Sledgehammers and Tires for conditioning
 

I had never entertained the whole sledgehammer to tire thing until recently because we just moved into a place that has a little backyard.

Where can I get old tires at? I've read that sometimes people find tires on the side of the road or go to a junkyard. The only other idea I had was to wait until I had to get my tires changed on one of the cars and just grab that one?

Also what sledgehammers do people use for this? In Mike Mahlers article on T-nation today he said to start with an 8 pounder and work up to the 16 lb'er.

Thanks.

You could probably just go to a tire shop and ask for any old tire of theirs. It saves them from the expense of recycling one.

My mom recently got her tires changed, so I asked her to bring me home one of them. The guy working there was actually nice enough to give me a different used tire that was in much better condition than any of the ones we were getting replaced.

I've found auto/truck tires to be a bit too squirrely for me with sledge work. I like semi tires, they stay pretty well.

Go to a tire place and ask them if they have any undesirables, like Patrick said. I got two nice semi tires that way.

Make sure to drill holes on all "three" sides of the tire, so that water can escape--unless you like creating mosquito havens.

Get a big one so you can flip it.

Semi tires are ok for dragging and hitting, but too light for flipping. You want a tire off a Front Loader or some big friggin earth moving machine. My tire stands about 5", weighs maybe 200-225 and I'm ready for a bigger one.

Find a large tire shop that works on big stuff, they'll give you one or charge just a few bucks for the casing.

Say you're doing it for a Youth Fitness program or Strong Man comp, and they'll bend over to help ya.

I have an 8lb sledge, works good, guess you could start with a 10 as your such a beast.

Just don't let the damn thing bounce back off the tire and whack ya. You'll be in some serious hurt. Try not to smash any other body parts as you are now moving into some funky stuff. While you're out trolling for tires, stop into a beer distributor, buy an old dented up keg. Add water-more fun then reading the "Starting" thread on the CF boards.

I've got both types of tires myself.

I like the semi ones for sledge work, they allow for a longer swing. They're also good for folks who need lighter tires for flipping.

I believe my big tire is around 300-350#. It's fun too.

You can get hammers at your local Lowes or Home Depot, but I think the cheapest place (and biggest variety) I've found is Harbor Freight Tools. Last time I stopped in, they had 2# increments from 8 - 16#, all for around $20 or$24.

The tire place we go to is great. We offered the guy $20 for his trouble, but he wouldn't even take it. Apparently it's pretty spendy to pay someone to come out and haul them away for recycling, so they're glad when someone takes a few off their hands.

I have a "yard" now because I used to have nothing but I think I could flip it once and then have to flip it back the other way, plus my wife would kill me if I brought some huge tire home that took up 1/4 of my "yard." I look forward to the day when we actually buy our own place where I can have a backyard.

Good call on the keg, how much does that run around?

So what would you say is a good weight to start off with? 10 or 12#? I'm thinking 8 seems light but then again I've never done anything with a sledgehammer other than actual work.