Gem From The Vault : Workout Locations – The Beach
Scott Andrew Bird
Good fun.Looking At : Jan 26, 2025 Scott Andrew Bird | follow @scottbird What’s been going on this week? Quite a lot actually.
Video : Do MUSCLES Mean You Can Fight? (Sensei Seth)
A very interesting look at the role of strength-training in martial arts.
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 177 we discussed Recovery Work for the Hands with Strongman, Mash Monster and Personal Trainer Matt Hunt. 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 : AcheFly (Neck Traction Device)
Nice and relaxing. Hopefully. The AcheFly is a neck traction device with a spot of heat therapy thrown in. Sort of a mechanical massage, whenever it’s required (or desired). The video will show you what I mean :The AcheFly.
Ever Tried Kettlebells?
If you've seen people using them but never taken the plunge yourself, here are the ones I use personally. You can also pick up a book/DVD/course if you want to learn how to put them to work.
Tip of the Week : Fix Your Feet
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 real benefits of including your feet in your training. Over to Josh :You need to gradually strengthen your feet and slowly introduce them to greater range of motion. Walking barefoot on soft sand or grass is a great way to start… plus it feels good! If you have access to a beach or a well manicured lawn, slowly progress from walking barefoot for a few minutes at a time and working up to a longer duration, before introducing any more challenging barefoot activities. For walking on solid surfaces such as concrete, I suggest you wear appropriate footwear that will provide minimal support while still allowing for greater natural movement of your feet.Good stuff. Note that this is only a snippet from the full piece – swing by Josh‘ blog for the entire article [.pdf]. 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 : Suspended Band Push-ups
Keep it Steady.
I awoke this morning with the idea of doing suspended band push-ups – this afternoon I decided to try them out.
Setup: I choked two Iron Woody Large bands (about 68kg/150lb) at the top of the rack, and put my hands in the bottom of them. Feet were elevated to bench height (slightly below the starting drop of the bands).
This setup increased the use of stabilisers for both the vertical and horizontal (the bands have a tendency to spread apart) plane. Much harder than I thought it was going to be.
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 : ‘Hack your Body, Heal your Mind’ (by Kimberley Wilson)
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.
Kimberley Wilson’s ‘Hack your Body, Heal your Mind’ takes a wonderful look at the two-way relationship between physical and mental health, and a number of ways to improve the pair.
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.
