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 @scottbird ).

cheers,

Scott

Ready To Learn Even More?

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 ones on Dragon Door. Great mix of kettlebell and calisthenics-based offerings.



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?



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.



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.



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.



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, 19 Jul 2021

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 Zercher Squat
Scott Andrew Bird | Follow @scottbird
Wonderful exercise.
Looking At : Jul 18, 2021
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 Michael Pollan Learned from Quitting Caffeine for 3 Months (Michael Pollan & Joe Rogan)

This is a fascinating insight into the origins of caffeinated drinks, their various effects, and the result of quitting them entirely for 3 months. Incidentally, the book he mentions – This Is Your Mind on Plants – is also highly recommended. Fantastic read.

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.

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.
If you missed the live stream (or just want to go over a particular point again), you’ll find the entire video here. 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.

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.

Checking Out : Steel Mace Yoga 101 (Training Program)

Steel Mace Yoga 101 With Erin Furry.

Interesting combination. Steel Mace Yoga 101 is a training program featuring strength-training coach, Erin Furry. Combining yoga practice with a little Mace work, it’s certainly an unusual approach to things. Still, it’s an intriguing one – particularly as a replacement for some of your own training, or an addition. Either way, here’s what the course includes :

10 fundamental exercises including a warmup and cool down
Movement patterns designed to build strength, maintain mobility and improve flexibility
14-day training protocol that can be customized and practiced all year long
Access to the TACFIT online Academy

And yes, it’s a fully digital product. Perfect – particularly given the current state of things. NB : I suspect many of you already have a Mace at your disposal. If not, I highly recommend the RMAX Clubbells. Great things. Steel Mace Yoga 101 With Erin Furry.

Tip of the Week : It’s Never Too Late to Start

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.

Ida Wasserman, hitting the gym at 100.

We’ll be discussing this in a lot more detail in an upcoming Gymchat (and if you’d like to be involved, let me know); the idea of starting your strength-training well into your senior years.

We’ve looked at a number of older athletes over the years (for an idea of how many there are, just take a glance at the ‘still got it‘ tag on the blog), and this quote sums up my thinking perfectly.

From the post ‘Exercise in Healthy Older Adults‘ :

Age is not a contraindication to exercise, which can usually be initiated safely in older persons.

In short, it’s never too late to start.

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.

Exercises of the Week : Mongolian Wrestling

Mongolian Wrestling. Photo © Bruno Morandi/Robert Harding.

Wrestlers sizing up in Ulaanbaatar’s Naadam Festival.

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.