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.
Follow Me (Real-Time Posture Trainer)
Interesting device.
Follow Me is a small sensor-laden device which sits on your upper back, keeping an eye on your posture. A curved spine will immediately result in a notification being sent to your phone.
Additionally, the device keeps track of your daily step count; and has an hourly stand reminder (many smartwatch owners will already be intimately familiar with both of these). It’ll be interesting to see if they add more of these fitness-centric features over time.
For now, a little video :
Follow Me.
‘The Future Of The Science Of Aging’ Presentation (Dr Andrew Steele)
Two weeks ago we noted Andrew’s wonderful book ‘Ageless‘ (highly recommended). If you’re more of a visual learner – or know someone who is – you might like to check out the above presentation. Loved it.
Looking At : Jan 24, 2021
During the past week we’ve discussed a number of great links; on Facebook, Twitter, in The Daily ‘Paper’ and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.
Whipr (Travel-Focused Training Machine)
Interesting combination.
Although you may not be doing all that much travelling right now, you may wish to keep this in mind for later in the year. Or whenever you plan to start looking at hotels again.
The device in question is the Whipr – a portable ERG machine which combines paddling, rowing, swimming and kayaking. Great mix.
To give you an idea of just what’s on offer, a little video :
Whipr.
Sleep Cycle App Review – Apple Watch Science Test (The Quantified Scientist)
Very interesting look at the Sleep Cycle app on the Apple Watch. Not bad at all.
Looking At : Jan 17, 2021
During the past week we’ve discussed a number of great links; on Facebook, Twitter, in The Daily ‘Paper’ and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.
Ageless – The New Science Of Getting Older Without Getting Old (Andrew Steele)
Looks great.
We briefly looked at Andrew Steele’s work yesterday in the form of the article ‘Do We Have To Age?‘. As you’d expect, the book Ageless is a much more detailed exploration of those topics.
I’m about to dig into it myself, and will share a few thoughts shortly. In the meantime, you can check out the ebook/hardback/audiobook versions over here.
Looking forward to it.
Ageless.
Partial vs Full – Were The Bros Right About Range Of Motion? (Jeff Nippard)
Very interesting look at the research behind the use of a Full ROM vs a Partial one.
Looking At : Jan 10, 2021
During the past week we’ve discussed a number of great links; on Facebook, Twitter, in The Daily ‘Paper’ and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.
Lumos Ultra (Bicycle Helmet With Inbuilt Lights)
Great combination.
The Lumos Ultra is a bicycle helmet with inbuilt lights. A wonderful blend of fitness and safety.
Lightweight, customisable & easily rechargeable (USB-C). It can even be controlled (think turn signals) via an Apple Watch.
A little video :
The Lumos Ultra.