Straight to the Bar

All Things Strength

HELPING YOU GET STRONGER SINCE 2004

The Gymchats are weekly discussions on a range of strength-training topics. Quite apart from being fascinating discussions in their own right, they’re a lot of fun.

Started back in Feb 2009 by Scott Bird, they were initially held on Twitter (and called ‘Twitterchats’). In Aug 2011 they moved to Google+, and were renamed ‘Gymchats‘.

In Sep 2012 we started doing video versions of the Gymchats, hosted by Personal Trainer Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine. These take the form of a Google+ Hangout, and are subsequently stored on Youtube for later viewing.

In Sep 2013 Josh Hewett joined the team, co-hosting a number of Gymchats as well as helping to schedule future interviews and roundtables. If you’d like to appear on the show (either for a one-on-one interview or as part of a group discussion), just drop him a line.

How the Gymchats Work (and How to Take Part)

These discussions take the form of interviews with various fitness professionals. In addition to the questions asked by Kirk/Josh directly, everyone else on the Hangout is able to fire in their own on the topic being discussed.

It’s a great blend.

To find out the topic & URL each week, all you need to do grab the Strength & Fitness Newsletter (part of the Straight to the Bar Strength Kit), and you’ll receive all the details. And as a bonus, you’ll also receive tips on strength-training technique, unusual exercises and a whole lot more.

As for taking part, well there are three ways (depending on whether you want to be on the show, or just watch). Here are the details.

Topics

The topics are all aspects of strength-training, and change from week to week. Each gymchat is an hour-long discussion on a particular area.

To get an idea of the types of topics we cover, check out The Complete List of Gymchats below. If it relates to strength training, we’ll be talking about it.

And if you’d like to suggest a topic for an upcoming discussion, or volunteer to be the interviewee and answer random questions on the subject, just let us know.


Feb 1, 2016 | Gymchat 277 – Barefoot Running – (Believe the Hype!) (Josh Hewett and Steven Sashen)
Apr 26, 2015 | Gymchat 276 – How to GRIND for Your Gains (Josh Hewett and Nassim Jebran)
Mar 16, 2015 | Gymchat 274 – Are Saturated Fats Really That Bad for You? (Josh Hewett and Kirsten Gallagher)
Feb 9, 2015 | Gymchat 272- How Food Choices Affect Your Body (Josh Hewett and Kamal Patel)
Jan 26, 2015 | Gymchat 271 – Forskolin For Fat Loss & Building Muscle (Josh Hewett and Kurtis Frank)
Jan 19, 2015 | Gymchat 270 – 10 Tips for Achieving Balance in Your Life & Your Diet (Josh Hewett and Aeryon Ashlie)
Jan 12, 2015 | Gymchat 269 – Rescheduled. New details shortly.
Dec 15, 2014 | Gymchat 268 – Bulking on a Budget (Josh Hewett and Adam Klymkiw)
Dec 8, 2014 | Gymchat 267 – Carving out a Niche in the Strength Equipment Business (Josh Hewett and Eric Chessen)
Dec 1, 2014 | Gymchat 266 – Art of Reciprocity: Give More to Get More from Clients, Colleagues, & Yourself (Josh Hewett and Sincere Hogan)
Nov 24, 2014 | Gymchat 265 – WTF is Functional Training? (Josh Hewett and Bud Jeffries)
Nov 21, 2014 | Gymchat Bites – How Mainstream Gyms Shun Powerlifters (Josh Hewett and Niatoos Dadbeh)
Nov 10, 2014 | Gymchat 263 – Building an Indestructible Body (Josh Hewett and Logan Christopher)
Nov 3, 2014 | Gymchat 262 – Learning from Experts Outside of Your Discipline (Josh Hewett and Frank DiMeo)
Oct 28, 2014 | Gymchat 261 – Drop Sets for Faster Gains (Josh Hewett and Bill Piche)
Oct 27, 2014 | Gymchat 260 – What is INTENSITY? (Fadel) (Josh Hewett and Fadel D)
Oct 24, 2014 | Gymchat Bites- Sled Training (Josh Hewett and Frank DiMeo)
Oct 13, 2014 | Gymchat 259 – Chronic Pain Research (Josh Hewett and Kamal Patel)
Sep 15, 2014 | Gymchat 257 – Muscle Activation Techniques (Josh Hewett and Eric Seifert)
Sep 10, 2014 | Gymchat 256 – Injury Prevention & Management (Josh Hewett and John Paul Catanzaro)
Sep 5, 2014 | Gymchat 255 – Pillars of Paleo (Josh Hewett and Adam Farrah)
Aug 13, 2014 | Gymchat 253 – Improving Recovery & Performance (Josh Hewett and Sincere Hogan)
Jul 22, 2014 | Gymchat 252 – Alpha Aesthetics (Personal Development In The 21st Century) (Josh Hewett and Omar ‘Bromar‘ Atlas)
Jul 2, 2014 | Gymchat 251 – Gaining Maximum Functional Muscle Mass (Josh Hewett and Bud Jeffries)
Jun 25, 2014 | Gymchat 250 – Serious Training for Ignored Populations (Josh Hewett and Bill Kociaba)
Jun 5, 2014 | Gymchat 248 – Establishing Standards for Strength & Progressions (Josh Hewett and Brian Tabor)
May 21, 2014 | Gymchat 247 – The Power of Visualization (Josh Hewett and Jen Mulhall)
May 7, 2014 | Gymchat 246 – The Pursuit of a HUGE Deadlift (Josh Hewett and Craig Bongelli)
Apr 30, 2014 | Gymchat 245 – Grip Strength (Josh Hewett and Napalm‘ Jedd Johnson)
Apr 23, 2014 | Gymchat 244 – Rescheduled. New details shortly.
Apr 9, 2014 | Gymchat 243 – How to Improve Your Pull Ups (Josh Hewett and Frank DiMeo)
Apr 2, 2014 | Gymchat 242 – The Role of Genetics in Aesthetics & Performance (Josh Hewett and Bill Piche)
Mar 26, 2014 | Gymchat 241 – Advanced Fat Loss : Losing the Last 10lb (Josh Hewett and Vic Magary)
Mar 19, 2014 | Gymchat 240 – Periodization (Josh Hewett and Karsten Jensen)
Mar 13, 2014 | Gymchat 239 – How to Get HUGE! (Josh Hewett and Craig Bongelli)
Mar 6, 2014 | Gymchat 238 – Fitness Business Strategies (connectivity issue – discussion to be rescheduled)
Feb 25, 2014 | Gymchat 237 – Old-Time Strongman Training (Josh Hewett and Logan Christopher)
Feb 19, 2014 | Gymchat 236 – Programming for Strength vs Hypertrophy (Josh Hewett and Jason Paris)
Feb 12, 2014 | Gymchat 235 – Supplementation for Focus & Stress Relief (Josh Hewett and Kurtis Frank)
Feb 5, 2014 | Gymchat 234 – Fitness Industry Posers (Josh Hewett and Bill Piche)
Jan 28, 2014 | Gymchat 233 – The Basics of Getting STRONG (Josh Hewett and Tyler Thor Jefferis (Tyler Wareham))
Jan 22, 2014 | Gymchat 232 – Self-Hypnosis For Strength Gains (Josh Hewett and Jen Mulhall)
Jan 17, 2014 | Gymchat 231 – Fat Loss 101 (Josh Hewett and Vic Magary)
Jan 10, 2014 | Gymchat 230 – World’s Strongest Disabled Man (Josh Hewett and Jeff King)
Dec 18, 2013 | Gymchat 229 – How to Prepare for a Powerlifting Competition (Josh Hewett and Ben McLaughlin)
Dec 11, 2013 | Gymchat 228 – In-Season Training for Hockey (Josh Hewett and Conor Doherty)
Dec 4, 2013 | Gymchat 227 – The Tempo Matrix (Josh Hewett and Karsten Jensen)
Nov 27, 2013 | Gymchat 226 – Advances in Strength & Power Development (Josh Hewett and Craig Bongelli)
Nov 20, 2013 | Gymchat 225 – How to Master the Inner Game (Josh Hewett and Jen Mulhall)
Nov 13, 2013 | Gymchat 224 – The Future of Fitness (Roundtable) (Josh Hewett, Chas Melichar, Chris Lutz, Karsten Jensen and Nassim Jebran)
Nov 11, 2013 | Gymchat 223 – Progressive Calisthenics (Josh Hewett and Al Kavadlo)
Nov 6, 2013 | Gymchat 222 – The Difference Between Exercise & Training (Why You Should TRAIN!) (Josh Hewett and Ryan Burgess)
Oct 30, 2013 | Gymchat 221 – The Paleo Approach to Health & Physique Transformation (Josh Hewett and Adam Farrah)
Oct 23, 2013 | Gymchat 220 – High Intensity Training : HIT (Josh Hewett and Chris Lutz)
Oct 16, 2013 | Gymchat 219 – Assessing Current Fitness Trends (Josh Hewett and Adam Klymkiw)
Oct 10, 2013 | Gymchat 218 – Alternative Approaches to Exercise Prescription (Josh Hewett and Matthew Palfrey)
Oct 9, 2013 | Gymchat 217 – Underground Strength Training (Josh Hewett and Zach Even-Esh)
Oct 8, 2013 | Gymchat 216 – Fat Loss Nutrition (Josh Hewett, Ryan Phillips and Rob Spencer)
Oct 2, 2013 | Gymchat 215 – The Health, Fitness, & Fat Loss Benefits of GARLIC (Josh Hewett and Kurtis Frank)
Sep 25, 2013 | Gymchat 214 – How to Create an Effective Supplement Stack (Josh Hewett and Paul Teixeira)
Sep 22, 2013 | Gymchat 213 (Roundtable) – How to get BIGGER and STRONGER (Josh Hewett, Suneet Sebastian, Louis Farone, Paul Marsland and Jason Paris)
Sep 19, 2013 | Gymchat 212 – How to Gain Muscle (Josh Hewett and Conor Kelly)
Sep 11, 2013 | Gymchat 211 – Training Approaches (Roundtable) (Josh Hewett, Adam Klymkiw, Jason Paris, Chris Lutz and Kurtis Frank)
Aug 14, 2013 | Gymchat 209 – Setting up a Home Gym (Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine and Josh Hewett)
Aug 7, 2013 | Gymchat 208 – How Do You… (power outage – this one has been rescheduled)
Jul 31, 2013 | Gymchat 207 – Body Transformation (Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine and Jason Paris)
Jul 24, 2013 | Gymchat 206 – Sandbag Training (Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine and Matt Palfrey)
Jul 17, 2013 | Gymchat 205 – Paleo Dieting (Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine and Adam Farrah)
Jul 10, 2013 | Gymchat 204 – Training & Competing with Google Glass (Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine and Chas Melichar)
Jul 4, 2013 | Gymchat 203 – Explaining Crossfit Principles (Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine and Dai ‘The Moose‘ Manuel)
Jun 29, 2013 | Gymchat 202 – Intermittent Fasting (Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine and Josh Hewett)
Jun 22, 2013 | Gymchat 201 – Hormonal Optimisation (Captain‘ Kirk Fontaine and Josh Hewett)
Mar 20, 2013 | Gymchat 200 – Beginning Powerlifting (Chadwick Haines)
Mar 8, 2013 | Gymchat 199 – Stretching & Warming Up (Conor Doherty)
Feb 27, 2013 | Gymchat 198 – The Science of Muscle Growth (Kevin Stock)
Feb 15, 2013 | Gymchat 197 – Stretching & Warming Up (rescheduled)
Jan 24, 2013 | Gymchat 196 – Explaining Crossfit Principles (rescheduled)
Jan 9, 2013 | Gymchat 195 – Fitness Over 40 (Kevin Redman)
Nov 30, 2012 | Gymchat 194 – Performance Training for Hockey (Conor Doherty)
Nov 28, 2012 | Gymchat 193 – Training Athletes II (Kyle Bohannon)
Nov 20, 2012 | Gymchat 192 – Supplementation & Olympic Lifting (Derek Peruo)
Nov 18, 2012 | Gymchat 191 – Supplementation & Olympic Lifting (rescheduled)
Nov 14, 2012 | Gymchat 190 – Olympic Lifting (Karsten Jensen)
Oct 24, 2012 | Gymchat 189 – Training Athletes II (rescheduled)
Oct 17, 2012 | Gymchat 188 – Training Athletes (rescheduled)
Oct 10, 2012 | Gymchat 187 – Bodyweight and Suspension Training (Pierre Johnson)
Sep 26, 2012 | Gymchat 186 – Metabolic Typing (Stephen Duncan)
19 Sep, 2012 | Gymchat 185 – Training for Marathons & Triathlons (Chas Melichar)
Sep 12, 2012 | Gymchat 184 – Mental Preparation for Bodybuilding Contests (live only)
Sep 5, 2012 | Gymchat 183 – Goals & Goal Setting (live only)
Aug 15, 2012 | Gymchat 182 – Exercise and Aging (Kirk Fontaine)
Aug 8, 2012 | Gymchat 181 – Training with Grippers II (Matt Hunt)
Aug 1, 2012 | Gymchat 180 – Arm Training (Maik Wiedenbach)
Jul 24, 2012 | Gymchat 179 – Interval Training (Troy Pesola)
Jul 17, 2012 | Gymchat 178 – Exercise and the Brain (Kirk Fontaine)
Jul 10, 2012 | Gymchat 177 – Recovery Work for the Hands (Matt Hunt)
Jul 3, 2012 | Gymchat 176 – Fitness & Health Devices (Chas Melichar)
Jun 26, 2012 | Gymchat 175 – Stretching (John Cammidge)
Jun 19, 2012 | Gymchat 174 – Training Around Injuries (Barry Gibson)
Jun 13, 2012 | Gymchat 173 – Fitness in 2030 (Everyone)
Jun 6, 2012 | Gymchat 172 – Combat Athletics : Getting Ready for the Fight (Barry Gibson)
May 29, 2012 | Gymchat 171 – Online Training III (Derek ‘D-Rock‘ Peruo)
May 22, 2012 | Gymchat 170 – Intermittent Fasting (Chris Melton)
May 15, 2012 | Gymchat 169 – Recovery Foods (Chas Melichar)
May 8, 2012 | Gymchat 168 – Workout Nutrition II (Maik Wiedenbach)
May 1, 2012 | Gymchat 167 – Setting Up the Home Gym (Andrew Nalepa)
Apr 25, 2012 | Gymchat 166 – How Do You…IV (Everyone)
Apr 17, 2012 | Gymchat 165 – Use What’s Around You (Andrew Nalepa)
Apr 10, 2012 | Gymchat 164 – Online Training II (Derek ‘D-Rock‘ Peruo)
Apr 3, 2012 | Gymchat 163 – Belts, Wraps & Straps II (Maik Wiedenbach)
Mar 27, 2012 | Gymchat 162 – Neck Training II (Andrew Nalepa)
Mar 21, 2012 | Gymchat 161 – Belts, Wraps & Straps (Everyone)
Mar 13, 2012 | Gymchat 160 – Supplementation (Everyone)
Mar 7, 2012 | Gymchat 159 – Recovery Methods : Sleep II (Scott Bird)
Feb 29, 2012 | Gymchat 158 : Heavy Duty – The Mentzer Legacy (Maik Wiedenbach)
Feb 22, 2012 | Gymchat 156 – Solving Nutrition Problems (Maik Wiedenbach)
Feb 15, 2012 | Gymchat 155 – Triathlon Training (Chas Melichar)
Feb 8, 2012 | Gymchat 154 – Make It Yourself (DIY Equipment II) (Everyone)
Feb 1, 2012 | Gymchat 153 – Cycled Bulking (Maik Wiedenbach)
Jan 18, 2012 | Gymchat 152 – Leg Training (Maik Wiedenbach)
Jan 11, 2012 | Gymchat 151 – Motivation II (Roger Lawson)
Jan 4, 2012 | Gymchat 150 – Goals & Goal Setting (Everyone)
Dec 21, 2011 | Gymchat 149 – Getting Started (Chris Smith)
Dec 14, 2011 | Gymchat 148 – Training for Football II (Justin Andrushko)
Dec 7, 2011 | Gymchat 147 – Long-Term Paleo (Jeremy Loo)
Nov 30, 2011 | Gymchat 146 – Nutritional Basics (Roger Lawson)
Nov 23, 2011 | Gymchat 145 – Running (Bill Long)
Nov 16, 2011 | Gymchat 144 – Training at Home (Jackie Burgmann (aka ‘Girlwithnoname‘))
Nov 9, 2011 | Gymchat 143 – Strength Training Over 40 : II (Raymond Ho)
Nov 2, 2011 | Gymchat 142 – Fitness & Autism (Eric Chessen, interviewed by Kirk Fontaine)
Oct 26, 2011 | Gymchat 141 – Stretching & Warming Up (Kirk Fontaine, interviewed by Derek ‘D-Rock‘ Peruo)
Oct 19, 2011 | Gymchat 140 – How Do You…III (Everyone)
Oct 12, 2011 | Gymchat 139 – Hand Strength II : Grip Work (Lane Hagen)
Oct 5, 2011 | Gymchat 138 – Hand Strength (Lane Hagen)
Sep 28, 2011 | Gymchat 137 – Grip, Clubs & Health (Ryan Pitts)
Sep 21, 2011 | Gymchat 136 – Heavy Training After a Break (Vic Magary)
Sep 14, 2011 | Gymchat 135 – Conditioning II (Nathan Teodoro)
Sep 7, 2011 | Gymchat 134 – From Diabetic to Fit (Steve Cooksey)
Aug 31, 2011 | Gymchat 133 – Workout Nutrition (Kurtis Frank)
Aug 24, 2011 | Gymchat 132 – How to Find a Personal Trainer (Kirk Fontaine)

All of the video versions (Gymchats 185 onward) have been moderated by the superb Kirk Fontaine and Josh Hewett. If you’d like to join them on a future Gymchat, or suggest a topic for discussion, contact Josh directly. You’ll find all his contact details here.

cheers,

Scott