How To Bend Horseshoes

[MalachiMcMullen]

I'm making this thread for 2 reasons, people seem to be getting into shoe bending more now and it's no fun being really good at something when there are only a handful of guys even doing what you are Since I'm driven by competition and the intense want to better myself, I really hope I help some of you with your shoe bending so you can keep me on my toes!!! Plus, it's the only thing I'm really good at and I feel it's important for others looking to bend shoes that I give every bit of advice I can.

Here are some vids off youtube that show the techniques pretty well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aloSsDDMiE0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aloSsDDMiE0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6i6DKcI7SU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSR5PnOCfYs

These videos all have a few things in common.

1. During most of the bend, the arms are nearly straight and using the massive lockout strength that everyone has in their triceps.

2. During the crushdown, you see every individual lean forward and turn their body into a sideways V with the horseshoe at the apex.

3. They all use as little padding as possible. The padding absorbs much of the force you put into the shoe. Less padding equals more force directly into the shoe. You need to gradually reduce the padding in whatever bending you do because it allows you to get a better feel of the metal and lets you really "feel" the bend in more ways than one.

If you use the conventional style used by Pat, Adam, Dennis, and others, here are some tips:

Keep your arms as straight as possible without actually locking out. As said above, this allows you to use the lockout power you have in your triceps. My max bench press is 250, but I can lockout 375 with a 2" ROM. If you bend your arms too much you lose the lockout force.

Do not put your entire driving hand on the leg of the shoe. Try to keep the end of the shoe in the center of the palm, near the line separating your palm from your thumbpad. Doing so involves your wrists in the bend. If you only ever use the end of your palm, you reduce your leverage on the shoe and have to push ON the shoe to make it move. This is MUCH more difficult to do. Letting some of your hand hang off of the shoe lets you crank your wrist upward as if you were levering a sledge from the floor. For you unbraced benders out there, the end of the shoe leg should be in or around the area the end of the steel bar is during a DO bend.

Crank the index finger of the driving hand INTO the shoe. CRANK IT.

Explode into the shoe as you would with any other type of bend. Exploding into the shoe often nets me that first little wiggle in the shoe and lets you get into a position to push straight down. Technically you are pushing straight down but I personally found it easier to imagine that I was pushing the shoe apart diagonally and was pushing down and forward at the same angle as my thigh from the ground.

TIGHT wraps. TIGHT wraps make all the difference on a tough shoe and make easy shoes even easier. Something I noticed just recently about my wrapping is the direction in which mine are wound around the shoe. The wrap in the anchoring hand is wound so that when I pull back with my shoulder, my hand will pull the wrap tighter.

Position of the shoe on your leg

A lot of people have trouble with the shoe wanting to simply rotate back and off their leg. Destroying any ability to push on the shoe properly. What I do is put the shoe behind my quadricep muscle and keep most of the anchored shoe leg in contact with my thigh. For bigger guys and gals this will be more difficult because it requires a bit of flexibility. You may find that if you have large thighs, getting the shoe all the way back behind your quad is too difficult and un-natural. If that is the case, just put the shoe as far back as is comfortable and keep most of the anchored shoe leg in contact with your thigh. The anchoring hand will need to SQUEEZE here and push the shoe into the thigh at the same time.

Strength

I personally think that braced bending is all about core strength. I have a 420lb deadlift at the moment and do quite a lot of work on my obliques, abs and thighs. A strong core is the basis of a great athlete, a great powerlifter and a great bender. SO DO NOT NEGLECT IT!!!!!!! For my wrists, I mostly bend and do a lot of sledge work. Levering a sledge from the floor, I find, replicates very well how the driving hand acts upon the shoe during the start of the bend. Since I started doing a lot of core work and a lot of sledge work, my bending has become much stronger, especially with the shoes. I have also stayed away from some things and started doing others so sledgework and core aren't everything, but they are a huge part.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Like I said in the title, PLEASE jump in. You don't have to be able to bend Regulars and Draft shoes to chime in on good technique. Post what works for you. If you use a technique other than the conventional one then chime in with yours, perhaps a video if possible. What do you find helps your braced bending? Any specific exercises or interesting ideas on training for braced bending and shoes inparticular? I've read some great stuff on shoe training and bending in general so lets try to allocate some of that here!!!

(Oh, and for the record guys, it's Zach. With an "H" )

Edited March 5, 2008 by MalachiMcMullen

[MalachiMcMullen]

The thread on Horseshoe progression might as well be linked here

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtop...hoe+progression

Along with a very good idea by the one and only Gary "Gazza" Hunt :rock

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtop...hoe+progression

Edited March 5, 2008 by MalachiMcMullen

[timiacobucci]

Not that I am anything of a great shoe bender but I just gave my speil on braced bending and leverage/effiency thing here

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtop...mp;#entry346695

Sorry about the K thing ZACH.

I really can't emphasize the bracing on the body thing enough, I have blood blisters and pressure marks on my torso and legs after a max braced bend, it is your core strength you are supporting with, like with between the legs braced crushing Tim T style and your adductors. You really gotta dig in and bare down using your body like a massive vise, The V shape Zach talked about.

To develope this strength you gotta do powerful core movements. Not crunches or leg raises, though heavy weight ones will work. I mean heavy front squats, deadlifts, heavy barbell side bends, OVERHEAD side bends 2 hands anyhow style.

Also I think we should try and reach a conclusion to the progression thread.

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtop...ssion&st=40

Like a solid list that can be added to and tweaked like the unbraced calibration thread. This would be a huge benefit for me personally and I think anyone interested in starting up with shoes but is a bit lost as to where to start and how to progress.

I realize such a list would not be as scientific and acurate as actual calibration like the unbraced bars but just having something definitive like a list even if it is not 100 percent accurate I think will be of great benefit.

Basically what you have here Zach,

http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?autocom...si&img=7025

only maybe with everyone adding their opinion and hopefully adding more shoes to the list in time.

I didn't mean to conflate the how to bend vs progression thing but I feel that the major deterrent for people that want to start is mostly where to start and how to progress.

[EricMilfeld]

Good stuff, guys!

I'm going to be sort of contrary on one little point though. In terms of time spent doing shoes I'm very new to it, but I have experimented a good bit in the short time I've been horsing around. With my long arms It's nearly impossible for me to keep them nearly straight with the shoe on my upper thigh, but additionally, I've noticed my torso is much more stable the more I bend forward, which of course forces more elbow bend. Apparently, for me anyways, the loss of "lockout strength" is more than made up for by the fact that I've got a bigger canoe from which to shoot that cannonball when I bend forward.

Here's something more specific to a particular shoe I stumbled onto the other night. I was going for a heart with a #2 St. Croix Polo and discovered I could bring the shoe to about 240 degrees by tweaking the way I push down on it. Instead of pushing down straight to the floor as would be your natural inclination, try twisting the shoe's end towards your toes. It gave me another twenty degrees or so after it had come to a halt from pushing in a line perpendicular to the floor. I'm so weak in the Tim Tolbert crush, though, that it was still a royal pain to finish off the heart even from that point.

[pawel r]

great job guys!!!

[pawel r]

and not omit great article from Clay Edgin:

http://www.strongmanfeats.com/files/TwistingAhorseshoe.pdf

[matthcarl]

Good stuff, guys!

I'm going to be sort of contrary on one little point though. In terms of time spent doing shoes I'm very new to it, but I have experimented a good bit in the short time I've been horsing around. With my long arms It's nearly impossible for me to keep them nearly straight with the shoe on my upper thigh, but additionally, I've noticed my torso is much more stable the more I bend forward, which of course forces more elbow bend.

I have noticed the same thing and wondered if arm length was a factor. I'm short, but my arm span is several inches more than my height.

[matthcarl]

Sorry, double post.

Edited March 5, 2008 by The Writer

[Tim71]

Looks great and I totally agree for myself about keeping my arms fairly straight. Also, I like to make sure and wrap the wraps in the direction so as the shoe tries to twist, it self tightens if that makes sense.

Tim

[pjwilsondc]

Thanks to those who started this thread and are contributing to it. Plus all those guys such as Adam and Zach posting videos. I'm finding it very helpful. I even bent my first shoe today. Not sure what type but I would guess the size to be #00. I got a used one from a farrier and it was worn a little which was a good thing.

[big nasty]

Great tip's I have some shoe's I am going to try my leg is healing up so maybe it's time.

[RPGoodfellow]

Great thread guys! I'm sure I'll be referencing this next weekend when I attempt my first shoe!

[antarath]

Great job there!! Lots of great info there, Zhack ( )

Hopefully it will help me kill that #3 Kerkhaert shoe

[MalachiMcMullen]

Great job there!! Lots of great info there, Zhack ( )

Hopefully it will help me kill that #3 Kerkhaert shoe

I just recieved a few #3 SSP KH's from Adam Glass. Despite feeling like crap today I just had to give one a go... nothing They might take me a little while

[timiacobucci]

I decided to ressurect this thread because it is most relevant for the video I just made. I go over the some of the stuff me and Zach have been saying about bracing and positioning on the crush and I show my kink technique, I think it is very powerfull and I haven't seen anyone else do it this way.

[gazza]

I decided to ressurect this thread because it is most relevant for the video I just made. I go over the some of the stuff me and Zach have been saying about bracing and positioning on the crush and I show my kink technique, I think it is very powerfull and I haven't seen anyone else do it this way.

Nice video and tutorial theres alot of info in this topic and its great to see people shareing it freely

Thanks Zach and Tim even tho ive bent a few shoes in my time its nice to here and see how others do it and also to see them not afraid to share there secrets Ive learned a few things myself from this thread.

[matthcarl]

I decided to ressurect this thread because it is most relevant for the video I just made. I go over the some of the stuff me and Zach have been saying about bracing and positioning on the crush and I show my kink technique, I think it is very powerfull and I haven't seen anyone else do it this way.

Nice video and interesting kink technique. It's good to see a variety of styles, but I don't think I could do it that way. I tried to get into position and it felt really awkward.

[pawel r]

I decided to ressurect this thread because it is most relevant for the video I just made. I go over the some of the stuff me and Zach have been saying about bracing and positioning on the crush and I show my kink technique, I think it is very powerfull and I haven't seen anyone else do it this way.

very interesting!!

[MalachiMcMullen]

I like the video Tim! That start technique looks to be EXTREMELY POWERFUL once you get the hang of it. I'll have to try that soon

[timiacobucci]

Thanks guys, I've just learned allot here and wanted to show something I thought might help some people out. I will try and make some actual bend videos when I feel better.

Matt like I said it's different for everyone, it felt natural to me but it may not work for you. Although I do feel it is pretty strong and like kinking DO for me it may be awkward at first, but it also may be worth it to try and work it more. I think we well see with Zach.

Zach, I see you usually take a second or 2 to start a bend then blow through the first sweep when it does start. I think on the ones you are getting stuck at now maybe if you could move the kink a bit this way you could actually get into a range where that sweep was challenged as well, let me know if you give it a try. Your bound to kill some crazy stuff if it works for you.

[Brad Manion]

Tim I., thanks for the shoeology video. I found it helpful, especially on the part where you're working on getting the damage close to 180 degrees.

Now, your other starting technique is something I've never seen before. As a result, I'm a bit curious. How much do you feel it helps out?

For me, if I were to use the start technique favored by Jeremiah and Adam --- kind of like your technique but the shoe is more on top of the thigh --- I can get something in the Polo range to 90 degrees with minimal damage, if any at all, to a DC1. However, using the traditional technique, I feel I can take anything in the DC0 to DC2 range to 90, and probably tougher shoes as well. That said, I felt using both techniques allowed me to bend the 9 shoes I did in the endurance session at the KC grip qualifier a little over a week ago. If I used either technique exclusively, I wouldn't have come anywhere close to getting 9 shoes bent.

Edited April 7, 2008 by Brad Manion

[MalachiMcMullen]

I thought I should mention this here. Now that I'm going for the 50,000 snatch challenge, every muscle in my shoulders is fatigued almost constantly. I'm noticing that after a session of KB snatches, even a small one at 80%, I have a very hard time starting shoes conventionally. When I go for the initial kink, I pull back with my left shoulder to pull the shoe into my thigh BUT after a KB snatch session that becomes slightly painful. My shoulders don't feel sore or achey, its ONLY when I START a shoe. Kind of like squatting heavy 2 days in a row, your legs are sore the next day and you can feel it with each rep. All this tells me that upper back strength and shoulder strength is MUCH more important than I originally thought. I feel the pull right in the middle of the upper back where the Teres Minor, Latissimus and the lower trapezius(I forget the name of the area... or is there one? Eh, I forgot )

SO! If you want to start bigger shoes with the conventional starting technique, you'll need a strong upper back! That explains why I was so good at shoes to start too. I was a big into shrugs of all kinds, some core stuff, DL's and Overhead presses long before shoe bending. KB snatches can only help then

[timiacobucci]

How much do you feel it helps out?

I suck at the traditional technique, I can barely kink a polo like that. So a ton for me, from a polo to a #3 lite rim. And I think I am probably good for a bit more if I had a normal lite or regular rim to try.

I am sure the other method will start to improve for me with time but this style was just a natural progression from other braced scrolling stuff. I just wrestled with it like an awkward scroll bend until I found a position where I had it pinned, and then I could put a good braced force going into the kink.

I was a big into shrugs of all kinds, some core stuff, DL's and Overhead presses long before shoe bending. KB snatches can only help then

Don't forget the king of upper back exercises, the power clean! Nothig else will give you raw power in your upper back like cleans, power cleans and snatches.

[MalachiMcMullen]

I was a big into shrugs of all kinds, some core stuff, DL's and Overhead presses long before shoe bending. KB snatches can only help then

Don't forget the king of upper back exercises, the power clean! Nothig else will give you raw power in your upper back like cleans, power cleans and snatches.

AH! Almost forgot those. I did do those and worked up to a 195 Power clean back when my DL was only 335. Never worked BB snatches much but I do a lot of DB snatches and now with the KB's.

[pawel r]

start position variations:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aloSsDDMiE0

http://youtube.com/watch?v=td6xdKUz76I