Big Bertha Has Lost Some Weight

 Certain times in my life, I wanted to see what I can handle with some very heavy weight. I still do today but only in smaller capacities. Weight Training wise, I'll hit the gym every now and then and test myself and come back and see the progress like I do with my Fat Gripz. It's fun for a while but at some point, you've got to cut back a bit and focus on strength that matters in the long term, not what your max is. 

In this case, I decided to reduce the weight of my Epic Sledgehammer that's happily named Big Bertha. For years I've had her, she went up in weight starting at 26 lbs empty and went up to 35, 45, 54, 59 and eventually 75 lbs. This was at first upping weight to work on my deck of cards and whenever I was able to complete the deck, I would up the weight. It stayed at 59 lbs for the longest time because I stopped doing the cards and just repping it. Eventually I wanted to see how heavy I can handle it and was repping it at 75 lbs. Very few people on this planet are able to do it and one of the only people I know of who can rep a hammer at 100 lbs is the Mad Scientist Nick Nilsson. For a time, I wanted to match him but in the end, if anybody who should own the 100 lb club title it's him, that dude takes strength into another universe. 

It stayed stagnant for a period of time and only worked that hammer a handful of times at that heavy of a weight. I didn't want it to just be on display so I made the decision to cut her down to a weight where it's still heavy but it's not difficult for me to kill myself over trying to pick it up and rep it only a few times. I scooped out the lead shot and ended up going down to just under 46 lbs which was comfortable for me to work with. That hammer regardless of weight, is not to be messed with. 

Sledgehammers are a whole other animal when it comes to lifting and moving weight. The strength you build is different, the type of grip you develop is on a whole other level. It's strength that builds legends like Slim Farman or John Henry. It should be fun playing with this thing again and using it for strength and using my Giants hammer for conditioning. You can get fit with hammers without breaking your back to do it and it doesn't take long to feel it once you get into it. Hammers are old school, making boys into men and building strength outside the normal gym culture. Work with a weight that is comfortable for you and take advantage of the benefits. The best hammers are made by Ryan Pitts at strongergrip.com. Be amazingly awesome and have fun. 

Being Explosive And Powerful Using Sledgehammers

A major thing about having an implement that you can smash the shit out of a tire with is being able to load it up to a weight that makes you feel like you have the power of a god in your hands. It's an awesome and bad ass way to use progression training to develop strength little by little. The mighty hammers at Stronger Grip are the like the barbell and weights of the olden days where hard work was earned. Using a hammer is hard work whether on a job or as a training tool and it's not to be messed with. 

Now, having a fixed weight is awesome and some of the best boxers and fighters have had great success with working with fixed weight hammers and/or axes to take down insane trees. Loading up on a hammer though whether it's the Thor Hammer, Epic Sledge or the Tactic Conditioning version, is just beautiful in a productive violent kind of way. The different styles of swinging even down to the very micro addition or decrease of your footing will show you your weaknesses and your strengths through your coordination and awareness. Sometimes it can take just one thing to turn you into a testosterone fueled machine and I can't stress enough how strong you can get adding weight to a hammer.

Each version of a sledgehammer has their own perks in terms of developing your strength, conditioning, coordination and durability. When you hit the tire and the hammer bounces off, it creates a shock to your hands and if you can't keep a firm grip on the handle, I don't want want to know what could happen if that sumbitch flew right out of your hands. That's the true aspect of having insane grip strength; you can do an insane amount of pullups, crush an ironmind gripper or do brutal fingertip pushups building those Eagle Claws but the amount of strength needed to move a heavy fucking hammer is in a class all by itself. 

Some will see it as a little toy you like to play with but if you want to call it a toy, than to us crazy bastards, it's a toy of Norse Legends & Gods. A toy is a little plastic figurine or a tool that even an ant can lift, Hammers are the tools that turns boys into men and men into another form of a powerful human being. Once you get a hold of one and consistently use it, you'd probably have to control shaking someone's hand so you don't break something. Again, there's no implement more intimidating and full of strength and power than the awesome Sledgehammer. 

Some of Ryan Pitts' Hammers vary in weight (empty or completely filled) depending on the kind you get. All will make your grip a force to be reckoned with but each implement showcases different aspects of Strength: The Thor Hammers can be used as a thicker version of Indian Clubs that forces you to squeeze your hands with great intensity, Popeye will be impressed with the results that range filled weight from 30-70lbs. The Tactical Hammer is a smooth handled implement that is used mainly for conditioning purposes and bring forth the power of an old time stone breaker; this hammer has a filled weight to about 25-30 max. The Epic Sledge (the mecca of sledgehammers) is the most beastly of all of these Hammers. The head alone is massive and the handle is slightly thicker or just as thick as the Thor Hammers so imagine the strength needed just to work with. This comes in 26 lbs empty, larger than the average size hammers and can be filled to the brim weighing up to 100 lbs. Imagine the type of grip you can posses just repping that hammer at 50 lbs or more. This is a hammer that even the mightiest gods will be impressed by and bring the power of John Henry into your soul. 

Become explosive, have the grip strength of a deity, have a workload that will even have the most elite athletes gasp for air in a matter of seconds. You guys deserve to be strong and you have the right to have the right tools in your hands. With a hammer in your hands, you shall become more than you can possibly imagine.

How Many Strikes Does It Take To Build Muscle With A Sledgehammer?

One of the things I love about Physical Culture and Fitness overall is being able to research things and finding various resources on training to help give me ideas on what could work and utilizing it in my own way. Doing research and actually testing things out is a big step to finding what could work for you and gaining a perspective from other aspects of training. With that said, there's also an overwhelming side of the coin when it comes to researching and learning things because many put their own spin on what works and how they obtained info and is it possible to trust that info?

Let's face it, when you research certain topics in the world of working out, you're going to get a lot of posers, arm chair shmucks, ghost writers and even dumbasses that claim they know what they're doing but all they do is talk a good game while spewing crap that is completely irrelevant (like bluntly revealing how much you hate your wife or talking shit about other people that have nothing to do with you). The marketing skills can be very immaculate and have the best looking format to tell you how great a method is but in reality, there are far more rip offs than original ideas. 

I'm not the biggest fan of set and rep schemes because everywhere you look, it may seem reasonable but a lot of it is crap and it's not about how it builds muscle or endurance or to test your conditioning, it's really an arbitrary number for specific purposes but yet tries to generalize the idea. Very few people have great ideas on how to utilize a set and rep scheme that not only works but gives the majority of people great benefit. When it comes to Sledgehammer Training, there's really very few who have any actual knowledge. 

People want to compare this type of training to an actual job in the Labor world when there's no comparison whatsoever other than the fact you're hitting something. It's two very distinctive animals that have very different aspects of strength, endurance and metabolic protocols. Yes, working with a sledgehammer will build crazy strength and will have you huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf trying to blow down a brick house but those who actually work for a living with a sledgehammer have a a very different level of strength and work a distinctive swing that keeps them going all day instead of an hour or so at a time. That's like trying to compare Slim The Hammerman to a regular guy who trains with Sledgehammers. Slim will destroy that guy any day of the week and twice on sunday even after his prime. 

So for training purposes, let's understand the aspects of Sledgehammer Training when it comes to building muscle. There isn't a single way to do it but a variety of ways. One of the things that I prefer (even though I've written in the past isn't a favorite per se) is high rep training to a degree. You can also do it as a way like sprinting (going as fast as you can for a small period of time and resting for the same amount of time or longer) or in a tabata like style. A key to remember is that to keep things even, you do have to switch the underhand to work hard. I prefer the deck of cards approach where you can count your strikes that way and for each type of card you can do a different style swing. I learned the different styles of swings from the Late Bud Jeffries. 

I have done hammer workouts that lasted well over an hour and some barely 30 minutes all together but either way, I always felt strong, worked and most of the time hungry as hell afterwards. Also there's the speed aspect where the heavier you go, the less speed you'll generate and it just becomes more of a strength format. If you've done a lot of reps with say a 10-25 lb hammer at a solid clip, there's no way in hell you'll be at the same speed with a 50-70+ lber. I've done 1000+ rep workouts that took me 30-35 minutes but the last time I did that was with a near 60 lb hammer and it took me nearly 2 hours to complete which I never did again. 

Will you build muscle working with a sledgehammer? Absolutely but it depends on how you do it and what you're striving to do. How many reps would it take to get there? That also depends on what you want to do. Some people would do great with working for a period of time and using quality rest periods and recovery, others have incredible muscle come in from doing High Reps. Could you do it everyday? That depends but for safety sake, let's go with 2-3 times a week. In my time of consistently using the cards, I did hammer workouts once every 3-4 days because it's really fucking taxing and your body needs to rest. My goal at the time was to add weight every time I beat the deck. Sometimes it took 4 workouts to do it which meant to beat the deck it took up to 3 weeks to be able to finish in one workout. 

Do what works for you to build the muscle you want to achieve. Work your ass off but be careful to not hurt yourself breaking your back and tearing up your rotator cuff. I've never experienced injuries doing this kind of training and I've worked up to a near 73 lb hammer. Be mindful and only do what you're capable of doing and progress with intentions on recovering and resting with great quality. It's not the same as a job that has guys working 12-16 hours a day and jarring the body with very little recovery. 

Sprint 8 And Hammers

Being aggressive can be a good thing when you need to just let it out. Now we do need to control our aggression because we don't want to go as far as hurting someone or worse. Being productive in that is finding an outlet that will get shit out of your system safely and with good intentions. You can get into a fight but unless it's a last resort, we don't need to put anybody either the other person or ourselves in the hospital and regret getting that bill. 

Hammer Work is about as old school as you can get and there's a reason why it's one of the manliest things you can do. It builds Testosterone, it strengthens the tendons and ligaments, it's productive training and it freaks out Mormons (that last one was a joke). Let me give you a side story about the Mormon joke:

A while ago during a workout, I was using a deck of cards as my reps. Around the 5th card or so, these Mormon kids (one was in his mid 20's, the other was roughly a late teen) parked their car across the street and proceeded to go about their route to convert and spread the gospel of the Church Of Latter Day Saints (the church is literally right next to the complex). I was the first person they approached and one of them wanted to try out the hammer I was using (Big Barry 25 lbs). He liked it and gave a good critique on it as he did a couple swings (now remember, these guys are in nice shirt and ties with slacks on). I figured, I'd mess with them for a bit and brought out Big Bertha the 73 lb Hammer. The older of the two widened his eyes and said "you've got a bigger hammer than this thing" and I had him try it out. Didn't tell him how much it weighed, could barely even pick it up and couldn't swing it. He asked if I could do it and I did about 6-8 reps without breaking a sweat and he literally shouts out "HOLY CRAP" and the other kid whispered "holy shit" or something like that. Now imagine making two guys who are spreading Mormonism who've learned not to say certain aspects of language in their religion saying two aspects of words that would get them in trouble for saying them yet it took one big ass hammer to make them do that. That was one of the funniest things I've ever seen happen. That hammer freaked them out that much to resort to that.

Back to the article at hand....

Regardless of the rep/set scheme you use, hammers can do wonders for your conditioning and building muscle. Today I wanted to try out the Sprint 8 Protocol which was rep out something for 30 seconds on, 90 seconds off for 8 rounds. It was a pretty damn good workout and got me breathing hard and I can feel it in my forearms. The pump feels awesome. I've tried various styles of exercise with this method of training from animals to burpees to sprinting in place and others but the Hammer version felt great and was well rested and would go hard as I can each set. You get so many benefits out of it than just firing up the lungs, you build strength, grip, speed, conditioning, cardio and other kick ass things. 

The Sprint 8 Program in this day and age is more on the use of machines like treadmills, ellipticals and other things of that sorts and the course promotes mainly on those to help sell machines. Now does this mean the program isn't useful? Of course it is, you don't need a machine to kick your ass with this workout. Hell from what I understand Dr. Laurence Moorhouse created a similar program decades ago and worked for a lot of people. This program is done no more than 3x a week in my opinion but this method has people going up to almost 5x a week and I don't find that practical or safe because depending on the exercises you use and speed regardless of the rest period, you still need to recover from it. You can do other stuff on the off days for sure just not as intense. Recovery is what promotes growth and I'm talking optimal, not to the degree where you bust your ass on this workout than not do a damn thing for a month. 

Using hammers for this method, use a hammer that gives you the right amount of speed that will get you breathing hard, I would say anywhere from 10-30 lbs would be good for most. If you got the strength to use a heavier hammer than the weights I just mentioned and the speed of it is there, use it if you wish but the heavier you go, the slower the movement will be. Be wise and don't hurt yourself.

If you want a solid supplement to help boost testosterone as you follow this program, grab some Pine Pollen, Stag Swag or get a Tincture Bundle to really get things cooking.  

Be strong, get conditioned and be Amazingly Awesome.

Thorsmithing? What The Hell Is That

               I know what you're thinking, you're thinking why I came up with a word that makes no sense and is not even in the dictionary, I made it up and it’s meaningless. That last part is wrong and I hate to break it to you there are far more dumbass words that are used more frequently that aren't in the dictionary. There is such a word and I’m going to prove it with my own theory and experience. So sit back and enjoy the ride my friends.

            The reason why I came up with the word Thorsmithing is because it’s in combination of a blacksmith and Thor. It is the power of hitting a Thor Hammer on a tire with one hand while imagining you're a blacksmith creating something. Now Blacksmiths were some of the strongest workers pound for pound, they’re grip were just unbelievable and had some of the strongest arms in that part of town. As a strongman, the hands are crucial to your success on the feats your perform whether it’s bending steel, tearing cards, levering sledgehammers, designing steel into shapes and even driving a nail through a board; all done by hands.

          

  Now imagine having a mighty grip, you pound that hammer into the tire and you’re imagining not creating some kind of metal in your imagination but imagining you're creating the type of body you want; strong arms, powerful shoulders, punch-proof abs, sturdy legs and keen eye coordination. It’s not as easy as it looks because after a while, one hand will get tired so you have to switch to the other and keep going until you feel you're done. Just like building a sword like a blacksmith as a Thorsmith, you're building your body one strike at a time and when you're done with a workout, you're one step closer to creating something from scratch and turning it into a staggering piece of beauty and strength.

            You will develop a crushing grip and be able to do things you normally wouldn't be able to. A blacksmith’s hammer weighs close to what no more than 3 pounds, now imagine striking with a hammer 4-5 times that size; your grip will be powerful and crazy strong. Possessing that kind of grip takes hard work but it also develops your character and harnesses your mind to create something from within to show on the outside.

            As you hit the tire, imagine you're in Asgard among the Norse Gods with a hammer that can shatter mountains, knock out frost giants in the blink of an eye and be lifted almost no man can. Bring yourself to the place where strength is infinite, the glowing passion of power within your grasp and be able to strengthen your body unlike anything you've ever done before, all within one strike at a time. Get a hold of your own Thor Hammer and become a Thorsmith, creating strength and super power in your very own hands. Oh My God; it’s so ludicrous it just might be possible.

Starting Out With Sledgehammer Training

            

          A friend of mine asked me the other day he was interested in working with Sledgehammers and wanted to know what exercises and weight to start with on the hammer? I gave him a little bit of it because that was what I could figure out to say at the time. To me, it’s a lot of fun and has many benefits in terms of muscle building, strengthening the tendons and building great lung power; but it’s also very demanding and when you start out too fast or too much weight it’ll hit you hard.

            To give you some ideas; I've worked with different types of hammers, the ones you get like at home depot, the Epic Sledge, Thor’s Hammer and others so each one has a different feel or a different set of ways to move with the hammer. Just the basic swing on a tire is crazy enough as it is but there are other exercises that don’t always require striking. When you work with a long implement, the leverage factor will be a bigger point to look at because the weight shifts and you have to move your body to where the weight is in order to move it.

            Some people like using the Mace and although it’s very useful in many ways, I like using a sledgehammer better because it has a better interest in what you can do in terms of lever work and working with weight at a more odd angle. The Mace has more of a rounded ball so it has a smoother way of moving, the Sledge has more of a 4 sided shape like a rectangle or square as the head of the hammer. When you start out, you want to feel how it works in your hands, how your body shifts with the weight and try different things and no matter what you try, your grip will be a factor. If you don’t have a good grip you won’t last too long.

            Start out with a good 7-10 hammer to get the feel for it. There’s a DVD you can get from Bud Jeffries that is part of his Monster Conditioning Program specific to Sledgehammer Training. If you don’t have a tire that’s fine you can still get great benefit from sledge training. The exercises you can do are nearly the same as if lifting a barbell or dumbbell but the weight is shifted to one side so you have to work the stabilizing muscles and your grip needs to be strong and tight. Here’s a website that shows certain exercises although done with a Mace you can do the same with a sledge. Play and experiment with various reps and sets.

            I highly recommend the Sledgehammers from Stronger Grip because if you want to add weight to the hammer; you can put in shot led or steel shot otherwise if you use a hammer like from home depot, it’s expensive to buy more hammers and prices vary depending on how heavy the hammer is. I also recommend you do get a tire because once you get the ground work for non-tire exercises you’ll eventually want to strike it. You can find tires at a junk yard that no one wants anymore or you can get Half Tires that take up less space and have better strikes to work on.

            When you work on getting good with the sledgehammer, your body will begin to change, your muscles will have more definition, your tendons will become stronger and your breathing will skyrocket because it takes strength to use the hammer the way these guys can show you and the heavier the hammer, the more your breathing becomes a factor. Your grip will become much stronger and have that crushing strength. Take your body and mind to Super Muscle level and watch your strength skyrocket in ways you haven’t had before.

More On The Hands

              

             Having powerful hands can be life saving. The grip power and strength you build from different methods gives you that raw and ferocious power of being able to lock anything within your grasp. When you bend steel, you wrap up the nail, wrench, screwdriver or whatever; you squeeze with everything you have and you work the wrist along with the whole body and you give that object no mercy. Ripping a deck of cards gives you that mighty twisting strength in your hands and your wrists while taking your body to a whole new level. Gripping a odd object and doing whatever you want with it, even though it’s awkward, it gives you the strength that forces you to stabilize the muscles and tendons.

            Not all grip work should have a focus on strength because if all you do is strengthen the hands and lower arm, you’re missing out on creating graceful and supple hands that can create magic within the flick of a wrist or using your fingers in the way a ballet dancer gracefully uses the legs. Move your hands with power but not like a tense beast, but a mobile and majestic form of flexibility and suppleness. If you’re a fighter who needs to slip out of holds, your supple hands can come in handy. A magician has very supple hands and you’ll know why, the beauty and the majesty of moving their hands with key target points and precise accuracy that can only be measured by how they present themselves.

            The hands can be your greatest ally or with the right leverage and training, they can cripple you within a heartbeat. Back when Catch Wrestling was at its prominence; there were wrestlers called Hookers who can hook you into a hold that would most likely break a bone if they had anything to say about it. Just putting the bone of your wrist on guy’s arm, leg and/or neck in a locked hold can hurt like a bitch; I've felt it first hand so never underestimate it. The Hookers were feared by those who challenged them and if they got a hold on you, you better pray they’re in a good mood and just make you tap otherwise you’re going to be in a brace pal. If you’re looking to build “soft” hands meaning strong but gentle, they can be useful if you’re into massage, pleasing your spouse and they can be useful when you have that touch that just makes everything feel incredible. The hands can do many wonders.

            When it comes down to tools, there are many things you can use to build mighty mitts but none are equal to each other because one can build your hands a certain way or another but never in the same way in terms of building the tendons and muscles of the lower arm. Sledgehammers build strong hands period. They make you work otherwise you won’t have a chance with them. Grippers build that crushing strength but also if you do isometric holds, this alone can be beneficial if you want to save someone’s life one day. Various Feats Of Strength build your hands in ways that are virtually impossible for dumbbells and barbells can withstand. The simplest tool for your twisting strength can be the use of a towel, by this I mean you get a bucket, put the towel in and soak it up as best as possible and then from one end to the other you twist and squeeze the water out back into the bucket; this exercise alone can turn your hands in steel rods and turn your tendons into granite.

            Use your tools wisely because you never know when you’ll need your powerful hands for a certain occasion. Your hands are the works of what was meant for you. The stronger and supple you make them, the stronger your body can be. Do it and you will go far.

Time For A Fresh Start

            Hope everyone had a great Christmas and had tons of fun, food and love from relatives and friends. To me this was one of the best holidays yet; got to spend time with the people I love and spend time with the most kick ass friends. The holidays is not always about finding gifts for the kids or getting something you've been wanting all year, it’s about connecting and giving back to the people in your life that gives a beautiful meaning. Now that it’s over and the New Year is just a couple days away, it’s time to reflect and build new chapters, learn different things.

            A common thread of the New Year is what people call Resolutions or better yet, change or create something huge that will only last you less than 2 weeks. To me, Resolutions is complete bullshit. In the fitness world, most really put it out there and believe just because they can jump into something it’s going to stick with them like going to Crossfit when you haven’t even done any technique yet nor do Insanity/P90X workouts instead of building up and progressing. I like to look at it as New Years Goals. Start small, if you’re new to exercise for example, do little things here and there. Start at 1 min. of exercise and build up to it, find exercises you’re interested in and have fun with them. Too many people want to jump in and try to lose 20 pounds like it was that easy.

            It’s about progressing and building a mindset where it’s not a punishment, it’s an adventure and exciting with knowing how to set your limits and challenges. When people jump into advanced type training, it’s exciting that they get to do all these cool things but when they actually do them, it will hit them like a strike of lightning and they’ll realize how crazy it is and that it can cause pain or even worse an injury. Think of it this way, in math would you jump from arithmetic to calculus just like that? No, you need to go through certain steps, like climbing a ladder; you don’t just climb 4-5 steps at once, its one thing at a time. It’s the little things that create the biggest gains. Sure it’s fun to be hardcore but you got to earn it and experience a small struggle to get to where you want to go.

            For some, exercise may not always be a priority, you might want to add something to your business as a goal, make little changes in your household and find what you can improve on as a family. I have a few goals but it’s important for me to not jinx them, I’ll tell you this though; A goal of mine is to save money and buy an Epic Sledgehammer because as an athlete and a Physical Culturist, I’m always looking for ways to improve my body by conditioning it in different ways using something heavy or light or even just my own bodyweight. I find things that interest me and create new ways to have fun with those interests, it keeps my mind sharp and it helps me focus on what I want. Another would be to increase my intuitive powers through meditation and being aware of what’s around me by feel and more.

            You may not get any of my goals and nor will I mostly get yours but one thing is for certain and that we strive to be better at certain things in our lives and it could mean anything. Make this New Year your bitch, take it one day at a time and before you know, you will have accomplished something you've never one before. Find things that interest you, experiment, have fun and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.