This Week on Straight to the Bar

I’m constantly amazed at just how much my training is influenced by the people on this site. Whether you’re looking for a new piece of equipment, an unusual exercise variation or just an idea of how others approach things, you’ll enjoy these :

• Blast from the Past : Ring Training II
  Scott Andrew Bird
  After three years, a few things have changed. Here’s another look at this wonderful form of training.

  
  

• Straight to the Bar Flickr Group
  Various authors
  There have been several great photos posted here recently (you’ll see some of them in the sidebar), notably by Roy Scott, Zach Wheeler, Davie Easton and Wild Kiwi. If you haven’t already, add some of yours. Love seeing where/how everyone trains and competes.

  
  

Ready to add your own opinion, workout log or training article? Just head over to the Forums, Training Logs, or swing by the Article Submissions page. They’re fantastic ways to share your ideas.

Video : Jump Rope Alteration

Dave Lemanczyk shares a great way to make your own skipping rope, or to modify an old one. Good stuff.

Gymchat 136 – Running

Bill ‘Body by Long‘ Long.

Although I’ve sampled a number of forms of strength-training, running isn’t one of them. Yet.


This week we’re taking a look at this enigmatic activity, and finding out just what I’m missing out on. How to train for it and how it helps with other forms of
your training (and overall condition).
Helping us explore this fascinating topic is none other than Body by Long‘s Bill Long. Fantastic.


Details –
Who : Strength-training fans
Topic : Running
When : Wed Sep 21, 9pm EDT (1am UTC)
How : Post a comment, question or reply
If you’ve never been to one of these discussions before, here’s how to join in the fun. Simple, quick to set up and free.
And to see when it’s on in your timezone, head over to the calendar.
See you there.

Nathan Teodoro.

Quick update on last week’s gymchat : Thanks once again to everyone who took part in the discussion on Conditioning. Some superb ideas in there.
For those who missed out on the conversation, here’s the direct link. Was a great one.

Tip of the Week: The Stages of Workout Nutrition

Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via twitter, Google+, the forums, the blog; and now the newsletter. Wherever you are, there’s always a way to improve what you’re doing.
This tip is a brief look at the major stages of workout nutrition, and their goals. A bit of fine-tuning here can go a long way indeed.

From Gymchat 133 – Workout Nutrition :

Kurtis Frank.

Any meal can contribute to a workout (glycogen replenishment mostly), but generally workout nutrition is broken into three segments. The pre-workout, the intra-workout (optional dependent on goals), and the post-workout.
Pre-workout is literally just a meal you eat before you hit the gym. It holds more importance than other meals (say, breakfast if you train in the PM) since the nutrients you ingest at this meal will still be floating around in your blood when it comes time for a workout.
Intra-workout is typically something you bring to the gym to sip on, and where stuff typically gets all fancy with supplementation and is the area most people like to talk about. (This includes post-workout shakes consumed immediately after training)
Post-workout is when you get home and make a nice meal. There are typically higher rates of muscular metabolism and generally more metabolic direction to muscle and away from fat mass (compared to other meals). So nutrients post workout tend to be put to better fates than other meals.

Good stuff.

Checking Out : Super Natural Strength

This looks fantastic.
As long-term readers know, I read a lot. Especially when it comes to Physical Culture.
Next on my list is a book that recently made its way to the Kindle, Bob Whelan’s Super Natural Strength. Superb.
Super Natural Strength is a follow-up to Bob’s Iron Nation, a compilation of training strategies from some of the heaviest players in the Iron Game. This is training the old-fashioned way – heavy weights, good food and plenty of recovery.
Good stuff.
NB : if you don’t have a Kindle, this book is also available as a paperback; or it can simply be read online using something like Amazon’s Cloud Reader.


Quick update on the StrongerGrip Loadable Club Set we noted a while ago : I had a great discussion over the weekend on club workouts for beginners. Great way to train.
When it came to the equipment part of the discussion, we both agreed on the loadable clubs from StrongerGrip. 3lb empty and around 8lb loaded up. Beautiful things.

Exercise of the Week : The Sledgehammer Throw

One of the many fun ways to put a sledgehammer to work is simply to throw it for distance. Much more difficult than you might imagine.
Can you beat 37′?

Good fun.

Incidentally, if you’d like to get in touch regarding this or any other aspect of strength, you can send me an email here. Look forward to hearing from you.

Free Straight to the Bar eBooks

As a Strength & Fitness Newsletter subscriber you get several great eBooks, absolutely free. Just head over here, save them to your hard-drive, and dive in.
Good stuff.
NB : This is an ever-changing list of books. If you’d like to put your own work in front of a fantastic strength-focussed audience, let me know.

Time for Some New Gear? Here’s What to Get, and How to Use It

Thanks to everyone who’s sent in feedback (via email, Facebook and Twitter) about the Straight to the Bar Guides – it’s greatly appreciated.
For everyone who hasn’t seen them yet, the Guides will help you decide what to get (and where), and how to train with it. There’s some great information in there.