If you love talking about training, make sure you check out the Gymchats. There's a full list of previous shows here.

This week :

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.

just joined us? try these

There are some incredible writers on the team here. To give you an idea, check out these posts :

• DIY: How to Build an Olympic Weightlifting Platform
  Kat 'The Mighty Kat' Ricker
  
• Building A Neck Of Steel
  Mike 'The Machine' Bruce
  
• Straight to the Grip Contest
  Jedd 'Napalm' Johnson
  
• A Little Yoke Work : 10 Exercises for a Bigger Neck
  Scott Andrew Bird
  
• 29 Things to do with a Barbell in the Corner
  Jason Kirby
  
• Get Mental! The Psychology of Strength
  Josh Hewett
  
• Small Victories
  Josh Hanagarne
  

If you enjoyed the articles above, check out the complete 'Best Of Straight to the Bar' list. And if you'd like to do some fitness writing yourself and submit your own piece, get in touch.

ready to get in shape?

'Do It With Hewett.'

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.

what we're saying

And if you'd like to see the comments as soon as they arrive, you can grab the RSS feed here.

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.

gift buying guide

No matter what sort of training they're in to, we've got a few suggestions. And if you're looking for something specific, we'll help you find out where to get it. Just leave a comment on any of the posts listed below.

There are a number of articles that may help you in your quest. Specifically :

• Grrl's Valentine's Day Wishlist (Kat 'The Mighty Kat' Ricker)
• The Bodyweight Aficionado's Guide to Gear (Jason Kirby)
• Recommended Books and DVDs on Strength-Training & Nutrition (The Straight to the Bar Authors)

And there's also the full list of the fitness-focused books and DVDs we've looked at over the years : Reading

strength calendar

Looking for an upcoming competition, or know of one in your area? Why not add it to the spreadsheet.

reading : Ferocious Fitness (Phil Ross, Marty Gallagher)

Ferocious Fitness.

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

giving

Straight to the Bar Team on Kiva.

love your grip work?

Check out The Grip Authority. Fantastic site.

want to help out?

As you've doubtless noticed, in addition to the main site is a Community on Google+, Facebook and Twitter. Wherever you are, a daily dose of strength isn't all that far away.

To help run all of these sites, we're on the lookout for several additional Moderators. To welcome new community members, bring up new items to discuss and generally keep the conversations on track.

If you're already spending a bit of time at any of the above sites, and would like to offer your services as a Moderator, just drop us a line. And thanks for that, it really is appreciated.

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.

leave it in the ground

On Straight to the Bar we talk a lot about air pollution, primarily from a gym-owner's perspective. In the 'Leave it in the Ground' newsletter we look at the topic far more broadly - the gradual move away from the use of fossil fuels. Daily, and free.

elsewhere

As you can see, we love talking about training. In addition to the conversations on here, in the Google+ Community, Twitter and so on are discussions on several other great fitness-focussed sites.

Check out :

• Josh Hewett : Basic Home Workout for Beginners
• Al Kavadlo : How to Do A Double Under
• Diesel Crew : Yoketober – Fully Update – Fully Loaded
• Year of the Bear : Year of the Bear Has Moved!
• Gains & Aesthetics : Weightlifting vs. Cardio: Which is Better for Fat Loss?

Of course, we're always on the lookout for new additions to this list. If you'd like to suggest a site you've come across personally (or perhaps one that you run), drop us a line.

checking out

Love running when you travel? The side effect of that is not only stumbling across some incredible sites, it's accidentally ending up in some fairly unsavoury areas.

This is an interesting way to tackle these situations (the unsavoury ones, that is), the Athena Roar :

NB : although this version's strongly focussed on the safety aspect, I'd love to see many of the common fitness-monitoring functions built in to the device. And, of course, a way to export all of that data.

The Athena Roar Wearable Safety Accessory.

straighttothebar.com/articles/reading.

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.

Powerful Peacemaker

This is a superb resource. With a focus on law enforcement personnel, it takes the form of a Facebook Group as well as one on one coaching sessions. Created by the incredible Jeff Wilson.

Rings of Power

Mike Gillette explains the various ways to put the gymnastic rings to work - progressively - in Rings of Power. With clear emphases on both strength and rehabilitation, it's an ideal place to start.

Particularly those of us in the 'over 40' crowd.

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.

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.

For a full list of what we're reading at the moment (training-related and otherwise), join us on Goodreads. And for a cut-down list showing only the ones we recommend, swing by the Recommended Books & DVDs page. See you there.