Tire Flipping

"Flipping Tires is messy, it’s imperfect. The tires never match and have different grips, different feels, can make you struggle and leave you dirty. They can also empower you.  It can transform you into something more.  I don’t know what words to use to describe it, it’s something you need to experience."

Chris Cooper, Vantage Movement Founder and CEO

We do a lot of stuff in the gym to make life outside the gym better.  We work on movement patterns and muscles, energy systems and time domains that carry over into activities we need to do or love to do.  We use barbells because it’s easy to control the load we’re moving, it’s safe and can be used for most of the movements we do.  The only issue is when you’ve got to pick something up and move it outside of the gym, it’s not going to be shaped or loaded like a barbell.  

Enter the Tire Flip:

Over the last 20 years, you’ve seen the rise of Tire Flipping in movies, sports documentaries, Strongman Competitions and gyms.  It might look cool, it might look stupid, whichever side of the fence you fall, it’s a great exercise and hugely transferable to life outside the gym. 

Tire Flipping falls into the category of Odd Object Training. 

Sandbags, Tires, Stones, even Kegs are used to train foundational movement patterns and add a variety to your training.  Helping someone move a couch, even if it’s just into another room, isn't going to be as easy as deadlifting a barbell. Even though it’s the same movement and muscles, you need to be able to handle all the variables. It’s never going to be as perfect as a barbell, so why not learn the technique and improve your strength to make your life easier?

Let's break it down, flipping tires requires you to use muscles in the legs, back, core, chest, arms and even your hands. It’s one of those movements that hits everything and can be a great challenge.  There is something to it that taps into a primal side of us all.  Men and Women, even children light up when they are forced to use brute strength and overcome something heavy.  It might sound/read weird, but everything about flipping tires, from getting it off the ground and to your thigh, standing it up and shoving it to the ground plays to a side of our physical nature that our civilized world doesn’t create space for.   

Flipping Tires is messy, it’s imperfect. The tires never match and have different grips, different feels, can make you struggle and leave you dirty. They can also empower you.  It can transform you into something more.  I don’t know what words to use to describe it, it’s something you need to experience.  

Tire Flips are a great addition to a program. I’ll admit, they’re not an all the time exercise, but they can certainly enhance a good training cycle and prepare you for the odd objects you may be called upon to help move.  If you’ve never tried them, I would encourage you to come by and play with us.  

If you’ve got questions about Tire Flips or anything you find in our programming, email us at [email protected]