Steel Bending Resources

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

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

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

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

Steel Bending Videos

Grade 8 Bolt Bent with Head Removed

7″ FBBC Stainless Bastard Bar Reverse Miss

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

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

Grade 8 Bolt Reverse – 11/6/16

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

Volume Bending to Improve Top Bending Strength | Cooking With Napalm

Mason’s Hope Strongman Show 2016: Horseshoe Bend

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

Masons Hope Strongman Show 2016: Breaking a Nail to Pieces

Will Sledge Hammer Levering Help My Nail Bending?

Viewer Asks “What’s Your Biggest Accomplishment?”

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

Red Nail Reverse Bend & Measure Only

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

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

Nail Bending Questions & Answers – Cooking with Napalm

Strongman Feats: Bending a Hammer

Strongman Feats of Strength: Bending a 60D Nail

Strongman Feats: Jedd Johnson Bends a Horseshoe

Strongman Jedd Johnson – Bending a Drop Forged Steel Wrench

Strongman Jedd Johnson – Bending a Carpenter’s Hammer

Strongman Jedd Johnson – Bending a Horseshoe

Strongman Jedd Johnson – Bending a Frying Pan

Strongman Bending 8″ Steel Wrench

Strongman Wrench Bend

60D Nail Break Under 3 Minutes

Nail Bending – Double Overhand Technique

Napalm Bends the Red Nail

Napalm Bends the Red Nail

Napalm Gets Called Out

Steel Bending Articles

5 Tips for Bending a Wrench

Welcome to the Jungle – The Ultimate Form of Bending

The Importance of Double Compression in Bending

Balancing Steel Bending with Other Training

8 Reasons to Start Bending Horseshoes

Success Stories: Bending Your First Horseshoe

How the Strength of Steel is Determined in Steel Bending

What You Need for Horseshoe Bending

What Sets Horseshoe Bending Apart from Other Strength Feats

The Journey Into Nail Bending

Isometric Hammer Work for Bending Success

4 Ways to Improve the Kink for Reverse Bending

Nail Bending and Variation of Metals

Intro to Nail Bending

Advanced Nail Wrapping

Will Sledge Hammer Levering Help Me Bend Bigger Bars?

Red Beard Power – Adam Moyers Bends the Red Nail

Interview with the Red Dragon Slayer – Nate Brous

Feats of Strength: Nail Breaking

Horseshoe Progression List

Rick Giese Bends the Red Nail

Rolling Frying Pans and Managing Radiant Tension

Chicken Winging and Angry Texting

What is the Best Material for Wrapping Nails?

Steel Bending Workout

The latest Workout of the Month is ready to go!

Last month was a wrist and lower arm primer workout to get you ready for steel bending, call the Sledge Only Workout.

Now, with a few weeks of wrist training under your belt, it’s time to try your hands at bending, and I’ve got the workout program for you to get started the right way.

This month’s steel bending workout is called the Less is More Bending Workout.

When you click that link right above, you’ll learn EXACTLY why I called it that.

But here’s the short version: I think most benders do TOO MUCH bending, and end up setting their progress back, because of all the excess work they do.

The point of this month’s workout is to keep the volume under control, help you stay strong throughout your steel bending journey, and then you’ll be on your way to the big steel FASTER!

I can’t wait to hear your feedback on the Workout, after you go through it.

Grab your copy today here => Steel Bending Workout.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

This weekend, we traveled to Johnson City, NY, and Fitness Headquarters.

This would be the locale for yet another Diesel Bender to certify on the Red Nail.

The Red Nail, is not actually a “nail,” but a piece of round stock measuring 5/16″ in diameter and 7″ in length.

In the past Eli Thomas certified on the Red Nail at Fitness HQ (2005) and I did it in 2007 as well.

This time, it was Luke Raymond’s turn.

Here’s the video:

Luke Raymond Slays the Red Dragon

If you’ve been following along, you know that Luke took to bending pretty well. The first time he tried bending, he wiped out a 60D with suede wraps.

The 60D has been considered the benchmark feat of bending strength for quite some time. If you could bend on, you earned the respect of others as someone with potential.

To say that Luke has potential is an understatement. We can only guess what he will be capable of.

If you want to try bending, make sure you get the ebook that has helped several hundred people get their bending career going in the right direction. The Diesel Crew Nail Bending eBook.

No other resource in the world covers the information you need to know as a new bender like this eBook does.

Grab it today, and who knows…maybe we’ll see your name up in lights as a Certified Red Nail Bender sometime in the not-so-distant future.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ironic, how that describes Steel Bending perfectly as well.

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

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

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

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

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

Bending nails into U’s.

Twisting Horseshoes into S’s.

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

But they leave you wanting more.

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

Scrolling Steel is the ULTIMATE form of Bending.

The ultimate Feat of Strength.

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

Why Scrolling Steel is the ULTIMATE Form of Bending.

Welcome to the Jungle – Click the Link Above

Jedd Johnson & Bud Jeffries

Over a year ago, my buddy Josh McIntyre and I were emailing and he suggested a name for a series to be featured here on the site called Tales from the Grip. It was to be stories of training written by all of you and posted here on the site.

The title is of course a play on words of Tales from the Crypt, which if you have never seen, was a horror story series shown on HBO, I believe, about 20 years ago and probably longer. I am probably showing my age by referencing it…LOL.

Tales from the Grip – Fayette Fair, Dunbar PA – July 2012

Today, I am going to start the series off by telling you of my experiences doing my first ever professional Strongman Performances, at the Fayette Fairgrounds, which started last night (July 26th) and will continue on until Tuesday July 31. If you are in the area of Dunbar, PA, you should come check it out.

How it Came to Be

I received an email from John Beatty well over a year ago asking if I’d ever be interested in doing Strongman Performances with him or for him. John was the owner of Fat Bastard Barbell Company for several years before recently selling it to his friend Jerry when he got to busy to keep it going. If that doesn’t ring a bell, then you may remember seeing him on TV back in 2010 on America’s Got Talent when he gave the big “In Your Face” to Piers Morgan.

Here’s the video:

John is an accomplished Strength Athlete himself. He was a professional strongman competitor from 2000 to 2010, and has also competed in many powerlifting and Grip Sport competitions, while also bending some awesome high-level steel.

After the initial emails, I didn’t hear much from John for quite some time, so I didn’t think much of it, but then, late last year, I got a call from John and he told me that he could use me for some shows coming up in the summer. I thought it sounded like an awesome and fun opportunity and I immediately told him I would love to try it.

In the months to come, I picked John’s brain about how to even set up a Strongman show. Considering my bending experience was limited to contests where you generally wrap and try to bend as big of steel as possible in 5 minutes time, the idea of putting together an entire 30-minute program seemed very daunting.

I have watched performing strongmen like John Brookfield, Dennis Rogers, Pat Povilaitis, Dave Whitley and Mike Bruce a handful of times over the years, but they mainly had performed single feats as part of other strength endeavors. John Brookfield did some of his bending feats during a larger expo in conjunction with other acts. Dennis, Pat, Mike, and David had all done their feats at Mighty Mitts between events. All of them were awesome performances, but they were shorter in duration.

However, with John’s guidance and coaching, I began to see some light at the end of the tunnel. He and I talked several times over the last 6 months and he would always share some knowledge about how to set up shows, some of the staple feats he did, and how to tie feats together to make the show run well. I soon began developing confidence in myself to be able to put a variety of feats together that would be entertaining for the crowd to watch.

Building the Equipment

About 6 months ago, John sent me the plans for some of the equipment that he uses in his shows. One was a deadlift platform that kids can sit on and then you lift them up. Another was a finger lift platform where someone lays on a board and you lift them with one finger. And the last one was a Bed of Nails.

In hindsight, the right thing to do would have been to get right on it and buy the lumber and build all of the equipment so that I could train on it and get to know it.

Unfortunately, what I did was I put it off and never built anything until last weekend. I am no carpenter. In fact, I make a poor carpenter’s assistant, so I enlisted my Dad to help me put this stuff together. I figured it would take us maybe 4 hours on a Sunday morning to build it all.

No.

It took use two hole days of serious work to build just the kiddie deadlift platform and the bed of nails. It took me 4 hours just to pound all of the nails through the plywood for the bed of nails, so that was quite a wake-up call in itself. Nevertheless, with the help of my good old Dad, the two pieces got built and I even through some deck stain on the deadlift platform. John was impressed with the craftsmanship and said that mine looks better than his! I told him I wanted to make sure everything looked good since my show was going to be a reflection on him.

The Drive Down

Finally, the day to come to the fair arrived. I figured, again, that the drive would be about 4 hours. I dropped the baby off at the babysitter and turned on the GPS in order to get an estimate of how long it would take to get down here. I nearly laid an egg when it said 5.5 hours. I still had to go get the trailer and load everything on it in addition to packing everything up in the car…amazing.

Once loaded, I got out on the road. I have never pulled a trailer behind a vehicle on a 4-lane highway. Quite interesting! I was swerving a bit at first, but eventually got used to it. PennDot has construction projects going on, on just about every highway I drove on yesterday, including a section on Route 22 where the road is one lane and the barricades seem just about wide enough to afford like a foot of space on each side of the trailer. Lots of fun driving, I can assure you. Sweat was pouring down my brow into my eyes as I drove. Awesome.

The First Shows

It felt good to drive the Jeep onto the Fairgrounds and find my location for the shows. I was placed under a pavilion, which was a good thing because it was pouring buckets last night.

For the first day of the Fair, with such bad weather, the fair was nearly empty, but we got the two shows in that were scheduled. The small crowds were great to break the ice and get things rolling.

In the first show, John handled the PA system and narrated. He and I traded back and forth doing feats.

For the second show, I manned the PA and narrated and did 6 feats while John did 4. Everything went well, including my flaming hammer torch feat. Other feats that we did included the kiddie deadlift, phone book tearing, horseshoe bending, mace swinging, kettlebell juggling, and more. A rather diverse range of feats.

More to Come

As the rest of the shows progress, I will keep you posted. But I must say, I am pumped to be doing them.

I never thought I would ever get up on a stage and perform for a crowd. I always saw myself as more of the coach person who would help others enjoy the feats of strength by safely learning to do them themselves, but after just one day, I am excited to be given the opportunity to share what I know in this new way.

I really want to say thank you to John Beatty, “The Strongman,” for giving me this opportunity. Find out more about John here: John Beatty The Strongman.

Oh, and by the way, my favorite feat so far has been bending stuff while laying on the bed of nails. Surprisingly the pain from 600 nails digging into your butt and back fizzles away when the adrenaline rushes through the body.

If you are in the area, be sure to stop by. If not, keep coming by the site as I will be adding to this post as the shows go on.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Learn Everything You Need to Know about Gripper Training

TGA Member Spotlight: Jason Steeves

Today, I want to spotlight someone from The Grip Authority, my Grip Strength coaching site, Jason Steeves. Jason is someone who has put forth a great deal of effort in order to improve his technique and accomplish his goals in the area of Grip Strength development.

A lot of people are surprised when they join TGA because it is not like a lo of other Membership Sites. The way I run TGA is I try to be like a coach, sort of as if we are all on a baseball or football team. As the Coach, I try my best to help develop everyone on the team (the members).

And just like any conventional sport, where each player needs specific skills and must improve certain parts of their game in order to excel in their position, each one of my members has their own particular goals, and I do my best to help them all develop them.

Part of being a coach is to put out recognition of the improvements that I am noticing, and in the past I have kept this recognition primarily within the TGA group itself, BUT, now I want to bring some of that recognition outside as well.

Jason is a great example of a coachable member on the team. By coachable, I mean, he takes suggestions and gives them an honest try in his training to see whether they work for him, and then gives me feedback so I know it is working (or not).

Jason makes my “job” as “Coach” easy – Jason regularly makes comments on the TGA Blog about the monthly features and instructional videos, and even sometimes I’ll get an email from him.

Jason is also a great team player. We have a private Facebook group for the Members at The Grip Authority, and he is one of the most active members, often making posts within threads, “Liking” posts, and showing others encouragement when they post videos.

So I sent a note to Jason a few months back about doing a spotlight here and he agreed. I have been meaning to post it for some time and wanted to go ahead and do so today.

Interview with Jason Steeves

Jedd: How did you learn about TGA?

Jason: I think I first heard about TGA through the Grip Strength Radio pieces you were doing Jedd. I really enjoyed them and the call ins and wish that more people would’ve participated as there was a lot of good information floating around and some good interviews.

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Jedd: Did you have any reservations about signing up?

Jason: I guess I just wasn’t sure what to expect so I didn’t end up signing on towards the end of the first year you had TGA running.

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Jedd: Why did you end up joining The Grip Authority?

Jason: I’m in a position that I can help support grip to some extent and want to really help Jedd and the others that are devoting so much time and effort to get this thing off the ground. Once I was on there I found a wealth of great training information and have implemented much of it into my own.

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Jedd: What were your expectations when you joined TGA?

Jason: Get in touch with more of the grip community and to improve on my own endeavors in grip.

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Jedd: What are some of the things you have learned since joining The Grip Authority?

Jason: There’s a lot that I’ve picked up here at TGA. Some of the pinching volume and reverse bending tweaks are what stand out in my mind. Probably the thing that I’ve learned that gets utilized the most is implementing the band hammer curls which I super-set with band press-downs. This is a tremendous recovery aid (I think it blows the pipes up a tad too :D). Reverse bending if I end up doing to much of it can really bugger up my elbow area. These exercises can take that pain away significantly and quickly.

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Jedd: What are some of the features you like about The Grip Authority.com?

Jason: I really like the audio, workouts of the month and the interaction we get on Facebook although I wish more people were more active there as well. For anyone who’s reading this some of the best coaching you can get is to shoot a video of yourself and put it up. People are usually very friendly and knowledgeable in this community and can help bring your gains to the forefront. I think that for TGA to be the best that it can be we need that interaction vs just waiting for Jedd to show us stuff all of the time. Use the group, interact.

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Jedd: What are some of the improvements you have made since coming onto The Grip Authority?

Jason: I can specifically state that through information that you’ve provided us my wide pinch drastically improved allowing me to pinch my wide 35’s, 5 dimes, get almost 70# on a 4″ HSS pinch trainer I made, 50# Legacy blob and damn close to my blob50 and regular York blob.

I also took my reverse bending from wobbling gr8 bolts to demolishing them, red nails, all sorts of FBBC stock and placing certs on the Benders Battlefield and David Horne’s World of Grip. I’m also sitting at a half decent spot with my 5/8″ braced bending.

I didn’t really focus real hard on grippers last year but maintained a level of being able to close my #3’s with a parallel set anytime I want and have TNS my 2.5 a few times.

My two hand pinch is also on the way up. I’ve been mainly using my Saxon bar for the past bit but am consistently getting pulls of 215 or so and the number keeps climbing.

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Jedd: Who else do you think should join TGA? Anyone you think would benefit from the info in particular?

Jason: Definitely anyone with any sport aspirations. A persons hands and wrists are the final link of our power transfer and to many people misuse lifting straps leaving them gym strong but not work strong.

One of the main reasons I like it is it’s fun though. Doing feats of strength like the oldtime strongmen, farmers and tradesmen is a good show for anyone. Eyes open pretty good when you start quartering decks of cards, bending steel, ripping phonebooks, etc.

The grip community is also really good and most people freely share information and stories as well as implements and such to people who’re in need. Plus it’s pretty interesting to figure out who all of these characters are, talk with them and compete with them. I love this sport 🙂

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I really want to think Jason for letting me do this spotlight with him and for being a long-time supporter of my site and my efforts. It has been awesome watching him improve on many lifts, especially his pinching feats. The “student” has truly surpassed the teacher in this case, as well, because I think he would thoroughly Kick My Ass in a reverse bending contest now.

As a kid, I always saw myself one day becoming a baseball coach, since it seemed like I played baseball FOREVER, but after trying that here and there, I realized that it just wasn’t my passion to do that.

Instead, my passion is Grip Strength Training, Feats of Strength, and things along those lines, and it feels awesome to watch a video of one of my guys or gals (yes, I have women on the site too) accomplishing awesome feats they have been training so long and hard for.

Jason, keep up the great work. I look forward to seeing even more out of you.

For everyone else who’d like to come aboard The Grip Authority, <= click that link. Jedd

For a few months now, my friend Sean Dockery and I have been doing weekly to bi-weekly episodes of Grip Strength Radio, where we run down interesting happenings in the sport of Grip, as well as talk about effective ways we have found to train for Grip Strength, and many other cool topics.

GSR Episode 15

Our most recent interview was with The Iron Tamer Dave Whitley. Dave is a Senior RKC, meaning he is one of the top ranking instructors in all of the Dragondoor/Russian Kettlebell echelon. He also is enamored with the olde-time strongman legacy, performs the classic feats of strength, and is also a very entertaining guy.

I first learned about Dave back in 2007, but never got the chance to meet him until 2009. I was at a conference and I looked to my right and there he was. I introduced myself and we instantly went out into the lobby to chat.

We shot this video:

As it turns out, on top of holding jobs in the past as a massage therapist, a rock star, and now as a top performer of strongman feats and instructor in the area of kettlebells, Dave was also, for a time, a professional wrestler.

As you will be able to tell, the content for the interview wrote itself, and I finally got my revenge on the Iron Tamer.

Check out the show here: Grip Strength Radio with the Iron Tamer Dave Whitley

Also, make sure you give a good listen to the song played during the second break. It’s called “Water” by the band Hands. Doc added it in and it’s awesome. He has reached out to many record companies and almost all of them have allowed us to use their music, so stay tuned to future shows because you may just hear a future hall of famer like Guns n’ Roses or someone who will try to deny entry to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, like Axel Rose.

Other Recent Grip Strength Radio Shows

In addition to the interview with Dave, Sean and I also have a bunch of other shows we have recorded in the last few weeks:

Interview with Paul Knight
Mighty Mitts Re-cap
GSR – Back on the Air
Interview with Paul Knight

If you are familiar with iTunes, you can sign up for subscription updates for Grip Strength Radio through the iTunes store.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

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Learn Everything You Need to Know about Gripper Training,
with CRUSH: Total Gripper Domination.

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I am proud to announce that one of my coaching clients, Richard Giese, has succeeded in bending the IronMind Red Nail with IronMind Wraps and no rubber bands only.

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Rick first contacted me at the beginning of last year and wanted coaching on Grip and Bending. He said he felt he had a good understanding of Grip and Bending, but he wanted some guidance to break through some plateaus. He told me his goals, sent me his list of Grip equipment (dude ricks nice collection of toys), and we scheduled our first coaching call.

We got started with a complete Grip and Bending program last February, and his progress immediately started exploding.

In less than a month, he was bending steel equivalent in size to the red nail in leather wraps here and there. Once he started dominating them, we then began the transition away from leather and towards IronMind cordura wraps, which make the feat much harder.

This journey to slaying the Red Nail did not come easy. Along the way, Rick experienced a couple of injuries. One of them, he was ripping a giant phone book with insufficient warm-up and jacked something in his forearm.

A few months later, he messed up a shoulder doing double digit repetitions in the Muscle-up.

These turned out to be significant injuries that required professional assistance in order to overcome. Some people, when they get injured, throw in the towel and they give up on their goals and dreams, but not Rick.

Rick contacted a very good chiropractor in his area and got the treatments he needed to bring his body back to 100%.

When his body needed the recovery time to battle the injuries, he deloaded, not allowing himself to get distracted by the injury but rather to give his limbs the time they needed to come back.

Rick came back stronger than before after both injuries and now he is still doing elite-level bodyweight feats like double-digit Muscle-ups, Human Flags, Dragon Flags, and now Bending Red Nails in authentic fashion, all while in his early 40’s.

It’s been my pleasure working with Rick over the course of the last year and I can’t wait to see what else he accomplishes. We just sat down for a re-alignment of goals via Skype last week, and he tells me that now he has his eyes set on the Inch Dumbbell.

I take no credit at all for Rick’s accomplishment. He is the one that fought the battles. He is the one that got stopped along the way, threw half bent Red Nails through dry wall. And he is the one that took the energy and refocused it where it needed to go, while also accomplishing some other awesome bodyweight and grip strength feats along the way.

Please feel free to leave a comment below for Rick. It’s been awesome being his coach through this journey and becoming good friends with him along the lines as well.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

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P.S. Want to bend the Red Nail one day? You can start out like Rick did with my renowned ebook on nail bending, so creatively named, The Nail Bending eBook. Click the image below.

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

I have had lots of questions from people wanting to know exactly what braced bending is and what is covered in the Braced Bending DVD, so I wanted to answer some of those questions right now.

Here is some information about the practice of Braced Bending and our DVD.

Braced Bending Information

There is a lot that is involved in Braced Bending. Below is a list of common questions about Braced Bending. The list of questions and answers about Braced Bending below is really just scratching the surface. Our DVD goes into much more detail than this and covers much more information as it gets into the instructional portions and technique demonstration within the DVD.

What is Braced Bending

Braced Bending is the act of bending steel, tools, or other odd objects through the use of your hands and the rest of your body, except your feet (the feet are used for what is called Scrolling).

In this DVD, we show you the basics of Braced Bending, as well as many specific Braced Bending techniques. This DVD is packed with instruction, running nearly 2 hours of solid information, and no fluff or filler.

What Feats are Included in Braced Bending?

Braced Bending includes but is not limited to bending all of the following types of objects:

• Short Bars: These are steel bars that usually 14-inches or shorter.
• Mid-length Bars: These are steel bars that are usually 14 to 30-inches in length.
• Long Bars: These are bars that are 30-inches or longer.
• Wrenches: There are a LOT of different kinds of wrenches available to bend, combination wrenches, tappet wrenches, and adjustable wrenches, just to name a few.
• Hammers: Framing hammers are the most commonly bent style of hammer, and many types are bendable.
• Spikes: There are many types of spikes out on the market, especially if you include bolts into this category, along with nails. Their difficulty can vary quite a bit depending on the manufacturer and other variables.

What are the Basics of Braced Bending?

• Wraps: The ends of the bars, tools, and other objects that are bent can often be very rough and possible cut you, so they are often wrapped as a means of protecting the skin. These are generally made out of suede, cordura, or towels.
• Gloves: For some feats, such as Hammer bending, it can be almost impossible to wrap the object with wraps. In these cases it is more common to wear gloves in order to protect the hands.
• Pads: Since these feats require you to press the object against a part of your body, padding is often used. Beginners will often use additional padding until the areas of the body toughen up.
• Materials to Bend: As you can see there are many things you can bend, once you know how. Being able to bend a variety of objects of varying lengths and thicknesses will make you a more well-rounded bending machine.
• Knowledge / Technique: Obviously brute strength will only get you so far. Knowing the proper techniques for Braced Bending makes an incredible difference in your bending success. That is especially where our Braced Bending DVD comes in.

On top of covering all of the above information in complete detail, Mike and I also take you through the proper Warm-up Techniques, Strength Training Movements, and other measures you can take to be a great bender, while remaining injury free.

Mike and I also have a little something special planned for those who pick up the DVD before January 26th, so make sure to check this out right now: How to Do Braced Bending.

Make sure your order your copy of Braced Bending today in order to take advantage of the special bonus offer and start your bending journey on the right foot!

All the best in your training,

Jedd

When I was a kid, maybe 8 years old, I was caught in a tornado.

It was one of the scariest moments of my life and to this day I still have nightmares about it.

You see, my family and I were fishing in a pond in our small boat. It was something we did quite routinely in the summer-time.

I remember the fish were biting, the sun was out, and it was an awesome day.

But then, all of a sudden, it was like the fish just shut down. The sun moved behind the clouds, and the breeze quit blowing.

It was really quiet, a strange and eery quiet – more like an absence of sound, where your ears start pumping as if they are desperately searching for something to hear…

Then, CRACK! There was an immense thunder-clap followed by a crack of thunder and instantly the rain started coming down.

My dad rushed us back to shore and we sprinted to our truck where we waited the storm out. I still remember the tornado shaking the truck.

Even as scary as the storm was, the thing that I remember most is that strange calmness that came about – the Calm Before the Storm, so they call it.

Well, right now is the Calm Before the Storm, because very soon the Tornado of craziness that is the Braced Bending DVD will come out.

I’ve worked very hard on this DVD to make it a winner for you.

I’ve edited and re-edited the video. I’ve added voice-overs, and put in slow-motion replays so that you can get the absolute best look at these amazing feats being done, so that you too can perform them.

Yes, this is the Calm Before the Storm, and just as that Tornado tore through the countryside shaking cars, ripping down branches, and knocking over old barns leaving a path of destruction behind it, when you get this DVD, you will be able to cut your own swath of damage as well.

After all, this DVD is called Braced Bending: How to Destroy EVERYTHING in Your Path.

As I put the final touches on everything that needs to be done, it is the Calm Before the Storm.

And the Tornado is this DVD.

More to come later. Keep your eyes open for more storm warnings from me, because this a storm you HAVE to see.

Jedd

P.S. No DVD anywhere will show you the detail that Mike and I do. There is nothing that compares to it. Believe me – I’ve seen them all.

(Coming Soon)

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

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

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

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

Feats of Strength Newsletter

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

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

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

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

---

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Feats of Strength Newsletter

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks and all the best in your training.

Jedd

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

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Hello DIESEL’s!

Check out this video of a hardcore Diesel Bending Maniac putting his Diesel threads in ACTION!

This is Carl Donati Jr, and he is putting a serious hurtin’ on an FBBC Golden Bastard with single IMP’s in less than 30 seconds.

Notice the killer Diesel Shirt that Carl is sporting! There’s at least one PR in every shirt, GUARANTEED.

In case you are not familiar with all of the terminology included here, I will explain.

Bastard – 7″ Bar from FBBC. Once bent, you attain the title, Bastard. This bar takes roughly 480=lbs to bend, as measured with the recognized method that was designed (to the best of my knowledge) by Eric Milfeld.

Golden Bastard – 3/8″ Diameter Brass Bastard Bar. Once bent you attain the title Golden Bastard.

IMP’s – Iron Mind Pads (the blue cordura wraps from IronMind Enterprises that must be used for their Red Nail Certification)

Single IMPS’s – This is to show that only one IMP is used per end of the bar. IMP’s are about 12-inches wide and are usually folded in twice before wrapping. Despite this “layering” of these “pads”, they give you very little actual padding – there is still a significant pain factor going on.

As you can see, Carl knocked this out of the park and surely qualified for the certification list at FBBC.

There are actually many, many (MANY) lists that are kept all over the internet for bending, nails, bolts, and various types of steel, stainless, and brass bars, among other things. It’s crazy how much the sport has evolved in the last few years.

Nail Bending isn’t just about wrapping the nail, bar, or bolt with as much padding as possible and bending it. There are many recognized methods, each varying in difficulty, pain tolerance, and other factors.

If you want to get started with Bending like this, then here is how you can do it…

• Nail Bending eBook: The most compelte reference on Bending that exists. Quick easy download for just $39.97
• Nail Bending DVD: Learn the Three Major Techniques with step-by-step video instruction, as well as wrapping demos, Injury prevention, Warm-up and more – Just $59.

Also, to pick up your own Diesel shirt, check out this post: Diesel Crew Tee Shirts. They actually do come with sleeves. Carl’s guns tore threw them in a previous bending PR and they have since vaporized.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

P.S. Get on the Strongman Training DVD Early Bird List. Put your name and email in the box below.

The “Beast In The East” Steel Bending Comp
Promoted by Mike Krahling
Submitted by Mike Rinderle

The Beast in the East Steel Bending Competition will be held this Saturday, May 14th, at 10AM. Some of the best steel benders in the United States will be converging on Exton, PA to compete for hundreds of dollars in cash and prizes.
(more…)

Earlier this month, I released the Nail Bending DVD – How to Melt Steel with Your Bare Hands and the positive feedback has literally been rolling from all over the Nation and the World for that matter.

 Get Your Copy, NOW. Click here = > NAIL BENDING DVD

From Ben Edwards:

 Jedd,

I got the DVD yesterday and watched the first half of it today. LOVE the 2004 Red Nail intro loop! I know a lot of guys that would literally consider the price of the DVD worth a few views of that video alone for motivational purposes. Have really been impressed with the amount of time and effort/knowledge that went into making that Bending DVD. Even guys like me with a very solid bending base will no doubt find something that will help them along their path to increased bending strength. I’ve taken notes on a few sections of the DVD and wanted to wait until my muscle relaxers wear off (I hurt myself on Monday – bulging disc!) before I watch that part a few times through and then take notes on that as well.

Ben Edwards
GoalOrientedTraining.com

From Rory Hickman:

 Hi Jedd,

Thought I’d let you know the DVD arrived yesterday morning, I watched half yesterday and the other half this morning – absolutely awesome the whole way through! Just like your other products the video and sound quality are second only to the amazing content. I was blown away by the detail you went into just on wrapping, I’d never imagined there was so much to take into consideration and that was just the first 20 minutes or so. To be honest I could mention every section and say how good each was – but I’m not sure how many variations on the work ‘excellent’ I could come up with before it got repetitive…

I’ve already tried out the band exercise for developing the flexibility to get into the proper DO-bending position – first couple of reps barely came within 6 inches of my neck but I was able to get closer each time – I can definitely see how it will help. The thumb stretch felt great too – mine sometimes get tight from working on the computer and drawing but I could feel the stretch really well.

Love the DVD man, it’s got me completely fired up to melt some steel but I’m gonna take your advice and work back into it slowly. I’ve got a load of things to work on to get to the point where I’ll be bending anything impressive but with this I now actually know what I need to work on. Thanks for creating such an incredible product, it’s awesome that someone who’s at the competitive level you’re at is so willing to share so much of your training knowledge.

Thanks again,

Rory Hickman
StrongerDesigns.com

 Get Your Copy, NOW. Click here = > NAIL BENDING DVD

From The Iron Tamer, Dave Whitley:

From Mike “The Machine” Bruce:

This DVD is steadily making its way across the entire globe.

Truly a world-wide phenomenon, here are some of the countries where the DVD has been purchased:

 United Kingdom

Australia

Germany

Sweden

France

Thailand

Canada (Just ordered TODAY!)

Belgium (Another Country with Molten Steel!)

Switzerland (Added 1/6/11)

And if you are in the United States, and think you hear the squeaky sound of suede being tightened on a bolt or the sweet smell of steel being melted by the power of hand strength, you probably live near a nail bender. Here are some of the cities where the DVD was purchased during the first week only.

 Rosemount, MN

Sterling, VA

Chicago, IL

San Diego, CA

Stafford, VA

Shaw Air Force Base, SC

Merritt Island, FL

Jacksonville, FL

Miami, FL

(The State of Florida must be covered in molten steel by now!!!)

Bloomfield, NJ

Pittsburgh, PA

Lawrence, KS

San Bruno, CA

Fayetteville, GA

Burton, MI

Cypress, CA

Torrance, CA

Madison, CT

Moultonborough, NH

Rock Creek, OH

Tuscaloosa, AL

Corona, CA

(Expect Climate Changes in California in 2011 due to all the Nail Benders)

Thanks to everyone who has picked up the DVD!

Hearing good things about my products makes me glad that I put them out and fires me up to get the next one out there!

If you’d like to leave feedback about the DVD, please a comment in the section below…

 Get Your Copy of the Nail Bending DVD = > Start Ruining Perfectly Good Stuff

Kevin Greto’s Tropheys – 60D Timber Ties – The First of Many to Come, For Sure…

Well, the long wait is almost over.

Next week, my new DVD, Nail Bending: How to Melt Steel with Your Bare Hands, will go live.

This DVD is 90 minutes of bending instruction covering Wrapping, Bending Techniques, Strength Training, and Injury Prevention.

You can basically wrap up and bend your first nail right along with me as I show you how it is done.

To launch this thing into the Stratosphere, I am holding a contest.

I want you to tell me why you want this DVD. Tell me why you should get one.

For every 50 comments I get between now and Saturday, I will draw a winner randomly to select people who will get a free copy of the DVD.

I will announce the winners on Saturday, so when you post below make sure to include your valid email address, so I can contact you.

I am also including Facebook comments on this as well, so if you want to post there, you can do so here = > Jedd’s Facebook Page.

I have helped hundreds if not thousands of people learn to bend through my articles and my ebooks. Now I want to help even more by showing them myself.

In addition to this contest, the people who get the first shot at this DVD for a special price are the ones signed up for my Bending Newsletter. To go get signed up now, click on the banner below.

If you don’t win the contest, there will be here an announcement here on the site when the DVD is LIVE.

Until then, Happy Thanksgiving, and all the best to you and your family!

Jedd

When it comes to bending, there are some questions that seem to get asked over and over…

• What is the typical bender like?
• How does somebody get involved in Nail Bending?
• Why would someone want to bend nails in the first place?

Recently, Carl Donati Jr put together a guest post that answers many of these questions. If Bending Nails is something you’ve heard about, thought about doing, or wanted to pursue, have a look at what he says about his beginnings with Nail Bending, how he’s progressed, and what he has done to be at the level he is right now: A recently certified Red Nail Bender…

The Journey Into Nail Bending

Carl Donati Jr, Bending the Red Nail

I am writing this article to both generate interest in and provide a “push” to those that may be on the fringe of taking on steel bending. I hope to contribute something that may help in some small way. This information is aimed primarily at the beginner or intermediate. As I am writing this, I will be making my official certification attempt at bending the IronMind Red Nail in less than a week. I have come a long way in my bending skill, but still have a lot to learn and a long road ahead.

I have trained with weights consistently since I was eleven years old. I have come full-circle from a decade (+) long affair with bodybuilding to my current path as a competitive powerlifter. When I began competing as a powerlifter in my early thirties, I quickly found out my wrist strength was not up-to-par, as I obtained a moderate wrist strain when doing heavy doubles on bench one day. At this point, I began looking at ways to build up my wrist strength in a way that this type of injury would not happen again and derail my training as it had.

I did the typical stuff you’d expect in a commercial gym (wrist curls with a dumbbell and barbell, reverse wrist curls, fat bar holds … etc.), but didn’t really find what I was looking for until I came across information on the Captains of Crush Hand Grippers and later the IronMind catalog. I started to train with the grippers, doing OK over the first year. I think I was able to close the # 2 at this time. (My progress stalled but incremental gains here have me working toward the #2.5). I began to explore the IronMind catalog and incorporated several things into my training, including the Hub Pinch, the Rolling Thunder, and the Wrist Lever. About two years ago, I purchased the Bag-of-Nails. The rest is history, as I became hooked that first night!

As I think back to the day the Bag-of-Nails arrived, I remember excitedly looking through all of the contents and visualizing what I was going to do that night with the stock (nails). I looked at the white and green nails and thought, “Ok, these are definitely possible.” I looked at the yellow and blue and thought that it would take a lot of training to get to that level. When I held up and examined the Red Nail, I really did not think it was possible to bend this behemoth!

I bent double underhand with my pinkies touching using single IronMind Pads (IMP’s) for the entire first year. My first month consisted of folding the wraps into a square and putting the nails into the pads, then folding them over. It was only after doing some research that I began to roll the wrap around the nail and secured it with a rubber band. In retrospect, what I have learned and would do differently those first few months would be to seek out someone who is experienced and observe and train with them. If this is not possible, I would join the Gripboard and read/view videos, then submit my own bends for critique.

Double Underhand Bending Technique

Getting back to the double underhand (DU) style… I focused on technique and took small steps for that first half-year. It wasn’t until the last quarter of my first year I finally bent the yellow DU (Double Underhand). My progress from the yellow to the blue was very quick, unlike that first eight months. At this time, I was unaware of the Fat Bastard Barbell Company (FBBC) and their steel stock. If I would have incorporated their steel into my training, my initial progress would have been a lot smoother. The FBBC has a wide selection of steel and bolts to help facilitate your road to the Red (if that is what your goal is) in jumping between the IronMind stock and chasing other certifications such as Bender’s Battlefield, FBBC, or the Gripboard. Local hardware stores are another great location to purchase bolts and nails. For a great list of online steel/bolt suppliers and ranking of bending stock difficulty, read the appropriate sections in the Diesel Crew Bending e-Book.

After my first year, I became aware of the Diesel Crew blog and read some of the bending articles. The tips were helping me immensely and I decided to buy the Bending e-Book. After reading the e-book, I began to experiment with the Double Overhand (DO) style. The contents in Jedd Johnson’s book, along with advice I was receiving on the Gripboard enabled me to make excellent progress in the DO style of bending.

Double Overhand Bending Technique

I continued to bend DU and DO, with good progress in both techniques. It was soon thereafter I bent my first graded bolt and then a harder grade 8 bolt. At this point, I focused more on the DO style and began working my wrists with the 8-pound sledgehammer and Rolling Thunder. I also worked on my shoulder flexibility with stretches and bar hangs.

Sledge Hammer Levering

I feel that the most important accessory in my own training that helped me keep my wrists healthy and improved my all-around wrist and hand strength were the sledge levers. In doing these, I typically do 3 sets of front and rear levers for 6 – 8 reps. The levers are done in between bends. I am not very proficient in the Rolling Thunder but do this 2 times per week for ten second holds and singles.

Looking back through my training logs, one interesting point to make is that many of my PR bends were done in between sets of heavy squats and deadlifts. I did not do a strictly dedicated bending workout until I started bending the 5/16” diameter stuff. I have compared my intensity on heavy S/DL days with specific bends to that of the same stock on non-lifting days and the former wins by far. Personally, I am in a better mindset on my heavy days to explode into the steel, though have been bridging the gap in recent months.

This takes me to the pre-bend psych-up. I have worked on focused deep breathing exercises and visualization techniques. Prior to the bend, I consciously track each breath in and out until I am in a relaxed, but focused state. At this point, I briefly rehearse what I will be doing with the outcome being the destruction of the steel.

Reverse Style Bending

As mentioned above, I started to bend double underhand and then switched to double overhand. Several months back, I began to experiment with the reverse grip. To me, this style of bending (hands low with thumbs touching) feels better and more natural then DU. And reverse bending is a lot of fun! At the current time, I am getting better at reverse grip, where I am now bending grade 5’s to almost 40 degrees. I hope to continue my progress with this style and will continue to work to improve it as much as I can. As my bending progresses, I will continue to work all three styles of bending: double overhand, double underhand, and reverse style.

IronMind Pads

Lastly, I would like to touch briefly on the types of wraps I used and continue to bend with. As mentioned previously, I bent exclusively with the IronMind pads (IMP’s) for the entire first year. Although these pads were tough on the hands – I had many blisters and cuts those first few months – I think by doing this, my hands became conditioned to the point now where the calluses protect against almost any problem. When I jumped up to the 5/16” bolts and CRS (Cold-Rolled Steel), I bent using the IMP’s with a small piece of leather wrapped around it for a total diameter of about 1.2.” Upon taking the bolt/bar down to 2″, I would cut a small piece off from the leather and work with until I was proficient… and so on until I was bending using just the IronMind wraps.

I hope I was able to provide you with some tips that help with your bending or enable you to reach another level of stock. To me, bending has permeated many other parts of my life (powerlifting, work, motivation, etc.) in a positive way. It has taught me how to focus intensely on one specific thing and transfer my energy in an explosive manner. A great aspect of steel bending is the many short-term goals you end up setting and achieving, and the mental effect of that success on your psyche. Many days, I find myself rushing home to start bending or skipping my off days because I just can’t wait.

If you are thinking about getting started, don’t waste any more time and just do it! Going all the way back to one of my original reasons to start bending – to help prevent wrist strains for the bench press – I haven’t had a problem with my benching since I started to bend steel.

Carl Donati, JR – Certified Red Nail Bender

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Carl, thanks so much for submitting your guest post and congratulations on your recent certification on the Red Nail. Also thanks for the props on the Nail Bending eBook. I am glad it has been helpful to you in your Journey in Steel Bending.

P.S. If you’d like to get started with Nail Bending safely, there is no better resource that the Nail Bending eBook

Ultimate Forearm Training for Baseball | How to Bend Nails | How to Tear Cards | Feats of Grip Strength Explained | How to Build Your Own Equipment | How to Lift Atlas Stones | The Sh*t You’ve Never Seen | Sled Dragging for Athletes | The Road to the Record DVD

Double Overhand Bending

I’ve done a great deal of steel bending in my time. I’ve bent nails, bolts, steel stock, horse shoes, widow makers and more. I’ve bent alongside some of the best steel benders in the world in grip contests.

How to Improve at Bending

When it comes to building strength for bending, there is no doubt that the best option is BENDING. Buying the piles of nails, ordering the stock , wrapping the bolts, and bending the hell out them all on a regular basis. This is the number one way to get better because it is the only specific type of training for it.

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

Sonny Barry bending a 5/8″ x 43″ round steel bar at the 2009 Olde Time Strongman and Barbell dinner

STEEL BENDING CONTEST

Sonny Barry recently contacted me and asked me to help him get the word out about his contest he is holding in Philadelphia in January.

SEE THE DETAILS AFTER THE JUMP (more…)

Bent IronMind Red Nail – Do You Have What it Takes?

Bending has come so far since I started doing it, it isn’t even funny.

When Smitty and I started bending we used to wrap a canvas wrist wrap around whatever we were bending. This would often result in a very loose wrap and the bar we were bending would slip all over the place. We could get no leverage on the nail because we were grasping and pinching at the slim piece of material. We had to be extremely cautious when we were bending because if the nail or bar slipped it would bite us in the hand or finger. Each bend had the chance to injure us.

Here is one of the very first videos I ever put out. You can see that it is wrapped with a leather strap, slightly longer than the canvas strap we first started using.

Good thing that was only 1/4-inch HRS!

Later on, we realized that most people were wrapping their nails with (more…)