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 : The Bodyweight Aficionado’s Guide to Gear
  Jason Kirby (All Things Strength)
  Not essential, but great to have.
  

• Looking At : Aug 17, 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 : Is This Pound For Pound The Strongest Man on Earth? (Jujimufu, @gripgenie)

Quite possibly.

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 215 we discussed The Health, Fitness, & Fat Loss Benefits of GARLIC with Examine.com’s own Kurtis Frank, joined by Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett. 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 : https://straighttothebar.com/2013/10/04/video_for_gymchat_215_-_the_health_fitness_fat_loss_benefits_of_garlic_with_kurtis_frank/ .
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 : CloudWater (Device To Extract Water From The Air)

Sounds great. The CloudWater is a combination dehumidifier and filtration setup – gradually extracting & purifying water from the air. The video will show you what I mean :
The CloudWater.

Tip of the Week : Dynamic Thumb Training with the Titan’s Telegraph Key

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 grip work; it’s a great way to challenge yourself. It’s also a particularly fun way to train. Still, there’s always a different way of looking at things. Here’s an excellent example of that – Jedd shows just how a piece of equipment like the TTK can be put to a slightly uncommon use. I’ll let him explain.
From the article Getting the Most out of Your TTK :

Thumb training can be broken up into at least four different types: Dynamic, Static, and Extensor, and Multi-Planar. The focus of this article will be Dynamic thumb training with the Titan’s Telegraph Key, or TTK.

One way to mix things up a bit is to make the Range of Motion longer by adding something underneath the finger-side handle. A catalog is a perfect choice for this. This makes the hand work through a longer range of motion the muscles are not used to. The first time I did this, I was sore for several days from the new stimulus. This technique has worked great for me in my quest for lifting heavier and wider block weights.

A brief demonstration :
Love it.

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 : 4 Best Exercises to Improve Your Memory and Learning Skills (Mike)

Your brain is literally the most important part of your body. It will control all organs, help you remember things, and in fact, it will also help you to figure out details about your movement and direction. Your brain also handles your hormones and vital organs so anything that impacts your mind will directly affect your health. This is not just limited to voluntary organs but also involuntary organs because the amount of catalyst, the amount of hormone for safe functioning, and even the way your body responds to things involuntarily will all be affected if your brain has some issue. Regardless of all these functions, most people think that your brain is all about processing information, handling data, and learning new things to some extent. This is true but our mind handles much more than that.

Since the information processing function of our brain affects our day-to-day function, most people just focus on memory, decision aiming, and problem-solving skills. According to experts, the idea of being born intelligent is not true. There might be the little contribution of your genes when it comes to overall IQ however, with no exposure to the information you will not be able to grow mentally. This is the reason people who have no access to information no matter how intelligent, are never considered intelligent or good at problem-solving skills. However, with the right brain exercises, you can improve the capacity of your brain. Another important thing to keep in mind is that you will see people talking about not practicing simple decision-making skills and this will impact their brain development as well. In short, if you keep practicing a skill, eventually your brain will be able to do it better. This is not just limited to physical strength but also mental strength so you can know there is a way to become better with time. 

Read on.

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Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : ‘The Unappreciated Power of Naps’ (by Jade Wu For The Great Courses)

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. Jade Wu’s ‘The Unappreciated Power of Naps‘ is a wonderful exploration of the history & science of napping, and its role within sleep science more broadly. 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.