What's This?

The Strength & Fitness Newsletter is a weekly email newsletter which summarises the things added to Straight to the Bar (as well as a few gems from the archives). Absolutely free.

btw, I’d love to hear your feedback – both on the individual items and the newsletters themselves. Drop a comment below the relevant issue, or swing by Twitter ( I’m @scottbird ).

cheers,

Scott

Ready To Learn Even More?

I love learning new skills, and the many seminars & workshops available are a great way to do that. If you’re looking for a specific type of workshop nearby, check out the ones on Dragon Door. Great mix of kettlebell and calisthenics-based offerings.

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Podcasts

I listen to an ever-changing pool of podcasts, discussing the many aspects of training and nutrition possible. Most recently :
FoundMyFitness (Dr Matthew Walker on Sleep)

Over to you. Any you’d recommend?

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Strength Training on Instagram

It’s fair to say that we’ve checked out quite a few images over the years – on Flickr & Smugmug in particular.

A friend of mine just pointed me to Chris Stanciu ‘s Instagram feed, which contains a great mix of nutrition and workout images :

instagram.com/officialgainsthetics.

NB : if you’d like to share your own images, just add them to one of the sites noted above and send us a link.

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Strength Training on Facebook

I suspect you love talking about strength training constantly (certainly the case here), and you’re always on the lookout for places to do that. Comments on various sites, forums as well as various in-person communities.

Online, I gravitate toward both Twitter and Facebook. In addition to the SttB offerings, here’s another one you may wish to check out :

Garage Gym Reviews (Cooper Mitchell’s page)

We’ve noted a few of his videos in the past, and they’re great for diving in deep on a particular type of equipment. Nice one.

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Twitter Lists

I use Twitter for a number of things, as I’m sure everyone else here does. To talk about strength training, nutrition and many other topics. Works well.

To make this a little easier – and so people can dive right in to the topics that interest them – I use Twitter’s ‘List‘ functionality quite a bit. There’s a full list of them here :

https://twitter.com/scottbird/lists

Whatever you’re in to, it’s all there.

NB : the above lists are always being fine-tuned. If you know of someone who tweets regularly about a particular subject and should be on one of them, let me know.

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Other (Daily) Newsletters You Might Like

Finally, for a daily dose of tangentially-related information – check out the following. All are compiled daily, and cover the following topics :

Aging & Longevity (living for a very, very long time)
Electric Cars in Australia (great way to help tackle air-pollution)
Better Sleep Nightly (my favourite form of recovery)

And yes, they’re absolutely free.

Bruce Lee : The Art of Expressing the Human Body (Bruce Lee & John Little)

If you’ve ever watched a Bruce Lee film and marveled at his strength, speed, agility, endurance, flexibility or muscularity, this book should take pride of place in your collection. Unlike many other writings covering everything from Lee’s training methods to nutrition, this book is based not on the recollections of people around him; but on Lee’s own notes. Brilliant.

Definitely worthy of a place on the fitness shelf.

Bruce Lee : The Art of Expressing the Human Body.

Monday, 21 Jun 2010

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 :

Rob’s Training Log
Rob Sinnott
Hard and heavy.
Deven’s Training Log
Deven
The serious training continues.

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 : Sandbag TGU Variation

Here’s a subtle variation of the Turkish Get-Up. Note that Josh is using a sandbag here, but the same idea applies to whichever form of resistance you’re using. Good stuff.

Deal of the Week : %30 Discount on StrongerGrip Thick-Handled Clubs

StrongerGrip Thick-Handled Grip Club.

These are awesome.
I love a dose of club training, and the StrongerGrip thick-handled clubs are a clear favourite. Challenging, loadable and beautifully made. Brilliant things.
As a bonus for readers of this newsletter, Ryan has agreed to offer a discount on these superb training tools. The first 20 people to order one of the StrongerGrip thick handle grip clubs will receive a tasty %30 discount – just enter STTB at checkout.
Perfect.
NB : thanks to everyone who grabbed one of the StrongerGrip Monster Sledges we offered a couple of weeks ago. Based on the rate that they disappeared, well, get in quick.

Coming Events

Well traveled suitcase.

Twitterchat 71 : Training Whilst Travelling

As I’ve been on-the-road for the past two weeks (just got back this evening), I’ve been doing a lot of thinking & experimenting on this : the best way to train while you’re travelling.
This week will be be an open discussion on this very subject, with a few key questions at its core – how do you train when you’re on-the-road? Is it a matter of maintaining strength, seeing what’s available, or simply taking a break?
How about diet; nice and strict, make a few allowances, or just eat whatever’s available?
Should be a good one.

FG.

NB : a huge thanks to the guest moderator for the past two discussions – The Fight Geek (@thefightgeek). Much appreciated.

Details –
Who : Strength-training fans
Topic : Training Whilst Travelling
When : Wed Jun 23, 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.

Getting Ready For : Ultimate Forearm Training for Baseball

Ultimate Forearm Training for Baseball.

As I mentioned briefly above, I just got back this evening and am preparing to dive into a pile of training-related books and DVDs over the next few days.
One of these is Jedd Johnson‘s new one – Ultimate Forearm Training for Baseball – which looks fantastic. Full review shortly.

Exercise of the Week : Inverted Rope Climb

Looking for a challenge? How about some Inverted Rope Climbing. Good fun.