Hey fellas. My buddy knows a family friend out in Scotland that can provide us with some awesome lodging for a visit there next July. I have always wanted to visit Scotland for several reasons, but one that has resided in the bakc of my mind for awhile is attempting to lift the Testing Stone of the Fianna, this 2,000 plus year old strength stone out in some field in Glenlyon.
It’s about 330 pounds, from estimates of those who have lifted it, and is an awkward shape, tapering to a slight peak on one end.
I have recently come off a fucking horrible wrist injury and a not so bad lower back injury, and have regained about 75% of my former strength, but it’s been over a year and a half since I did any heavy “dinosaur” lifts.
Some stats:
deadlift: roughly 385, no straps.
squat: roughly 400,proper form, slightly below paralell, no belt, high bar.
grip: number one CoC gripper for a few reps.
I’m about 5 feet 9 inches tall, 195 pounds, with smaller than average hands.
For the strongmen and old strength hands out there: do you think eleven months is a realistic schedule to complete training for the lift? I have never dedicated my training “life” so to speak to a max stone attempt. Do you have any tips? I’m not asking for somebody to drop a shitload of their time on advice and a program, but I would appreciate any advice you might have. I am alone where I am in enthusiasm for this kind of thing.
Just to give you an idea. I am just about the same size as you, I have a 530 pound deadlift, 420 squat and can crush the no 2. I have 5 stones in my garage that I purchased from CJ Murphy that weigh 116,175,240,305, 355.
With all that said I can’t get the 355 off the floor at all. Now I have never been taught any technique with them yet so it may be different after that. They are heavy & Different. Get training & give it your best. I will never knock a guy for trying. Its a good goal to have and if you train for it there is no doubt that in a year you will be that much stronger.
Thanks for the response, buddy. Are your stones polished spheres? From what I understand that’s basically the toughest kind of stone to lift, because of the lack of any kind of edge to get your fingers on, not to mention the slippery surface.
I appreciate the encouraging response. I will be busting my ass, you can be sure of that. It’s good to have my sights set on something truly inspiring-- connecting with that kind of strength history.
I’m 5,6 175 with a 460 raw dead and I can lap a 270 just not toss it…YET. So keep training for it!!! Let us know how it goes!! Stones are harder that they look, some good tacky goes a LONG ways!!!
Dastang
You’d have to get a LOT stronger and practice stone lifting to get this one in 11 months. If the shape is awkward, it’s going to be a lot harder than a spherical stone.
Not to discourage you, give it a good run, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t get it.
hey man, no offense…but my deadlift is over 600, my squat is a little over 500 parallel (both of these raw), not to brag but I can barely get a 300 lb. stone that is perfectly shaped and easy as hell to grip past my knees…it’s nothing like lifting in the gym tho…neway, just thought id let ya know, good luck tho
[quote]Rmoss0 wrote:
hey man, no offense…but my deadlift is over 600, my squat is a little over 500 parallel (both of these raw), not to brag but I can barely get a 300 lb. stone that is perfectly shaped and easy as hell to grip past my knees…it’s nothing like lifting in the gym tho…neway, just thought id let ya know, good luck tho[/quote]
If this is the case, and you train strongman, you desparately need to work on your stones.
I’m nearly identical to you in deadlift and squat, but have done a 370 stone. Have also done two +300 lb. stones in a 5 stone series.
Buffalo, thanks for the advice. Yes, I figured this might be a little over-ambitious, but I figure worse comes to worst by then I’ll be able to hoist on eof the lighter strength stones they’ve got over there, so it won’t be too much of a disappointment. The Fianna happens to not only have a great history-- it’s also a way for me to set the bar really high!
Dastang, thanks for the encouragement! Good luck with the 270-- have you seen the World’s Strongest Man contest from 2000? It was Pudzianowski’s first, and after almost loading the fifth Atlas Stone, he failed the lift and dropped back with the stone in his lap. Unbelieveably, he managed to rise out of the hole, and load the stone, with it in his lap the whole time! Think of that the next time you’ve got that fucker stuck in your lap!
RMoss, no offense taken. Your post was very useful-- it showed me that even if I had numbers as impressive (to me) as yours, I would still need to highly prioritze the ‘event’ portion of training. Machine’s post only made that more clear. I really appreciate the time you took, fellas, thanks-- and I’ll keep coming back to this thread.
Get “Of Stones and Strength” the book, tells you all the stones around the world and what they weigh etc… and their history. I also have my eye on the Fianna but from memory it wasn’t that heavy, or there were two of them or something.
even more stone related stuff there! videos, books, even wall charts lol
It is amazing how heavy even a small looking stone can be. As an example one of my granite benchtops was approx. 500lbs. but doesn’t look like much. These things can also be really hard to lift, awkward, sharp, slippery, all combined.
[quote]Magarhe wrote:
Get “Of Stones and Strength” the book, tells you all the stones around the world and what they weigh etc… and their history. I also have my eye on the Fianna but from memory it wasn’t that heavy, or there were two of them or something.
even more stone related stuff there! videos, books, even wall charts lol
It is amazing how heavy even a small looking stone can be. As an example one of my granite benchtops was approx. 500lbs. but doesn’t look like much. These things can also be really hard to lift, awkward, sharp, slippery, all combined.
Get the book, you’ll love it.
[/quote]
That is a great book if someone wants to get into stone lifting, technique, training and history.
I’ve already got that book, actually! It’s pretty inspiring stuff. In fact I’d have my eyes on the Old Dailly Blue Stones and the Ladykirk stone if they were not both now unavailable to lifters. I keep up with them in MILO as well, like the story about the shackling of the Dailly stones.
It’s a pity: I think all of Peter Martin’s ranting about how vital they are to Scottish cultural history has achieved the opposite of what he wanted in some ways. I’m certain the shackling of the Dailly stones has everything to do with their raised profile on account of the book.
I love those Jeck photos, though!
[quote]The Red Monk wrote:
I’ve already got that book, actually! It’s pretty inspiring stuff. In fact I’d have my eyes on the Old Dailly Blue Stones and the Ladykirk stone if they were not both now unavailable to lifters. I keep up with them in MILO as well, like the story about the shackling of the Dailly stones.
It’s a pity: I think all of Peter Martin’s ranting about how vital they are to Scottish cultural history has achieved the opposite of what he wanted in some ways. I’m certain the shackling of the Dailly stones has everything to do with their raised profile on account of the book.
I love those Jeck photos, though![/quote]
Is Jeck thick as hell or what!?
Very good book with a very simple training routine near the end. Get the book, follow his strength guidelines and get yourself some river or quarry stones. I have atlas stones but the real thing to me is much more fun to lift.
[quote]The Red Monk wrote:
I’ve already got that book, actually! It’s pretty inspiring stuff. In fact I’d have my eyes on the Old Dailly Blue Stones and the Ladykirk stone if they were not both now unavailable to lifters. I keep up with them in MILO as well, like the story about the shackling of the Dailly stones.
It’s a pity: I think all of Peter Martin’s ranting about how vital they are to Scottish cultural history has achieved the opposite of what he wanted in some ways. I’m certain the shackling of the Dailly stones has everything to do with their raised profile on account of the book.
I love those Jeck photos, though![/quote]
I’m amazed nobody has run off with any of the stones. All it would take is a car with a boot and a bit of strength, or two guys. And wham! piece of history in your own livingroom.
I’d love to see some of those ancient stones the greeks were lifting, that were mentioned.
You could probably make your own collection from a quarry or something similar. Like I said, my granite benchtop weighed a tonne. I am sure they would have offcuts or something somewhere.
I’m sure I could make my own collection-- but I’m interested in the symbolic and historical value of lifting something so many badasses before me have lifted for thousands of years. There’s an aura about that stone.
And yes, part of why I want to go so soon is because I am afraid it will either be in a museum or in someone’s living room if I don’t get out there before long.
I’m amazed nobody has run off with any of the stones. All it would take is a car with a boot and a bit of strength, or two guys. And wham! piece of history in your own livingroom.
I’d love to see some of those ancient stones the greeks were lifting, that were mentioned.
You could probably make your own collection from a quarry or something similar. Like I said, my granite benchtop weighed a tonne. I am sure they would have offcuts or something somewhere.[/quote]
People tend to get upset with folks that steal bits of history. Scots have been picking these stones up for hundreds of years. If someone stole the stone they would likely have to spend the rest of their life looking over their shoulder for huge scotsmen. If it ever got out who had stolen the stone the perpetrators would be lucky if the police found them first.
That’s not how I would like to spend my time.
The real danger is from dorks that want a piece of the stone.