Natural Stone - Custom/DIY

Name: Natural Stone - Custom/DIY
Brand: Custom/DIY
Rating: 5.0 (14 reviews)

A “Natural Stone” isn’t a manufactured product at all — it’s a found or quarried boulder, sourced from a field, riverbed, quarry, or landscaping supplier and pressed into service as a lifting implement. That heritage runs deep: stone-lifting traditions in Iceland, Scotland, Ireland, and the Basque Country date back over a thousand years, long predating the cast concrete Atlas Stone used in modern strongman competition.

What natural stone offers over its manufactured cousin is authenticity of challenge. Independent sources (StrongFirst, the Scottish stone-lifting community) agree that every stone is its own technical puzzle — asymmetrical grip points, a shape that shifts the balance mid-lift, and no consistent diameter to practice against. That teaches grip strength, wrist stability, and full-body bracing skills that a perfectly round, uniform atlas stone doesn’t demand as much. The tradeoff is exactly what you’d expect from unmanufactured material: no quality control, no guaranteed weight or finish, and a real risk of the stone cracking if dropped carelessly — lifters are expected to bring a padded landing spot and handle old or fragile stones with care.

Cost is effectively zero if you can find and haul a suitable stone yourself; the real expense is time and transport, since a genuinely heavy stone (100+ lb) usually means a trip to a quarry, landscaping yard, or rural property rather than a retail purchase. Start with something small enough to lift cleanly for reps — sources recommend building up through lighter practice stones before attempting a max-effort lift, and capping dedicated stone training at once or twice a week to avoid tendon overuse.

Sourcing	quarries, landscaping/stone yards, riverbeds, fields, construction sites — check local rules before removing stones from public or protected land
Transport	truck plus multiple people for stones over roughly 150 lb; a furniture dolly or engine hoist helps for loading/unloading
Primary uses	stone deadlifts, shouldering, loading over a bar/platform, carries, overhead pressing, bear-hug holds
Typical cost	free to ~$50-100 if sourced from a quarry or landscaping yard willing to sell scrap/reject stone
Prep before use	bring a crash pad or mat to protect the stone and the ground when set down; chalk and a towel for wet or dusty stones
Typical weight range	light practice stones 50-220 lb; challenge-level stones 220-550 lb; historic record stones 600+ lb
Beginner starting weight	roughly 80-150 lb — should allow a controlled deadlift-style pickup for multiple reps before attempting a shoulder or press

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

	Natural Stone - Custom/DIY	APE FITNESS Workout Sandbags	Slater Atlas Stone Lightening Insert	Feed Sack
GymRadar rating	5.0/5	5.0/5	5.0/5	5.0/5
Price		$49.99
Sourcing	quarries, landscaping/stone yards, riverbeds, fields, construction sites — check local rules before removing stones from public or protected land
Transport	truck plus multiple people for stones over roughly 150 lb; a furniture dolly or engine hoist helps for loading/unloading
Primary uses	stone deadlifts, shouldering, loading over a bar/platform, carries, overhead pressing, bear-hug holds
Typical cost	free to ~$50-100 if sourced from a quarry or landscaping yard willing to sell scrap/reject stone
Prep before use	bring a crash pad or mat to protect the stone and the ground when set down; chalk and a towel for wet or dusty stones
Typical weight range	light practice stones 50-220 lb; challenge-level stones 220-550 lb; historic record stones 600+ lb
Beginner starting weight	roughly 80-150 lb — should allow a controlled deadlift-style pickup for multiple reps before attempting a shoulder or press

5.0/5 · 14 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert

5.0/5

14 reviews

A found or quarried lifting stone is the oldest and cheapest strength implement there is, and independent sources (StrongFirst, the Scottish stone-lifting community, and firsthand event footage) agree it builds grip, bracing, and adaptable technique that manufactured atlas stones can’t fully replicate — every stone has its own contact points, balance, and lift path. The tradeoff is build quality and durability: unlike a cast atlas stone, a natural stone has no guaranteed diameter, finish, or weight, can crack if dropped badly, and access/sourcing depends on where you can find or haul one.

+Functionality: builds grip strength, wrist stability, and trunk bracing that transfer to other lifts (StrongFirst)
+Versatility: supports many lift styles on the same stone — deadlift, shoulder, carry, bear hug, overhead press (Old Man of the Stones)
+Value: effectively free if sourced locally, with no manufacturing cost (Old Man of the Stones)
+Functionality: forces genuine full-body tension and breathing skill that concrete atlas stones, with their consistent round shape, don't demand as much (StrongFirst)

−Build quality: every stone is completely unique in shape, diameter, and balance — no consistency to progress against, unlike a cast atlas stone (Old Man of the Stones)
−Durability: natural stones are fragile and can crack if dropped improperly; lifters are expected to bring a pad and handle them carefully (YouTube: Stoltman Brothers)
−Functionality: hand positioning is asymmetrical and stone-specific, so technique doesn't transfer cleanly between stones (Old Man of the Stones)
−Value: sourcing a genuinely heavy stone often means remote, uneven, wet terrain with no gym amenities nearby (Old Man of the Stones)