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 : Road to Strong
Davie Easton (What Davie Did)
Just do it.

Looking At : Jul 3, 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 : Old School Bodybuilding vs Current Approaches (Will Tennyson)

Many, many changes. (As for my own workouts, they’re a blend of the two : 1970s bodybuilding simplicity paired with the current understanding of nutrition.)

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 165 we discussed Use What’s Around You with Combat athlete Andrew Nalepa & 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 : Kiko (Laser Height Measurer)

Interesting idea. The Kiko is a laser height measurer for assessing (and recording – it’s paired with a smartphone app) your kids’ height. A companion smart scale completes the package. A little video :
The Kiko.

Tip of the Week: Dynamic Thumb Training with the Titan’s Telegraph Key

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 love a dose of grip work; it’s a great way to challenge yourself. It’s also a particularly fun way to train. Still, there’s always a different way of looking at things. Here’s an excellent example of that – Jedd shows just how a piece of equipment like the TTK can be put to a slightly uncommon use. I’ll let him explain.
From the article Getting the Most out of Your TTK :

Thumb training can be broken up into at least four different types: Dynamic, Static, and Extensor, and Multi-Planar. The focus of this article will be Dynamic thumb training with the Titan’s Telegraph Key, or TTK.

One way to mix things up a bit is to make the Range of Motion longer by adding something underneath the finger-side handle. A catalog is a perfect choice for this. This makes the hand work through a longer range of motion the muscles are not used to. The first time I did this, I was sore for several days from the new stimulus. This technique has worked great for me in my quest for lifting heavier and wider block weights.

A brief demonstration :
Love it.

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.

Exercises of the Week : Parkour Conditioning for Upper Body and Core

From Glasgow Parkour : a brief look at Parkour conditioning for the upper body and core. There are a couple of very interesting variations in there – particularly the Hanging Knee Raises to Elbows (pictured). Definitely one I’ll be adding to my workouts.

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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 : A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Written by Bill Bryson, Narrated by Rob McQuay)

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. A friend of mine was discussing his various hiking trips with me over the weekend, and I mentioned that I enjoyed a bit of bushwalking myself. Paired with a spot of outdoor training, of course. After the conversation he noted Bill Bryson’s ‘Walk In The Woods’. I missed it the first time around, and am just about to dive in. Looks great. 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.