Tire Cutting & Smashing With Authority

On Friday, I asked a neighbor of mine (let's call him Jay) to see if he had any tools that could cut my tire in half. He ended up getting the set he needed and was eager to get it going. He never cut a tire before and was willing to help me out. Took 3 saw heads and a butcher knife (Michael Myers eat your heart out) to get the thing cut. It was an enjoyment to say the least and I begged to repay him cause it wasn't an easy job and all he said was "that's what neighbors are for." There would've been too much money to spend on getting a half tire and ended up with two so there was that.

Hitting a half tire with sledgehammers is a more convenient way to get some bad ass training in without a huge tire taking up space and could be hauled easier to places like a park, parking lot, camping or wherever. The flatter surface has a better "bounce" which when hit consistently throughout a set can generate greater cardio benefits and anaerobic conditioning. You've seen my latest posts about Sledge Training from Big Bertha to the Thor Hammers and Big Barry (25 lber) and its benefits on strength, explosiveness and other things. It's taking your anger or aggression and using it productively cause life can be stressful and it's important to manage our emotions as best we can (I know I still have some learning to do).

We all need a release and it's a hell of a lot better than beating on objects or worse somebody else. Ever heard of these places where you pay to go smash shit up in a room? I've seen them from time to time in TV shows and movies. They're in various places around the country where you pay the price of basically a concert or sports ticket to go into a room for 15 minutes with a hammer and just smash the living hell out of everything in site (wearing protective gear including glasses so the shattered glass doesn't hit you). It's supposed to help with using your aggression in a different manner to just let everything out and get yourself to calm down. Some people find it helpful which I'm all for and it's a hell of a lot better than going home and beating up someone you love or destroying property somewhere but others like Psychologists tend to have mixed feelings because it's believed it promotes violence.

Now don't me wrong man, we are a species that is violent by nature and our animalistic instincts tend to get the best of us but also because of our complexity, there are certain aspects of our aggressive nature we still have yet to discover especially when it comes to our brains. When us guys have a very high level of testosterone, it does bring out that animalistic aspect of our DNA and can turn us into a vicious person at times. That's where when it gets to a point where aggression has overrun our other emotions and we can't stop it, it can turn so violent that it's possible to black out and not know what you have done once you've "woken back up" so do speak. 

Testosterone in men is a must obviously and being aggressive is part of our nature. We fight, we wrestle, our sex drive shoots through the roof and the dominant areas of our brain can overload our nervous system. The thing is, like everything else in life, there has to be a balance somewhere, a yin and yang. Too much testosterone and aggressiveness can be a bad thing. Now with that balance, every guy is different and his genetic makeup won't have the same impact as other men so it's important to find that balance even into the golden years. A solid peak of testosterone even at an older age can be a good thing doing physical stuff, great sex, eating real foods and other things. 

Training with Sledgehammers is a powerful way more than what is being seen in order to utilize our emotions, aggression and reproductive health in a positive manner. If you're on adrenaline too much and that level of emotion is so high it can be seen from outer space, you won't sleep optimally, the satisfaction of being calm isn't where its at and if you have that overload of needing to fight somebody and it consumes you, it could have you end up in places you don't want to be (mentally & physically). Exercise is one of those things to channel our nervous system to get stuff out of our system that balances us out. Is hitting a tire violently a good thing? In this manner yes because when you get so wrapped up and need a release it's a hell of a lot better for your health than keeping it held up and turning it into a possible criminal act later.

We do need to find a source to release that dopamine and make the most of what can be used productively to channel our aggression. It's important to not go so far to the point where your faculties aren't there anymore. Control the emotions you have as much as you can and use them when they're needed. We can't 100% not get emotional (unless you're a fucking robot) but it's important to instinctively be able to know when an emotion comes on and be aware of it. When I really need a release and get some of the aggression I'm feeling, get the hammer and tire out, put on some tunes and just whale on that damn thing, sets and reps don't exist, only going until my anger has subsided. 

This is just an idea of what you can do. I love using hammers and having a half tire is just another of platform of training used for health and balancing myself inside and out. It can be very meditative and that feeling at the end where you're blissed out of your skull and and you're full of smiles more than sadness or anger or even depression for that matter. This is my definition of getting high.

Find your resource to channel your aggression without hurting someone else or something that can break easy. Be strong and keep being Amazingly Awesome. 

Is Sledgehammer Training A Key To Youthfulness?

The simplest things tend to be the most overlooked or the most underrated because it's not shiny or extraordinary but yet when they happen, the simple things become incredible to do. We're always looking for that fountain of youth and finding ways to feel and look younger, have energy like we did as a teenager or be able to recover quick. One of the simplest forms of training is using a sledgehammer.

In most cases, working with a hammer is about as old school as you can get. The swing, the thrust and the smashing is all taken back to the days of hard labor, men like Lawrence Farman whom made his living smashing up rock and stone, fighters that smash a tire in order to develop their explosiveness and conditioning, boxers like the late Earnie Shavers used Sledge Training & Wood Chopping in order to develop his punching power which he said himself increased as much as 25%; Muhammad Ali himself had said Shavers had one of the hardest punches he ever faced. 

A great perk of Sledge Training is the maintaining or increasing testosterone naturally. Chopping Wood has been known to give us guys that feeling of manhood and being able to last in the bedroom, now think of a sledgehammer. That surge of power, hormones coursing through your blood and having strength that could kill. It's that feeling like you're a god among men. Youthfulness can have many factors such as testosterone, looking rugged, energy that lasts and being almost injury-proof. Sledge Work can be back breaking but there is a progression in the recreational style and reduce injuries along with keeping the back and spine healthy. 

Another perk is the development of your grip. Working with even a 25 lb sledge over the course of a workout will tax your grip like a motherfucker. You don't have to squeeze the handle as hard as an Ironmind Gripper but you do need to grip hard enough to control the hammer as you're training. Over time, that grip strength can carryover to other things and somebody will feel it when you shake hands with them. The heavier the hammer, the stronger your grip has to be and your body is in control because one wrong move and you can really hurt your yourself. 

Most of the average Sledge Strikers work with hammers ranging from 10-25 lbs. This isn't a knock to anyone and even those weights can turn someone into a machine. Some of us like to go a little higher and testing our strength mainly to see what our bodies are capable of. So far my highest weight and repping it is around 73 lbs. Guys like Nick Nilsson (The Mad Scientist) aren't even human and has repped out a 100 lb hammer and he's roughly 10-15 lbs lighter than me. Bud Jeffries had done 1000 rep workouts with a 40 lb. hammer and we all know the type of strength and conditioning that beast of a man had. Doing reps with a really heavy hammer is a whole other ball game and the amount of power you generate from it, just gives off incredible production of strength.

With lighter hammers, you can go for quite a while and still get incredible results. This is a great training tool to really pack on some muscle and get in cardio shape at the same time. Be strong, slam hard and be amazingly awesome.