Smashed TWO 7" x 3/8" Brass Bars in a Row!

[ZFJango]

This is a huge personal record for me. I managed to bend TWO bars  in a row, and I could not even wobble one of them a month ago! 

 

[Guzzi]

Ouch!  That's crazy!  What made you decide to try this, is it a "thing" that folk do?

[ZFJango]

On 5/19/2017 at 11:03 AM, Guzzi said:

Ouch!  That's crazy!  What made you decide to try this, is it a "thing" that folk do?

Guzzi, you bet! Old time strongmen would bend bars of metal to awe the crowds. I discovered that there is a HUGE endorphin rush that comes along with these movements and exertions. Like runner's high multiplied by ten. There is a growing sub-culture in strength training of steel benders all across the world! I originally found steel bending when I was injured, and unable to do my normal workouts. I was hooked almost immediately.

[Coco P Loco]

I'm in awe!

[ZFJango]

31 minutes ago, Coco P Loco said:

I'm in awe!

Thank you very much! I honestly did not think I would even be able to move one of these bars one millimeter, so I was kind of in awe when they bent. 

[jcreason]

That's some solid work!  Haven't done any serious bending in several years, but I still like to lay into a 60d every once in a while.

[ZFJango]

11 hours ago, jcreason said:

That's some solid work!  Haven't done any serious bending in several years, but I still like to lay into a 60d every once in a while.

That is awesome! Great to meet another steel bender. 60D nails are the best things ever. Affordable. How often do you bend now?

[jcreason]

3 minutes ago, ZFJango said:

That is awesome! Great to meet another steel bender. 60D nails are the best things ever. Affordable. How often do you bend now?

Not all that often, unfortunately.  Maybe a couple of times a year.  Did several grip contests when that first started becoming a thing, but when I switched to strongman I had to drop the bending.  It beat up my shoulders and chest too much to get the volume of pressing work in I needed.

[ZFJango]

4 minutes ago, jcreason said:

Not all that often, unfortunately.  Maybe a couple of times a year.  Did several grip contests when that first started becoming a thing, but when I switched to strongman I had to drop the bending.  It beat up my shoulders and chest too much to get the volume of pressing work in I needed.

I hear you! It is a trade off. I noticed back when I first started bending that when I hit the bench press for heavy weights, I wasn't able to bring the strength to bear against a bar. Lost flexibility, like. Life is all about compromise. Figuring out what we want, and doing what is needed. Are you still competing in Strongman contests?

[jcreason]

10 minutes ago, ZFJango said:

I hear you! It is a trade off. I noticed back when I first started bending that when I hit the bench press for heavy weights, I wasn't able to bring the strength to bear against a bar. Lost flexibility, like. Life is all about compromise. Figuring out what we want, and doing what is needed. Are you still competing in Strongman contests?

No, I'm afraid not.  I gave up the sport in 2009.  Like you said, life is all about compromise, and I just couldn't continue to justify the time I had to dedicate to training for this, or the costs associated with the shows, to win plastic trophies.  I miss it, but I would have missed a lot more with my family if I had stuck with it.