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 : DIY – Home-Made Gym Equipment
  Scott Andrew Bird
  Want a great project for the weekend?
  

• Looking At : Dec 22, 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 : Guys over 40 need to stop adding weight to the bar (Elliott Hulse)

Interesting. For those in the ‘over 40’ crowd, thoughts?

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 172 we discussed Combat Athletics : Getting Ready for the Fight with Grapplefit‘s Barry Gibson. 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 : BlinkO (Magnetic Wearable Light)

Interesting idea. The Scoutlite BlinkO is a magnetic wearable light for hiking/running/cycling at night. The video will show you what I mean.
The Scoutlite BlinkO.

Tip of the Week : License Plate Tearing Technique

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 performing Strongman Chris Rider, and is from his superb article Tearing A License Plate. Enjoy.

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Following a thorough description of the safety requirements for performing this feat (and it really can be a dangerous one, so proceed carefully), comes the basic technique involved. Over to Chris :

Now that we have ourselves protected, it’s time to grab the plate. I personally like to tear plates at chest level, and that is the method I am going to discuss. As a dry run without a plate, place your dominant hand in a hammer style grip. Place the pinky side of that hand just above the bottom of the sternum. Now place the other fist in the same manner below the dominant one so you have the thumb side of the non-dominant and the pinky side of the dominant meeting. Squeeze as hard as you can and push your hands in opposite directions with the top hand going slightly upward and the bottom hand going slightly downward. If you push straight through, the potential for being cut dramatically increases.

Want more? No problem. Head over to the original article, and watch the video below to see it in action. Beautiful.

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 : Snatch-Grip Deadlift

This is a deadlift performed with the same grip as Olympic lifters use for the Snatch. The grip is wide and overhand (both hands), which shifts the emphasis slightly to the upper back (one of the reasons Olympic lifters always seem to have large traps); although the usual players still get a good going over. To determine the appropriate grip width, stand with your arms out to the sides. The distance between the elbows is the same as the desired distance between the first/second fingers on each hand (in my case, that puts the ring fingers on the rings). The wide grip increases the distance the bar has to move; it also reduces the amount of weight which can be lifted. Start a little lighter than for a conventional deadlift.

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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 History of Medicine’ (by Mark Jackson)

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. Mark Jackson’s ‘The History of Medicine’ is a wonderful exploration of this incredibly complex area. 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.