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Finally...


Brad Manion

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Well, I'd been thinking about how tough that DC1 is ever since I cheat-kinked one to 30 degrees last week before doing any damage. Tonight, I actually put 10 degrees of damage in a fresh DC1 using Jeremiah Fox's and Adam Glass's technique, a vertical pushdown on the top of the thigh. Seeing as how my arm would snap if I tried any further, I remembered that I didn't need much room for my hands to pull it apart in the traditional style. Somehow, I summoned what little flexibility I have, put that DC1 really low under my right quad muscles, and put a hurtin' on it, getting it 90 degrees of damage rather quickly :flame With a lot of effort, I was able to damage the shoe further, to 110 degrees. After that, though, I was spent.

My big regret, besides not getting the DC1 to 180 degrees, was not getting at least a picture of this occasion. My older bro took his camera with him on a road-trip, so I guess I will wait to document this feat once I'm able to consistently put the DC1 to 180 degrees. Big thanks to Jeremiah Fox, Adam Glass, and Zach Coulter for all the inspiration, videos, and putting up with all my PM's :cool Also, though he's not known for horseshoe bending, big thanks to Gazza as well, for always reminding us that as benders, regardless of which form we use, regardless of which objects we destroy, we are all in this struggle together and that in order to progress, we must truly get into the mindset of NO LIMITS!!

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Awesome job Brad!! :rock :rock Glad to hear you put a hurtin' on that sucker!! They like to stick around 90. Hit it fresh, and you'll take it to 180, I know it!! Congrats man, great job!! :D :D

Phil. 4:13

Psychotic bending, shiny-headed Jesus freak......and proud of it!!

My Videos

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VERY NICE BRAD!!! CONGRATS :rock :rock :rock :rock :rock

Zach Coulter

Goals

#1- The Planche

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Congratulations, Brad!

Isos with that same shoe until it finally flies the white flag is my suggestion.

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Tough shoe, Congrats :rock:rock

real name: Erik Pettersson

goals 2010:

Coc #3

Bench 120 kg

Bench 125 kg

DL 180 kg

squat 165 kg

vertical card tear

15 kg plate curl

45# blob lift

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Nice work Brad. :rock

Charles Robbins

5'6"-155 lbs. 7-1/4" hand

age 39

--2010 goals:

Get back on the Gripboard more often

25 chins in a row

Finish 5" g5.

4.5" g5 bend

Bastard bend

Close #3 C.o.C.

250 vbar

200 thick vbar

Hub lift 2 45's+10each.

Pinch 5 10's

155 R.T.

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Nice bend!

Name: Matt Carl

Runner, Graphomaniac, Steel Bending Fiend

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Thanks for all the kind words guys. I'd warmed up with a 12" GripRite spike bend, followed by 2 of the 10" spike bends. I then bent St. Croix Forge shoes, an Ultra-Lite#1 and a Polo#1 (my first attempt ever at this particular shoe). Even though I only got the Polo#1 to 130 degrees or so, I knew right afterwards that if I were to try the DC1 and succeed, there was no better time than right then. Furthermore, since Zach rated this shoe --- or was it the Polo #0 ??? --- as the shoe just below the DC1, I knew it was within my range.

The one thing that definitely made the difference was very subtle, and though I've heard guys mention it, I never put much thought into it since I never experienced it. That one thing was this: after wrapping my leathers very tight (which I always do), crank them with your hands until they lock in place. Just trying to get my hands set just right on the wraps, I inadvertently did this. This was what could be best referred to as my "lightbulb moment", when an idea finally sinks in. While that DC1 was a very tough bend for me, having the wraps properly set allowed me to apply my strength so much more efficiently. Hence, I didn't feel like I was gonna dislodge a few ribs, as was the case when I bent my first Polo#2 at Scott Harris' place last December. All this being said, I have incredible respect for anybody that can bend a horseshoe barehanded

Eric, I like your idea about doing the isos until the shoe finally "flies the white flag" (awesome metaphor). In my obsessive compulsive mindset, I don't like things that are unfinished, so I'll definitely crank down the Polo#1 and the two DC1 shoes I've bent (last week's cheated shoe and this week's honest "it-was-all-me" shoe) till they hit 180. I just don't know when I'll be able to bend next. I have to deload in my training as I have a raw powerlifting meet in 2 weeks, and I'm going to The Arnold next week to watch a few of my friends compete.

Onward to the SCF-Lite #2 and #3 and the Kerckhaerd #4 and #5 draft shoes cluttering my apartment :flame

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Onward to the SCF-Lite #2 and #3 and the Kerckhaerd #4 and #5 draft shoes cluttering my apartment :flame

The Lite 2 isn't as hard as it seems. I think there are a few guys on here strong enough for it already ;)

Zach Coulter

Goals

#1- The Planche

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Great bend Brad...It was only a matter of time....Bk

If the mind can conceive it, then the body can acheive it. I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me..

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Congrats man, I can't wait until I can kill this shoe like you guys. I'm pretty sure I got the power for it, do you have any suggestions for hitting that lightbulb moment? The start is still awkward as hell for me.

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Congrats man, I can't wait until I can kill this shoe like you guys. I'm pretty sure I got the power for it, do you have any suggestions for hitting that lightbulb moment? The start is still awkward as hell for me.

Tight wraps :)

Zach Coulter

Goals

#1- The Planche

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Brad

Just keep on hitting it throughout the day for days/weeks if it takes that will make you a whole lot stronger rest only when injured thats what i used to do with the isos hit them eveyday throughout the day the body is constantly having to adjust and get stronger and it gets used to being called upon throughout the day to perform instead of working around a preset timetable.

"There he goes. One of gods own prototypes. A high powered mutant of some kind never ever considered for mass production.Too weird to live and too rare to die."

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Thanks for the input Gazza. I'll definitely work on finishing the greater damaged of my DC1 shoes, the non-cheated one, when I do my last deadlift training before my upcoming powerlifting meet. As I'm deloading this week but still lifting moderately, I should be good and warmed-up. Plus, if I don't try bending any other shoes beforehand, I should definitely have enough energy left to get that DC1 from it's current 110 degrees down to 180 degrees, with just a few hits. Had I got the original 110 degrees of damage on video, it'd have definitely been cert-worthy, but like everybody else, I don't feel right about leaving it at 110 degrees of damage

Timiacobucci, don't know what sorta regular weight training you do, but I found that once I recovered from my recent rib injury, being able to do deadlifts and heavy rack pulls (regular and DO, even DO with a hook grip) really made starting the DC1 rather easy, especially with properly wrapped leathers. Matter of fact, I hadn't even really worked on it much, but my DO hook grip rack pull from just below my knees went up from an "ancient" PR of 405# x 3, to 505# x 3 as of two weeks ago. I even tried 600#, but all I was able to do was make it wobble on the power rack's support pins a lot. Also, I seem to recall Tim Tolbert writing something once about how heavy dumbell rows, regular and thick-handled, really helped out his braced bending.

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Timiacobucci, don't know what sorta regular weight training you do, but I found that once I recovered from my recent rib injury, being able to do deadlifts and heavy rack pulls (regular and DO, even DO with a hook grip) really made starting the DC1 rather easy, especially with properly wrapped leathers. Matter of fact, I hadn't even really worked on it much, but my DO hook grip rack pull from just below my knees went up from an "ancient" PR of 405# x 3, to 505# x 3 as of two weeks ago. I even tried 600#, but all I was able to do was make it wobble on the power rack's support pins a lot. Also, I seem to recall Tim Tolbert writing something once about how heavy dumbell rows, regular and thick-handled, really helped out his braced bending.

I do lift and love deadlifting, I just don't have enough weight or a rack to do rack pulls or even max deads right now. I'm gonna get some more wieght soon, I am gonna see if I can at least setup some blocks or somehting to to rack pull stuff. I really want to get into heavy partials but I don't have the stuff for it. And I can't imagine trying to do it at any of the gyms near where I live. Between O lifts and partial lifts I think I would be kicked out in short order from anywhere around here. That is weird about that helping the shoe kink though. Zach does have a really strong DL too so it makes sense. That is cool though I have been focusing on squats for a while now but I want to go back to deads, it is my favorite lift. I bet heavy deads and rack pulls will help with the big long bars too.

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Timiacobucci, don't know what sorta regular weight training you do, but I found that once I recovered from my recent rib injury, being able to do deadlifts and heavy rack pulls (regular and DO, even DO with a hook grip) really made starting the DC1 rather easy, especially with properly wrapped leathers. Matter of fact, I hadn't even really worked on it much, but my DO hook grip rack pull from just below my knees went up from an "ancient" PR of 405# x 3, to 505# x 3 as of two weeks ago. I even tried 600#, but all I was able to do was make it wobble on the power rack's support pins a lot. Also, I seem to recall Tim Tolbert writing something once about how heavy dumbell rows, regular and thick-handled, really helped out his braced bending.

I do lift and love deadlifting, I just don't have enough weight or a rack to do rack pulls or even max deads right now. I'm gonna get some more wieght soon, I am gonna see if I can at least setup some blocks or somehting to to rack pull stuff. I really want to get into heavy partials but I don't have the stuff for it. And I can't imagine trying to do it at any of the gyms near where I live. Between O lifts and partial lifts I think I would be kicked out in short order from anywhere around here. That is weird about that helping the shoe kink though. Zach does have a really strong DL too so it makes sense. That is cool though I have been focusing on squats for a while now but I want to go back to deads, it is my favorite lift. I bet heavy deads and rack pulls will help with the big long bars too.

Strong back + Strong Hands=Strong body

Zach Coulter

Goals

#1- The Planche

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Well everybody, I finally did it. I took a fresh DC1 out of the box to attempt a full bend today. After my squat and deadlift training, I made quick work of a SCF-UltraLite#1, turning it into a heart. I then took a SCF-Polo#1 to 130 degrees, same as last week. Tonight, I took a DC1 down, all the way to 180 degrees. The first 90 degrees came in maybe 10-15 seconds, and the other 90 degrees took around 5-8 minutes (2 songs played at the gym in this timeframe). I might have been able to do it sooner, had I remembered to bring a towel for padding instead of the hooded sweatshirt I ended up having to use. I couldn't do a vertical pushdown, with all my 310# of bodyweight to my advantage, to save my life. Instead, I had to do the first 170 degrees with the shoe really high on my hip. The good thing about this challenge was that I learned I cannot only do full damage to a DC1, I can damage it pretty well using either side of my body. Last week, I did all the damage using my right leg, and today it was the left. Once I get the padding issue figured out, I'm looking to get my time way down and then I'll start certing and posting videos. I'm putting in a very big order to FBBC soon, so hopefully I can catch up to all my steel (and brass) bending brothers on the certs.

Big thanks to Gazza for the suggestion of isos. It was just the kick in the ass I needed to get me to do a full bend today on that DC1. I figured I wouldn't try for much other than the isos, due to my lifting meet that's in about 2 weeks. However, "the voice" took over and reasoned that if I'm gonna bruise myself up this bad, I might as well try for the full 180 degree bend.

Nice way to conclude my training before heading to The Arnold Classic this weekend to watch a few of my friends compete.

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Great bending Brad!!! :rock

Can't wait to see what you do after the KC Contest!

Scott Harris Jr.

5'6" 150lbs.

My Training Has Completely Switched Gears!

2012 Goals:

...

Get Back to 154's

143's for Nationals???

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VERY NICE BRAD!!! Congrats! Feels good doesn't it :D:rock :rock :rock

Zach Coulter

Goals

#1- The Planche

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Brad

1st off congrats on the DC1

I wont take credit for the isos they have been used for years probably hundreds maybe even the ancient greeks or chinese etc even used them who knows but i certainly didnt invent them.

I will take an itzy bitzy bit of credit tho for helping you get your ass and mind into gear :D to get it done altho you always had it in you just didnt know it.

Your a powerlifter type with a powerlifters mentality so approach the shoes and bars just like you would a PB in a meet you certainly have alot more body strength than alot here hone your technique and mindset and use all that strength to your advantage.

Look around you at the other guys doing the shoes like Zach and adam etc feed off of them study there videos there techniques read there posts and see what mindset they use process all this information and keep saying to yourself im gonna get better im gonna get better im gonna get better then go and get better and aim to destroy all shoes that come into your hands.

"There he goes. One of gods own prototypes. A high powered mutant of some kind never ever considered for mass production.Too weird to live and too rare to die."

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