The Bodyweight Aficionado's Guide to Gear

A few extras that can add a whole lot of possibilities.

Ok so lets face it, the bodyweight crowd out there doesn't really need to purchase any equipment that couldn't either be made or found, but presuming you're one of those people who wants all the latest and greatest gear, or just someone looking to add a few more tools to the toolbox and try something new. Here are a few pieces of equipment definitely worth looking into, and can add almost an unlimited amount of ideas and variation to your training regime.

Mixed Combat Conditioning Footage

Time to add a few more cards to that muscled sleeve of yours?

So you're looking to up your game a bit, and add a few more cards up that muscled sleeve of yours?

Core Exercises That Really Work

Great collection of exercises.

You heard this term over and over again; core exercises. Now what the heck is the core?

Flavor For Training

Time to tweak things a bit.

Ever walked in the gym with a game plan, knowing exactly what area you want to work on, but day in and day out the routine gets stagnant and boring. Well look no further, here's a few ideas that can help you get back on track, and a way to definitely bring some stares in the weight room.

Fun with Barbells

Ready for a change? Try these.

After some pondering, and questioning what else we could do with a barbell, the authors of All Around Strength decided to try and become flying squirrels using 2 Olympic bars, and 2 45 lb. plates. The set up is very simple, put a plate on each end of both bars, and all of a sudden you've got a nice set of parallettes.

29 Things to do with a Barbell in the Corner

Time to get creative.

Have you been looking for a way to attract some attention in the gym, or some new tricks to slip up your sleeve? Here are a few twists on some old moves using 1 or 2 barbells against a wall.

Deconstructing Hanging Windshield Wipers

Why? How? When?

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 :

• The Straight to the Bar Daily

Cheers.

checking out

Jself (Massage Pillow)

Looks great.

The Jself is a pillow with massage/heating/music functions built in. Looks like an ideal post-workout device.

I'm keen to test one, though I suspect that the heating and massage functions feel pretty good regardless of their long-term abilities. And in the meantime, a spot of video :

The Jself.

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.

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