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 : Holding the Bar in the Front Squat
  Scott Andrew Bird
  There are several ways.
  

• Looking At : Dec 8, 2024 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 Science of Protein and Its Role in Longevity, Cancer, Aging, and Building Muscle (FoundMyFitness)

Great information – no matter your age or weight.

Gymchat 278 – TBA

We’re still finalising the details for this week’s discussion. I’ll post them on the blog (and X, 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 170 we discussed Intermittent Fasting with The Rotater‘s Chris Melton. 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 : UniGym (All-in-One Home Gym)

Interesting idea. The UniGym is certainly an unusual combination of elements – ideal for use in a rehab setting, or for light workouts / warm-ups. A little video :
The UniGym.

Tip of the Week : Bending Steel = Increased Strength Endurance

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

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A friend of mine asked me over the weekend why I bend things. It’s partly because it’s fun, and partly, well, I’ll let Adam explain.
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.

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 : Walking Squats

I first saw this some time ago (on T-nation from memory) and promptly forgot about it. Bud Jeffries mentioned its effectiveness in a recent piece, and I decided to try it out. The walking squat is exactly what you’d expect. Walk a couple of steps, squat, walk a couple more, squat etc. This is actually far more tiring that it sounds (particularly if your endurance is anything like mine) and it isn’t a bad idea to start with dumbbells, kettlebells or anything else that you can just drop when you get tired. Besides, walking around a commercial gym with a loaded bar on your back is definitely going to attract a bit of attention. Think of it as a Farmers’ Walk with attitude.

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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/Listening For The Week : ‘Psilocybin Therapy : Understanding How to Use Nature’s Psychedelics for Mental Health’ (by Dr JJ Pursell)

It’ll come as no surprise that we discuss a lot of fitness-related books, courses & podcasts; on this site as well as the various networks noted in the sidebar. Dr JJ Pursell’s ‘Psilocybin Therapy : Understanding How to Use Nature’s Psychedelics for Mental Health’ is a wonderfully thorough exploration of the area, the associated history and potential impacts. Enjoy. Incidentally, I’m always looking to add to the ‘books to read‘ list. If you’ve come across something which you’d love everyone else to check out, drop me a line. There’s also a list of our all-time fitness suggestions over there. Dive on in.