Bigger Faster Stronger - BFS Magazine Archive

Bigger Faster Stronger has opened up its BFS Magazine archives, which span the past 10 years. The BFS Mag covers a wide variety of topics and includes top-notch information on training, coaching, athletic development and nutrition. So grab a cup of coffee and cozy up to the computer screen - there is a lot of good reading here: BFS Magazine Archive

Rippetoe and Kilgore - Starting Strength FAQ

Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore is a highly recommended resource for beginning (and most likely many who think they are "advanced") strength trainers. By reading this book and learning to do the lifts properly, you will be well ahead of the curve. Everyone should have a copy of this book in their library. Bodybuilding.com forums has an excellent, excellent, excellent FAQ for Starting Strength as well as a Q&A thread for anyone needing further answers or advices from fellow lifters familiar with the program. It's a worthwhile read. Starting Strength FAQ @ Bodybuilding.com Starting Strength Q&A Thread

Diesel Crew Grip Article

The Diesel Crew continues to draw attention to an otherwise invisible sport. Straight to the Grip Contest Part II: Grippers Part III: Gripper Sets

The 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution

The 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution is an excellent resource for restoring and maintaining shoulder health and strength. I first read this book way back when I was in high school about the time I started seriously lifting weights (I used a lot of the Health for Life material when I first started out). I'm glad I came across it when I did because I learned early on what not to do in the gym to protect my shoulders. Grab some jumpstretch bands and you'll be in business. The book has long since been in print, so you'll be lucky to get your hands on a copy for a reasonable price. OR you can read it here: The 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution

Cosgrove vs. Cancer

If you have yet to order your Lift Strong CD, go HERE and get it NOW. Chris Shugart over at T-Nation has put up a friendly reminder and provided an audio interview with Alwyn Cosgrove about his bout with cancer and the Lift Strong project. Check it out: Cosgrove vs. Cancer: A special audio interview with Alwyn Cosgrove by Chris Shugart

Homemade DIY GHD!!!

Absolutley fantastic. Now I don't have to spend the time to draw up my own plans when I buy a house and have a spot to put one. This excellent document is compliments of Chris Kemp at Crossfit. Download the word document here - DIY Glute-Ham Device

Grip Lessons of Yore: Tips from Old Time Strongmen - George F. Jowett

George Fiusdale Jowett was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England on December 23, 1891. In his early childhood, Jowett suffered an accident, which after years of hospitalization left doctors assured that he would never walk again or live beyond his 15th birthday. Yet, around the time he was turning 11 years old, Jowett's uncle to him to see the strongman show of Eugen Sandow, where little George learned that Sandow was also proclaimed fatally ill in his youth. This sparked something within the young Jowett, and he went on to become a very successful strongman and prolific promoter of physical culture. You can read the "A Brief Biography of George F. Jowett" supplied by Jowett's great, great niece, Kathleen Lawry for a more in depth account. Much can be learned of overcoming adversity by following the examples laid out by these great men. Jowett knew a thing or two about hand strength. Here he is lifting an incredible 168 pound anvil by the horn to his shoulder and pressing it overhead. Makes you wonder what he did all those years spent as a blacksmith. He later went on to create the Jowett Institute for Physical Culture, which resulted in the printing of many of his classic mail order booklets. Jowett's "Molding Mighty Muscles" sold 25 million copies at 25 cents a piece. The "Molding Mighty Men" series contains at the very least one title that every aspiring gripster should read thoroughly. "Molding a Mighty Grip" includes what Jowett feels necessary to be "the proud owner of a mighty arm and [that] will have in each hand the vice-like crushing grip of a steel bear-trap." I found Jowett's discussion on hand size particularly amusing as it is very common to hear people nowadays complain that a particular feat is beyond their reach because they have small hands. If you ask Jowett his opinion; "Personally, I do not think this should enter into the subject at all." Jowett also comments on the spirit of competition in bringing out abilities buried inside of you that you may have never known you possessed otherwise. This booklet is an interesting read when examining the tools used by Jowett versus their modern equivalents. The front lever with the broom and a brick, for example, is now mostly performed with a sledge hammer. I'm willing to bet most every household has some sort of broom tucked away in a closet, and I'm sure there is also something of moderate weight nearby you can place on the sweeping end. That is a nice savings from a set of Ludell sledges - I think I paid around $35 for my 12 pounder. In fact, a lot of the exercises Jowett talks about in "Molding a Mighty Grip" can be implemented cheaply and easily with a variety of household items and a little creativity. So really, you have no excuse. One item you most likely do not have laying around is a barrel. Jowett was a huge fan of barrel lifting, stating; "barrel stunting is beyond a doubt the supreme test of your grip strength." The booklet goes on to show various lifts one can perform with a barrel and contains illustrations that were even borrowed by Brooks Kubik in Dinosaur Training. Jowett's work is a fascinating trip with accounts of famous old time strongmen like Louis Cyr and Ottley Coulter. The training information in "Molding a Mighty Grip" has proven timeless and answers many of the questions that get repeatedly asked in today's Internet culture. "Molding a Mighty Grip" - George F. Jowett Part I Part II Part III Previous Posts: Edward Aston

Build Your Own Moon School Room Board

Moon Climbing has an awesome section that contains detailed instructions to building your own climbing board like the walls in the School Room. While this project could run you several hundred dollars after buying the necessary lumbar, bolts and a kit of climbing holds, the effort will be well worth it if you are interesting in climbing or just a fun addition to your fitness routine. School Room Climbing Wall Spending my first several years at college in the mountains of North Carolina, I had plenty of opportunities to put my foot in the door and start climbing. Unfortunately, my mind was elsewhere and I never took the chance to learn to climb. I hope that in the future I will be at a better place to start. Whenever I get around to buying a house that a space to construct a wall, this will be on the top of my home gym list (If only I could afford a Treadwall).

Alwyn Cosgrove's Lift Strong: Help Fund Cancer Research

From Alwyn Cosgrove's blog: "To find a cure for cancer -- we need to fund research. To fund research -- we need money. Plain and simple." After just one week since the launch of Liftstrong, over $10,000 has been raised for cancer research. Liftstrong is a cd project that includes 800 pages of information from today's leaders in the fitness industry. Alwyn sought new articles from the best in the business and ended up getting responses from 55 different authors. For only $24.99, this is an incredible value. The best part is ALL proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help fund cancer research. Make a difference. Get your cd today! - Liftstrong

JumpStretch Flex Bands Again?

Seems like I'm getting on a Jumpstretch craze. The more I read about them and try out the different exercises, the more I like them. Here is a list of band resources from Elite FTS - Jump Stretch Band Exercises. I need to pony up and buy the product. As of now I only have a strong blue JS band and several pallet bands that I don't have any other bands to compare the resistance to. An average band is on the way along with some videos, but I'd like to have a full set. You can get your bands directley from JumpStretch Inc. along with training materials. EliteFTS also sells the Jumpstretch flex bands, which is linked on the left sidebar. Ironwoody sells a comparable product and is actually a better deal when you purchase the pair. For those on a tighter budget you can search Mcmaster (linked on your left) for pallet bands, which in my opinion are a great product for the price.

CoCs Gone Wild

I get enough wierd looks doing grip workouts as is, but I'm sure if someone saw me using a setup like this they would stop to ask me WTF I was doing. The JAG has surfaced on the internet for some time now and is usually laughed away. It stands for John's Adjustable Gripper and is a modification to a standard gripper like an Ironmind's Captain of Crush, Heavy grips, Robert Baraban or Warren Tetting's Beefbuilders. The device is said to turn a gripper into an adjustable device, much like a plate loaded grip machine. While this is a notable idea, I think that I will stick to the Ivanko super gripper when I need to add resistance. Yet, I do believe John Simon has some gems worth looking at on his site with a couple of his modifications. John Simon's JAG

JumpStretch Flexibility Routine

My old post with the link to a ton of Jump Stretch Flexband articles is one of the most clicked links on this blog. Here is another site that has a Jump stretch flexibility routine, with motion illustrations. Awesome. I'm fairly new to using bands in my training, so I do not know if this is the same Jump Stretch flexibility routine as outlined by Coach Dick Hartzell - the father of Jumpstretch - eventhough the site says that it is the one. I do have the tape of the original flexibility routine on the way in the mail, and I'll report back after I get a chance to view it. Link here: Jump Stretch Flexibility Routine

Home-made Equipment Build Off

It's about time to dust off that tool box. Straight to the Bar is holding a competition to encourage some new DIY home-made equipment ideas to start making the rounds on the Internet. This could turn out some excellent new pieces if the word gets out to enough people. The deadline for entries is May 30 th, so get those creative juices flowing. Your winning idea could score you some Diesel Crew gear and several "mystery" prizes from Straight to the Bar. Check out the full details at Straight to the Bar Competition

World's Best Short Steel Bender - Gary Hunt

Gazza, as he is known on the Gripboard and Grippermania, has been creating a stir in the bending world. About the middle of February I posted a video of Gary's 4.5" FBBC Shiny Bastard Bend. I didn't expect anyone to top that feat so soon. In less than 2 months, Gary put himself to the test again and performed a day's worth of bending that many of us will only dream of. Gazza's 6" x 3/8" King of All Shiny Bastards HUGE Bastard Stainless Steel bend clearly puts him at the top of a very short list. To learn more about this great steel bender, be sure to check out the short autobiography - Gazza: Inside the Mind of a Fantastic Shiny Bastard. Gary lead a rough life in his youth and from his account you will witness the forging of a mental toughness that has driven him to success.

Gary Hunt - Bending Insanity

Not to long ago I posted a Youtube vid of Gary Hunts 3/4 x 4" FBBC Shiny Bastard bend. I just didn't expect to be posting a new record so soon. Gary comes through again with a 3/8 X 6.5" stainless Fat Bastard Barbell Company "Big King Of All Shiny Bastards" bar in several different styles on the same day. There seem to be no limits for Gary. Check out the video. As part of Gary's attempt to provide historically accurate documentation of his bends, he has tapped the entire beding session in a 5 part series linked below. Video 1: Reverse style 6inch FBBC Huge Shiny Bastard Video 2: DU style 6inch Huge Shiny Bastard Video 3: Big King Of All Stainless Bastards (embedded above) Here is where things begin to get really interesting. A bigger bend? Video 4: 6inch Huge King Of All Shiny Bastards (The Prep) Another record!!??!? Part I: FBBC's King of All Shiny Bastards HUGE Bastard Bar Stainless Steel 6" x 3/8" Part II - THE World Record Bend can be seen below. No limits!

DIY Plyo Box Ideas

You would think that a box would be fairly inexpensive. Yet, once a simple idea gets marketed as a fitness product the price jumps so high that that it would break the bank of your average fitness enthusiast. There are plyo boxes going for $70 for each fixed height box. After buying several heights and adding on shipping costs, you just bought your child a semester of text books (that's a entirely different rant!). What follows are some low-tech, DIY options that progress from free and easy to more skilled, yet simple, alternatives to an overly inflated fitness product. This first idea came from an old Kung Fu training book I once had. The idea was to start digging a hole in the ground and jumping out until fatigued. You adjust the depth of the hole by taking away or adding dirt. Different sides of the hole can be adjusted to different heights for easy changes during a workout. It's a very simple and cost effective idea, yet it may not be practical in today's world of pedicured lawns. If you have reservations with defacing your yard, you can search for anything stable to jump to like the side of a deck, a cut down tree stump, a large tire, stacks of concrete block, etc. The possibilities are endless - be creative and use your imagination. If you want to go the route of purchasing a box, you can try the irrigation boxes sold at hardware or lawn and garden stores. These boxes are pretty stable (I tried them out at the store with my 200 lbs of sexyness), but they can slip, especially on concrete. You may need to apply some adhesive traction strips along the edges or screw the box into some type of wood base. And finally, the following two links come from a couple of Crossfit members who have laid out plans for making a set of professional looking homemade plyo boxes. Lincoln's Plyo Boxes Allan's "How I Pimped my Plyo Boxes"

Oldtime Strongmen Footage

At the British Pathe site you can search through a 3500 hour film archive of news, sporting, social and entertainment history from as far back as 1896. The site has footage of old time strongmen like Thomas Inch, Alexander Zass, and Saxon Brown to name a few. A lot of history here. Check it out: The British Pathe

Handy Tool - Google Book Search

Google is just awesome. Here is a tool that you can use to search who knows how many book titles. You can read limited previews of recent materials as well as full versions after a few simple clicks. It's like your own digitized personal library: Google Book Search

Homemade DIY DARD

In my previous post on a calf workout from Steve Maxwell I mentioned using a dumbbell in lieu of a DARD. While this has worked great for me so far, there is another option for you DIY types. For those wondering what the DARD is, it's simply a device used to strengthen the anterior tibialis muscles of the shin. It is useful in preventing shin splints and balancing out your lower leg development. Here is a link to a homemade DARD plan that tells you exactly how to piece your own device together with plumbing parts for about $15. This guide is quite useful in that it provides the exact lengths that you need to buy for the various pieces of pipe, taking away any guess work (though you can always alter the plans to suite your individual needs). Making a Dynamic Axial Rotation Device (DARD) By; Vaughn Numrych