What's This?

The Strength & Fitness Newsletter is a weekly email newsletter which summarises the things added to Straight to the Bar (as well as a few gems from the archives). Absolutely free.

btw, I’d love to hear your feedback – both on the individual items and the newsletters themselves. Drop a comment below the relevant issue, or swing by Twitter ( I’m @scottbird ).

cheers,

Scott

Ready To Learn Even More?

I love learning new skills, and the many seminars & workshops available are a great way to do that. If you’re looking for a specific type of workshop nearby, check out the ones on Dragon Door. Great mix of kettlebell and calisthenics-based offerings.



Podcasts

I listen to an ever-changing pool of podcasts, discussing the many aspects of training and nutrition possible. Most recently :
FoundMyFitness (Dr Matthew Walker on Sleep)

Over to you. Any you’d recommend?



Strength Training on Instagram

It’s fair to say that we’ve checked out quite a few images over the years – on Flickr & Smugmug in particular.

A friend of mine just pointed me to Chris Stanciu ‘s Instagram feed, which contains a great mix of nutrition and workout images :

instagram.com/officialgainsthetics.

NB : if you’d like to share your own images, just add them to one of the sites noted above and send us a link.



Strength Training on Facebook

I suspect you love talking about strength training constantly (certainly the case here), and you’re always on the lookout for places to do that. Comments on various sites, forums as well as various in-person communities.

Online, I gravitate toward both Twitter and Facebook. In addition to the SttB offerings, here’s another one you may wish to check out :

Garage Gym Reviews (Cooper Mitchell’s page)

We’ve noted a few of his videos in the past, and they’re great for diving in deep on a particular type of equipment. Nice one.



Twitter Lists

I use Twitter for a number of things, as I’m sure everyone else here does. To talk about strength training, nutrition and many other topics. Works well.

To make this a little easier – and so people can dive right in to the topics that interest them – I use Twitter’s ‘List‘ functionality quite a bit. There’s a full list of them here :

https://twitter.com/scottbird/lists

Whatever you’re in to, it’s all there.

NB : the above lists are always being fine-tuned. If you know of someone who tweets regularly about a particular subject and should be on one of them, let me know.



Other (Daily) Newsletters You Might Like

Finally, for a daily dose of tangentially-related information – check out the following. All are compiled daily, and cover the following topics :

Aging & Longevity (living for a very, very long time)
Electric Cars in Australia (great way to help tackle air-pollution)
Better Sleep Nightly (my favourite form of recovery)

And yes, they’re absolutely free.

Bruce Lee : The Art of Expressing the Human Body (Bruce Lee & John Little)

If you’ve ever watched a Bruce Lee film and marveled at his strength, speed, agility, endurance, flexibility or muscularity, this book should take pride of place in your collection. Unlike many other writings covering everything from Lee’s training methods to nutrition, this book is based not on the recollections of people around him; but on Lee’s own notes. Brilliant.

Definitely worthy of a place on the fitness shelf.

Bruce Lee : The Art of Expressing the Human Body.

Monday, 7 Jun 2010

This Week on Straight to the Bar

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 :

Evolution of Sandbag Training
Josh Henkin
This is a fantastic series (part I, II) on both the ‘why‘ and ‘how‘ of sandbag training.
Enjoy.
Summer Freak Program – Arms
Rob Sinnott
The serious training continues.
Good stuff.

Ready to add your own opinion, workout log or training article? Just head over to the Forums, Training Logs, or swing by the Article Submissions page. They’re fantastic ways to share your ideas.

NB : if you enjoy the articles, show the authors your appreciation by voting (using the Like, Digg and Retweet icons). Cheers.

Video : Mason Doherty – Pull-up Variations

Love pull-ups – on a bar, tree branch, wall – whatever’s available. Mason Doherty demonstrates several variations of this great exercise.
Enjoy.

Deal of the Week : %20 Discount on StrongerGrip Monster Sledge

StrongerGrip Monster Sledge.

I love hammer work.
Adam Glass first put me on to the StrongerGrip grip tools a couple of years ago now (cheers Adam), and it’s abundantly clear that they’re built by someone who actually trains with them. Not only are they exceedingly tough (virtually indestructible, really); they feel ‘right‘ when you’re training with them.
Beautiful things.
When Ryan created the larger, loadable line of sledgehammers – particularly the Monster Sledge – I can’t tell you how excited I was. Whether you use it for strength or conditioning work, if you enjoy a solid dose of hammer work, the Monster Sledge is ideal.
Up to 50lb of shot-loading sledgehammer goodness. Perfect.
NB : want to save some cash? How does a 20% discount sound?
When you’re grabbing your Monster Sledge, enter the coupon code ‘STTBMS‘ at checkout. The first 15 purchasers will receive a tasty %20 discount.
Beautiful.

Coming Events

Adam Stoffa.

Twitterchat 69 – Managing Training Complexity

A couple of questions for all the coaches and trainers out there – what type of information do you provide to new clients, and in what form? How do you tackle the subtle variations between requirements?
This week we’re taking a look at the many approaches to Managing Training Complexity, from both the trainer’s and client’s point of view. Addressing the needs of everyone involved in the most efficient way possible.
Helping us navigate this fascinating area is none other than SEE‘s Adam Stoffa, a man who defines both inspiration and creativity. Fantastic.

FG.

NB : As I’ll be on-the-road (doing a little family history research) during the discussion, I’ve arranged a guest moderator for this one. Get ready for the enigmatic Fight Geek (@thefightgeek).

Details –
Who : Strength-training fans
Topic : Managing Training Complexity
When : Wed Jun 9, 9pm EDT (1am UTC)
How : include #sbgym in your tweets.
To see when it’s on in your timezone, head over to the twitterchat calendar.
See you there.

Suunto T3. Photo by glennji.

Quick update on last week’s twitterchat : Following the discussion on Fitness & Health Gadgets there have been several new devices and services noted; particularly iPhone and iPad applications.
With so many fantastic apps appearing all the time, I’d love to know – which is your favourite?
NB : If you’d like to be a guest on a future twitterchat, let me know. It’s great to hear how other people are training.

Getting Ready For : The Flexible Periodization Method

The Flexible Periodization Method.

As I mentioned briefly above, I’ll be on-the-road for the next couple of weeks; and am taking several training-related books to keep me off the streets at night.
One of these is Karsten Jensen‘s new one – The Flexible Periodization Method – which looks fantastic. Full review in a fortnight or so.

Exercise of the Week : Sledgehammer Vertical Tyre Slam

Looking for a few ways to put your sledgehammer to work? Here’s a great one – the Vertical Tyre (or Tire) Slam. Good fun.