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 :
DIY : How to Build a Wrist Roller
Matt Hunt
Looking for a DIY project for the weekend? Have a go at this.
Looking At : Jul 8, 2012
Scott Andrew Bird
We’ve been discussing some very interesting techniques, products and services recently. Here are the highlights.
Over to you. I’d love to hear what you think : leave your comments on the above articles, and share them with your friends/colleagues/clients and so on.
NB : If you’d like to submit your own piece for Straight to the Bar, here’s how.
Video : Coming Soon – Mike ‘The Machine‘ Bruce’s World Record Attempt
If you’ve ever read articles by the incredible Mike ‘The Machine‘ Bruce (or been lucky enough to see him perform live), you may have seen this feat. It’s the one pictured at the top of this piece.
As he explains in this video, he’s getting ready to perform it one more time – setting a new world record in the process. Fantastic.
Gymchat 177 – Arm Training
Arm training can be a complex beast.
Considering the first exercise that comes to mind for many people is the humble bicep curl, it’s somewhat surprising that it’s a little tricky to encourage arms to gain size and strength in all the ‘right‘ ways. The ones that help with your own goals, whether you’re a professional Armwrestler, Powerlifter or Olympic Gymnast.
This week we’re looking at Arm Training overall. What’s involved, how it helps, and how to make sure it works for you. And if you’ve got any specific questions on your own arm training, fire them in. We’ll get through as many as we can.
Helping us explore this fascinating topic is none other than Olympic athlete, personal trainer and nutritionist Maik Wiedenbach. Fantastic.
As a bonus, we’ll also be having a bit of a giveaway this week. Maik will be giving out 5 copies of his latest ebook, 30 Secrets for Bigger Arms shortly after the gymchat, to randomly chosen commenters. If you’d like a chance to win copy of the book, just fire in a question or comment at any point during the discussion.
Details –
Who : Olympic athlete, personal trainer and nutritionist Maik Wiedenbach
Topic : Arm Training
When : Wed Jul 11, 9pm EDT (here’s how to find out when that is in your timezone)
How : Post a comment, question or reply
Where : https://plus.google.com/u/0/113406428532094481598/posts/ED17tPr1Ubw
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.
For everyone who’s joining us for their first Gymchat, welcome. Just dive right in, and ask Maik any questions you like on arm training.
See you there.
Quick update on last week’s gymchat : Thanks once again to everyone who took part in the discussion : Fitness & Health Devices. Some superb ideas in there.
For those who missed out on the conversation, here’s the transcript. Was a great one.
Incidentally, we noted a number of people, products and services during the discussion. I’ve put all of these into a Google+ Circle, which I’m more than happy to share with everyone looking to keep up with the world of Fitness Devices. If you’d like a copy, just let me know.
Tip of the Week: Finding Running & Cycle Routes When Travelling
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.
When you’re travelling, how do you find a suitable running or cycle route for your training? Chas has a few ideas.
From the discussion Gymchat 176 – Fitness & Health Devices :
For bike routes and running routes, strava.com, mapmyfitness, garmin connect, and dailymile.com are all good sources of information for routes. With mapmyfitness, I can even download the routes into my Garmin forerunner watch and actually have it navigate along the exact same route – and in some cases, even race against the person who made the route!
Well worth checking out.
Checking Out : HardStyle Abs
Really looking forward to this.
I’ve long been a fan of Pavel Tsatsouline‘s work, and I’m certainly keen to check this one out. It’s currently next on my ‘virtual reading pile‘.
A couple of paragraphs from the main page will explain what it’s all about :
The sole goal of Hardstyle Abs is to achieve an extraordinarily strong mid-section. But not simply to swivel heads with your rippling “six-pack“. For, according to Pavel, your abs should be simultaneously weapon, armor and force generator. The six-pack is just a side effect of the coiled power with which you now operate.
Hardstyle Abs will give you impenetrable body armor–to withstand a direct hit of the greatest magnitude. Hardstyle Abs will give you the generative force to retaliate with a devastating backlash. And Hardstyle Abs will help you lift more weight than ever before–more safely.
Pavel’s HardStyle Abs. Looks great.
Quick update on Industrial Strength Grip II : last week we mentioned the imminent arrival of Volume 2 of the Industrial Strength Grip DVD. To get an idea of what it’s all about, check out the sample video here.
If you’ve ever seen ‘Unbreakable‘ Adam Glass in action, you’ll appreciate just how powerful these techniques are. Superb.
Exercise of the Week : Box Jumps From Foam
Looking for a simple way to increase the difficulty of your box jumps? Just add a sheet of foam. Good stuff.
NB : the foam itself can be anything. I use something like this, but it can really be whatever you’ve got lying around.
Incidentally, if you’d like to get in touch regarding this or any other aspect of strength, you can contact me here. Look forward to hearing from you.
Free Downloads from the Strength Kit
I recently added a number of resources to the Straight to the Bar Strength Kit, and as a Strength & Fitness Newsletter subscriber you’re more than welcome to download as many of them as you like. Several great eBooks, podcasts and videos – all absolutely free.
Just head over here, save them to your hard-drive, and dive in.
Good stuff.
NB : This is an ever-changing list. If you’d like to put your own work in front of a fantastic strength-focussed audience, let me know.