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 :
Gem From the Vault : Soothing Music and a Handful of New PRs
Scott Andrew Bird
What sort of music do you listen to whilst training?
Incidentally, I wrote this one more than 7 years ago. My numbers have gone up slightly since then 🙂- Looking At : May 19, 2013
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 : Iso Hold Bench Training
From Mike :
Holds as close to chest as possible without touching. Last set of 250 5X3 and last set of close grip with 185 (legs up). These things suck, but man they work.
Good stuff.
Gymchat 203 – TBA
We’re still finalising the details for this week’s discussion. I’ll post them on the blog (and Twitter, Google+ etc) shortly; here are the various ways to watch/join in.
However you take part, enjoy.
btw, Kirk’s offline for a couple of weeks – I’ll let him fill everyone in on the details when he gets back. In the meantime, we’ll be presenting a couple of guest-hosted Gymchats. And if you’d like to help moderate one of them, just let me know.
Details –
Who : TBA
Topic : TBA
When : Wednesday May 22, 9pm EST
How : Google+ Hangout. If you’ve never been to one, here’s how to take part.
URL : We’ll be announcing this shortly – both on the blog and on Google+ itself.
NB : If this is the first time you’re joining us for one of the Video Gymchats, welcome. There are three basic ways to watch this (depending on whether you want to join us on the Hangout and ask a question or two, or just sit back and take it all in) – full details here. However you like to do it, we’ve got you covered.
Coming Up : In upcoming Gymchats we’ll be discussing CrossFit, Rope Training and the Fitness Future of technologies such as Google Glass. Get your questions ready.
And if you’d like to suggest a topic for a future discussion – or volunteer to be interviewed on the show – just drop us a line. Cheers.
Tip of the Week: Dynamic Thumb Training with the Titan’s Telegraph Key
Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via Twitter, Google+, the blog; and now the newsletter. Wherever you are, there’s always a way to improve what you’re doing.
I love a dose of grip work; it’s a great way to challenge yourself. It’s also a particularly fun way to train.
Still, there’s always a different way of looking at things. Here’s an excellent example of that – Jedd shows just how a piece of equipment like the TTK can be put to a slightly uncommon use. I’ll let him explain.
From the article Getting the Most out of Your TTK :
Thumb training can be broken up into at least four different types: Dynamic, Static, and Extensor, and Multi-Planar.
The focus of this article will be Dynamic thumb training with the Titan’s Telegraph Key, or TTK.
One way to mix things up a bit is to make the Range of Motion longer by adding something underneath the finger-side handle. A catalog is a perfect choice for this. This makes the hand work through a longer range of motion the muscles are not used to. The first time I did this, I was sore for several days from the new stimulus. This technique has worked great for me in my quest for lifting heavier and wider block weights.
A brief demonstration :
Love it.
Checking Out : Push and Crush
This looks great.
‘Napalm‘ Jedd Johnson‘s Push and Crush shares a somewhat unorthodox (but extremely effective) way to train with grippers. It involves a mix of both gripper training and specific multi-joint lifts. Sounds great.
Full details of the course are over on The Grip Authority site; suffice to say though, it’s comprehensive. And if you’ve been lucky enough to check out any of Jedd’s other work, you know you’re in for a treat.
Push and Crush.
Quick update on the Renaissance Fitness Supplement Kits we mentioned recently – superb idea.
As we noted, we’ll be reviewing these shortly. And if you missed the announcement, here’s a brief video to explain the basic idea :
For more information, head on over to the official site – renaissancefitnessinc.com.
Exercise of the Week : Setup for Band Speed Deadlifts
How do you rig up bands for speed deadlifts? Like this. Nice one.
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.
Kettlebell Exercise Demonstrations & Tutorials
We’ve looked at a lot of kettlebell exercises and variations over the years – in the form of tips, tutorials and demonstrations.
Where do you find them all? Right here – a complete list of Kettlebell Exercise Demonstrations & Tutorials.
Enjoy.
A Daily Dose
Love this stuff? Same here. If you’re looking for a daily dose of strength-training goodness, grab the Straight to the Bar Daily.
Absolutely free.
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.
Want to Help Out?
As you’ve doubtless noticed, in addition to the main site is a Community on Google+, Facebook and Twitter. Wherever you are, a daily dose of strength isn’t all that far away.
To help run all of these sites, we’re on the lookout for several new Moderators. To welcome new community members, bring up new items to discuss and generally keep the conversations on track.
If you’re already spending a bit of time at any of the above sites, and would like to offer your services as a Moderator, just drop us a line below. And thanks for that, it really is appreciated.
Contact either :
Kirk Fontaine, Community Manager, Straight to the Bar
or me :
Scott Andrew Bird, Editor, Straight to the Bar
Thanks again. Look forward to hearing from you.