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, 25 May 2015

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 : How to Make Your Own Bumper Plates on a Budget
Scott Andrew Bird | Follow @scottbird
Ready to try a spot of Olympic Weightlifting? Make your own ‘plates’.
Looking At : May 24, 2015
Scott Andrew Bird |
Follow @scottbird
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’re keen to do a little fitness writing and would like to submit your own piece for Straight to the Bar, here’s how.

Video : How To Perform Glute Ham Raises

Just got your new toy? Here’s how to use it :

Nice one.

Gymchat 277 – 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.
In the meantime, take a look at some of the previous episodes of the show – there’s a full list here. And if you’ve got any questions or comments on the various topics discussed, we’d love to hear them. Just leave a note below the video.

Nassim Jebran.

Previously : In Gymchat 276 we discussed How to GRIND for Your Gains (with Strength Coach (and Strength Athlete) Nassim Jebran and Personal Trainer and Strength Athlete Josh Hewett). Great conversation.
If you missed the live stream (or just want to go over a particular point again), you can watch the entire video here.

Tip of the Week: Lifting Without a Spotter

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.

Andrew Nalepa.

I love the home gym – it’s definitely the perfect place to focus, and to really get to work. Particularly when you’re training solo.
That said, there are a few things to keep in mind when lifting by yourself. In the Setting Up the Home Gym Gymchat, Andrew noted his own guidelines for Lifting Without a Spotter. Good stuff.

From Gymchat 167 – Setting Up the Home Gym :

My personal general rules for lifting without a spotter:
Don’t do:

1. Anything I haven’t done before.

2. Anything that could get me killed.

3. Anything that I am not 100% sure that I will get all the reps.

4. Anything that I cannot do with good form.

Do:

1. Anything that doesn’t violate the “don’t do” and will get me stronger!

Love it.

Checking Out : StrongerGrip Wrist Rattler

StrongerGrip Wrist Rattler.

I love the StrongerGrip stuff. Top quality gear.
This is a very interesting device – the Wrist Rattler. You can doubtless see the basic idea from the image at left; and yes, it’s highly customizable. Looks great.
The StrongerGrip Wrist Rattler. Good stuff.
NB : if you’re grabbing one soon (before midnight), use the code SG10 at checkout for a %10 discount.

Quick update on the Hip Thruster we mentioned recently – fantastic thing.
Rather than trying to explain how it works, here it is in action :

Good stuff Bret, looks great.

Exercise of the Week : 180kg Military Bench

If you’ve ever thought about competing in the Virtual Meets, you may be wondering exactly what a military bench is. Here it is in action; with 180kg (400lbs). Incidentally, that’s the kind of spotting I like – there if needed (rather than to assist in the lift itself).

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.

Images of Strength

Wide Plate Pinch.

As you might expect, we love seeing training-related photographs. Pics of your home gym, DIY equipment, workouts, diet or competitions – it’s all fantastic.
If you’ve got an image or three that you’d love to share with a strength-focussed audience, just upload them to Flickr/Instagram/SmugMug and send us the link. Cheers.

Straight to the Bar Strength Calendar

Straight to the Bar Strength Calendar.

Taking part in, helping out with or going to watch an upcoming strength competition?
Tell us about it.

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.

Giving

Straight to the Bar Team on Kiva.

If you’ve been training for a while, gradually cleaning up your diet, no doubt you’ve experienced the amazing power of transformation. It’s a tremendous feeling.
If you’re ready to give someone else a hand to transform their own lives – through education, sharing equipment, financial help – take a look at the full list of organisations on the Giving page. Cheers.