As you well know I’ve just released my newest project, which is a joint DVD course, with Bud Jeffries.
Feats of Strength: How to Train and Perform Like an Oldtime Strongman.
(Right now you can get it for a cheap price, but this is only for a couple more days.)
So today I wanted to dive into the reasons why you should train to do feats of strength. But let’s be honest here. If you have no interest in this subject these will not change your mind.
More likely if you are someone that this fits, then you already KNOW that is something that you want to, or rather HAVE to do. If this is the case then read on, but definitely pick up the set today so you can get started on your path.
1 – Strengthen your whole body
Feats of strength strengthen your entire body. Even the ones that don’t appear to be full body at first glance tend to still generate power in many of the major muscle groups. And there are other feats that are obviously full body in nature. There is nothing quite like pitting your body against steel and seeing who comes out the victor. Not only will you be stronger with the training, but also in long bending for instance, you’ll improve your endurance too.
2 – Strengthen your hands and wrists
Many of the common feats of strength are centered on the hands, like phonebook or card tearing and short bending. Why is this? Especially in this day and age, although a person may have big or even strong muscles, they lack strength in their hands and wrists. So when they try many feats they are bound to fail. That full body power they might have can’t get transferred through the weak links that are their hands.
To be strong all over, and to do feats of strength, you must have strong hands. There is no doubt about it. And by doing feats you’ll further develop your strength to great levels. The hands can move in so many different ways that you’ll always find new ways to challenge them. Many feats offer unique grips that aren’t often trained except in those specific ways.
3 – Amaze your family, friends and any crowd
People love to see feats of strength. As we talk about in the DVD’s what feats of strength are is a method to make a clear communication of strength with the crowd. The average person doesn’t understand how much strength it takes to lift a heavy weight. But you bend a nail and they go wow. You tear a phonebook in two in 5 seconds and they’ll forever think of you as superhumanly strong. With feats of strength you can get the interest of people that don’t workout at all.
Amazing the crowd...and the press!
4 – Make money off of it
And by this means you can also turn it into a profitable hobby or business. Once you can do a number of feats of strength you can turn it into a show. Then you go out and get paid for doing just that. Performing at events, churches, businesses, birthday parties or just downtown on your street corner. You may get paid directly for your performance (and the accompanying message with it). Or you can use your feats in ways to get paid indirectly like I have for a lot of promotional purposes. The choice is yours once you become a strongman with the power to amaze.
5 – Become known as a strongman
This is a side benefit that comes about when you start performing. Often your first shows don’t make you money but they give you practice, developing your skills, showmanship and confidence. Still to all the people who see this you’ll will become known as the local strongman. Watch out though, you will suddenly be ‘volunteered’ to help out for moving services often. “Oh that’s heavy. Have Logan do it. He can probably lift it with one finger or just using his hair.”
6 – Impress women
Many displays of authority tends to be helpful in attracting a woman. Performing on stage is no different. I’m not saying once you can bend a wrench into a U all you’re woman troubles will vanish. When I showed my girlfriend a few feats for the first time she was impressed. She also says she thought I was crazy but I know the truth. 
Unfortunately, I don’t think this works the opposite way. For a woman to bend steel bars it would tend to emasculate her would be suitors, unless they enjoy doing the same thing. In that case it might be a turn on.
7 – Its fun
This may be the greatest reason of all. I always tell people that when it comes to exercise they have to find something that they enjoy. That I too wouldn’t exercise if it meant I had to spend an hour each day running on the hamster wheel, excuse me, treadmill. There are so many options available for being active and building strength and health.
Feats of strength just happens to be one of the things that is most fun, at least to me. Part of it is the destruction. Part of it is the challenge. Part of it can’t be easily explained. If you bend a nail for the first time and too you its like having your first child then you’re hooked and will be for life. If you don’t have that much fun, I say too bad for you.
Destruction is Fun!
8 – Join a relatively small group of exclusive people
Strongmanism is not hugely popular. While everyone enjoys feats of strength, few people are even aware they exist. There is a very small number of performing strongmen out there. That means that when you get out there its not too hard to rise to the top. (It’s not like running out to Hollywood to become an actor.)
And just about all the strongmen are really nice people that will be happy to help you on your way up. When you enter into the oldtime strongman world you join this exclusive group and get to help spread the message, encouraging others to do the same thing.
That’s everything for now. I’m sure there are other benefits, and if you think of any, please post them below.
And most importantly, if you want to experience all the benefits for yourself then pick up Feats of Strength: How to Train and Perform Like an Oldtime Strongman to get started right away.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Our introductory offer on Feats of Strength goes away after Wednesday so be sure to grab it now.
Filed under Feats of Strength by on Aug 29th, 2011. 3 Comments. 
Oh no, here it comes again.
Every single time I train for this, right before the pull, I’m swearing like a sailor. Its because its painful, very painful. And as I get ready I’m thinking about how painful its going to be.
I’m talking about pulling vehicles by my hair. As mentioned in a recent post, Strongman Picnic, I’m set to perform in less than two weeks from know.
I’ll be pulling a fire engine. Its big. Much bigger than what I’ve been pulling. So in training for it I do what you do in any other training. I make it progressive. More weight at first then I had do switch to more of an incline when I was pulling the biggest vehicle I had available.
I’ve also played around with the setup and my technique as its not likely something I’m going to get coached in.
Back to the pain…
This is an area familiar to strongmen. Pain tolerance.
Bend a piece of steel or a horseshoe across your leg? That’s going to hurt. And the first few times you do it, it’ll leave bruising (sometimes massive amounts). You’re might even be strong enough to bend that steel if only your leg could take the drive.
One tip I received in learning to bend nails is once you get to the point where its starts to hurt and you want to quit, that’s where you need to double your efforts and crush it. That’s the point were the nail WILL bend.
You’re not seeking this pain. In some feats of strength its not so painful. But in some it is. Many feats can cause rips in skin, various bruises, just plain pain or much more.
Dennis Rogers once drove a nail through his hand…backwards. Usually the feats works without much effort. In this case it was not so.
It comes with the territory.
This is just the first batch that came out after the pull. I lost more in the shower later.
Whatever the reason this one hurt more. And I lost more hair. I always lose some when doing this stunt. (I like to think that all the weak ones must go.) But this time there was more. Here I could hear the hair rip from my head at one point in the pull.
When I finished a few large chunks came out. Nothing noticeable as far as how I look is concerned and I seem to have plenty left. But certainly not comforting.
Such is the life of a strongman.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. I wrote an article over at Straight to the Bar. Lift weights? So what? Check it out.
Filed under Feats of Strength, Mental Training, Oldtime Strongmen by on May 3rd, 2010. 10 Comments.
This is a guest post by Jedd Johnson of the Diesel Crew. Jedd competes in Grip Contests, loves Feats of Grip Strength, and has written several Grip training resources, including his Nail Bending eBook and Card Tearing eBook which I highly recommend. If you bend steel you’ll want to pay attention to this article.
Does this sound familiar?
You can’t wait to destroy that new PR bend…
You set it down on your wraps and roll it up in a hustle…
You pull it up into position as quick as you can…
You plunge down onto it to get it started…
BOOM! You smash yourself right in the face.
It happens all the time. In the haste to try to get a bend started, you put your wraps on too loose and just as you get the steel to start kinking, one of the wraps slip and your entire torso recoils as you try to stop your hand that flies off the wrap, only to punch yourself in the jaw or lip.
This self-inflicted pain is a direct result of bending wraps that are put on too loose. When the wraps are loose they slide around and it becomes very hard to predict what will happen as the bend develops.
Unfortunately the hazards of loose wraps don’t just stop at the risk of giving yourself a knuckle sandwich. Poorly wrapped steel can also lead to an injury. When wraps slip and you lose your grip on the bend, you can have a number of things go wrong, including jamming a finger, twisting a wrist, or even pulling something in your chest or shoulder.
Getting a tight wrap is key to high bending performance and risk management, so here’s a few methods you can use to get a good tight wrap.
TIGHT WRAPPING METHODS
The most important thing to understand when getting a tight wrap is that you need tension on both sides of the wrap. You will be putting tension on one side as you wrap the material over the end of the nail. You also need some sort of tension on the opposite end of the wrap. Here’s a few ways to do this.
Foot Method
Place the wrap flat on the floor and put the end of the steel right on the very edge of the wrap. From here, take a position similar to a hip flexor stretch and place your lead foot on the front end of the wrap. This will keep the wrap tight while you wrap the steel.
Weight Method
If you do not have the flexibility to get into that position comfortably for that wrapping technique, then you can try this. Take a weight plate or a block weight and set it on the end of the wrap. From there, start wrapping the nail, making sure to pull tight every time you complete a half turn on the steel.
Partner Method
Optimally, you want to have a partner help you wrap the nail. With a partner, he or she can respond to your wrap and pull at the right angle accordingly. This is the best way to get a really tight wrap, especially if your partner understands how important it is to have the wrap as tight as possible.
OTHER KEY POINTS
Here are just a few other points to make a practice when wrapping your steel for serious bending.
Wrap Shape
If you are doing the wrapping correctly, your wraps should begin to lose their perfect rectangular shape after only a few bends. They should become more of a long trapezoid shape because on edge of the wraps will elongate somewhat. This shows you are pulling the wrap tight on each roll of the steel.
Chalk in the Wraps
You can get the wrap to conform better to the shape of what you are bending better by adding some chalk into the last few inches of the wrap material. This helps fill the gaps of air that accumulate, especially if you are bending a bolt or a nail with a head on it.
Chalk the Hands and Between the Fingers
When squeezing on the ends of the nail, the hand skin has a tendency to become moist from perspiration. This moisture can cause your hands to lose their grip on the nail, regardless of what bending technique you use. For this reason, it is a good idea to chalk you hands well. I suggest putting a bit more chalk on the hands when bending that when gripping plates. I also suggest adding chalking between the fingers to keep that area dry as well.
NOW IT’S UP TO YOU
Once the wraps are on getting the nail bent is up to you. Remember to apply proper hydraulic pressure on the ends of the nail or bolt. Pressing on the ends of the steel will help to reinforce the tight wrap you just put on by helping better concentrate force into the nail effectively.
As you get the bend started, keep in mind that as the steel warps, it heats up. While hotter steel is easier to bend, there is no need to try to rush the bend. Rushing the bend can lead to mistakes, a slipped grip, and more injuries. Plus, if your hand slips off because you are rushing, you will lose time on the bend anyway, so it is better to stay focused and under a controlled pace throughout the duration of the bend.
The techniques covered above should help you to get a good tight wrap so that when you go for your bend you can maximize the force you drive into the nail. Good luck with your bending and if you have any questions on wrapping or bending, leave a comment below.
Thanks and all the best in your training.
Jedd Johnson
Jedd Johnson is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist in Northeastern PA. He specializes in Grip Strength Training but studies all types of strength training disciplines. His website, TheGripAuthority.com is centered around building World Class Grip Strength with the goal of helping all its members accomplish their grip strength goals.
Filed under Feats of Strength, Hand Strength by on Apr 27th, 2010. 1 Comment.
