Hercules Hold - Custom/DIY

Name: Hercules Hold - Custom/DIY
Brand: Custom/DIY
Rating: 4.33 (3 reviews)

“Hercules Hold - Custom/DIY” covers homemade recreations of the strongman Hercules Hold, a max-time grip event where a competitor stands between two loaded pillars and holds them at arm’s length until grip or position fails. True competition rigs use free-standing, slightly tilting steel pillars – commercial units like Gods of Grip’s “Pillars of the Gods” stand 200cm tall and load up to 225kg per side for roughly GBP 1,250 – but most home builds substitute two heavily loaded barbells or dumbbells held at the sides, or a pair of cable-crossover stations set to max resistance, since replicating the pivoting-pillar mechanics without welding gear is impractical. Pro strongman competition loads each pillar to 160kg (352.7lb); home training typically works up gradually with whatever grip-limited load is available. The event is pure grip and shoulder-isometric endurance work – forearms, lateral delts, biceps, traps, and core are all under sustained tension – so a home version’s main design goal is simply providing two independently held, heavy loads rather than replicating any specific dimensions.

Type	Grip-endurance apparatus that simulates the max-time Hercules Hold event
Category	DIY / homemade strongman grip-endurance event (no single manufacturer)
Common designs	Two loaded barbells or dumbbells held at the sides (simplest substitute); dual cable-crossover stations set to heavy resistance; a true pivoting-pillar rig built from steel pipe/plate and a base frame, mirroring commercial rigs like Gods of Grip's Pillars of the Gods
Tools required	Welder and angle grinder for a true steel pivoting-pillar build; none beyond a barbell/dumbbell rack and plates for the simplified free-weight or cable-machine version
Primary muscle groups	Forearms and grip, lateral deltoids, biceps, trapezius, core
Typical material cost	Free to low-cost using barbells/plates or a cable machine already in the gym; a dedicated welded pillar rig runs into the hundreds of dollars in steel, versus roughly GBP 1,250+ for a commercial unit like Gods of Grip's Pillars of the Gods
Standard competition weight	160 kg (352.7 lb) per pillar at the pro strongman level; commercial pivoting rigs are loadable up to 225 kg per side plus a 20 kg pillar

What is a Strongman?

Strongman equipment trains raw, functional strength through odd-object lifting, carrying, and loading — atlas stones, yokes, farmer’s handles, sleds, logs, and tires — rather than the fixed, balanced resistance of a barbell. It’s a fit for lifters who’ve plateaued on conventional strength training and want to build the grip, bracing, and full-body coordination that competition strongman and functional fitness demand, or who simply want the most direct training carryover to real-world lifting and carrying tasks. Most pieces are bulky and some (tires, natural stones) are sourced or repurposed rather than bought outright, so plan for storage space and, in a few cases, DIY sourcing as part of owning this equipment.

How it compares

	Hercules Hold - Custom/DIY	Strongman Log - Custom/DIY	Circus Dumbbell - Custom/DIY	Husafell Stone - Custom/DIY
GymRadar rating	4.33/5	4.67/5	4.67/5	4.22/5
Price
Type	Grip-endurance apparatus that simulates the max-time Hercules Hold event			DIY concrete (or wood) replica of the Húsafell Stone
Category	DIY / homemade strongman grip-endurance event (no single manufacturer)
Common designs	Two loaded barbells or dumbbells held at the sides (simplest substitute); dual cable-crossover stations set to heavy resistance; a true pivoting-pillar rig built from steel pipe/plate and a base frame, mirroring commercial rigs like Gods of Grip's Pillars of the Gods
Tools required	Welder and angle grinder for a true steel pivoting-pillar build; none beyond a barbell/dumbbell rack and plates for the simplified free-weight or cable-machine version
Primary muscle groups	Forearms and grip, lateral deltoids, biceps, trapezius, core
Typical material cost	Free to low-cost using barbells/plates or a cable machine already in the gym; a dedicated welded pillar rig runs into the hundreds of dollars in steel, versus roughly GBP 1,250+ for a commercial unit like Gods of Grip's Pillars of the Gods
Standard competition weight	160 kg (352.7 lb) per pillar at the pro strongman level; commercial pivoting rigs are loadable up to 225 kg per side plus a 20 kg pillar

4.3/5 · 3 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert

4.33/5

3 reviews

A DIY Hercules Hold isn’t a single product to buy so much as a way to replicate a brutal strongman grip-endurance test at home – and the simplest versions (heavily loaded barbells or dumbbells held at the sides, or a pair of cable-crossover stations maxed out) need no fabrication at all. Value is the standout dimension: since most home builds reuse equipment already in the gym, the cost is effectively zero next to a commercial pivoting-pillar rig like Gods of Grip’s Pillars of the Gods at roughly GBP 1,250. Durability is the weakest – there’s no independent, long-term reporting on homemade builds, and a true welded pivoting-pillar version (rather than a barbell/cable substitute) inherits real safety requirements around collapse and recoil that commercial rigs specifically engineer around.

+Functionality: barbell-and-plates or cable-crossover substitutes replicate the grip/isometric demand without any specialized fabrication (generationiron.com)
+Value: costs nothing extra if built from equipment already in a home gym, versus roughly GBP 1,250 for a commercial pivoting rig like Gods of Grip's Pillars of the Gods (godsofgrip.com)
+Functionality: a minimal-rules, single-attempt max-time format makes an approximate home version easy to test and track progress on (gegnsgym.com)

−Build quality: a true pivoting-pillar rig needs welding plus a safety-lock mechanism to avoid dangerous tip-over or recoil, which commercial rigs specifically engineer around (gegnsgym.com rules article, godsofgrip.com)
−Versatility: the event itself is single-purpose isometric grip/shoulder endurance work with no direct transfer to another lift (liftmanual.com)
−Durability: no independent long-term reports exist on homemade builds -- only commercial-rig specs are documented