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 Reversal of Sports – From ‘Aspirational’ to ‘Pure’
  Scott Andrew Bird
  What’s it going to be?
  

• Looking At : Sep 1, 2024 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 the Body Builds Incredible Strength Without Getting Bigger (Institute of Human Anatomy)

Nice and thorough.

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 153 we discussed Cycled Bulking with Personal Trainers Maik Wiedenbach and ‘Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine. Great conversation.
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 : Kabata (AI-Powered Dumbbells)

So many questions. Still, the basic idea behind the Kabata Dumbbells is intriguing. Look forward to trying them. In the meantime, a little video :
The Kabata Dumbbells.

Tip of the Week : Planche Nugget

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.

---

Noticed this nugget on the Bodyweight Culture Forums, in a discussion on the Planche :

The skill is very simple to describe but hard to do. Here we go:

• Take the ab-wheel.
• Get into a pushup position while holding an ab wheel.
• Now instead of rolling it toward your head, roll it toward your feet and back.

If you can roll the wheel with straight arms down to the point where the wheel will touch your pubis (lower front of hipbone) and bring it back up to the pushup position, you should hurry and take Paul Hamm’s spot in the Olympics.

Nice one.

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 : Jefferson Squat

Bud‘s recent post To Squat or Not to Squat got me thinking about some of the lesser-known varieties of squat, and a brief conversation with my dad on Bruce Lee pointed us both in the direction [1] of the Jefferson – or Straddle – Squat. This is little more than a variation on the usual Jefferson Lift (itself a reasonably uncommon exercise), and begins in the same manner. The difference : after the bar is lifted to the highest point possible (without causing yourself injury – try it and you’ll see what I mean), bend the legs and squat down about 10cm/4″ and return to the top. Overall it shifts the emphasis slightly toward the thighs from the usual low back work. Another consideration is that grip strength plays quite a large role in this exercise; perhaps even moreso than in a conventional deadlift. 1. Bruce Lee – The Art of Expressing the Human Body (p120)

---

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 : ‘American Drug Addict: A Memoir’ (by Brett Douglas)

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 conversation yesterday on calisthenics, someone pointed me to this book – Brett Douglas’ ‘American Drug Addict: A Memoir’ – (everyone has a backstory – I suspect this is similar to theirs in some way). Having looked at addiction from the medical side of things, it’s fascinating to hear a story from the other side. 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.