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.



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?



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.



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.



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.



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, 14 Oct 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 : Starting Your Fitness Journey – 10 Things to Consider
Scott Andrew Bird
Just getting started? Welcome.
Looking At : Oct 13, 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 : Eric Lilliebridge – Deadlift Training Week 3, 370kgs (815lbs)

Nice one Eric.

Gymchat 219 – TBA

Mystery Guest.

We’re still finalising the details for this week’s discussion. I’ll post them on the blog (and Twitter, Google+ etc) shortly.

Details –
Who : TBA
Topic : TBA
When : Wednesday Oct 16, 9pm EST
How : Google+ Hangout. If you’ve never been to one, just swing by the Event page (we’ll post that shortly) and ask a question or three.
URL : We’ll be announcing this shortly – both on the blog and on Google+ itself.

Zach Even-Esh.

Previously : Last week we held three incredible discussions – Gymchat 216, Gymchat 217 and Gymchat 218. Absolutely fantastic.
If you missed any of the live streams, you can watch the full videos over on Josh’s Youtube channel. Dive in.

Josh Hewett.

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. And if you’d like to add your comments and suggestions on the Gymchats in general, you can do that here. Cheers.

Tip of the Week : Finding a Personal Trainer

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.

It’s about more than the money.

When it comes to getting a fitness professional who’s going to help you clarify and reach your goals, finding one is half the battle. Offering a couple of suggestions in that area is Total Transformation’s John Kaiser, who’s had more than a little experience himself.
Nice one. Over to John.

From the article Eliminating the Lug Nuts: How to Find a Good Trainer, a few thoughts :

Get the Digits. Step one, ask your trainer for references that you can contact. Step two, contact those references. It is amazing how many people miss step two–apparently asking for references only as a bluff. When you call the list of references, ask about their results. Where did they start and how far has he taken them? Did their hard work combined with his training know-how pay off? Has he been reliable and professional?
Good trainers get results; lug nuts only get your money.
One Size Fits All. Is the nutrition/training sheet your trainer gives you just a black and white copy–the same one he hands out to all his clients? Or does she/he give you a personalized workout and nutrition plan? You are paying for a personalized approach, so make sure you get it!
Good Trainers Personalize, Bad Trainers Xerox
Can’t we All Just get Along? There is nothing worse than putting down several hundred dollars on a personal trainer only to find that the two of you can’t get along. So pay for a few individual sessions (even if it costs a bit more). This will give you an opportunity to get to know the trainer, see how he runs his shop, and strike up a rapport. You aren’t auditioning him/her for the role of best friend, but you should expect a certain level of professionalism.
A good trainer is always professional

Good stuff.

Looking Forward To : ‘Strongman‘ on DVD

Stanley ‘Stanless Steel‘ Pleskun.

Fantastic.
Remember the film ‘Strongman‘? A fascinating look at Stanley ‘Stanless Steel‘ Pleskun – a truly amazing guy.
It’s about to hit the shelves in the form of a DVD, and Digital Download (on iTunes, Amazon Instant and Vudu). Really looking forward to checking it out once again.
‘Strongman‘.

Quick update on the Lift the Blob package we mentioned recently – fantastic collection.

Jedd Johnson.

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 : Heavy Barbell Shrugs

I love shrugs as much as anyone, but this is getting serious. Anthony Giza knocks out 11 reps with 725lb. Not bad at all.

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.