Competition
Construct something for use in your workouts. It doesn't matter whether it's a sandbag, a squat rack or a full-blown all-in-one machine. The only constraint is that is has to be constructed between now and May 30 2007. No old stuff, please.
To submit it, either :
or
Prizes
The prize list includes some great stuff from the guys over at the Diesel Crew (including a t-shirt and their superb ebooks); as well as a couple of mystery items from Straight to the Bar. More details over the next few weeks.
Judging
The judging will be done by you, the reader (via a poll). In the case of a tie, I'll cast the deciding vote.
Finally
The most important part of this exercise is to enjoy the equipment you've just built. Have fun.
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.
The 'Hula Hoop' Squatting Circle.
Have you ever considered building your own lifting platform? Climbing wall? Stones for Strongman training?
A great look at an incredibly versatile form of training.
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.
A great week here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Want to see (and learn) more Feats of Strength like this? Dive in.
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.
Check out The Grip Authority. Fantastic site.
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.
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.
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.
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 :
and of course :
Cheers.
We looked at the first edition a while ago, and this second volume looks equally superb. I'm about to dive in to it myself, and you can check out the details (and grab a copy) here :
John Wood's Trap Bar Training 2.
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.
There are some incredible writers on the team here. To give you an idea, check these out :
If you enjoyed these, check out the complete 'Best Of Straight to the Bar' list. Fantastic.
Before you start your fitness journey, it's important to measure a few things.
Here's how.