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TGIF : weekly round-up (WE Fri 30 Jan 09)

by Scott Andrew Bird | January 30, 2009
Filed in TGIF

Jim Murray Teeth Lift.

A great week here on Straight to the Bar. The highlights :

Articles : Bill discussed recovery for the tactical athlete, Caleb noted the basics of strength training and I took a look at some of the many wonderful variations of the burpee.
Videos : Ever seen a quadruple kettlebell jerk? Here's one. We also saw a different way to incorporate foam into bench press training and a slightly unusual approach to bodyweight training. Hint : it's not your own body.
Elsewhere : Olly Hicks is rowing solo around the globe, the Virtual Meets are coming thick and fast and Mike Mahler discusses his research into hormone optimisation. Fascinating area.
Ideas : Have a go at some lateral cable step-ups, try some forehead-on-bench rowing and grab some bands and rings and try this skill transfer exercise for the muscle up. Brilliant idea.

Bonus - Travis Ortmayer Interview

Fearless Training's Sam Cox recently sat down with the Texas Stoneman, Travis Ortmayer (part I below, part II, part III). Good stuff.

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on the rack

tell us about it

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
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reading

the team

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

Scott Bird (@scottbird)
Writer and Fitness enthusiast
Jedd 'Napalm' Johnson (@jeddjohnson)
Grip champion and Strongman
'Unbreakable' Adam T Glass (@adamtglass)
Bending freak and Strongman
Kat 'The Mighty Kat' Ricker
Bodybuilder and Writer
Joe Hashey (@jhashey)
Athlete, Teacher and Trainer
Josh Hanagarne (@joshhanagarne)
Kettlebell and grip afficionado
Bill Long (@bill_long1)
SPC and grip fanatic

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

training at work

There's always a way to train while you're at work. (Josh Hanagarne)

elsewhere

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

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

thanks to

I get regular questions regarding the hosting of this site, my favourite stats package and so on, so here are a few details :

Web hosting : pair Networks
Email : AWeber
Stats : pMetrics
Feeds : FeedBurner
Computer : MacBook Pro

Pair is easily the fastest and most reliable host I've come across - perfect for a site like this. If you're setting up your own blog, forum or ezine; check them out. Brilliant.

what to get?

Thanks for dropping by. If you’d like to help support this site (and get in great shape at the same time), here’s a list of strength-training books, DVDs and tools I recommend. Love them.

Dragon Door Kettlebells
These are easily the best kettlebells I've used; and I'd strongly recommend them above all others. Well-made, comfortable to use and ready to take any abuse you send their way. Love them.
RMAX Clubbells
I'm a big fan of leverage training in any form, especially things like the RMAX Clubbells. Beautiful things.
MBG Powerwheel
Although I generally avoid single-purpose tools, I'll happily make an exception for the Powerwheel. Ab training has never been so much fun.
Battling Rope Kit
This is easily my favourite form of conditioning work. Incredibly fun, exhausting and - most importantly - effective.
Precision Nutrition
When it comes to body transformation - whether that's a 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.
The Ultimate Sandbag
I love sandbag training, and this is definitely the way to do it right. Beautiful thing.
Gymboss Interval Timer
If you've ever tried to do interval work with a stopwatch, or by counting out the time, grab a Gymboss. The perfect way to time your fat-shedding sessions.

Want more? Swing by the Equipment section on the forums. Some great stuff on there.

What's this?

Scott Bird's a writer, photographer and all-round fitness freak. If it involves people pushing themselves to the limit, it'll be on here.

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