I grab the 2x4 toward the end, but not ON the end like with the brick but on the side of the 2x4..so that I am supporting it in a hammer grip or halfway between fully pronated and fully supinated. Or neutral grip. Hand faces the torso. (How many different ways can I say this)?

Then you put a small weight on it close to the hand. Hold it for time. And to progress you simply slide the weight down the board away from the hand. It's a perfect way to progress and it is a bit like the sledge hammer levers but in this case you're just holding.

Now, if you try to hold it at the end you will probably see why I don't do that. The weight ends up seeming like it is right on the ends of the fingers and it is just overwhelming for the fingers and I don't think healthy or helpful. But the hammer grip to the side allows you to fist it more and it's also taxing the wrist from the side so you attack wrist stability that way as well.

This is a bit awkward but you can do it with the board facing behind you so that the wirst is stressed from the other direction. You just need to set it down, back up to it, and carefully get a grip and lift it up so that the 2x4 is at your side. So, this is a bit like what the grip crowd calls a weaver stick lever or a rear sledge lever except with a 2x4.

A 2.5 pound weight works fine if you have it, but obviously the longer the board the heavier.

But from a tissue standpoint you can't start with a weight that is so hard that you overload the ligs and tends and from a progression standpoint you just won't be able to progress if the starting weight is so near maximal adding time or weight to it represents huge percentages.

Totally agree, I should have included that in the original article. Thanks for bringing it up.

Perspective is always nice.

Yes, of course the weight does not matter as long as you are able to progress. But from a tissue standpoint you can't start with a weight that is so hard that you overload the ligs and tends and from a progression standpoint you just won't be able to progress if the starting weight is so near maximal adding time or weight to it represents huge percentages.

As long as it is light enough then all that matters is progression.

You guys know I don't really think in terms of numbers much but think about a brick that you can hold for two seconds. Add one second to that and it's a LOT. 50 percent increase. Silly I know but it puts it in perspective. On the other hand take a brick you can hold for 25 seconds and add five seconds to that. 20 percent increase. You get me….

So it sounds like your bricks weight more than my pavers. Joe would know better but concrete may vary more in weight depending on how it's mixed. Clay is pretty darn dense. I don't know if my pavers are really light or your bricks are really heavy but 16 total pounds could be a lot to start with for sure.

Absolutely, the material in the concrete has a big impact on the weight. Normal concrete about 2300kg/m^3, clay brick is about 2000 and lightweight concrete is about 1700-1900. E, I think your pavers might be a lightweight concrete.

It doesn't really matter what the material is or how much it weighs. The different weights only affect progression and we all know workarounds for that. But if your bricks are 8lbs each then that makes sense. I was thinking they were much lighter, 4-5lbs. And you're doing the exercise correctly, so it must be just the weight difference.

I should really weigh mine out and see how much my stack is. I've been going by # of bricks and not weight. I've been assuming a weight but I may have underestimated or overestimated it.

:-P

So it sounds like your bricks weight more than my pavers. Joe would know better but concrete may vary more in weight depending on how it's mixed. Clay is pretty darn dense. I don't know if my pavers are really light or your bricks are really heavy but 16 total pounds could be a lot to start with for sure.

Just put something else on the brick, if you can, to start, and build up to the other brick.

Here are the two pics I took of them….Btw, they're each wrapped in newspaper neatly so you won't be able to see the color..

Take a pic or a video of the bricks and how you are holding it, I'm still not convinced you should be having a tough time with a stack of one brick. Something is not adding up for me.

Oh, if you have a scale, measure the weight of one of your bricks. Some clay bricks are heavier than others, depending on the coring and whatnot.

I would take a pic but I wrapped them up in newspaper to avoid them from crumbling and dirtying my house…I'm going to buy some concrete bricks tomorrow. I was too impulsive in buying this today… Didn't think it through…LOL….But it's ok. Each one was for 3 INR and 48 INR makes 1$ so you do the math…

What kind of bricks are they? Are they clay or concrete? If you take a pic or tell me the colour of them I should be able to tell you what it is.

The reason I ask is because 2 clay bricks would only be about 10lbs, and holding one brick with another crosswise is not much resistance at all. I'm thinking you either bought some heavier bricks or you may be doing something a bit wonky.

I saw that exact same thing (sticking point smashers) when I was looking around. At first I thought it was an e-book or some money scam, lol, until I read more and found out what it was.

You know, your bag idea will work with a barbell as well. Just strap it to the ends with a brocolli elastic (possibly the most versatile piece of vegetable equipment, lol) or something similar. The bag will deform around the bar and stay in place with the elastic. Provided you get most of the air out when you seal it. A medium sized Ziploc freezer bag would work well.

You want to know a really dirty trick for the brick lift? If you use a hollow brick (a brick with holes in it) most of the time you can fit one of those old school camera film containers in the hole. You know, the little black plastic canisters that film came in. You can fill that with shot, bb's or what have you and stack multiple canisters in the holes. They may be taller than a brick but it will insert into the bottom of the next brick. The lids may not fit through but you don't need them anyway.

Speaking of Hermman Goerner AND of microloading I saw at the oldtime strongman site a pretty cool looking product by Mike Brown called "sticking point smashers". They are based on the shot loaded globes that oldtimers like Goerner used to use and are used for microloading with mere ounces. It's two cylinders that go on a barbell which shot can be added to. Each one can hold a total of 2.5 pounds when fully loaded. That would be a very excellent way to microload. Heck, your could probalby set one of those cylinders on a brick and just add shot to it. Add another cylinder. Take off the cylinders and add a brick when ready. Repeat. Pretty cool.

And while I was pondering that it occured to me that a small ziploc bag filled with whatever heavy stuff you wanted..sand, bb's, etc..would be great for the brick lift. Because it wouldn't slide off or topple off as easy. Very simple to add a bit of weight to the bag as you progress.

Large washers are excellent for this exercise.