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 : 29 Things to do with a Barbell in the Corner
  Jason Kirby (All Things Strength)
  Get creative.
  

• Looking At : Jun 1, 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 : This Machine Made Me Younger (Insane Results) (Bryan Johnson – @bryan_johnsony)

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy – fascinating area.

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 201 we discussed Hormonal Optimisation with Personal Trainer and Strongman Josh Hewett, as well as Personal Trainer Kirk Fontaine. Great conversation. NB : If you missed it the first time (or just want to go over a particular point again), check out the full video over on Kirk’s Youtube channel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbE8EFPv95o .
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 : CYBERSIGHT (Sports Glasses with Real-Time Display)

These look great. The CYBERSIGHT Glasses are exactly what you’d expect from AR glasses for hiking/running/cycling – a stack of information overlaid on the world you see. Perfect. If you’re not quite sure what these sorts of glasses look like, a little video :
The CYBERSIGHT Glasses.

Tip of the Week: A Routine for Neck-Training Beginners

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.

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I love a dose of neck training. Using a neck harness, a fitness ball, bodyweight exercises and so on. There are certainly more than a few ways to do it. This tip comes to us from one of the Gymchats on this area, and is a routine aimed at complete neck-training beginners who are looking to get started on this wonderful journey. Over to Andrew Nalepa.  

Good news for anyone who is beginning neck training, “you” are pretty much all you need. I like Mike Bruce’s beginner program on Straight to the Bar, but another really simple beginner program is this :

 

Lay on your back on the floor, or on your bed, and just raise your head, curling your chin to your upper chest, as many times as you can. Then lay on your stomach, and raise your chin to the ceiling as many times as possible. Then lay on your side and curl your ear toward your shoulder as many times as you can, and then lay on your other side and do the same thing.

 

Many people who have never done any neck training have difficulty just laying on their back and curling just their head 20 times. It is a really simple starting point just using gravity. To progress, you could do more reps, do more sets, or start holding a book to your head as you do your repetitions.

NB : if you like the sound of this and want to further explore the wonderful world of neck training, check out the free guide here. The exercises, equipment and techniques you’ll need.

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.

Exercises Of The Week : I ONLY Trained PARTIAL REPS for 10 Days (pigmie (Lucas B.))

Partial to a partial?

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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 Blue Zones of Happiness : Lessons from the World’s Happiest People’ (by Dan Buettner)

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. We’ve explored the ‘Blue Zones’ concept many times over the years, most recently in Dr Patricia Pimentel Selassie’s book. In ‘The Blue Zones of Happiness : Lessons from the World’s Happiest People‘ Dan Buettner explores a wonderful benefit of this particular longevity approach – greatly increased happiness. 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.