All Articles & Reviews by
Maik Wiedenbach
(17 posts in total - only latest ones shown)
Maik Wiedenbach is an Olympic athlete, personal trainer, and nutritionist. He shares his training wisdom in the 101 Fitness Myths ebook, and the Desk Athlete DVD. Superb.
When not in the gym, he may be found training clients over at Adler Training; and also on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Swing on by.
NB : Like to write a guest post for Straight to the Bar? Here's how.
Bulking - How To Do It Properly
Tweet
Lee Priest in the Off Season.
Quael dich, du Sau! (Talent Alone Means Nothing!)
Tweet
What plays a bigger role in lifting, genes or hard work?
Isopure Protein Powder - My Review
Tweet
Happy Easter - Now Eat the Whole Damn Egg!
Tweet
Happy Easter.
What is the Best Time to Work Out?
Tweet
Most Muscular.
Cardio on an Empty Stomach - Does it Burn More Fat?
Tweet
Does cardio on an empty stomach burn more fat?
Is Red Meat Deadly?
Tweet
Mmm.
Shrugs - The Most Misunderstood Exercise in North America?
Tweet
World's Stupidest Supplement Ads
Tweet
The empty promises of the supplement industry.
8 Forgotten Bodybuilding Foods
Tweet
Buffalo.
The Iron Guru - Vince Gironda
Tweet
Vince Gironda.
Heavy Duty by Mike Mentzer...is it the Holy Grail?
Tweet
Flexible Dieting - or How to Eat Donuts and Still Lose Weight
Tweet
How to manage your diet in order to achieve constant fat loss without starvation.
The 10 Best Diet Foods - Or Are There Superfoods?
Tweet
Broccoli.
- do they cover your nutritional needs?
- how filling are they are?
Is It All Worth It?
Tweet
Getting out of bed at 6 am when its pitch black and going to lift with several layers of clothing isn't a lot of fun. Also, it is easier to gravitate toward "comfort foods" than a bodybuilding menu. After all, there aren't many opportunities to show off your physique right now, so why bother? Is it really worth all the sacrifices?
Shopping to Get in Shape - or The Big U
Tweet
Mmm. Steak.
I Just Don't Have the Genetics
Tweet
The role of genetics in training: how important are they really and can you succeed with a less than perfect DNA set up?
Want more?
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. |
what we're saying
how to
Bending (Nails, Horseshoes)
Easily one of the most rewarding ways to train.
Clubs & Maces
A great way to get a top workout in, without wasting time.
Grippers
I love training with grippers. Beautiful things.
Kettlebells
Fantastic.
Ropes (Climbing/Dragging, Battling Ropes)
Have you got what it takes?
Sandbags
If you're ready to take your conditioning workouts up a notch, grab one of these.
Suspension Training
Perfect for outdoor sessions.
images of strength
Want to see (and learn) more Feats of Strength like this? Dive in.
popular 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 just a handful of this site's most popular articles :
DIY: How to Build an Olympic Weightlifting Platform [Kat 'The Mighty Kat' Ricker]
Beautiful.
Building A Neck Of Steel [Mike 'The Machine' Bruce]
So you want a strong neck? It's actually quite simple.
Straight to the Grip Contest (part II, III, IV, V and VI) [Jedd 'Napalm' Johnson] Getting ready for your first grip contest? Here's what to expect.
A Little Yoke Work : 10 Exercises for a Bigger Neck [Scott Bird]
Traps maketh the man.
29 Things to do with a Barbell in the Corner [Jason Kirby]
This is absolutely superb.
Get Mental! The Psychology of Strength [Josh Hewett]
The thinking side is half the challenge.
Small Victories [Josh Hanagarne]
Improve what you can improve, every day.
If you enjoyed these, check out the complete 'Best Of Straight to the Bar' list. Fantastic.
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 :
- You Need More Drugs
- Isopure Protein Powder - My Review
- Hercules for a Day
- CRUSH DVD Review!
- A Critical Analysis: Reaction Ball
- Mizuno Wave Enigma Running Shoes Review
- Review : StrongerGrip Loadable Blob
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.
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 :
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.
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.
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.
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?
technique
Welcome.
If you’ve just joined us, I’d highly recommend checking out the ‘Start Here’ page - which takes a thorough look at what this site’s all about. However, if you’re more the ‘dive right in, read the manual later’ type, you may wish to check out the articles I’ve highlighted below. Just a few personal favourites.
Straight to the Bar copyright ©2004-2012 | Scott Andrew Bird
about | contact | advertising | privacy | feeds | newsletter | gymchats | write for us