F.A.Q

I just stumbled upon this website…steel bending looks interesting, but I have a few questions before I take the plunge. Can I talk to a live human?
Damn right you can. Text Matt, the owner, at 302-690-7039. He’ll answer within a few minutes.

What’s the deal with the membership?
Becoming a member gives you fantastic pricing on steel, unlimited one-on-one coaching from the owner, insanely fast free shipping, lifetime refunds on unbent steel, a monthly print newsletter, and so on. Steel bending is a volume-based training discipline. The more you bend, the better you get. It’s simple. Most importantly…our average member spends around $70 per month (including the monthly fee).

Who’s this for?
It’s for the man who’s tired of having weak grip strength and wants to fix it. Plain and simple. Short steel bending is endlessly fascinating and deadly-effective. It’s the coolest grip training workout you’ve never heard of. Build disturbingly large and veiny forearm muscles with the bone-crushing grip strength to match. While many enjoy this peculiar exercise for its strength benefits, a large minority practice it as a hobby. It’s time away from the daily stresses of life…the kids, the spouse, the job, etc. It’s the most rewarding one-on-one time we’ve ever come across, and our members think so too (many have been with us since we were founded in 2021).

What is the layman’s definition of short steel bending?
The most fun strength training workout you’ve never heard of. Scare the hell out of bystanders and build some disgustingly strong grip strength by grabbing a steel bar and bending it until it’s a useless hunk of nothing.

What is the nerdy definition of short steel bending?
It is the act of bending a bar-like steel object (that varies in length) into a tight “V” shape using only your two hands. Use of the legs, torso, or any other part of your body is prohibited. The ends of the bars must be two inches or less apart in order to be considered a legitimate bend.

What are the physical benefits to me?
Thickens your wrists and builds your forearms into a grotesque mass of veins and ligaments. It will take your grip strength to the next level, and shaking hands with strangers will be something you’ll begin to look forward to. Your gym lifts (if you have any) will benefit greatly from this newfound “raw” type of strength. The other benefits are numerous and varied (they are talked about in depth in our intro-to-bending booklet).

What are the psychological benefits to me?
The main one is a massively increased confidence. We don’t really know how to describe it. But it’s sort of like the feeling you get when you walk into a room full of people…and you know something they don’t. Kind of like if you have your black belt in BJJ. You’ll just have to experience it for yourself.

Why should I bend steel as opposed to say…performing fingertip pushups or dumbbell wrist curls?
You are welcome to do those exercises! No hate over here, baby. It’s just…steel bending is so goddamn primal and will awaken the animal inside of you. That’s not hyperbole. It builds a strange inner confidence.

Will I actually be able to bend these bars at first?
Damn right you will. The progression system was built with the beginner in mind – no prior bending experience necessary. The first bar in our ladder should be easy enough for the average man to bend.

Will the steel snap or break suddenly?
Absolutely not. The steel alloy we use is designed to bend in a safe manner. It will never snap in half unless bent back and forth intentionally many, many times.

How is the steel strength measured? Is it accurate?
Our “poundage” bars are rated by the poundage of force required to bend them. This was figured out with a top-secret process (shh!) and is very accurate.

If I begin to take this seriously, what’s the average cost per month I’ll spend?
The average bender usually spends (including his monthly membership fee) around $70 per month. That’s about the same price you would pay for a local gym. Not bad at all!

Is there a timeline for how long it should take me to be able to bend the top bars?
Based on our years of experiences in the trenches, if you work your ass off, bend at least twice per week, and commit to becoming a top-level steel bender, then it should take you around two years. That’s a big “if.” A great deal of inner strength will be needed to even be able to touch those top bars. But, to become simply proficient in steel bending, it will only take a few months. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you progress and how much fun you have doing it.

How do I protect my hands?
You wrap the ends of the bars with tough but flexible materials such as suede leather or mil-spec nylon. There is a small art form to this wrapping, and you must learn to do it correctly. Both types of hand wrap are sold here.

Can the steel be bent more than once?
Yes and no. They are designed to be bent once. That is what the main gist of the workout is. But, to get a bit more mileage out of your steel, you can perform something called snapping. That is when you bend the bar back and forth over and over and over until it snaps in the middle. It’s a brutal workout.

What do I do with the bent steel?
Go buy a five-gallon bucket from your local hardware store and toss them in there. Recycle or chuck when full. The scrap price is mere pennies.

What bending workout regimen should I follow?
We highly recommend bending at least once per week…preferably two. You want to keep the reps high. Think around ten to fifteen bars per bending session…ten to twelve warmup bends followed by two or three tough bends. Some might want to even increase that volume, too. A more detailed plan of attack is included in our intro book.

How do I treat short steel bending? Is it an ancillary exercise or should it have its own “day” so to speak?
Treat it like any other CNS-heavy workout (deadlifts, squats, hill sprints, etc.). It’s nasty and will fry your nervous system if done too frequently. Give bending its own day or two in your lifting routine.

Will it have a negative effect on my current lifting program?
No, we don’t think so. Just keep it separate from your other lifts and allow some time for recovery. Should do the trick.

How long have you been in business for? Do your current customers give you positive reviews?
The Short Steel Bending Company, Inc. has been in business since January 2021. We have tons of great reviews and have never gotten a negative one (LOL, promise).

Do you offer money-back guarantees or refunds of any sort?
Mistakes happen…we’ll make it right. If we screw up an order (give you the wrong type of bars, wrong number of bars, etc.) we’ll obviously refund you the difference or ship the missing bars as quickly as we can. On the other hand, if you bought some steel and want a refund for any reason, just text Matt (the owner) at 302-690-7039 and explain why. We will then refund you the price you paid for the bars. Please do not abuse this extremely lax return policy. We try our hardest to be fair and we expect the same treatment in return.

Do you have any more last-minute tips or pointers for me related to short steel bending?
Take it SLOW. Technique is EVERYTHING. Wrap your bars TIGHT. Give your hands and wrists some time to adjust to this awesome exercise.