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 : Bars, Plates, Hooks and Collars
Scott Andrew Bird | Follow @scottbird
The Heart of The Home Gym.- Looking At : Dec 18, 2016
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, get in touch.
Video : Rock Climbing – Transitioning from the Gym to the Crag (Meagan Martin)
Great information Meagan.
Gymchat 278 – TBA
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 an example below, and 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.
Previously : In Gymchat 205 we discussed Paleo Dieting (with Kettlebell and CrossFit Coach Adam Farrah and Personal Trainer Kirk Fontaine). 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.
NB : if you’d like to take part in a future episode – either as an interviewee, or as a guest host – just drop us a line. Love hearing how everyone else trains.
The Future of Fitness : Health & Fitness Predictions for 2017
As has become customary at this time of year, I’ll share a few thoughts on the fitness-related changes I suspect we’ll see in the year ahead. Things that will have an impact whether you’re on the ‘training regularly‘ or ‘fitness professional‘ side of the fence.
Diving in :
- Suspected brain injuries are diagnosed on sporting field sidelines, while the play continues. Players are often cleared and returned within the same game.
NB : even if a brain injury is discovered, it is quite possibly treatable. For more on this, see the piece on Therapeutic Hypothermia we looked at recently. - Wearable devices begin to include constant blood glucose monitors. Paired with their health & fitness recommendations, these begin to become far more common.
Particularly among professional athletes. - Human trials of synthetic blood begin. It even gets used in surgery.
NB : this doesn’t wipe out the need for blood donations – yet. - Virtual Reality has a vast number of potential uses, one of which is an anatomy app. Several of these are created, initially for educational uses.
NB : as the technology improves, these apps become far more powerful – gradually incorporating more and more actual patient data. - Pain levels become quantifiable – measured via an implanted or an external device. Initially for use solely in a handful of medical settings, quickly moving to hospice and home care environments.
- The X-Prize ‘tricorder‘ competition wraps up, with the birth of several extremely promising medical diagnostic devices. Handheld, and able to automatically diagnose an ever-growing list of illnesses.
Over to you. What are your own thoughts on the various items above? What else would you expect to see, and when?
Checking Out : The Intuitive Flow ‘Daily Double‘
This looks great.
The Intuitive Flow ‘Daily Double‘ is simply a pair of exercise sets one for the morning, one for the evening. Basic bodyweight movements.
This video outlines the overall idea :
The Intuitive Flow ‘Daily Double‘.
NB : I’ll share my thoughts once I’ve been doing these for a while. And yes, I’d love to hear your own experiences – both with this, and the entire Intu-Flow Longevity System.
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 : The Beauty of Ladder Climbing
Ladder Climbing – a beautifully simple way to work out.
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.
Want to Guest Host a Gymchat?
I love the Gymchats – great show. Fantastic to hear how everyone trains.
To help uncover even more, I’d like to extend an invitation. For you to act as a Guest Host, and interview someone you know about their own workouts & competitions. Whether that’s a work colleague, training partner or just someone you know who likes to lift.
If you’d like to Guest Host an episode or two of the show, let me know. And if you haven’t watched any yet and would like to see what they’re all about, there’s a full list here. Cheers.
Images of Strength
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.
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.
Strength Training on Instagram
It’s fair to say that we’ve checked out quite a few images over the years – on Flickr, Smugmug, and of course Google+.
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.
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.
Powerful Peacemaker
If you’re involved in law enforcement, you doubtless understand the importance of keeping as fit, strong & healthy as possible. Can make a real difference.
Whilst there are many ways to learn the various skills and techniques required, the one I personally favour is something like the ‘Powerful Peacemaker‘ Facebook group. To find out what it’s all about – and for access – head over to :
powerfulpeacemaker.com.
It’s a great way to learn.
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.