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, 8 Jul 2013

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 : DIY: Home-Made Gym Equipment
Scott Andrew Bird
We’ve talked about home-made equipment a lot over the years. Here’s the first major roundup.
Incidentally, I’m always keen to see the results of your DIY labours. If you’re ready to show off one or two of your own projects that are working well, swing by the Google+ Community. See you there.
Looking At : Jul 7, 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 : Kettlebell Bear Crawls

Good stuff Brett.

Gymchat 204 – Training & Competing with Google Glass (with Chas Melichar)

Chas Melichar.

Technologies such as Google Glass look set to change the way a great many things happen. When it comes to medicine, entertainment, journalism and a whole lot more.
What sorts of changes do you think are possible (and even likely) when it comes to the world of strength training? How will workouts change, and the various types of fitness-related competitions available? Discussing this intriguing area : Triathlete, Pilot and Google Glass Owner Chas Melichar; Personal Trainer Kirk Fontaine and You. Fantastic.

NB : I’m very keen to hear both Chas‘ thinking on these technologies, and yours. If you’ve got questions or opinions on things like Google Glass, join us on the Hangout. Here’s how.

Details –
Who Ultrarunner, airline captain and insanely competitive triathlete, Chas Melichar
Topic : Training & Competing with Google Glass
When : Wed Jul 10, 9pm EST (here’s how to find out when that is in your timezone)
URL : We’ll be announcing this shortly – both on the blog and on Google+ itself.
See you there.

Dai ‘The Moose‘ Manuel.

Previously : In Gymchat 203 we talked about ‘Crossfit Principles‘, with CrossFit Level 1 Coach, Dai Manuel and Personal Trainer Kirk Fontaine. Great discussion.
If you missed the broadcast, the video is available over on Kirk’s Youtube Channel. That’s also the best place to subscribe to the videos directly, and to see previous discussions.

If you’d like to suggest a future topic, or schedule an interview for one of the upcoming discussions, you can send us a message privately here, or swing by our Community site on Google+. Look forward to hearing from you.

Tip of the Week: Atlas Stone Technique

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.

As you may have already noticed, we’re constantly adding new pages to the Guides section of this site. One of the most recent additions looks at the many ways to lift heavy stones – good fun.
To get you in the mood for a little stone work, here’s the incredible Jouko Ahola explaining (and demonstrating) one of the most popular forms – Atlas Stone lifting. Love it.

NB : In addition to the technique itself, Jouko makes an excellent point near the end of the video. He notes that in his own training the platforms are a little higher than those used in competitions, and the stones are slightly heavier. Sage advice indeed.

Re-Reading : Raising the Bar

Raising the Bar : The Definitive Guide to Bar Calisthenics.

Remember this? Superb book.
Over the weekend I found myself discussing calisthenics with a friend of mine, which resulted in two things :
1. an impromptu workout
2. a re-reading of Al Kavadlo’s superb book, Raising the Bar : The Definitive Guide to Bar Calisthenics.
If you haven’t already, check it out. Love it.

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 : Sandbag Half Moon

I love sandbag training. Here’s the Sandbag Half Moon.

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

Returning to Heavy Training After a Break

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?

Shout!

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.