# I want to beefcake
**URL:** https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/i-want-to-beefcake/453788
**Category:** Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance
**Created:** [September 22, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/i-want-to-beefcake/453788 "2026-09-22T13:41:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Saltman360](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Saltman360)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/i-want-to-beefcake/453788/1 "2026-09-22T13:41:21Z")
So I recently purchased/hunted down a blue/clear light-up “pulse” Duncan FHZ that I plan to half swap and lightly mod. Someone commented that these actually came stock with the sticker area already recessed! I’ll take photos of it once I get it and add them in the comments.
I want to beefcake these! (Putting two bearings in) to make it slightly wider at the gap.
Can anyone tell me the history or knowledge of “BEEFCAKING” and its origins and namesake. Someone out there knows this info of this simple mod and funny name.
also what do I need other than two bearings? I assume slimmer spacer kits. Where can I even get those!
Thanks! Let’s talk about beefcaked yo-yos!
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### Author:  [@Saltman360](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Saltman360)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/i-want-to-beefcake/453788/2 "2026-09-22T13:43:31Z")
Just found this:
Shoulda went here first!
> **[Beefcake](https://yoyo.fandom.com/wiki/Beefcake)**
>
> Beefcaking is a mod that involves adding an additional bearing to a yo-yo to widen its string gap to allow for advanced, low-responsive string tricks. Although most yo-yos can be beefcaked, very few can actually benefit from the addition of an extra...
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### Author:  [@SlowThrow](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/SlowThrow)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/i-want-to-beefcake/453788/3 "2026-09-22T16:36:44Z")
@DocPop invented the mod, as mentioned in the article above, and is active here time to time. He’d probably be the man to talk to!
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### Author:  [@fatguysnacks247](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/fatguysnacks247)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/i-want-to-beefcake/453788/4 "2026-09-22T17:10:15Z")
if you get into beefcake throws, check out the werrd tfl. it’s presented beautifully, and it is a such a cool yoyo. it comes in a raw and machine grooved finish. good luck!
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### Author:  [@DocPop](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/DocPop)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/i-want-to-beefcake/453788/5 "2026-09-22T17:29:39Z")
Funny you should ask. I was just working on a little video about the history of Beefcake. I hope to get that video finished sometime soon, but I’ll write what I know here just in case that never happens.
I created the Beefcake mod in 1999. At the time, yo-yoing was evolving toward longer spins and less responsive yo-yos. Some yo-yos, like the Henry’s Viper, had an adjustable gap, meaning you could untwist the yo-yo to make the gap wider and the yo-yo less responsive. This was great at first, but we kept wanting wider and wider gaps.
I don’t know the exact size of the original Henry’s bearing, but I think it was under 3mm wide. So even with the gap fully widened and shims added to the sides of the bearing to push it out as far as possible, the gap just wasn’t big enough. If you opened the gap any further, the string would simply slide off the bearing and onto the axle.
Out of desperation, I tried adding a second bearing to the gap, and I was blown away at how well it worked. It still spun as well as usual, but now there was roughly twice as much room for the string. Not only that, but the small gap between the bearings created a sort of groove for the string to sit in, keeping it away from the sides of the yo-yo.
The gap was now wide enough that we could add those thick friction stickers to the inner walls of the yo-yo and still have plenty of gap to explore less responsive tricks.
This was a transitional time in yo-yoing, and the mod was used in production by brands like Spintastics and Pro-Yo to keep existing stock usable by this new wave of unresponsive players. This didn’t last long, though, as newer yo-yos began adopting wider bearings, like the now-standard C bearing size that YoYoJam popularized.
Even after C bearings became standard, some folks kept beefcaking alive for some time. Werrd released a series of beautiful beefcaked yo-yos like the Two Fat Ladies, and @YoYoExpertEric won the 2008 US National Yo-Yo Contest using a beefcaked yo-yo.
The name for the mod came from South Park. In the third episode of the original South Park season, Cartman becomes obsessed with a bodybuilding supplement called “Weight Gain 4000.” As he gains weight (without adding muscle), he repeatedly says the phrase “beefcake.” A lot of yo-yo trick names and memes were inspired by cartoons around this time.
Thanks for asking and have fun with your modded yo-yo.
If anyone can fact check me on that original Viper bearing size (pre-1999) I’d appreciate it. Also, if anyone happens to have a scan of this package (showing the patent-style illustration of the bearing kit) I’d appreciate it.
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### Author:  [@AudreySickburn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/AudreySickburn)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/i-want-to-beefcake/453788/6 "2026-09-22T18:24:40Z")
I’ve been racking my brain recently because I want to design a new beefcake design. Looking forward to that video!
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### Author:  [@washyjoshe](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/washyjoshe)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/i-want-to-beefcake/453788/7 "2026-09-22T18:35:57Z")
A easy mod I’ve had success with is using 2 half spec c bearings (closer to 3/4 width than 1/2 width) in a butterfly xt. Metal freehand caps help with sleep time.
> [@Modded Butterfly XT using only OEM Duncan parts. :D](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modded-butterfly-xt-using-only-oem-duncan-parts-d/373031/25):
>
> Metal freehand caps, beefcaked half specs, thick lube. After about 30 minutes the thick lube gets worked out and it becomes very unresponsive. Like, hook and brent stole are pretty easy. It’s a highwalled, semi responsive, starburst response, but capable. While I was at PNWR, I was walking around making almost everyone I talked to try this. Some forum people got to try it out too. Keiran Cooper almost landed rancid milk first try, and laughed because it s…