Who can rip a phone book in half?

[JoeJustice]

I remember the original Atlas course had the 'ol phone book tears as one of the feats of strength. I dunno about you guys, but ever since the internet came along, I hardly even use the phone book, so I was thinking learning to tear one in half would be a good way to get rid of them and impress friends and neighbors! :rotfl:

So who can do this? And tips on training or technique?

-Joe

[Nathan]

I know Benny can. He has a video of him doing it on his "BennyB's Feats of Strength" part of the forum. I think you should go and check it out when you have the chance. God bless.

---Nathan

[John Peterson]

hey Joe,

Back in the day I used to do a lot of phone book tearing without ever breaking the spine, bar bending, and horse shoe straightening. A few friends from the forum have met me and have seen my forearm development. Bottom line: it's great fun to perform these kinds of strength feats.

---John Peterson

[tom]

There is a trick to it, if you choose to use a trick. I showed it to a young lady with a vow of secrecy and had her blow away her brothers and friends.

I think the secret is on YouTube.

There is also a no-trick way to do it. For the common schmoe (me) it looks pretty much the same. Check with Benny on the legitimate way.

I have a friend, a sweet old lady, who used to teach in the inner city. She would tear a phonebook in half in front of her class, and had a long a successful career. I suspect the trick method.

Tom

[gs300tx]

I think im gonna try the phonebook trick method.. here tis

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[tom]

That's it.

[JoeJustice]

Cool!

-Joe

[bennyb]

Joe,

There is a trick to ripping a phonebook, its when you push the pages together and you press down on the book. That is a neat trick for the average person but you're gonna get advise from a guy who is beyond average not bragging but fact. The legit way to ripping is you put it on your leg, you hold down the book w/ one hand (the same side as you put on your leg) thats your posting arm, you take your strong arm and you pull up and out w/ that arm and you keep your post arm the entire time, never let up. If you find this hard to explain look at my video (the sock puppet variation is highly advanced but the same post/pulling ratio). The best way to get strong in that area is to progressively tear thicker books starting w/ something that is moderately thick (say 500 pages) and work your way up to thicker books. It is reletively simple and if you want more info on it. Look up Dennis Rogers and get his Phonebook tearing DVD its pretty cheap. If you would like to know more on technique from me send me an email.

[JoeJustice]

There's a DVD course on tearing a phone book??

I tried the trick method when I got home and that actually worked amazingly well. Just took a minute or so to get a phonebook in half. My wife was not as impressed as I thought she would be. Probably should have used an old book. :tongue:

Then I tried to rip PYTP in half but John's photo punched me in the face. So I'm not going to try that again. :beat-up:

-Joe

[Bookman]

Okay, I did it once 20 years ago. (It worked!!) At the time, a few months before this Herculean demonstration of strength, I had seen Jane Fonda on the Today Show demonstrating how to rip a phone book in half. She made it look easy. (Okay....Perhaps too easy?) She admitted at the time that it's all about technque and not about strength. As memory serves, she twisted and turned that book a lot in her hands before she actually ripped it in half. A few minutes later, I grabbed a copy o the Yellow Pages and did the exact same thing, and ripped it in half....Same result, and coming up with the conclusion that it was nothing more than a stunt to sell her videos at the time. It's hard to describe, but you basically get it going withforward/backwards twisting motion, and eventually the stress causes the paper to rip away. Basic engineering. Of course, with Jane being a Hollywood insider, I don't doubt that maybe that "phonebook" was rigged a bit to shred easier for her than as it was for me. Still, I don't doubt that Charles Atlas could do that anyday of the week with his eyes closed. That man was, and still is, the Superman of his day. By the way, my girlfriend at the time was impressed, and I did it in front of a few of my old high school buddies, and it scared the living daylights out of them. I acted like I did it all the time, had fun with it, and didn't say anything about it. Yep, it was very rewarding at the time. :-)

[Bonomo]

I knew there had to be a thread on this topic! I have been dying to know if there are any non weightlifters on here who practice feats of strength like phone book tearing, nailbending, etc. I myself am very into phonebook tearing, although I have not progressed to "legit" tearing and do in fact still use the popping method. I don't care what anyone says, if you get a very thick phonebook even the popping method can be difficult, and I like to rip several one after the other and make a workout out of it. I am also into steel/nail bending, still have trouble with the traditional 60 penny nail but I can do longer bolts. For anyone who wants to get into phonebook tearing, go around to some local businesses/office buildings, and I guarantee you someone will have at least a few old phonebooks in a closet that they will be happy to get rid of. I can also guarantee that they will think you are a psycho for asking if you can have their old phonebooks, but I'm sure most of us on here are used to people thinking we are psychos ;)
anyone else into bending or tearing?

[Greg Newton]

Bonomo,

Check out the video section at the bottom of the screen. Look for BennyB's videos. I think you'll enjoy them.

Greg

[michael]

What exercises would one do to get the strength to rip a phone book?

[isorez]

MIchael,
practice...; practice; practice.......

Joe,
Then I tried to rip PYTP in half but John's photo punched me in the face. So I'm not going to try that again


Funny.........

[hal]

I do it. Takes just a little practice. Like Benny said there is a trick to it that makes it easier than it looks. Happy tearing !

Hal

[bennyb]

There is a trick then theres the true test of strength for it. Most people believe that the trick is the easiest and most effective technique. I believe in pure strength and natural power and working progressivly to go where you wanna go. Heres the secret that nobody really tells you the difference between a trick and the real thing in tearing a phonebook. If the tear is legit the pages going down the body of ther book are in a straight corner to corner. That tells you the book was held tight and firmly gripped. The trick version is when you have pages looking like a heart beat moniter and you cant tell which ones are straight or not. True respect in my opinion is on grip and pure strength and no offense to the guys who do the popping technique (trick) but I think its a joke and they have no real desire to learn the real thing. So incase you haven't noticed if you want tricks go to the circus if you want the real deal then learn it and put it into action.

[Viking Dan]

I know Benny can. He has a video of him doing it on his "BennyB's Feats of Strength" part of the forum. I think you should go and check it out when you have the chance. God bless.

---Nathan

The heck with phone books. Benny can probably rip a phone booth in half.