Strongman 101: How to Stone Load - Atlas Stone Training Tips

[@steelwarrior105]

Love how consistent Bromley has been in content quality, usually I hate to go back to old videos from creators I like because they are usually pretty rough but Bromley is such a naturally good presenter that even with old gear he still has the it factor

[@nickcustodi592]

Thank you for this! Just started practicing these for my first strongman comp and I really appreciate any of the practical pearls of wisdom you have to share

[@yarbaystrength]

The best stone tutorial on the internet👏

[@grasucat1720]

Best stone lifting tutorial I've seen thus far on youtube.. do you have any idea on how stone work can be incorporated into a 5/3/1 or even bodybuilding routine?

[@emmasillars6648]

Been searching for a video that shows how to one motion the stone - thanks for this. Great content as always.

[@DavidLamison]

I know this is an old video but thank you bro I’m JUST starting strong man and this is very helpful

[@socratisanastopoulos6420]

Pure Gold info!!!!!

[@addstrength1422]

Great stuff man. Don't know why you don't have more views. I'd put your strongman stuff up there with anybody.

[@buffalokettlebell]

Great vid pal. Very thorough and sense making!

[@mikemanzo7681]

Awesome video thank you! What assistant exercises would you recommend to do in a atlas stone training day. Thank you

[@mustang8206]

"Nobody comes into Atlas Stones and does well unless they have experience" Unless you've been with gifted with being freakishly tall. Which sadly I am not

[@mattsowers8772]

Alexander when trying to get the stone to the lap do you think of pushing the floor away the feet and also what type of exercises would you recommend to get the stone off the ground faster

[@victorianstrengthclub6858]

Have you found shorter femurs and shorter arms makes larger stones quite difficult to lap? I’m the opposite with long legs and long arms and have never had to worry about it, but a few of my athletes have had to figure out some different techniques once the stone is getting close to 380/400#

[@AlexanderBromley]

Hadn't thought much about the femurs before. Thinking about it now, it makes sense. Short limbed loaders like myself seem to squat down into the stone with the butt back to get the hands and feet to line up right. When I initiate the lap, I'm leg pressing into the ground until it's high enough to scoop forward into it. I watched one of your stone videos and you seem to keep the hips high and rely on more hip extension. I think that's pretty consistent with other similarly built guys. I'm guessing your short limbed guys have trouble getting it past the knee? Once I got to very large diameter stones, the 3 inches or so below the knee became no-mans-land. I gave a run at a 22" 450 and it breaks nicely then just stops. If I'm connecting dots, my stone lap style mirrors my deadlift style: hips back, squatted into the weight, lots of leg drive at the start. Hamstring strength has been an issue since I don't have a ton of pure hip extensions in my program, so the same dead-spot pops up when I stone load as when I dead lift. Seems like the fix to get bigger stones over the knee is more hamstring strength, more stiffness in my midsection (I don't trust my lower back as much as I need to), and likely a faster, more aggressive break off the ground. Let me know what you guys find out.

[@victorianstrengthclub6858]

@@AlexanderBromley Thanks for the response and thoughts. One problem with larger stones is there is now way to practice them with lighter weights haha! For now I'm suggesting everyone aims to get stronger in all areas and see if we can get half the stone over the knee in order to roll it up as you mentioned. I'll be having a crack at a 374# stone this weekend that is a smaller diameter to previous stones of the same weight that i have tried in the past. That'll be a great test of strength vs leverages I'm hoping.

[@bloodypommelstudios7144]

First time I tried stones I managed a 265 pretty easily, my deadlift and squat were about 480 and 400 at the time. Does that mean I'm built for stones?

[@AlexanderBromley]

Hard to say if you're built for it but it's a good sign you didn't struggle. Emily (who won her class at America's Strongest Man this year) loaded a 265 stone at 140lbs body weight with a 245 max squat. Built for it or not, the only way to get better is to train it!

[@bloodypommelstudios7144]

@@AlexanderBromley Stone lifting more than her squat, that's crazy.