Smashing Like A Boss (Steel Isn't Strong Boy, Flesh Is Stronger)

 

The body is an amazing thing, it's adaptable, resilient, strong and durable. The trouble is, many these days have forgotten what it takes to maintain the body's abilities to strengthen those attributes and power up the qualities that keep things flowing even as we get older. The choices we make, no matter how small, can impact us later in life. It's about continuing the journey while challenging the norms.

That's one of the reasons why I love Hammer Workouts. They don't take very long but they make an impact with a vengeance literally and figuratively. Yesterday, I got in a 500 Rep Workout doing several exercises with my trusted Thor Hammers (13.8 lb & 30 lb Respectively). I did some filming beforehand, in a sense kind of a warm-up to showcase what I can still do, even though it may not seem like much. Doing one-handed & two-handed strikes on the tire to get some blood flowing.

The workout itself was a bit rough since it was more impromptu than anything. I was just planning on just smashing with fucking intensity but at the last minute decided to do some club-like swings with them to target my grip strength beyond just going after the tire like Gallagher with a watermelon. I did all of the exercises for 5 sets each, moving thousands of pounds in the process. 

1st Exercise: One-Handed Tire Strikes

5 sets of 10 Per Hand

2nd Exercise: Two-Handed Strikes

5 sets of 10 Each Hand Over (Left Over Right, Right Over Left)

3rd Exercise: One-Handed Club Like Swings 

5 sets of 10 going in one direction then the opposite per hand (Total 40 reps)

4th Exercise: Two-Handed 360s 

5 sets of 10 Each Hand Over (10 L/R, 10 R/L)

Safe to say my forearms were pretty damn pumped afterwards and even struggled on a couple exercises but neither hammer left my hands when I did the exercises themselves. After each set, I would take a breather and walk around, thinking of the next set and dominating it with the best of intentions. The two handed strikes felt like a sprint cause of the speed I was going at and even just being in a stationary position, it was a doozer. 

Doing the one handed stuff is not as easy as it looks especially when the handle is thicker than other implements like clubs and dumbbells, so you're engaging more while also maintaining balance and focus. The tire smashes one handed was nasty (for me at least) because trying to hold it in your weak hand and finding the right speed while gripping at the same time isn't a walk in the park. Your hand can slip at any moment and if you got sweaty palms, it can slide and maybe break skin that callous. So yeah, no chalk or gloves, just pure hand strength and making the most of what's possible in the moment.

Smash your goals like a fucking boss, get some hammers at Strongergrip.com and have fun building real world strength using kick ass custom equipment that makes your training look epic. Be amazingly awesome and continue your journey. 

A Workout That’ll Take Your Breath Away

           

             Before I tell you a great workout I have discovered I wanted to give you an important asset in your training and that’s conditioning. I know you've probably read and heard me say it pretty damn often but yet it bears repeating. When you’re really good at something and you can go for a quite a period of time while having plenty left in the tank you’re in great condition. Karl Gotch couldn't have said it better “Conditioning is your greatest hold.” It takes mental toughness to be in superior condition, sure you can have great physical attributes but if your mind isn't in the right place it’s all worth nothing.

            This workout is based on an inspiration from the recent events that Bud Jeffries has demonstrated with the use of a sledgehammer and how you can perform different variations and combinations with that hammer to other exercises. Because of this, I like to practice certain things one at a time and sometimes just one exercise the entire workout because it hits everything in the entire body. This workout is fun, interesting, gives you a little time to breathe and best yet, you never know what reps you’ll come up with next.

            To make this workout possible you’ll need 5 important things…..A good sharp pencil or pen, paper to write own (trust me this comes in handy), a 20 sided die, either a sledgehammer or a mighty Thor Hammer (my personal favorite) and a nice solid tire to hit. Each of this is as equally important as the workout itself. The reason why is because when you roll the die, you come up with a set of reps that you can either leave as is or double even triple the amount but because it be hard to remember them its best to write them down which should be your rest period. If you really want to add anything I suggest a watch so you can time yourself and keep track of your progress.

            Why did I choose the 20-sided die? Because I like variety and not knowing what can come up next, it keeps things fresh and it makes not have the same workout twice. You can use the reps anyway you want, you can leave them as is like I said earlier, or make it more interesting by doubling or tripling the amount of reps. You can go as high as 10 reps or maybe 100 who knows. I use the die at times when I do my Animal Training and play around with it kind of like a game.

            How does this workout go?

-Well, you roll the die, whatever number comes up you do that many reps hitting the tire using both hands and switching the top and bottom hands to make it even. Say you rolled a 20 for example, you can do 10 reps left over right and switch to right over left to make it 20 or do 20 reps L/R then 20 R/L to make it 40.

-Write own the number of reps to keep track so you don’t lose how many you’d like to do. In the beginning do about 10 rolls to get the idea, build it up to however you want and then you can time yourself, 5 minutes, 10 min. whatever and be sure to keep moving, roll the die, write the reps and get back to it.

-Make a goal to how many reps you want to hit in a certain amount of time but also keep good form (its important believe me).

            This builds cardio in ways that just blows many things out of the water; it’s a step closer to how the old-time laborers worked the mines, quarries and construction, breaking down concrete, stone and rock. To do this workout for an hour is a hell of a way to build up your conditioning and stamina while also building crazy strength in the arms, back, legs, your grip, your abs, your lung power and your coordination.

            Build up slowly and start with a amount of time that’s comfortable, then challenge it, make the reps less or more, if you start to get tired after doing a high level of reps, lower the amount but keep going. I once went 30 min. doing this workout and hit just nearly 1500 reps. Once your conditioning is at a certain level keep it consistent so you can challenge it and keep a good rhythm and don’t forget to breathe. This is no cake walk and your mental training is tested a great deal once you get past certain times like 20 min. or 30 min. Make it fun and interesting and try different combinations to amp up your training even more. Have fun and enjoy.