Leave no Stone Unlifted

I had the urge to do something special on my birthday last week, especially because it was a milestone year (See: “I'm Older Than I've Ever Been. And now I'm Even Fitter”). Going places and doing things is typically an ordeal with my poor mental health. It’s often hard just to leave the house. My fortieth birthday was one of those days. But when you enter a new decade, it kind of deserves a unique experience. I was inclined to make this day a memorable one, and so I did.

While having my birthday morning coffee, I saw a Facebook post from a friend who recently visited the Queens Botanical Gardens. My wife and I have lived in Queens for nine years (and I’ve been in New York for forty), and never visited our local botanic garden.

We’ve made frequent trips to The New York Botanical Gardens, which is in the Bronx, and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, as well as Snug Harbor, which is Staten Island’s botanic garden. How could we have gone to Staten Island’s botanical garden of all places, and not visited the one that’s basically a stone’s throw away from our house?!

Looking at Google Maps to plan our route, something incredible captured my attention. I saw a site labeled “Public Stone Lifting Club Gym” in nearby Kissena Corridor Park. “That’s it! That’s my special birthday!” I thought to myself.

I’d get to ring in year number forty by frolicking through the flowers and lifting some heavy stones in the warm sun. A truly great birthday treat for a nature and fitness enthusiast. And all of this is within three miles of our house!

Queens is full of these types of gems, which is why I tell my out of town friends who visit New York City, that no trip to the Big Apple is complete without checking out the "the world's borough" (for those unfamiliar, this is Queens’ nickname, because it’s one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States).

After a refreshing stroll through the botanical gardens, we walked on over to the Public Stone Lifting Club Gym. We used our Google Maps app to confirm that we were in the right spot, because it didn’t quite resemble the photos people posted online. Most were from a year ago. I couldn’t find anything more recent. Although there’s an icon for it on Google Maps, it’s not an official New York City Parks Department enterprise, so it doesn’t exist on any official New York City map or website.

There were less stones than I saw in the online pictures, but based on the GPS and the documentation from prior stone lifters, we knew this was the place. Furthermore, the arrangement of the stones, seven in total, was too strategic for it not to be. They were situated in a circle around a very large boulder. It was obvious that these stones were carefully selected, and even altered (i.e. rounded or cut) in ways that enhance the stone lifting experience.

I went for one of the larger sized stones to start my workout. Getting a proper grip on this particular stone was a challenge because it was fairly smooth and circular. Once I had my hands in place, I hinged my hips, took a deep breath and lifted it up using my legs, as if I was doing a squat to clean.

The proper way to lift a stone is to grip it as tightly as possible, then pull it up towards your hips and sit back, so that it rests in your lap, which is called “lapping the stone.” From the lapping position, you adjust your grip to the two and ten o'clock positions (i.e. the hands on a clock), as if you were gripping the steering wheel of a car. Then you use the muscles in your lower body to stand up straight.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, but the weight of the first stone still came as a shock. It was one of the heavier objects I’ve ever lifted for fitness related purposes. I held it for about four seconds, and could feel my heart racing like I had just sprinted a lap on the track. The muscles in my arms and legs were bulging and pulsating as well. I did three repetitions with this particular stone, and felt a “pump” sensation that’s similar to how I feel after a typical strength session.

While the online description for the Public Stone Lifting Club Gym mentioned that the stones had their weight inscribed on them, that was not the case. My theory is that someone removed several of the stones. I wish I could get in contact with one of the founders of the site, but I have no idea how to do that (maybe by a stroke of luck they’ll read this post!). No one else was lifting when I was there, but perhaps if I return (which I plan to do) there will be someone who can give me more information.

Despite not having a scale, I’d venture to guess that this stone weighed close to 125 pounds.

The next stone I chose was not round. It was rectangular with a flat base, and was shaped a bit like an anvil. This made it a bit easier to get a grip on the stone, which was important because it was a lot heavier than the first one.

Studies show that strength training becomes even more essential to our overall wellness after forty.

As we age, we lose muscle mass. However, through progressive resistance-based strength training we can reverse this natural process, which is called sarcopenia. Hand grip strength has been cited as a biomarker that can determine an individual’s ability to delay, and even prevent some undesirable effects of aging. Good grip strength slows down the process of immunosenescence, which is a decline in our immune defense that’s associated with aging.

I am not suggesting for everyone over the age of forty to start lifting stones. It’s an advanced skill that needs ample prerequisite resistance training before attempting. Alongside other forms of strength training, lifting stones is a very effective way to build muscle and improve grip. Moreover, it’s a fun way to challenge every fiber of the body. Because of this (especially the latter part), it’s already become a key technique within my fitness repertoire.

Stone lifting is not too popular in the United States, but it’s gaining more traction since being included in the World's Strongest Man/Woman and other types of strength related competitions. Most stone lifting events occur in Northern Europe (Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom to name a few spots). In these locations there are lifting stones that have both historic and legendary notoriety.

Dritvík Stones in Djúpalónsandur, Iceland. Photograph by Chris 73 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1788346

Examples are the Dritvík Stones and the Leggstein Stone, all located in Iceland. The Dritvík Stones are four stones dating over 400 years old. Each varies in weight:

• Amlóði (meaning "weakling" ) weighing 51 pounds

• Hálfdrættingur (meaning "half-carrier") weighing 119 pounds

• Hálfsterkur (meaning "half strength") weighing 220 pounds

• Fullsterkur (meaning "full strength") weighing 340 pounds

Sailors and fishermen who arrived at the port on Djúpalónssandur beach lifted the stones in order to prove their strength and compete for better paid labor on shipping vessels.

According to legend, the Leggstein Stone, also called the Tomb Stone, marks the spot where a farmer made a deal with the devil. The farmer wanted a life of luxury, and the devil told him that if he could lift the 485 pound stone, he’d grant his wish of prosperity. The farmer is said to be buried under a massive plinth near the stone, so apparently the deal did not go as he’d desired.

Iceland is a destination I’d really like to travel to, and visiting these stones would be on my itinerary list if or when I do. But as I’m not likely or willing to hop on a plane anytime soon, I’ll gladly settle for closer options, such as the Lundstrom Stones in New Hampshire. While these stones are not associated with historic and legendary narratives like most of the European ones, they’re more accessible to someone in my situation.

Of course, the most convenient option for me is the Public Stone Lifting Club Gym, which I intend to frequent. I hope that during my subsequent visits to the park, I’m able to meet one or two fellow stone lifters. Maybe I can even start a stone lifting club even closer to where I live (our neighborhood is home to one of the biggest parks in New York City). It would be great to be a part of a local fitness community in a manner that supports my mental health and preference for working out in uncrowded or remote outdoor spaces.

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