Just Received New Slim Dvd

[Justin Reagan]

I haven't watched the main disc yet, just the bonus disc. Watching Pat P. bend with such ease made me want to try his style. Immediately after watching it, I went and tried about 5 TT's with his style. If I can make my "vise" hand stay still, I think it will actually be a lot more comfortable than DU, which I use all the time. Every time I bend anything (even a few timber ties) with DU, my wrists are hurting for hours. I'm strong (relative to DO style, that is...) with DU, but I think if I can get the hang of this style, I might do great things with it.

Justin Reagan

[DuTCH]

Sweet!! I was wondering how these DVD's were turning out.. Do inform us also on the main Dvd!

[Justin Reagan]

It was great! It definitely made me want to incorporate more hammer work into my workouts. It also made me NOT want to bend bars over the bridge of my nose. It's given him all kinds of problems. I especially love where, close to the end, they show clips from an actual training session. It even zooms in on a big pile of broken chain links.

Just in case anybody else has watched this (or anybody who was involved in making it...) and knows about this particular show, I have a question. There's one clip (I think it's at the 1987 NY show, but I could be wrong) where Slim bends a 3 or 4 foot shiny looking bar. What kind of bar was that? (diameter, etc.)

This DVD set is something I will watch over and over and over and over again.

Justin Reagan

[gamidon]

I also received my Slim DVD yesterday. I LOVED it. The production was first class, the DVD was well done, the cover artwork everything was VERY professional.

Slim was very interesting to watch and I really enjoyed seeing some of the old clips of his hammer levering. He is clearly very strong on levering and very good during his displays of strength. I will watch this DVD a few more times over the next couple of days to really soak in everything on there.

What it contains: Extensive interview with slim, old footage and discussions of his feats and how he performs them. New footage of him levering and several more recent clips of him at AOBS. I found him to be very interesting and honest. I loved the way he talks about The Mighty Atom. I felt I learned a lot about the history of Slim Farman and I am interested in other DVDs of this nature, I hope the success of this one will bring on more DVDs about the old time strongmen and there lives.

I was surprised by his hammers, I didn't realized they were connected together and have not seen anyone do them this way. He had a bunch of hammer sets in his "gym". I really like the way he levers 2 hammers by swinging them up in front and then slowly opening his arms to the sides and levering them strictly to parallel.

One thing I would like to say and this is not an attack but. The world record is quoted in inch pounds but the hammers are not brought to parallel more like 45 degrees. The shafts were 31 inches but you can not count the length in his hands which must be 4-5". PLEASE do not see this as an attack on what he did, only that the world record should be accurately measured so that others can attempt it and see just how difficult it is. When he levers for the world record he levers them up to the front over a pad, this looks VERY difficult and I will try this as I am sure that this is VERY hard to do with small weights much less big weights. I asked Dave to try it and he was able to do it with some pretty big hammers without pushing them into a pad so I don't have a good feel for just how difficult this is. I am sure it is mind boggling. I also didn't like that there were leather straps on his wrists during his feats. While this may be seen as decoration if I did this on a red bend the VERY same people who would discount what I did will defend what he did. I don't know if they are helpful or not, I did try wrist wraps to test it and it does make a difference, how much I don't know but there is a definite improvement and it provides a lot of stability. I did see some clips in there where there was no straps so I am not saying he needed them to do any of his feats.

I highly recommend this DVD and I am very glad I bought it. I have not watched the additional DVD I received with Pat in it, after watching the 336 pounds DVD I am sure I it will have some great stuff in it. Steve Weiner, Great job with this I see you were part of the camera crew and probably had a lot to do with the content as well. Dennis obviously did a great job with this and seems to be a class act. I even got to see Pat in there looking at Slims stuff all wide eyed. I am with you brother, I would love a chance to get a tour of that GYM, there was history everywhere you looked.

Please accept this as an honest review, where there is criticism accept it as my opinion. I would be less than honest if I only told half of what I was thinking. I got a PR levering last night (I was scheduled to do levering so it was a great day to watch this DVD) I got 20 pounds (not 100% strict but I am working on it) I think the motivation I received from seeing this had pushed me to achieve what my body was capable of but my mind wasn't ready for prior to last night. Those that have seen the DVD will recognize that Slim talks a lot about mental state and I believe this 110%.

Greg Amidon

[Justin Reagan]

A little more comprehensive than my review. I guess I'm just a man of few words. Do you think that the pad on the front lever would make it harder or easier? I can't really tell. I need to make me a plate loaded device, as I'm nowhere close to even doing an 8 lb. hammer this way. I'm weak.

gamidon:

When you watch the bonus disc, listen to what Slim has to say about Pat's last "feat". It's great (and a little funny).

Justin Reagan

[gamidon]

A little more comprehensive than my review. I guess I'm just a man of few words. Do you think that the pad on the front lever would make it harder or easier? I can't really tell. I need to make me a plate loaded device, as I'm nowhere close to even doing an 8 lb. hammer this way. I'm weak.

gamidon:

When you watch the bonus disc, listen to what Slim has to say about Pat's last "feat". It's great (and a little funny).

Justin Reagan

←

The pad on the front lever will definetly make it easier. two reasons, it moves the fulcrum of the lever forward toward the head, and allows downward body pressure to start the hammer moving. Still the absolute weight of what he is moving is mind boggling so I am not trying to make it sound like any strong Joe can walk up and do it, I am just trying to portray this as accurately as I can. I think a discussion of the feat with discussion on the actual torque levered is healthy and will still only show one thing in the end: He Levered an unbelievable amount of weight.

Edit - on the pad it also is advantagious to try to hold your hand stable and move your arms and body to perform the lever. The pad allows for this. I hope this makes sense. I think Heath once mentioned it in his attempt at Slims feat at an AOBS. He described it and how he did it and how he would do it differently now. What he said made a lot of sense.

Edited September 7, 2005 by gamidon

[gamidon]

I watched the bonus DVD and I am glad this extra content is available. I am Very happy with this purchase and highly reccommend it to others.

Greg

[gamidon]

Has anyone else seen this yet? I am interested in other reviews.

[richla]

Greetings.

I waited for this DVD to come out, like a rabid dog looking for water.

I posted a review on the Cyberpump IronPage, and got one response.

Honestly, I was amazed at the apparent lack of interest.

I like the video so much, I said "the grip page HAS to have some interest. I can't be the only guy that bought this DVD"....

So, I just got registered, and here I am. Nice to see I'm not alone.

I can only add to the very positive comments listed above. Dennis did a terrific job putting this together.

If I had to have a negative comment, it would be: two DVD's is still not enough. I could have listened to Slim talk for HOURS.

Slim provides lot's of great insight and info. I'm still trying to digest it all.

In other words: go buy it.

Sincerely,

Rich

[climber511]

I go back a ways and I remember the old Strength and Health magazines. I remember the Mighty Atom and Slim from way back. They have been and continue to be larger than life heros of my strength world. Watching Slim in the DVD brings back memories from forty some years ago and the dreams I had back then as a skinney young boy with his 110# weight set in his bedroom. It also inspires me and helps me keep my faith that I can continue to develop my strength for years to come. I hope that the young men of today can look on Pat and Dennis the way I did Joe and Slim. The big difference is that now in this information age, you can learn the techniques from these people and be able to do many of these feats for yourself. Buy this DVD! If not for yourself, then for your son - even if he isn't born yet.

Now if we can only get one made about Joe - I could be a happy man. HINT _ HINT

[HAMMERHEAD]

I watched both DVD's last night. They are outstanding. I'm very impressed with the high quality, and the valuable information held within.

There is lots of great footage of Slim doing his feats.

-HH

[MEB Boy]

I just got the video 2 weeks ago and it was awesome.

I do agree that it was great to hear some of the stories Slim told about the Mighty Atom. It seemed like he had a lot of them, and I wouldn't mind a whole video of Slim relating as many old stories and the actual feats (type & length of metal bent, etc) of the Mighty Atom as possible.

It was amazing to see Slim sstill be able to do a left arm lever w/ a 24 pound hammer. Wow, he can still do this weight and he's 71 yrs of agee.!!!!

Slim did a bunch of other levers, but it would have been nice if he said how much the hammers weighed.

They had footage from his world record lift from the 1970's of 56+ pounds (if I remember correctly). I did not know that both of the sledges were connencted together. I still think it was a hell of a lift though and he did it quite easily it seemed.

I wish Slim would have stated what type of nails/spikes (110d ,etc??) he was able to bend in his prime and what could he bend now. Videos of some of these bends from 20-30 yrs ago would have been nice to see.

My favorite part was at the end when they asked Slim what was the heaviest weight he was ever able to lever (remember his WR of 56+ lbs)................................and Slim's response was something like, "when I got into the 65-75 pound range!!!!" Awesome

(From the 336 lbs of fury DVD) - does anyone know if there is anyone else alive who can bend the 8" and 10" wrench that Dennis Rogers bends?

I recommend getting the following videos (all are awesome):

1. Slim DVD

2. Big Steves's 1st DVD

3. 336 pounds of fury DVD

4. Joe Kinney's IM-4 Video

Has anyone seen Big Steve's 2nd DVD yet....is it out yet?

thanks,

MEB Boy

[gamidon]

Has anyone seen Big Steve's 2nd DVD yet....is it out yet?

thanks,

MEB Boy

←

Yes it is, go to http://www.heavenbent.net/

Greg

[MEB Boy]

Thanks Greg.

I will be ordering Steve's 2nd DVD soon.

MEB Boy

[Permanent Student]

I also received my Slim DVD yesterday. I LOVED it. The production was first class, the DVD was well done, the cover artwork everything was VERY professional.

Slim was very interesting to watch and I really enjoyed seeing some of the old clips of his hammer levering. He is clearly very strong on levering and very good during his displays of strength. I will watch this DVD a few more times over the next couple of days to really soak in everything on there.

What it contains: Extensive interview with slim, old footage and discussions of his feats and how he performs them. New footage of him levering and several more recent clips of him at AOBS. I found him to be very interesting and honest. I loved the way he talks about The Mighty Atom. I felt I learned a lot about the history of Slim Farman and I am interested in other DVDs of this nature, I hope the success of this one will bring on more DVDs about the old time strongmen and there lives.

I was surprised by his hammers, I didn't realized they were connected together and have not seen anyone do them this way. He had a bunch of hammer sets in his "gym". I really like the way he levers 2 hammers by swinging them up in front and then slowly opening his arms to the sides and levering them strictly to parallel.

One thing I would like to say and this is not an attack but. The world record is quoted in inch pounds but the hammers are not brought to parallel more like 45 degrees. The shafts were 31 inches but you can not count the length in his hands which must be 4-5". PLEASE do not see this as an attack on what he did, only that the world record should be accurately measured so that others can attempt it and see just how difficult it is. When he levers for the world record he levers them up to the front over a pad, this looks VERY difficult and I will try this as I am sure that this is VERY hard to do with small weights much less big weights. I asked Dave to try it and he was able to do it with some pretty big hammers without pushing them into a pad so I don't have a good feel for just how difficult this is. I am sure it is mind boggling. I also didn't like that there were leather straps on his wrists during his feats. While this may be seen as decoration if I did this on a red bend the VERY same people who would discount what I did will defend what he did. I don't know if they are helpful or not, I did try wrist wraps to test it and it does make a difference, how much I don't know but there is a definite improvement and it provides a lot of stability. I did see some clips in there where there was no straps so I am not saying he needed them to do any of his feats.

I highly recommend this DVD and I am very glad I bought it. I have not watched the additional DVD I received with Pat in it, after watching the 336 pounds DVD I am sure I it will have some great stuff in it. Steve Weiner, Great job with this I see you were part of the camera crew and probably had a lot to do with the content as well. Dennis obviously did a great job with this and seems to be a class act. I even got to see Pat in there looking at Slims stuff all wide eyed. I am with you brother, I would love a chance to get a tour of that GYM, there was history everywhere you looked.

Please accept this as an honest review, where there is criticism accept it as my opinion. I would be less than honest if I only told half of what I was thinking. I got a PR levering last night (I was scheduled to do levering so it was a great day to watch this DVD) I got 20 pounds (not 100% strict but I am working on it) I think the motivation I received from seeing this had pushed me to achieve what my body was capable of but my mind wasn't ready for prior to last night. Those that have seen the DVD will recognize that Slim talks a lot about mental state and I believe this 110%.

Greg Amidon

←

[/quote

I am responding on behalf of Slim and myself.First of all Slim is less than happy with your "honesty"(borderline attack).You must realize he is the authority.No one else has 50+ years of leverage experience.He has after lenghy disscussion,has documentation from David Willoby,David Webster,Dr.Terry Todd and 100's of other Strongmen over the decades as to his figures and calculations.Quote from Willoby"Until further sanctioning ie-an Olypic hammer Slim's calculations will be sufficent."Websters quote in the book Son's of Sampson"Greatest ever".Dr Terry Todd"Probably never beaten".What are you talking about 45 degrees?The strict form is in relation to his arms to parallel of the ground.I have been shown pictures in Madison Square garden where his arms look like another rope in the ring(parallel to the top rope).As far as the lenght of his hands-Where do you stop nitpicking?The further up the handles you go the more you limit yourself-bottom of hand(pinky side) at bottom of handle.Who wins a bench press contest of eqal weight pressed?The guy with the longer arms? How about high jump?Does the competitor with shorter leggs get a break?So what you are doing is trying to compare modern competition with oldetyme feats of strength.As far as the block or pad under his hands that was devoloped after broken bones in his hands.Also consider this as part of your value in purchasing the dvd along with all the other secrets that Slim gave up.Stop and think of all the effort he has invested .Probably more time practicing,lifting and developing his feats of leverage than all of you(and me) years alive.The wrist straps are basically an ornamental display in the spirit of The Mighty Atom.Slim asked me to thank everyone who gave him positive feedback.I feel your honest reveiw was inaccurate and out of place. I would appreceiate no further debate.(an apology will be plenty)The records stands the way he performed the lift.So wether you like or don't like something is of no value.Tom Kelly

[gamidon]

I am responding on behalf of Slim and myself.First of all Slim is less than happy with your "honesty"(borderline attack).You must realize he is the authority.No one else has 50+ years of leverage experience.He has after lenghy disscussion,has documentation from David Willoby,David Webster,Dr.Terry Todd and 100's of other Strongmen over the decades as to his figures and calculations.Quote from Willoby"Until further sanctioning ie-an Olypic hammer Slim's calculations will be sufficent."Websters quote in the book Son's of Sampson"Greatest ever".Dr Terry Todd"Probably never beaten".What are you talking about 45 degrees?The strict form is in relation to his arms to parallel of the ground.I have been shown pictures in Madison Square garden where his arms look like another rope in the ring(parallel to the top rope).As far as the lenght of his hands-Where do you stop nitpicking?The further up the handles you go the more you limit yourself-bottom of hand(pinky side) at bottom of handle.Who wins a bench press contest of eqal weight pressed?The guy with the longer arms? How about high jump?Does the competitor with shorter leggs get a break?So what you are doing is trying to compare modern competition with oldetyme feats of strength.As far as the block or pad under his hands that was devoloped after broken bones in his hands.Also consider this as part of your value  in purchasing the dvd along with all the other secrets that Slim gave up.Stop and think of all the effort he has invested .Probably more time practicing,lifting and developing his feats of leverage than all of you(and me) years alive.The wrist straps are basically an ornamental display in the spirit of The Mighty Atom.Slim asked me to thank everyone who gave him positive feedback.I feel your honest reveiw was inaccurate and out of place. I would appreceiate no further debate.(an apology will be plenty)The records stands the way he performed the lift.So wether you like or don't like something is of no value.Tom Kelly

←

I will respect your request to not debate this, if you are interested in my explanation you can PM me and I will gladly explain. I certainly was not trying to be insulting in any way. If you read my review I think you would see it as an honest opinion and a HIGHLY favorable review.

Greg Amidon

[climber511]

I'm going to stay way out of this one but I'll tell you what I'd love to see. I'd love to have a DVD of The Mighty Atom now to go with my Slim DVD - old footage, Slim and/or others talking about him and the old days, etc. I had the pleasure of talking to Slim not long ago on the phone, and what an experience it was for me. Joe and Slim were my strength heros when I was just a boy reading Strength and Health - it's history come to life for me - and a pleasure it is!

[Bob Lipinski]

Greg's post seemed pretty respectful to me.

[Scott Styles]

Gregg's post actually got the DVD on my "To Buy" list. Another month or so and I should be ready to afford a copy.

[jad]

I give up who is Tom Kelly?

Greg, I didn't think your review was disrespectful in any way.

[deaner]

Where do we get this DVD and the 336 pounds one?

[Scott Styles]

http://www.dennisrogers.net