lever guide

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A Special Report Fromwww.sledgehammerconditioning.com

The Leverage

Secrets To MASSIVE

Hand Strength A Guide to the Hand Strengthening

Skills of World Class Strongmen

Joshua Stiletto



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Disclaimer

The author, producers, and distributors of this book advisethat the exercises shown herein may be too strenuous for certainindividuals. Consult with a physician or other licensed healthcare professional if you have questions about the safety of anymovement given your personal state of health. The author,producers, publisher and distributors of this book disclaim allliability for any injury or condition sustained during or afterpractice of any of the exercises demonstrated in this book.

Consult your physician before beginning any physicaltraining program and before using any new physical trainingequipment. All Minors (under the age of 18) must be supervisedby an adult while performing these exercises. Read andunderstand all instructions before attempting the exercise.

A Joshua Stiletto Book / Copyright © 2008

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be produced or transmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopying, recording, or by any information storage andretrieval system, without permission in writing from thepublisher.

Joshua Stiletto Ltd



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Table Of Contents

Disclaimer ................................................................2

Table Of Contents....................................................... 3

Chapter 1: Leverage Skills ............................................4

Chapter 2: Front Lever ................................................5

Chapter 3: Back Lever .................................................8

Chapter 4: Sledge Twist ............................................. 11

Chapter 5: Rear Lever ............................................... 14

Chapter 6: Conclusion ............................................... 15



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Chapter 1: Leverage Skills

It’s not a new tradition, but an effective one. All of these

skills are designed to use the Sledge in a way that puts your bodyin a position of extreme mechanical disadvantage, and if trainedproperly over time, your body responds by growing massivestrength.

Instead of progressively increasing weight, we areprogressively increasing torque. What makes this even morechallenging is that the amount of torque acting on your bodyincreases as you move through the skill – the lesson here is to

gauge your success by your ability to move the Sledge at thevery difficult end of the movement and not by the very easybeginning.

Some Strongmen like to use these techniques as a way oftraining for other feats of strength like bending iron rods. Othersjust focus in on the Sledge maneuvers as a stand-alone feat ofstrength with progressively larger hammers. Slim The HammerMan being the most notable example of such a Strongman.

However you slice it, practicing these skills will strengthenEVERYTHING in your lower arms. Your muscles will be stronger,your ligaments will improve, and the bones themselves willbecome structurally sturdier. There is a world of other gripexercises available, but if you focus in on these exercises, theywill go a long way to making your grip, wrist and forearm bothstrong and injury proof.

Proceed slowly, give your body a chance to recoup, andenjoy.



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Chapter 2: Front Lever



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The Front Lever: I recommend this with all of theSledgehammer exercises, but let me add the extra emphasishere. CHOKE UP when you are learning this skill. As you will

learn during the slow decent, it is much more difficult to movethe Sledge when it is horizontal than it is when it is vertical.

The Sledge forms a 90-degree angle with your arm (maintaina locked elbow). 90-60 is relatively easy, 60-30 requiresconcentration, and 30-0 is a lot of gritted teeth and cursingunder your breath. It is this last 30 degrees that dictate howmuch or little you choke up or down on the handle.

This is the lift I personally have worked the most, and as youcan see I’m a good way down, but still have progress to make.You might consider making a mark on the handle to indicatewhat progress you’ve made (so you’re not just guessing the nexttime around). I keep the lifts to five or less to keep fromwearing out my hands.

With the handle choked out as much as I do, it touches myshoulder. If I go all the way, it would touch my chin. So I would

recommend keeping your free hand nearby incase you need to



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catch or deflect the Sledge. There is never any reason youshould be putting your body in danger of an impact. Remember,gradual progress over time.



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Chapter 3: Back Lever



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You can quickly tell that I’ve focused more on the Frontlever than I have the Back Lever. Reason for this is pretty

simple; when I was practicing on my own I was using the FrontLever as a finisher for my workouts. It wasn’t until later that Ilearned about the men that practiced this from other angles toreally work their hands in a way nothing else can do. So, now Iget to play catch-up.

The basic idea is the same. Your grip works differently, andthere isn’t a chance of this thing hitting your body if you pushyour grip to exhaustion. SLOWLY lower it down, and then

SLOWLY bring it back up. Keep your arm straight, and ashorizontal as you can. Push yourself to be as strict as you canpossibly be – better technique gives you a better measure ofyour progress.



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Chapter 4: Sledge Twist



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Plant your elbow into your ribs for stability – what I’ve beencalling the Ready Position. The Sledge begins at twelve o’clock,slowly bring it down to three o’clock. Then slowly bring it back

to twelve, and down to nine o’clock. Now return to start.

This works my forearm like nothing I have ever encounteredbefore. I’ve been working my way along the handle – but I shouldnote that I’ve never come across anyone who has pushed thismuch farther than the half way mark on the handle. I don’t saythis to say that it can’t be done, only that I’ve never seen itdone. If a person were so inclined, I imagine one could, but thatdefinitely reaches into the realm of the ‘feats of strength.’ My

interest has always been much more on training for practicaluses, but perhaps someone will become inspired…



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Chapter 5: Rear Lever

This isn’t like the other levers, this is much more of a statichold with a little bit of movement. Those that train it tend tohave it laying on the ground horizontally, then keep it in thatplane as they pick it up (making it more difficult by grasping itfarther away from the head).

I HAVE seen men pick this up with their hand choked all theway to the end of the handle. Those that do move it, only move

it a few degrees upwards, never all the way to the elbow.



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Chapter 6: Conclusion

These exercises are not unknown amongst strongman circles,but are virtually unheard of outside of that. Whatever yourfitness goals are – whatever vision you have for yourself –practicing these skills will give you an edge that almost no oneelse will know about or have ever seen.

I’ve already recommended one route to training thesemoves. Keeping the repetitions very low with a very difficultlevel of torque (performing a few sets of these). I’ve also had

good results with lower torque and going for much highernumbers to make progress. Like most things, there is never theone ‘best’ way to do it. Try them out to see what you like andwhat you don’t like and what works best for you.

Remember to take care of your hands. Don’t over stressthem, and practice the recuperative techniques mentioned inthe Joint and Mobility guide.

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