Cables For Building Strength For Strongman

In the last century throughout Physical Culture we've seen many strongmen perform great feats of strength such as bending nails, driving nails through boards, rip phonebooks in half, lever sledgehammers, bend and break odd objects, lift ridiculious amount of weight and in some cases do some crazy hand balancing. Yet with all of these things what did some of theses men used to build those levels of strength that would seem impossible to the average person? Well for starters most of them just practiced the feats just themselves and doing tons of isometrics for those feats but believe it or not some of the most famous names used Cable Training to enhance their strength.

The type of Cable Training I'm speaking of is not the pully machines that were in gymnasiums at the time but something more closer to home and thats what we call today the Chest Expander. Back then it had metal springs and would stretch as far as 12-16 inches compared to the rubber cables that can reach up to 18 inches or more. Men like Charles Atlas, The Mighty Atom, Thomas Inch, Eugene Sandow, John Grimek and Earl Liederman all at one point used cables to strengthen their bodies from various angles that weights and bodyweight exercises didn't hit and what happened when they used this device? Well saying they were damn strong would be an understatement.

The beauty with Cable Training is that you can hit angles in the shoulders, arms, chest, abs, back and the legs that many other systems can't and at times you need that type of strength and flexibility in order to keep yourself healthy and strong. Today Cable Training is more popular then ever with Lifeline USA and other companies using cables for just about every gym in the country. You can use them for just about anything, strength training, sports training, rehab injuries and even for endurance training.

Now there is some controversy in the fitness world and saying you can can't build strength and endurance in the same workout. Well I have friends that defied those odds and have done it myself and yes it is true that you can do this but with the right type of training. One way in this case is to do presses with a light cable and once you hit a high number you switch to a heavier cable and do low reps and you can do all sorts of exercises with this but with proper training you can create Strength & Endurance in the same workout.

One of my personal favorites of this type of training is mimicking certain feats of strength such as ripping a phonebook or bending nails or if you're a weightlifter mimick the one-arm clean & jerk/press. As a strongman I have to be in top condition for consistant strength in my feats so I use cables to help strengthen the muscles and tendons I need for the feats I want to perform.

Whether you're a Strongman, Athlete, Housewife, Hard Laborer, Businessman or just the average joe, cables can give you a really great workout in a much shorter time it takes getting the gym. You can have your gym right in your own bag. All you need to do is make a little effort and make a small commitment to becoming stronger, healthier and more durable with vitality and a powerful body.

Being A Strongman & Pushing Past Limits

As human beings we have the ability to learn what we can or can't do. Most often people find out what they can't do in certain ways because that part of our brains tell us how far we go and whether or not to to get past certain points of pain and discomfort. The Govenor that resides within everyone has been our Jimmeny Cricket to whether we push past certain limits of whats right or wrong of us to do. In terms of strength and Strongmanism, there are literally thousands of strongmen around the world that do some crazy things but yet thats less then 1% out of billions of people that don't know how to get past their limits because that Govenor is telling them they can end up getting hurt.

Now i'm not saying you should be like superman and defy the odds of gravity or go lift up a car or anything that would jeapordize your life but if you want to do something bad enough there are certain things you need to get through in order to make that thing come to life. For the fewer strongmen that are out there they have broken barriers as to how far they're willing to go in order to achieve what they believe is possible. Some of have broken their wrists, some have shed blood and even some that have passed out doing certain feats of strength.

For some readers that do know I have literally pushed my body to links of pain from doing certain feats. I'm serious as I tell you this now I have had black and blue arms and legs from bending long and very tough pieces of steel that most people would've thrown in the towel after 30 seconds. I even had a bloody nose while bending a very tough spike at one time. These are a couple of the things we strongmen endure in order to create some of the most insane strength possible. It takes much more then physical strength to endure certain pain and discomfort. You are really playing mind games with yourself.

There are feats I would never attempt to do from other strongmen not because of getting hurt but because I just don't persue them as much as they do. Take for instance Slim The Hammerman. He's the proud owner of holding the title of World's Strongest Man at Levering sledgehammers. He became so obsessed of lifting the heaviest hammers that he had broken his wrists many times achieving a level of status thats above almost everyone else. I've already broken bones in my lifetime and I really don't want that to happen again. I'm not as crazy as these other guys but I have the highest respect for them and the way they push themselves is just surreal.

A true strongman doesn't show off for his own personal gain or torments anyone cause they're not as strong as they are but a real strongman believes in himself and wants to help others achieve their levels of strength beyond their own assumptions and imagination. A true strongman pushes past the barriers to become extraordinary not to please others but to prove to himself that he can and will be the strongest he can be. Can you believe in yourself? Do you have it in you? The real question is, can you bring it out and devour your own expectations? Think about that for a bit.

My Review Of The Legacy Of Iron Series

Iron Game Author Brooks Kubik has been writing great stuff over the last 15+ years about how to build and develop natural muscle, strength and power. He has written countless articles about the greats of the past and how their methods excel over many of the top training ideas of today. For the most part since Bob Hoffman in my opinion he is the leading authority on muscle building books and teaching others how to use the basics for weight lifting, odd object lifting and fool-proof training programs that have made weak boys into bonified muscle men with no steroids or useless supplements.

Over the last few years he has written a series of novels that has never been done before. Publishing the stories of the old-time bodybuilders and strongmen of the 30's and 40's and creating certain characters that follow the programs and shenanigans of the weightlifters themselves as if it was happening in real life. This series is called The Legacy Of Iron which is now in its fifth volume and who knows what Brooks has been coming with on his new ones. To me everytime I read these books I feel like i'm right in the middle of the men and women of strength that i've read about ever since I began doing Physical Culture.

The books start right in the thick of one subject right after the other and just when you think one guy is about to get outlifted or is apart of the second world war something else just jumps right at you when you turn the page. These books have great rivalries, fighting, courage, conflicts, determination and plenty of beautiful girls to make Harry Paschall go nuts. Never has a series been this taught to the public and have 2 fictional characters learn from the same men and women who have helped millions of strength-infected young men and women to become strong, vibrant and powerful just like their heroes in the real fitness magazines of the time.

I don't want to give away any of the stories in the books but they do make you think of who these guys were whether their stories are fictional or not they will captivate your attention and have you believe as if you were sitting right next to them as if they became your best friends. Learn what true brotherhood means to the people in these books. Yes they did push each other and had a few rivalries but it was all for the same cause and thats to help the other get stronger and give him a chance to prove his metel.

I'm very honored to apart of the Physical Culture movement and I get to sit with the old-timers whenever I pick up one of these books and listen in my mind what they're gonna do next and teach me the true ways of being strong and not always whether its weight lifting or not, its the motivation that gets me everytime. Brooks has made it possible for me and many others to love Physical Culture the way it was meant to be and thats a source of being with your brothers and learning the true value of strength and pure feirce determination to prove to yourself and not others of what you can truely become if you just start putting in a little effort and progress.

Tendon Strength In Steel Bending

Building the tendons with steel bending takes focus, hard work and knowing which ones to start and where to advance. When I first started bending I tried out 40D Penny Nails and some of the Iron Mind white and green nails. Those started becoming too easy so what did I do to get better? I bought steel bars, flat, rounded and re bar. I began bending them like crazy into all sorts of shapes and made some art out of them. Now why am I telling you all this? Its because like me and a lot of up-coming strongmen you want to progress through different levels of difficulty and experiment with what you can and can't do.

As you progress through your training and building solid steel tendons you want to find certain pieces of steel whether short or long and its strong enough to where you can't even budge it. This type of training is a key ingredient to successful training in Bending Steel and that's Isometrics. With Isometrics you learn to hit various points of a bend kind of like a partial lift in weights. Learn to focus your power on a certain point so when you get to bends that you had trouble with before now can be very easy.

Now contrary to popular belief in some circles certain people believe that strongmen use the same style of bending whether braced or un braced (using the legs and not using the legs) which the opposite is actually true. The Mighty Atom for short bending used whats called an Under Hand grip style which during that time was the only thing people knew until his Protege' Slim The Hammer man said once he tried it and didn't feel comfortable to him so he puts his hands on top of the spike and then bent the spike with full force.

Another key about bending is to find your style of bending that works for you. My style is the reverse hand grip which is where one hand is in front of the other. Having your own style will make you unique in how you present yourself in that form of Strength Feats. In Logan Christopher & Bud Jeffries' new DVD set on Feats Of Strength, you will find and learn what bending can do for you as far as strength and endurance is concerned. They will teach you the right and wrong ways of bending because if you're not careful you will get hurt.

These 2 men along with a few others they have learned from are the real experts on Strongmanism. When you learn from a real strongman and learn the correct way to bend, tear and just manhandle anything you can get your hands on you will build a level of strength and fitness that makes commercial gym goers look like wimps. I have learned from both men and without question I immediately got better at what I thought what I was already doing right. This is where you need to have an open mind to learn from rugged and powerful trainers.

Now that you've made it this far LOL....I will tell you first hand that if you apply the techniques and principles of whats on this DVD set you will be one powerful strong wo/man and this course will help you find your nich whether you're an athlete, trainer or just the average person who wants to become strong, this will help you with the best of intents.

Tribute To Slim The Hammerman

As a young boy in Pennsylvania, little Lawrence Farman sat down at Zern's Farmer's Market in Gilbertsville at 8 years old while his parents did their shopping. One particular table was part of a crowd of people looking on at very old and past his prime strongman by the name of Joeseph Greenstein a.k.a The Mighty Atom. Atom would lecture the benefits of eating healthy and what it can do to help you live your life with great enthusiasim and love. During these lectures he would bend spikes, drive nails through boards and break chains with great ease to name a few. He had been doing it about 25+ years. This boy however was just amazed at what this old as rock old-timer can do and kept going there for many years.

Slim would start to grow like a tree and as a late-teen began working at a Rock Quarry. For up to 14 hours a day 6-7 days a week he would be breaking rock and stone by the ton with his heavy sledgehammer. As time went on he was just so powerful and strong with that hammer that his mates would start to take notice and be in awe of his rugged and extreme strength.

When most strongmen back in the days f the follies and industrial revolution they usually were no more then 5'8 and weighed no more then 170 pounds at best. Very few men at that time were over 200 pounds and 6' tall. Slim however surpassed these numbers and got to be 6'6 and over 220 pounds of hard, rugged and steel corded muscle. During one lecture the Atom asked the audience "How is it I, an old man among you, Am the only person to bend this spike?" One man spoke out and this was the same kid who had watched Atom at 8 years old now in his late-teens early-twenties and made the statement that started a chain-reaction for what would be now legendary "You ain't talking to me old man."

Atom asks the rugged, sinewy young man to come on up and show him. Slim is twice the size of Atom who is 5'4 and 155 pounds soaking wet. He takes the spike and puts his hands on the top to get ready but Atom stops him and says "No...You can't bend it like that, its impossible." Slim decided to still do it because it felt comfortable to him. He bends the spike in full and for the first time in all of the years Atom has been performing had never seen a man do that. Atom asked Slim "Is there anything else you do?" Slim tells him he cuts stone with a sledge hammer and can raise it from horizontal to vertical from the ground using just the bottom of the handle. The Atom didn't think this was possible and asked Slim to show him. The following week, Slim brings his 16 pound hammer and shows the Atom what he can do. Each time this powerful man levered the hammer, Atom was flabbergasted and never has he seen anyone else do this.

From that day on Atom would have his chance to reveal his true secrets of the Old-Time Strongman and took Slim under his wing or because of the giant's height above his wing LOL. Over the years Slim and Atom performed together and Slim would start to build super muscle and extremely strong tendons with his Hammer Levering working up to almost 50 Pounds with 2 hammers. He just couldn't stop getting stronger. When the time came it came in 1975 in Madison Square Garden when Slim would rise to become the Legend that Atom always saw in him and came full circle when he lifted his world record 56 pound hammers. This night was the birth of one of the last remaining Old-Time Strongman.

Most men when they turn 40 begin to feel that they're over the hill and can't accomplish what they used to 15-20 years earlier. Slim would have none of it and threw away that mindset and guess what happened? At age 40 he didn't peak his strength. It kept getting stronger. He was bending steel, driving through boards and hammering his way past what most men think is impossible. between 40 and 50, Slim began feeling invicible and his strength just kept rising. When you are that dangerous at that age you don't want to be messing with that kind of power I don't care who you are.

As the years flew by and long after The Atom had passed on and the torch went to Slim, This once little kid who is now by all means The World's Strongest Man was breaking ground and every time he lifted a hammer, his legendary status was just as breathtaking as it was when he first levered that hammer infront one of the most famous Strongmen himself. His potential has reached far beyond what most people even himself can ever imagine.

An important aspect of the Old-Time Strongman is whether muscles or tendons are the most important to train. From the mouth himself, Slim firmly believes that its the tendons that are a key. You can build muscle any way you want but its the tendons that reveal a person's true power and strength. I believe this to be true.

Recently the now 75 year old strongman was inducted into the York Barbell Hall Of Fame with his late mentor and one time best friend The Mighty Atom and for them its an honor that has been long overdue and took way too damn long to finally come up. These 2 men paved the way for many premiere strongmen today. It is fitting that Slim has hammered his way in the halls of some of the greatest men in the iron game in history. In my opinion he should've been in the hall of fame just when he began to peak. As a strongman myself I'm honored to have learned from his training DVD and has helped me become stronger for the feats I want to perform. He is now immortalized and Slim's records will never be matched and if one man can do I want to see it along with other greats of the iron game today. Like what Babe Ruth is to Baseball, Slim The Hammerman is to Old-Time Strongman.

Slim, this is for you old man and I pray I get to one day speak with you and learn from you. You are a man among men and you are without question a strongman's strongman. Thank you for all you have done and I believe from the bottom of my heart from what I read about The Atom, he couldn't have chosen a better suited man then you.

The Power Of A Primate

The thought of training like a Ape or Monkey might seem a bit silly and downright dumb but if you leave skepticism aside for a moment, you can actually develop superior grip and tendon strength. I believe it is important to train like a primate in the sense where they're closest to us in evolution and although structurally different we can still build great strength around what they do in their daily lives.

First thing to do when training like a Primate is to observe their movements and how they walk. An Ape walks on its knuckles and can climb trees with ease. Now instead of climbing trees just start with hanging and with practice slowly start doing pull-ups. Walking like a gorilla build strength and power in the upper and lower body and when you run like a gorilla you will be getting a strength & endurance workout second to none.

When you learn to hang like a primate you're not just stretching out the limbs and just dangling there, you're building a foundation for a powerful tight grip. You are building powerful tendons and ligiments that can be used for important things in your daily life.

Once you begin training like a Primate you're on your way to becoming stronger then the average human not just through a strength ratio but with the body you develop you will look strong as well as being strong.

Go check out my bud Ed Baran's Animal Kingdom Conditioning Programs One & Two. Each program has a great Ape & Monkey Program and much more animals to develop a strong and powerful physique.

Harnessing Your Chi Power

Chi meaning Life Force is a form of energy that surrounds us everywhere from a rock, a tree, the ground, even the air we breathe there is some form of great energy. In order to develop it with power it all starts with the breath. Our breath gives us life and can give us the ultimate power within our very being. Now not all types of breathing gives us a positive outlook. Shallow breathing has great negative effect on the body and is one that should not be dwelled on. Deep and natural breathing however can take away the awful stress and anxiety that happens upon us on a daily basis.

The breath is the first thing to learn to create powerful chi but afterwards comes the mind and intent. Being mindful of your breathing is a difficult task but with practice and the will to get better creating power will become a cinch. Thinking into your body can make or break the chi within you. Breathing in positive energy and breathing out negative energy is one of many basic exercises to understand the power of Chi.

Once you get the hang of breathing and being mindful of creating powerful Chi, holding certain postures can enhance your ability to not only develop powerful Chi but create a beautiful body inside and out. Yoga is a perfect example for this. Warrior One is a favorite of mine and do a variation called the Dragon Pose. When you hold this posture think into the body and channel electrical energy every single part of the body. After holding this pose for a period of time with mind and intent you should start to feel tingly in some areas most notably the hands and legs. Another great posture is holding a horse stance. This posture is where you have the legs a little wider then shoulder width apart, squat about a quarter to half way parallel to the floor, pelvis tucked and have the arms either out to the side or in front of you. Holding this posture isn't easy but with mindfulness can create powerful Chi in the body.

To enhance your strength and internal power, you will learn to think into your body and not always focus on the outside. Thinking internally is far different then thinking externally. Internal Power creates a whole new dimension of Chi and with practice and conviction you can hold certain postures for long periods of time and never even notice it. In one posture I use I use a breathing pattern that makes me countdown instead of counting up. Because of this practice recently I have held this posture for more then 3 minutes and it felt like 10 seconds. Learn to control your breath and think power and universal strength.

If you want to look at great ideals of Powerful Chi Strength my favorites to look upon is the Jedi & The Shaolin Monks. Although one is fictional both share the same goal and thats to harness the life force that makes them powerful and strong. Does that mean you'll move objects and use mind control over someone? Hell no but you can create superior strength that you can't teach with lifting weights or using a cardio machine. You can create heat in your body and yet you can also make it cool with the thought and intent while using your breathing.

Feats Of Strength DVDs

Hello,

There’s nothing quite like the ferocious power needed for feats of strength.

You know like bending steel with your bare hands...

Like tearing a thick phonebook in half in a matter of seconds...

Making a chain explode...

Lifting a person overhead with a single finger...

Can you do these things? Do you want to?

Not only are they phenomenal methods of training to become ridiculously strong, but you can actually perform like an oldtime strongman.

There’s nothing quite like it to impress your family and friends.

Heck, you can even turn it into a career!

That’s just what Bud Jeffries has done. Along with his partner Logan Christopher they’re delivering some awesome information on everything about feats of strength.

Just click here to see this video showing many of them (some of which you’ve probably never seen nor heard of before).
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4424645

If you just want to watch the video that’s cool, but I highly suggest you sign up on that page as they’re going to share more videos with you that teach you the exact steps you need to get started.

Ben Bergman

P.S. Seriously go watch the video on this page now. If you’re not inspired to start destroying cards, nails and more then you can go back to lifting pink 3 lb. dumbbells in your workouts.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4424645

Packing Effortless Power

The true power of strength is not external but internal. The strength of the mind has limitless possibilites as the strength of your muscles can only go so far. One way to look at it as what the Mighty Atom called the Infinite Light. This also refers to the life force as said in china with Qi, Japan with Ki, India with Prana and the christian faith call the power of god. These all share the same goal and objection to create ultimate power from within.

Another way to look at it is called CoreForce Energy where you learn to channel your mind to create effortless power and speed. A great example of this is Bruce Lee's One-inch punch demonstration where between his fist and mans chest is just over a few centimenters. With effortless power Lee charges that punch and knocks the guy down with great force. How do you do that and where does it come from? The truth is we all have that power within us but to channel it is different for everyone and in order to bring out that power we must use our mind.

To do this is through focus, concentration and pure self-inflicted imagination. The power of imagination is much more powerful then you can imagine but there is a way to bring that out. Take in the power and think the speed of light going at 186,000 miles per second. This power can burst through planets, moons, suns and stars without struggle and without fear of stopping. To master this takes practice and an open mind.

Injecting power mentally is a practice like everything else but with time you can use this power for whatever is important to you whether its strength, sports, combat, business or daily things that happen in your life. The difference between turning it on or off is staggering and to turn it takes imagination and intent. With CoreForce Energy you learn to channel the power already within you and build up strength that seemed impossible before but now can be a reality without many hours of training.

Unleashing the fury inside you creates a powerful body internal and external and with practice you can be far stronger then you can ever imagine. Its the effortless power that creates the ultimate universal power that just consumes your entire being. Learn the power of CoreForce Energy and learn the true secrets of effortless strength.

Guiding Your Way To Handstand Push-ups

In any form of training we all have to start somewhere and that's at the basics. Building foundations are keys to successful training with learning the basics comes with intelligence. When you start out its new and sometimes difficult to understand but as time goes on you become smarter and smarter.

With the case of Handstand Push-ups, you are learning the basics of Hand Balancing in this manner with using the wall. Now contrary to popular belief this type of training does not mean its working just your arms but the entire body and with good reason. You are practicing your body as a unit and with the arms you have to use the stabilizing muscles such as your core, chest, shoulders, back and yes even your legs.

When doing push-ups in this manner yo have to use the body as one solid piece just like a steel rod. If you don't master this first, you won't have much to do and holding the position won't help either. Once you have mastered this there are many ways to do Handstand Push-ups.

Take for example your hand placements can determine whether the exercise will be easier or harder. Even shifting your head from looking at the floor to looking forward will make a huge difference to see how far down you can go. The ability to overcome these differences is up to you and see how far you're willing to go to create awesome push-ups.

If you're a weight lifter, Handstand Push-ups can help increase your pressing power because this type of training increases your awareness on how you apply the body and its also a full body press. Because of this type of training I'm able to press a 88lb. Kettlebell without that much effort and even did it the first time I picked one up. Will that hapn with you? Maybe, maybe not but when you practice this regularlly you can rest assured your pressing strength will go through the roof.

Now that the physical part is out of the way you still have to learn how to use your mind. At first it can be scary being upside down and not know what the hell to do. This is one of the true tests of mind over matter.

The ability to overcome fear to increase your strength. Take into consideration the olympic gymnasts and acrobats on how they do their hand balancing stunts. They make them look easy as if they're a cake walk but deep down they are just like you and me. They started out fearful and learned to practice over and over again to overcome that fear and become strong and powerful. Now does this mean you have to be a gymnast or acrobat to understand this? No. You just need to learn to infuse your mind with your body and develop the way its meant for you.

Learn to become im"press"ive with Ultimate Guide To Handstand Push-ups and learn the basics that has taught some of the strongest men on the planet on how to become strong and powerful.