In Sports Applications, Videos
March 26, 2010
In essence, strongman is about moving heavy stuff of any size or shape, but a few “standard” implements make training a little easier.
Strongman competitor Kurtis Bowler of Rainier CrossFit uses strongman movements and implements in his WODs, and he explains that most of the toys are actually pretty easy to come by.
Tires can be obtained from just about any heavy equipment shop, while atlas stones can be made with a special mold from Slater’s Hardware or by coating an exercise ball with plaster and then filling that mold with concrete. Bowler recommends using one of the smaller balls to avoid creating a 450-lb. monster that can be used only as a lawn ornament.
Kegs can be obtained from almost any bottler, or you can just get one from the store and keep it after you’ve used a cheat day to get rid of all the beer. Sandbags are really just bags full of sand, and you can make your own log or yoke with just a little know-how. Or you can buy them for cheap.
After you’ve got all the toys, you’re going to want to hold a CrossFit/strongman event, and Bowler can tell you how to do that, too.
Video by Again Faster.
6min 51sec
Additional audio: CrossFit Radio Episode 87, originally aired Oct. 2, 2009.
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5 Comments on “Strongman Equipment”
1
wrote …
Good stuff! Definitely a fun area to get in to as a Crossfitter to keep things fresh and VERY functional. One thing he didn't mention was farmer's implements. Easy to make, fairly cheap to buy too, a good grip and dynamic core challenge to carry those bad boys around.
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2
wrote …
Excellent! Has anyone tried creating atlas stones that are lighter by using some type of filler? It might be cool to be able to scale the exercise by using a lighter stone that still has the awkwardness of a large sphere.
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3
wrote …
Slater's hardware that he mentions has cores to make the balls heavier or lighter.
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4
wrote …
Thanks David T. I looked over at Slater's. Cool stuff. It just seems like the foam doesn't reduce the weight that much on the big stones. I was wondering about using a filler with maybe some Fibermesh reinforcement to get large stones that are substantially lighter. It would seem that the larger stones demand a lot of skill and technique, but you can't practice that technique unless you are really strong already. I was thinking that ground-up tires might be the right filler for creating a stone to work on technique.
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5
wrote …
love all vids from kurtis....very educational
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