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 : The Demise of Monkey Bars
Scott Andrew Bird
What are your local parks like? - Looking At : Aug 25, 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 : Isometric Barbell Bottom Squat Holds
Brilliantly simple. Nice one Nick.
Gymchat 210 - TBA
However you take part, enjoy.
Details -
Who : TBA
Topic : TBA
When : Wednesday Aug 28, 9pm EST
URL : We'll be announcing this shortly - both on the blog and in the Straight to the Bar Community on Google+.
How : Here are the details. Alternately, just mention to Kirk that you'd like to join us, and he'll help you get set up.
See you there.
Coming Up : In a couple of weeks (Sep 4th to be exact) we'll be holding the first of the Gymchat Roundtables. A group discussion featuring a number of fitness professionals and competitive athletes.
The topic will be 'Training Approaches' - why everyone does what they do, when and how. Love it.
Details shortly, but a quick invitation in the meantime : are there any specific questions you'd like everyone to address, or areas you'd like them to talk about? Just leave a comment or two on the Google Doc for this particular discussion. Cheers.
If you'd like to suggest a future topic, or schedule an interview for one of the upcoming discussions, you can send us a message privately here, or swing by our Community site on Google+. Look forward to hearing from you.
Tip of the Week: The Power of Naming Your Workouts
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.
Here's a simple technique which greatly increases the potential of your workouts. Kira describes the full process in the article Give Your Workout a Name!, but here's a quick story to give you the basic idea :
A few years ago, a couple of young dudes I trained with (Muay Thai), wanted to do some extra conditioning work. I offered to take them on a run up Puke Hill on the weekends.After a few nervous side-glances, both of them asked, "Why is it called Puke Hill?" After striking a suitably melodramatic pose, I just smiled and then walked away.
When they finally got to do the run, I noticed three distinct changes to the way they normally trained:
- Intensity - It was the hardest I'd seen either of them train.
- Team-work - When one of them almost gave up, the other one slowed down and ran beside his friend--helping him to complete the last set of sprints.
- Accomplishment - After the run, neither whined or complained. In fact, despite their exhaustion, both had shit-eating grins plastered across their ugly faces.
Of course Puke Hill is just a hill. Sure it was steep, and using it for interval-sprints was quite challenging, but what hill sprints aren't challenging? So here's the point of my story: I believe that by simply giving the run a name, my two padawans trained harder, worked together better, and gained a greater sense of individual and shared achievement.
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 Kirk 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.