A Bit of History
What's this site all about?
by Scott Andrew Bird
| Follow @scottbird
Filed in : How They Got Started
Tags : deadlift, diet, dumbbell, home gym, magazines, powerlifting, squat
What's this site all about?
A couple of years ago I got a bit of a surprise when an old man ran past me down a flight of stairs (admittedly there was a Bingo hall near the bottom of them). Shocked to discover just how unfit I'd become, I set about getting myself into some sort of shape.
After a couple of weeks enduring mind-numbing stints on a stationary cycle, I invested in a bench, bar and a small pile of plates. I also grabbed a copy of Mens Fitness (for the first and last time) as it had a 10 week routine for those just starting out.
Before starting, I went through the routine and changed a few things to exercises that I could do with the equipment I had (for example, all of the dumbbell things were out). I decided not to follow the suggested diet, instead simply trying to eat reasonably cleanly and in the same calorie ranges as the magazine suggested.
10 weeks later I was bigger, stronger and well and truly hooked. The main benefit - in my eyes at least - was the strength, and I started reading about Powerlifting. The magazine hadn't mentioned exotic things like box squats and rack pulls, in fact there wasn't even a word about a power rack; and I turned to my trusty friend, Google.
Whilst trying to find out exactly what box squats were I came across Kris Lindqvist's blog 'Under the Bar' and was amazed to find that not only had someone answered any number of questions I already had, but generated a wealth of new ones. An incredible feeling.
Gradually my home gym evolved, now consisting of a rack, Olympic bar & plates, dumbbells, and of course the original bench and weight set. The workouts themselves have gone through a constant process of refinement, but have been based on the WSB 4-day-per-week template since shortly after I finished the original 10 week course. Lifting is now much more than a 10-week thing - it's a permanent part of my life.
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Brilliant device. If your shoulders aren't quite as flexible as you'd like, grab The Rotater. Love it.
And if you've already got one - or are looking for another type of device - swing by the Straight to the Bar Store. It's all in there.
Scott Andrew Bird is a writer, photographer and a guy who just loves this stuff. He's been at home in front of a computer for more years than he cares to remember (OK, 37) and is now making amends for years of many mistakes noted in the De-constructing Computer Guy articles (part 2) on T-Nation.
Find out what he's up to via Twitter, Facebook, the Daily 'Paper'; and of course his online home. Enjoy.
Like this? Check out :
From Losing to Lifting.
An incredible journey.
The First Year.
From zero to 'healthy obsession'.
The Secrets of Building a Coveted Physique.
Built like Hercules.
From the archives : Bars, plates, hooks and collars.
A few of the essentials.
Bars, Plates, Hooks and Collars.
The Heart of The Home Gym.
70 of the Best : 7 Years of Straight to the Bar.
This site - Straight to the Bar - has been around for an incredible 7 years (the first post was on Jan 17th, 2004), and to say I'm grateful is a gross understatement.
Thank you.
Of course, if you enjoyed these, I'd highly recommend grabbing the Strength & Fitness Newsletter. Delivered weekly, and absolutely free.
(there's also a Daily Update, if you're looking for an even larger dose of training-related goodness.)
NB : If you'd like to write a guest post for Straight to the Bar
, or if you'd like to join the team of Moderators here (I love hearing about everyone's training approaches) - get in touch. And if you've got a fitness competition or seminar coming up, add it to the calendar.Look forward to hearing from you.
Over to you. Leave a comment below, or send us a tweet :
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Are You as Strong as You Could Be?
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If you love talking about training, make sure you check out the Gymchats. There's a full list of previous shows here.
To give you an idea of what they're like, here's an example :
Gymchat 277 - Barefoot Running - Believe the Hype! (Steven Sashen)
Fantastic discussion.
NB : if you'd like to be interviewed on an upcoming show (or know someone who should be), drop us a line. It's great to find out how other people train. And if you'd like to add your comments and suggestions on the Gymchats in general, we'd love to hear them. Cheers.
what we're saying
NB : As well as leaving a comment or two beneath the articles themselves, you might like to swing by the Daily 'Paper' for a somewhat more frequent dose of training goodness.
ready to get in shape?
A dose of Online Personal Training is ideal. Your place, their experience.
As you'd expect, I work with a number of Fitness Professionals myself - including the wonderful Josh Hewett. If you're about to begin your own strength-training journey, swing by his site at :
top-form-fitness.com/online-coaching
Highly recommended. If you're looking to get serious about 'getting in shape', book some time with Josh. Fantastic guy.
setting up a home gym?
If you're getting ready to put together a solid Home Gym (fantastic thing), here's how.
And for more, swing by the full guide. Absolutely free.
images of strength
Want to see (and learn) more Feats of Strength like this? Dive in.
reading : Ferocious Fitness (Phil Ross, Marty Gallagher)
Remember this? Great book. Ferocious Fitness : A Fighter's Proven Action Plan to Develop Blazing Power, Animalistic Strength and Killer Conditioning is a distillation of Phil Ross' training wisdom, in the form of a superbly comprehensive book. We took a look at the digital version recently, and you'll be pleased to know that the paperback version is now available. Definitely worthy of a place on the fitness shelf. Phil Ross' Ferocious Fitness.
community
talking about If you tweet a lot about fitness and would love to be on this list, let me know.love your grip work?
Check out The Grip Authority. Fantastic site.
daily newsletter
For some people, this site's weekly newsletter (The Strength & Fitness Weekly - part of the Strength Kit) isn't quite frequent enough. For those I produce a daily version, which you can grab here. Absolutely free.
in the wild
It’s always great to see how other people train.
If you’d like to send in a photo of yourself in action (wearing one of the Straight to the Bar Shirts of course - the latest design is here), just upload it somewhere and send us a link. Cheers.
the future of fitness
Over the years we’ve looked at the fitness industry from a number of angles - discussing the history, present approaches and potential future trends involved. Fascinating areas.
When it comes to the last part - discussing potential future trends - things get a little, well, unusual. If it’s an interest you share, or you just want to find out the types of things we think are likely, check out the posts tagged ‘Futurism’. And of course, Gymchat 224 (Roundtable) - The Future of Fitness. Superb discussion.
air pollution & health
We discuss air pollution quite a bit on this site - particularly the various health impacts involved. If you'd like to dive in a little deeper, I invite you to check out the following :
- The 'Electric Cars' list on Twitter
- The 'Leave it in the Ground' newsletter
- The daily 'EVs in Australia' 'paper'
and of course :
Cheers.
checking out
ROCKUBOT (UVC Sterilization Robot)Interesting idea.
The ROCKUBOT is a small, sterilising robot. Think Roomba with UVC rather than suction.
Personally, I'd love something like this for the home gym - and I suspect I'm not alone in that. Nothing like a little 'shelter in place' time to reinforce a few things.
As for the device itself, a little video :
The ROCKUBOT.
And for the full list of the Books & DVDs we recommend, swing by the Recommended Books & DVDs page. To check out what we're reading at the moment (and to make suggestions), join us on Goodreads.
See you there.