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 Cymbalta generic available ).

cheers,

Scott

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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 Sildenafil generika kaufen. 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, 23 Oct 2023

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 : The Fat Bar
Max Shank (Strong as Hell)
The joy of a 2″ bar with spinning sections. Wonderful.p>
Looking At : Oct 22, 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 : What Are the Theoretical Limits of Human Strength? (Alexander Bromley)

Very, very thorough. Love it.

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.

Craig Bongelli.

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. And 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 : Aura (Smart Sleep Mask)

Looks great. The Aura is a sleep mask with a some wonderful features built in. In addition to the typical blackout functionality is relaxing audio (or a guided meditation), light therapy and a sunrise feature that gradually wakes you up with light. A spot of video :
The Aura.

Ever Tried Kettlebells?

If you've seen people using them but never taken the plunge yourself, here are the ones I use personally. You can also pick up a book/DVD/course if you want to learn how to put them to work.

Tip of the Week : Getting Back Into It

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.

Returning to Heavy Training After a Break

If you’ve been away from the iron for a while, how do you get back into it?
Vic takes a thorough look at this in the ‘Returning to Heavy Training After a Break‘ ebook. For a brief overview though, check out the discussion we held on that very same topic.
In Gymchat 136 – Heavy Training after a Break, Vic noted :

I lost a LOT of strength on some lifts. It was surprising. That’s why that initial 3 weeks of lighter work was important to me – it was smart to underestimate my strength at first.

And

It’s important to consciously do less those first few weeks. I was off for almost 2 years – as a rule I did not put any more than 135lbs on the bar the first week. I did not push any sets to failure the next two weeks while still staying at 5 reps or less for most sets.

Good stuff.

ExerciseFeat Of The Week : The Kviahellan (Husafell Stone)

Vladislav Alhazov carrying the Husafell stone at the 2006 Iceland's Strongest Man contest

Photo by Hjalti Arnason.

The Husafell stone (aka Africa stone) is a fairly flat, almost triangular stone weighing around 175kg (385lb) [1] which has been used in Strongman events for a number of years.
In the World’s Strongest Man competitions the Husafell stone is lifted from a waist-high platform to chest height, and carried for distance. Once the stone is dropped, or in the case of the competitor moving outside their designated lane, the carry is terminated and the distance measured [2]. During the years in which this event took place on African soil, the stone was known as the Africa stone (and shaped accordingly). A spot of history : This stone originally formed the basis of a challenge in Iceland’s Husafell Valley (hence the name). The task was to lift and carry the Kviahellan approximately 50 meters around Sira Snorri Bjornsson‘s goat pen – quite a feat. Those who were able to achieve this are known simply as ‘Fullsterker‘ (fully strong). Fantastic. References 1. World’s Strongest Man Wikipedia 2. The African Stone World’s Strongest Man Further reading Video 3mb, .mov] of Dr. William Crawford achieving fullsterker (full strength) status by hoisting the Husafell Stone and taking it for a walk around the goat track (approx. 50m). To Lift a Heavy Stone[1.8mb, .pdf] Rick Walker A detailed look at the techniques involved in heavy stone lifting.

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 : ‘Boot Camp For Emotion’ (by Derren Brown)

Boot Camp For Emotion

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. This is a wonderful series. A while back we checked out Derren Brown’s ‘Boot Camp for Life’, an incredibly thorough and insightful look at the ways in which we’re wired. This time it leans a little further into the mental health side of things – Derren Brown’s ‘Boot Camp For Emotion’. 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.

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