Advancing In Short Bending

 

When it comes to being a strongman in the old-time style, one of the main feats to perform is bending a short piece of steel whether it is a nail, bolt, spike, rod or even an extremely tough piece of silverware. Steel Bending is one of the toughest forms of strength there is period. Anyone can lift a weight or pick up an object one way or another but to bend steel is a whole different realm.

 There are different types of Steel to bend. There are even pieces of steel that my not be of the same structure, for example when you bend a 60D Penny Nail, you can find certain types of that nail that can be as easy as it can get but that next nail may not take it so lightly. I have experienced about three types of 60D nails that are extremely easy, a few that are difficult and even one type I can’t bend at all because the structure is different, the size is the same but the steel isn’t. You will come across this in your bending endeavors and be careful what you find and learn the aspects of different steel.

 Progression in Steel Bending is like anything else, you start with that are easy and build yourself up, once that becomes too easy, find ones that are slightly more difficult, after that you find ones that are extremely tough and practice with those. The best form of training for steel bending next to progression is Isometrics. Isometrics give you that positional strength with the case of bending if you hit a spot you can’t bend; you do an isometric contraction until it becomes your strong point.

 The very best benders in the world have frequently used Isometrics to destroy the toughest of short bending objects and because of Isometrics; they have built a level of strength that can be only explained by experience. One of the biggest names in the old-time strongmen-lore is the great Alexander Zass. He was the man at one time in Europe that mangled more steel then anyone at that time, his trademark was long piece bending but he was no stranger to the short styles and what was his main form of conditioning? You guessed it Isometrics. You can find a new book devoted to the beloved Strongman here.

 Whether you’re a performer or a person who wants to have insane strength, short bending is an art and builds levels of strength that you can’t even imagine. Picture this when you learn about Steel Bending….

 

Iron Cord like Forearms

 

Powerful Wrists

 

Hands as tough as rock

 

A strong upper body

 

Eagle Claw like Fingers

 

Tendons that are as strong as Steel

 And there’s plenty more but you get the jist of what I’m saying. I want you to do what you love and if you’re not into Steel Bending that’s fine, there’s plenty of other feats to choose from and many of them are worth putting on a show for because no matter how you slice it, every one loves a strongman.

Learning From The Man Himself

I have been good friends with Logan Christopher for roughly over seven years. He alongside Tyler Bramlett aka Duke T McB are the top two men that let me in the Physical Culture world and taught me everything I know and have learned from some of the best teachers in the game both personally and through courses plus over the phone conversations. If there’s one thing I’m grateful in the world of fitness it’s from them.

 When you have training partners that are also good friends, your training will push you beyond your own abilities. Just because they’re friends has never meant taking it easy on me. Every time I’m around them or Logan in particular, he always has me try some crazy thing like when he had me over at his house when I was in Cali recently he gave a grade 5 hex bolt to bend which I have never even made a kink in my life, since Logan was there to guide me a bit within moments I bent that little monster about ¾ of the way or near full bend and I was shocked.

 Training alongside Logan has been an honor since day one. Believe it or not, he’s seen some of my firsts and possibly some of my only feats such as….

 

First 60 penny nail bend

 

First Grade 5 Bend

 

Falling Back Into A Bridge, Kick over and back

 

Holding a 125 lb. dumbbell with a 2 inch thick handle for ten seconds

 

My one and only time doing 83 reps in 5 min. 53 lb. KB snatch test (never attempted before or since)

 So as you can see, he’s a true coach to me and one of the coolest cats on earth. One of the best things I’ve learned from him and others is how we all help each other get better, its not always who’s better or badder, it’s how we help each other advance in our own training. Personally I know how good I’am but lets face facts, I wouldn’t be that damn good without the Renaissance Man watching my back. I will always be indebted to him for helping me find my own path in Physical Culture.

 Last thing before I brag too much about the Ponytailed freak of nature, when you have good friends to train with, things are a lot more fun and more interesting because you learn new things from one another and teach each other different styles, hell as great the man is, I even taught a couple things but that’s the beauty of it. Having fun is what it’s all about, trust me its better to go through life having fun than being serious and dull. If you have friends out there that you train with, help each other and learn from one another but never forget that the one person you need to train with is not one of your buddies but yourself. Have fun and make things interesting.   

Hard Training= Harder Rest

Every workout should be a small challenge but I believe at least once work a week or a month should be one of the toughest you’ve ever put yourself through. Bust your ass for the exercises that give you the best results and hit them hard with a vengeance.

 Resting is a major factor in your training because rest means recovery and you learn to give your body its time to relax. When I mean rest I don’t always mean between sets, I mean by sleep and letting the body recover overnight. After a hard and brutal session, you’d want to get a good night’s rest which builds hormone levels and builds your metabolic state.

 If there was ever a day I needed to Rest more than anything else was one of the most brutal days of my life. I spent the morning and early afternoon training on hand balancing and even doing some Rock Climbing which I’ve never done in my life. After that tough part of the day, I went to the gym with my sister and her husband and did some brutal lifts with crazy heavy dumbbells, including low reps on the pulldowns up to 270 lbs. and went for reps at the pec deck which maxed at 240 lbs. Pull-ups were added in and plenty of stretching. After the gym, jumped in the pool and did some swimming to cool down my body after a brutal day of training. Can you say insane?

 At the Rock Climbing gym I got to train alongside The Duke and The Renaissance Man a.k.a Tyler Bramlett and Logan Christopher. These 2 were going at it with Handstands, Climbing and various holds that need to be seen to believe. I’ve had a few sessions with these bad asses before and every time I train with them there’s some thing magical in the air.

 When you train this hard or anything hardcore at all, it’s very important you let your body heal and I don’t mean sitting on the couch all day. Sleep and let the body heal itself, eat plenty of natural foods to give your body the nutrients for fast recovery and do little exercises here and there to keep your blood flowing and exercise the joints to keep from injury. Your body adapts to different progressions in whatever you’re doing and it’s not necessary to go hard every day, some of that can lead to injury. Resting your body should be equaled to the training itself as in terms of ratio and various workouts.

Birthday Feats

Celebrating your birthday shouldn’t be a burden or a way to feel old. Yes we age every year but you don’t have to grow old. Why not grow young? Jack Lalanne became the man when it came to celebrating a birthday in the highest of honors and that’s doing something that makes you proud to grow as you age. On his birthday ever since he was 40 up until the day he died he took it to a level that is unmatched to this day. He created certain feats specifically for his birthday and he did it with guts, unprecedented determination and best of all, did it with that glowing smile us all watched on TV.

 Some people don’t even celebrate their birthdays anymore; they feel that another year has gone by, it’s just another day and that it doesn’t matter anymore. Your birthday is a proud day to be still living and building new wisdom and experiences. I love doing something on my birthday, its fun and as I have gotten older I try to make it more fun. This year as I turned 28, I decided to do something way out of my element, I did exercises in reps and timed certain ones according to my age, I did handstand push-ups, fingertip push-ups, held one-arm tablemakers and walked like a bear and a gorilla on my fingertips to create more of a challenge. I believe in creating challenges for yourself especially on the day you were born because every year as you age, new challenges and experiences arise.

 Feeling old is all a mind set and to avoid this take a look at what you have done for yourself and build some creativity that keeps you from feeling your age or more. I may be 28 but I don’t feel my age one bit, I actually feel 10 years younger and I’m far stronger and physically fit then I ever was as a teenager. Even if you’re in your 30’s, 40’s and beyond, that shouldn’t stop you from achieving new goals in life whether it be fitness, business, family life or whatever, feeling young is one of the greatest things you can create for yourself. Never feel that it’s your destiny to grow old.

 The aging process is not an easy one and it does get harder to be fit as you age but never make excuses that you can do something for yourself and learn to turn back the clock and reverse the “getting old” mentality. Being fit as you age is a wonderful feeling and sure you won’t have the same strength and power you had in your younger years but you can become stronger and fitter than the average person at your age. I’m in my late 20’s but most guys my age today are obese, love to party, feeling no one can touch them and trying to keep going as hard as they can and once 30 hits, they’re done. I don’t believe that. As I get older I understand that I won’t have the same energy as before but I’d be damned that In my age group I’m going to be way fitter and stronger in that group.

 Your birthdays is your day, do something makes you proud to be alive, not saying you should go on a binge and gorge yourself with cake and unhealthy “goodies” but do something that makes you smile and realize that you are a wonderful human being and you have lived to see another year. I’m pretty happy to be growing younger as I age and I continue to build new challenges for myself and do things that make me happy not just on my birthday but for everyday of the week and than some. Happiness starts in your mind, once you master it, put it into action. Happy Birthday everyone.

A Whole Gym In The Palm Of Your Hands

How cool would it be to workout anywhere you wanted, at the beach, the park, your backyard, garage, house, even at the top of a mountain? Having a gym is way overrated. I’m not saying going to one is a bad thing but if you wanted to train anywhere you wanted, what can you do? One way to do it is getting a device that could have endless ways of strengthening everything from your neck to your toes and that’s my dear friend, the Chest Expander.

 This little bitty rubber cable apparatus can work your body from more angles than weights never could and you need to strengthen those areas for overall functional strength and fitness. There are many types of cables to progress with ranging from the easiest to nearly impossible to expand. Weights can hit many muscle groups but the cables hit muscles that aren’t reached by any other method except this. Unlike weights that use gravity, you are fighting the cables because they don’t want you to expand them and you need that kind of power as if you’re fighting a person.

 The cool thing about this bad boy is that you can go from one exercise to the next in a snap, go from a curl to a press or from a row to a lateral raise; this is great for circuit training to help bring that conditioning element. Dumbbells are fun to use if you’re into them but it takes you a little bit to put down the thing, grab another and go through the cycle again, with the cables you can put as many as three on there and if its too much for you than take one off to ease the resistance, I find that more fun than taking the time to switch plates or dumbbells. When you see that you’re working from odd angles, you’re building odd strength and flexibility which can aid you in almost anything from lifting to bodyweight exercise to cardio or even to help rebuild injuries and heal old wounds to get that functional strength back for the things you want to accomplish whether it be sports, your job or helping out your family.

 One of my favorite things to do is use this thing for Arm Wrestling. This sport is one of the toughest forms of strength there is, period and you need well developed grip, wrist arm overall body strength to take even the toughest of opponents. Read about my article about Arm Wrestling Training to learn more details to get an idea of how strong you can get just using cables and never needing a machine or weights to get the job done. This is where it gets even prettier by the second where you can go from using it as a rehab tool to taking it to a superhuman level that even the strongest forces in strength athletics can appreciate.

 If you want to take it even further my man Bud Jeffries has a DVD course that specifies in Alternate Conditioning Methods which one of them is based on Cable Training and the things he has in stored on there will blow you away and just when you thought you only had a few basic ideas, he takes beyond another level. An extreme few courses out there on this type of training so that should tell you that there are secrets out there that can take your fitness to levels never imagined before. Being fit is awesome, being strong is great but being functionally fit and strong is the most gratifying thing you can achieve and becoming superhuman is that much sweeter.