During the past week we've discussed a number of great links; on Google+, Twitter, Nuzzel and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.

I'm currently checking out the 'Forward Head Posture FIX' program, which aims to tackle the areas that the name suggests - the slightly slouched posture commonly seen in office buildings. If you've ever been told to 'stand up straight', you know what I mean.

The program takes the form of downloadable (or physical, if you prefer) videos and books; outlining a series of exercises and movements which address the posture issue. For a full rundown of everything being offered, swing by the main site :

http://forwardheadposturefix.com

Looks great.

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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 : Road to Strong
  Davie Easton | Follow @davieeaston
  Its only 110kg per hand...

  
  

• Looking At : Apr 3, 2016
  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 To Make An Atlas Stone (Slater Stone vs Hybrid Stone)

This is a great - and thorough, it runs about 37min - video showing construction of DIY atlas stones; using both the Slater Stone and Hybrid Stone moulds (or 'molds' if you prefer). Nice one Alan.

Gymchat 278 - TBA

We're still finalising the details for this week's discussion. I'll post them on the blog (and Twitter, Google+ 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 277 we discussed Barefoot Running - (Believe the Hype!) (with Xero Shoes' Steven Sashen, joined by 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 can watch 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.

Tip of the Week: Holding the Bar in the Front Squat

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.

This tip is not so much 'How to Hold the Bar in the Front Squat' (though the article shows no fewer than 10 ways to do just that), as much as a simple demonstration that there are often many ways to achieve the same result in strength training. If what you're doing isn't working (or you simply don't enjoy it), try something else.

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From the article Holding the Bar in the Front Squat :

If the Mike Boyle article on T-Nation has you considering the Front Squat, you may be mindful of just how awkward it can be to hold the bar. Like Zercher Squats, they're often overlooked simply due to the difficulty.

There are several ways to hold the bar for the Front Squat. If one method doesn't feel right, or your current flexibility or injury precludes it, try one of the others. It really is a great exercise.

Good stuff.

Checking Out : Forward Head Posture FIX

I'm currently checking out the 'Forward Head Posture FIX' program, which aims to tackle the areas that the name suggests - the slightly slouched posture commonly seen in office buildings. If you've ever been told to 'stand up straight', you know what I mean.

The program takes the form of downloadable (or physical, if you prefer) videos and books; outlining a series of exercises and movements which address the posture issue. For a full rundown of everything being offered, swing by the main site :

http://forwardheadposturefix.com

Looks great.

---

Quick update on the Hip Thruster we mentioned recently - fantastic thing.

Rather than trying to explain how it works, here it is in action :

Good stuff Bret, looks great.

During the past week we've discussed a number of great links; on Google+, Twitter, Nuzzel and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.

Great package.

We first talked about this one a while ago, but a conversation over the weekend encouraged me to re-investigate things. And yes, I'm certainly glad I did.

Details of the full program are over on the tacticalgymnastics.com site. In the meantime, here's Scott Sonnon demonstrating some of the Tactical Gymnastic exercises :

---

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 :

• 5 Steps to Build Your Own Personal Diet Plan
  Cristian Stanciu
  Time to get started.

  
  

• Looking At : Mar 27, 2016
  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 : Running Without Sight (and Winning Gold)

Great video on Paralympic champion Cristian Valenzuela, exploring his reason for running and his life philosophy in general.

Gymchat 278 - TBA

We're still finalising the details for this week's discussion. I'll post them on the blog (and Twitter, Google+ 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 277 we discussed Barefoot Running - (Believe the Hype!) (with Xero Shoes' Steven Sashen, joined by 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 can watch 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.

Tip of the Week: Buying a Power Rack - Determining the width you'll need.

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.

This tip comes to us following a discussion I had over the weekend (I was helping a friend choose a power rack), and is a snippet from the article 'Buyers' Guide : the Power Rack'. Determining the width you'll need.

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Although the width of a barbell never changes (within one type, that is - standard bars are about a foot shorter than their Olympic counterparts), the width of racks vary from brand to brand. The rack's minimum width will depend largely on what you're going to do with it.

Sumo squats and rack pulls will take the most room; somewhere around 40" would be an absolute minimum, but your best bet is to measure your own squat (outside one foot to outside the other).

If you intend to bench press in the rack, or use the bench as a seat for other exercises (such as the overhead work I mentioned earlier), make sure the bench fits. If you're buying them both at the same time, great. Test them out.

One more thing to note with the bench inside the rack - if you plan to use dumbbells from the bench, make sure there's plenty of room to drop the dumbbells once they get heavy. Oh, and something to protect the floor (in the drop zone) is always a good idea - a couple of rubber mats will do nicely.

Good stuff.

Re-Visiting : Tactical Gymnastics

Great package.

We first talked about this one a while ago, but a conversation over the weekend encouraged me to re-investigate things. And yes, I'm certainly glad I did.

Details of the full program are over on the tacticalgymnastics.com site. In the meantime, here's Scott Sonnon demonstrating some of the Tactical Gymnastic exercises :

---

Quick update on the Hip Thruster we mentioned recently - fantastic thing.

Rather than trying to explain how it works, here it is in action :

Good stuff Bret, looks great.

If you've been struggling with losing fat and getting toned up you probably learned the hard way that there are very few legit diet plans out there that actually work. Big hype diets such as low carb, Dukan or raw foods type of diets are pretty poorly designed and do not sustain body recomposition - losing fat while building muscle.
This should be your goal - recomposing your body. Just losing weight may not get you the results you are after. Yeah, the scale will go down, yeah you will lose weight, but that won't get you that fit, athletic physique you want. Best case scenario you will end up skinny fat, worst case scenario you will starve yourself by following a stupid diet and when you think you are done with it you'll start binging and put on all the weight you lost if not more.

If this is you, relax we have a solution for you. Read on and find out how to setup your own personal diet plan that actually works for you. At the end of the day, the best diet is the one you can stick to. Let's take things one by one.

Step 1: Energy balance

The most important thing that no famous diet tells you is that losing or gaining body weight it's all about calories in versus calories out, or energy balance - in more technical terms. That's what physics tells us - thermodynamics to be more specific. You lose weight when you are in a negative energy balance (caloric deficit) and you gain weight when you are in a positive energy balance (caloric surplus). It's just science.

As you guessed already, the energy balance is determined as the difference between the calories we eat or drink and the total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). The TDEE is composed of the basal metabolic rate, on top of which you add the energy consumed in any type of physical activities such as sitting at the office, walking, mowing the grass or working out.

Therefore, the only thing you need to do in order to lose weight is to be in a caloric deficit. It is as simple as that. It doesn't matter what you eat, it doesn't matter when you eat it. As a matter of fact a science teacher lost 56 pounds in six months while eating nothing but McDonald's.

There's your proof. Anyway, a good diet plan needs to be a little bit better than eating just junk food, but more about it later on.

The first building block of your diet will be the target caloric intake. Your whole diet plan will sit on it and it's crucially important to get it right. In common practice a solid fat loss diet is built around a caloric deficit of 20-25% below the maintenance level.

So, if you maintain your weight at 2,500 kcal you should lower your caloric intake to about 2,000 kcal (20% deficit).

There's a reason for setting the deficit to 20-25% and I don't recommend using a more aggressive approach - it is not sustainable in the long run, it puts a lot of stress on your metabolism and it doesn't help your workouts either.

On the other hand, using a more moderate caloric restriction such as 10% is not optimal because the weight loss rate will be slower, and you will have to stay in a deficit for a longer period of time which again is not good for your metabolism, hormones and training.

With a 20 to 25% deficit you should lose 1-2 pounds per week, but this will depend on factors such as your body fat and age. Overweight people tend to lose weight faster, mostly because they hold a lot of water weight, while leaner individuals lose weight at a slower rate.

So step 1 is setting the right calorie target.

Now that we have a solid foundation to build your diet on, let's move to the next step.

Step 2: Macronutrient distribution

As you may know, the caloric content of a diet comes from 3 macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates and fats. Each gram of protein and carb contains 4 kcal, and a gram of fat contains 9 kcal.

The way you decide to split your calories between the macros combined with a solid weight training routine, will pretty much determine the composition (muscle to fat ratio) of your body. That's why setting the right macro split is just as important as caloric intake, especially during a cutting phase, and here's how you should do it:

1. Protein - as per the scientific evidence, an intake of at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight is necessary to support muscle preservation in a caloric deficit. If you are severely overweight you should take in 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, rather than total body weight. So, if you weigh 180 pounds, get at least 180 grams of protein per day. Out of a 2,000 kcal day this means you will get 36% of you calories from protein.
Proteins are the building blocks of muscle fibers, therefore protein intake is really important to maintain muscle mass when dieting.
2. Fats - a minimum fat intake is necessary for our bodies to work smoothly at hormonal level, to keep the skin healthy, to maintain the joints in good conditions and to protect the internal organs. The recommended minimum intake is around 20% of the calories.
Out of a 2,000 kcal diet this means about 45 grams of fat per day. From the anecdotal evidence out there anything between 30 - 60 grams of fat per day is fine, but the higher your fat intake is the less room you will have left for your cabs.
3. Carbs - are very important, as opposed to what many dieticians recommend through low carb diets which seem to be very popular nowadays. Carbohydrates provide the energy you need in order to get a good workout in, by putting glycogen in your muscles.
You should include as much carbs as you can in your diet as long as you are getting the minimum fat intake and your 1 gram of protein per pound o bodyweight. Considering our 2,000 kcal example above, we are left with 44% of the calories for carbs, which means about 220 grams of carbs per day.

There you have it. To resume here are the guidelines for setting your calories in a deficit:
· 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight
· 40-50 grams of fat
· Take the rest of the calories from carbs

There's your 2nd step.

You don't need to be spot on every day with these numbers, but you need to keep track of them and make sure you get the weekly averages pretty close to these settings.

During the past week we've discussed a number of great links; on Google+, Twitter, Nuzzel and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.

Thanks to everyone who asked about the Healthy Sleep Formula we noted yesterday - very interesting area. Using a supplement stack solely to aid sleep (although there are a number of associated health benefits).
For details of the stack, head over to GRC (https://www.grc.com/health/sleep/healthy_sleep_formula.htm). And for information on the supplements themselves, my site of choice is Examine.com. Great place.

NB : Examine has just turned 5, and several items are still on sale. I'd also highly recommend their various guides; you'll find them all here :

http://examine.com/store/stack-guides/

---

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 :

• The Gym Bag Essential that Could Take You to the Next Level
  Jeff Wilson | Follow @BasInsFitness
  A fantastic grip accessory - the towel.

  
  

• Looking At : Mar 20, 2016
  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 : Performing The T-Bar Row

The incredible Jeff Wilson describes a variation of the T-Bar Row in his latest article - The Gym Bag Essential that Could Take You to the Next Level. Great read.

If you're not quite sure what a T-Bar Row is, here's a brief demonstration :

Gymchat 278 - TBA

We're still finalising the details for this week's discussion. I'll post them on the blog (and Twitter, Google+ 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 277 we discussed Barefoot Running - (Believe the Hype!) (with Xero Shoes' Steven Sashen, joined by 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 can watch 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.

Tip of the Week: Use a Weight You Can Control

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.

This tip comes to us from the enigmatic Gerard F, and is a snippet from a series of very interesting conversations surrounding the insights of the 'Iron Guru', Vince Gironda. In particular, this thread on Google+.

---

The full quote is :

Use a weight you can control, and control the weight you use.

This applies to a lot of things, but in this case we were talking about the bench press. Gerard noted :

At best the Bench Press is an "OK" exercise even when done correctly, but nearly everyone performs it based on the wrong concept. Using 8-12 reps its OK, but what happens is, when the reps get tough, your form goes bad, the back arches and/or your torso torques; stress goes from the chest to the triceps to the shoulder/cuff, and your strong side lifts the load that your weak side can't handle.

Over bench pressing gives you a circle looking chest, that's when the shoulders and tris are developed because the chest can't handle the weight, and what happens is the shoulder and tris are targeted more than the pecs.

Very interesting. Would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Checking Out : Examine.com

Thanks to everyone who asked about the Healthy Sleep Formula we noted yesterday - very interesting area. Using a supplement stack solely to aid sleep (although there are a number of associated health benefits).
For details of the stack, head over to GRC (https://www.grc.com/health/sleep/healthy_sleep_formula.htm). And for information on the supplements themselves, my site of choice is Examine.com. Great place.

NB : Examine has just turned 5, and several items are still on sale. I'd also highly recommend their various guides; you'll find them all here :

http://examine.com/store/stack-guides/

---

Quick update on the Hip Thruster we mentioned recently - fantastic thing.

Rather than trying to explain how it works, here it is in action :

Good stuff Bret, looks great.