| Meeting The Hammer Man And Training Ideas for Hammers By Tom Black When I first posted the picture of myself and Slim The Hammer Man Farman I had no idea the amount of attention and curiosity it would draw from readers of my web site. Many e-mails I received, while starting with weightlifting or nail bending comments or questions, always seemed to end with questions about Mr. Farman. I would have never of considered writing an article about my meeting with him, which only lasted about 5 minutes, if not for the questions that so many people have asked.
Here is the full account of my meeting according to my journal: When I sat watching the farmers walk competition at York I struck up a conversation with a guy named Bob and his friend Terry. Both guys were grip fanatics, and Bob to this day is the only person I have ever met in person who could bend a 60 penny nail (other than Mr. Farman of course). Terry and Bob mentioned that they had met Mr. Farman at other strength events in Pennsylvania and that they would not be surprised if he were to show up at the Strength Spectacular. Almost as if on cue, Terry turned around and saw Slim the Hammer Man Farman standing about 20 feet behind us! Mr. Farman was standing by himself and apparently no one recognized him except Terry and Bob. They walked up and started a conversation with perhaps the greatest living strongman, and certainly the greatest leverage lifter of all time. I went over too, but probably would not have without Terry and Bob because I would not have recognized him. This is because in most pictures I had seen of him his head was tilted back with hammers over his nose! Terry and Bob asked Mr. Farman if he had ever bent the Ironmind red nail (7"x5/16" cold rolled steel). They also told him that only John Brookfield had bent the nail into a U-shape. Mr. Farman said he had never tried the Ironmind red nail, but apparently with deference to Brookfield, Mr. Farman stated that if Brookfield was the only man to have bent the nail then he probably could not. Brookfield's book, Mastery of Hand Strength, mentions that Mr. Farman is the only person known to Brookfield that can bend 100-penny nails. In my mind, this is probably on par with bending the Ironmind red nail. I was unaware at the time of Mr. Farman's accident at the stone quarry where he worked, having ordered the Mighty Atom book but not as of yet receiving it. For those who do not know, Slim the Hammer Man Farman was the protégé of The Mighty Atom. Ed Spielman stated in the book that the Hammer Man was the "Spiritual offspring" of the Mighty Atom. Bob and Terry asked Mr. Farman to describe the incident. Reading about his accident in the book later simply paled in comparison to watching Slim stretch out his huge hands and speak of how tons of rock had fallen upon his hands during the accident. His hands were spellbinding, with veins popping out of them and the wildly spectacular scars from the accident. On any other person they would not have existed, simply because Slim convinced the Doctors that they would not amputate his left hand. I asked him how long he had been using hammers in his act and he replied with an odd mystic tone "longer than you've been on the Earth." I then asked him how much he was using on the hammers and he gestured with his hands about waist height and said that he was currently doing 56 pounds with two hammers held out in front. The first issue of Milo lists his world record as 31.25 pounds each, levered over his head. I was embarrassed to tell him that I levered an 8 pound hammer to my nose but I mentioned that I had a few years to catch up to him. Two years later I can now do 12.5 pounds with strict form, 10 pounds no problem. Ever since I closed the number 2 gripper I don't bear down too hard when I shake someone's hand, but I definitely didn't worry about that with Slim. His hand felt like shaking a piece of steel! Training Like the Hammer Man Some people have asked me if I know how Slim the Hammer Man Farman trains. Unfortunately I don't know specifics, however, I've gleaned from the Mighty Atom book that Slim performs heavy singles. This is, of course, basically what he does in shows. He levers the handles up till the handles are perpendicular to the ground and then levers them down to his nose and back. It is described in the Mighty Atom book as "slowly, without moving an arm or bending an elbow." I am working on an a more comprehensive article on sledgehammer lifting, but in the mean time here are some pointers. It is beneficial to perform both the heaviest weight you can with strict form as the main stress in a workout with and without wrist warps (Slim uses wrist wraps in his shows). I must emphasize that in order for an overhead sledgehammer lift to be considered strict the hand must be held up at least as high as your head. Below that point, the torque is significantly reduced. By using the wrist wraps you can work the shoulders more because of the heavier weight, but the main stress point is clearly the wrists. In fact, I can do the hammers after working the hands with crushers and thick dumbbells and take very little off of my hammer levering because these exercises don't fatigue my wrist that much. Types of Hammer Lifts: 1-Lever one hammer starting at vertical and
down to the nose or slightly above and to the
front of the head (see picture below). It is of course not necessary to train with two hammers all of the time, but it should be practiced occasionally because I have found it helps to increase concentration. This is due to the simple reason that you do not have your other hand to catch the weight if it falls to your head, thus making concentration more important! Use a little less weight and don't go as close to the maximum wrist strain and you should be able to swing the hammers away from your head and down to the floor if you fail to stabilize the hammers above your head. In the picture I am levering a 10 pound hammer on the left and a 10 pound hammer with a 2.5 pound plate attached on the right.
I also do heavy overloads and negatives. It is critical that these lifts are performed with one hand because of their severity. You will need your other hand to catch the weight on the way down and move it away from your head. I've done as much as 21 pounds in this manner, but would recommend doing 18 pounds for someone who can do 10 or 12 pounds strictly. I also try to hold the overload weight up without levering (the handle perpendicular to the floor). I believe this helps build shoulder strength needed for really big lifts. Consider that not only is Slim levering the hammer, but he is also performing a 31 pound crucifix lift combined with the lever lift. This is impressive, even if the hammers were not even levered to the nose! One other thing I am experimenting with is placing the head of the hammer on the top of a door or door molding and doing the lift from the bottom position. If you try this you will be amazed how much more difficult it is to do than starting from the top. The lift is a little awkward, but it seems to be good to grab the hammer with both hands with the handle directly above your head and the hammer resting behind you on the door. Of course, don't let the hammer head slip off the door, otherwise it will hit you in the head. If you have the strength to lift the hammer off the door this shouldn't be a problem. I've gotten quite a few good comments in
respect to my two hammer grip overhead shot. Here
it is again, just in case you have not seen my
homepage. How is it done? Very carefully! Start
with the hammers on the floor with the handles
overlapping. The farther the handles overlap the
easier it is to do the lift. Lift the handles up
to your hip and parallel to the
floor. Next, rotate them so that they
are Recommendations for buying a sledgehammer There are some people who think sledgehammer lifting is easy, if you are one, go out and buy a 16 pound hammer and find out the hard way the difficulty of levering a sledgehammer. Note that John Brookfield, in the first picture in "Mastery of Hand Strength," levers a 10-pound sledgehammer (I'm not sure how much harder it is to do with a woman on your shoulder as in his picture). I highly recommend that you start with a 6 pound hammer. Even if you can lever it to your nose right away there are other things that can be done with a 6 pound hammer. You can also add more weight to a hammer by using an ax handle protector to hold on the weight. Simply slip Olympic plates down the handle and then the ax handle protector. That's it for now. Good luck, and don't hit yourself in the head. Copyright September 2000, Tom Black |
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I spoke directly with Mr. Farman for
5 minutes at the 1998 York Barbell Strength
Spectacular in Pennsylvania. Before then I
listened as he spoke with a group of 4 people
about hammer levering and his work at the stone
quarry. I am very fortunate that I keep a journal
and have used it to jog my memory of that great
day (I highly recommend everybody keep a
journal). Some aspects of meeting with Mr. Farman
are etched in my mind (like the size of his
hands). I will never forget the awe that was
struck in me that day. 
perpendicular to the floor and held
at arms length out in front. Finally, rotate them
above your head. If your grip is close to failing
at this point have your other hand ready to catch
the handles, grab the one closer to your head
first :-) I bent down to one knee in the
picture merely to get a good camera shot because
my background sheet is low. I think it
makes the picture more dramatic. I did this after
doing my Captain's of Crush and