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 : GripWalking
  Dan Hardisky
  Great way to train.
  

• Looking At : Mar 15 2026 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 : What Are You Actually Building Grip For? (Jujimufu)

Wonderful conversation.

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 246 we discussed The Pursuit of a HUGE Deadlift with Strongman and Strength Coach Craig Bongelli, together with Personal Trainer (and Strength Athlete) 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/2014/05/09/video_for_gymchat_246_-_the_pursuit_of_a_huge_deadlift_craig_bongelli/ .
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 : ThermaNeuro (Belt for Back Comfort)

Interesting combination. The ThermaNeuro is a heated/cooled/stimulated belt worn around the lower back in order to reduce pain. The video will show you what I mean :
The ThermaNeuro.

Tip of the Week: Get An Insanely Strong Overhead Press

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 week’s tip comes to us from the wonderful Omar Isuf.

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Over to Omar :
Great information.

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 : 8 Best Cable Exercises For Upper Body (Mike)

If you are looking for an easy way to train your upper body, cable machines are a good place to start.

Cable machine upper body workouts promote smooth, fluid form, there are generally more than enough machines in a given gym, and it’s easy to create a large variety of exercises on one of these machines. 

Using a cable machine can give you great gains in building stronger, thicker muscles.

By using different attachments, angles, and weights, the cable machine workout can target all the major and smaller muscles of your upper body.

Benefits Of The Upper Body Cable Exercises

Here are the main benefits of using cables for workout 

• The cable machine offers a smooth, controlled motion.
• For people who experience discomfort in their joints during the bench press and shoulder press, then cable exercises are a great alternative.
• Cable exercises are more evenly distributed, and you have a constant load on your muscles throughout the whole range of motion. This is why cable exercises are better than free weights.
• The cable setup gives your muscles uninterrupted time under tension.

8 Best Upper Body Cable Machine Exercises

1. Standing Cable Chest Press

If you’re looking for straightforward cable machine chest exercises to add to your routine, the cable chest press is a great staple exercise to get you started.

It provides constant tension in helping build massive pecs.

It can increase the range of motion to where your hands meet as compared to the regular bench press.

How To Do Standing Cable Chest Press Properly

1. Stand in the center of the pulleys and hold the stirrups.
2. To form a stance, you should step forward a couple of feet in front of the cable machine with one leg in front of the other.
3. Move the handles forward until your hands meet in the middle.
4. At the end of the movement, try to squeeze your chest.
5. Briefly squeeze before slowly returning to the starting position.

read on.

Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : ‘Walk with Weight : The Definitive Guide to Rucking’ (by Michael Easter)

We looked at Michael Easter’s ‘Embrace Discomfort’ a little while ago, so I knew I was in for a treat. This time it’s his book ‘Walk with Weight : The Definitive Guide to Rucking‘, which discusses exactly what the title suggests. Enjoy. — 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. 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.