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 : Napping in the Afternoon
  Scott Andrew Bird
  Should you? For how long?
  

• Looking At : Dec 29, 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 : Fat – The Good, the Bad, & the Truth About Losing It (Institute of Human Anatomy)

Fat : Good or bad, or a bit of each?

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 173 we discussed Fitness in 2030 with Everyone. 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 : VirtusX1 (Smart Helmet)

Interesting idea. The VirtusX1 is a bicycle helmet with an inbuilt video camera, lighting & audio features. Great combination. A little video :
The VirtusX1.

Tip of the Week : Stretching Causes Weakness

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 is from Josh Hewett‘s excellent ‘Bulletproof Your Body‘ series. The impact of stretching on both strength and injury. Over to Josh :

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Exercise physiologists have concluded that passive stretching not only has no effect on preventing injuries, but it can actually make you even more likely to get hurt. But I didn’t take their word on it… I’ve experienced the effects of passive vs. active stretching first hand. I’ve also worked with biomechanics specialists who use Applied Kinesiology muscle testing as a reproducible way to measure muscle strength and responsiveness. They demonstrated that in almost every case a passive stretch is performed the muscles will test weak after. On the other hand, active isometric exercise will improve muscle activation.

Good stuff. Note that this is only a snippet from the full piece – swing by Josh‘ blog for the entire article. A great read.

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 : One-Legged Deadlift

This is definitely one to try out when no-one’s looking – especially if your balance is anything like mine. As the name suggests, this is a normal two-handed deadlift, with the only difference being that only one foot is in contact with the ground at any time. And no, resting the other foot on top of the first is not allowed.

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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 : ‘Running is My Therapy : Relieve Stress and Anxiety, Fight Depression, Ditch Bad Habits, and Live Happier’ (by Scott Douglas, Alison Mariella Désir)

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. Scott Douglas & Alison Mariella Désir’s ‘Running is My Therapy : Relieve Stress and Anxiety, Fight Depression, Ditch Bad Habits, and Live Happier’ takes a great look at the use of running as a form of therapy – for both depressive and anxiety-focused conditions. What’s actually going on in the brain, and the research underlying the various aspects. 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.