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 : Thomas Topham – The First Modern Strongman
Scott Andrew Bird | Follow @scottbird
Where it all began.- Looking At : Dec 17, 2017
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 : ShredsLife
This will be an interesting series – showing the rapid cutting of body fat. Silent Mike explains.
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 268 we discussed Bulking on a Budget (with Personal Trainer Adam Klymkiw and Personal Trainer 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.
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.
Health & Fitness Predictions for 2018
As this is the last full newsletter for 2017 (Merry Christmas!), I’ve listed a few predictions for the coming year. Things we’re bound to be talking about.
NB : I always receive some wonderful feedback on these ‘peer into the future‘ posts – greatly appreciated. If you’d like to drop me a line, just point me to a tweet or leave a comment on Google+. Cheers.
Graphene begins to be used in high-end sports clothing. First cab off the rank – running shoes.
Many more medical conditions move from ‘no treatment available‘ to ‘treatable‘ and even ‘curable‘ in some cases. This includes a number of neurodegenerative conditions – with everything from Parkinsons to ALS being aided to some degree.
Brain implants to assist with memory recall first used in Alzheimer’s patients. This is a wonderful extension of the ‘Deep Brain Stimulation‘ idea, and will undoubtedly lead to assistance with several more memory-related conditions – and ultimately for everyone who simply wants a boost in that regard.
Partial removal of senescent cells performed on patients with no obvious medical need (elective surgery). This is to (hopefully) slow the aging process in humans – it already shows promise in mice.
Medical drone distribution centers begin to appear. These are to quickly distribute medical supplies in remote areas.
NB : future incarnations should be fairly mobile, for use in disaster-hit areas.
Probiotic supplements begin to hit the market. I suspect the Fitbiomics ones will be first.
Several Personal Trainer audio assistants (in headphone form) available for runners, cyclists, swimmers – many of them with integration to other apps + services. If you’re a fitness professional of any kind, this presents a wonderful opportunity.
General Trends
Wearables gradually become more accurate, and several of them are certified as diagnostic devices. Think smartwatches, contact lenses, temporary tattoos and earbuds.
As Augmented Reality devices (and the associated software) continue to improve, ‘Virtual Workouts‘ will appear in various incarnations. Everything from ‘product ‘x’ in your living room’ to an ability to work out in your idealised fantasy gym.
Air pollution continues to disappear, globally. 2018 is very likely to see the release of many new electric cars, the launch of electric car-sharing schemes, electric cargo ships and a whole lot more.
Incidentally – if you’re wondering how we did last time around, here’s the list.
Checking Out : Best of 2018
We’ve pointed to some wonderful products over the past 12 months – books, downloadable videos, pieces of equipment and so on. Here are just a few of our favourites :
The Pullup & Dip | Great idea.
The Tim Ferriss Show #252 – The ‘Meathead Millionaire’ – SuperTraining’s Mark Bell | Love this show.
The Blazepod | A great way to put yourself to the test.
The QLIPP Tennis Sensor | Interesting idea.
The Immortal Strength Harness and Water-Fillable Club | Superb combination.
The HearScope Smartphone Otoscope | Very interesting pairing.
The Radius™ F1 – Smart Bike Light | Fantastic.
Incidentally – if you’re searching for something specific, there’s a full list here. I’d also love to hear what your own favourite items are – jump over to the Google+ Community and let us know.
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 : You’re Never Too Young To Learn Pull-Ups
Shari Keener teaching Chloe pull-ups on the dip bars. And yes, there’s a little jumping going on.
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.