Sledge Lever Records Thread

[TelegraphKey]

I p.m.'ed Jedd about whether the Gripboard could establish a thread devoted to Sledge/Levering on the Gripboard Records page. He suggested I make a thread to see what level of interest there might be in this.

I think since most of the other records/feats threads require video proof and/or credible witness, there should be no problem making the same criteria for Sledge Lever feats.

Skinny Man Farman is said to have begun with a Sledge Hammer standing upside-down on the floor. He grabs the handle, wrist-levers the hammer with his arm straight by his side until the hammer is parallel to the floor.

Then he raises his arm until his arm is straight out in front of him (parallel to the floor), and the hammer is standing straight up in the air. Then he wrist-levers the hammer down until the head touches his nose.

I think the main part of this lift, is lowering the head down to your nose. Perhaps lowering the hammer down to your nose, then leverling it back up to upright position, could count as a full, strict, complete lift.

8 lbs to begin is decent for a beginner, I think. Farman did 28 lbs (???) in each hand from the floor to his nose!

Who here on the Gripboard can do sledges between 8 to 28 lbs in strict fashion?

And who would like to list their feats on a separate thread on the Records page?

Thanks.

[unseenbeat]

You would have to include length of handle into the record. For example, I practice strict levers to the ear with a ten-pound hammer at the moment. It has a 36-inch handle. This is obviously different than levering a ten-pound hammer with a 32 or so inch handle, and even harder than levering say a twelve-pounder if the handle is maybe 29 inches or such.

[s_aloisio]

You would have to include length of handle into the record. For example, I practice strict levers to the ear with a ten-pound hammer at the moment. It has a 36-inch handle. This is obviously different than levering a ten-pound hammer with a 32 or so inch handle, and even harder than levering say a twelve-pounder if the handle is maybe 29 inches or such.

I think the legth of the handle needs to be standardized, or every lever needs to be coverted into a torque rating, also hand position on the handle, 1 or 2 cm will make a differnece in the torque required.

[Wayne]

I p.m.'ed Jedd about whether the Gripboard could establish a thread devoted to Sledge/Levering on the Gripboard Records page. He suggested I make a thread to see what level of interest there might be in this.

I think since most of the other records/feats threads require video proof and/or credible witness, there should be no problem making the same criteria for Sledge Lever feats.

Skinny Man Farman is said to have begun with a Sledge Hammer standing upside-down on the floor. He grabs the handle, wrist-levers the hammer with his arm straight by his side until the hammer is parallel to the floor.

Then he raises his arm until his arm is straight out in front of him (parallel to the floor), and the hammer is standing straight up in the air. Then he wrist-levers the hammer down until the head touches his nose.

I think the main part of this lift, is lowering the head down to your nose. Perhaps lowering the hammer down to your nose, then leverling it back up to upright position, could count as a full, strict, complete lift.

8 lbs to begin is decent for a beginner, I think. Farman did 28 lbs (???) in each hand from the floor to his nose!

Who here on the Gripboard can do sledges between 8 to 28 lbs in strict fashion?

And who would like to list their feats on a separate thread on the Records page?

Thanks.

Slim starts with the hammer laying down on the floor. he goes down on his knees, or one knee, and levers the hammer untill the head is pointing straight up, end of handle on the floor. he then stands up still holding the hammer out in front of him pointing up and does a traditional lever down to his head and back up. when he was in his prime he would have done this lift with a 28lb. hammer with ease.

[TelegraphKey]

I think Skinny Man's sledges were 31 inch handles, not including the head itself. I think 31 inch levers should be the standard (the sledge I bought at the store was 31 inches, so I think it's the universal standard anyway)

[TelegraphKey]

I think witnesses or video proof is needed to ensure the position at which the person grips the sledge is at the very bottom.

Sybersnott on another thread had a great idea about someone manufacturing a Universal Sledge Hammer with different-colored areas every 4 inches up & down the length of the handle. The bottom 4 inches would be the strictest, "real" area where you had to grip in order to get full credit for a strict lever.

Or, just put tape at the 4 inch mark from the bottom of the handle, measure it to prove it to the witness or the video camera, and grip at or below that mark when you do the lever.

Edited May 7, 2006 by TelegraphKey

[HAMMERHEAD]

Who is "Skinny Man"?

[s_aloisio]

I think witnesses or video proof is needed to ensure the position at which the person grips the sledge is at the very bottom.

Sybersnott on another thread had a great idea about someone manufacturing a Universal Sledge Hammer with different-colored areas every 4 inches up & down the length of the handle. The bottom 4 inches would be the strictest, "real" area where you had to grip in order to get full credit for a strict lever.

Or, just put tape at the 4 inch mark from the bottom of the handle, measure it to prove it to the witness or the video camera, and grip at or below that mark when you do the lever.

I think this is a good idea. with a 4 inch limit it also equalizes for bigger/smaller hands.

if slims method starts with the hammer siting vertically on the floor when he kneels to lever it it would be imposible for a short person to participate in this style as it would put the arm in an imposible possition. If the hammer starts at an angle this would be possible for all. I don't have any video's of hi so i'm not sure.

[Wayne]

if slims method starts with the hammer siting vertically on the floor when he kneels to lever it it would be imposible for a short person to participate in this style as it would put the arm in an imposible possition. If the hammer starts at an angle this would be possible for all. I don't have any video's of hi so i'm not sure.

well... i'm only 5'7'' and i do this lever, not with the weight that Slim does of course but arm length is not a factor here at all. i don't know what you mental image is but maybe i explained it bad? imagine a sledge hammer laying on the floor. you grab the end of the handle and bring the hammer to a standing position using your wrist. the end of the handle is on the floor the whole time, your just bringing the head up off the floor untill the hammer is verticle.

[nickr104]

Who is "Skinny Man"?

That was my first question as well.

[s_aloisio]

if slims method starts with the hammer siting vertically on the floor when he kneels to lever it it would be imposible for a short person to participate in this style as it would put the arm in an imposible possition. If the hammer starts at an angle this would be possible for all. I don't have any video's of hi so i'm not sure.

well... i'm only 5'7'' and i do this lever, not with the weight that Slim does of course but arm length is not a factor here at all. i don't know what you mental image is but maybe i explained it bad? imagine a sledge hammer laying on the floor. you grab the end of the handle and bring the hammer to a standing position using your wrist. the end of the handle is on the floor the whole time, your just bringing the head up off the floor untill the hammer is verticle.

Ok that answers my question it is laying on the floor, not standing upright.

[gradualsuicide]

I've seen the Slim The Hammer Man video. He has a special thing he lays down under his wrist that makes the handle of the hammer level with the ground when he's holding it. He then gets on one knee and then sort of punches down his elbow to get the hammer started. With his elbow on the ground, he begins the levering. Once it is perpendicular to the ground, the lift is complete. When he does the lift from a standing position, he starts with the hammer head facing away from his back. He stands while hanging on to the handle, then once he's up, he swings it a full 270 so that is in a perpendicular to the ground. The last step is to bring it to his nose and back. It's awesome watching him. Even at his age, he is still the best around. I can't remember the specifics, but when he was asked what his best ever was (aside from the record 56 or whatever he did at Madison Square), he said that it was up in the 70's or 80's. I think the hammer he was just playing around with was in the 30's. One of the guys in Dennis Roger's crew just tried to hold the hammer at arms length and he couldn't keep it straight. Slim had no problem levering it. Great video.

[Wes]

Who is "Skinny Man"?

Slim=Skinny

[TelegraphKey]

So, Yay or Nay?

Do many other people around here think a thread for Sledge feats on the Records & Stats board would be a good idea?

It appears the general act would be like this:

1) Flex your wrist towards the thumb (whatever that's called in physiology) -- Hold the sledge out in front, then lever it till it stands upright (or lever it from laying flat on the ground, to upright)

2) Lower the sledge till the head touches your head somewhere, then flex your wrist towards your pinky (whatever that's called in physiology) till the hammer again stands upright

3) Use a sledge that has a 31 inch handle

4) Grip only at the bottom 4" of a 31" handle is only acceptable grip. Any placement within this 4" is acceptable, just as there are slight variations in gripping, bending, etc etc etc

How does this sound?

[s_aloisio]

So, Yay or Nay?

Do many other people around here think a thread for Sledge feats on the Records & Stats board would be a good idea?

It appears the general act would be like this:

1) Flex your wrist towards the thumb (whatever that's called in physiology) -- Hold the sledge out in front, then lever it till it stands upright (or lever it from laying flat on the ground, to upright)

2) Lower the sledge till the head touches your head somewhere, then flex your wrist towards your pinky (whatever that's called in physiology) till the hammer again stands upright

3) Use a sledge that has a 31 inch handle

4) Grip only at the bottom 4" of a 31" handle is only acceptable grip. Any placement within this 4" is acceptable, just as there are slight variations in gripping, bending, etc etc etc

How does this sound?

Sounds good to me.

[Jedd Johnson]

The thing about levering is that it should be done strictly. Unfortunately everyone has a different definition of strict. I see a lot fo elbows flexing and extending and then the athlete says it was strict.

Seems like a lot variables would need to be controlled for the list to mean anything.

-Jedd-

[Bob Lipinski]

Well, just do it with your arm on a platform. Upper arm and lower arm must stay in contact. You might get a little extra play there, but not much.

There we go!

[Alawadhi]

Who is "Skinny Man"?

you killed me with this reply. i laughed for 3 FULL minutes.

anyways on a 31" handles i can lift 12 pounds from grabbing it straight in front of me then bring it down to my nouse and up again. i can't lift it directly from the ground because it's really hard for me to do so.

[stew2]

Lets make it even more complicated I just started doing this because its different and fun. Take 2 sledges of equal value lay them parallel tp eachother with handles overlapped about 4 to 5" now squeeze Dl then hammer curl and overhead press be careful not to knock yourselves out when they slip they come tumling down in a hurry.

[Jedd Johnson]

QUOTE(HAMMERHEAD @ May 7 2006, 06:12 AM) 

Who is "Skinny Man"?


you killed me with this reply. i laughed for 3 FULL minutes.

I thought that was funny, too! I am still chuckling.

-Jedd-

[TelegraphKey]

Whoever. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I don't really pay attention to guys' names, just only to the activity (in this case, sledging) that's interesting. I do know the guy's lean/skinny/slim/skeletor/whatever.

Anyhoo, Jedd, I think doing the ONE lever motion -- hold out front, arm straight -- lowering it down to face, then lever back straight up -- that's the one that should count the most. It seems to be the most weight possible of all lever motions.

And I agree that putting the elbow/forearm on something stable should probably be the way to go. I guess it would be up to a judge to decide if the person flexes the arm too much.

As for me, awhile back I thought an 8 lb sledge was really heavy. Since then I've been using my IM Heavy Hammer II backwards, putting Olympic plates on the fat end, and working up to heavy weights on that -- it turns out to be almost exactly half the length of the real sledge, so whatever I get on that I can probably cut in half & do on a sledge. I've done 25 lbs on the 16" lever, now I have to see what I can do on the 31" real sledge, ought to be around 12+ lbs. held all the way from the handles' end.

This is such a legitimate gripboard-type strength activity, I really hope it gets its own records thread at some point.

PS -- There still is the problem of how to add weights to a sledge! If you tape 2-1/2 lb. plates to the bottom of a sledge's head, you change the center of gravity & make the lever feat irregular compared to other lever lifts. (I like Sybersnott's Universal Sledge idea.)

Edited May 30, 2006 by TelegraphKey

[Alex]

I actually just did some with an 8lb sledge from the bottom for the first time today, funny that I saw this thread My elbows bend a little bit though, I don't know if that's bad or not though.

Do those look legit?

[unseenbeat]

Looks legit to me.

[Alex]

Cool

[TelegraphKey]

I actually just did some with an 8lb sledge from the bottom for the first time today, funny that I saw this thread My elbows bend a little bit though, I don't know if that's bad or not though.

Do those look legit?

I think so, yes.