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 :
Gem From the Vault : Heavy Sandbag Training (Part I)
Michael Amos
Building the Sandbags.
Looking At : Sep 15, 2013
Scott Andrew Bird
We’ve been discussing some very interesting techniques, products and services recently. Here are the highlights.
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’d like to submit your own piece for Straight to the Bar, here’s how.
Video : Tire (Tyre) Flip Technique & Alternatives
Nice one Josh.
Gymchat 212 – How to Gain Muscle (with Conor Kelly)
No matter what your goals are, at some point you’re going to be thinking of hypertrophy. Packing on a bit of muscle.
How exactly do you go about doing that?
This week we’re going to be focusing on this very area – ‘Hypertrophy 101‘ if you like. Helping us is Physique Transformation Coach Conor Kelly, together with Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett. If you’ve got questions, add them to the Google Doc. Details below.
Details –
Who : Physique Transformation Coach Conor Kelly, together with Strongman & Personal Trainer Josh Hewett
Topic : How to Gain Muscle
When : Wednesday Sep 18, 9pm EST
Questions : Post them here (please add your name if you’d like us to credit you on the show)
URL : We’ll be posting this shortly – both on the blog and in the Straight to the Bar Community on Google+.
How : Watch the live stream, or join us on the hangout. Here are the details.
See you there.
Previously : Last week we held the first of the Gymchat Roundtables, looking at Training Approaches. Great discussion.
On the panel were Josh Hewett, Adam Klymkiw, Jason Paris, Chris Lutz and Kurtis Frank. And if you missed the live stream (or just want to go over a particular point again), you can watch the entire video here.
Coming Up : In upcoming Gymchats we’ll be talking to Zach Even-Esh, Mike ‘The Machine’ Bruce, Al Kavadlo and many, many others. Get your questions ready.
If you’d like to suggest a topic for a future discussion – or volunteer to be interviewed on the show – just drop us a line. Cheers.
Tip of the Week: Getting Back Into It
Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via Twitter, Google+, the blog; and now the newsletter. Wherever you are, there’s always a way to improve what you’re doing.
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.
New Guide : Creating a Home Gym
We received some great feedback following the Setting Up a Home Gym Gymchat (if you haven’t seen it yet, the video’s here). Cheers for that – greatly appreciated. Thanks.
A new page has been added to the ‘Guides‘ area, The Straight to the Bar Guide to Planning, Designing & Building Your Own Home Gym. Would love to hear what you think.
And thanks again, these discussions are fantastic.
Incidentally, if you’d like to take part in an upcoming Gymchat, just drop Josh a line. You’ll find him on Google+.
Quick update on the Renaissance Fitness Supplement Kits we mentioned recently – superb idea.
As we noted, we’ll be reviewing these shortly. And if you missed the announcement, here’s a brief video to explain the basic idea :
For more information, head on over to the official site – renaissancefitnessinc.com.
Exercise of the Week : Wheelbarrow Walking Up Stairs
Looking for a way to get out of breath in a hurry? Grab a training partner and try Wheelbarrow Walks Up Stairs. Good fun.
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.
Kettlebell Exercise Demonstrations & Tutorials
We’ve looked at a lot of kettlebell exercises and variations over the years – in the form of tips, tutorials and demonstrations.
Where do you find them all? Right here – a complete list of Kettlebell Exercise Demonstrations & Tutorials.
Enjoy.
A Daily Dose
Love this stuff? Same here. If you’re looking for a daily dose of strength-training goodness, grab the Straight to the Bar Daily.
Absolutely free.
Free Downloads from the Strength Kit
I recently added a number of resources to the Straight to the Bar Strength Kit, and as a Strength & Fitness Newsletter subscriber you’re more than welcome to download as many of them as you like. Several great eBooks, podcasts and videos – all absolutely free.
Just head over here, save them to your hard-drive, and dive in.
Good stuff.
NB : This is an ever-changing list. If you’d like to put your own work in front of a fantastic strength-focussed audience, let me know.
Want to Help Out?
As you’ve doubtless noticed, in addition to the main site is a Community on Google+, Facebook and Twitter. Wherever you are, a daily dose of strength isn’t all that far away.
To help run all of these sites, we’re on the lookout for several new Moderators. To welcome new community members, bring up new items to discuss and generally keep the conversations on track.
If you’re already spending a bit of time at any of the above sites, and would like to offer your services as a Moderator, just drop us a line below. And thanks for that, it really is appreciated.
Contact either :
Kirk Fontaine, Community Manager, Straight to the Bar
or me :
Scott Andrew Bird, Editor, Straight to the Bar
Thanks again. Look forward to hearing from you.