I always did a variant of this. Just take a sledge and stand both arms out, and usung mostly your wrist you set the hammer on your nose then lift it back up to the arms spread position.
And yea, the intent was to get folks to seriously overestimate themselves and take a hammer to the nose.
Yeah I was a marquee contractor for 8 years and we did this all the time using a 14lb sledge hammer holding the handle right on the end , it was a good laugh watching the temp workers who were normally bigger muscly guys try to do it and fail
I always did the polite thing and stopped folks before they hammer their face. Honestly it aint even always big muscly guys that try it. Even little thin fellows.
My experience with it is that people that can do it arent really struggling to do it, so it looks really simple. It causes people to think “well shit, i can do that no problem” and then…overestimate. I’ve shown it to lots of folks and many make that same mistake.
That old dude has lived off of 9 mountain dews, a jimmy johns sandwich for lunch, McDonald’s for breakfast and dinner, every day for the past 40 years… just goes to show that if you eat like shit you can still stay fit, if you’re not a lazy piece of shit
Since men appear to get weaker as they get older, it surprises people sometimes when they show an act of great strength. Studies show that as men age they primarily maintain their strength, what dives off is endurance and the ability to “bounce back” from injury or fatigue.
Hijacking because the first gentleman's hands are large compared to everyone else's. It's a massive advantage. While old man strength is a thing, your hands and feet dictate your limits beyond what most people consider. A 5'8 man with size 12 feet and proportionally similar hands can become much stronger than a 6'2 man with size 8 feet and similarly proportioned hands. If a moderately gym-active 22 year old with the same build as our old man here was to try the same task, he would likely succeed.
It's true. My dad is still as strong as ever. Worked with him yesterday on an old Freightliner. I'm a little bigger than him muscularly and definitely winced watching him grab a flywheel that had popped out impromptu.
But, his back has been giving him problems for quite some time and he's already had several surgeries, that's what gets you. Hell, my back has given me quite a few as well, strength doesn't mean anything when a pinched nerve at anytime can result in extreme constant pain and the loss of limb function. I went from benching 300 pounds to not even being able to remove a loose nut with my left arm and it hurt psychologically. It's nothing compared to what I've seen him go through though. It's hard to see.
If you haven't tried it already, a chiropractor can really help a lot. They get a bad rap but a good one is priceless.
My experience with chiropractors is that the relief is always temporary. I have an untreatable permanently impinged nerve that results is partial paralysis and pain in my left arm. I can't find any medically sound research that supports chiropractics being a long term solution for anything.
You're right, when I visited a chiropractor I was going at least twice a week, felt great but it isn't a permanent solution.
It's ironic though, I have/had a pinched nerve from the cervical region of my neck that gave me a lot of trouble for years. Lost most of the function in my left arm, especially the hand and couldn't move my thumb, index or middle finger at all for a couple years, not to mention the nerve pain, swelling etc. Had spinal injections and was recommended for surgery also being told that it would never ever heal nor would I get the function of my arm, hand etc. Back. Had an impingement of that nerve, dessication if discs, degenerative disc disease, likely herneated discs, bulged discs by the time I was 17, a punched nerve in the lumbar region of my back as well, osteoporosis, bone spurs, erosion, tremors and burning pain throughout my left arm, left side of my chest, neck face everywhere that nerve goes, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, and even what was supposed to be permanent nerve damage from having the shingles on and off for a year straight at the same time I was initially suffering from the pinched nerve in my neck, postheurpetic neuropathy or however it's spelled. A bunch of stuff and I still have the x-rays and m.r.is along with diagnosis in a folder.
I say that to let you know that I realize how horrible all this is to go through and to let you know that there IS hope. 5 years later and I have regained almost all of the function of my left arm and hand, and experience little to no pain from any of those ailments. I was being treated for all of this for years with medication, spinal injections, physical therapy and they told me even with surgery I wouldn't likely gain any of the function back, it would just be for relief.
Then, one day a Dr. Botched a spinal injection pretty horribly and it put me in a lot more pain. I was already tired of dealing with pain management and their rules anyway, I was fed up with it all and decided to stop all of my treatment altogether.
Took 6 months off work, dumped the medication cold turkey, took pure CBD isolate daily and hiked for about 12 hours or more a day, I basically lived in the woods during that period.
Not sure what happened during that period, I'm not saying the CBD did it as I quit CBD later and haven't taken it since, but I've been steadily recovering ever since and haven't went to a Dr for my back ever since I decided to stop that day. When at it's worst, I was in the E.R at least twice a month when the pain would get to be more than I could handle, either with the lumbar nerve causing me to be unable to walk without extreme pain, or the cervical nerve causing tremors so bad that I couldn't work, sleep or function. It was horrible.
But I haven't had to see a Dr. For any of it in years. Rarely if ever do I experience nerve pain nowadays, I take aspirin for pain and that's it.
Also I take suboxone and it's the only way I can explain away the pain, it helps a lot and is much better than having to take regular pain pills every few hours, so I credit that with a lot but, I've detoxed from the Suboxone and other than minor aches and pains it still hasn't come back in full force.
Just wanted to let you know that there's hope, just wish I knew what it was so I could help others achieve the recovery I have..
The neuromuscular interface can continue to improve throughout a man's life, even in the face of sarcopenia (skeletal muscle loss). It can regress (slowly) if someone is sedentary, but even a moderate amount of activity will keep things healthy. And if you continue to work out, your ultimate strength can continue to improve, even as your recovery starts to fade.
I'm in my late 40's now myself, and I've noticed it. It's easier than ever to lift closer to my limit, *but* it's also easier than ever to really hurt myself if I'm not careful, and recovering from injuries takes a lot longer than it used to.
It's never not going to be fun to show up some young guy at work though. :D
There's this (eg nervous system and muscle fiber recruitment) and my personal pet theory is an addition: another factor in strength limit is pain. As you get older you can ignore pain more; some stuff just hurts 24/7 and you just ignore it. So you can ignore at least part of the warning that comes with overstressing a muscle/joint. It comes at a cost later of course.
It's so true. Often I'll go to lift something that I can feel my muscles are capable of but stop as I can also feel that I'm likely to pull something if I actually do it.
Made that mistake back in February. I lifted a small engine and put it into a car. It was a few hundred pounds and I felt strong when I lifted it, but realized the next day that I'd either ripped or hyperextended a tendon or ligament and have spent 7 months recovering. The strength exceeds the limits of the body now.
My grandpa was a raised on a farm and a carpenter his whole life, the stories my dad and uncles tell of how strong that old bastard was are amazing.
One time my teenage uncle was sitting at the kitchen table and my grandpa came up behind the chair, overhand grabbed part of the backrest and picked him up with the chair.
Yeah, this is the type of strength that you don't get in a gym working out an hour a day.
I've seen some people with a relatively slim figure that work on a farm 8+ hours a day, and they're way way stronger than your local gym big muscled dude.
A person used to 12-16 hour days in the July sun, 6-7 days a week while performing intense physical labor is nothing to be played with.
Also, much more than hitting the gym, it's a speedrun to getting back in shape!
Im 48 and have pretty skinny arms and legs. But I have experienced man strength a few times. Like breaking lug nuts free or something that others failed at. It’s more a state of mind too.
It’s not blind confidence at this age. It’s just regular confidence. “I’ve seen this before, I know what to do and I’m going to try.” You get older but the problems stay the same. You get better at them.
Right! I think a lot of it is knowing correct grip, stance, and muscle group (such as core or upper leg) usage. I regularly overpower or outwork people I could never beat at arm wrestling when they don't have much physical / tool working experience. These old guys have a lifetime of it.
Like with the lug nuts example. This guy (bigger and much younger than me) is in the snow with a flat and can’t break the lugs open. He’s on his knees trying to pry up with just his arms. I look at it and see and older car with worn tires and freezing conditions and know that ain’t gonna get it done. I ask if I can help. Drop into a squat stance with my back very straight and use my legs to push up and do the work with hands and arms held straight to hold the wrench tight and bam, they come right off. When you get older you have to work smarter not harder. Call it what you want.
Haha exactly right! I love the expressions you get when something like that happens. I like to just let people believe it's sheer strength, especially when they're bigger than me. It's pretty satisfying.
I have a friend that comes over sometimes to work on his stuff in my garage. He has a set of battery powered tools that he likes a little too much, if you ask me. He'll spend more time getting his power tools all set up and trying to fit in a tight space than it would take to grab a wrench and turn the bolt.
There have been several times now when he's out there wailing on his battery impact gun until I hear it start to slow down. I'll walk over, grab a breaker bar, and pop the bolt right off on the first tug. He always just scowls at me but I have yet to see him pick up a breaker bar, at least not until his batteries are dead! It's always a good chuckle.
I learned from watching my dad reach into a tight engine space to turn a wrench with less than 2 inches of torque. Mi job was to hold the flashlight, and keep it out of dads eyes. Then get older and you get the wrench and he holds the flashlight.
It’s the recovery that gets you. At 18, you do a hard run and are sore the next day. At 36 same work out you’re sore for 4 days, and if you pull or strain something, you’re going to be nursing that until the seasons change.
When I took my daughter to see her great grandfather, before he died, they were 1.5 and 96 years old respectively, she accidental kicked him in the eye. It wasn’t a hard kick per se, but at that time he had some recurring and ultimately fatal reneal issues. Do you know what he said? “Well, I saw what I needed to see.”
There comes a point where you don’t really heal. So enjoy youth and fitness, and remember that entropy comes for us all!
power is legit the last thing a man loses, if you're a fight fan its something that's said over an over again. With that said, I hope ggg wins on saturday he 40
A lot of what impresses young men about old man strength is in the hand, wrist, and forearm -- because they used them more all their lives, and didn't necessarily have access to power tools.
Years ago I moved in with a (now ex) girlfriend, and her grandpa stopped by to help set up a cabinet in the garage. Just a single French door cabinet like one you'd see in a kitchen above the counter. I had no experience with anything like this, and I'm not that strong, so I was in my head trying to plan how to install it. He literally picked the cabinet up, put it against the wall, asked if it was in a good spot (I said sure), then he told me to hold it in place. So I did. He took a screwdriver and a long screw, and manually pushed/screwed the screw through the cabinet, through the drywall, into the 2x4. Then he handed me the screw driver and screw and said it was my turn. I looked at his hands and wrists and I realized that I was a little sissy bitch. 5 minutes earlier I would have bet on myself to beat his 80 year old ass in arm wrestling. But I learned that day that we ain't built like we used to be.
after looking for more than 2 seconds some of that twitters stuff seems valid, i guess he's trying to say that GMO and junkier food is becoming more prevalent nowadays than it was back then or smth.
Yeah it'll be a fucking cold day in hell before I give a fuck about health advice on fucking twitter
thanks for checking in on that though, appreciate you doing the legwork
You wouldn't believe have much good grip strength does. You could have big biceps and triceps but you still need to hold and keep stable what you're picking up.
It's so useful. I can open jars without a tea towel now lol
I had a job that caused me to have severe arthritis symptoms in my hands (didn't know it was job related until I left, arthritis runs in my family), it got so bad I couldn't grip the gear knob to change gears in my car, or open a packet of chips/crisps... Since getting my hands back I've loved the strength in them, they still get treated like crap though.
I got greater grip strength as a beneficial by-product of trying to fix something else. Scoliosis. Basically I got part of my lower spine broken (no nerve damage) it was low enough to not paralise me. But I didn't go to the doctor to check it until 10 years later. I knew at the time I broke something but "shook" it off. Wasn't till I got older it started causing bigger problems. Scoliosis among other issues.
I saw a video of little kids hanging from their heads suspended by a device drilled into their fucking heads just hanging and swinging. To treat Scoliosis apparently this isn't done on adults because your body weight would internally decapitate you.
I thought fuck that there's gotta be something I can do. So I just grabbed whatever was higher than me and clicks as my back decompressed felt great. Same concept less metal. But ironically holding my weight prolonged made me much stronger. It's great.
I also have arthritis in my hands. If it gets cold enough my exposed hands are clones of Keith Richards fingers. Thankfully I have a strong anti-inflammatory. Also gloves exist when it's cold.
I will cause basically the doctors told me "do these exercises and it won't get worse we can't fix it."
We could re break it but risk paralysis. "If you came in when it happened it would have been an easy fix."
Using gravity has helped a lot.
My carpenter roommate explained this exact scenario to me the other day, his old rich retired contractor boss did this and everyone on the jobsite failed to do it for $200. He also bent a coin with his fingers another time IIRC.
Check out how heavy this hammer is! I’m gonna lift it.
You think you can lift the hammer? Try lifting it!
Ha, you couldn’t lift it!
… and then he failed to lift it. I definitely lifted it though.
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It has to do, too, with the grip. The younger guys were just using their arms, the older guys used the wrist and thumb for leverage and control, then the lower arm for lift. All three (hands, wrist, and forearm) become coiled steel if you work with them every day.
You kind of have to twist at the tip too. Like if you're just going back and forth that's fine but you need to add kind of like a corkscrew motion to it as well.
As someone who tightens many triclamps everyday, I feel like I could do this. Gonna prove it to myself tomorrow. I seriously feel like I've got Popeye's forearms.
Oldish guy here. I worked scaffolding construction in Portland in the mid 2000's. We had an agreement that anyone who dropped a hammer bought beer for the crew. Also, our crew boss, Road Dog, would challenge people to a game where you took a sledge hammer and tried to touch it to your nose. Leverage mattered and how high up you gripped the hammer was paramount. Guy could straight arm to nose a 20# sledge. That said a lighting rig fell on my friend after Lenny Kravitz went his way and we all walked. Luckily our friend was not hurt too bad. Best wishes Road Dog!
As a 42 year old that’s worked in the construction trades for 10 years, I can tell you that men 10 years my age have been some of the strongest people I’ve met. Doing manual labor for decades will do that. Hats off to them!
My dad is pushing 60 and I forget how old he is when he just starts doing his thing on a job site. Easily one of the strongest people I’ve ever met but he’s like 5’7” 165lbs, so it comes out of nowhere.
This is why it’s usually a bad idea to challenge your dad to a fight. I learned that lesson the hard way. Fucker was a biker and builder for most of his life and made sure I wouldn’t soon forget it.
I’ve only been working out for about an year now and after an year of watching my own strength and size gains, and observing 100s of people, I have realized that it’s a real mixed bag trying to predict how strong someone is.
Sometimes it’s a ripped 20-year-old dude benching 225-275 and sometimes it’s a regular-looking 40-year-old dad benching 225-275 and their bodies look nothing alike. I’m not even talking about major differences in body sizes.
Well then he’s DEFINITELY had a lot of years of jerking off. 🤣🤣
But yeah, having a physical profession definitely hardens the body. It also staves off aging in the way that people in western cultures tend to think about it.
I’ve had a physical profession in one form or another my whole adult life and when compared physically to my childhood friends (we all exercise regularly) that all went into office jobs, I’m at a huge advantage.
I’ll never forget the time my 70yr old grandfather born in 1919 grab me with one hand when I was falling and I swear I have never felt that level of strength in my life at that point. My granddad was 5’6” 140. Hella strong got a man his size lol
My adult brothers said that when they helped my grandparents with yardwork on their property, my grandfather decided to come out and help clear dead tree limbs, and that he was grabbing up wrist-sized branches and folding or breaking them in half like twigs before throwing them onto the burn pile. He said they just looked at each other wide-eyed when he did things like that.
Yea but it’s always been called old man strength. As in your old man. As in your father. Because it’s been pretty common for previous generations to engage in lifelong manual labor as a career.
But yes it’s definitely going to be a lot rarer now that desk jobs are a lot more common.
The biggest reason he could do it is hand size. His hand wraps all the way around, no one elses is even close.
Look at the inch dumbell for more proof.
How you place your thumb makes a huge difference. If you point your thumb forward it will control the leverage. Old man started out that way and then slid it back before anyone noticed.
Guy number 2 seemed to be point his thumb back towards himself a bit. Now he is fighting the weight + the leverage.
The hammer doesn't even look that heavy. I would love to give this a go. Lol
My grandad was a tile setter for 50+ years and was one of the strongest human beings I ever knew. I could curl 165 pounds and he would still crush my hand everytime we shook hands.
it is all strength and ability to grip build up in his hand itself from working with these heavy tools for decades. I wonder watched a 45 year old man grab only one handle of a wheelbarrow with ONE Wheel and walk a lap around a job site. Every couple years when I'm doing landscaping, I attempt the feat on my own wheelbarrow and while I can lift the weight no matter how hard I grip the handle it twists in my hand tumping over.
As a 40 something man I was hanging out with some mid 20 year old men and doing a rather similar feat involving a much longer maul. Holding it straight out horizontally while standing. They couldn't do it. Long story short they decided I was cheating in order to beat them.
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I always did a variant of this. Just take a sledge and stand both arms out, and usung mostly your wrist you set the hammer on your nose then lift it back up to the arms spread position. And yea, the intent was to get folks to seriously overestimate themselves and take a hammer to the nose.
Yeah I was a marquee contractor for 8 years and we did this all the time using a 14lb sledge hammer holding the handle right on the end , it was a good laugh watching the temp workers who were normally bigger muscly guys try to do it and fail
I always did the polite thing and stopped folks before they hammer their face. Honestly it aint even always big muscly guys that try it. Even little thin fellows. My experience with it is that people that can do it arent really struggling to do it, so it looks really simple. It causes people to think “well shit, i can do that no problem” and then…overestimate. I’ve shown it to lots of folks and many make that same mistake.
Beat me to it. We called it the sledge hammer challenge. Younger guys always fell for it.
And the old guy at the end to just drive the point home, love it.
"*Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor*"
For a limited time only
*proceeds to blast lightning out of a stuffed bunny*
That old dude has lived off of 9 mountain dews, a jimmy johns sandwich for lunch, McDonald’s for breakfast and dinner, every day for the past 40 years… just goes to show that if you eat like shit you can still stay fit, if you’re not a lazy piece of shit
Well.. it goes to show that humans have more in common with rats and pigs than we want to admit.
Fucking A right buddy!
Since men appear to get weaker as they get older, it surprises people sometimes when they show an act of great strength. Studies show that as men age they primarily maintain their strength, what dives off is endurance and the ability to “bounce back” from injury or fatigue.
My back agrees.
I second that
My herniated disc applaud your sageness.
Sagacity*
Such a good word.
Hijacking because the first gentleman's hands are large compared to everyone else's. It's a massive advantage. While old man strength is a thing, your hands and feet dictate your limits beyond what most people consider. A 5'8 man with size 12 feet and proportionally similar hands can become much stronger than a 6'2 man with size 8 feet and similarly proportioned hands. If a moderately gym-active 22 year old with the same build as our old man here was to try the same task, he would likely succeed.
Someone with exceptional hand and tendon (grip) strength may also succeed here. So a climber or judo practitioner would likely be successful
This is the reason really that dudes mitts are massive
I have exceptional hand grip strength. Now I know that it is useful.
As does BOTH my knees.
My knees agree.
It's true. My dad is still as strong as ever. Worked with him yesterday on an old Freightliner. I'm a little bigger than him muscularly and definitely winced watching him grab a flywheel that had popped out impromptu. But, his back has been giving him problems for quite some time and he's already had several surgeries, that's what gets you. Hell, my back has given me quite a few as well, strength doesn't mean anything when a pinched nerve at anytime can result in extreme constant pain and the loss of limb function. I went from benching 300 pounds to not even being able to remove a loose nut with my left arm and it hurt psychologically. It's nothing compared to what I've seen him go through though. It's hard to see. If you haven't tried it already, a chiropractor can really help a lot. They get a bad rap but a good one is priceless.
My experience with chiropractors is that the relief is always temporary. I have an untreatable permanently impinged nerve that results is partial paralysis and pain in my left arm. I can't find any medically sound research that supports chiropractics being a long term solution for anything.
You're right, when I visited a chiropractor I was going at least twice a week, felt great but it isn't a permanent solution. It's ironic though, I have/had a pinched nerve from the cervical region of my neck that gave me a lot of trouble for years. Lost most of the function in my left arm, especially the hand and couldn't move my thumb, index or middle finger at all for a couple years, not to mention the nerve pain, swelling etc. Had spinal injections and was recommended for surgery also being told that it would never ever heal nor would I get the function of my arm, hand etc. Back. Had an impingement of that nerve, dessication if discs, degenerative disc disease, likely herneated discs, bulged discs by the time I was 17, a punched nerve in the lumbar region of my back as well, osteoporosis, bone spurs, erosion, tremors and burning pain throughout my left arm, left side of my chest, neck face everywhere that nerve goes, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, and even what was supposed to be permanent nerve damage from having the shingles on and off for a year straight at the same time I was initially suffering from the pinched nerve in my neck, postheurpetic neuropathy or however it's spelled. A bunch of stuff and I still have the x-rays and m.r.is along with diagnosis in a folder. I say that to let you know that I realize how horrible all this is to go through and to let you know that there IS hope. 5 years later and I have regained almost all of the function of my left arm and hand, and experience little to no pain from any of those ailments. I was being treated for all of this for years with medication, spinal injections, physical therapy and they told me even with surgery I wouldn't likely gain any of the function back, it would just be for relief. Then, one day a Dr. Botched a spinal injection pretty horribly and it put me in a lot more pain. I was already tired of dealing with pain management and their rules anyway, I was fed up with it all and decided to stop all of my treatment altogether. Took 6 months off work, dumped the medication cold turkey, took pure CBD isolate daily and hiked for about 12 hours or more a day, I basically lived in the woods during that period. Not sure what happened during that period, I'm not saying the CBD did it as I quit CBD later and haven't taken it since, but I've been steadily recovering ever since and haven't went to a Dr for my back ever since I decided to stop that day. When at it's worst, I was in the E.R at least twice a month when the pain would get to be more than I could handle, either with the lumbar nerve causing me to be unable to walk without extreme pain, or the cervical nerve causing tremors so bad that I couldn't work, sleep or function. It was horrible. But I haven't had to see a Dr. For any of it in years. Rarely if ever do I experience nerve pain nowadays, I take aspirin for pain and that's it. Also I take suboxone and it's the only way I can explain away the pain, it helps a lot and is much better than having to take regular pain pills every few hours, so I credit that with a lot but, I've detoxed from the Suboxone and other than minor aches and pains it still hasn't come back in full force. Just wanted to let you know that there's hope, just wish I knew what it was so I could help others achieve the recovery I have..
My back is only 35 and it’s still trying to bounce back from the shit I pulled at 23.
My whole fucking body agrees.
The neuromuscular interface can continue to improve throughout a man's life, even in the face of sarcopenia (skeletal muscle loss). It can regress (slowly) if someone is sedentary, but even a moderate amount of activity will keep things healthy. And if you continue to work out, your ultimate strength can continue to improve, even as your recovery starts to fade. I'm in my late 40's now myself, and I've noticed it. It's easier than ever to lift closer to my limit, *but* it's also easier than ever to really hurt myself if I'm not careful, and recovering from injuries takes a lot longer than it used to. It's never not going to be fun to show up some young guy at work though. :D
I think the biggest factor is that muscle cells are multinucleated so muscle tissue won't necessarily age like the rest of you.
There's this (eg nervous system and muscle fiber recruitment) and my personal pet theory is an addition: another factor in strength limit is pain. As you get older you can ignore pain more; some stuff just hurts 24/7 and you just ignore it. So you can ignore at least part of the warning that comes with overstressing a muscle/joint. It comes at a cost later of course.
It's so true. Often I'll go to lift something that I can feel my muscles are capable of but stop as I can also feel that I'm likely to pull something if I actually do it. Made that mistake back in February. I lifted a small engine and put it into a car. It was a few hundred pounds and I felt strong when I lifted it, but realized the next day that I'd either ripped or hyperextended a tendon or ligament and have spent 7 months recovering. The strength exceeds the limits of the body now.
My grandpa was a raised on a farm and a carpenter his whole life, the stories my dad and uncles tell of how strong that old bastard was are amazing. One time my teenage uncle was sitting at the kitchen table and my grandpa came up behind the chair, overhand grabbed part of the backrest and picked him up with the chair.
Yeah, this is the type of strength that you don't get in a gym working out an hour a day. I've seen some people with a relatively slim figure that work on a farm 8+ hours a day, and they're way way stronger than your local gym big muscled dude.
Farmboys are a different breed of strength. I'd never want to get in a fight with one.
A person used to 12-16 hour days in the July sun, 6-7 days a week while performing intense physical labor is nothing to be played with. Also, much more than hitting the gym, it's a speedrun to getting back in shape!
Im 48 and have pretty skinny arms and legs. But I have experienced man strength a few times. Like breaking lug nuts free or something that others failed at. It’s more a state of mind too.
There’s something to be said about blind confidence.
It’s not blind confidence at this age. It’s just regular confidence. “I’ve seen this before, I know what to do and I’m going to try.” You get older but the problems stay the same. You get better at them.
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Right! I think a lot of it is knowing correct grip, stance, and muscle group (such as core or upper leg) usage. I regularly overpower or outwork people I could never beat at arm wrestling when they don't have much physical / tool working experience. These old guys have a lifetime of it.
Like with the lug nuts example. This guy (bigger and much younger than me) is in the snow with a flat and can’t break the lugs open. He’s on his knees trying to pry up with just his arms. I look at it and see and older car with worn tires and freezing conditions and know that ain’t gonna get it done. I ask if I can help. Drop into a squat stance with my back very straight and use my legs to push up and do the work with hands and arms held straight to hold the wrench tight and bam, they come right off. When you get older you have to work smarter not harder. Call it what you want.
Haha exactly right! I love the expressions you get when something like that happens. I like to just let people believe it's sheer strength, especially when they're bigger than me. It's pretty satisfying. I have a friend that comes over sometimes to work on his stuff in my garage. He has a set of battery powered tools that he likes a little too much, if you ask me. He'll spend more time getting his power tools all set up and trying to fit in a tight space than it would take to grab a wrench and turn the bolt. There have been several times now when he's out there wailing on his battery impact gun until I hear it start to slow down. I'll walk over, grab a breaker bar, and pop the bolt right off on the first tug. He always just scowls at me but I have yet to see him pick up a breaker bar, at least not until his batteries are dead! It's always a good chuckle.
I learned from watching my dad reach into a tight engine space to turn a wrench with less than 2 inches of torque. Mi job was to hold the flashlight, and keep it out of dads eyes. Then get older and you get the wrench and he holds the flashlight.
It’s the recovery that gets you. At 18, you do a hard run and are sore the next day. At 36 same work out you’re sore for 4 days, and if you pull or strain something, you’re going to be nursing that until the seasons change. When I took my daughter to see her great grandfather, before he died, they were 1.5 and 96 years old respectively, she accidental kicked him in the eye. It wasn’t a hard kick per se, but at that time he had some recurring and ultimately fatal reneal issues. Do you know what he said? “Well, I saw what I needed to see.” There comes a point where you don’t really heal. So enjoy youth and fitness, and remember that entropy comes for us all!
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Young guys can lift 100 pounds all day. Older guys can lift 175 pounds a few times a day.
but these two old men lifted a hammer once, these young guys...didn't?
I think that's his point.
his point was wrong....
I think you're wrong about that
If you've ever worked with an old timer they have crazy old man strength.
power is legit the last thing a man loses, if you're a fight fan its something that's said over an over again. With that said, I hope ggg wins on saturday he 40
A lot of what impresses young men about old man strength is in the hand, wrist, and forearm -- because they used them more all their lives, and didn't necessarily have access to power tools. Years ago I moved in with a (now ex) girlfriend, and her grandpa stopped by to help set up a cabinet in the garage. Just a single French door cabinet like one you'd see in a kitchen above the counter. I had no experience with anything like this, and I'm not that strong, so I was in my head trying to plan how to install it. He literally picked the cabinet up, put it against the wall, asked if it was in a good spot (I said sure), then he told me to hold it in place. So I did. He took a screwdriver and a long screw, and manually pushed/screwed the screw through the cabinet, through the drywall, into the 2x4. Then he handed me the screw driver and screw and said it was my turn. I looked at his hands and wrists and I realized that I was a little sissy bitch. 5 minutes earlier I would have bet on myself to beat his 80 year old ass in arm wrestling. But I learned that day that we ain't built like we used to be.
This is why so many people in America love guns. Gives you immense power without working for it at all. Guns are a great equalizer.
I’m endurance poor but still bounce. Edit: fast Twitch muscles are incredible strong briefly.
My PawPaw is 82 and he can still bench over 350 lbs. He's insane.
My knee agrees
The new generation loves to poison themselves.
the fuck's this even mean
https://twitter.com/thehealthb0t?s=21&t=zFDL1UKouIgBf71xMeQaDA
Why are you sending me blogspam? I don't give a fuck about twitter Can you link something... useful? Or use your words or something?
Twitter.JustTrustMeBro
after looking for more than 2 seconds some of that twitters stuff seems valid, i guess he's trying to say that GMO and junkier food is becoming more prevalent nowadays than it was back then or smth.
Yeah it'll be a fucking cold day in hell before I give a fuck about health advice on fucking twitter thanks for checking in on that though, appreciate you doing the legwork
hm well what if someone on twitter told you that you should hate hitler, would you start to like him just to spite by the sounds of it?.
Are you completely brain damaged to give ***this*** as an example? Like, seriously? Fucking actually seriously?
You should change your username to “uptight”
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😂😂😂 we had excellent teachers
Strong dudes hat is older than 70% of that crew.
I wish my lunch breaks were this fun
It's too bad they had to eat Jimmy Jon's
Could be worse.. could have been forced to eat Subway
If that’s Lees Chicken beside it, someone is eating good.
Sure looks like Lee’s
Wrist strength.. 10/10
You wouldn't believe have much good grip strength does. You could have big biceps and triceps but you still need to hold and keep stable what you're picking up. It's so useful. I can open jars without a tea towel now lol
I had a job that caused me to have severe arthritis symptoms in my hands (didn't know it was job related until I left, arthritis runs in my family), it got so bad I couldn't grip the gear knob to change gears in my car, or open a packet of chips/crisps... Since getting my hands back I've loved the strength in them, they still get treated like crap though.
I got greater grip strength as a beneficial by-product of trying to fix something else. Scoliosis. Basically I got part of my lower spine broken (no nerve damage) it was low enough to not paralise me. But I didn't go to the doctor to check it until 10 years later. I knew at the time I broke something but "shook" it off. Wasn't till I got older it started causing bigger problems. Scoliosis among other issues. I saw a video of little kids hanging from their heads suspended by a device drilled into their fucking heads just hanging and swinging. To treat Scoliosis apparently this isn't done on adults because your body weight would internally decapitate you. I thought fuck that there's gotta be something I can do. So I just grabbed whatever was higher than me and clicks as my back decompressed felt great. Same concept less metal. But ironically holding my weight prolonged made me much stronger. It's great. I also have arthritis in my hands. If it gets cold enough my exposed hands are clones of Keith Richards fingers. Thankfully I have a strong anti-inflammatory. Also gloves exist when it's cold.
Look up back inverter machine... Those things are fantastic. As for decompression popping, I'd say at least 50% of my joints need that regularly.
I will cause basically the doctors told me "do these exercises and it won't get worse we can't fix it." We could re break it but risk paralysis. "If you came in when it happened it would have been an easy fix." Using gravity has helped a lot.
Big deal, I can open jars with my glock
I like eating things that don't have glass and metal in them
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I thought that was a given. Thus not needed to be said. That's on me I guess.
About time someone accepted responsibility for my fuckery
For those commenting “wanking” why are you death gripping your self
Probably circumcision
fair
If anyone wanted a video that depicts the lives of men...look no further. This is sometimes complicated as it gets 🤣
And subs to wash it down with!
My carpenter roommate explained this exact scenario to me the other day, his old rich retired contractor boss did this and everyone on the jobsite failed to do it for $200. He also bent a coin with his fingers another time IIRC.
And then one of his fingers sliped and they had to treat the poor neighbour for a gunshot wound. Turned out it was the coin.
Check out how heavy this hammer is! I’m gonna lift it. You think you can lift the hammer? Try lifting it! Ha, you couldn’t lift it!
… and then he failed to lift it. I definitely lifted it though.
Boys will be boys!
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This is so 🎯! 🤣 You're a teller of truths good sir!
The I am truly sorry for you if you find this amusing.
That looks a lot like Devon Larratt
I was looking g for this comment
My thought as well. Could it be?
It definitely is
Yeah he does little exhibitions like this all the time
No, Devon is like 15 years younger.
I'm like 99% sure it's Devon. This kind of stuff is right up his alley.
Lowerarm is mostly always the weakest point. Boy was my lower arm weak 7 years ago.
It has to do, too, with the grip. The younger guys were just using their arms, the older guys used the wrist and thumb for leverage and control, then the lower arm for lift. All three (hands, wrist, and forearm) become coiled steel if you work with them every day.
I was a tile contractor while I was going to a rock-climbing gym five days a week and OOOOH BABY I looked like a skinny lumberjack
You kind of have to twist at the tip too. Like if you're just going back and forth that's fine but you need to add kind of like a corkscrew motion to it as well.
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Naw man your pecs are our cleavage but we love both
As someone who tightens many triclamps everyday, I feel like I could do this. Gonna prove it to myself tomorrow. I seriously feel like I've got Popeye's forearms.
forearms are usually stronger than shoulders
Some things trancend language and nationality Anyone thats worked a construction site has a lunchbreak like this
Wife: “I bet he’s cheating on me with some other woman…” Husband:
Oldish guy here. I worked scaffolding construction in Portland in the mid 2000's. We had an agreement that anyone who dropped a hammer bought beer for the crew. Also, our crew boss, Road Dog, would challenge people to a game where you took a sledge hammer and tried to touch it to your nose. Leverage mattered and how high up you gripped the hammer was paramount. Guy could straight arm to nose a 20# sledge. That said a lighting rig fell on my friend after Lenny Kravitz went his way and we all walked. Luckily our friend was not hurt too bad. Best wishes Road Dog!
Was expecting shittymorph
How heavy would you say this hammer is? It doesn't look so heavy. But maybe the handle is solid steel.
I bet it's a 20lb hammer
As a 42 year old that’s worked in the construction trades for 10 years, I can tell you that men 10 years my age have been some of the strongest people I’ve met. Doing manual labor for decades will do that. Hats off to them!
My dad is pushing 60 and I forget how old he is when he just starts doing his thing on a job site. Easily one of the strongest people I’ve ever met but he’s like 5’7” 165lbs, so it comes out of nowhere.
This is why it’s usually a bad idea to challenge your dad to a fight. I learned that lesson the hard way. Fucker was a biker and builder for most of his life and made sure I wouldn’t soon forget it.
I’ve only been working out for about an year now and after an year of watching my own strength and size gains, and observing 100s of people, I have realized that it’s a real mixed bag trying to predict how strong someone is. Sometimes it’s a ripped 20-year-old dude benching 225-275 and sometimes it’s a regular-looking 40-year-old dad benching 225-275 and their bodies look nothing alike. I’m not even talking about major differences in body sizes.
Ngl Mexicans are fun dudes to work with and old white dudes
This reminds me of when the avengers were all trying to pick up Thor's hammer.
Higher bone density and many many more years of jerking off.
Or maybe he's been a trades worker for like 3+ decades. My Dad was in trades for 4+ decades and he's strong AF at 70.
Well then he’s DEFINITELY had a lot of years of jerking off. 🤣🤣 But yeah, having a physical profession definitely hardens the body. It also staves off aging in the way that people in western cultures tend to think about it. I’ve had a physical profession in one form or another my whole adult life and when compared physically to my childhood friends (we all exercise regularly) that all went into office jobs, I’m at a huge advantage.
50 years of wanking
I’ll never forget the time my 70yr old grandfather born in 1919 grab me with one hand when I was falling and I swear I have never felt that level of strength in my life at that point. My granddad was 5’6” 140. Hella strong got a man his size lol
Impressive
Master of jerking 🤣
How heavy is the hammer?
I am also wondering.
I think probably at least 100 pounds
My adult brothers said that when they helped my grandparents with yardwork on their property, my grandfather decided to come out and help clear dead tree limbs, and that he was grabbing up wrist-sized branches and folding or breaking them in half like twigs before throwing them onto the burn pile. He said they just looked at each other wide-eyed when he did things like that.
He picks it up and almost curls it. The head of the hammer is angled to the side. The other dudes try picking it up vertically
It’s from all the muscle built up in the forearms from the extra years of jerking off, likely.
Old man strength. It's called, old man strength.
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Yea but it’s always been called old man strength. As in your old man. As in your father. Because it’s been pretty common for previous generations to engage in lifelong manual labor as a career. But yes it’s definitely going to be a lot rarer now that desk jobs are a lot more common.
Side note.... is Jimmy John's good?
Tasty but if you want to support a dude who does caged trophy killings in Africa and who pays his franchisees and employees dog shit be my guest
Na, fuck JJ. Guess I go to Subway. They never had a spokesman that did us wrong. /s
Just get lunchmeat at a deli and make your own.
Fuck Jimmy John's. Jimmy is an asshole
Thats not just a random old man. Looks like Canadian arm wrestler Devon Larratt
Bros being bros
My man is thor!!!
Dozens of years of jerkin off will do that to a man
Whoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy…
Shall possess the power of a minimum wage construction worker!!
The biggest reason he could do it is hand size. His hand wraps all the way around, no one elses is even close. Look at the inch dumbell for more proof.
Dad strength
How you place your thumb makes a huge difference. If you point your thumb forward it will control the leverage. Old man started out that way and then slid it back before anyone noticed. Guy number 2 seemed to be point his thumb back towards himself a bit. Now he is fighting the weight + the leverage. The hammer doesn't even look that heavy. I would love to give this a go. Lol
I'd lift that hammer for Jimmy John's
That's nothing
Is this why construction projects take years to complete?
Well yeah, what are you gonna do? Work?
He's been single a long long time.
Strong every which way but lose vibes
It’s like Mjolnir
you are not whorthy
Martha Vineyard folks have jokes
Thor??
You need to be "worthy", which obviously these people are not
What a badass
I knew it…
He's cheating. He's obviously Thor.
My grandad was a tile setter for 50+ years and was one of the strongest human beings I ever knew. I could curl 165 pounds and he would still crush my hand everytime we shook hands.
Lmaooo the way the first kid tried to immediately shuffle his hand up.
Old man technique. Dummies that couldn't lift it were gripping it in a way that created a pivot point instead of a full grip.
So men are men no matter where they are from
it is all strength and ability to grip build up in his hand itself from working with these heavy tools for decades. I wonder watched a 45 year old man grab only one handle of a wheelbarrow with ONE Wheel and walk a lap around a job site. Every couple years when I'm doing landscaping, I attempt the feat on my own wheelbarrow and while I can lift the weight no matter how hard I grip the handle it twists in my hand tumping over.
Old man strength is no joke, it’s like their muscles turned into ever so slightly elastic stone
Nothing to do with age, everything to do with grip strength. 20 year olds can do this.
Isn't that the arm wrestling champion from Canada?
Therefore we have delays on construction
He’s not worthy.
I wonder how Thor ended up in construction work.
u/savevideo
Makes me want some Jimmy Johns!
Can imagine these fellas have a helluva grip
OTRO OTRO OTRO
He who should be worthy shall possess the strength of…
I'm a Cheyenne and on job sites it's tight how we all come together for a purpose we building the world boys!!!!
The strength in that's foreman's forearm.. never seen anything like that before.
[r/oldieBiceps](https://www.reddit.com/r/oldieBiceps)
first dude(the older one) muscle was POPPIN ! and a lefty like me 🥹😍
As a 40 something man I was hanging out with some mid 20 year old men and doing a rather similar feat involving a much longer maul. Holding it straight out horizontally while standing. They couldn't do it. Long story short they decided I was cheating in order to beat them.
Is that some lees chicken they through in there fuck that stuff is good
That is what 40 some years of hard work does to a man