AnimalCage Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 Well, I'm having some fun here. On Wednesday I did a 1" thick book with some difficulty. Later that evening, I did another one, which seemed easier. So this morning I thought I would try a 1 3/4" book, in front of some coworkers. The sweat ran heavy, but I could only manage to break half the binding before it split vertically. From that point on it was a losing battle. I got some applause, none-the-less. I have never felt a burn in my lower forearms like that before. What a rush! I sent a company wide email asking for old phone books. I'm thinking at least one a week from now on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cliff Stamp Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 One of the major secrets to strongman exhibitions is to use interaction with the viewers to cover rest periods. If you keep going with no rest your strength will fall rapidly. However even just a few seconds will allow a your strength to make a major recovery. If you can't tear the book in one smooth motion, tear a little, stop and repeat. The first time I tore a 2" phone book it took me ~15 minutes. I din't know anything at all about technique, the book was completely mangled, and the tear went a a huge skew : http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/images/phonebook_tear.jpg -Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnimalCage Posted December 21, 2001 Author Share Posted December 21, 2001 Cliff, That's exactly what my 1" books look like. The other was a disaster. I suppose I ought to learn some technique because brute force, while fun, does not produce the desired results. And I will try those little breaks. Hey, there's the family get together next Tuesday...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zeke34 Posted December 22, 2001 Share Posted December 22, 2001 I just started trying phone book tearing recently myself, and think a 1 inch book is still good. I live in the country and our phone book is about the size of atypical muscle rag. Now my collection of magazines is half the size they used to be May have to go to the big city and visit a few payphones :p Ed Still can't figure out where Cliff got the unshaven pic of me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryduty Posted December 22, 2001 Share Posted December 22, 2001 Zeke, you could always try a Sears & Robuck catalog (but since you live in the country, you may have another use for it! ). You might also want to try folded newspapers to practice on. Train smart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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