Straight to the Bar Store
A Guide to the Best Strength-Training Equipment Available.
What to Get?
Whether you're setting up a gym, beginning your fitness journey or anything in between : you'll find the necessary equipment here. Everything from a single kettlebell to a complete home gym.
Bars & Plates
These items are very much at the heart of your gym. No matter how you like to train, there's a great chance that there are various bars & plates involved. Here are the ones I recommend.Bars from Champion, such as their Olympic Power Bar (or the set below)
Plates from Body Solid or sets like this oneNB : when you're buying the plates, if you can, buy a set of a few hundred pounds. Unless you're adding to an existing collection, you'll frequently be using several of them at once.
Bending & Tearing Gear
Braced or unbraced, short steel or long. If it can be bent, it's in here.
Beginners' Bag from FBBC.Recommended : Jedd 'Napalm' Johnson's Bending Manual. Fantastic book.
Grip Tools
If you're similarly obsessed with this incredibly addictive sport, you'll understand the magic words : Stronger Grip. Superb gear.Recommended : StrongerGrip 'Red Rafter' Leverage Block. Beautiful thing.
Hammers, Clubs & Maces
When it comes to training, this is definitely my kind of thing. If you enjoy a spot of outdoor training yourself, check out some of the Sledgehammers, Clubs and Maces we use.
Love it.Recommended : Pair of StrongerGrip Loadable 'Long' (27") Clubs. Perfect.
Complete Home Gyms
Although a lot of the things we talk about on this site focus on training with free weights, there are certainly situations where an all-in-one gym is more appropriate. If it's an option you'd like to explore for your own home gym, I'd recommend checking out something like the :Body Solid EXM3000LPS Double Stack Home Gym
I like the Body Solid gear - well made, and nice & tough. That said, there are several similar gym setups on the market; many of which are quality pieces of equipment. To get an idea, check out the reviews on sites like Amazon.NB : these things aren't exactly light, and if you've got a chance to get it delivered, take it. If you're getting one online, consider getting something like Amazon Prime first. A one-off cost which will make life a whole lot easier.
Kegs
Dave Lemanczyk clearly demonstrates the extraordinary potential of this simple conditioning tool. With no more than an empty keg (or partially-filled if preferred), a small training area and a bit of determination there is a wealth of power available.Recommended : Keg Conditioning. Brilliant.
Kettlebells
Kettlebells are fantastic for a variety of strength and strength endurance approaches, and after a great deal of experimentation I ended up using the Dragon Door 'bells almost exclusively.Smooth, well-made and extremely tough. Superb.
Recommended : 35lb DragonDoor Kettlebell Quick-Start Kit with DVD. Fantastic.
Rope
Thick Rope is brilliant as a training tool. Whether it's something like the Battling Ropes for conditioning work, or the shorter Battle Ropes for variety; rope training is superb. Highly recommended.Recommended : 50ft Manila Battling Rope, Capped & Challenge DVD. Beautiful.
Sandbags
I love sandbag training, for both strength and conditioning work.Recommended : Ultimate Sandbag 'Strength' Package. Beautiful.
Suspension Training
Suspension training is fantastic; particularly when you're travelling.Recommended : TRX Suspension Training Pro Pack. Love it.
T-shirts
Whether you're training hard or in full competition mode, you'll appreciate the moisture management of these shirts.Recommended : Straight to the Bar 'Got Yoke?' T-shirt. Superb.
NB : if you can't see it listed here, drop a note in the Google+ Community pages; or check out our range of equipment on the Amazon Store. If you're a Prime
How Exactly do I Use it?
When it comes to the 'how' part of the equation, you may like to check out the Straight to the Bar Training Guides. Alternately, check out the books (and ebooks) we recommend, as well as the instructional DVDs to demonstrate the various techniques discussed.
However you like to learn, we've got you covered.
Incidentally, if you’d like to discuss any of the stuff above, come and join us on the Straight to the Bar Community over on Google+. Absolutely free.