Stonelifting Etiquette — liftingstones.org

Stonelifting is in contrast to most different bodily actions.
And though stonelifting has gotten extra fashionable over latest years, it’s nonetheless very area of interest.
Due to this fact, many individuals don’t know the final stonelifting etiquette and even that there’s etiquette in any respect.

Most stonelifters have a background in power sports activities like strongman or powerlifting.
So that they perceive the fitness center etiquette that’s deeply rooted in bodily tradition — like changing weights, preserving tools clear, and never curling within the squat rack.

Mountaineers even have a deeply ingrained code that you might have heard earlier than:

Take nothing however footage, depart nothing however footprints, kill nothing however time.

Stonelifting’s etiquette is akin to each fitness center etiquette and mountaineering etiquette.
It’s about accountability and respect for the stones and the land they sit on.
You have to pay attention to it and perceive it earlier than trying to carry any historic stones.

Do your analysis

Stonelifting is a superb exercise. However nothing compares to stonelifting when
you perceive the historical past and tradition behind the stone you’re lifting.

Stepping into with a surface-level understanding is the largest disservice you’ll do to your self.
Don’t dive right into a stonelifting tour with no data simply since you noticed another person carry them.
Work out why you’re lifting the stone and why the stone is there — the which means of all of it.
Discover your connection to the stones.

Analysis extends past the historical past and tradition. Plan your journey. Ensure you’re in a position to
carry the stones you need to carry. Some stones require permission, or a reserving in
the case of the Dinnie Stones.
And a few stones must be returned in a selected approach.

Get permission

If a stone is stored by somebody, or if it’s on somebody’s land, the very first thing you need to
do earlier than trying to carry the stone is to ask for permission.
It’s greatest to contact them forward of time to save lots of you any disappointment if the stone
isn’t obtainable to carry.

Not solely is it simply well mannered, however many individuals who take care of these historic stones
love to satisfy lifters. Some assist out, provide recommendation, and
ask you to signal a guestbook as a historic document of your try.

No cheesy

Most individuals’s introduction to stonelifting is through Strongman and Atlas Stones.

Strongmen use cheesy (a glue-like product) on their palms and forearms to stay to
Atlas Stones in order that they will fear much less about their grip.
For those who’ve ever used cheesy, you’ll know it’s difficult to take away, not solely from
your self but in addition from the Atlas Stone and anything you contact.

Cheesy is not allowed when lifting pure stones. Ever.
A major a part of pure stonelifting is studying the stone and determining the easiest way to grip it.
Not solely does utilizing the cheesy have an effect on that a part of lifting, however it additionally contaminates the stone.

Chalk, then again, is suitable to make use of.
However you need to keep away from dyed chalks and chalks containing components aside from magnesium carbonate.

Don’t drop the stone

Dropping the stone is the commonest fake pas from new stonelifters. They’ll
publish a video of their first historic stone carry, displaying their accomplishment.
Disappointingly, the video ends with them dropping the stone from shoulder peak
on to the bottom.

There have been situations the place historic stones have been dropped and destroyed,
as was the case with the Wallace Placing Stone.

Sadly, it implies that folks’s carelessness has important penalties. It’s not like
unintentionally bending a barbell — you’ll be able to exchange barbells.
That’s not the case with pure stones.
For those who destroy a stone, it’s gone ceaselessly, misplaced to historical past.

You have to not drop the stone.

When coaching to carry stones, you need to practise the eccentric portion of the carry
to rigorously decrease the stone right down to the bottom.

Some stonelifters carry pads
with them for additional care and security, not as a crutch, however as a further
complement to the cautious decreasing of the stone.

Return the stone

Very like returning weights to the load tree within the fitness center, you need to return stones
to their resting place. This permits lifters to seek out the stones simply
and stops stones from regularly shifting additional away from their authentic location.

Take the Barevan Stone, for instance. It sits subsequent to
a stone coffin. Lifters transfer the stone away from the coffin once they
carry it to cut back the danger of injury.
As soon as the lifter finshes lifting, they return the stone subsequent to the coffin, prepared
for the stone’s subsequent guests.

For plinth stones, the stone is typically positioned subsequent to the plinth, like
the Saddlin’ Mare or the Puterach.
As soon as the lifter has completed lifting, they take away the stone from the plinth and
place it subsequent to it on the bottom.
There are exceptions to this rule, nonetheless. So keep in mind — do your analysis.

We attempt to preserve up-to-date details about particular particulars for visiting and returning stones.
Particular concerns are famous within the stone’s article or on their map pop-up notes.

Train others the etiquette

A part of what makes the stonelifting neighborhood so unbelievable is the eagerness and the care
folks take to protect and share stonelifting tradition.
We need to preserve growing that tradition as an alternative of letting it disappear.

The one assured approach of preserving these stones is to cease folks from lifting them.
And on condition that’s not one thing we would like, the subsequent neatest thing you are able to do to mitigate the
impression on the stones is training! So share your data and train others how
to carry responsibly and respectfully.

Distilled into one phrase

For those who might cut back stonelifting etiquette into one phrase, it will be respect.

• Respect for the stone
• Respect for the keepers of the stones
• Respect for the land the stone sits on
• Respect for the lifters that got here earlier than you
• Respect for the lifters that can come after you
• Respect for the tradition
• Respect for the historical past

It’s a privilege to have the ability to carry the identical stones that individuals have lifted
for hundreds of years. Don’t take it as a right.
As a stonelifter, it’s your accountability to protect that.

Contributions

A particular due to Jamie Gorrian and David Brodlie for studying drafts of this text.