Jason Kirby is a Personal Trainer and author for Straight to the Bar.
NB : Like to write a guest post for Straight to the Bar? I love hearing about how other people are training. And if you've got a strength-related competition or seminar coming up, add it to the calendar. And if you'd love to be on one of the weekly Gymchats - get in touch. Look forward to hearing from you.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :
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 :
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.