The Very Best Physiques?

           When you look back on the legendary facets of Physical Culture, you’ll notice that some of the classic bodybuilders of their era had some of the greatest physiques even by today’s standards. These men didn’t just rely on bodybuilding, they also relied on their strength as well that was unheard of in that time especially since quite a number were strongmen.

            One of these very exceptional specimens was the great Eugene Sandow; he looked like he was carved from granite. Others that were like him had mighty biceps, powerful torsos and as some of them were also had narrow waists. In that day and age they were the object of perfection.

            A great way that some of these guys did to achieve that muscular, rugged and chiseled look was by bending tough steel, in this case; long bar bending. They took these lengthy pieces of steel and mold them into designs with their very own hands doing such shapes as a fish, paper clip and even clover leafs. It was jaw dropping for most people to believe that a man would have the guts to take steel and make it something into a form of art.

            This type of training alone required very intense pushing and pulling while the body moved in different directions during a particular bend. It is also one of the most intense forms of isometric contraction so the fatigue factor in the muscles is often equaled to at least an hour long workout although it would take as short as 10-20 min. to complete a bend.

            Jedd Johnson one of my friends in Physical Culture has become quite the expert in the art of Steel Bending. Although he has dabbed in conventional weight lifting, muscle building and strength workouts, he loves to bend steel with a passion. Here’s a list of the things he has bent over the years that would blow your mind and I’m not kidding you these are tough, rough and hard steel to even budge let alone complete….

-Frying Pans

-60D Penny Nails

-Horseshoes

-8 inch adjustable wrenches

-10+ ft long steel bars

Here’s a pic of Jedd himself doing what’s called a Scroll.

            He has also just released a powerful 2 DVD course that teaches you The Art Of Scrolling. These DVDs will show you the inside secrets to how the old-time strongmen were masters at this art. He shows you how to make beautiful designs with your bare hands and with strength you cannot get anywhere else.

            Along with fellow strongman and strength giant Bud Jeffries, they bent 6 different pieces of steel on this DVD series and donated them to a benefit for the daughter of of of Jedd’s old high school classmate who’s got a severe form of brain cancer and it was a huge hit. If you want to challenge yourself in a different format of strength training, this could be exactly what you’re looking for.

            Wouldn't it be awesome to feel the steel in your hands as it gives way in your wrath? Even if you have no desire to be a strongman you can still forge your body into a modern day Sandow filled to the brim with mighty muscle and iron cord-like tendons. Click Here To Find Out More.

            Remember now, this was just released so the price right at this minute is the lowest it’ll be for a short period of time. If you happen to live overseas you can get the course immediately by getting the digital download without the hassle of shipping costs or any of that customs stuff. Get The Art Of Scrolling today and never look at training the same way ever again.

The Scrolls Of A Dying Art

              What is a dying art? It is a system of something that once thrived long ago and in the modern day has started fading away into a memory or became a joke even to the point where it’s not taken serious anymore. In the fitness world, lost arts from 100+ years ago have begun to fade into the memories of those who done them in the past and/or very few still do them for example: Muscle Control was an old-time art of the bodybuilders from the 1890’s to about 1950’s/60’s. This art thrived as it was a way to learn how to control your body from within to create muscular definition and/or mass naturally with the body’s structural alignment. This is one of many but only one had many exciting qualities that are now coming out of the ashes slowly and with power.

            One of these dying arts that are slowly rising like a phoenix is the Art Of Scrolling. What is scrolling you might ask; it is a style from the old-time strongmen that used long pieces of steel from thin to relatively thick that were bent into shapes or designs using only the hands and body. In the old books from the early 20^th century called this coiling or shaping steel. This was a mighty task to take because it works the body in ways that you have never felt before. To shape steel with your hands can be taxing but if you do it right it builds the tendons and muscles with strength that is unbelievable.

            I have personally have done some scrolling with tough steel and I’m going to tell you, it’s tough, it’s hard but it’s way more fun than most feats in the world of strongmen. You don’t need to be a strongman to get the best benefit. This can be used by athletes from all walks of life from martial artists to arm wrestlers to baseball and more. If you’re not interested in sports and just want a great workout, this will get the job one. The way your body has to shift to move the steel is uncanny and a lot of it has an isometric component to it. It will make you sweat and once you start to move the steel you have to keep going until it’s too difficult to move a single portion of the bend. You can create many designs that your mind can come up with and they may not always be the same.

            Today, very few people practice this art and some are incredible with various designs and shapes that boggle the mind. Imagine creating a wine holder with your own hands; a bow-tie, a couple loops, a swan and more with the power of your imagination and physical strength. Two guys that are keeping this art alive and giving you an opportunity to shine are Bud Jeffries & Jedd Johnson, two extremely strong and intelligent men that will show how to safely and with precise coordination how to turn a steel bar into a thriving piece of art that even Picasso would be impressed by. It is an art that has been fading for decades but with your help, we can bring this art of strength back into what it once was or what it could be with the modern strongmen of today. Build tendons of Iron Cords, build strength within every inch of your body and utilize your mind to create something that is beautiful and strong with character and imagination. 

More On The Hands

              

             Having powerful hands can be life saving. The grip power and strength you build from different methods gives you that raw and ferocious power of being able to lock anything within your grasp. When you bend steel, you wrap up the nail, wrench, screwdriver or whatever; you squeeze with everything you have and you work the wrist along with the whole body and you give that object no mercy. Ripping a deck of cards gives you that mighty twisting strength in your hands and your wrists while taking your body to a whole new level. Gripping a odd object and doing whatever you want with it, even though it’s awkward, it gives you the strength that forces you to stabilize the muscles and tendons.

            Not all grip work should have a focus on strength because if all you do is strengthen the hands and lower arm, you’re missing out on creating graceful and supple hands that can create magic within the flick of a wrist or using your fingers in the way a ballet dancer gracefully uses the legs. Move your hands with power but not like a tense beast, but a mobile and majestic form of flexibility and suppleness. If you’re a fighter who needs to slip out of holds, your supple hands can come in handy. A magician has very supple hands and you’ll know why, the beauty and the majesty of moving their hands with key target points and precise accuracy that can only be measured by how they present themselves.

            The hands can be your greatest ally or with the right leverage and training, they can cripple you within a heartbeat. Back when Catch Wrestling was at its prominence; there were wrestlers called Hookers who can hook you into a hold that would most likely break a bone if they had anything to say about it. Just putting the bone of your wrist on guy’s arm, leg and/or neck in a locked hold can hurt like a bitch; I've felt it first hand so never underestimate it. The Hookers were feared by those who challenged them and if they got a hold on you, you better pray they’re in a good mood and just make you tap otherwise you’re going to be in a brace pal. If you’re looking to build “soft” hands meaning strong but gentle, they can be useful if you’re into massage, pleasing your spouse and they can be useful when you have that touch that just makes everything feel incredible. The hands can do many wonders.

            When it comes down to tools, there are many things you can use to build mighty mitts but none are equal to each other because one can build your hands a certain way or another but never in the same way in terms of building the tendons and muscles of the lower arm. Sledgehammers build strong hands period. They make you work otherwise you won’t have a chance with them. Grippers build that crushing strength but also if you do isometric holds, this alone can be beneficial if you want to save someone’s life one day. Various Feats Of Strength build your hands in ways that are virtually impossible for dumbbells and barbells can withstand. The simplest tool for your twisting strength can be the use of a towel, by this I mean you get a bucket, put the towel in and soak it up as best as possible and then from one end to the other you twist and squeeze the water out back into the bucket; this exercise alone can turn your hands in steel rods and turn your tendons into granite.

            Use your tools wisely because you never know when you’ll need your powerful hands for a certain occasion. Your hands are the works of what was meant for you. The stronger and supple you make them, the stronger your body can be. Do it and you will go far.

The World’s Strongest Marine

 Every now and then in the generations of strongmen, there are a few that come and go, some stay on as performers, others teach and bring in a new generation but this time around only one has not only done both but is also a Marine and is one of the toughest men out there today. I’m talking about Professional Strongman and Coach Mike “The Machine” Bruce. Not only is he known as a Strongman but also one of the coolest guys you’ll ever talk to. Trained by the Grandmaster of Strongman himself Dennis Rogers and one of the most conditioned Heavyweights of the modern era Bud Jeffries, Mike has become one of the best destroying steel in his path and in one of the most dangerous places to bend.

 Throughout his life he’s dealt with abuse, ridicule and always wondered what he will become. Joining the Marine Corp. as a young man he made the choice to create something of himself and not only made it through one of the toughest military factions in the world but served his country the best way he could. Upon returning home he tried out wrestling and I believe either kickboxing or boxing or both and excelled by winning the majority of his fights and became known as we know today as The Machine, a man who’s conditioning is world-class with people who couldn't tell if he was human or not because he didn't know when to stop. He literally and figuratively became strong in every since of the word.

 His trademark and famous strength is known because of the strength of his neck. Forget this guy that bend horseshoes and destroy steel at a moments notice, his neck is considered the strongest out of not only the majority but possibly of all strongmen. He own records for having steel bend over his throat such as long steel bars and believe it or not horseshoes, seriously I’m not joking you can look it up yourself. When you put up 300+ pounds using only the strength of your neck and have steel being bent over your throat and not just any easy type of steel, I’m talking steel the majority of people can’t bend with their own hands let alone around the neck, you are a freaking beast. He’s not just strong in steel but has one of the strongest backs and abdominals in the world and that’s just the tip of the Iceberg.

 I believe coaching was something he wanted to do before and after retiring as a performing strongman and has opened up a gym in Kentucky called The Machine Shop and has produced many clients that not only got in awesome shape but became something more than themselves and a lot is influenced on Mike. I've always wondered what it be like to be coached by a former Marine, I've dealt with great coaches in the past including a few being trained personally by some of the strongest and most conditioned people on the planet but a Marine takes it to whole new level in ways you can’t imagine unless you’re there experiencing it.

 To me he has gone through such great adversity yet is one of the most humble guys I had the chance to speak with a time or two. A man who has put God ahead of everything else except maybe his beautiful wife but anyhow and still able to have a great sense of humor and a wonderful motivational speaker to kids and adults alike, he is truly a man’s man with a lot left in him and I hope to be trained by him someday and want to not only shake the man’s hand but salute him with the best of intentions. I’m proud to have written this article and hope it gives him something to check out and know that when I write something, it came from the heart and has more meaning than he can imagine, Happy Birthday my friend.

Semper Fi

Strongmen: From Vaudville Onto The Big Screen

In the Golden Era of Physical Culture you had some of the strongest men on the planet doing what they did best on the stage in Vaudeville houses in America, Germany, France, India, Canada and many other countries across the globe. In that time strongmen weren't just a piece of the show, often times they were the rock stars of their era and were the headliners over many top acts. You had great men like Sandow, Saxon, Arco, The Mighty Atom, Warren Lincoln Travis, Apollon and Hackenshmidt. There were many others and the reason why is because people want to believe in the power of being strong, to be able to do anything that gets in your grasp and gets destroyed or lifted with your bare hands.

As time went on like so many things in the world, the strongmen shows started to die out and become a spot as a piece of what once was good and meaningful to the people who came to see these mighty giants give them something to believe in. Now very few people in the world know who even some of these men of strength were and the respect and love they have for them and help spread the word of what can possibly be a comeback starting with its roots all over again. With the growing of a new film just might bring that old school quality of what was is now slowly coming back to reality instead of a memory. The film is called Bending Steel: A Documentary.

The film takes place where a small strongman named Chris Shoeck has big ambitions to perform at one of the most famous strongman sites in the world, Coney Island, NY where men like The Mighty Atom, Warren Lincoln Travis and many others flourished in the realm of strength. To help get him there he is guided by another strongman who's becoming quite famous himself in recent years and that's The Viking Chris Rider. Theres a clip in the film where Rider is telling the little strongman about the crowd and how to channel his fear and overcome it with using his feats. Trust me guys, Shoeck may be short and skinny at stature but he is one strong dude and bad to the bone at what he does. Rider is no slouch either but is a towering giant with some of the powerful hands that's anyones ever seen.

When you watch the trailer of the film don't be fluttered with how great or not great it looks but picture in your mind the love and majesty of who the old-timers were about and what they represent. Its very difficult to perform certain feats of strength but in the mind its a limitless possibility of what you can achieve. That's where the real story comes to life is how far are you willing to go to push yourself with great power and great focus. You will find in this film how far one man will go to perform the biggest show of his life to solidify himself in the annals of strongman history. In one scene where Shoeck is at Coney Island you can almost hear the ghosts of past strongmen and giving him the call of a lifetime (not literally).

This film is set to release in the Summer/Fall of 2012 and I for one and hopefully many of you reading this will be seeing it with love, respect and the true honor of knowing that the strongman are coming back and Rider, Shoeck and others are the driving force of bringing back what truely belongs in this world. The world wants to believe again and now its here.

For more info go on Facebook and "Like" Bending Steel: A Documentary Film at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bending-Steel-A-Documentary-Film/192032960849713

There you will find a few extras of the film as shooting and editing progresses and friend Rider & Shoeck. Also you will find info on how to get tix to see The Strongmen At Coney Island themselves and see Shoeck in his first performence ever.

Psychotic Strength Turns Into Monstrous Gains

When most people put together a strength & endurance program they end up failing and why? Because nobody really teaches them the right way to bring up their levels of conditioning they could never imagined. It’s not right to feel limited to what can have unlimited potential and create a sufficient system that can give you strength & endurance at the same time. Ok did I just say that right at the same time?

When it comes down to it most people believe that Strength & Endurance can’t be done at the same time. Well then try telling that to strongman Bud Jeffries. Believe it or not this man as a super-heavyweight now at 270 can go to levels that most guys can’t even comprehend he is just bad to the bone strong and durable. Also he’s not the only one if you’ve been playing the home game here. In the eras of the 20’s, 30’s & 40’s you will find strongmen who were not just strong but had incredible stamina, speed and energy that almost nobody in the commercial gyms can do today. Call me old fashion but I much rather rely on these guys then some dude who plays around with a machine and calls himself strong.

Lets just say for safe keeping if you want to become a super athlete you will need to work on a variety of different things but that’s not the same thing as isolating no it means you find exercises that are compound movements (working multiple muscle groups for those who are keeping up) and building foundations for what you can achieve. Why not bring all of them into play and create the ultimate workout. Take a long & hard look at Twisted Conditioning 1 and its Sequel Twisted Conditioning 2. These two courses alone can help you achieve a level of strength that would make an old-timer proud. Becoming superhuman is what we all strive to be. For us guys we want to be strong and keep our loved ones safe and protect them from harm. We also want to be the strongest and most effective athlete we can be and being a bit rugged wouldn’t be too bad either because lets face it, functional muscle can take you farther then as a bodybuilder whose best achievement is standing on stage looking pretty. For the women they want to be able to defend themselves against attackers and have that lean and mean body that not only looks awesome but at the same time can take on a guy. For you ladies unless you’re on steroids you will not get big huge muscles like us guys so stop being afraid of putting on too muscle cause it won’t happen.

Taking a chance to become strong has been the vocal point for men and women as long as civilization and even the caveman era. Being strong doesn’t always mean big muscles but it means having self confidence and being functionally fit to do whatever you please. Being strong has its benefits and when you have just as much stamina as you do have strength, its even sweeter then cherry pie. Take a look at what you will find in these 2 bad boys have to offer…..

Learn the Three Levels Of Conditioning. Not doing one level will ruin your chance at success

Train With Kettlebells

Tips For Gaining or Losing weight

Getting strong with Odd Objects

Building Strength Without Losing Endurance

Finding ways to Bend Steel

Getting good at different movements without being complicated

Building Your Maximum in Strongman Training

Learn the best bodyweight exercise for functional fitness Including Push-ups, Squats, Sit-ups & Bridging for optimal health an strength

Learn how to train with Water.

& Many More……

Just looking at what you will find should give you an idea that not only will you learn from the best but how to keep things fresh and new for every training session you do and I don’t want to imagine the level of strength you will achieve because whatever I come up with you have more of it. This is powerful, powerful stuff my friend and only Bud can deliver this kind of training system to you. Take a chance and create yourself the ultimate athlete with no strings attached, no catches, just plain hard work and the will to successful.

Scrolling

This is a method of bending where you design long peices of steel from 3ft to say 20ft or longer. This in my opinion is the most fun out of all the bending feats that usually end in a "U" shape. You can do that if its pretty thick steel say 5/8ths of an inch thick and it won't scroll. This is also where strength/endurance pays off in a huge manner wherein the tendons and ligements need to be crazy strong to keep going on the design and it is a full body workout whether you want it to be or not. If I had to pick 4 of the best scrollers in the world at this feat here they are:

Erik Vining

Alexander Zass

Mighty Atom

Slim The Hammer Man

These men without question are the strongest men at this feat and most iron game specialists would agree. To make a shape out of long rebar or flat steel takes insane strength endurance and a mind/body connection thats just off the charts. The true secret to this exercise is isometrics. If you don't believe it try it.

The benefits of Steel Bending and Phonebook Tearing

When you look at an old-time strongman like Dennis Rogers, Slim The Hammerman and Pat Poviliatis and the best of them all The Mighty Atom, They seem to be strong from how they look but how strong are they? Heres your answer: Hours upon hours upon hours of training and practicing. They make these feats a way of life and some of the time it could possibly kill them. People see impossible feats happening before their eyes but do they really realize what benefits they get out of it, heres how I break it down:

Steel Bending- When you can take a wrench and I mean a 10-12 inch steel wrench and bend it into a pin holder or in a "S" shape or take a 6 inch spike even a 6 inch ironmind red nail and bend it into a "U" you're building some powerful joints and ligements and it shows when you shake their hand or ask the to pinch you. Your tendons will be almost bionic and have strength beyond imagination. Now steel bending can be dangerous if you don't do it correctly or if you make a slip you can puncture your skin and really hurt yourself. No one in the world is a greater short steel bender then Pat Povilaitis, he can take a short steel rod and bend it at chest level and these take 100's upon hundredes of pressure. Talk about super strength.

Phonebook Tearing- When properly trained you can destroy the thickest of phonebooks and take grip strength to a whole new level. No one on the world can do it better then Dennis & Pat they are the dynamic duo of phonebook tearing and Pat just keeps one-upping by tearing a phonebook in 5 peices. Its just surreal. Take a phonebook, have a post arm and pulling arm, your post arm pushes down on the book to keep the tear in place and your pulling arm with enough strength destroys the book. Thats one way of doing it and probably the best way cause most people you see today would take a book and try to "pop" it by squeezing the pages together and press down to rip it. My best tear is 886 pages, my goal is get up to a thousand by the end of the year.

The only way to master these feats is by doing them, not training certain exercises to make the feats work, thats all fine if thats what you want to do but if you want to be super strong then practice the feats themselves. If you want to bend steel then practice bending or if you want to rip phonebooks then progress ripping phonebooks dont just go with something that the feat needs or is required. Simple and easy to understand. Never think you're too small to do these things cause 3/4 of these are at average height of 5'9 and average weight of 160 pounds.

www.dennisrogers.net

www.functionalhandstrength.com- (Look for the quantuple tear)

Yours in Power & Might

Ben