels later on.

If technique is what you need work on, then you should check out our Strongman Training DVD, which is heavily technique based in order to help you solidify your foundation for strongman training. Remember, it all begins with technique.

Liability #2 – Weak Leg Drive

In most of the overhead events in strongman, you are allowed to use your legs to propel the log, axle, or viking press upwards. In some events you are even able to re-bend in order to catch the implement, similar to the Olympic Jerk.

What I suggest here is Front Squats. While many Strongman competitors include Back Squats in their routine on a regular basis, Font Squats should not be forgotten. After all, initiation of the press is done with the legs, and since the log or axle is being held at the front shoulder, the most specific movement to train is Front Squats.

In addition to doing regular Front Squats with an Olympic bar, there is also nothing wrong with including Front Squats using the Log, in order to get used to the shape of the Log, and increase the specificity of the lift (as shown below).

Strongman Training DVD

However, if your legs are weak and you can not drive through the log and propel it towards lockout, that will mean you will have to develop sick strong triceps in order to catch the log once its momentum ceases and then drive the arms straight to lockout.

The problem with this scenario is that after a few reps, if your legs are a weak point in the movement, then they will eventually burn out and you will not even be able to pop the implement high enough off your shoulders to involve the triceps. If that is the case, the only alternative is to try to employ a jerk-style re-bend in order to get your body further under the implement in order to catch it.

Unfortunately, while this may sound like an extraordinary plan, this technique requires more skill and to shift to this style mid-way through the event without having practiced it will probably not result in much of a benefit.

Liability #3 – Weak Triceps

As you can see, when there is a weakness somewhere in the overhead lift movement, the general objective is to build the strength and power on either side of the movement in order to fortify the previous link and next link in the overhead lifting chain.

Unfortunately, in the case of weak triceps, there is no next link in the chain to strengthen. Everything up to this point depends on your triceps and their ability to take over in the transitional phase of the “press,” continue to full lockout, and thus control the log in order to get into the finished position (feet together, head facing forward, etc).

With every other part of the overhead lift depending on your triceps to finish the job, its imperative for them to be rugged enough to get the job done, or else you will end up doing a lot of work for nothing in the form of monster cleans, big powerful attempts to push the log up with the lower body, an exhausted core from attempting stabilize the body with all of this movement going on as well as your oxygen and energy stores becoming depleted with possibly many more events to go.

Many strongman athletes realize that their tricep strength is holding them back and they begin adding extra tricep work into their training. Exercise choice in this regard is extremely important. For instance, if you start throwing in a few extra sets of tricep pushdowns or kick-backs, you are in trouble as these movements do very little to improve overhead press strength. Instead, standing overhead tricep work should be employed, such as rank lockouts, pressing against bands, and half reps.

Strongman Training DVD

In the video above, I show you how to add resistance bands to the log in order to strength your triceps for the lockout.

Liability #4 – Weak Shoulders

If your shoulders are your weak point in the press than you are going to be against the wall in an overhead event. This is a common scenario, especially for strongman competitors who venture into the sport after years of Powerlifting, where overhead work is not routinely done.

If your pressing power is weak due to a lack of shoulder strength, then you need to spend more time pressing, utilizing a variety of overhead lift methods.

First, you will need to build your vertical pressing using stricter movements in military press fashion. Building a foundation of strength in the vertical position will be a huge asset toward your performance in competition.

Next, you will also need to work on your speed, propelling the log upwards with the lower body in order to avoid a hang-up when the shoulders need to take over. By developing speed in the lower half you can blast the log or axle high enough where the triceps can come into play in conjunction with the shoulders and contributing to a stronger lockout.

Liability #5 – Let’s stop right there for now

I’ve already given you 4 big factors in overhead press success and how to improve upon them. Look at your training program and try to plant some of these movements in it to bring up your weaknesses in the overhead press.

Down the line, I will put up another installment in this series on how to improve overhead pressing power. And in this next one, I will show you some thing you have probably never thought of to improve your overhead lifts.

Be sure to sign up for the Strongman Training Newsletter to be sure you know when the next installment in this series comes out.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Congratulations to Brian Shaw for winning the 2011 World’s Strongest Man contest!

Brian was tied with Zydrunas Savickas going into the last event, the Atlas Stones, and finished a full stone ahead of Savickas to win the event and the championship!

Brian Shaw takes the final event, Atlas Stones:

Here’s another angle of the Atlas Stones:

To recognize Brian’s amazing suspense-filled victory, I am holding a sale on the Introduction to Strongman DVD.

Use this special link and you can get the Intro to Strongman DVD on sale for just $39 (regularly $49).

Special Price – Introduction to Strongman Training DVD

Congrats again to Brian, a true champion and ambassador to the sport. I have met Brian a couple of times, and what an outstanding guy – humble, approachable, enormous, and STRONG!

Click on the image below to take advantage of this special offer:

All the best in your training!

Jedd

Congratulations to Brian Shaw for winning the 2011 World’s Strongest Man contest!
Brian was tied with Zydrunas Savickas going into the last event, the Atlas Stones, and finished a full stone ahead of Savickas to win the event and the championship!
Brian Shaw takes the final event, Atlas Stones:

Here’s another angle of the Atlas Stones:

To recognize Brian’s amazing suspense-filled victory, I am holding a sale on the Introduction to Strongman DVD.
Use this special link and you can get the Intro to Strongman DVD on sale for just $39 (regularly $49).
Special Price – Introduction to Strongman Training DVD
Congrats again to Brian, a true champion and ambassador to the sport. I have met Brian a couple of times, and what an outstanding guy – humble, approachable, enormous, and STRONG!
Click on the image below to take advantage of this special offer:

All the best in your training!
Jedd

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…

Now, we want to take it a step further and work directly with you in a hands-on scenario…

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.

One Payment of $127

Two Payments of $67

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.

Dr. Serrano ONLY – 1 Payment of $47

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

Hello DIESELS!

Strongman Training is a great addition to the athletic strength training program. Check out some of the benefits of Strongman Training:

• Triple Extension – Many Strongman events involve the powerful action of extending the ankles, hips and knees, just like any sport involving leaping, bounding, and other explosive movements from the lower body.
• Grip Strength – Strongman events often use implements that are large and cumbersome to grip, especially Thick Bar Axles, Sandbags, Stones, and other Odd Objects, forcing the athlete to develop strength at the end of the kinetic chain – the hands, wrists and forearms
• Movement Under Tension – Many Strongman events involved carrying implements over a distance. Examples include the Farmer’s Walk, certain Atlas Stone events, Odd Object carries, and the Yoke Walk. It’s one thing to be strong enough to pick something up. It’s another altogether to carry it!
• Absorb and React to Force – Many Strongman events involve multiple repetitions, especially with overhead lifts, like with the Log or Viking Press. This requires the athlete to tolerate the dynamic center of gravity of the implement.

It’s due to all of these benefits, that I hold the Strongest Strength Coach contest each year at Juniata.

I am a firm believer that Strength Coaches and Personal Trainers should be athletic themselves. It makes a huge difference to athletes and clients when they know their coaches and trainers know what they are talking about, so here is a chance to test yourself and be put through the ringer just like they do each workout.

If you are looking to compete at the Strongest Strength Coach Competition, that will be held at Juniata on June 17th, then check out the video below because it shows you exactly how the events will be contested and judged.

It’s also important for people in the position of teach strength and fitness skills to clients and athletes to be able to draw on many different strength backgrounds. It’s not all about throwing around crazy odd objects like logs. That’s why I included lesser seen objects such as the Mace and the Sled Drag in this event. This should be an eye-opening and idea-generating experience for the Strength Coaches at Juniata, for sure.

Finally, I believe that Strength Coaches and Personal Trainers must have a grasp on proper technique before subjecting athletes and clients to complex movements. If you want your athletes to get the obvious benefits in their strength program by doing Strongman lifts, but you don’t know the technique, then sign up for the Early Bird list for the Strongman Training DVD, coming out soon from Diesel Crew and Strongman Stuff!

See you at Juniata!

Jedd

Hello DIESELS!
Strongman Training is a great addition to the athletic strength training program. Check out some of the benefits of Strongman Training:

• Triple Extension – Many Strongman events involve the powerful action of extending the ankles, hips and knees, just like any sport involving leaping, bounding, and other explosive movements from the lower body.
• Grip Strength – Strongman events often use implements that are large and cumbersome to grip, especially Thick Bar Axles, Sandbags, Stones, and other Odd Objects, forcing the athlete to develop strength at the end of the kinetic chain – the hands, wrists and forearms
• Movement Under Tension – Many Strongman events involved carrying implements over a distance. Examples include the Farmer’s Walk, certain Atlas Stone events, Odd Object carries, and the Yoke Walk. It’s one thing to be strong enough to pick something up. It’s another altogether to carry it!
• Absorb and React to Force – Many Strongman events involve multiple repetitions, especially with overhead lifts, like with the Log or Viking Press. This requires the athlete to tolerate the dynamic center of gravity of the implement.

It’s due to all of these benefits, that I hold the Strongest Strength Coach contest each year at Juniata.
I am a firm believer that Strength Coaches and Personal Trainers should be athletic themselves. It makes a huge difference to athletes and clients when they know their coaches and trainers know what they are talking about, so here is a chance to test yourself and be put through the ringer just like they do each workout.
If you are looking to compete at the Strongest Strength Coach Competition, that will be held at Juniata on June 17th, then check out the video below because it shows you exactly how the events will be contested and judged.

It’s also important for people in the position of teach strength and fitness skills to clients and athletes to be able to draw on many different strength backgrounds. It’s not all about throwing around crazy odd objects like logs. That’s why I included lesser seen objects such as the Mace and the Sled Drag in this event. This should be an eye-opening and idea-generating experience for the Strength Coaches at Juniata, for sure.
Finally, I believe that Strength Coaches and Personal Trainers must have a grasp on proper technique before subjecting athletes and clients to complex movements. If you want your athletes to get the obvious benefits in their strength program by doing Strongman lifts, but you don’t know the technique, then sign up for the Early Bird list for the Strongman Training DVD, coming out soon from Diesel Crew and Strongman Stuff!


See you at Juniata!
Jedd

Alexander Karelin – Gut Wrench Suplex

The winner in last week’s Grip Strength Challenge, in the Kettlebell Bottom’s Up Press was Andy Thomas! Fantastic job Andy! Thanks for your awesome submissions, each and every week, brother!

For this week, the challenge is the Gut Wrench Lift & Hold for Time.

The Gut Wrench involves elevating one end of a barbell and loading plates on the other end. The hands are wrapped around the plates and the plates are lifted off the ground.

I am calling this the Gut Wrench because it resembles the Grip used in the Gut Wrench Suplex in Wrestling. However, this exercise is also great because it mimics the Grip used in Strongman competitions, especially the Atlas Stones and the Fingal Fingers.

In the Gut Wrench Lift, the hands wrap around the plates and beneath them, but do not reach all the way.
(more…)

Alexander Karelin – Gut Wrench Suplex
The winner in last week’s Grip Strength Challenge, in the Kettlebell Bottom’s Up Press was Andy Thomas! Fantastic job Andy! Thanks for your awesome submissions, each and every week, brother!
For this week, the challenge is the Gut Wrench Lift & Hold for Time.
The Gut Wrench involves elevating one end of a barbell and loading plates on the other end. The hands are wrapped around the plates and the plates are lifted off the ground.
I am calling this the Gut Wrench because it resembles the Grip used in the Gut Wrench Suplex in Wrestling. However, this exercise is also great because it mimics the Grip used in Strongman competitions, especially the Atlas Stones and the Fingal Fingers.

In the Gut Wrench Lift, the hands wrap around the plates and beneath them, but do not reach all the way.
(more…)

This past Friday I got a call on my cell phone around 9 PM. It was Rick Walker, who has written many of the articles we have in our strength and conditioning articles section.
CHECK OUT THE REST OF THIS KILLER POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

Smitty and I have participated at the NSCA’s PA Strength and Conditioning Clinic at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA for several years now.

We have done speaking presentations on Grip Strength, the Core Training, On-line Marketing, Chaos Theory and many other topics.

CHECK OUT THE REST OF THIS KILLER POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

Keg Lifting Basics

Keg Lifting is a very fun and rewarding form of training.  Like Sandbags, Atlas Stones, and Logs, Kegs are considered odd objects.

What are Odd Objects

Odd objects are training tools whose center of gravity is unpredictable, often lying out away from the athlete.  Odd objects often have considerable bulk and gripping and controlling them is one of the primary challenges of lifting them.  While bars and dumbbells have a concise and predictable shape and center of gravity, odd objects force the athlete to react to the dynamic and unpredictable size, shape, and center of gravity of the object.

CHECK OUT THE REST OF THIS KILLER POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

When you’re confronted with an obstacle in life, what do you do?

Do you accept the outcome without interfering?

Or do you confront it head on and take charge?

CHECK OUT THE REST OF THIS KILLER POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

Stone Lifting is a part of many strongman contests.

If you don’t know what you are doing, you can get your ass handed to you and end up with serious injuries.

It was for this reason that Smitty and I set out to put together a resource that new strongman competitors could use to learn the proper techniques for lifting atlas stones.

The idea was to produce something that would give new competitors the information they needed to keep them safe and injury free in the beginning and then go on to dominate as time went on.

A while back, we received this testimonial / review about our Stone Lifting Fundamentals DVD from Rob Russell in Yorkshire. Check out what he had to say, below.

CHECK OUT THIS KILLER POST AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

Be Ready for Anything at Your First Strongman Competition

Obviously ya gotta have the basics like clothes and shoes, but there are plenty of other things that you should have with you so you are able to capitilize on all the hard training you have done.

I’ve gotten to strongman comps and not been prepared. I don’t want that to happen to any of you, so recently, I started this series, “13 Things You Need for Your First Strongman Contest.”

(Here is part one ==> Strongman Contest & Part II ==> Strongman Equipment)

Below is Part III, the final chapter in this series.

What did I miss???  If you have any other suggestions, leave a comment below!

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Chalk

You need to bring your own chalk when you go to your first strongman contest. You just can’t rely on the promoter to have enough available. All the guys competing are going to be using it. Sure enough, there’s always a dude that isn’t happy with a block of chalk so he crushes the entire thing in his hand and turns it to dust. Next thing you know, a strong wind picks up and half the block of chalk blows down the parking lot like a tumbleweed in the desert.

So, this is what you need to do. Get yourself a decent size Rubbermaid container or other plastic container with a lid that snaps on really tight. Stick the chalk block in this container and keep it with you. The container should fit pretty well right into your bag that you take to the contest.

Another thing that we did for years is put a garbage bag inside a pail and then threw the chalk inside the garbage bag. When we needed chalk it was all right there. We could stick our hands down inside the bucket and chalk up real well and since the pail was nice and high, any dust would just get caught in the garbage bag and we would not lose any of the dust down the prairie…

Sun Block

At the very beginning of the day, you should load up on sun block prior to the contest, especially if you are competing outside. The worst thing that can happen during an outside strongman contest is getting sunburned. Sunburn leaves you dehydrated and fatigued – two things that make your strength levels plummet.

I usually competed with a tee shirt on, so I would make sure to cover my arms thoroughly, as well as coating my nose and face. I would also often wear a baseball hat during the contest, so my head was covered. I do not recommend applying sun block to your forehead, especially if you sweat a lot and definitely not if you have water proof sun block. If the water proof sun block gets into your eyes, it can be very difficult to get out of them. I have actually heard of people who have had to go to the emergency room because water proof unblock ended up getting into their eyes and doctors had to use a special solution to get it out of their eyes.

Remember what Terry Silver tells Daniel in Karate Kid Part III. If a man can’t see, he can’t fight. He can’t very well win a strongman contest either.

Change of Clothes

If you are pushing the fluids and pushing your limits, you are going to be sweating your ass off. For that reason, you should have at least one full change of clothes that you can jump into about half way through the competition. I’m talking everything from head to toe – not just a different tee shirt and shorts.

If you are going to be driving several hours back home after the contest like we used to do then you probably want to have another extra set of clothes for the drive back.

Foam Roller

Warm-up is important for being successful at your first Strongman comp. Make sure you warm up the right way. Pack your foam roller, dense medicine ball, or pipe made of cardboard or PVC. This will get your soft tissue right before the comp.

I’ll tell you another reason to have a foam roller with you at a strongman comp. In 2005, I did a backwards truck pull. My quads swelled up so bad from the ridiculous pump, that I couldn’t even move afterwards. In fact, I am convinced that I would not have been able to continue if I had not gotten Rick Walker to stretch me out. I am also convinced that if I’d had my foam roller there, I would have been able to loosen back up my quicker.

Jump Stretch Bands

Again, warm-up is important. You don’t want to head into one of the events cold or you could end up getting injured and being unable to finish the contest. What I would do is carry some purple Jump Stretch Bands right in my equipment bag that I could pull out and hit some reps with to get warmed up prior to the event. I liked to hit squats, good mornings, rows, military press, flyes, etc to get the blood flowing before going out to lift.

Stone Tacky for Hands & Arms

If the stones are in the contest, then you are going to need tacky in order to keep a level playing field with the rest of the competitors. Everybody uses it. You are going to need it, and you never know if the other competitors are going to let you borrow it or be a prick about it. Get some and keep it in your cooler until just before the stone event. You want it to stay sticky so it helps adhere your skin to the stones. If you leave it out, it will get greasy and will not offer much for improving your grip or speed in the stones.

Spray Tacky for Shoes

Believe it or not, some promoters will allow you to spray your hands with spray tack for stone flipping. They will also sometimes allow you to spray the bottoms of your shoes. We attended one strongman contest held an ice hockey rink. The ice was covered with a very slippery layer of plastic covering, and the competitors could spry the bottom of their shoes to keep from losing their traction in events like the tire flip and keg run.

Tacky Remover

You’re going to need something to get the tacky off your hands and arms after the atlas stone event. You don’t want that stuff all over the rest of your gear, your car, and your girlfriend. Unfortunately, many people do not know how to remove tacky once they are done with it. Don’t scrub for half an hour with soap and water – remove that stuff in minutes with some baby oil gel. Put a generous amount on your hand and rub vigorously over the area with tacky. After rubbing, wipe off with a towel and most of the tacky will be cleared off. There may still be some spots here and there, so just apply more gel.

Once you clean off the tacky with the gel, then is a good time to hit the soap and water. This is good to do in order to make sure that you get all the gel off your hands before the next event. Leftover gel will make holding things very difficult if you don’t get it all the way off, so attention to detail is important here.

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Well, my friends, there you go. 13 total things you need to have with you in your bag when you go to your first strongman contest. Now, obviously this is not and exhaustive list. Many people have already left suggestions in comments in the other two posts, including first aid kits and other things.

If you have any more suggestions that will help other new strongman competitors in the Diesel Community, please post them in the comments section below.

View Part 1 of this Series: Supply List for First Strongman Competition

View Part 2 of This Series: What to Take to Your First Strongman Competition

Sign Up for More Strongman Training Tips

You guys really know your stuff, as evidenced by the post on how to do a muscle-up.

Blew me away! Thanks for your comments and thanks for your support!

Until next time, all the best in your training!

-Jedd-

P.S. If your first contest has the Atlas Stones for an event, you might want to check out our Stone Lifting DVD. It has everything you need to know to prepare you for “the stones,” including how to apply tacky, various techniques for lifting the stones off the ground, how to load stones and how to incorporate stone lifts in your daily lifting routine.

Check it out here Stone Lifting Fundamentals DVD

What do you need to have with you at your first strongman contest?

Obviously ya gotta have the basics like clothes and shoes, but there are plenty of other things that you should have with you so you are able to capitilize on all the hard training you have done.

I’ve gotten to strongman comps and not been prepared. I don’t want that to happen to any of you, so last week, I started this series, “13 Things You Need for Your First Strongman Contest.” (Here is part one if you didn’t see it ==> Strongman Training.) (more…)

Bill Kazmaier, Legendary American Strongman Legend

Strongman is a great sport.

Each year, more and more athletes join the amateur strongman ranks in hopes of becoming a champion and perhaps even receiving their Pro Card. At one time, it was my dream to compete with the best in the world on the grand stage of the World’s Strongest Man championship, or the Strongman Super Series championship.

I can still remember the first contest I competed in. It was in Revere, Massachusetts and it was organized by CJ Murphy and Bob Jodoin of Total Performance Sports.
(more…)

This summer, many athletes, just like the one in the post below, are walking onto the platform in Beijing and competing in Olympic weightlifting, and I have been watching as much of this event that I am lucky enough to catch broadcast on television and streamed on the internet. These world records lifts are the result of years of preparation, attention to detail, technique, and discipline, and because of all this, I have much respect for the athletes who attain a level of performance that propels them to the Olympic trials.

For many years, strength coaches have realized the importance of including the Olympic lifts in the athletic routine because they mimic the specific movement patterns and share many of the same qualities of many sports. The main two lifts, the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch as well as the many break-down lifts that are used to train for the main two are outstanding lifts for sport preparation for many reasons.

Sports-Specific Benefits of Olympic Lifts

One of the reasons for the strong appeal of the Olympic lifts is due their closed-chain, ground-based nature. Since the athlete is generating force through the feet and into the floor, it is said they are closed-chain, and ground-based.

To this end, these lifts have an excellent crossover for sports, especially those that involve running, leaping and throwing. Other common gym lifts, such as the bench press and leg press are not ground based because the athlete is positioned on a bench or inside a machine, missing the mark when it comes to the need for imitating sports-specific force development movement patterns.

Closely related to this is Triple Extension, the rapid extension of the hips, knees and ankles. This movement is found in almost all sports. It can be seen in hockey, basketball, baseball, football, soccer, 100-yard dash, shot put, discus, and many more. Completing the Olympic lifts depends on the force generating from triple extension as well as the firing of other major muscle groups.

Olympic lifts are also complex in nature, meaning they involve movement over several joints. Many sports involve powerful movements that require coordinated function and firing of musculature over many joints. Thus it is often believe that the Olympic lifts and their breakdown lifts are excellent for the athletic strength-training program. In comparison, while single-joint exercises like curls, reverse curls and tricep pushdowns have their value for strengthening the elbow flexors and maintaining the elbow injury-free, they should not be the primary focus of the athlete.

Another important aspect about the Olympic lifts is that they are posterior chain dominant movements. In other words, they put a tremendous focus on the muscles on the back side of the body. Although the hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors and soleus muscles don’t show up when you look in the mirror, they are some of the strongest muscles in the body and some of the most important when it comes to athleticism.

Just one other feature of the Olympic lifts that makes them excellent choices to include in the athletic strength training protocol is their rate of power output. In research documented in the article Movement Pattern Specificity /Advantages of Using Pulling Movements, the authors Gattone, Schilling, Pierce, and Byrd noted the power out put of several traditional gym lifts as well as various portions of the Olympic lifts.

The comparison is staggering. Where more traditional lifts such as the bench press, squat and deadlift yielded power outputs of 300, 1100 and 1100, respectively, the Snatch produced 3000, the Clean, 2950, and the Jerk, 5400. In other words, there is a tremendous potential to develop extremely powerful athletes by incorporating the Olympic lifts and their breakdowns.

However, as great as the Olympic lifts are, there is one downside to them. They are phenomenally technical. Doing them properly in order to fully take advantage of all of the possible benefits of them depends on having an experienced, knowledgeable, and patient coach.

This summer in the Olympic Games, when the weightlifters are standing with hundreds of pounds aloft, you can rest assured that it is all a result of years of preparation and attention to technique. Unfortunately, this level of technicality is the reason that many athletic programs do not include these lifts in the strength training routine. Many athletes who could seriously benefit from time training these lifts will either never get the opportunity to perform them, or may attempt them on their own and end up with an injury.

Fortunately, there is another style of training that shares all of these benefits of the Olympic lifts: Closed-chain & ground-based movement patterns, Triple Extension, Complex Movement (multi-joint involvement), Posterior Chain Dominance, and Extreme Power output. This training style is Stone Lifting.

Stone Lifting

Stone Lifting is a common event in the sport of Strongman. It involves wrapping the arms around a round stone called an Atlas Stone and drawing it from ground level, up the athlete’s body and loading it on top of a platform. Strongman training is another type of training that is growing in popularity at all levels of training including the university and collegiate level, but many do not realize how similar stone lifting is to the Olympic lifts.

For instance, here is a pictorial comparison between the Olympic Clean and Jerk and an Atlas Stone lift starting from the floor and progressing through to the loading portion.

Set-up

In the Clean, the athlete begins by bending down and grasping the bar. In the Stone Lift, the athlete begins by bending down and wrapping the arms around the stone. While these positions are not identical, the principles are very similar.

First Pull / Pull to Lap

In the first pull of the Clean, the athlete begins to move into a more upright position, pulling the bar upward. In the first full of the Stone Lift, the athlete pulls the stone upwards, above the knee.

Second Pull / Near Lap

Next, in the Clean, the athlete slightly re-bends the knees and then moves into the second pull, drawing the bar upwards near the hips and waist. At this point in the Stone lift, the athlete continues to pull the stone upwards as high as possible.

These two phases do not quite resemble one another as much as the rest of this series of freeze-frames, due to the inherent differences of the two movements, but you will see in just a moment that the Second Pull of the Clean, the component of Triple Extension in the movement, closely resembles a different portion of the Stone Lift coming up.

Catch / Lap

Next, in the Clean, with a great flexion of the trapezius muscles the athlete pulls the bar upwards while quickly pulling himself under the bar, catching it on the front delt/clavicle area. In the stone lift, the athlete begins to drop the hips low enough to support the stone on his thighs and re-grip the stone.

Recovery / Loading Phase

Now in the Clean, the athlete returns to the upright position, readying himself for the Jerk. The Clean is complete and the Jerk is ready to be started. Similarly, at this point in the Stone Lift, the athlete fires the hips and extends the back, propelling the stone upwards and outwards in the loading phase.

At this point, you can also see that the Loading Phase of the Stone Lift is where Triple Extension comes in. This phase is similar to the Second Pull of the Clean, shown above.

As you can see, these two movements are very similar. In fact, many of the events in Strongman follow the same movement patterns as the Olympic Lifts, especially the Clean and Jerk. At this time, I have found no research or studies on Stone Lifting and the actual force that is generated in lifting stones. However, I think it is safe to assume that the force production is similar, especially when you consider that the purpose of stone lifting is to do so quickly and powerfully!

Closed-chain & ground-based movement patterns, Triple Extension, Complex Movement (multi-joint involvement), Posterior Chain Dominance, and Extreme Power Output are benefits that are shared between both the Olympic Lifts and Stone Lifting. Both of these types of training will lead to outstanding carryover for athletes in all sports!

Of course, Stone Lifting is not without its own technicality and risk. For that reason, you should not enter into it blindly.

You need a resource that will show you how to get the most out of stone training while doing it safely – Check out our DVD – Stone Lifting Fundamentals.

Click for Olympic Lift Article Source

This summer, many athletes, just like the one in the post below, are walking onto the platform in Beijing and competing in Olympic weightlifting, and I have been watching as much of this event that I am lucky enough to catch broadcast on television and streamed on the internet. These world records lifts are the result of years of preparation, attention to detail, technique, and discipline, and because of all this, I have much respect for the athletes who attain a level of performance that propels them to the Olympic trials.
For many years, strength coaches have realized the importance of including the Olympic lifts in the athletic routine because they mimic the specific movement patterns and share many of the same qualities of many sports. The main two lifts, the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch as well as the many break-down lifts that are used to train for the main two are outstanding lifts for sport preparation for many reasons.

Sports-Specific Benefits of Olympic Lifts

One of the reasons for the strong appeal of the Olympic lifts is due their closed-chain, ground-based nature. Since the athlete is generating force through the feet and into the floor, it is said they are closed-chain, and ground-based.
To this end, these lifts have an excellent crossover for sports, especially those that involve running, leaping and throwing. Other common gym lifts, such as the bench press and leg press are not ground based because the athlete is positioned on a bench or inside a machine, missing the mark when it comes to the need for imitating sports-specific force development movement patterns.
Closely related to this is Triple Extension, the rapid extension of the hips, knees and ankles. This movement is found in almost all sports. It can be seen in hockey, basketball, baseball, football, soccer, 100-yard dash, shot put, discus, and many more. Completing the Olympic lifts depends on the force generating from triple extension as well as the firing of other major muscle groups.
Olympic lifts are also complex in nature, meaning they involve movement over several joints. Many sports involve powerful movements that require coordinated function and firing of musculature over many joints. Thus it is often believe that the Olympic lifts and their breakdown lifts are excellent for the athletic strength-training program. In comparison, while single-joint exercises like curls, reverse curls and tricep pushdowns have their value for strengthening the elbow flexors and maintaining the elbow injury-free, they should not be the primary focus of the athlete.
Another important aspect about the Olympic lifts is that they are posterior chain dominant movements. In other words, they put a tremendous focus on the muscles on the back side of the body. Although the hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors and soleus muscles don’t show up when you look in the mirror, they are some of the strongest muscles in the body and some of the most important when it comes to athleticism.
Just one other feature of the Olympic lifts that makes them excellent choices to include in the athletic strength training protocol is their rate of power output. In research documented in the article Movement Pattern Specificity /Advantages of Using Pulling Movements, the authors Gattone, Schilling, Pierce, and Byrd noted the power out put of several traditional gym lifts as well as various portions of the Olympic lifts.

The comparison is staggering. Where more traditional lifts such as the bench press, squat and deadlift yielded power outputs of 300, 1100 and 1100, respectively, the Snatch produced 3000, the Clean, 2950, and the Jerk, 5400. In other words, there is a tremendous potential to develop extremely powerful athletes by incorporating the Olympic lifts and their breakdowns.
However, as great as the Olympic lifts are, there is one downside to them. They are phenomenally technical. Doing them properly in order to fully take advantage of all of the possible benefits of them depends on having an experienced, knowledgeable, and patient coach.
This summer in the Olympic Games, when the weightlifters are standing with hundreds of pounds aloft, you can rest assured that it is all a result of years of preparation and attention to technique. Unfortunately, this level of technicality is the reason that many athletic programs do not include these lifts in the strength training routine. Many athletes who could seriously benefit from time training these lifts will either never get the opportunity to perform them, or may attempt them on their own and end up with an injury.
Fortunately, there is another style of training that shares all of these benefits of the Olympic lifts: Closed-chain & ground-based movement patterns, Triple Extension, Complex Movement (multi-joint involvement), Posterior Chain Dominance, and Extreme Power output. This training style is Stone Lifting.

Stone Lifting

Stone Lifting is a common event in the sport of Strongman. It involves wrapping the arms around a round stone called an Atlas Stone and drawing it from ground level, up the athlete’s body and loading it on top of a platform. Strongman training is another type of training that is growing in popularity at all levels of training including the university and collegiate level, but many do not realize how similar stone lifting is to the Olympic lifts.
For instance, here is a pictorial comparison between the Olympic Clean and Jerk and an Atlas Stone lift starting from the floor and progressing through to the loading portion.

Set-up

In the Clean, the athlete begins by bending down and grasping the bar. In the Stone Lift, the athlete begins by bending down and wrapping the arms around the stone. While these positions are not identical, the principles are very similar.

First Pull / Pull to Lap

In the first pull of the Clean, the athlete begins to move into a more upright position, pulling the bar upward. In the first full of the Stone Lift, the athlete pulls the stone upwards, above the knee.

Second Pull / Near Lap

Next, in the Clean, the athlete slightly re-bends the knees and then moves into the second pull, drawing the bar upwards near the hips and waist. At this point in the Stone lift, the athlete continues to pull the stone upwards as high as possible.
These two phases do not quite resemble one another as much as the rest of this series of freeze-frames, due to the inherent differences of the two movements, but you will see in just a moment that the Second Pull of the Clean, the component of Triple Extension in the movement, closely resembles a different portion of the Stone Lift coming up.

Catch / Lap

Next, in the Clean, with a great flexion of the trapezius muscles the athlete pulls the bar upwards while quickly pulling himself under the bar, catching it on the front delt/clavicle area. In the stone lift, the athlete begins to drop the hips low enough to support the stone on his thighs and re-grip the stone.

Recovery / Loading Phase

Now in the Clean, the athlete returns to the upright position, readying himself for the Jerk. The Clean is complete and the Jerk is ready to be started. Similarly, at this point in the Stone Lift, the athlete fires the hips and extends the back, propelling the stone upwards and outwards in the loading phase.
At this point, you can also see that the Loading Phase of the Stone Lift is where Triple Extension comes in. This phase is similar to the Second Pull of the Clean, shown above.
As you can see, these two movements are very similar. In fact, many of the events in Strongman follow the same movement patterns as the Olympic Lifts, especially the Clean and Jerk. At this time, I have found no research or studies on Stone Lifting and the actual force that is generated in lifting stones. However, I think it is safe to assume that the force production is similar, especially when you consider that the purpose of stone lifting is to do so quickly and powerfully!
Closed-chain & ground-based movement patterns, Triple Extension, Complex Movement (multi-joint involvement), Posterior Chain Dominance, and Extreme Power Output are benefits that are shared between both the Olympic Lifts and Stone Lifting. Both of these types of training will lead to outstanding carryover for athletes in all sports!
Of course, Stone Lifting is not without its own technicality and risk. For that reason, you should not enter into it blindly.

You need a resource that will show you how to get the most out of stone training while doing it safely – Check out our DVD – Stone Lifting Fundamentals.
Click for Olympic Lift Article Source

The tire flip is one of the staples of strongman competitions. In all the strongman competitions I have ever competed in, I think the tire flip was in all but one of them. In order to excel at strongman competitions, you or your squad must get at least one tire in your collection of strongman paraphernalia, or run the risk of being ill-prepared when the contest comes.

Tire shops and scrap yards will often give an industrial tire to strongman competitors for free because these outfits must pay to have them destroyed properly. To unload one here and there to a new strongman enthusiast is a good opportunity for them to save some money for their business. Sometimes, the strongman upstart may get the tire home only to find out that it is just slightly beyond their limits in order to flip. Now what is there to do with this tire? Leave it in the corner of the lawn to collect spider webs? Is it a total loss?

The answer is no. Just because a tire you have is too heavy for you to flip right now, does not mean it is just wasting space on your property or in your gym. I am going to show you how to deload the tire so that you make it easier to flip, gradually working toward flipping the tire all by yourself under your own might!

All you need for this deloading set-up is a large eye bolt with a long, pointed thread and a large eye hole, a pen, a carabiner, a couple of strong JumpStretch bands, and that extra large tire!

Step 1: Fasten the threaded eye bolt to the side of the tire. In my case, I was able to do this very easily because the tire was already cracked. If your tire does not have blemishes like mine does, then you may need to pound a nail into the tire with a hammer about ¼ inch and then pull it out. The hole will be perfect for the point of the eye bolt to enter the tire. For additional leverage, you can pass a pen through the eye to keep it burrowing into the tire. Stop when the eye hole meets the rubber.

Step 2: Attach the carabiner to the to the eye bolt. I like the carabiners from IronMind. They have a nice flat angle to them and work great for connecting bands to them. Which is next…

Step 3: Attach a JumpStretch band to the carabiner. I suggest using either a green or blue band, especially if the tire is REALLY heavy. On that band, link another – you want to have several feet of pull distance, and two bands gives you the perfect length.

Your deloading set-up for the tire is now ready.

Step 4: Connect the end of the second band to a large, sturdy, fixed object, or have a partner hold onto it. The bands should be stretched so that their tension is fairly substantial. This tension is going to help you lift the tire to a vertical position. A partner works best for supplying the band resistance, as they can move backwards or forwards very easily to adjust how much help the athlete gets when attempting to raise the tire.

As you can see, this set-up works is simple to set up. In fact, two budding strongman competitors recently started training on my tire and could not flip it on their first workout. For their second workout, we attached the deloading set-up and they were able to bring the tire upright on their first attempt with the bands attached. Here’s the video:

Righting the tire with the help of the bands gave them the boost in confidence they needed and the next round, they each flipped the tire with no bands attached!

I think you will find that this deloading set-up will work great for getting you over the hump and pushing the big tires over to their demise.

Another excellent use for this technique is for speed and repetition method with the tire. It’s not enough to be able to flip the tire just once to finish the tire event at the strongman contest. You must be able to flip the tire for sometimes a dozen repetitions and time is very important to your success! With that in mind, you can attach your deload set-up and complete several tire liftss – one after the other – repeatedly bringing it to the upright position, pulling it back over, and immediately attacking it right away to build your lung capacity, quickness in the flip, and stamina in the legs and lower back. You can emphasize quickness in the feet and speed in the hands, transition from a supinated grip to a pronated grip.

In short, deloading the tire is a great way to build many facets of your strongman game without having to set-up multiple stations or use multiple tires, which saves you space at your facility and training time!

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and get your deload set-up put together right away and give it a try! Once you give it a go, check back here and let us know how it worked for you!

-Napalm-

Ready to Take Your Tire Flip to the Next Level?
Check out Intro to Strongman Training