Hammer Conditioning

 

 There are many ways to get in awesome shape, you can use your bodyweight, work with weights or better yet use cool tools that are not only awesome looking but you’re getting more bang for your buck than you can imagine. Ever heard of training with a Hammer? Of course you don’t, you’re either one of those people that goes to a gym, play around with a few machines, work very light weight and call yourself in shape or you’re one of those guys or gals that doesn’t get anywhere no matter what you do and you just quit at the drop of a hat. I’m here to tell you that getting fit is not only a cool thing to do but it also keeps you energized and have a zest for life you didn’t think existed. The best fitness advice anyone can ever give you is to have fun with what you do. Training with a hammer, better yet a Thor Hammer gives you that mystical feeling that you’re training like the warriors of generations past.

 

 

 Training with this particular tool can give you great possibilities to train with, most of them involve swinging but the main point is when you work different areas while consuming your exercise using your whole body as a unit, you will find yourself having off the charts strength and conditioning that only a few ever know about. Even training with a sledgehammer is a cardio workout that will have you gasping for air if you do the exercise right. One of my heroes named Slim worked in a Rock Quarry for many years, doing labor for as long as 12-14 hours a day, 6-7 days a week cutting and destroying rock with a 16 pound sledgehammer. Now 16 pounds doesn’t seem like a lot of weight but when you’re smashing things for hours on end, you’re using your whole body and it makes cardio machines look like a cake walk. If you had a tire or half tire, along with a hammer, try hitting it like a guy working at the Quarry, do it for 5 minutes and tell me if you’re not breathing harder than you would doing 30 minutes on a cardio machine.

 I would bet if you had just a hammer and a tire, which would be the only equipment you need to get a cardio workout that will leave you with sweat, strength and overall fitness in ways that can only be explained by experience. A great course I have practiced off and on is to me one of the only if not the only course out there that gives you tips specifically using hammers is my man Bud Jeffries’ DVD Hammers and Maces from his Alternative Conditioning series that has a plethora of different ways to work your body into the ground. Hammer training is another look at what you can do to get in awesome shape, up until a few years ago, there weren’t many places to learn this kind of stuff, now guys in the NFL, MMA, WWE and even in Olympic training have found the Hammer swinging style are using it to get their athletes in incredible world-class shape.

 

 

 

 

 Ever seen the movie Thor? Ever wondered what it would be like to have that much power and strength using that cool ass looking Hammer? Well you can get your hands on your own Mjölnir and feel what it’s like to swing that little son of a bitch and learn the golden keys to Super Muscle and Superhuman Strength. Conditioning this way is a lot more fun than just pulling down a machine that really won’t do much movement wise and just going for a stroll on the cardio machine, this way teaches you how to use your stabilizing muscles in other words your Core and work your whole body as a whole. Look at it this way, because of it’s structure it helps you figure out how to stay balanced and helps you learn certain muscles needed for certain swinging movements. Hell one of the best exercises I’ve done for a few hundred reps is using it like the Kettlebell swing and I think it’s much harder than the regular KB swing because the hammer is longer and the handle is thicker. Also if you had a tire, you can have a glimpse of what a blacksmith feels like by whacking the hammer. If you don’t have the movie Thor, I suggest you get yourself a copy which you can find on the right hand side of this blog under Physical Culture links below the Incredible Hulk series and film.

 Another side of training with a Sledgehammer and Thor’s Hammer is using them in the old tradition of India’s training program which dates back hundreds of years using them in the style of Wrestling called Kushti. This traditional style of training consisted of the Mace (which you can use with the Sledgehammer) and the Gadas (you can use with two sets of Thor’s hammer) which they swung and worked different muscles to get in shape for Wrestling. Now you don’t have to be a wrestler I’m just giving you a history lesson along with a perspective of what you can do with these tools.

 

 

 Having fun with your exercise is a golden key to great fitness and strength training and nothing looks cooler than a hammer, it represents strength and even having one in your hands just has a mystical feel to it, like you’re apart of something special. It’s not just a workout, it’s an adventure, and you can even pick exercises out of your own imagination. Think of some of the workouts you can think and imagine in a time where you had the power to destroy anything you wanted, in one workout, you’re John Henry and pounding spikes into the train tracks, the next workout, you’re in India over 100 years ago, exercising outside in the wrestling pits before your match and destroying your opponent, another workout would be you’re working at a gold mine in the old west, smashing rock to find that treasure of gold and after so many powerful whacks, you have found that gold and you’re jumping for joy and even you can imagine being Thor smashing the Frost Giants and conquering a battle over monsters and demons.

 These are things to think about when you’re training and you should never walk into a workout thinking it’s going to suck, be creative and use your imagination; it’s one of the biggest keys of all time. Make it interesting and use it to your full advantage and give it everything you have, it could last a few minutes or last over an hour, hell you’d get so into the workout that you lost track of time because you had fun doing it, that’s the beauty of it. Give yourself a chance to shine and Hammer your way to glory on your terms.