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 : Making Your Own Gym Equipment – DIY Grip Tools
Scott Andrew Bird | Follow @scottbird
Build it yourself.

Looking At : Oct 3, 2021
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 : 30 Minutes of Jump Rope Every Day for 30 Days (Goal Guys)

Long-term readers may recall my earliest forays into the world of 30 Day Challenges. They’re wonderful things – forcing you to return to the world of the beginner, and to rapidly learn a new skill. Love them. As for this one, well I’ll let the guys explain.

Gymchat 278 – TBA

We’re still finalising the details for this week’s discussion. I’ll post them on the blog (and Twitter, Facebook 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 260 we discussed Strength Coach Frank DiMeo, joined by Personal Trainer (and Strength Athlete) Josh Hewett, with Strength Coach Frank DiMeo, joined by 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’ll find 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.

Checking Out : Pocket Monkii 2 (Suspension Setup For Travel Workouts)

Looks great. The Pocket Monkii 2 is a basic suspension setup with a definite focs on travel workouts. And given how many of those we’re likely to be part of iin the coming year or two, it’s an ideal piece of equipment. To see the gear itself – and the companion smartphone app, a spot of video :
The Pocket Monkii 2.

Tip of the Week : The Power of Naming Your Workouts

Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via Twitter, the blog; and the newsletter. Wherever you are, there’s always a way to improve what you’re doing.

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Here’s a simple technique which greatly increases the potential of your workouts. Kira describes the full process in the article Give Your Workout a Name!, but here’s a quick story to give you the basic idea :

A few years ago, a couple of young dudes I trained with (Muay Thai), wanted to do some extra conditioning work. I offered to take them on a run up Puke Hill on the weekends. After a few nervous side-glances, both of them asked, “Why is it called Puke Hill?” After striking a suitably melodramatic pose, I just smiled and then walked away. When they finally got to do the run, I noticed three distinct changes to the way they normally trained:

• Intensity – It was the hardest I’d seen either of them train.
• Team-work – When one of them almost gave up, the other one slowed down and ran beside his friend–helping him to complete the last set of sprints.
• Accomplishment – After the run, neither whined or complained. In fact, despite their exhaustion, both had shit-eating grins plastered across their ugly faces.

Of course Puke Hill is just a hill. Sure it was steep, and using it for interval-sprints was quite challenging, but what hill sprints aren’t challenging? So here’s the point of my story: I believe that by simply giving the run a name, my two padawans trained harder, worked together better, and gained a greater sense of individual and shared achievement.

Good stuff.

Unlock Your Hips, Unlock Your Squat

I get a lot of questions regarding the impact of ‘unlocking your hips‘ on heavy squatting. Rick Kaselj goes into it in plenty of detail in the ‘Unlock Your Hip Flexors‘ program; and I’ve also posted a brief video below which demonstrates/explains some of the exercises.
Both (working with Ryan, and Rick’s program) are highly recommended. And as always, we love hearing your feedback – if you sample any of the above exercises or the ‘Unlock Your Hip Flexors‘ program, we’d love to hear about it.

Exercise of the Week : Kettlebell Training In The Pool

Via Kettlebell Rob : A great summer workout – Kettlebell training in the pool.

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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.

Fitness Reading For The Week : Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan, America’s First Sports Hero (Christopher Klein)

It’ll come as no surprise that we discuss a lot of fitness-related books; on this site as well as the various networks noted in the sidebar. I’m currently reading ‘Strong Boy‘, Christopher Klein’s wonderful biography of boxing champion John L. Sullivan. Nice and detailed – strongly recommended. Incidentally, I’ve got an evergrowing list of ‘books to read‘, and I’m always looking to add to it. Suggestions welcome. There’s also a list of our all-time fitness suggestions over on Goodreads. Dive on in.