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 : A Commercial Gym in 2020
Scott Andrew Bird
I wrote this in 2015 – what would you add/change/delete for a gym in 2027?

Looking At : Nov 6, 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 : Muscle Control – The Lost Secret to Old-Time Strength (The Bioneer)

An interesting look at the basic approach to Muscle Control.

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 187 we discussed Bodyweight and Suspension Training with Pierre Johnson, together with Personal Trainer Kirk Fontaine. Great conversation. (And if you missed it the first time (or just want to go over a particular point again), check out the full video over on Kirk’s Youtube channel : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9WCYjVPOxo).
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 : Blacktime 11PM (Fitness-Tracking Smartwatch)

Looks great. The Blacktime 11PM is a fitness-focussed smartwatch, with a somewhat familiar array of sensors. It also has a rather unusual layout, and suitably rugged styling. The video below will show you what I mean.
The Blacktime 11PM.

Tip of the Week : The Stages of Workout Nutrition

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. This tip is a brief look at the major stages of workout nutrition, and their goals. A bit of fine-tuning here can go a long way indeed.

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From Gymchat 133 – Workout Nutrition :

Kurtis Frank.

Any meal can contribute to a workout (glycogen replenishment mostly), but generally workout nutrition is broken into three segments. The pre-workout, the intra-workout (optional dependent on goals), and the post-workout. Pre-workout is literally just a meal you eat before you hit the gym. It holds more importance than other meals (say, breakfast if you train in the PM) since the nutrients you ingest at this meal will still be floating around in your blood when it comes time for a workout. Intra-workout is typically something you bring to the gym to sip on, and where stuff typically gets all fancy with supplementation and is the area most people like to talk about. (This includes post-workout shakes consumed immediately after training) Post-workout is when you get home and make a nice meal. There are typically higher rates of muscular metabolism and generally more metabolic direction to muscle and away from fat mass (compared to other meals). So nutrients post workout tend to be put to better fates than other meals.

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 Feat Of The Week : Pinching 3 x 15s

Unsupported, that is. Via Napalm’s Corner : Chad Woodall (interview) won this year’s Munsterland Grip Challenge (Jedd has the top 10 placings), and after watching this video, it isn’t difficult to see why. Pinching 3 x 15kg plates, without anything (such as a pipe through the middle) holding them together. Amazing.

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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 : Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat: Why Well-Raised Meat Is Good for You and Good for the Planet (by Diana Rodgers & Robb Wolf)

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. ‘Sacred Cow’ is a fascinating look at the ‘best‘ (from both an ethical and a nutritional perspective) way of raising/producing & consuming meat. Wonderful read. 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.