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.

An Epic Review

          

            This is a special treat because I rarely ever write reviews for a certain product so today you’ll get an un-cut and uncensored review of the Epic Sledgehammer from Stronger Grip. Granted in this review I will not hold back how I feel about this Hammer and why it is one of the most awesome tools in no nonsense grip strength and conditioning that it is not to be underestimated.

            When you have a Hammer of this size & power and you have it in your hands; it strikes into your very soul because its beauty is without equal and its strength is unmatched. There are many great tools in the world of strongman but like with Highlander, there can be only one that hits you with ferocity and the power to take you down if you don’t have the guts to withstand it.

            It is not to be underestimated. Sure it looks awesome and has a mystic to it that even the folk legend John Henry can smile about but at the same time, you will either be handle it or you won’t and if you can’t, you don’t have anyone to blame but yourself. People believe that to get strong you need weights or machines to do the work and slug off anything else that seems to extreme or not enough for them and I say bullshit. This one tool has the power to give you crushing grip that be used in many sports like Football, Baseball, Hockey, Golf, Wrestling, MMA you name it because when you strike it at a high volume or work it in different positions it tackles the mind more than anything else.

            I've held it in my hands and did quite a few exercises that don’t require a tire and I can tell you first hand it is brutal and your lower arm will get sore. It’s not a tool for just sports but to build that functional and enduring strength with a powerful grip, hand-eye coordination, lung capacity increase, shaping the body of a man with mighty tendons and super muscle. When you begin to train with this bad boy, your body will never be the same again. It takes effort to swing it, it takes to endure it and it strengthens your mind in ways most tools can’t. This Hammer is a tool of the gods that only one man has the guts to create and does it with style and class (and a bit of nerdyness) and that’s Ryan Pitts. He has built some of the most powerful tools in the world of grip strength and if Thor, Zeus and many of mythology’s famous gods were around today, they’d look to him to build the strength for the people and the strength that we all have within us.

            It is up to you if you have the guts to take on a challenge that could very well be the most fun and powerful challenge in your quest for physical strength.

Weapons Of Strength

             In Mythology, there are specific weapons that can wreck havoc but at the same time, they define the strength of the person that holds that weapon. Zeus’ Thunder Bolt is one of the all-time mightiest weapons and it puts destruction into wherever he throws it but it gives him the ultimate power over all the gods. Thor’s Hammer is the muscle weapon of Norse Mythology, like the Sword of Excalibur; only one person is deemed worthy to hold it in his hands and it gives him strength that excels over anything else and brings manly power in its grasp. Poseidon’s Trident is just flat out surreal when it’s been used at it’s maximum power, it can devour oceans, destroy ships within a snap and puts you at a stand still to how it is unmatched by just about every other weapon.

            One of the most underrated stories in American Folklore is that of John Henry and the Epic Sledgehammer. In a time where race was feared and those of different color got the shaft just for what their skin holds brought a lot of hardships, hard ache and the struggle to live among other people. Henry brought struggle to light by the use of his mighty hammer and taking on an obstacle that is practically impossible to do, he turned it into triumph and the will to fight for what he felt was the right thing to do. With the swing of his hammer, he symbolized what the weight of the world felt like and fought with every breath of him with swing after swing; he built hope and internal strength that has been long forgotten. Although he was physically gifted and was a might of man, he used the strength of his heart to conquer the demons that roamed in that time.

            The most powerful weapon is nothing physical, nothing you can see with your very own eyes and it’s certainly not a weapon that is to be underestimated and that’s the power of your mind. How we use our minds determines our strength on another scale. The way we think creates a chain reaction that pits you against the ultimate opponent and that’s YOU!!! We build thoughts, emotions and solving/creating problems by how we use our minds, the stretch of the imagination is limitless and with practice; we can devour obstacles, conquer challenges and fin solutions that have logical correction. By understanding who you are and how we perceive ourselves and change how we think we can build success and live the life that was meant for us. By projecting your Self-Image, you learn to create success that brings you happiness, love, protection from negative energy and can even create financial success with the right attitude and using your imagination.

            It’s not something to just jump in and think it’s an instant snap of your fingers. If you want to build your weapons, you need to step up and take it step by step by finding what you want to do whether it’s to build strength, lose weight, build functional muscle or even just want to build a better income; project yourself with a thirst for a positive attitude, be organic, don’t be afraid to fail and be responsible for what you want to accomplish. Nobody can create success for you; no one has your body, your health or your dreams. Be bold and look to things that give you guidance, learn what gives you purpose and how you can make yourself into a happy and high self-esteemed person.

            

       Watch the movie Field Of Dreams sometime and look to the biggest quote of the movie “If you build it, they will come.” What that truly means in my eyes is that to truly be successful, you need to build yourself from within and they (meaning the universe and your imagination) will come to you and guide you but it’s up to you to make the effort. 

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.