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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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, 6 Dec 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 :

Training the Trainer : MMA Workout
Al Kavadlo
Always learning new skills and combinations, Al enjoys a workout with none other than MMA fighter Matt Ruskin.
Post-Injury Behind-the-Back Deadlifts (Hack Squats)
Mike ‘The Machine‘ Bruce
An uncommon lift – great to see. Over to The Machine.

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 and Retweet icons above & below each post). Cheers.

Video : Extreme Swiss Ball Push-ups

Nice one.

Twitterchat 95 – Hormones & Diet

Derek ‘Body By D-Rock‘ Peruo.

Inspired by Mark Sisson‘s superb The Primal Blueprint, Body by D-Rock’s Derek Peruo (@bodybydrock) has been learning about Insulin, Cortisol and the many other hormones that influence our diet, training and overall condition. It’s safe to say that there’s a strong link between what we eat and our hormone production; in both directions.
This week we’re taking a close look at this connection between Hormones & Diet, discussing the pros and cons eating and training at various times, in ever-changing ways and conditions. Fantastic.

Details –
Who : Strength-training fans
Topic : Hormones & Diet
When : Wed Dec 8, 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.

White House Gym.

Quick update on last week’s twitterchat : Thanks once again to everyone who took part in the discussion on How Do You …. Some superb ideas in there.
For those who missed out on the conversation, I’d love to hear your thoughts. At what age did you start training? In what form?

Checking Out : TRX Pro Pack

TRX Pro Pack.

Once again, there are a lot of strength-training products on sale right now. Getting ready for Christmas, and spending a bit of time with friends and family.
One of my favourites for use when spending any length of time away from home (more specifically, away from the home gym) is the TRX. Hook it up and go.
If you’re new to the world of suspension training, Derek takes a great look at the possibilities here. And when you’re ready to grab the equipment, check out the TRX Pro Pack. TRX, instructional DVD and manual; and a workout to get you started. Perfect way to start.
As a bonus, Fitness Anywhere is currently offering the TRX at a tasty 20% discount. Just enter the code TRXMAS when you’re checking out.
Good stuff.

Exercise of the Week : Front Squat

The Front Squat. Although it’s commonly thought of as a barbell exercise, it can be performed using kettlebells, dumbbells, a sandbag – whatever you’ve got to hand.
Love it.
For a demonstration of the most common barbell variety (though certainly not the most common weight), here’s Strongman Warrick Brant shifting an incredible 340kg. Nice one.

NB : it may take a little experimentation to see which version feels right to you (there are several ways to hold the bar, or your tool of choice). It’s also worth considering things like the Sting Ray and the Front Squat Harness.