I’m beginning to compete in strongman in october. I am going to be competing as a heavyweight and would like to continue competing for some time. My question is, what weights should my stones be if I’m planning on making four stones?
As a side note, does anyone know if NAS is drug-tested? There is no mention of it in the rules and regulations.
Kind of depends how strong you are now.
I think getting competition stones are great, but if you can’t lift a 275 stone, why get a 360? I can barely lift the 175 right now because my forearms and form sucks.
[quote]louiek wrote:
Kind of depends how strong you are now.
I think getting competition stones are great, but if you can’t lift a 275 stone, why get a 360? I can barely lift the 175 right now because my forearms and form sucks.[/quote]
if the comp allows tacky use it. i can barely do a 180 stone myself. i have done a 270 for reps with tacky though and it was much easier. ripped the shit out of my arms but that tacky works wonders.
[quote]asooneyeonig wrote:
[quote]louiek wrote:
Kind of depends how strong you are now.
I think getting competition stones are great, but if you can’t lift a 275 stone, why get a 360? I can barely lift the 175 right now because my forearms and form sucks.[/quote]
if the comp allows tacky use it. i can barely do a 180 stone myself. i have done a 270 for reps with tacky though and it was much easier. ripped the shit out of my arms but that tacky works wonders. [/quote]
x2 on that shit. Tacky is awesome.
GA strongman crew hvy weights. Stone weights I beleive are 270 295 310 335 360 roughly and they have a pretty heavy stone run if you can match that you would be in great shape. If done for reps its early below 335 stone reps and lately Wesley Clayborn has been hitting reps with 365 easily but he is a stone monster.
Oh and I missed the second question but I have been with NAS for about 3 years and have never heard or seen anyone ever be tested. But I am sure if they wanted to they could but its not going to happen anytime soon.
thanks guys. I can only afford a 18" and 20" mold so I can make a wide range of weights from 200# to 375#. My buddy also has a 120# stone to work on technique. Since I don’t have stones yet, what are your opinions on good gym lifts to do to improve on stones (other than deadlifts and good morings)?
Here are some suggestions that may help…
Zerschers: More or less lift a barbell in the crook of your arms. You can have the barbell set on the floor or in the rack.
Stone Bar: Remove an end of an Olympic Bar, place 45’s preferably Bumpers, and lift from the floor.
Sandbag work: Tough stuff. Hits the same areas.
Boulders: Cheap alternative to atlas stones.
Stiff Leg Deadlifts
Barbell rowing.
Front Squats.
Hammer Curls with thick handles help.
Try training without tacky. Get good without tacky you’ll be great with tacky. With or without tacky, mind the biceps.
Don’t like stone rash on the fore-arms invest in good forearm sleeves.
Hope this helps…
Rather than purchasing two stone molds I would just get the 20" stone mold. If you are not strong enough to lift a stone in the 280-300 lbs range then you could always find someone who is local who can make you an 18" stone or you can train with other implements (keg, sandbag) to work your way up.
You can train with less than (4) stones but if you wanted to make a series and had a 20" mold then I would make a 290, 320-330, 350-360, and 375-390.
A 120 lbs stone would be useless for a man who competes in strongman unless you plan to throw it. Even for a female competitor it would be lighter than what they would typically see in competition.
Movements that have good carryover to stone lifting would include Stiff Leg Deadlift (picking the stone), Front Squat (standing up with the stone), Hang Cleans or Tire Flip (triple extension), and any other type of loading movements such as keg or sandbag loads.
*I would recommend purchasing a couple of different types of tacky and also try taping your forearms with duct tape or athletic tape - especially if you live in warm climates. If you do not want to deal with tape you can pick up Spartan Sleeves which are leather arm guards, they will save you money on tacky and also provide better grip when loading stones.
[quote]MAXpower92 wrote:
thanks guys. I can only afford a 18" and 20" mold so I can make a wide range of weights from 200# to 375#. My buddy also has a 120# stone to work on technique. Since I don’t have stones yet, what are your opinions on good gym lifts to do to improve on stones (other than deadlifts and good morings)?
[/quote]
If you’re willing to put in a little more work you can make several stones for the cost of buying 1 mold. Plaster of paris and concrete are cheap, and you can buy beach balls very cheap. I made a few this summer, and each stone cost between 30-50 depending on how much plaster of paris I needed to cover the beach ball.
Plus, how many stones of the same size do you want if you don’t own a gym? I know you can put stuff in them to make them heavier, or shove some styrofoam in the middle to make it lighter, but at the comps I’ve done the heavy stones are larger than the lighter stones. Check it out if you want to save some money and don’t mind each stone taking a little longer.