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Blast from the Past : Feats of Strength

by Scott Andrew Bird | August 31, 2008
Filed in Blast from the Past , featured

Herman 'H.E.' Mann lifting bull.

Over the past four years this site's amassed an enormous amount of content. To help you find the highlights, I'll be taking a wander through the archives each Sunday.

This week - Feats of Strength.

For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by the old-time feats of strength. Blowing up a water bottle, holding back runaway horses and lifting enormous weights with a single finger. If you share this passion, take a look at these :

When phonebook tearing looks ridiculously easy
If you've ever tried your hands at tearing, you'll appreciate just how incredible this is. To learn this feat, check out Chuck's article Card Tearing Anyone?
Lifting the Inch and the Blob at the same time
Andrew Durniat demonstrating two incredible grip feats - at the same time. To learn these, check out Jedd's superb Lifting the Inch Replica Dumbbell (part II, III, IV and V) series and his article The Many Types of Blobs.
Chest Expansion Chain Breaking
Here's one which is rarely seen these days, and is still extremely impressive. Chest Expansion Chain Breaking (about 1min into the video).
California and Bust (Blowing up a Hot Water Bottle)
I never get tired of seeing this feat. Blowing up a Hot Water Bottle.
Bare-handed Nail Driving
Forget the faked version in Fist of Fury, this is the real deal. If you'd like to learn this incredible feat, Ryan explains everything here.

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In the meantime, here are a few others you might like :

Discussion

I'd love to hear what you think. Pop over to the forums and share your opinion. See you there.

on the rack

tell us about it

Straight to the Bar is very much an interactive website. In addition to the articles here, there are a number of ways to share your passion with other lovers of the iron :

Seen something cool? Send us a tweet
Discuss it in the forums
Join the SttB Facebook group
Vote for stories on Digg & StumbleUpon
Add training and comp pics to the Flickr group
Create articles on styles and techniques
Subscribe to the tutorial videos on youtube

»» more »»

reading

the team

There are several great writers here, looking at the world of strength training from a number of angles. The regulars :

Scott Bird (@scottbird)
Writer and Fitness enthusiast
Jedd 'Napalm' Johnson (@jeddjohnson)
Grip champion and Strongman
'Unbreakable' Adam T Glass (@adamtglass)
Bending freak and Strongman
Kat 'The Mighty Kat' Ricker
Bodybuilder and Writer
Joe Hashey (@jhashey)
Athlete, Teacher and Trainer
Josh Hanagarne (@joshhanagarne)
Kettlebell and grip afficionado
Bill Long (@bill_long1)
SPC and grip fanatic

In addition, articles are submitted from across the globe. Got a piece you'd like to share? Let us know.

training at work

There's always a way to train while you're at work. (Josh Hanagarne)

lb to kg, kg to lb

(how to use the converter)

elsewhere

This is a fantastic book. If you've ever considered learning this incredible strength feat, the Card Tearing eBook (review) is the perfect place to start. Love it.

In addition to the articles on this site are a number I've written elsewhere. Including :

thanks to

I get regular questions regarding the hosting of this site, my favourite stats package and so on, so here are a few details :

Web hosting : pair Networks
Email : AWeber
Stats : pMetrics
Feeds : FeedBurner
Computer : MacBook Pro

Pair is easily the fastest and most reliable host I've come across - perfect for a site like this. If you're setting up your own blog, forum or ezine; check them out. Brilliant.

what to get?

Thanks for dropping by. If you’d like to help support this site (and get in great shape at the same time), here’s a list of strength-training books, DVDs and tools I recommend. Love them.

Dragon Door Kettlebells
These are easily the best kettlebells I've used; and I'd strongly recommend them above all others. Well-made, comfortable to use and ready to take any abuse you send their way. Love them.
RMAX Clubbells
I'm a big fan of leverage training in any form, especially things like the RMAX Clubbells. Beautiful things.
MBG Powerwheel
Although I generally avoid single-purpose tools, I'll happily make an exception for the Powerwheel. Ab training has never been so much fun.
Battling Rope Kit
This is easily my favourite form of conditioning work. Incredibly fun, exhausting and - most importantly - effective.
Precision Nutrition
When it comes to body transformation - whether that's a increase in strength, packing on a bit of muscle or losing a bit of excess fat - this is the perfect place to start. Dr Berardi's Precision Nutrition.
Gymboss Interval Timer
If you've ever tried to do interval work with a stopwatch, or by counting out the time, grab a Gymboss. The perfect way to time your fat-shedding sessions.
The Ultimate Sandbag
I love sandbag training, and this is definitely the way to do it right. Beautiful thing.