maratoolAtlas Stone Trainer
How to do the atlas stone trainer
- This trainer is effective for developing Atlas Stone strength for those who don't have access to stones, and are typically made from bar ends or heavy pipe.
- Begin by loading the desired weight onto the bar. Straddle the weight, wrapping your arms around the implement, bending at the hips.
- Begin by pulling the weight up past the knees, extending through the hips. As the weight clears the knees, it can be lapped by resting it on your thighs and sitting back, hugging it tightly to your chest.
- Finish the movement by extending through your hips and knees to raise the weight as high as possible. The weight can be returned to the lap or to the ground for successive repetitions.
Muscles worked
The prime movers are the spinal erectors running either side of the lumbar spine, which hold the spine extended instead of letting it round under load.
Because more than one joint is moving, the work does not stay in one place: the biceps add force at the elbow; the forearms hold the grip, which is often what gives out first; the glutes finish hip extension.
The hamstrings and quadriceps take a share of the work as well.
Every exercise for:Lower backBicepsForearmsGlutesHamstrings
How this movement works
The load travels toward you and several joints bend to bring it there. The arms finish work the back starts, so grip and elbow flexors sit in the path of every repetition: when people stall on a compound pull, it is more often the hands giving out than the primary muscle running out of force.
It is filed under strongman, where the load is deliberately awkward rather than balanced. Most of the difficulty goes on holding on and staying braced.
What you need
These train the lower back too, using equipment this one does not:
- Back Extension on Stability Ballexercise ball
- Barbell Dead Liftsbarbell
- Dumbbell Dead Liftsdumbbell
- Hyperextensionsbench
- Hyperextensions With No Hyperextension Benchbody only
Difficulty
Listed at intermediate level. It assumes you already own the underlying pattern and can hold position under load — if the position breaks before the target muscle tires, drop back to a beginner variation until it does not.
Of the 35 lower back exercises in this database, 12 are listed at intermediate level.
Photos: free-exercise-db — public domain (Unlicense) Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.