Gem From The Vault : The Zercher Squat
Scott Andrew Bird
A little painful, extremely effective.
- Looking At : Apr 13, 2025
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 : DIY Cable Belt Squat for Just $20 (No Skills Necessary) (Matt Rosenman)
Nice one. Curious : for everyone using a dedicated machine for these, which one would you recommend?
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 193 we discussed Training Athletes II with Strength & Conditioning Coach Kyle Bohannon and Personal Trainer Kirk Fontaine. Great conversation.
NB : If you missed it the first time (or just want to go over a particular point again), check out the full video over on Kirk’s Youtube channel :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo0OjBe81Bk .
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 : Let’s Create MediAI (Medical AI For Fast, Accessible, And Reliable Diagnoses)
Interesting idea.
The ‘Let’s Create MediAI’ project is supporting the creation of a dedicated medical AI – for rapid & inexpensive diagnoses and treatment plans.
Personally, I’d love to see many such offerings – both open and closed source. Both have their advantages.
The ‘Let’s Create MediAI’ project.
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.
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.
This tip comes to us from the obscenely strong Max Shank, in the form of a video from the article The Fat Bar. Take a look.
This video shows the bar in action. To read how it helps, and how to make one; head over to the article The Fat Bar. Nice one.
Over to Max :
Good stuff.
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 : The Hise Shrug
Always on the lookout for new exercises and variations to add to my routines, today I stumbled across the little-used Hise Shrug.
Invented by ‘the father of American weight training‘ Joseph Curtis Hise – who is perhaps best known for popularising the flat-footed squat in the 1930s – the Hise Shrug is a wonderfully simple, yet torturous, trap builder. As the exercise is painful even when performed correctly, it doesn’t have the same widespread appeal as its shrugging cousins.
The Hise Shrug is essentially a shrug performed with the bar resting across the traps, as if you were about to perform a high-bar squat. Even following several sets I was constantly reminded of my first squatting session – it’s not a comfortable movement. As it’s widely reported to be an effective trap strengthening movement however, it’ll make many repeat performances alongside the humble barbell shrug.
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 : ‘Strong : The Definitive Guide to Active Ageing’ (by Jacqueline Hooton)
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.
Jacqueline Hooton’s ‘Strong : The Definitive Guide to Active Ageing takes a fascinating look at her own fitness journey, and how to replicate various aspects – as well as taking advantage of current knowledge.
And, of course, the long-term benefits of doing so.
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.