Inver Stone and Gripping

[Guest]

Hello Everybody,

Tom Black has again been very thorough in his examination of why certain objects are more difficult to lift than others. Here's a few comments about the stones.

After lifting the Blue Stones of Old Dailly, especially the larger one the Inver Stone was pretty easy despite the weather (the stone was covered in snow and ice and it was cold and wet). David Horne described it as a 'pebble' compared to the Blue Stones and the Dinnies.

It is't all that smooth actually. It has a rough, uneven surface and weighs just 265lbs.

The Blue Stones are about as smooth as you will get. They are almost like glass they are so smooth and we estimated the larger one to weigh around 350lbs or so.

For lifting these stones you must be very specific in your training otherwise you will fail. Using the grippers and pinching will not help you in picking up large, smooth stones. I don't think I'm all that strong in the gym but can usually replicate similar poundages in awkward objects because of specific training and grip strength.

The stones used in many Strongman contests are good practice for this stuff and hopefully one day I'll have the time to make a set  to train on. If you can get hold of just one of these (at least a 100kg one) plus train the grip more specifically you'll get good at lifting these objects. If not just do what David and I did which has been detailed elsewhere (Iron Grip no.1) - it worked for us.

Keep Strong,

Nick