Where do I begin?
How about a brief synopsis. I was in Houston to learn from one of the strongest men in the world, Dennis Rogers. Even among the students there we had some very strong guys. Like ‘The Human Vise’ Pat Povilaitis, Mike ‘The Machine’ Bruce, and Chris ‘As of yet no real nickname’ Rider.
And everyone else was strong too but these men stand out. When you get around this caliber of individuals you’re pretty much expected to tear phonebooks and decks of cards in half. To mangle various sizes of steel with your bare hands.
Today I share a few pictures of the materials in the strongman trade. Here’s a few prize pieces signed and kept by Dennis.
It’s hard to tell the size of some of the objects but the common objects (like the coffee cup) should give you a frame of reference. Here’s a close up of the ‘S’ wrenches.
Here’s a hammer done by Chris Rider in the same manner. Very cool looking.
And now for a before and after shot of tearing through many phonebooks. And no, we weren’t quite done yet. I believe everyone was destroyed. One great thing about the seminar was we all had the opportunity to not only do a feat but get one-on-one attention and all our questions answered.
That’ll give you an idea of some of the feats the best can perform. Next time I’ll show you a few feats as they’re being performed.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. This kind of training isn’t for everyone. But if you want to do be able to do any of these feats or similar there is one man to turn to, Dennis Rogers.
Filed under Feats of Strength, Hand Strength, Oldtime Strongmen by on Aug 12th, 2008. Comment. 
Just flew into Texas. Here to learn from one of the strongest men in world. Dennis Rogers is putting on a seminar to teach the art and business of strongman.
He is labeled as pound-for-pound the strongest man in the world at the feats he performs. Having seen videos of many of his feats, this is no joke.
I’ve learned a great deal from Dennis already through his various videos but have yet to meet him in person or see him perform. In just a few hours that will change.
It was his DVD that got me first into ripping phonebooks in half. And since then, roughly two years ago, I added a number of other feats to my repertoire from card tearing to bending horseshoes.
But something tells me that all that won’t compare much to even this single weekend.
Of course I’ll be reporting to you from the front lines. Depending on how much time I have available, if any, to write to you and get setup online.
In any case you’ll get a full account after its over.
Here’s to an exciting weekend. Although you may not be doing anything so grand, you can still put together a few great workouts.
And if you’re feeling it, add in a few old-time strongman feats.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Oldtime Strongmen by on Aug 8th, 2008. Comment.
Was on the phone with John Brookfield yesterday. We had an extremely interesting and enlightening conversation.
If you don’t know who John Brookfield is let me fill you in. He’s strong. Really strong. And not just in his grip (though he’s written not THE but THE TWO books on hand strength) as he’s well known for.
He’s extremely well conditioned and strong all around. In fact he’s set a number of world record’s that are crazy in strength and endurance.
The best part is I recorded it and am going to make it available to you soon.
A few of the things he said, opened my eyes to some new possibilities. Just one thing we talked about concerning kettlebell juggling that I applied today, kicked my butt.
At it was all across the board in what we covered.
Even though I was interviewing him, I can hardly wait to re-listen to it and take down more notes.
So consider this a head’s up and look for my email about it next week.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Feats of Strength, Hand Strength, Oldtime Strongmen by on Jul 25th, 2008. Comment.
Here’s a question about one of the strongest men who ever lived.
Hello,
I was wondering what all you know about the Mighty Atom? Is there
any videos of him? Please let me know.
Thank You!
Lee
Most of what I know about the Mighty Atom I learned from his biography, The Spiritual Journey of Joseph L. Greenstein. Unfortunately, the book is out of print but you can still find some used on occasion like at Amazon, if you’re willing to pay the price.
I have never seen any film of the Mighty Atom performing, though I imagine somewhere some exists.
If you haven’t heard of this man, here’s the short version of his life. He grew up as a sickly little boy and was not suppose to live for very long. Under the tutelage of the circus strongman, Volanko, he became healthy and strong.
Some years after moving to America he got involved in vaudeville performing his various strongman acts. His most famous stunt probably was holding back an airplane from taking off by his hair.
Even is his old age he could bend iron bars that would humble most men. The secret was that the power really is all in the mind. That’s how a small guy like the Mighty Atom is still known as one of the strongest men that ever lived.
Just recently Dennis Rogers put out a new site devoted to the Mighty Atom. Check it out to read even more fascinating stories.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Mental Training, Oldtime Strongmen by on Jul 14th, 2008. 4 Comments.
No I’m not talking about spending 4 hours in the gym that wear you down instead of building you up. That kind of stuff will be talked about some other time.
What I am talking about is a certain kind of strength training. The kind that leaves behind a pile of destroyed, mangled, ripped and shredded stuff.
In my last post I talked about the satisfaction that I and many others get from bending steel. One of the main causes of this is that you have something tangible and material afterwards. If you break a PR in the press or squat it is great, but unless you snapped some pictures or video then it is just in your mind and your sense of accomplishment.
Bend a new piece of iron or tear a deck of cards in half and you have the results left over. Not knocking any other lifts but these few give you something to look at, after the feat is done
I don’t hang on to everything but as a habit I keep my firsts and my records. I also have a few souvenirs from other people.
One of my favorites is a phonebook torn by John Wood at a seminar I attended. If you haven’t seen his sites then be sure to check them out. A good starting place is http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/blog/
The phonebook itself isn’t so impressive, but the manner in which he did it was. While in a wrestler’s bridge with someone standing on top of him he tore three phonebooks in succession. In this position he had to tear the books above his head, meaning without bracing. Truly a extraordinary stunt.
The first time I ever ‘performed’ I gave the remains of my feats to some young girls near the front of the stage. Twas a great feeling seeing them carry around the objects all night long.
My collection has just begun but you gotta start somewhere. If you haven’t, then what are you waiting for?
In case you’re wondering I do recycle the phonebook remains. Whether they actually can use them or not I do not know for sure.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Feats of Strength, Hand Strength, Oldtime Strongmen by on Sep 27th, 2007. Comment.
