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 19 2021
This week on Straight to the Bar…
Fitness Reading For The Week : Breathe: A Life in Flow (Rickson Gracie, Peter Maguire)
I’m currently checking out the book ‘ Breathe: A Life in Flow (Rickson Gracie, Peter Maguire)‘. Rickson Gracie’s wonderful autobiography – detailing life both in and out of the ‘ring‘. Definitely recommended.
Sleepout (Portable Blackout Curtain)
Nice and simple. The Sleepout is a portable blackout curtain, to quickly block the light from any window; no matter where you are. I'm already a big fan of sleep (it's easily my favourite form of recovery), and am certainly keen to try this one out. Particularly once...
Apple vs Fitbit vs Garmin – The Battle For Your Fitness (Slidebean)
Fascinating look at the history of these three devices, and how they’ve gradually become more and more focused on fitness tracking.
Looking At : Sep 12 2021
This week on Straight to the Bar…
Fitness Reading For The Week : The Oxygen Advantage (Patrick McKeown)
I’m currently checking out the book ‘The Oxygen Advantage (Patrick McKeown)‘. An interesting look at the physiological processes of breathing, as well as specific breathing techniques to simulate high-altitude training.
NightBuds (Sleep-Focused Smart Earbuds)
The NightBuds – as the name suggests – are earbuds designed for wearing to bed. To listen to music or an audiobook as you drift off to sleep.
How to Learn Faster: The IMPROVED Feynman Technique (Thomas Frank)
Although this video focuses primarily on the learning method itself, the areas he uses as demonstrations are certainly familiar to many of us – anatomy and strength-training. Wonderful.
Looking At : Sep 5 2021
This week on Straight to the Bar…
Fitness Reading For The Week : So You Think You Know What’s Good for You?
I’m currently checking out the book ‘So You Think You Know What’s Good for You? (by Dr Norman Swan)‘. Solid advice – on nutrition, cardiovascular fitness and overall health.