Back Day and Tire Flipping 101

I have had a lot of folks ask me about tire flipping. I have also had quite a few folks do our circuit workouts here and have provided them with instruction on good tire flipping form. There have also been folks down in our workout area lifting when I arrive back from work and I watch them using horrible form and have to go over to chat with them before they strain a bicep or blow out their back.

Why flip tires? Tires are free. Big industrial tires cost nearly $150 to recycle, so companies are excited when you show up with a truck for a tire. They have always provided a forklift operator to give me a hand here in Tucson. Tires are damn near indestructible. We store ours outside and they are quite all right no matter what the weather. Finally, you can get tires in a variety of sizes. We have three different sizes which we call small, medium and big... or SFT, MFT, BFT.

So now to the dirty business of flipping this beast. And unless you store these things inside and clean them on a regular basis it will be a dirty exercise. I would recommend wearing clothes that you just don't care about.

So first, get a wide stance and bend at the waist. See the picture to the right. You will see that I have a wide grasp on the tire. Wider than shoulder width. I then lean in and the top edge of the tire is pressed against each of my arms between the shoulder and bicep. The spine remains flat and neutral. This cannot be emphasized enough because this thing is heavy.


Once I have a good grasp on the tire and a neutral spine, I rest my chin on the tire and hop my feet and hips backwards about 10-12 inches. I am now in the position to flip the tire.








This next part is very, very important. DO NOT LIFT THE TIRE UP! The motion is not lifting up. The motion is driving forward and upwards with your legs while holding onto the tire. You are NOT lifting with the back and arms. In this manner it is more like an upward hack squat motion than a deadift.




Once the tire has been raised to about a 45 degree angle (again by driving with your LEGS forward and upwards...) you need to quickly switch from an underhand grip to an overhand press position. You do not want to hang out in this position for long...







This is the fun part. While continuing to push the tire forward and upwards with hands in a press position, drive a knee upwards into the tire explosively! This will get the tire up from that 45 degree angle to the full upright position.










Finally, the tire is standing upright and you need to only push it over with one powerful shove. The loud THUMP of the tire crashing over is one of the more satisfying noises from a workout! If you have have lots of room, simply rinse and repeat to the desired amount of repetitions. If you have limited space, walk around to the other side and flip it back the way it just came from.

Enough typing for one day. We will skip the quote of the day today.

Morning Lifting Routine: Back
Dumbbell Pullover
One Armed Bent Over Dumbbell Row
Upright Barbell Row
TRX Row
Close Grip Pull-Ups

Evening Routine:
Warm-Up: TRX Rows, 20 repetitions
Circuit Training: Do each exercise in order to complete one set. Three sets total with a water break after each set. It is hot here ya' know.
SISU Hammer Swings, 10 repetitions per side.
Tire Flips, 5 repetitions
Atlas Stone Lifts to 48" Platform, 5 repetitions
Hanging Toes to Bar, 5 repetitions (This is a new exercise for me. I like it a lot!)

After the circuit:
Abdominal Crunches, 100 repetitions

Have a Great Day!