At long last its here. A collaborative project with Bud Jeffries.
Feats of Strength: How to Train and Perform Like an Oldtime Strongman
This is the most complete instruction on feats of strength, training for them, and performing shows that is available.
And we’ve got a special deal for you to kick it off.
If you want to become ridiculously strong…
If you want every group and function you go to refer to you as the local strongman…
If you want to put on shows for fame or fortune…
Then this is where you should start.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Feats of Strength by on Aug 24th, 2011. Comment. 
Do you want to host a workshop at your gym?
With myself and possibly some of my other friends?
As you know I just finished up with my first big workshop with Bud Jeffries. It was a load of fun, all the attendees loved it and I want more.
It’s been my plan for awhile to do more workshops and that time has come.
Because I primarily work online I have people that follow my advice from all around the states and the world.
While we had people out to California from as far as Philadelphia for this last event I realize not everyone can travel easily.
So I want to find places all over the US (and possibly other countries?) to host workshops especially more one day events then weekend long workshops.
I could hunt down places where I’d like to do them but I figured it’d be better to just ask.
If you have a gym and are interested reply back and we can discuss more of the details.
It will be fun, a great learning experience, and can be profitable for everyone involved.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under workshops by on May 24th, 2011. 1 Comment.
There’s just nothing quite like destroying perfectly good items in your own two hands. It’s a lot of fun, builds tremendous power, and can impress others.
Today, I want to take you a little deeper into the world of oldtime strongmen.
Did you know that one item is not equal to another even though they may look the same?
The 60D (pronounced 60-penny) nail is the standard among strongmen for short bending. But not all 60D nails are created the same.
At a recent workshop we were teaching the attendees how to bend. I had just purchased a new box of 60D nails. And a good number of attendees were able to destroy these with either ease or a lot of effort.
But as far as 60D nails are concerned this was a batch of some of the easiest 60D nails I had ever come across. The ones I had at home (that had collected a bit of rust) were probably about 30% harder.
And Bud Jeffries happened to have on hand a 60D nail that is equal in difficulty to a Grade 8 Bolt. That’s a huge jump.
(As a related side note: Did you know that many weight plates may be off up to several pounds in either direction? Unless you have calibrated weights then what they say may not be completely accurate. So while this may not be as drastic in weights it can still happen there too.)
My next example is cards. I’ve been working lately on my card tearing to make it even stronger.
I knew the cards I had been working with were strong, but I didn’t know just how strong they were until recently.
In working the progressions I was up to about 40 cards tearing fairly easily on these decks.
Then I’m over at Chuck Halbakken’s gym and tearing a bunch of cards. (We probably went through 100 decks that day).
The cards he had were a bit easier then mine. Enough so that I was able to do about twice as many. This video here shows my first attempt ever at a deck and a half.
I also hit some other PR’s that day. A deck behind the back and a deck torn vertically (which is ridiculously hard – all the more props to Chuck as that’s his preferred way to do it).
The gold standard among card tearing is usually using Bicycle decks. I was able to go through that easily too.
So it turns out I’ve been working on some of the hardest decks out there. And there is something to be said for working the hard way so that when you need to perform or do other things its much easier.
As you get more experienced you’ll be able to tell the difference just by looking and feeling items. And in the end you should be able to destroy them all.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If you want to get started on bending nails or tearing cards click the pages for more details.
Filed under Feats of Strength, Hand Strength, Oldtime Strongmen, Videos by on May 3rd, 2011. 1 Comment.
Wow, what a weekend.
This last weekend was the first ever Super Human Training Workshop.
For three days Bud and I delivered a whole lot of top training information covering everything from partial lifting to qi training, health and nutrition to mental training, feats of strength to bodyweight exercises and kettlebells. And that just scratches the surface.
It was great to get together with a small group of guys (and gals!) that were willing to put in the work and try some outside the ‘standard’ box fitness approach too many people are caught in.
It was a unique event with PR’s (including big ones) falling by the wayside daily. The pile of torn cards and phonebooks, plus bent and scrolled steel was bigger than I’ve ever seen with everyone getting it done.
Stay tuned for some cool more info about it.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Feats of Strength by on Apr 20th, 2011. 1 Comment.
Back when I started to get serious about training (after moving out the commercial gyms) I got into bodyweight training and kettlebells.
A short time later I stumbled on Twisted Conditioning by Bud Jeffries.
Here was a man that claim you could build insane strength and conditioning at the same time. And it wasn’t just empty claims he was doing it. A 1000 lb. squat in one workout and 1000 bodyweight squats in another. More often then not it was mixed workouts that would involve lifting some heavy weights between long sets of endurance exercises.
Wow! I want that ability…
I bought the book (and more) and started training that way. I haven’t looked back since.
Yes you can have super strength and super endurance at the same time. In fact, by doing it right they actually aid in building each other.
It’s a far cry from the “I can’t run on the treadmill as I will lose my hard-earned muscle” idea common to bodybuilders and others.
It’s actually quite simple to do once you understand that basics of it.
Since then I’ve had the pleasure to start working with Bud. And he’s still a big influence on my training. If I have a question or problem in my workout, he is one of the first people I talk to for ideas on what to do.
His ideas are continually innovative. I tried one of his dumbbells conditioning workouts. Just two 25 lb. dumbbells and in less that 10 minutes I got my butt kicked.
Much has changed since Bud wrote Twisted Conditioning 1 and 2. It’s time for an update of the material.
That’s what he’ll be showing at the Super Human Training Workshop in the Monster Strength and Conditioning segment.
It’s his latest ideas and training on how to put it all together. All the ideas on why you should do what Bud does, of course tailored to the results you want to get.
You can bet I’ll be taking plenty of notes during this presentation right along with all the attendees.
And it won’t just be talk. You’ll get to watch and participate in workouts in action there.
Its going to be a blast.
To get more details and sign up go here.
It’s a really cheap price with a bunch of extra goodies thrown on top to sweeten the pot. Be sure to sign up before March 31st for the early registration price.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Conditioning, Strength Training Concepts, workshops by on Mar 23rd, 2011. Comment.
I figured I’d start a series that goes into more depth about some of the topics both Bud and myself will be covering at our upcoming Super Human Training Workshop.
Far from being just promotional, I aim to teach you some useable information here.
The workshop is set up to cover quite a wide variety of topics. The truth is a certain area may not be the thing you want to learn most about, but another aspect is.
The fact is I’ve gone to events before not real excited about certain topics but then blown away by them when I actually saw the material. Just keep that in mind.
Let’s start with the Kettlebells.
As you likely know I just hit my goal getting 301 snatches with the 24kg kettlebell in 10 minutes and multiple hand switches. (And I plan on beating my own record soon.)
I’m going to be releasing a DVD set that covers everything, and I do mean everything, about technique and training leading up to it. And that will be available soon. Stay tuned for a notice about it later this week.
But of course I’ll also be teaching this material at the workshop. While video is great it is no replacement for hands on work one on one and we promise to deliver tons of that.
Bud has done several workouts involving one, two or three thousand plus kettlebell swings, dependent on the weight he was using. Marathon swing workouts!
He also has a book coming out on the topic. But once again the workshop is the place to learn hands-on.
Here are those informative teaching points I promised. 
Both of us chose a goal, focusing on a single exercise, and went forward with it, seeing just how far we could take it. And it wasn’t an overnight thing. But years of training went into becoming the very best at it.
That single goal focus is HUGE. When you have it you will obtain your goal, assuming the required knowledge and effort is supplied. When you don’t have it you will flounder around (trust me I speak from too much experience).
Another aspect relating specifically to the kettlebell training is how it was structured. Bud and I did quite different things in these regards but there was at least one big commonality. And that was…
Cycling the weights up and down.
You should not only stick to a single weight with any exercise. But by working heavier and lighter you make faster progress.
And I don’t believe this only applies to swings and snatches. In fact, I incorporate it into everything I do these days.
What I just gave you is GOLD. Go re-read it and apply it to your training if you’re not currently doing so.
Swings are Bud’s specialty. Snatches are mine. We’re both fairly decent with push presses and jerks. Actually Bud has done some crazy numbers with those too.
So we will be teaching all of the above.
For some reason, people get messed up on the difference between presses, push presses and jerks. But really its quite simple.
- Presses – No leg dip
- Push Presses – One leg dip
- Jerks – Two leg dips
Understanding them is simple. Doing them is another. I’ve seen far too many people becoming uncoordinated just trying to do a jerk. At the workshop we promise to fix that.
Plus give you the proper way to rack a kettlebell, that will make all the above exercises become easier.
Then there is also the Natural Press which is sort of like an upper body push press. Still no leg drive but using your upper body to explode the weight up.
So that’s what we’re covering in the kettlebells portion of the workshop.
To get more details and sign up go here.
It’s a really cheap price with a bunch of extra goodies thrown on top to sweeten the pot. Be sure to sign up before February 28th for the early bird half off price.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Conditioning, Kettlebells, workshops by on Feb 21st, 2011. 2 Comments.
I’ve been working together with Bud Jeffries for over a year now. Would you believe even though we talk at least weekly we still haven’t met in person? But that‘s about to change…
Bud’s Strongman School tour is bringing him to California this April.
When I saw this one thought popped into my mind. We have to do a big workshop! I’m happy to announce that thought has turned into reality.
Announcing the first ever Super Human Workshop…
http://superhumanworkshop.com/
You can get all the details on that page and register right now.
We have a very generous early bird discount.
We also have a very generous amount of bonuses we’re giving you just for signing up. In fact, they’re worth more than what you’ll pay for the workshop itself!
If you live in California you have no excuses as our event is in San Jose. Even if you don’t live nearby this event is something worth flying out for.
Just look and see everything we’re covering…
http://superhumanworkshop.com/
I’ll be unveiling my biggest and best mental training secrets for the first time ever.
We’ll be covering kettlebells in depth, bodyweight training, barbells, strongman and partials. We even have a whole session on feats of strength.
With only 40 spots this is likely to be sold out long before the event starts. Claim your spot now. We even have a payment plan if you need it further extending our really inexpensive price.
http://superhumanworkshop.com/
Hope to see you there. 
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Uncategorized by on Feb 11th, 2011. Comment.
Not really.
But after last night I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider it.
You see, last night I finally watched the documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster which is all about steroids. I’d heard about it for sometime but I didn’t get around to watching it until now.
If you haven’t seen it here is a brief synopsis from Wikipedia:
The documentary examines the steroid use of the director Christopher Bell and his two brothers, Mark and Mike Bell, who all grew up idolizing Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hulk Hogan, and Sylvester Stallone, and also features professional athletes, medical experts, fitness center members, and US Congressmen talking about the issue of anabolic steroids.
Beyond the basic issue of anabolic steroid use, Bigger, Stronger, Faster examines the lack of consistency in how America views drugs, cheating, and the lengths people go to achieve success.
The film looks beyond the steroid issue to such topics as Tiger Woods’ laser eye correction to 20/15 vision, professional musicians use of anxiety reducing drugs, or athletes’ dependence on cortisone shots, which are a legal steroid. It takes a skeptical view of the health risks of steroids and is critical of the legal health supplement industry.
Some very interesting points were viewed in the film.
The Dangers of Drug Use
Steroids aren’t as dangerous as they’re made out to be and with them being mostly illegal no long term studies will be conducted. ‘Roid rage is pretty much just a myth. Not that there isn’t any side effects. As with all drugs, pharmaceutical, recreational, and otherwise, too much, too often is always dangerous.
As the one fitness model said there are no side effects. Except, wait a sec, he got a case of bitch tits and had to have his nipple removed and put back on! To him a minor surgery (as if any surgery is minor) and no big deal. To me that alone makes me hands down never want to do them.
In our pill popping culture why wouldn’t someone who wants to get bigger take drugs to do it. After all, they take drugs to sleep better, when they get a headache, for heart troubles and to get an erection. But because steroids are illegal many won’t do it.
The Healthful Side of Steroids
Except they’re not completely illegal. You can get hormone replacement therapy done with doctor. Much of anti-aging medicine is about restoring the hormones to regular if not optimal levels. Sometimes this is done more naturally, sometimes not so much.
Where is the line between someone who is taking testosterone for their health and someone who is taking it to get the edge?
For me personally I’ve gotten big into natural Chinese tonic herbs. Many of these are used to get the hormones running right. One of the precepts for the superior class of herbs is that they can do no harm even if you are one them long term. That they have an overall healthful effects not harmful even taken all the time and in large doses.
Contrast this to drugs with their list of side effects. And as was pointed out to me by George Lamoureux of Jing Herbs all those potential side effects aren’t side effects. They are effects. They simply manifest themselves in some people but stay on an unnoticeable level in others, still wreaking havoc inside the body, yet not making symptoms occur.
By doing the proper training and eating correctly you’ll naturally optimize your hormones, get lean muscle mass and the youthful effects that brings. However no matter how well you do it, it won’t give you the same effects as injecting testosterone into yourself. It simply can’t be done.
The Drive to Win
So if you need to become bigger, stronger and more injury resistant what do you do? In order to be the best you have to beat the best. If all the others are on performance enhancing drugs what chance will you have unless you join them?
As is commonly known about bodybuilders all the guys at the top are on steroids. But so are the majority of powerlifters, strongmen, and Olympic athletes in just about every field. Louie Simmons makes it pretty clear in his gym Westside Barbell it’s almost a prerequisite to train there.
And you know what? It’s understandable.
I suppose it’s not fair if you pit a “natural” athlete against one on steroids. But what about when you pit a bunch of juiced athletes against each other? Doesn’t the win and title go to the person who still worked the hardest, has the commitment and does the best?
In a drive to get to the top it’s no wonder its so prevalent. While steroids may be a shortcut there is no real shortcut when you spend every single day and years of effort to become the best. For many sports you cannot go as far as you could if you don’t take steroids.
Why I Still Say No
Yet, I’m still not going to do them. Ever. Should I give up on my plans to become one of the strongest people out there? Not at all.
Look at the oldtime strongmen. Many had the greatest physiques ever. And certainly I believe most men would rather look like John Grimek than Jay Cutler. While most records have fallen time and time again some of the oldtime strongmen still hold world records not likely to be broken.
Even with all the pharmaceutical enhancement I haven’t seen anyone come close to Arthur Saxon’s bent press.
While I may not be able to compete with powerlifters I can do the things I do and become the best in them. Would steroids help? I’m sure they would in that I could train harder and recover faster. But do I need them? No.
Just look at my friend and business partner Bud Jeffries. Drug free his whole life. Squatted 1000 lbs. without a squats suit and even from the bottom of the rack. Many steroid users couldn’t even come close to that.
(By the way Bud is having a 25% off sale on everything at his site. It’s only for a few days longer so sprint on over there and check it out.)
I’m still looking for the edge in my training. Whether that comes from the best method of training, taking natural supplements, and using mental tactics.
For me I draw the line on steroid use.
Yet that line is hazy. As is shown in the film the Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and his atmospheric chamber. By sleeping in it he is able to produce more red blood cells which aid in endurance. The same thing goes on at the Olympic training center in Colorado with the high altitude. These are legal to do.
But blood doping (which is drawing out your own blood then reinjecting it the day before the event) or taking a drug which causes you to produce more red blood cells are not legal.
To me that makes sense. But I suppose each person will have to decide for themselves where that line is at. For some the legality is the only issue. For others their own morals don’t necessarily coincide with the law. The fact that steroids are illegal or not doesn’t effect my decision.
For me the funniest part of the film was the performance enhancing drugs used by musicians to calm themselves down. Legal and generally excepted by the whole group.
Each person will have to draw their own line on what is acceptable.
If you haven’t seen it I encourage you to check out the documentary. It’ll open your eyes to the brainwashing that most people have regarding the issue. From there you can make up your own mind.
If you have seen it I’d love to get your input below.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Health, Nutrition, Oldtime Strongmen, Recovery by on Nov 17th, 2010. 4 Comments.
I have to say I’m motivated to do more swings.
Read an rough draft of Bud’s upcoming book where he details his kettlebell swing odyssey.
And just last night on the Super Human Training Teleseminar Series we had Tracy Reifkind, the Queen of the Kettlebell Swing.
As I was motivated I did a total of 200 one hand swings, broken up in sets of 40, with the 40 kg bell in 10 minutes yesterday.
If you want to learn easy ways to ramp up your swing volume in your training, and get all the massive benefits it provides be sure to check out the replay here.
And be sure to signup for next week as we have Roger Lapointe stopping by to discuss ancient training methods and tools. Its sure to be a good one.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Kettlebells by on Aug 26th, 2010. Comment.
Got a great question from Felipe the other day that I wanted to tackle, concerning progressions in nail bending.
First of all congratulations Logan for having such a great website your one of the strong men I follow because you have such great information and knowledge. I will be buying the advanced bridging course some time with in a month from now, your lock out was crazy bro, good stuff. I wanted to ask you a question on bending, I bought the ironmind nails level one and two, white and green and I love them. They got to easy and I ordered the yellow nails, I can’t even bend them at all there to strong. what other nails do you recommend that is harder than the green nail and easier than the yellow nail so I can bridge the gap. How should I address the situation?
Thanks Logan hope to hear from you.
The white, green, yellow, blue and red nails
However, I don’t know what they were thinking with the Bag of Nails. The jump from a white nail to a green nail is small. The same goes for the yellow to the blue. But the jump from the green to the yellow or the blue to red is HUGE.
And to be honest, I don’t think any amount of working on the green nails is really going to help you get to a yellow. You need to look outside of Ironmind to make these jumps.
There is a lot of detail that goes into this and different ways you can approach it. You can buy lengths of steel and cut them to size. Get 1/4” cold rolled steel and cut it to lengths with a pair of bolt cutters. This way you can make your own progression cutting off 1/2” at a time.
Or for where you’re at Felipe, it may be easiest to pickup 40D nails at the hardware store and work with those. But again with these, the jump from a 40D to a 60D (about the equivalent of a blue nail) is big.
For complete details on progressions with bending check out Diesel’s Nail Bending eBook. It is the definitive resource on this subject.
Actually one of my friends is looking at making a brain dead simple progression for bending, where the jumps are tiny all the way through. Going from one nail to the next is easy but there are many progressions to go from the easiest nails to past the Red nail.
Its still in development, but this is something I’d love to see made available, as I too have been stopped in making these big jumps. I know that the more progressive you can make something the easier it is.
Is this something you’d be interested in? (I’m asking everyone, including Felipe) Comment below.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Feats of Strength, Hand Strength by on Apr 8th, 2010. 17 Comments.
