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 :
Bodyweight Training
Various authors
There have been some very interesting bodyweight exercises posted recently, including the superb Med Ball Pushup Switch. Take a look.
Rob’s Training Log
Rob Sinnott
Ready to train heavy? Great.
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.
NB : if you enjoy the articles, show the authors your appreciation by voting (using the Like, Digg and Retweet icons). Cheers.
Video : Can Bursting
Chris Rider demonstrates a spot of Can Bursting, a strength feat seldom seen yet always impressive. Love it.
Coming Events
Twitterchat 65 – Kettlebell Training for Athletes : Whether you’re building strength, enjoying a little conditioning work or simply using them as convenient weights with handles – kettlebells are fantastic training tools.
This week we’re taking a look at Kettlebell Training for Athletes – discussing the many, many ways to put kettlebells to work so they’ll help you on the mat, platform, or sporting field. Helping us to navigate this fascinating world is Kettlebell Training Academy‘s Ajamu Bernard (@dakbellguy). Fantastic.
Details –
Who : Strength-training fans
Topic : Kettlebell Training for Athletes
When : Wed May 12, 9pm EDT (1am UTC)
How : include #sbgym in your tweets.
To see when it’s on in your timezone, head over to the twitterchat calendar.
See you there.
Quick update on last week’s twitterchat : Following the discussion on Performance-Enhancing Supplements I’ve received a stack of feedback on the topic of creatine. Cheers for all of that – very much appreciated.
Tony has put together a brief overview page here; explaining what it is, how it’s used, which form he recommends and so on. If you’re at all curious, it’s a great place to start.
NB : If you’d like to be a guest on a future twitterchat, let me know. It’s great to hear how other people are training.
Deal of the Week : ‘Got Yoke?’ T-shirt
For everyone that’s been asking – it’s finally happened. The new ‘Got Yoke‘ t-shirts have arrived.
These contain some fantastic moisture management features, as well as featuring a distinctive design by Rory Hickman. It really is a perfect combination.
You’ll find the order page here, or you can email me privately for bulk purchases. Cheers.
Watching : A-Z Climbing Podcast
Although I’ve been a fan of podcasts for years now, it’s only in the last 12 months or so that I’ve focused on the ‘video only‘ variety. And this week, I was lucky enough to stumble upon several training-related podcasts that are well worth a look.
Kicking things off (many more sites, newsletters and podcasts in this forum thread) is a podcast with an interesting twist – AZ Climbing. 26 climbing-focussed videos, one for each letter of the alphabet. Covering the many varieties of indoor and outdoor work.
Good stuff.
Exercise of the Week : Beaker Bench Press
Back in 2008 we were introduced to the idea of the Kettlebell Beaker – basically a series of bench presses with kettlebells hanging from the bar. There are a number of ways to vary this, and to incorporate the idea in other exercises (Justin Andrushko details several in Band Suspended Weight); and the most common is shown below.
If you’re looking for a way to mix things up a bit, give it a shot. Good fun.