Anvils?!

[blueshadow]

Any anvil animals out there; What type of excercises and/or lifts can you do with one other than a 1 handed lift? I checked Tom Black's site which is always great, but had no luck! I am really interested and plan to try it soon. Thanx!

Also checked archives with no luck on specific lifts!

[Roark]

I have a 96 pound anvil, and if I do not lift it regularly it seems to get heavier fast!

One hand deadlift; one hand pendulum (swinging it back and

forth); two hand pinch grip across the top flat surface(to

be honest I have not tried this is a very long time).

If you are feeling particularly daring you can stick a finger

in the anvil hole and try to deadlift it- AFTER you are

thoroughly warmed up. I tried this once with an 87 pound

wrecking ball, without warming up and pain shot up my

left forearm. Couldn't use the electric window in my car

with the two fingers I had stuck in there. Then a friend

who is a Civil War student, told me that it was not a

wrecking ball, but a cannonball!

Also you can perform any number of exercises with

an anvil instead of a barbell- the weight of the anvil

will of course limit which exercises.

Only use the anvil where dropping it does not matter

to whatever it lands on.

[Guest baldy]

I have an anvil marked "55 lbs" from Harbor Freight (don't know the exact weight, never have weighed it myself) that I got a couple of months ago.  It is fun to pinch across the top, and horn lifts are neat too.  You can add weight with a strap through the hole in the back.  I was able to clean and press it once with my right hand, but have not been able to snatch it yet (Roger S, that is why I asked about the snatch form you used on your Inch DB).  I can swing it (what Joe is calling a "pendulum", I guess) between my legs and get it almost straight out in front of me, but no snatch.  I couldn't imagine taking it straight up from the ground for a snatch.

Joe, I definitely understand your skepticism about Jowett's anvil feats (from previous posts) after having tried some of the lifts with my anvil that doesn't even weigh 1/3 of his.  When I cleaned and pressed mine, the clean went off smoother than I thought but the press was very awkward.  Kinda like a vertical bar lift in reverse or something.

[Roark]

I called it a pendulum because the creative juices

were flowing and because a 'swing' is a lift that involves

an overhead section. I know, picky.

My anvil's hole goes all the way thru the anvil, so

I stuck a small pipe thru it and can load plates onto

that pipe.

Jowett was an interesting man.

[blueshadow]

Thank you Roark and Baldy, I must give it a go soon!!

                                   JJ

[Guest baldy]

Not picky at all, Joe... just accurate.  Next time I try it I think that "pendulum" will look better in my training log than "tried to swing anvil to a snatch position".  

For those interested in anvil horn lifting, I got the IronMind anvil simulator "Little Big Horn" last week.  It has an interesting feel to it.  I was able to lift about 20 lbs more on it (not really trying to max, just testing it a little) than I ever have lifted on my anvil when I load plates on it.  My anvil has a short thick cumbersome horn on it, making lifting it difficult with much weight on it (for me anyway).  The simulator has a nicely tapered smooth machined finish that seems to fit my hand well.  It does look a lot like the horns I have seen on heavier anvils (100 lbs +).

I guess I would say from my limited experience that the LBH anvil simulator is to 2" vertical bar lifting what a York blob-style block weight is to plate pinching (kind of).  

I have not yet tried lifting it with the thick end up as the catalog suggests.