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 : Using Pulse Rate to Determine Rest Break Length
  Scott Andrew Bird
  Works extremely well.
  

• Looking At : Dec 15, 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 : Exercise Scientist’s Masterclass On Longevity – Dr Mike Israetel (Chris Williamson)

Great conversation.

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 171 we discussed Online Training III with Renaissance Fitness‘ Derek Peruo. 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 : Boxing Strangers in VR (Thrill of the Fight 2)

Looks great. Over to Seth …
Thrill of the Fight 2.

Tip of the Week : Why Warm Up?

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. This tip comes to us from Kirk Fontaine, and is a snippet from the discussion Stretching & Warming Up. Was a great one.

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In response to a couple of questions on ‘Why Warm Up?‘ : If you are to participate in exercise the first thing you need to do is warm up. The warm up is important to prepare your mind and body so that you can get the very best out of the exercise. The effect of a warm up on preventing injury is not clear however research does suggest increased muscle temperature decreases the risk of muscle tear.

Warming up will :

• Increase your heart rate to give you increased blood flow around the body to the muscles
• Improve oxygen delivery to the muscles
• Stimulate faster muscle contraction
• Improve the joints’ ability to endure stress.

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 : Cuban Press

Thanks John. I enjoy rotating my exercise selection regularly – it keeps things moving, the body adapting and prevents workouts from getting boring. Today I was reminded (reading John’s blog) of an exercise that I had first seen over a year ago, considered interesting and promptly forgotten. Welcome the Cuban Press. As with the Zottman Curl, the Cuban press is limited (in terms of the weight you can hoist) by one small part of the lift – the rotation. According to a number of sites around the web, as well as photos in trashy fitness magazines, a lot of people seem to think the rotation part makes up the entire exercise. Unfortunately (or fortunately, for anyone with a slightly masochistic nature) that’s only one part of three. To perform the Cuban Press, start with the bar on the ground in front of you (as if you’re about to deadlift it) and pick it up with a double-overhand grip – the same width as you bench. Lift it like a very wide-grip upright row, until your upper arms are horizontal. Rotating about the elbows, flip the bar around so it is now about level with the top of your head. Press it. The extra components (to the rotations often performed) may seem superfluous, but the combined effect is great. Light weight, warm shoulders. Cuban press 3×12@20/45 NB : I ended up doing these seated, in order to avoid putting any more holes in the ceiling 🙂

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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 : ‘The Triathlete’s Training Bible (5th Edition)’ (by Joe Friel)

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. Joe Friel’s ‘The Triathlete’s Training Bible (5th Edition)’ takes an extremely comprehensive look at the necessary training approach (to Triathlons specifically, but much of the advice is widely applicable) for a moderately advanced athlete. Anyone with a few years (or more) of training under their belt. Wonderful. 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.