Running the Commando Temple Stone Gauntlet: Seven Stones in 30 Minutes
I created the Commando Temple Stone Gauntlet as a series of seven different challenges using the natural stones we train with at the Commando Temple in London.
The idea isn't that you have to complete them all in one session. Each stone presents a different test and you can work your way through the Gauntlet over time, ticking them off and seeing where your strengths — and weaknesses — lie.
Before setting that challenge for everyone else, though, I thought it was only right that I could complete every part of it myself.
I'd previously done all seven challenges individually.
What I hadn't done was the entire Stone Gauntlet in one session.
Then, somewhat on a whim, I did exactly that.
Seven stones. Seven challenges. Less than half an hour.
It turned out to be one hell of a workout.
1. The Wick stone — 76kg Overhead Press
Ironically, the first challenge has probably been the biggest obstacle for me personally.
The Gauntlet begins with pressing the 76kg Wick stone overhead.
I've always found overhead pressing relatively difficult. I've got long arms and, following a minor neck injury, pressing unstable objects overhead has been something I've lacked confidence with. Whenever I've tried to bring it back over the past year, I've found it can flare things up.
So although I'd completed the Wick stone challenge previously, I hadn't successfully pressed it for a long time.
I'd actually gone into the gym that day without any grand plan to run the Gauntlet. I'd done some Bulgarian Bag spins beforehand, felt reasonably good and decided to give the Wick stone a go.
Up it went.
It wasn't the smoothest or most elegant press I've ever performed, but I got the full lockout and, most importantly, everything felt good.
That changed the session.
I'd finally got the first challenge again, so I thought:
Why not keep going?
2. Brazil — 115kg to Shoulder
Next came the 115kg Brazil stone, which has to be taken to the shoulder.
This is a much more comfortable lift for me, although I wouldn't describe my technique as particularly elegant.
There are certainly ways to work with the shape of a stone and make a shoulder more efficient.
My preferred technique with Brazil is slightly less sophisticated:
Hoist it onto my chest and then jump the thing onto my shoulder.
Job done.
Two stones down.
3. Belas — 139kg for 40 Metres
This was the one I was nervous about.
The 139kg Belas stone has to be carried for 40 metres.
Picking up a 139kg natural stone is already a significant effort. Picking it up and then deliberately walking around with it is another matter entirely.
Carries have a nasty way of draining energy very quickly, and knowing there were another four stones waiting afterwards made me wary of burning myself out too early.
This time I ended up carrying Belas considerably lower on my body than I normally would.
It was an interesting trade-off.
Holding the stone lower made breathing much easier, but transferred far more of the work into my arms. The grip and upper body had to work incredibly hard to keep the stone connected while I moved.
It worked.
I got through the 40 metres and, surprisingly, didn't feel anywhere near as depleted as I'd expected.
Three down.
At this point, completing the whole thing started to feel realistic.
4 & 5. Walnut and Trafalgar — The Familiar Ones Get Hard
Next came the 149kg Walnut and 151kg Trafalgar Stone.
These are probably the two Gauntlet stones I'm most well versed in lifting, and ordinarily I'm very confident with both.
But this is where doing the Gauntlet as one continuous session started changing the challenge.
By now I'd pressed a 76kg natural stone overhead, shouldered 115kg and carried 139kg for 40 metres.
Even getting Walnut and Trafalgar out into the middle of the gym suddenly felt like work.
Then I still had to lift them.
Both stones went strongly to the chest, but they were noticeably harder than they would normally be in isolation. The accumulated fatigue was starting to appear through my hamstrings, glutes and lower back.
And I actually enjoyed that.
Stones I'd lifted many times before suddenly presented a slightly different challenge.
Instead of asking simply, "Can I lift this stone?", the question became:
"Can I still lift this stone after everything I've just done?"
That's a very different test of strength.
6. Delilah — 183kg
Then came Delilah.
At 183kg, Delilah is the heaviest conventional natural stone in the Gauntlet and normally one of its most intimidating challenges.
For the Gauntlet, the requirement is simply to get wind underneath the stone — clearly breaking it from the floor.
By this stage, though, I was feeling surprisingly confident.
I got into position, committed to the lift and Delilah came up beautifully.
Rather than simply breaking the ground, I was able to stand with it, take it high onto my chest and even remove one arm for a slightly unnecessary victory pose.
Considering I'd already completed five challenges, it was probably one of the lifts of the session I was happiest with.
Six down.
Which left one problem.
A very large problem.
7. The Mosasaurus — 203kg, One Hand
The final challenge of the Commando Temple Stone Gauntlet is the 203kg Mosasaurus Stone.
Unlike the other stones, Mosasaurus is lifted using its iron ring.
With one hand.
The challenge is to break the stone clear of the floor and get wind underneath it.
This isn't necessarily a lift you can rely on being there every day. The ring is brutally demanding on the hand and skin, and normally I'd spend some time warming my hands up specifically for it.
Some days you grab the ring and immediately know you've got it.
Other days you don't.
Having completed six challenges, the idea of reaching Mosasaurus and failing the final lift was fairly unpleasant.
There wasn't much left to do other than grab hold and commit.
A bit of grit, a lot of tension and one increasingly unhappy hand later...
Mosasaurus left the floor.
Seven out of seven.
Seven Stones in Under Half an Hour
The whole Commando Temple Stone Gauntlet took less than 30 minutes.
What surprised me most was how different it felt from completing the challenges individually.
Taken separately, each stone tests something slightly different: pressing strength, shouldering, carrying, chest strength, extension, grip and the ability to deal with increasingly heavy and awkward objects.
Put them together and the Gauntlet becomes a genuinely demanding full-body strength and endurance session.
By the end, pretty much everything had contributed.
Hands. Arms. Upper back. Lower back. Hamstrings. Glutes. Legs. Grip. Lungs.
And apparently my ability to stay awake afterwards.
I was absolutely depleted for the rest of the day. Even the following day, normal training and physical tasks felt noticeably harder.
It took more out of me than I'd expected.
But it was also fantastic fun.
Can You Complete the Stone Gauntlet?
You absolutely do not need to complete the Gauntlet in one session.
That's not really why I created it.
The seven challenges are there to give people something to work towards. You might be able to complete one immediately, spend months chasing another and discover that a stone you expected to suit you is actually your biggest weakness.
That's part of the fun.
Different bodies, backgrounds and types of strength produce very different results when you put a lump of natural stone in front of someone.
But if you eventually complete all seven and find yourself looking down the list thinking:
"I wonder if I could do the whole thing today..."
I can now confirm that it's possible.
I can also confirm that you might want to clear your diary afterwards.
The Commando Temple Stone Gauntlet is based at the Commando Temple in Deptford, South East London. It consists of seven natural stone challenges ranging from the 76kg Wick stone overhead press to the one-handed lift of the 203kg Mosasaurus Stone.
Come along to Stone Club to start working your way through the stones, or book 1-to-1 stone lifting coaching if you want to tackle the Gauntlet with dedicated coaching.