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 : Sep 15 2024
This Week On Straight To The Bar…
Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : ‘Backfired : The Vaping Wars’ (by Leon Neyfakh and Arielle Pardes)
Leon Neyfakh and Arielle Pardes’ ‘Backfired : The Vaping Wars’ is a wonderfully thorough look at the story of vaping – the origins of the product, advertising, regulatory environment and of course the potential downsides.
Love it.
Snowcap (Thermoelectric Ice Bath)
The Snowcap is an app-controlled thermoelectric ice bath for use in the home, gym or outdoors. Look forward to trying it out.
“Kung Fu” Means MORE than You Think (Sensei Seth)
Exploring the meaning and origins of the term. Fascinating.
Looking At : Sep 8 2024
This Week On Straight To The Bar…
Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : ‘American Drug Addict: A Memoir’ (by Brett Douglas)
Following a conversation yesterday on calisthenics, someone pointed me to this book – Brett Douglas’ ‘American Drug Addict: A Memoir’ – (everyone has a backstory – I suspect this is similar to theirs in some way).
Having looked at addiction from the medical side of things, it’s fascinating to hear a story from the other side. Dive in.
Kabata (AI-Powered Dumbbells)
So many questions.
Still, the basic idea behind the Kabata Dumbbells is intriguing. Look forward to trying them.
How the Body Builds Incredible Strength Without Getting Bigger (Institute of Human Anatomy)
Nice and thorough.
Looking At : Sep 1 2024
This Week On Straight To The Bar…
Fitness Reading/Listening For The Week : ‘Better Faster Farther : How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women’ (by Maggie Mertens)
Both fascinating & frustrating in equal measure, Maggie Mertens’ ‘Better Faster Farther : How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women’ is a thorough exploration of womens’ running events. What has changed over the years, how and why.