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Bending nails can result in a lot of positive benefits - increased wrist and hand strength, increased arm, shoulder, chest and lat strength, mental toughness, increased muscle mass of the lower arms, and a truly addictive and rewarding sport/hobby.
All of the following progressions are meant for the bender who is looking for progressive, injury free training. All of my progressions listed are for the bender who bends with minimal padding, such as a single set of IronMind hand pads or thin leather no longer than 4”×8”.
NB : Any piece of steel gets roughly 15% harder every time 1/2 inch is removed. Shorter pieces are usually harder than longer pieces of tougher steel IE a 5” CRS 5/16 bar is harder than a 7” Hex steel bar. Piece for piece in the 5/16 sizes is CRS-Hex-Stainless.

"Sonnon is without doubt one of the top conditioning coaches in the US, the thinking man's coach. He is the hologram man. Try and hit him and he disappears."
- Pavel Tsatsouline
Are you ready for Tacfit?
Once you can bend Grade 9s, you’re ready for 5/16 steel - IM red nails (video) and Bastards (video). Bastard listings can be found on www.fatbastardbarbellco.com.
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I'd love to hear what you think. Pop over to the forums and share your opinion. See you there.
I’m completely new to bending and I know this article wasn’t intended for me but a article on bending form the ground up would be great
Hey Ben, if you’re just starting out, grab a copy of the Diesel Crew’s Bending eBook. Goes into great detail on the various techniques. Highly recommended.