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 :
Welcome to the Gymchats III : Using Google+
Scott Andrew Bird
I love Google+. It’s proven to be a great place to share article links & commentary, photos and research from both the fitness and medical worlds. It’s also ideal for the Gymchats.
The Bearhug Deadlift
‘Unbreakable‘ Adam Glass
Adam incorporates some fantastic (and somewhat uncommon) lifts in his training. Here’s a great one – the Bearhug Deadlift.
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 : 720lb Bench Dips
I found myself discussing weighted bench dips with a friend the other day, and he pointed me to this. Good stuff.
Gymchat 146 – Nutritional Basics
It’s clear that what you eat plays a huge role in your fitness, health and overall well-being.
No matter how far into your strength-training journey you are though, it’s not always apparent just what to do. How much of everything do you need? In what forms? Where from?
Helping us explore this fascinating topic is none other than Personal Trainer Roger Lawson. Fantastic.
Details –
Who : Strength-training fans
Topic : Nutritional Basics
When : Wed Nov 30, 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.
Quick update on last week’s gymchat : Thanks once again to everyone who took part in the discussion on Running. Some superb ideas in there.
For those who missed out on the conversation, here’s the transcript. Was a great one.
Tip of the Week: Dumbells for the Home Gym – How Heavy Should They Be?
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 comes to us from the Gymchat on ‘Training at Home‘, and is part of Jackie ‘Hot at Home‘ Burgmann‘s description of her own setup. The weight of the dumbbells she owns.
From Gymchat 144 – ‘Training at Home‘ :
I usually find my 10rep max weight, then always keep a set of dbs that are one step higher at home. once i’ve progressed to those with 10reps, I buy another set up, it sits idle for a few months til I need it, but eventually I need it. now that my legs are super strong, I do have some heavy stuff here for legs that I’ll never need for arms. but getting a set of adjustables that go super high is probably the best way to ensure you always have a place to progress to.
Watching : Crush!
As I’m sure many of you already know, I’m a huge fan of gripper training. It’s highly addictive.
Still, there’s a lot more to it than simply grabbing the nearest gripper and squeezing it repeatedly. Whether you’re competing or simply doing it to build strength, a spot of instruction goes a long, long way.
I’ll post up a full review shortly, but suffice to say that Jedd ‘Napalm‘ Johnson‘s latest DVD is absolutely perfect. If you’re ready to take your gripper work seriously, grab a copy of Crush!.
Brilliant.
Quick update on the StrongerGrip Loadable Club Set we noted a while ago : I had a great discussion recently 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 : Core Training – Chop Circuit
Joe Hashey shares a great way to put a tyre (or tire if you prefer) to work – the Chop Circuit. Nice one.
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.