How Often To Train Sledgehammer Leavering?

[BigTone]

I've been doing the beginner bending program for a while and just recently got a 8 lb sledge and want to train my wrists hard with this. What does everyone recommend time wise? Anyone have a good routine with the sledge that has worked well for them that they could suggest?

[judoboy]

2mins full-on berserking with an 8lb on a tire is a good start - brutal cardio + top wrist conditioner.

with levers i go for 3-5 reps with max crush to control lift.

best of luck - hammers rule!

[BigTone]

whoops... "levering"... Apparently I can't spell... you guys know what i mean.

[dimmers]

good website, nice article

http://www.gripfaq.com/Wrist_Strength_Exercises/

[JoeGrip]

I've been doing the beginner bending program for a while and just recently got a 8 lb sledge and want to train my wrists hard with this. What does everyone recommend time wise? Anyone have a good routine with the sledge that has worked well for them that they could suggest?

Train whenever youve recovered from the last session/ feel like it, try to think of different ways to use it, Ive found about 5 ways I like that Ive never seen anyone else do before.

[bencrush]

Your time spent levering might be better spent actually bending. Just a suggestion though. Some of the top benders don't regularly lever. I have never trained levering and done okay. Not saying you shouldn't try it, but you might really be better off doing a bunch of form work with longer bars than your goal length and a variety of crushdown-specific work. Plenty of websites out there to help you on your bending these days. Diesel Crew has the Bending E-book, and is written by some world class benders and strength guys. Gator's website is superb and has great info, also from world class benders. Dave and Gamdion wrote a great bending article quite a while back. Bender has a great site and is a good bender.

[ObsceneJester]

I've been doing the beginner bending program for a while and just recently got a 8 lb sledge and want to train my wrists hard with this. What does everyone recommend time wise? Anyone have a good routine with the sledge that has worked well for them that they could suggest?

I'd say try it 3 times a week, if that is to much for your wrist move down to 2.. (I'm going by this is the only grip oriented thing you are doing)

[Bob Lipinski]

Just to give a small different perspective from Ben, I did well a while back with more levering and less bending.

The difference was that I was doing lots of regular heavy upper body weight training. If you aren't blasting the hell out of your shoulders, more bending might be better.

[Scott Styles]

Today I found something that made me do much better on the levering. I simply filed down the side of my sledge hammer handle, so that it is now shaped like "0" instead of "()". It turns out that the sharp oval shape of my hammer handle was pressing on a nerve in my hand and limiting my strength.

I don't know what the long term implications are for my training, but it is definitely something to think about if levering just isn't working for you.

[gothrik]

I do some of my levering on dumbell handels whith weights at one end (if I am in the gym and want to finish off my wrists with something brutal) or i even take a short bar with no weight and hold it on one end. However hammers are better in many respects. Including having great "fine tunning" of the amount of weight by slightly lengthening the handle or adding weight. I like to do failly high reps (but I just started levering a while ago.) Somewhere between 6-40 reps.

Have fun training Hammers are awesome, but train smart...The leverage that makes it hard also could cause injuries if you failed in a bad possition or over torqued your wrist at a really strange angle.

Edited June 1, 2007 by The Steve Train

[Crotchulla]

I do levering every monday. But then again, I want to be good at levering. I found that rear levering has destroyed plateaus of my DU bending. Strong wrists are a must for DU. Besides that though, I would just bend more if that is your ultimate goal.