How to Tear up a Deck of Cards
Look at this hand placement with the hands on the same side of the deck is probably the best tearing method., Learn another method of tearing the deck., Know that this is yet another grip., Note that you will need strong thumbs, index fingers, and...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Look at this hand placement with the hands on the same side of the deck is probably the best tearing method.
This tends to give less power at the beginning of the tear than the first image.
You may feel that this is easier for you. , With this method you will need a very powerful index and middle finger.
Play around with the different grips during the different phases of the tear to find out where you are the most effective. , Your ability to pinch relatively narrow objects firmly will come in really handy here.
There are several exercises to do that will enable you to develop strong enough hands to tear a deck:
Tear with intensity to slowly rip through the deck rather than blast through it.
It is much more satisfying to “feel” the deck tearing and then separating.
Your thumbs, index fingers, and middle fingers will play the biggest role in tearing the deck, so the whole time you are grasping the deck in your hands, squeeze very hard as if you were trying to fuse your fingers to the deck.
Imagine that you’ve a pair of vice grips for hands and clamp down on those cards.
It seems that the heaviest burden of the deck tear lies with the thumb being strong enough to pinch the deck. , Do this slowly and with a light weight (6-8lbs) at first just to get the feel of it and start adding weight to make it heavier.
You can do this by either sliding the weight down the handle of the hammer or duct taping it to the end.
If you’re already levering a 16lb sledge or heavier, stop reading this article and go tear some cards! You can also lever the sledge to the front of you and side to side., A narrow pinch block is valuable for your grip training anyway., Then start to do higher volume, more cards, and heavier weight gradually.
The hands and wrists are remarkable in their ability to recover quickly, but you don’t want to overdo it at first.
As you become an advanced grip enthusiast, you can make good gains training your hands hard 4-7 days a week.
A typical day’s training would consist of: 25 card stack tear Another 25 card stack tear Sledgehammer levering – 6lb hammer held by end of handle, levered down to face 5-6 times with each hand More levering – 6lb hammer held by end of handle, levered side to side 5 to 6 times.
NOTE: if you cannot completely lever the hammer down to your nose safely and under control, choke up on the handle so it becomes a little easier, then work your way towards the end of the handle as you get stronger. , You can also do timed holds where you hold the weight in the air for 7-10 seconds.
These are lots of fun and more and more pinch grip enthusiasts swear by them.
Total time:
Approximately 20-30 minutes with rest time between sets, Grip the cards and take a deep breath and begin the twist.
Now you’ve worked up to thicker stacks of cards and are ready to tackle an entire deck.
Take what you’ve learned, grip the cards, , Keep twisting, and your deck will look like the one in the summary at the start of this article.
Completely torn in half. -
Step 2: Learn another method of tearing the deck.
-
Step 3: Know that this is yet another grip.
-
Step 4: Note that you will need strong thumbs
-
Step 5: index fingers
-
Step 6: and middle fingers to hold onto the cards as you are twisting
-
Step 7: and strong enough wrists to twist and tear the deck.
-
Step 8: Sledgehammer levering – hold a sledgehammer out to your side and
-
Step 9: using only your wrist
-
Step 10: let the hammerhead slowly make its way down to your face and then back up again.
-
Step 11: Narrow pinching – Not everybody has a narrow pinch block to lift
-
Step 12: but if you’ve got a block of wood less than 3/4” thick and can attach a chain and weights to it
-
Step 13: then you’ve got a worthwhile homemade training tool for tearing a deck of cards.
-
Step 14: Know that if you’re a beginner
-
Step 15: practice tearing your pre-determined number of cards
-
Step 16: sledgehammer levering
-
Step 17: and narrow pinching only a few times a week for a couple weeks.
-
Step 18: Narrow pinching – load up some weights on your apparatus and do 4-5 lifts with each hand.
-
Step 19: The Twist- This is the initial tear.
-
Step 20: Continue and as you can see that this step shows the deck mostly torn.
Detailed Guide
This tends to give less power at the beginning of the tear than the first image.
You may feel that this is easier for you. , With this method you will need a very powerful index and middle finger.
Play around with the different grips during the different phases of the tear to find out where you are the most effective. , Your ability to pinch relatively narrow objects firmly will come in really handy here.
There are several exercises to do that will enable you to develop strong enough hands to tear a deck:
Tear with intensity to slowly rip through the deck rather than blast through it.
It is much more satisfying to “feel” the deck tearing and then separating.
Your thumbs, index fingers, and middle fingers will play the biggest role in tearing the deck, so the whole time you are grasping the deck in your hands, squeeze very hard as if you were trying to fuse your fingers to the deck.
Imagine that you’ve a pair of vice grips for hands and clamp down on those cards.
It seems that the heaviest burden of the deck tear lies with the thumb being strong enough to pinch the deck. , Do this slowly and with a light weight (6-8lbs) at first just to get the feel of it and start adding weight to make it heavier.
You can do this by either sliding the weight down the handle of the hammer or duct taping it to the end.
If you’re already levering a 16lb sledge or heavier, stop reading this article and go tear some cards! You can also lever the sledge to the front of you and side to side., A narrow pinch block is valuable for your grip training anyway., Then start to do higher volume, more cards, and heavier weight gradually.
The hands and wrists are remarkable in their ability to recover quickly, but you don’t want to overdo it at first.
As you become an advanced grip enthusiast, you can make good gains training your hands hard 4-7 days a week.
A typical day’s training would consist of: 25 card stack tear Another 25 card stack tear Sledgehammer levering – 6lb hammer held by end of handle, levered down to face 5-6 times with each hand More levering – 6lb hammer held by end of handle, levered side to side 5 to 6 times.
NOTE: if you cannot completely lever the hammer down to your nose safely and under control, choke up on the handle so it becomes a little easier, then work your way towards the end of the handle as you get stronger. , You can also do timed holds where you hold the weight in the air for 7-10 seconds.
These are lots of fun and more and more pinch grip enthusiasts swear by them.
Total time:
Approximately 20-30 minutes with rest time between sets, Grip the cards and take a deep breath and begin the twist.
Now you’ve worked up to thicker stacks of cards and are ready to tackle an entire deck.
Take what you’ve learned, grip the cards, , Keep twisting, and your deck will look like the one in the summary at the start of this article.
Completely torn in half.
About the Author
Matthew Bell
Creates helpful guides on crafts to inspire and educate readers.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: