Five Historic Feats of Strength (and How to Do Them Yourself)

The Dinnie Stones

ORIGIN: In the mid 1830s, a group of Scottish laborers, performing maintenance on the Potarch Bridge in Aberdeenshire, attached a pair of iron rings to two granite stones with the intention of using them for counterweights. Now, nearly two hundred years on, those stubborn lumps of rock remain two of the most iconic implements in the recorded history of brute strength. 

In 1860, Scottish strongman Donald Dinnie, spying a chance to showcase his astonishing strength, grabbed the rings barehanded, stood up, and walked the width of the bridge—a distance of just over 17 feet. Since then, lifting, holding, and for an elite few, carrying the Dinnie Stones has become the mark of an elite strongman.

THE FEAT: “What makes lifting those stones so hard is the imbalance between them,” says Matt Mills, C.S.C.S., a pro strongman and owner of Lightning Fitness in South Windsor, CT. The smaller stone weighs 318.5 pounds while the big one tips the scales at 414.5 for a total load of 733 pounds. While this is far less than the max deadlift of top-tier strongmen (2017 World’s Strongest Man, Eddie Hall once deadlifted 1,102 pounds, for example), the large diameter and awkward shape of the two stones places the lifter in an unusual position. They have to stand over the stones, straddling them with a wide stance. It is less than ideal. Also, the oval-shaped rings are narrow—3/4 of an inch in diameter for the big rock and 1/2 an inch for the smaller one—and a world-class challenge to hold. “Grip is probably the hardest part of the lift,” adds Mills.

WORLD RECORD: Since Dinnie’s original feat, about 125 people have lifted the stones, including American powerlifter Dr. Jan Todd, who became the first woman to lift the stones in 1979. The world record for holding the stones is 31.36 seconds, set by Mark Felix at the Arnold Strongman Classic in 2017, using replicas built to the stones’ exact weight and dimensions. And in August, 2019 four-time World’s Strongest Man, Brian Shaw walked the stones 11 feet, 6 1/2 inches.

TRAIN FOR IT: “Lifting the Dinnie Stones most resembles a Jefferson squat from just above knee height,” Mills explains. This squat variation is done with the lifter straddling the bar with a leg on either side of the barbell. Then, they hinge over and grab it in the center with one hand in front of the other, palms facing each other. So, if you’re going to face down the stones, be sure you’ve got the basics of that lift down. Also, work your grip—a lot: “If I had to do it over that’s what I would focus on,” says Todd, now a professor at the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Wheel of Pain

ORIGIN: If you’ve seen Conan the Barbarian (and what dedicated lifter hasn’t?) you’re familiar the gargantuan wheel-shaped mill where a young Conan is put to work. The wiry preadolescent puts his shoulder to one of the massive logs that serve as the wheel’s spokes, starts pushing, and one quick montage later, transforms into Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Similar apparatus have appeared in strength events over the years, but 2019 was the first time a wheel was built to the specs of the famed original. At close to 20 feet tall, 20,000 pounds, and 35 feet across, it’s an awesome sight.

THE FEAT: The Wheel of Pain debuted at the 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, OH. Competitors had to push the wheel as far as possible in 60 seconds. The full-body power and remarkable conditioning required to move this monster makes it one of the most intense events in strongman.

Perhaps the wheel’s most diabolical feature isn’t apparent to the naked eye: its wheels are filled with sand. “Picture pushing a car with flat tires,” says Steve Slater, the pro strongman who helped conceive and design the wheel. “It’s pushing back against you the whole time, so you can’t build momentum,” he says. “It’s definitely a barbaric event.”

WORLD RECORD: The current world record for the Wheel of Pain—which may not stand long, given how new the event is—is 119 feet, 9 inches in 60 seconds, set by Martins Licis. Overall winner Halfthor Bjornsson, was behind Licis by just three inches.

TRAIN FOR IT: “The closest thing to replicating the Wheel of Pain in the gym is by using a truck or a weighted sled,” says Slater. “Practice pushing a heavy load as explosively as possible for 15 feet for multiple sets.” One other day during the week, he recommends working with lighter weight and pushing the sled for 60-70 seconds, resting several minutes between sets. “You’ll tap into your cardio, which is essential for this event.”

The Bent Press

ORIGIN: To some iron aficionados, a lift isn’t a lift unless you hoist an object from the floor all the way to an arms-locked position overhead. One such lift—now making a comeback among kettlebell enthusiasts—is the one-arm bent press. It’s an odd-looking movement in which the lifter bends and twists their body beneath a weight and slowly stands upright, extending the weight to arm’s length overhead.

In the 1800s, the lift made regular appearances in the acts of top performing strongmen, including Arthur Saxon and Eugene Sandow, best known to modern bodybuilders as the model for the Mr. Olympia trophy.

“Bent-pressing allows you to lift the most weight possible overhead with one hand,” says motivational speaker, strongman, and former bent-press record holder David Whitley. “Once you get good at it, it’s one of the coolest lifts you can do.”

THE FEAT: Start by cleaning the implement—usually a kettlebell or barbell—to shoulder height. From there, you tuck the elbow of your lifting arm into your hip, and push that hip back and to the side. As you bend toward your non-lifting side, slowly straighten your lifting arm until your torso is about parallel to the floor and your lifting arm is fully extended. With your arm straight, drop your hips and bend your legs slightly, then rise to a standing position.    

Technically, it’s not a press, says Whitley. “You’re not really pressing the weight,” he says. “You’re lowering your body while supporting the weight.”

WORLD RECORD: Done sometime in the early 1900s, Arthur Saxon’s 370-pound bent press stands as the best-ever official one-arm bent press. The modern record is held by James Fuller, who bent pressed a 156-pound barbell in 2014. Want to set a strongman record? This might be the one to chase, according to USAWA (United States All-Round Weightlifting Association) historian Al Myers who says, “The bent press is not a popular lift in our organization and rarely is contested.”

TRAIN FOR IT: “It’s a technically demanding lift,” says Whitley. As with the Olympic lifts, the biggest key to improvement is practice. Core strength—particularly in the obliques, as well as hip mobility, hamstring and adductor flexibility, and of course, shoulder stability and strength, are all essential components of bent pressing. Got those boxes checked? Start working on getting stronger in the lift—slowly. For an extensive, free on video tutorial on the lift, check out www.tamingthebentpress.com.

The Log Press

ORIGIN: In 1914, says Dr. Jan Todd, a German sailor named Henry Steinborn was sentenced to internment at a camp in Australia. “He and the other German prisoners formed a weightlifting club.” Short on equipment, they lifted whatever they could get their hands on: steel pipes, rocks, and logs. After his release, Steinborn—using the stage name Milo—went on to become one of the era’s most popular strongmen.

In the 1970s, the log lift was among the first events in the first World’s Strongest Man competitions. “They were recalling the days of the strongmen who appeared in the circus and vaudeville,” says Todd. “They almost never lifted barbells onstage. They lifted objects that people knew were heavy.” Refrigerators, full-grown adults, cars, and even horses figured into the acts of performing strongmen. “Log lifting was part of that tradition,” Todd says.

THE FEAT: In modern strongman competitions, athletes lift either a wooden log with thick handles carved into them, or steel log bars, welded to resemble them. Strongman logs vary in diameter, from six inches all the way to the 12-inch Austrian Oak used at Arnold Strongman Classic, which can weigh over 400 pounds. “A larger log can be easier to roll up your chest,” Slater notes.

To lift a log, you bend, grab the handles, and hoist the log from elevated pads onto your lap. From there, you roll the log up your torso to the rack position, stand, and, after a pause, push the log overhead.

WORLD RECORD: Zydrunas Savickas has held the world log-lifting record since 2015 at 228 kg (502.6 pounds). At the 2016 Arnold Strongman Classic, Savickas lifted the 451-pound Austrian Oak four times in 90 seconds.

TRAIN FOR IT: Log-lifting creates demands that are hard to duplicate with Olympic bars—getting your head out of the way, for one. Wrestling a heavy bag—the kind fighters use—from the floor to the rack position can help you master some of the mechanics, but if you really want to get proficient with lifting logs, you need to practice on the real thing. Thought they’re not readily available, most strength-specific gyms have a log or two sitting in the corner. “Angle the front part of the handles downward on the setup,” recommends Slater. “Then, when the bar is on your lap, point your elbows upwards and out to the sides.”

To clean the log, drive your hips forward and your elbows forward and underneath the log, rolling it up the front of your torso.

For the final step, says Slater, “You can dip and drive—that would be a push press. You can do a strict press or you can do a split jerk,” bending the legs slightly, exploding upward, and landing in a lunge position with the log locked out overhead. Easy, right?

No steel log at your gym? Try the Vulcan Dual Grip Strongman Log Bar, available at www.vulcanstrength.com.

Grip Events Horseshoe Bending and Card Tearing

ORIGIN: Being strong is more fun when you have party trick or two in your back pocket for when your pals ask you to demo your skills. Historically, many such tricks involve hand strength and toughness: “I used to drive a nail through a board,” says Todd. “People liked that one.” Ripping cards and straightening horseshoes are two other classic examples, both of which go back to the turn of the 20th century. Among other dedicated grip-strength masters were Sandow, who reportedly tore two decks of cards in half at the conclusion of an exhibition for English cadets in 1892; Orville “Boy Hercules” Stamm, who would tear the deck in quarters; and Nicholas Zeff—a wrestler, strength performer and contemporary of Stamm’s—who would not only bend horseshoes but he’d tear them in half.  

THE FEAT: Grab a standard deck of cards (Bicycle and Hoyle are the gold standard) and, well, rip that sucker in half. With horseshoes, you can straighten them out, bend them from a “U” to an “S” shape, or break them in half entirely. In both cases, the faster you can pull off the feat, the more impressive it is.

At first glance, these grip-heavy stunts look like expressions of brute strength. In fact, says Whitley, skill and know-how are equally important. “You want to put the maximum force you can express into the weakest point in the object you’re bending,” says Whitley. “If you don’t have your technique dialed in perfectly, you will mess yourself up.”

WORLD RECORD: On December 7, 2019, Todd Jones of Bucks County, PA, bent three horseshoes into heart shapes in 60 seconds (at present, this is an unofficial record). In December 2000, Scott Fraze ripped 13 decks of cards (52 plus two jokers) in 30 seconds on the set of Guinness World Records: Primetime.

TRAIN FOR IT: Step one in grip feats, explains Whitley, is tissue conditioning—toughening your hands, arms, and legs so you can handle the pressure they’ll have to endure to bend or deform steel. “In horseshoe bending, you basically bend the shoe over your leg,” he says. “That can cause some pretty major bruises.”

Whitley recommends hitting a sandbag repeatedly for a hundred or more reps, gradually building up to harder and harder surfaces, to condition your hands to grip steel or pinch decks of cards. “That can take three months,” he says. “Don’t rush it.”

Next step: learning, and applying, the appropriate techniques. “One hand is the vice, while the other performs the action,” says Whitley. In card ripping, you pinch and hold the deck straight with your dominant hand (don’t let it roll up) while you twist and rip with your non-dominant hand. “The action resembles taking a lid off a jar,” he says. Start with half- or quarter-decks, and build up slowly.

To bend a horseshoe, wrap the arms of the shoe in cotton or leather cloths.  Hold it in front of you with its arms parallel to the floor and the top of the “U” pointing left.  With both palms facing downwards, grip the shoe’s bottom arm with your left hand and its top arm in your right. Lock out both arms, brace the shoe on your right hip, and push the top arm away from you while pulling the bottom one toward you. “With this technique, your obliques and core are doing most of the work,” says Whitley.