Atlas Stones were the event that was costing me the most time in competition. Not because I was not strong enough to lift them, I had the strength, but because the stones kept slipping against my shirt on the way up, which meant I was fighting the implement rather than just lifting it. Every slip cost me a reset, every reset cost me time, and in a timed event time is the only thing that matters.
My name is Dan Holt. I am a thirty-four-year-old electrician from Doncaster, and I have been competing in local and regional strongman events for about two years. I am not a professional athlete. I train four times a week, I compete about six times a year, and I take it seriously enough that equipment matters. The stones problem had been bothering me for most of those two years and I had been managing it with chalk and technique adjustments that helped but did not solve it.
The Competition That Made Me Act
It was a regional qualifier in March. Stones were the final event, I was in a good position going into it, and I dropped the third stone twice before getting it over the bar. Two resets, probably four seconds lost, and I finished third in the event when I should have been first or second. I drove home thinking about the shirt I had been wearing, a standard training tee, and whether a grip shirt would have made the difference.
I looked up grip shirts that evening. CERBERUS Strength was the name that came up consistently in the strongman community, which is a community where equipment recommendations are taken seriously because the events are demanding enough that the wrong gear has real consequences. The CERBERUS Strength Strongman Grip Shirt had a full front grip panel for stones, logs, and sandbags, and a partial back grip for giant dumbbells, yoke, and squats. Cotton spandex blend, durable construction, wash at 30°C and air dry.
The sizing note was important: the shirt is designed to be worn snug for maximum performance, so you order two sizes smaller than your normal t-shirt size. I checked my measurements carefully and ordered accordingly. At £44.99 it was a straightforward decision for competition gear that would be used regularly.
It arrived within a few days. The fit, ordered two sizes down, was snug in exactly the way the description indicated: close to the body, no excess fabric, the grip panel sitting flat against the chest and abdomen.
First Training Session
I wore it for a stones session the following Saturday. The difference on the first stone was immediate. The grip panel locked onto the implement in a way that a standard training shirt does not, and the stone stayed in contact with my body through the full range of the lift without the slipping that had been costing me resets. I loaded all five stones in the session without a single slip.
I stood at the end of the session and thought about the two years I had been fighting the stones with a standard shirt. The grip panel was not a marginal improvement. It was a fundamental change in how the implement interacted with my body during the lift.
The Next Competition
The next competition was six weeks after I started using the grip shirt. Stones were again the final event. I loaded all five stones without a reset. My time on the stones run was two seconds faster than my previous best at that weight. I finished first in the event.
Two seconds on a stones run is a significant margin. It is the difference between first and third in a competitive field. The grip shirt did not make me stronger. It gave me the mechanical advantage to express the strength I already had without losing it to implement slippage.
Three training partners who compete in the same events have bought the CERBERUS grip shirt after seeing mine. All three have reported the same experience: the stones feel different immediately, the slipping stops, and the times improve. One of them, who had been struggling with the yoke event, found that the partial back grip panel also made a meaningful difference to his yoke carry stability.
The Verdict
If you compete in strongman events and you have been losing time on Atlas Stones or other implement events because of slippage, a grip shirt is not optional. The CERBERUS Strength Strongman Grip Shirt is the right choice: the grip panel is effective, the cotton spandex construction is durable, and the snug fit delivers the mechanical advantage the design promises. Order two sizes down. Wear it to your next stones session. The difference will be immediate.
Find the CERBERUS Strength Strongman Grip Shirt at ALTOE. Listed in Latest Products, Apparel & Accessories, Clothing, Activewear, and Activewear Tops.
Order two sizes down. Stop dropping the stone. Finish first.
— Dan Holt, Doncaster
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