![Max Shank (Strong as Hell) Max Shank (Strong as Hell)](https://straighttothebar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Z9MZT_H0HLo.jpg)
Max Shank (Strong as Hell) | Follow @MaxShank
Fantastic piece of equipment.
![Scott Andrew Bird Scott Andrew Bird](http://straighttothebar.com/images/featured/scottbird120.jpg)
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 : The ULTIMATE Health Test for…EVERYONE? (InsideTracker Review) (Katie Type A)
Great review of the InsideTracker blood-testing service. Not cheap, but if your budget permits – it’s highly recommended.
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 133 we discussed Workout Nutrition with Personal Trainer Kirk Fontaine and Examine.com‘s Kurtis Frank. Great conversation.
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 : Otus Personal Eye-Trainer (Automated Training Device)
Looks great. The Otus is an eye-training device, which exercises the muscles on either side of each lens. These exercises are created specifically for each person, and up to 4 people can use the one device. To see the device itself, a little video :The Otus eye-training device.
Ever Tried Kettlebells?
If you've seen people using them but never taken the plunge yourself, here are the ones I use personally. You can also pick up a book/DVD/course if you want to learn how to put them to work.
Tip of the Week : Bending Steel = Increased Strength Endurance
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.![Adam T Glass Adam T Glass](http://www.straighttothebar.com/images/bios/adam5shoe.jpg)
There are many great reasons for bending things, as ‘Unbreakable‘ Adam Glass notes in the article Why Bend Steel? Apart from the simple ‘because it’s downright fun‘ :
The increase in strength and power naturally will carry over to an increase in your endurance. Anyone who has bent a nail will tell you the first time they bent it was so tiring. I have watched people sweat bullets bending their first respectable nail. As time goes on you gain huge reserves of power. A personal testament to this level of power for me was October 2007 when I bent 150 60D nails in one hour using the double under (DU) grip. That represented a massive improvement from Jan 2007, when bending 10-15 nails left my hands extremely fatigued.Good stuff.