I want to spend some time talking about the stone lift for those who are interested in training for the sport of the strongman. The movement begins with your feet straddling over the stone and as you squat down your torso must be over the stone while your arms wrap around it and your hands as deep under it as possible. A key to this movement is making sure your hands are centered under the stone and making sure your gluteus gets low so you can incorporate them into the lift. The preparation phase of this movement is when you begin to squeeze and start to pick the stone up. Next as you begin to lift the stone you start to recruit the muscles in your glutes, hamstrings, forearms, scapulae, and humerus. This phase is also where you put the stone into your lap. The next phase is the movement phase where you want to pop your hips through and start to move the stone upwards. When in the lap position you must fire your hips and accelerate with power to drive the stone up as the muscles begin to contract. The point of this lift is to lift the stone high enough to put it over a bar at a certain height. As you start to come up with the stone during the movement phase, you go into the follow through phase. This is very important because this is where you can’t stop pulling upwards. You need to continue to follow through with the lift and pop that stone over the bar. It is important that you don’t cut your follow through short or you will miss getting the stone over so sometimes my training partners actually start yelling me to continue my follow through. I believe the most important phase is the movement phase because if you don’t generate enough power during the initial part of the lift upwards then you will not break out of the hole and the stone will go nowhere.
Joint Motion Analysis - Kinematic Analysis
A) Hip
1. The action of the hip during the stone lift is in the beginning of the lift the hip is flexed which leads to the end of the lift where the hip is extended. During the transition phase of the hip being flexed to extend is where you want the most power to come during the lift and this also leads to ankle and knee extension. The extension of the hip, knee, and ankle is called the triple extension which is a very athletic movement and can generate lots of power. (Westside and Stone Lifting/www.totalperformancesports.com;Bob Jodoin)
2. As the hip extends the hip joints move through the sagittal plane because during the beginning of the movement the hips are back and then are moved forward to generate power.
3. The hip joints move through the mediolateral axis during the lift.
4. In the beginning or the initial pick up of the stone the center of gravity must be low because you need to generate force off the ground to pick up the stone. As the lift continues the center of gravity gets higher because the body starts to rise to lift the stone.
5. The sequence of the joints during the movement is in the beginning to lift the stone everything has to work together so during the initial pick up of the stone the hip, thoracic, lumbar, scapulae, and humerus are all very active. As the stone is lapped and the movement of the stone begins upward, the humerus, scapulae, lumbar, and thoracic are all in isometric action to stay contracted to help hold the stone close to the body and tight. Then the hip joints begin to fire to help propel the stone upwards and during this all of the other joints are staying contracted and tight so everything continues to work together to help move that stone up. The movement was very athletic because it incorporates balance, coordination, core work, and the triple extension which is used in many athletic movements.
B) Lumbar and Thoracic Spine
1. During the beginning of the movement the lumbar spine and thoracic spine are flexed and towards the end of the movement they are extended. The lumbar and thoracic spine is about parallel to the stone when trying to pick it up and as the sequence continues they become more erect because if they didn’t then that means you are not getting that stone up.
2. The lumbar and thoracic spine move through the saggital plane as it become more erect during the lift.
3. The lumbar and thoracic spine move through the mediolateral axis during the lift.
C) Shoulder Complex including scapulae and humerus
1. In the beginning of the lift both the anterior and posterior of the scapulae and humerus are working to pick up that stone. The anterior part of both the scapulae and humerus are working together to contract and help squeeze up the stone to pick it up along with the cross section of the pecs. Throughout the lift they are both staying contract to help hold onto the stone as the body moves upwards. This is seen when watching the video of the stone lift you can actual see the posterior part of the scapulae flexing to stay tight.(Sieg and Adams;58-66)
2. The scapulae and humerus help move the arms through the saggital plane throughout the lift.
3. The scapulae and humerus move through the mediolateral axis during the movement.
Kinetic Analysis
A) Hip
1. The prime movers of the hip during the movement are the extensor muscles that include the gluteus maximus and the hamstring group that includes the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. Also the flexion muscles which are the illiopsoas, pectineus, and rectus femoris. Also this includes the internal and external rotators of the hip including the gluteus medius and minimus.The hip goes through an eccentric and concentric action during the lift. (Sieg and Adams; 119-121)
2. The anatomical lever system was used because these muscle had to work together to create extension of the hips and that is what happen because if it did not the stone would not have been lifted.(Biomechanics and Muscle Anatomy;Martini,Chapter 11)
B) Lumbar and Thoracic spine
1. The prime movers during this movement are the rectus abdominis, Illicostalis, longissimus, and spinalis. Along with the deep spinal muscles including interspinales, semispinalis, and rotatores. The lumbar and thoracic spine go through an isometric action causing the core of the body to stay tight so that balance is kept and you don’t fall forward or backwards. It also goes through an eccentric and concentric action during the movement.
2. The anatomical lever system was used to help the spine to be over the stone and then become more erect as the lift comes to an end and to be stable.
C) Scapulae and Humerus
1. The prime movers of the scapulae are the upper trapezius, levator scapulae, lower trapezius, pectoralis minor, middle ttrapezius, and rhomboids. The prime movers of the humerus are the anterior deltoid, latissimus dorsi, biceps brachii, infraspinatus, and the posterior deltoid. During the lift these muscles are in isometric action to help hold the stone close to my body. These muscles are all contracting and staying tight so I can squeeze the stone. (Sieg and Adams;61-66)
2. The anatomical lever system was used because my limbs were used to help pick up and hold the stone. Also as the lift continues the shoulder joints are working to help move the stone upwards and finish the lift.
The stone lift is a trademark event for any strongman competition. It is one of the oldest events in strongman history and it tests not only explosive power but brute strength. The stone lift incorporates so much of the body that I believe it is one of the best movements for any strength athlete. Making sure to think about what you’re doing before you begin the lift and run through the steps in your head, I feel is very beneficial. Each week I try to learn and access new ways that I can improve my stone lifting, so gains can continue to be made. Remember if you want to be a strongman than get out there and start lifting some stones!
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