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10 years of (bi-weekly) Ironmind Red Nail bends


Buccos1

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Carl,

The longevity you have shown is remarkable. As a guy moving into his later 40s I am more moved by longevity than most other qualities. Well done. Thanks for setting a solid example for the rest of us.

 

Al

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8 hours ago, Tom Flesher said:

I think that’s what’s most impressive about this - we talk about how bending careers are short because high-level bends are so hard on the body, but Carl has been consistently doing high-level work for this long. I know you said you’re starting to feel your age a bit, but this level of consistent strength is awesome. 

Thanks Tom!  Bending has truly been my passion the past 10+ years and the thought of stopping is depressing to me.  But from Day 1, I knew I wasn’t one of the natural beasts destroying big steel and wanted to bend at a decent level for a long, long time.  Most of my programming has centered around this.  Mix in the “crazy bender” gene, and here we are.  Lol

6 hours ago, terminal said:

Carl,

The longevity you have shown is remarkable. As a guy moving into his later 40s I am more moved by longevity than most other qualities. Well done. Thanks for setting a solid example for the rest of us.

 

Al

Thanks Al!  I probably should’ve wrote about this a long time ago, but am a little superstitious, and kinda like flying under the radar a little.  But I’m definitely going to keep hitting everything as hard as I can, for as long as I can.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow. I can't even imagine how tough that was/is. At 58 with numerous injuries accumulating over the years I couldn't even come close to this. With six months of weekly rolfing sessions under my belt and knowing I have many more to come, it has really helped to read your post. I'm sure I'll never get to being a great bender. Glad you put some perspective on it for me.

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On 8/25/2019 at 12:19 PM, jpav2010 said:

Wow. I can't even imagine how tough that was/is. At 58 with numerous injuries accumulating over the years I couldn't even come close to this. With six months of weekly rolfing sessions under my belt and knowing I have many more to come, it has really helped to read your post. I'm sure I'll never get to being a great bender. Glad you put some perspective on it for me.

Thanks man.  As difficult as it's been the past few years, it has been one of the few things to give me drive and keep me centered week-after-week.

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I will continue to update my double-overhand bends throughout the next year, as I attempt to hit the 10-year mark with Red Nail bends.  My plan is to continue bending Reds every other Sunday, until next summer.  I will also include some updates on health etc. as this has become increasingly painful and difficult the past few years.  Doing this, I think, will help me plow through this last year despite the injuries, and hopefully give me a boost.

Sun (8/18)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d spiral
18/64 x 7" O1
Red  Nail

I've been having pain in my forearm and bicep on one side for the past few months.  Double-overhand bending seems to really be aggravating it.  I've been able to modify my technique a little to put less stress on that side.  This has taken away a lot of my explosiveness and power though, which has really made some of these last Red bends tough.  Today, I started to have moderate-severe pain in my knuckle when I was doing the 60d spiral.  The middle knuckle on my dominant hand has significantly increased in diameter since I started bending.  It's always looked kinda messed-up, but never hurt or caused any significant pain.  Today was different.  On the sweep, I could barely exert any pressure into the bar on the right side, as it was painful just having the pressure on my finger into the other ones.  So, I actually did the sweep with a mostly open hand.  

 

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Sun (9/1)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d spiral
1/4 x 7" Grade 5
Red  Nail


It took me almost a full-minute to bend the Red today.  I have been tweaking my technique lately to prevent any more pain in my bicep and forearm, which slightly changes the grip I've used for years.  I ended up tearing up my finger pretty good too, which hasn't happened in a very long time.20190901_183215.jpg

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Sun (9/15)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d spiral
1/4 x 7" Grade 5
Red Nail


Much, much better today.  I bent the Red in about 20 seconds, and had no issues with my bicep, forearm or fingers.  Kinda surprising too, as I did heavy bench about 30 minutes before bending, which usually saps my explosiveness.

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7 minutes ago, Buccos1 said:

Sun (9/15)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d spiral
1/4 x 7" Grade 5
Red Nail


Much, much better today.  I bent the Red in about 20 seconds, and had no issues with my bicep, forearm or fingers.  Kinda surprising too, as I did heavy bench about 30 minutes before bending, which usually saps my explosiveness.

That's great you are feeling better and had a nice, fast bend!

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22 hours ago, Donc101 said:

That's great you are feeling better and had a nice, fast bend!

Thanks Don.  Yeah, lately, almost all bends have been painful, especially the Reds.  Almost like trying to rehab all week now just to be able to do the scheduled bends without too much damage.  Laying of heavier curls and higher-rep pull-ups seem to be helping the most.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sun (9/29)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d spiral
18/64 x 7" O1
Red Nail


Normally, after a meet, I take at least a few days off of any heavy weights or difficult bending.  But, it was time to bend the Red and I couldn't wait another day, so did it.  Not too bad of a bend, but my arms (from the shirt) and hands were pretty beat up from yesterday, so that was the toughest part.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sun (10/13)

Yellow Nail
60d spiral
1/4 x 7" Grade 5
Red Nail


I didn't get to bend until almost 8:00 today.  Ended up squatting earlier in the day, which went OK, but didn't feel really strong.  I knew during my first bend (Yellow), when my forearm was screaming, that this would be interesting.  Worked up to the Grade 5, which felt a little better, but everything still hurt.  I waited a few minutes and then wrapped up the Red.  Realistically, I knew I had one chance.  If I would've missed it or gotten stuck on the kink, and wrapped another one up, there is no way that it was going to happen.  So, on the first hit, I laid into it for about 5 seconds and was only able to get it to about 20 degrees.  My forearm was in pretty decent pain.  My bicep was starting to ache too. 

I had no choice to alter my technique again.  Instead of my usual kink, I flexed my right lat, stabilized that side as much as I could and then exploded from the left, almost bending a type of double-overhand reverse, using my right pointer finger as a pivot.  All the while thinking as I am doing this through the pain, that it's not going to end like this.  I attacked it it for 20 seconds all-out (which felt like a lot longer) and was able to get it into the crush zone around 50 seconds, and the finish it off.

There are several things I could do to alleviate this pain, including compression wraps/cuffs etc. on the forearm.  But, throughout this streak, I've kept true to Ironmind's cert. rules and will continue to do so, even if it causes the ultimate end.  I am going to step-up work on my forearm and bicep this week with some additional traditional eastern medicine techniques, with the hopes that it will stabilize enough to continue throughout the remainder of the year, into the next.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sun (10/27)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d spiral
18/64 x 7" O1
Red Nail


It seems more-and-more lately, I've become more fixated on my forearm and bicep pain in the days leading up to the Red attempt bends.  Some days, almost getting to the point of psyching myself out.  Most of my attempts at the Red the past few months have been so borderline, due to the pain, that either I am "on" just enough to blast through the kink, and finish the bend, or struggle to the point it almost feels like a debilitating experience, but still finish it--barely.  I've been starting to be more concerned prior to these bends then I ever had in the past decade+, maybe similar to the type of uncertainty of the first ever (half-dozen) Reds done in single IMPs.  Then a little frustration begins to set-in, thinking about how Reds used to be warm ups for the 485-505 lb. x 7" O1 bars done in single IMPs back in '12-15 for Benders' Battlefield certs.  Frustrating, a little depressing, but still going to attack this until the end.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sun (11/10)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d nail
1/4 x 7" Grade 5
Red Nail


Today was tough again.  I wrapped up a Red, hit it pretty hard, and got stopped at around 40 degrees.  Typically, with 7" stock, if I can kink it, I'll finish it.  But this bar was killing me as I was hitting it.  All of the pain that had subsided in recent days immediately started to flare again throughout my arm.  So, I called it at that point and decided to make another attempt on a new bar.  I wrapped-up a new Red and then destroyed it.  Probably like 15 seconds.  Not great, but under the circumstances, I was happy, and pretty relieved.

Afterward, I compared the first bar with several others I had laying around and the harder one was definitely a different shade then the others.  I think I remember back a few years ago, there was a hard batch going around.  (Not going to look as it's not really that important.)  But, I was sweating it for awhile after that first bend and starting to second-guess myself.  Getting old is cool with some things, but definitely not for bending.

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On 8/9/2019 at 2:19 AM, Buccos1 said:

I have been thinking about how to tell this story for years, and always end up putting it on the back-burner, due to its complexity and not wanting to face reality, that this journey is near-complete, and with it, the end of a huge chapter of my life.  Getting into the final year, the time is now, I guess.  Onward ...

After my Red Nail certification in August, 2010, I was trying to think of something unique, in that I could do long-term, that no one else had ever done.  From the beginning, when I started bending steel, I wanted to become one of the best all-around benders in the world and sustain this over (at the time) at least 5 years (which of course, turned out to be 10+ years).

After my Red cert, I decided to undertake a personal challenge: to bend an Ironmind Red Nail, under official cert. conditions, every 7-10 days, for as long as I could sustain it.  I do not have my old log from Benders Battlefield in its entirely, but kept notes from the first few years.  Years 1-3 were typically done once per-week.  I did a bunch of other bends (cut-Reds for certs etc.) that I did not include as part of this challenge in the overall count.  Also, there were a lot of days that I bent 2-3 Reds in the same session.  These were not included; just the Red bend for that week.

The first few years were easy, in retrospect, especially as I compare those years to the past few years' attempts.  During those first few years, Reds were usually the easiest of 2-3 "challenge bars" I would do during weekly sessions.  It wasn't until I hit 40 years old around 2014 that things started to hurt more and these weekly/bi-weekly sessions became much more challenging.  There were several instances where I thought about stopping, but kept going.  When I hit 5 years, I told myself that I would keep doing this as long as I was physically able, and set my sights on 10 years.

I have told a few people over the years about the 10 year Red challenge, but never officially posted or wrote about it in detail until now.  As I type this, I am at 9 years of bending a Ironmind Red Nail every 1-2 weeks, nonstop.  This was through a lot of challenges, aside from the obvious.  A few of the major things I encountered that almost derailed things were:

  • Birth of my first son, where I stayed in the hospital for multiple days, with little sleep and no one really making it easy to bend in the hospital (had to hide everything).  When I made the actual attempt, it was on a few hours of sleep, just a few seconds before the nurse came into the room.  She definitely would not have been happy if she walked in when I was bending the Red at this time.
  • PRK eye surgery - I planned my bends around my surgery date, to give myself about 12 days after the surgery to bend the Red.
  • Kidney stone surgery (invasive) - This one was tough.  They told me I could resume light training after 4-5 days, and then "normal" activities after 10 days.  I just figured bending was not "normal" so didn't bother even trying to explain to the doctor.
  • Multiple injuries - After turning 40, things started to break down a lot more frequently.  I haven't really changed too much in training, but aches and pains have been nonstop for the past 5 years; especially the past 1-2 years.
  • KTA/RRBT - I did both of these programs multiple times and had great As gains with grippers.  My hands were destroyed for the better part of a year, which really made bending tough, but did not stop it.

As I worked through week-after-week, and month-after-month of bends, I began thinking about the gravity of this endeavor; mainly, that if I would stop, it would be over for good.  It took me over a year of dedicated training to cert. the Red back when I was in my mid-30s, in much better shape and condition.  After 40, I was fully aware of some of my newfound limitations, and the reality, if I would stop bending Reds, it would likely be over for good.  And I wasn't willing to give this up just yet.  Bending, and by extension the Red Nail, were so intertwined into my personality, identity, and weekly routine, that I have been fighting to keep this going as long as possible.

At 9 years, the end is in sight.  And that is partly why I am writing this now.  This is probably a little too much rambling, and I might go back and fine-tune it a little later on, but I know the last year is going to be a challenge and I am hoping to use the board as a platform for accountability, and more importantly, motivation.  As such, I will post updates here in this thread over the next year, and hopefully, wrap it up after 10 years of continuous, bi-weekly Red Nail bends.

In the picture below are most of the Reds during this streak.  I counted 292 Red Nails.  As mentioned above, this does not include all of the nails, including some of the shorter (5.5") Reds and the official cert. nail, which are in the "big bend" box.

It kinda makes me sad typing this up, as I know that this cannot go on forever.  It;s been such a huge part of my life for so long, that I cannot remember when I wasn't bending.  And wasn't waiting for the weekly/bi-weekly Red Nail bend to keep it going.

A great story and super motivating! Congratulations and hats off!

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20 hours ago, camz said:

A great story and super motivating! Congratulations and hats off!

Thank you!

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Sun (11/24)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d nail
1/4 x 7" Grade 5
Red  Nail


Today's session was probably the best, for pain-free bending since the summer.  I am still getting the forearm pain as soon as I grab the bar and get into position and throughout the kink.  But, today, it was noticeably better and I had very little residual pain after the bend and throughout the following hours.  And no pain in the biceps afterwards.

Over the holidays, I am going to go back and review all of my notes and records to determine an exact date for the ten-year anniversary of continuous Red Nail bends.  I think it's going to continue this way for the next half-year, with the pain, forearm/elbow/bicep issues, with an ebb-and-flow of improvement and regression.  But, with a target date, the end is in sight and will continue to be the focus.

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1 hour ago, Buccos1 said:

Sun (11/24)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d nail
1/4 x 7" Grade 5
Red  Nail


Today's session was probably the best, for pain-free bending since the summer.  I am still getting the forearm pain as soon as I grab the bar and get into position and throughout the kink.  But, today, it was noticeably better and I had very little residual pain after the bend and throughout the following hours.  And no pain in the biceps afterwards.

Over the holidays, I am going to go back and review all of my notes and records to determine an exact date for the ten-year anniversary of continuous Red Nail bends.  I think it's going to continue this way for the next half-year, with the pain, forearm/elbow/bicep issues, with an ebb-and-flow of improvement and regression.  But, with a target date, the end is in sight and will continue to be the focus.

You are a warrior Carl! Great job.

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On 11/26/2019 at 9:48 AM, Donc101 said:

You are a warrior Carl! Great job.

Thanks Don!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sun (12/8)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
60d spiral
1/4 x 7" Grade 5
Red Nail


Nothing major today.  Things seem to be improving with the bicep and forearm issues.  One of the things that is helping, I think, is pulling back on barbell curls, pull-ups and reverse bending.  I'll continue to go lighter on curls with less volume on pull-ups and will probably eliminate reverse bending for awhile, until the improvement continues.  Definitely happy though with the recent changes.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sun (12/22)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
1/4 x 6.5" 1045
1/4 x 7" Grade 5
Red Nail


I ordered some 1045 and bent it for the first time today.  Way harder than what I was expecting.  Turned out harder than the Grade 5 bolt I bent right after it.  Things felt OK today, which made me very happy.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sun (1/5)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
1/4 x 7" 1045
Red Nail

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Sun (1/19)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
1/4 x 6" O1
1/4 x 6.75" 1045
Red Nail


I tweaked my forearm/bicep a little on a recent DU (wraps touching) bend and was a little worried if it was going to cause an issue for today's attempt.  But, overall, things were OK.  Not super-explosive, but took it down in about 20 seconds.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sun (2/2)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
1/4 x 6" O1
1/4 x 7" 1045
Red Nail


Similar to two weeks ago, feeling OK.  Not really strong anymore with double-overhand, but just enough to get it done.  My arm issues continue to get better, with very little additional pain today in the forearm or bicep.

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29 minutes ago, Buccos1 said:

Sun (2/2)

DO - IMPs
Yellow Nail
1/4 x 6" O1
1/4 x 7" 1045
Red Nail


Similar to two weeks ago, feeling OK.  Not really strong anymore with double-overhand, but just enough to get it done.  My arm issues continue to get better, with very little additional pain today in the forearm or bicep.

Glad it’s feeling better brother.

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