Welcome to Straight to the Bar
If you’ve just joined us, welcome. Here you’ll find everything that grunts, groans and ticks in the world of strength training. In short, this site is the home of all things strength.
Incidentally, this site’s been helping people become fitter, healthier and stronger since January 2004. If you’ve just joined us, I highly recommend subscribing to the weekly Strength & Fitness Newsletter (part of the Strength Kit), which contains details of new posts on the site, freshly-minted video demonstrations & tutorials, details of upcoming Gymchats and a whole lot more.
And yes, it’s absolutely free.
To help get you started, here are a few of our most recent posts. And if you want to dive in to a particular area. check out the ‘Start Here‘ page above. Enjoy.
Looking At : Oct 4 2026
This Week On Straight To The Bar…
Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : Sleep earlier : NUS scientist Dean Ho on the top thing people can do to live longer (The Straits Times)
This week it’s The Straits Times’ conversation with NUS scientist Dean Ho.
I agree with many of the ideas outlined. You?
SPLan (Smart Gym Equipment)
The SPLan is Smart Gym setup for small gyms, or simply to replace a heap of stuff.
Does Extreme Flexibility Help or Hurt in an MMA Fight? (StretchySarah)
Over to Sarah.
Looking At : Sep 27 2026
This Week On Straight To The Bar…
Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : How To Build A Bulletproof Body – Ben Patrick’ (FitnessFAQs Podcast)
Almost caught up.
This time it’s Daniel Vadnal’s (FitnessFAQs) wonderful conversation with Ben Patrick, the ‘Knees Over Toes Guy’.
Enjoy.
Dumbbell Hangers (For The Gym)
Interesting idea.
The Dumbbell Hangers from Merakinetics Inc perform a fairly simple, but incredibly desirable, function. Lift as heavy as you like, safely.
NASA Really Did The Twin Experiment (The Rest Is Science)
A wonderful look into the various physical changes you’re subjected to when you’re away from gravity (in space, currently – without any form of artificial spin) for a while.
Looking At : Sep 20 2026
This Week On Straight To The Bar…
Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : The Way to Drink Coffee for Longevity’ (‘The Longevity Researcher’ Podcast)
I’m currently working my way through a collection of Youtube Podcasts (fitness & health ones) I received the other day – in the form of an .opml file. If you’d like to suggest any yourself, just upload it somewhere and point me to it (via a comment, or a post on something like X).
This week it’s an offering from ‘The Longevity Researcher‘. Enjoy.