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 :
Sites, Podcasts, Books and Articles
Various authors
Whether you’re looking to learn about a particular aspect of strength-training or simply after some inspiration; there’s some fantastic links on the forums (particularly in the Reading, Watching and Listening to
and Members‘ areas). Paraplegic pilots, circus sideshow podcasts, strongman documentaries and much, much more.- Health & Fitness Research
Various authors
There has been some fantastic research posted recently, both on the forums and the Facebook page. Dive in.
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 : I’ve just set up a new commenting system for Straight to the Bar, which makes it even easier to share your views with the world. You can log in using your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Disqus accounts. Much simpler.
To kick things off (and to test that everything’s working correctly), I’d love it if you could share a few thoughts. If you can, please leave comments on 2 or 3 of the superb articles on the site.
Thank you. It really is appreciated.
Incidentally, if you’re looking for a list of the various articles by a particular author, head over here :
straighttothebar.com/articles/sttbauthors
Cheers.
Video : Knuckle Push-Ups
One of the many superb push-up variations available. Good fun.
Twitterchat 122 – Turning a Good Gym into a Great Gym
If you’ve ever tried running your own gym (or any business, for that matter), you know what it’s like. It’s a lot of work.
This week we’re looking at the various ways to make your training facility or fitness business a lot more efficient, focused and profitable. We’ll be sharing techniques that have been used successfully by other gym owners, and I’d love to hear your own ideas. Helping us explore this fascinating topic is none other than Body by D-Rock‘s Derek Peruo (@bodybydrock). Fantastic.
NB : if you’re the owner of a training facility or fitness business, head over to the forums and add a quick summary of your services to the ‘Recommended Coaches and Trainers‘ forum. It’s free advertising, and I’ll be using that list as the basis of a couple of things following the discussion. Details shortly, but believe me, you’ll want to be on the list 🙂
Details –
Who : Strength-training fans
Topic : Turning a Good Gym into a Great Gym
When : Wed Jun 15, 9pm EDT (1am UTC)
How : Include #sbgym in your tweets.
If you’ve never been to one of these twitterchats 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 twitterchat calendar.
See you there.
Quick update on last week’s twitterchat : Thanks once again to everyone who took part in the discussion on Fat Loss. Some superb ideas in there.
For those who missed out on the conversation, here’s a brief summary. Was a great one.
Tip of the Week: Refeeding
Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via twitter, facebook, the forums, the blog; and now the newsletter. Wherever you are, there’s always a way to improve what you’re doing.
This tip comes to us via Food & Fitness‘ Anthony Paradis (@foodnfitness), and looks at one of the many fascinating areas that came up in the most recent twitterchat – Refeeding. Enjoy.
Have you hit a weight loss plateau?
Cutting calories is necessary for fat loss but it also creates metabolic stress in the body. Stress hormones and leptin levels can become altered over time and along with a slower metabolism, weight loss can stall.
If this is you, fear not. A simple break from dieting, called a refeed, could be your ticket to results!
To “refeed” just eat 100% of your maintenance calories with higher carbohydrates. This usually equates to an extra meal and a small dessert with your current diet. After about 5-7 days of refeeding, reassess and get back on track to your target weight.
Checking Out : New-look Ultimate Sandbag
I love these things. Incredibly versatile, deceptively challenging, and extremely tough.
Although I’ve built (and still build, particularly when travelling) any number of sandbags over the years, I generally use the Ultimate Sandbags for my own training. Superbly made, and ready for everything I throw at them.
What sorts of things do I do with them? Well, a lot of the stuff on the Straight to the Bar Guide to Sandbag Training. If you’re new to sandbag work, start there. If you’ve been doing it for years, well, you know what it’s like.
Either way, when it comes to buying one for yourself, grab the best. The Ultimate Sandbag.
Quick update on the Super Human System : A few weeks ago we noted the superb Super Human seminars.
Here’s a simple way to access that same invaluable information, whenever it suits – the Super Human Membership. Love it.
Exercise of the Week : Neck Bridge Progression
I love a dose of neck work, in any form; using barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells or bodyweight only. It’s all good.
Here are several variations of the humble neck bridge, showing a great progression through the process. As your neck strength grows, you might like to sample one of the more challenging versions.
Enjoy.
Incidentally, if you want to see some example of other ways to train your neck, swing by Blast from the Past : Neck Training Methods. Dive in.
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 eBooks from Straight to the Bar
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.