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 : Straight to the Grip Contest Part V – The No-Sets
‘Napalm‘ Jedd Johnson
This is part of Jedd’s brilliant Straight to the Grip Contest series, looking specifically at the No-Set Techniques. Love it.
Looking At : Oct 6, 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 : DIY Finger Exerciser (TTK)
A home-made TTK (Titan’s Telegraph Key). Nice one Ross.
Incidentally, if you’ve never used one of these before, here’s how.
Gymchats
This week we’ve got not just one, but three incredible Gymchats lined up for you. If you love talking about training as much as we do, you’ll understand why.
A few details :
Gymchat 216 – Fat Loss Nutrition (with Ryan Phillips)
Fat Loss. How exactly do you go about things, and what can you expect? How do you move from the ‘physical transformation‘ to the ‘keeping it off‘ stage?
This week we’ll be covering this area in depth, with Fat Loss Expert Ryan Phillips and Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett. If you’ve got questions, just swing by the event page for this Gymchat (during the discussion itself). Details below.
Details –
Who : Fat Loss Expert Ryan Phillips and Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett
Topic : Fat Loss Nutrition
When : Monday Oct 7, 9am EDT (the Event page shows what time that is in your local timezone)
How : Watch the live stream, and ask questions, directly on the Event page. We’ll also post the full video shortly after the Gymchat.
See you there.
Gymchat 217 – Underground Strength Training (Zach Even-Esh)
When it comes to a no-nonsense training approach, it’s fair to sat that Zach Even-Esh walks the walk. His Underground Strength Gym is filled with ropes, sleds and thick-handled equipment of all types. An incredible place.
This week we’re discussing this ‘Underground Strength‘ approach to training. Why he does what he does, what works and how to incorporate these ideas into your own training.
Joining Zach is Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett – also a huge proponent of the no-nonsense training approach. If you’ve got questions for Zach & Josh, just swing by the event page for this Gymchat (during the discussion itself). Details below.
Details –
Who : Strength Coach Zach Even-Esh and Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett
Topic : Underground Strength Training
When : Monday Oct 9, 9pm EDT (the Event page shows what time that is in your local timezone)
How : Watch the live stream, and ask questions, directly on the Event page. We’ll also post the full video shortly after the Gymchat.
Gymchat 218 – Alternative Approaches to Exercise Prescription (Matthew Palfrey)
Your exercise routine. Which elements are set in stone, and which can simply be swapped for an alternative? And how exactly do you know what that alternative could – and should – be?
Diving in to this fascinating area is Strength Coach Matthew Palfrey, together with Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett. If you’ve got questions for Matt & Josh, just swing by the event page for this Gymchat (during the discussion itself). Details below.
Details –
Who : Strength Coach Matthew Palfrey and Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett
Topic : Alternative Approaches to Exercise Prescription
When : Monday Oct 10, 8am EDT (the Event page shows what time that is in your local timezone)
How : Watch the live stream, and ask questions, directly on the Event page. We’ll also post the full video shortly after the Gymchat.
Previously : Last week we held Gymchat 215 – The Health, Fitness, & Fat Loss Benefits of GARLIC (with Josh Hewett and Kurtis Frank). Great discussion.
If you missed the live stream (or just want to go over a particular point again), you can watch the entire video here.
Coming Up : In upcoming Gymchats we’ll be talking to Mike ‘The Machine‘ Bruce, Al Kavadlo and many, many others. Full details shortly.
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: Returning to Heavy Training – Inspecting the Equipment
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.
This tip is an answer to the question ‘If you’re using your old gear, how do you test things to make sure they’re still safe and working correctly?‘, directed at Vic Magary during the Heavy Training after a Break Gymchat. A great discussion.
“I think the most important thing to inspect would be the J-cups where you set the bar. Also simply taking a wrench to all of the bolts of a rack to make sure they are good and tight. Depending on the type, you may want to double check the collars. I’d think the barbell and plates would be fine even after a few years as long as they were subject to normal conditions.”
Good stuff.
Re-Reading : Upgraded Chef – 12 Core Recipes to Supercharge Your Body & Brain
This is a very interesting book that we first looked at a year ago now. If you missed the discussion the first time around, here’s a quick recap :
This looks great.
I’ve been intrigued by Dave’s work for a while now (he’s at bulletproofexec.com if you’d like to check it out), and am really keen to dive in to this one. The latest incarnation of the Upgraded Chef ebook.
The book outlines his own philosophy when it comes to nutrition. The reviews on Amazon describe it well; here’s a sample :
This book is meant for people who want to learn to cook with less toxins in less time and to eat a Bulletproof (or better-than-paleo) diet. It is not a self-upgrade manual; it’s a cookbook for people who want to use healthy cooking techniques to upgrade the way their body works.
Good stuff.
NB : I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one – he certainly has some interesting ideas. What do you think of Dave’s approach overall?
Quick update on the Lift the Blob package we mentioned recently – fantastic collection.
I’d love to hear how you go with it, when it comes to tackling this challenging feat you really can’t go past Lift the Blob. Superb.
Exercise of the Week : Kettlebell Deficit Deadlifts
The Diesel Crew demonstrates a couple of great ways to incorporate kettlebells in deadlift training – including Kettlebell Deficit Deadlifts with Chains. 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.