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 : Using Pulse Rate to Determine Rest Break Length
Scott Andrew Bird
Smartwatches certainly make this a whole lot easier.

Looking At : Mar 12, 2023
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 : How To ACTUALLY Build Fast Twitch Muscle (Garage Strength)

Last week we noted their importance for longevity, and here’s a wonderful look at exactly how to go about building them.

Gymchat 278 – TBA

We’re still finalising the details for this week’s discussion. I’ll post them on the blog (and Twitter, 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 212 we discussed How to Gain Muscle with Physique Transformation Coach Conor Kelly, together with Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett. Great conversation. And if you missed it the first time (or just want to go over a particular point again), check out the full video over on Josh’s Youtube channel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj4CEEzabBk.
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 : Sparkle Tornado (Wearable Air-Conditioner)

Interesting idea. The Sparkle Tornado is a wearable air-conditioner, in the form of a waist-belt-fan. The video below will show you what I mean.
The Sparkle Tornado.

Tip of the Week : Checking Your Squat Depth

Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via Twitter, the blog; and the newsletter. Wherever you are, there’s always a way to improve what you’re doing. This tip comes to us from a thread on the VirtualMeet Forums, looking at a device called the Safety Squat. Very interesting idea.

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Over to James Chochlinski :  

The safety squat arrived yesterday. No instruction manual, just a picture. Tried some squats with it using just the bar. Seems to work similarly to the youtube video sensor. Placement just above the knee requires deeper squat to trigger the sensor; Not as deep when placed higher up on the thigh. It’s just a level sensor, so the difference is due to the shape of my thigh. Happy with the safety squat so far.

James was also kind enough to share some video of the device in action : The obvious use is for powerlifters when training for a meet. However, on Google+, Raymond Ho shared an alternative way to put it to work :

The idea is actually good. I see people when they start loading up the bar (which is too heavy for them) they start to get higher out of the holes until it looks more like a partial rep. and if you squat by yourself then it stops you from cheating.

Sounds great. I’m curious : has anyone here used a device like this, and what are your thoughts on the idea?

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.

Exercise Of The Week : Credit Card Set (Straight to the Grip Contest Part IV)

In case you haven’t seen my previous instalments in this series, let’s recap. The one-inch-set rule eventually became a problem for both the Gripboard and IronMind itself. Like we covered last time, not everyone’s definition of one-inch matched. With that, the Gripboard decided to change the legal set depth to parallel, leading to the current definition of the Mash Monster set. However, the inconsistency in setting the gripper for IronMind’s certification also is what spawned what is referred to as the Credit Card set. The current IronMind set involves pre-setting a Gripper with the off-hand. The athlete must be able to pass a credit card, ATM card, or the IronMind-provided Captains of Crush Gripper ID card through the handles width-wise. After removing the card, the athlete can crush it home. For the full article, swing by the main site : Straight to the Grip Contest Part IV – Current IronMind Set Superb.

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Incidentally, if you’d like to get in touch regarding this or any other aspect of strength, you can contact me here. Look forward to hearing from you.

Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : On the Nose: A Lifelong Obsession with Yosemite’s Most Iconic Climb (by Hans Florine, Jayme Moye)

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. Following a recent conversation I found myself loading up on climbing books. First on the list – Hans Florine’s wonderful ‘On the Nose: A Lifelong Obsession with Yosemite’s Most Iconic Climb’ looking at his fascination with climbing Yosemite’s ‘El Capitan’. Dive in. 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.