[thegmanifesto]

I know there are a ton of health freaks and fitness nuts on this board.

Have any of you worked out regularly with Sledge Hammers on tires?

Pros?

Cons?

I am especially interested in the opinions of those that train for Boxing and Martial Arts?

MikeCF?

Is Fisto still on here?

Thanks.

[OGNorCal707]

I haven't seen Fisto on these boards in 4 or 5 months.

[Magnum]

Hey G,
I've done some boxing and worked out with the sledgehammer on a tyre.It's a good workout for your wrists/forearms/core and cardio.Get yourself an old tyre from a tyre dealer and about a 6 kilo (14 pound for you Americans) sledgehammer.Any heavier and It's too hard to move quickly for me.You want to be able to hit the tyre with some velocity rather than just grinding them out.

Hit it a bunch of different ways...over shoulder axe type swings/round the side swings/get on your knees and swing over shoulder and also from the side (this works your midsection great) Rossboxing has a great clip on this.

I usually do about 20 swings each side then sprint off for about 50 metres.Walk back and go again.25 minutes of this is a good intense workout.Hope this helps

[Basil Ransom]

G, if you don't already know of him, check out Ross Enamait. He writes top notch stuff on combat conditioning. His background is in boxing.

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/sledge.html

[YoungGunner]

in addition to what magnum said, try hitting a tire swinging the sledgehammer like a golf club (builds uppercuts).

Right now my workouts are consisting more and more of kettle bells, tires, slosh pipes, ropes, and bodyweight exercises.

If you haven't tried them try some slosh pipe squats and rope wave workouts.

One thing I like to do with a sledgehammer is spin around swinging the hammer horizontally , then switch direction every ever 5-10 seconds. Then, swing the hammer for 30 seconds in the same direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) until I get dizzy, then do an overhead axe chop with the hammer and move around throwing punch combinations. The dizziness from the swinging gives you a good simulation of getting rocked by a punch so it trains you to move and counter until you regain your balance.

[MikeCF]

Pro: It's great cardio. Strengthens your forearms and works your obliques like mad. It also helps teach your body to move as a single unit. As you know, a punch comes from your toes through your hips to your hands. This movement "reminds" your body to move as one.

Con: You need space to do it. (As a city dweller, this has always been an issue). It can also interfere with your regular training. If your forearms are sore, later workouts can suffer.

IMHO, best non-sports-specific exercise is the Prowler. (Again, those, space limitations are an issue.)

[thegmanifesto]

So do you guys who have done it, swear by it?

I have had some people I really respect tell me it is by far some of the best training you can do.

Agree? Disagree?

Do you find the danger factor/liability to be an impediment for your average person?

[MikeCF]

(10-18-2011 04:35 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

So do you guys who have done it, swear by it?

I have had some people I really respect tell me it is by far some of the best training you can do.

Agree? Disagree?

Do you find the danger factor/liability to be an impediment for your average person?

Yes, they are right.

It is old school. The best training keeps you in touch with your primitive nature. This is why hill running is always harder than a tread mill.

I wouldn't let an "average person" near a sledge hammer. They will strain an intercostal.

[thegmanifesto]

(10-18-2011 04:40 PM)MikeCF Wrote:  

(10-18-2011 04:35 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

So do you guys who have done it, swear by it?

I have had some people I really respect tell me it is by far some of the best training you can do.

Agree? Disagree?

Do you find the danger factor/liability to be an impediment for your average person?

Yes, they are right.

It is old school. The best training keeps you in touch with your primitive nature. This is why hill running is always harder than a tread mill.

I wouldn't let an "average person" near a sledge hammer. They will strain an intercostal.

Cool.

Is there any type of workout that you like more than the sledge?

Also, just out of curiosity, have you ever worked out with an Axe and chopped wood?

Basil -

Yeah, I think I saw that vid a while back.

That guy is a monster.

[MikeCF]

(10-18-2011 04:45 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Cool.

Is there any type of workout that you like more than the sledge?

Also, just out of curiosity, have you ever worked out with an Axe and chopped wood?

Grew up in a rural area. Chopped wood. It's overrated, as it takes an hour or so. It's like moderate cardio. Good for moderate cardio, but not explosive like a heavy sledge hammer.

Prowler is my favorite general purpose training exercise.

I've used sand bags and like those a lot, too. Years ago I lived near a track. I've drive out in my SUV, loaded with prowler and sand bags.

There were gymnastic bars. Bring chalk. Do a series of sand bag carries and throws. Do some chin-ups, and climb a pole.

I'd also do Karelin lifts with this bag:

http://store.titleboxing.com/title-grapp...y-bag.html

Main issue, now, is space. I'm highly mobile, and had to sell my stuff and donate some stuff.

[thegmanifesto]

(10-18-2011 04:56 PM)MikeCF Wrote:  

(10-18-2011 04:45 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Cool.

Is there any type of workout that you like more than the sledge?

Also, just out of curiosity, have you ever worked out with an Axe and chopped wood?

Grew up in a rural area. Chopped wood. It's overrated, as it takes an hour or so. It's like moderate cardio. Good for moderate cardio, but not explosive like a heavy sledge hammer.

Prowler is my favorite general purpose training exercise.

I've used sand bags and like those a lot, too. Years ago I lived near a track. I've drive out in my SUV, loaded with prowler and sand bags.

There were gymnastic bars. Bring chalk. Do a series of sand bag carries and throws. Do some chin-ups, and climb a pole.

I'd also do Karelin lifts with this bag:

http://store.titleboxing.com/title-grapp...y-bag.html

Main issue, now, is space. I'm highly mobile, and had to sell my stuff and donate some stuff.

Jesus.

Just watching this makes me feel like I am going to pop a vein in my head:

[MikeCF]

(10-18-2011 05:08 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Just watching this makes me feel like I am going to pop a vein in my head:

It's called the Prowler Flu.

I thought I was going to die. I'm not kidding. I had exertion headaches. It felt like a stroke.

I would use the low handle bars on a sand track.

If you do wrestling or MMA, know how you get tired when doing a double leg? You'll get 3-5 steps, and then usually abandon the shot.

If you use the prowler, you don't. You just keep driving.

But the prowler is hell.

[Duke Castile]

Gman- Sledge hammers are great, the will strengthen you and condition you at the same time, be careful when you first start, sometimes hitting a tire at a certain angle will make it bounce funny.

I've been doing it for years and would even swing in one handed and switch over to the other hand back and forth with each swing.

The prowler will have you puking at any fitness level, tread lightly when starting out.

I say it all the time but I think crossfit is the best way to train because you do all this stuff in addition to...well everything else if you have a good coach. Just my thoughts.

Mikecf- props for posting Karelin

[Carl Sagan]

It's a good conditioning tool.

But the key here is the word "tool".

Many different tools can get the job done, of which the sledgehammer is just one.

I'll let Ross Enamait show you the way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJWqx-zPffs

[Giovonny]

Decent workout. At least its something different. Its another tool in your bag of workout tricks. I do the sledge hammer for about 15 minutes as part of a 1 hour workout. Right after I do my pulls ups. There is no one magic exercise. Just like there is no one magic food. Use them all at various times. You should never be bored with your workout or diet. Try new shit.

I'm on my way to the beach to run sand hills.

[Aliblahba]

Meh. Been beating on tires for years and it ain't made me any stronger. Get paid pretty good to do it though.

*****Warning*****

Don't hit the tire while inflated. Jus' sayin'.

[attachment=4356]

[thegmanifesto]

Finally started adding Sledge Hammering to my workouts.

How many days a week do you guys recommend?

For how long each session?

I have been doing 1 set for 1 minute to start.

[Hannibal]

I threw around a 14 lb sledgehammer for years when I was younger and I grew no stronger from it. We used to split wood with the hammer and wedges. I got pretty damn good at splitting wood, though.

It's pretty good for training your heart to pump blood faster and increase your oxygen absorption intake (I think that's VO2 Max, not sure). Most folks call it interval training. Not much different from doing tabata intervals of kettlebell swings or anything else in particular.

There are no hard and fast rules for this time of workout. You could go one minute on, one minute off for as many sets as you can manage and just keep adding sets as you get more used to it. Or you could just do something like a Tabata interval twice to three times a week to stay in shape. I like to follow no real pattern at all and just count swings and walk a certain distance to and from the station. I usually go with kettlebell swings if I do interval training.

Quote:

Tabata intervals are 5 minutes of warm-up; 8 intervals of 20 seconds all-out intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest

[Timoteo]

I recall Kelly Pavlik training with the sledgehammer/truck tire. It's old-school, but I think the point of the workout is to strengthen the deeper muscles. It may not show on the outside via size/cuts, but you get "country strong." You won't necessarily look buff, but will be deceptively strong.

[Hades]

I basically grew up a lumberjack. Not sure why people always get excited by stuff like axes and sledgehammers. There's no mystique about them like kettlebells. It never made me strong or well conditioned, and I used to haul ass for hours at a time with few breaks. If it makes your forearms sore you're a greenhorn, if it strains your wind you're probably untrained, etc. We used 16 pounders but had a couple of 12 pounders for people who had never split firewood before and wanted to try it out.

The training effect is not hard to adapt to. I was never considered all that fit in high school so go figure. My work capacity was insane compared to the other kids but I just never had enough power to be fast and explosive, which is more useful for sports.

There are better ways to train. For strength, literally anything. For conditioning, hill sprints or jump rope. This is good for novelty but it's not a one stop shop like a steep hill or a kettlebell could be.

[thegmanifesto]

(02-25-2013 06:59 PM)Timoteo Wrote:  

I recall Kelly Pavlik training with the sledgehammer/truck tire. It's old-school, but I think the point of the workout is to strengthen the deeper muscles. It may not show on the outside via size/cuts, but you get "country strong." You won't necessarily look buff, but will be deceptively strong.

Like this guy?

(02-25-2013 07:00 PM)Hades Wrote:  

I basically grew up a lumberjack. Not sure why people always get excited by stuff like axes and sledgehammers. There's no mystique about them like kettlebells. It never made me strong or well conditioned, and I used to haul ass for hours at a time with few breaks. If it makes your forearms sore you're a greenhorn, if it strains your wind you're probably untrained, etc. We used 16 pounders but had a couple of 12 pounders for people who had never split firewood before and wanted to try it out.

The training effect is not hard to adapt to. I was never considered all that fit in high school so go figure. My work capacity was insane compared to the other kids but I just never had enough power to be fast and explosive, which is more useful for sports.

There are better ways to train. For strength, literally anything. For conditioning, hill sprints or jump rope. This is good for novelty but it's not a one stop shop like a steep hill or a kettlebell could be.

No one is looking for a "one stop shop".

It is just one of 50 things I do when working out.

I too used them all the time working construction as a kid.

Quote:

It never made me strong or well conditioned

I am just going off what professional boxers have been telling me.

What do they know?

And the guy in the above video seems to think it is a pretty decent workout too.

[Hades]

(02-25-2013 07:08 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

I am just going off what professional boxers have been telling me.

What do they know?

And the guy in the above video seems to think it is a pretty decent workout too.

I'm sure it would be great for boxing since you condition the hell out of your arms and abs. It's basically punching firewood into submission.

The "make-work" method of fitness didn't have enough lower body work to make a footballer out of me growing up, is what I'm saying.

[Giovonny]

It's good for grip strength, fist strength, wrist strength, and forearms. That's why boxers do it.

For non-boxers, I don't see much value.

It's a trendy exercise right now. I think it's slightly over-ratted.

But, that said, we all need variety in our workouts. If you are bored with your workouts and you need a fresh set of exercises. Then, by all means, sledgehammer the fuck out of yourself.

Sometimes we just need something new to inspire us.

If sledgehammering is the exercise that will get you off your ass; then go sledge fucking crazy.

I think G just needs a new routine with some primal, back woods, gorilla type shit. Use a heavy hammer, use your legs and entire body to generate power, and explode. Beat the fuck out of something!

Breaking stuff is fun and therapeutic.

These guys are using bad technique. They are not using their bodies to generate power and they are not exploding. You gotta put that hammer through the fucking floor!

This is how to do it right!

(Fast forward to the 1:00 minute mark)(Observe the good form around 1:30)

[thegmanifesto]

Giovonny -

Have you done it for a long time?

Why didn't you like it?

[Tuthmosis]

This is the only Sledge Hammer I work out with.

Warning: Super old-school reference.

Intro:

Ballsy:

Tight game: