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 :
Transformation Techniques V – Nutritional Basics 1 – Energy Requirements
Jason Paris, CSCS
This is a superb series. If you’re ready to physically transform yourself, read on.
Looking At : Dec 8, 2013
Scott Andrew Bird
What’s been going on this week? Quite a lot actually.
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 : How To Handstand
Ever wanted to tackle the handstand? Superb thing.
Gymchat 228 – In-Season Training for Hockey (Conor Doherty)
Ice Hockey – great sport.
How do you train for it, particularly during the season itself?
This week we’ll be answering this exact question, with Personal Trainers Conor Doherty and Josh Hewett. If you’ve got questions for Conor or Josh, just swing by the event page for this Gymchat (during the discussion itself). Details below.
Details –
Who : Personal Trainers Conor Doherty and Josh Hewett
Topic : In-Season Training for Hockey
When : Wednesday Dec 11, 8pm 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.
Previously : Last week we held Gymchat 227 – The Tempo Matrix (with Karsten Jensen and Josh Hewett). 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 : we’ve got several fantastic discussions lined up for the next few months – featuring Mike ‘The Machine‘ Bruce, Ben McLaughlin and many, many more. Details shortly.
And if you’d like to suggest a future topic or take part in one of the upcoming Gymchats, just drop Josh a line. We’d love to hear from you.
Movember 2013
Movember is over for 2013 – cheers to everyone who contributed a dollar or two. Greatly appreciated.
If you haven’t donated yet, and would like to, swing by Josh Hewett‘s page :
http://ca.movember.com/mospace/7377745
And thanks again. It seriously is for a great cause – prostate cancer research. Cheers.
Tip of the Week: Stretching Causes Weakness
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 from Josh Hewett‘s excellent ‘Bulletproof Your Body‘ series. The impact of stretching on both strength and injury.
Over to Josh :
Exercise physiologists have concluded that passive stretching not only has no effect on preventing injuries, but it can actually make you even more likely to get hurt. But I didn’t take their word on it… I’ve experienced the effects of passive vs. active stretching first hand. I’ve also worked with biomechanics specialists who use Applied Kinesiology muscle testing as a reproducible way to measure muscle strength and responsiveness. They demonstrated that in almost every case a passive stretch is performed the muscles will test weak after. On the other hand, active isometric exercise will improve muscle activation.
Good stuff. Note that this is only a snippet from the full piece – swing by Josh‘ blog for the entire article. A great read.
Re-Investigating : The TRX Suspension Trainer
As you might expect at this time of the year, we’ve been talking a lot lately about training when travelling. How to get the sweat flowing when you’re away from home.
Personally, I’m a big fan of suspension training – been using a TRX for years. Beautiful thing.
I’m sure that many of you have seen things like the TRX in action; or used one yourself. Just in case though, here’s a bit of video to help show what it is and how you can put it to work :
Cheers Umberto.
And of course, there’s Derek‘s excellent guide on getting the most out of this incredible tool : Suspension Training 101. Absolutely free.
Quick update on the Hip Thruster we mentioned last week – fantastic thing.
Rather than trying to explain how it works, here it is in action :
Good stuff Bret, looks great.
Exercise of the Week : Front Kick Explanation and Demonstration
Pail Zaichik takes a detailed look at two common varieties of front kick. Good stuff.
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.