The Right Attributes For The Right Fighters

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Adam looks at the sport-specific needs of combat athletes, no matter what fighting styles they favour. A good read.

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As you can doubtless see, I love talking about training. Becoming stronger, bigger and faster; using any number of styles and techniques. If you share this passion, grab the newsletter. Absolutely free.

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Want to see (and learn) more Feats of Strength like this? They're all here.

latest articles

Welcome. Here you’ll find everything that grunts, groans and ticks in the world of strength training. To give you an idea, here are the most recent articles on the site :

• Welcome to the Gymchats IV : 137 - 156
• Heavy Duty by Mike Mentzer...is it the Holy Grail?
• How To Do The Clean Pull
• How I Started in Weight Training and Bodybuilding
• Where It All Began
• The Power of Transformation
• Developing your Own Training Routine for Mixed Martial Arts

If you enjoyed these, check out the complete 'Best Of Straight to the Bar' list. Fantastic.

eating well

There are also a number of superb articles on this site from the world of nutrition. A few recent posts :

• Flexible Dieting - or How to Eat Donuts and Still Lose Weight
• The 10 Best Diet Foods - Or Are There Superfoods?
• Is It All Worth It?
• Shopping to Get in Shape - or The Big U
• I Just Don't Have the Genetics
• Are Protein Shakes Necessary when Following a Paleo or Primal Diet?
• Swole.Me

If you enjoyed these, check out the complete Diet & Nutrition collection. Some superb reading in there.

recommended

It'll come as no surprise that we've reviewed many, many products over the years. Everything from books, magazines and DVDs to racks, benches and complete home gyms.

To give you an idea :

• CRUSH DVD Review!
• A Critical Analysis: Reaction Ball
• Mizuno Wave Enigma Running Shoes Review
• Review : StrongerGrip Loadable Blob
• Review : NSD Powerball
• Book Review : We're Working Out
• Review : Ultimate Warrior Workouts

NB : if you'd like to review a product for Straight to the Bar, I'd love to hear from you. It's fantastic to see how other people put things to the test.

also learning from

join the discussion

Straight to the Bar is very much an interactive website. In addition to the articles here, there are a number of ways to share your passion with other lovers of the iron :

• Seen something cool? Send us a tweet
• Discuss it in the forums
• Join the Gymchats on Google+.
• Vote for stories on StumbleUpon & Facebook
• Add training and comp pics to the Flickr group
• Submit articles on styles and techniques
• Subscribe to the tutorial videos on youtube

Incidentally, for updates whenever new articles are published (as well as lots of other top strength-related stuff), follow me on twitter :

Follow @scottbird

the team

There are some superb writers here, looking at the world of strength training from a number of angles. The regulars :

• Scott Bird (@scottbird)
  Writer and Fitness enthusiast
  

NB : It's a big team - full list here.

In addition, articles are submitted from across the globe. Got a piece you'd like to share? Let us know.

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elsewhere

In addition to the articles on this site are a number I've written elsewhere. Including :

• Paleo Diet : Increased Mental Clarity
• The Art of Working Out Alone
• The Ultimate Guide to Freezing Food (part II)
• Rock the Kitchen: Plan for Diet Success
• 10 Challenging Bodyweight Exercises
• Buying Your First Kettlebell
• Switching to Biphasic Sleeping? Start here.

reading

Want more? Try these :

The Diesel Crew Bending eBook

If you're new to the world of nail bending, this is the perfect book to get. It'll show you the exact techniques you'll need to get started right away. Written by world-class bender Jedd Johnson.

The Diesel Crew's Card Tearing eBook

This is a fantastic book. If you've ever considered learning this incredible strength feat, the Card Tearing eBook is the perfect place to start. Love it.

Functional Correction Manual

If you ever wake up with that 'just run over by a truck' feeling, you need a copy of Tim Hull's Functional Correction Manual. Not only will it help you to locate and repair the problem, it'll help prevent it happening in the future.

Superb book.

Precision Nutrition

When it comes to body transformation - whether that's an increase in strength, packing on a bit of muscle or losing a bit of excess fat - this is the perfect place to start. Dr Berardi's Precision Nutrition.

Strength Training Anatomy

This is a fantastic book. As Josh explains, it superbly shows what's going on while you train. Love it.

101 Fitness Myths [Kindle Edition]

A superb combination of fitness mythbusting and no-nonsense advice. If you're not quite sure where to start, grab this.

The Art of Expressing the Human Body

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.

And if you're a strength coach or personal trainer, check out the books Derek found invaluable when setting up his (commercial) gym. Fantastic place.

Over to you. What are you reading right now?

how to

Other guides (what to get, how to train) :

• Bending (Nails, Horseshoes)
  
• Clubs & Maces
  
• Grippers
  
• Kettlebells
  
• Resistance Bands
  
• Ropes (Climbing/Dragging, Battling Ropes)
  
• Sandbags
  
• Sledgehammers
  
• Suspension Training
  

»» Want more? They're all here. »»