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 : The Dragon Flag
Al Kavadlo | Follow @AlKavadlo
And yes, it’s as hard as it looks.

Looking At : Jun 12, 2022
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 BEST form of Exercise for Burning Fat, Building Muscle, & Improving Longevity (Mind Pump)

Fascinating conversation on the benefits of a bit of time in the weight room.

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 160 we discussed Supplementation with with Renaissance Fitness‘ Derek Peruo & Personal Trainer Kirk Fontaine. 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 : Silver Pillow (Self-Cleaning, Ventilated Pillow)

Interesting idea. The Silver Pillow is a ventilated, curved pillow with an antimicrobial covering. Great combination. I’ll be putting this one to the test shortly. In the meantime, a little video :
The Silver Pillow.

Tip of the Week: Constantly Fine-Tune Things

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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I’ve received more emails over the years on the transition to biphasic sleeping than almost anything else I’ve ever written. I can’t thank everyone enough for those, they really are appreciated. Thank you. Most of them take the form of ‘do you think this would work…‘ and the answer is usually to try it and see. I really haven’t made any large structural changes to the original routine; however there has been a little fine-tuning. A snippet from the article Biphasic Sleep : 30 Day Summary explains the overall idea :

When I started doing this, my idea was to have a 1.5 hour nap and a 3 hour main sleep period. This proved to be a little under what my body required, and I switched to a 3/4.5 hour split (3 hours by default, 4.5 on workout days). Once again this didn’t feel like quite enough, and I changed to a regular 1.5 hour nap followed by a 4.5 hour sleep (every day). This feels right.

 

I say this to demonstrate that making small changes can be of benefit, and I’ll continue to make them as required. As the volume of weight training increases (as it almost certainly will), as I age and as my life situation in general changes; the length of the main sleep period will change.

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 : The Strongman Swing

Tactical Athlete’s Jeff Martone dusts off a great kettlebell or dumbbell exercise – the Strongman Swing. Looks fantastic.

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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 : How Taste Changed The World (by Adam Liaw)

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. How Taste Changed The World by Adam Liaw is a fascinating look at the history and anatomy behind our ability to taste foods. Love it. 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 there. Dive on in.