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 : Heavy Sandbag Training : Part I
  Michael Amos
  A few personal favourites.
  

• Looking At : Mar 16, 2025 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 : How to Burn Fat and Build Muscle at the Same Time (Institute of Human Anatomy)

Great explanation.

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 186 we discussed Metabolic Typing with Balanced Fitness‘ Stephen Duncan and Personal Trainer Kirk Fontaine. 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 : The Straprack (Home Gym Equipment)

Interesting mix. I was just chatting to a friend about various equipment for calisthenics, and he mentioned the Straprack. Certainly an unusual piece. For the uninitiated, a little video :
The Straprack.

Tip of the Week : Checking Your Squat Depth

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 a thread on the VirtualMeet Forums, looking at a device called the Safety Squat. Very interesting idea.

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Over to James Chochlinski :  

The safety squat arrived yesterday. No instruction manual, just a picture. Tried some squats with it using just the bar. Seems to work similarly to the youtube video sensor. Placement just above the knee requires deeper squat to trigger the sensor; Not as deep when placed higher up on the thigh. It’s just a level sensor, so the difference is due to the shape of my thigh. Happy with the safety squat so far.

James was also kind enough to share some video of the device in action : The obvious use is for powerlifters when training for a meet. However, on Google+, Raymond Ho shared an alternative way to put it to work :

The idea is actually good. I see people when they start loading up the bar (which is too heavy for them) they start to get higher out of the holes until it looks more like a partial rep. and if you squat by yourself then it stops you from cheating.

Sounds great. I’m curious : has anyone here used a device like this, and what are your thoughts on the idea?

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 : Hanging Leg / Knee Raise

This pair of exercises – particularly the Hanging Knee Raise – are high on the favourites list. Both of them fall into the category of ‘ab exercise with additional benefits‘; largely in the form of some grip work. Hanging leg raise Hang from a chin-up bar (I usually use a medium-width, pronated grip for these). Bending at the hips, raise your feet toward the bar; keeping your legs straight. Perform this as slowly and strictly as possible – don’t use momentum to swing your legs up. Hanging knee raise The only difference in performing these is that your legs are bent throughout the movement. This is slightly easier, and if you can’t do the straight leg raise, try these. Much better than crunches. A few things to remember:

• Try to keep your arms locked throughout the exercise.
• Squeeze the bar tight – this will help kick your lats into motion.
• In the straight leg raise, stretch your legs out. This will help make the exercise stronger and safer.
• Push your thighs together – this will help ensure a tighter contraction of your abs.

I generally perform this as a high-rep warmup, finisher or as part of a feeder workout. It seems to nicely stretch the spine after a bit of deadlifting.

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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 : ‘Training For The Uphill Athlete : A Manual For Mountain Runners And Ski Mountaineers’ (by Steve House)

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. Steve House’ ‘Training For The Uphill Athlete : A Manual For Mountain Runners And Ski Mountaineers’ takes a wonderful look at the training approaches required to successfully compete in any of the mountaineering sports. What works, and why (and yes, it’s a wonderfully thorough explanation). 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.