Looking At : Jun 23, 2013

Echo Point, Blue Mountains.

During the past week we’ve discussed a number of great links; on Google+, Twitter, Facebook and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.

Tracking Your Fitness : We looked at several fitness trackers this week – including the Basis, the Sensoria Fitness Smart Sock and the Withings Pulse. Powerful devices.
Colour-Coded Food Labelling : Very interesting idea – colour-coded labels on the front of packaged foods (green = good, red = bad). Keen to see how it performs.
Google Glass in the Operating Room : We’ll be discussing the incredible potential of technologies like Google Glass in an upcoming Gymchat, and here’s a fantastic use case to kick things off – Hangouts During Surgery. Love it.
Printing, Implanting and Replacing : We saw the incredible potential of 3d-printed bone, a way to implant electronics without fear of rejection, and the rapid advances in prosthetics. Which begs the question :
Would you replace a perfectly functional body part with a more powerful prosthetic one?

We also saw an incredible way to measure a pulse without touching the skin, looked at various research surrounding concussions and a whole lot more. Join the discussion in the Straight to the Bar Community on Google+.

Scientific American’s The Science Of Health.

It’ll come as no surprise that we discuss a lot of fitness-related books; on this site as well as the various networks noted in the sidebar.

Scientific American’s The Science Of Health is a collection of columns written by science journalist Claudia Wallis. Wonderful.

Incidentally, I’ve got an evergrowing list of ‘books to read‘, and I’m always looking to add to it. Suggestions welcome.

There’s also a list of our all-time fitness suggestions over there. Dive on in.

Over to you. Drop us a line on Twitter ( @scottbird ), or add a comment below.

Cheers.

NB : if you love talking about strength-training as much as I do, you might also like to check out the weekly newsletter (there's also a daily version available). A regular dose of fitness-focussed discussions, absolutely free.

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What's This?

Straight to the Bar is the online home of fitness enthusiast Scott Bird, and looks at the many training approaches, essential techniques, uncommon exercises and superb equipment to help you become as strong as humanly possible. In short, this site is the home of all things strength.

images of strength

'Napalm' Jedd Johnson.
Want to see (and learn) more Feats of Strength like this? Dive in.

Just Joined Us? Try These.

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

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 these, check out the complete ‘Best Of Straight to the Bar‘ list. Fantastic.

setting up a home gym?

If you’re getting ready to put together a solid Home Gym (fantastic thing), here’s how.

For more, swing by the full guide. Absolutely free.

And of course, you’ll find everything you need over in the SttB Strength Store. Massive range.

Ever Tried Kettlebells?

If you’ve seen people using them but never taken the plunge yourself, here are the ones I use personally. You can also pick up a book/DVD/course if you want to learn how to put them to work.

Converters and Calculators.

Before you start your fitness journey, it’s important to measure a few things.

Here’s how.

Ready To Learn Even More?

I love learning new skills, and the many seminars & workshops available are a great way to do that. If you’re looking for a specific type of workshop nearby, check out the ones on Dragon Door. Great mix of kettlebell and calisthenics-based offerings.

The Precision Nutrition Certification Program

The Precision Nutrition Certification Program.

If you’re a fitness professional and love the Precision Nutrition approach, check out their certification offering. To say it’s comprehensive is an understatement.

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Written By Scott Bird

Scott is a long-time fitness enthusiast (Jan 2004!), writer and photographer living in Sydney, Australia. If you share the passion for spending a bit of time under a bar, welcome. Love hearing how everyone else trains. You can connect via Twitter, Facebook and the various networks listed in the sidebar.

Drawing of Scott Andrew Bird performing a deadlift. Artwork by Vince Palko.

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