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 : Jaw Lifting : What, Why and How
  Ryan Pitts (StrongerGrip)
  Up for a challenge?
  

• Looking At : Sep 21, 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 : Breakthrough Limb Re-Growth In Mammals Unlocks Anti-Aging Therapy (Longevity Science News)

Promising indeed. Curious : do you personally favour the prosthetic or the regeneration approach for major injuries?

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 220 we discussed High Intensity Training : HIT with Personal Trainer Chris Lutz and 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/2013/10/23/video_for_gymchat_220_high_intensity_training_-_hit_chris_lutz/ .
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 : FORTHiQ (Red Light Therapy Massager)

This looks great. The FORTHiQ is a red light therapy massage device for use with pains and minor injuries. Interesting combination. The FORTHiQ.

Tip of the Week : Addressing Squat Weaknesses – Bending at the Knees First

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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When it comes to the squat, Powerlifter Rick Walker clearly knows what he’s talking about. If you’ve ever tackled this wonderful exercise yourself and felt that your form just didn’t feel quite right, check out his article Addressing Weaknesses in The Squat. To give you an idea of what it’s all about, here’s how he corrects one of the more common problems found in squat technique – the simple act of Bending at the Knees First. Over to Rick.

This is a common problem among many beginning squatters as the lifter is usually afraid of falling backwards with the weight. Instead of sitting back first, the lifter will bend at the knees to go down. This causes the knees to go forward well over the toes and often times causes the lifter to go up onto their toes in the hole. This is not only dangerous, but you are limiting how much you can squat. The pressure on the patellar tendons in this position is tremendous and leads to big time problems down the road. Yes, some lifters, especially Olympic lifters, can adapt to these kinds of stresses from having their knees that far forward. However, the goal here is to improve the squat and move more weight, and that will be accomplished by sitting back into the squat.

How to fix it

The lifter must learn to sit back and not down. This can take a long time to get them to do, and even longer to get them to do it under maximum loads. I start all newbie squatters on a box. I use a very high box and a very light load, usually the empty bar with some light JumpStretch© bands attached for tension. The basic commands I give are for the lifter to sit back like he is searching for a chair that is behind him. Once the lifter can get down to the high box by sitting back, I lower it an inch and start all over. Eventually the lifter will be able to sit back to a parallel box and the movement will become second nature. Another possible reason for the lifter’s inability to sit back is hamstring strength. If the lifter has weak hamstrings, he won’t be able to sit back into a squat without falling. It gets much worse as the weight increases. To address this, get the lifter on the glute-ham machine pronto! This is the best way to bring up lagging hamstrings and prepare the lifter for handling more weight in the squat correctly. I have also found Romanian Deadlifts and reverse hypers to be effective for improving the sit back portion of the squat.

And yes, I can assure you that it works. Cheers, Rick.

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 Tried to Improve my Vertical Jump in 60 Days (Goal Guys)

A very interesting look at the Vertical Jump information currently available, and the possibilities that affords. And if you’re fortunate enough to have the relevant equipment available to you, now you know precisely how to put it to work. And how much improvement to expect. Incidentally, the Copilot system mentioned sounds great. Although I’ve been fortunate enough to check out many one-on-one training reviews in the past, I like the sound of this one.

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Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : ‘Gulp : Adventures on the Alimentary Canal’ (by Mary Roach)

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. Mary Roach’s ‘Gulp : Adventures on the Alimentary Canal‘. A friend of mine mentioned this one over the weekend, and I realised I missed it the first time around. And I must say, it’s a fascinating read. 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.