Dinnie Stone training

Thanks, for the info. I saw there's a fellow in England who sells replica rings and loading pins and I was thinking of getting those. I didn't know if those would be of much benefit over the ring handle I use for weights.

I've seen Gordon Dinnie's site and look at it often when daydreaming about going over there to lift them. Now it's a reality that I'll get to go, so now I just need to get ready. I hadn't seen the powerropes site before, thanks.

Bill - I've watched your video many times. Thank you for all the advice. I have my wfd ring that is about 1/2" to 3/4" around I think, and besides one handed ring pulls, I was thinking rack pulls, trap bar deads and I already do heavy squats and conventional deads. Thanks for the technical advice on the lifting (ie, using the smaller one as a ballast).

Larry - Awesome picture. Seeing that picture got me fired up. I need to print that picture out and tape it to my power rack.

climber511 - I'm thinking of heading to Ohio for your grip contest. I have a cousin heading there (Josh Dale) and he asked if I wanted to come along. It'll depend on how many deer I shoot before then as that weekend is one of our doe only season weekends (got one deer so far, season opened saturday). How’d you make the trainers? Are they just rings with loading pins?

Nesa – I just realized what your real name was, I’ve read an article of yours concerning stone lifting a dozen times.

I plan on making some replicas to train with. At the moment I am trying to figure logistics on how to train for the Dinnies while doing my normal lifting. But, as I told a friend of mine "My goal to lift the Dinnies may be a one shot deal, I'll have the rest of my life to get more PRs with my deadlift once I get home from Scotland."

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Hey Travis,

How's the Dinnie training going ?

Obviously Skullsplitter and Erik are the experts having done them more than I, I was there just at the start of the New Year - Youtube me: lhkeen - also Inver and Menzies stone.

Having lived in Scotland for 10 years before coming to Oz, it was a one time or nothing deal for me too - I don't get conference leave/travel as others do ;).

From Potarch for the Dinnie's you go west on the main road towards Braemar - about 5 miles before Braemar is Crathie (where the Royals go to church from Balmoral) and the Inver Hotel - the Inver stone is in Mrs Richard's garden opposite - she's brilliant ! Even got a photo with her on a dark and freezing night - while the kids ran riot in her living room.

If you can - carry on through Braemar and drive down through Glenshee - you can then turn off the road further west towards Aberfeldy (I don't remember road numbers and stuff - buy a map or use google) - then at Aberfeldy cross the bridge to Weem and go to Castle Menzies - where the smoothest frickin stone I've ever lifted sits on a tree stump at the front of the castle - now that is the scene truly awe inspiring ! Then go have a beer at the Weem Hotel !

As for training - do more grip than me - I had to use straps.

Good luck - enjoy Scotland - and England (I'm originally from Leicester - but dont go there). You'll never see everything unless you go for 2 months (or a year).

Lance

I have some replica rings and loading pins that I have been working with so far. I've been getting ready for a powerlifting meet in April so all I've done Dinnie specific so far is play with positions with my set up (which I only have 250/200 on at the moment). So my only training so far has been heavy deads and squats.

I tried to make reservations at Potarch and it was booked the entire week I am going to be in Scotland. So I'm staying down the road at Aboyne. I'll be trying the Dinnies either the night of September 7th or the morning of the 8th. We are leaving Edinburgh the morning of the 7th, visiting Stirling on the way up so my wife wants me to wait until the morning so I can rest up.

I can see my grip limiting me so I want to work on it. I'd like to pull the stones without straps but I'll take some just in case.

I'll definitely update once I get back.

bert's right, the pea gravel is really tough, and the big one is pretty wide and awkward to lift in the wide stance/one arm in front & one in back position...and the lighter stone has a very small handle, so if you've got big mitts, be prepared to have your fingers squeezed together.

the lady who has the inver stone was super sweet - invited us in out of the chill and chatted with us for a while in her little living room.  now that i think about it, I wish we would have brought her a gift for her hospitality...she was a great embassador for Scotland.

it's an amazing trip - perhaps one of the best days of my life running around in a van looking for those things.

enjoy the driving and the scenery as much as the history of the stones and the challenge...good luck.

Be very carefull with these dam stones. A young aquantience of mine and one of Scotlands best prospects for years in the wire hammer tried to lift these dam things for a drunken bet one winters night many years ago.

Result ? a back injury, a ripped tendon, a serious wrist injury, and to cap it all he dropped one of the stones and removed all the skin and flesh from one of his shins leaving the bone exposed. Needless to say he was never the same thrower after that .

In my opinion we should leave these bloody stones to the serious lifters or to the steroid jockey's and any highland games athlete who has any career prospects at all will give them a wide berth. Just my tuppence worth

Sorry Travis i did not mean to discourage you , good luck to you with the stones, and i can see why you should want to lift them. 

 Just remember that for every sucessfull lift there are something like 7 failures(and that dont include the bus trips of tourists who always think they could lift them) so even if you dont manage to lift them, your not the first, and you certainly wont be the last (unless by some act of god we should have a lightning bolt strike these bloody stones and reduce them to pebbles)   You can tell i'mm not a fan

Hope you have a lovely time in Scotland and it's just a pity you have to visit England

Just go lift the stones.  I personally think all Highland Games athletes who visit or who live in Scotland should try the Dinnies.  The stones are named for Donald Dinnie, our sport's godfather. You can measure yourself against the great Dinnie and where else can you do that?