StrongMan Fingals Fingers

How to do the StrongMan Fingals Fingers

1. 1Set the Fingal's Finger implement upright in its pivot base on the ground and stand at the base end, feet shoulder-width apart.
2. 2Hinge at the hips and grip the shaft low with both hands, one hand above the other, as if setting up a deadlift.
3. 3Brace your core, take a deep breath, and drive through your legs to pull the implement off the ground into a deadlift position.
4. 4Continue driving upward, shifting your hands higher up the shaft as the implement rises to leverage it vertically.
5. 5Once the implement passes vertical, press and push it forward and over, driving with your chest and shoulders to complete the tip.
6. 6Step to the other side of the fallen implement, reposition your grip at the base end, and repeat the movement in the opposite direction.
7. 7Maintain an upright torso and tight core throughout each repetition to protect the lower back under maximal load.
8. 8Continue tipping the implement back and forth for the required number of reps or until the time limit expires.

Form tips

• Keep your back flat and chest tall as you initiate the deadlift pull — rounding under a 400+ lb implement dramatically increases injury risk.
• Walk your hands up the shaft fluidly as the implement rises; hesitating mid-lift stalls momentum and makes the tip-over far harder.
• Use your legs as the primary driver off the ground, then convert to a hip and shoulder push as the lever passes vertical.
• Wear a weightlifting belt for heavy implements — intra-abdominal pressure is critical when handling extreme loads through such a long range of motion.
• Practice the movement pattern with a lighter implement before attempting competition weights to groove footwork and hand-slide timing.

Common mistakes

• Rounding the lower back on the initial pull: picking up an extremely heavy implement with a rounded spine places dangerous shear forces on the lumbar discs and greatly increases injury risk.
• Gripping too high at the start: grabbing the shaft high before the implement is moving reduces leverage at the base and makes breaking it off the ground far more difficult.
• Using arms instead of legs to initiate the lift: trying to muscle the implement up with the arms and back rather than driving through the legs wastes energy and overloads the lower back.
• Losing core tension mid-rep: relaxing the brace as the implement passes vertical exposes the spine at the moment of maximum load transfer from back to chest and shoulders.
• Standing too far from the base: poor foot placement relative to the pivot reduces mechanical advantage and forces the lifter to fight unnecessary lateral forces throughout the tip.

Frequently asked questions