Results matching “log”

Recently I've incorporated several new features into the Straight to the Bar site, some of which are listed below. Also noted are a couple of older features that seem to generate a few questions.

Icon beside header line in Workout entries

This little guy performing a deadlift only appears when the post is a workout (as does the kg/lbs line in the individual archives). Both of these features are achieved using the Compare plugin, and the template code :

and

Add to digg, del.icio.us etc

The code for this is actually quite simple (although it took a while to track down) :

Pandora

Having recently re-discovered the brilliance that is Pandora, I decided to add a few stations to the sidebar (for those of you curious as to the type of music I train to). It really just depends on mood.

The code for adding a station list to a site, as well as a few other novel uses for Pandora, can be found here.

Fitness and Strongman links

These are now dynamically created, based on the information in the flinks and slinks categories. A separate template has been created for each.

Last Comment

These are now noted on the Individual Archive pages as :

Also changed in the comments handling is the way my own responses are displayed. These are now clearly differentiated from the rest of the discussion. For more info on this (including how to do it in Movable Type) see this article on Learning Movable Type.

Restriction of entries on the front page

Previously, entries from any category would appear on the front page. In some cases it meant that items I'd prefer to remain hidden (at least from that page) would appear - such as the feedback and thank-you pages.

To get around this, I've altered the code in my Main Index template :

This will display entries from any of the categories workouts, Diet and Nutrition,News, General, reviews, exercises, routines or Articles.

Latest Entries

Near the bottom of the sidebar is a Latest section, which displays the most recent posts (in the abovelisted categories) to appear on this site. The code is :

Archives in sidebar

Two major changes here. The first is a - when applicable - look at what was happening exactly one year ago. If there were no posts on that day, nothing appears. This information is extracted using the OnThisDay plugin.

This is integrated as follows :

The second is the appearance of two dropdowns, which offer quick access to both the complete category listing and monthly archive listing for this site. These are generated using a combination of MT, PHP and Javascript; with code courtesy Brad Choate - see his site for more information.

Header Images

These change with each page reload, using Hivelogic's Image Rotator script. The full sized images can be seen here. I first became aware of this script via this article on A List Apart (just after having written my own - tried and tested ultimately won out).

NB : code used in the above samples was automatically cleaned up (for display) using Dan Cederholm's SimpleCode.

Recently I've incorporated several new features into the Straight to the Bar site, some of which are listed below. Also noted are a couple of older features that seem to generate a few questions.

Icon beside header line in Workout entries

This little guy performing a deadlift only appears when the post is a workout (as does the kg/lbs line in the individual archives). Both of these features are achieved using the Compare plugin, and the template code :

and

Add to digg, del.icio.us etc

The code for this is actually quite simple (although it took a while to track down) :

Pandora

Having recently re-discovered the brilliance that is Pandora, I decided to add a few stations to the sidebar (for those of you curious as to the type of music I train to). It really just depends on mood.

The code for adding a station list to a site, as well as a few other novel uses for Pandora, can be found here.

Fitness and Strongman links

These are now dynamically created, based on the information in the flinks and slinks categories. A separate template has been created for each.

Last Comment

These are now noted on the Individual Archive pages as :

Also changed in the comments handling is the way my own responses are displayed. These are now clearly differentiated from the rest of the discussion. For more info on this (including how to do it in Movable Type) see this article on Learning Movable Type.

Restriction of entries on the front page

Previously, entries from any category would appear on the front page. In some cases it meant that items I'd prefer to remain hidden (at least from that page) would appear - such as the feedback and thank-you pages.

To get around this, I've altered the code in my Main Index template :

This will display entries from any of the categories workouts, Diet and Nutrition,News, General, reviews, exercises, routines or Articles.

Latest Entries

Near the bottom of the sidebar is a Latest section, which displays the most recent posts (in the abovelisted categories) to appear on this site. The code is :

Archives in sidebar

Two major changes here. The first is a - when applicable - look at what was happening exactly one year ago. If there were no posts on that day, nothing appears. This information is extracted using the OnThisDay plugin.

This is integrated as follows :

The second is the appearance of two dropdowns, which offer quick access to both the complete category listing and monthly archive listing for this site. These are generated using a combination of MT, PHP and Javascript; with code courtesy Brad Choate - see his site for more information.

Header Images

These change with each page reload, using Hivelogic's Image Rotator script. The full sized images can be seen here. I first became aware of this script via this article on A List Apart (just after having written my own - tried and tested ultimately won out).

NB : code used in the above samples was automatically cleaned up (for display) using Dan Cederholm's SimpleCode.

Updated 28/09/2009 : although I wrote this article more than 3 years ago, surprisingly little has changed - these guys are all still very much at the top of their game. Good stuff.

In that time, however, I've worked with a number of other trainers and coaches who combine various bodyweight and resistance training approaches. Chief among these - and the only one I would add to this list - is Adam Steer. Extremely creative, and well worth tracking down.

To get an idea of his current bodyweight training approach, check out the brilliant Bodyweight Blueprint. Love it.

If you've ever been tempted to incorporate a few bodyweight exercises into your training, you may like to look through a few of these sites for ideas.

Mike Mahler

www.mikemahler.com

Considered by many to be the foremost kettlebell instructor in the US, Mike Mahler brings a combined weighted/bodyweight approach - not to mention over a decade of experience as a Strength Trainer - to an ever-hungry audience.

He is the first to admit that a mixed approach is usually the best - he favours a blend of bodyweight, kettlebell, clubbell and traditional free weights in his routines. My thoughts exactly.

Matt Furey

www.mattfurey.com

Matt Furey has a wrestling background, switching from a successful career as a wrestler to one as a trainer in 1987. In 1990 he began studying various martial arts and gradually combined this knowldge with wrestling - writing his first book, The Martial Art of Wrestling, in 1996.

Also beginning in 1996, Furey won 3 national titles for the Chinese art of Shuai-Chiao - the oldest fom of Kung Fu - before winning the world title in 1997.

In 1999 Furey moved to Tampa, Florida, in order to commence training under Karl Gotch. Several books followed, including the infamous Combat Conditioning.

Scott Sonnon

www.clubbell.tv

Having a solid grounding in the Russian grappling art of Sambo, Scott Sonnon gradually formed a series of techniques all centred about the principle of 'dynamic flexibility' or 'flexibility in motion'.
These were based around CST - or Circular Strength Training - and made strong use of traditional items such as Clubbells. Clubbells in particular help to strengthen the joints through their entire range of motion.

Sonnon has written two key books on the subject of CST. The first, Body Flow, establishes the theory behind CST and provides a good range of exercises to demonstrate this. The second, Softwork, shatters the notion that there are fundamental differences between conventional fitness training and martial arts. CST walks - and blurs - the line between them.

Pavel Tsatsouline
www.powerbypavel.com

Pavel Tsatsouline (aka the 'Evil Russian') cut his teeth training members of the Spetsnaz (an elite Soviet special-forces unit) for a number of years before duplicating his successes with American agencies. Although perhaps most widely known for his Kettlebell skills and knowledge, Pavel trains people using a wide variety of both bodyweight and weighted techniques.

His thinking encompasses a concept rarely considered by many bodybuilders. Rather than increasing strength by adding muscle, he teaches methods of contracting existing muscle much harder. Naturally, both approaches have value; however it is far more common to see people 'building' than 'enhancing'.

Scrapper

http://www.trainforstrength.com/

The man now known as 'Scrapper' certainly has the credentials to train others in bodyweight exercises. Having spent over 10 years as a Navy diver (4 years of which was supporting Navy SEALs), he trained with World Jiu-Jitsu Champion and Super Brawl Champion Egan Inoue for 3 years; going on to win Future Brawl 6 in 1996 and his debut professional fighting match in 1999.

He has also worked for a number of years training various military personnel using his particular brand of physical fitness. This has proved to be astonishingly successful, with those who had previously failed PRTs finding themselves passing after his training. His Basic Training by Fish program has also enjoyed a 100% success rate in preparing candidates for SAR training.

Brooks Kubik

www.brookskubik.com

Realising that nearly 40 years of traditional weight training was beginning to take a toll (the usual nagging injuries gradually became more frequent, and more severe), Brooks Kubik completely redesigned his training regimen - based on a combination of bodyweight exercises and a few items more commonly associated with strongman and grip training.

This new training style quickly became the basis for Dinosaur Training, and a swag of books and DVDs soon followed. I have to say, it works.

But wait, there's more

If you need some more motivation, check out Alwyn Cosgrove's latest piece on EliteFTS. It may just change your thinking on the value of bodyweight training.

Update: Mich pointed me in the direction of Ross Enamait (of rossboxing.com fame), outlined below. A great find.

Ross Enamait

www.warriorforce.com

Ross Enamait has been involved in competitive athletics for over 20 years - baseball, soccer, US football, wrestling and most notably boxing. Unfortunately, the boxing resulted in injuries (fractured hands and damaged ligaments), which steered him toward the helping of others.

In addition to his formal education (Enamait is a certified trainer with the International Sports Sciences Association), he has trained with world champion Marlon Starling, title contender John Scully, Olympian Lawrence Clay-bey, and many other world-class athletes.

Updated 28/09/2009 : although I wrote this article more than 3 years ago, surprisingly little has changed - these guys are all still very much at the top of their game. Good stuff.

In that time, however, I've worked with a number of other trainers and coaches who combine various bodyweight and resistance training approaches. Chief among these - and the only one I would add to this list - is Adam Steer. Extremely creative, and well worth tracking down.

To get an idea of his current bodyweight training approach, check out the brilliant Bodyweight Blueprint. Love it.

If you've ever been tempted to incorporate a few bodyweight exercises into your training, you may like to look through a few of these sites for ideas.

Mike Mahler

www.mikemahler.com

Considered by many to be the foremost kettlebell instructor in the US, Mike Mahler brings a combined weighted/bodyweight approach - not to mention over a decade of experience as a Strength Trainer - to an ever-hungry audience.

He is the first to admit that a mixed approach is usually the best - he favours a blend of bodyweight, kettlebell, clubbell and traditional free weights in his routines. My thoughts exactly.

Matt Furey

www.mattfurey.com

Matt Furey has a wrestling background, switching from a successful career as a wrestler to one as a trainer in 1987. In 1990 he began studying various martial arts and gradually combined this knowldge with wrestling - writing his first book, The Martial Art of Wrestling, in 1996.

Also beginning in 1996, Furey won 3 national titles for the Chinese art of Shuai-Chiao - the oldest fom of Kung Fu - before winning the world title in 1997.

In 1999 Furey moved to Tampa, Florida, in order to commence training under Karl Gotch. Several books followed, including the infamous Combat Conditioning.

Scott Sonnon

www.clubbell.tv

Having a solid grounding in the Russian grappling art of Sambo, Scott Sonnon gradually formed a series of techniques all centred about the principle of 'dynamic flexibility' or 'flexibility in motion'.
These were based around CST - or Circular Strength Training - and made strong use of traditional items such as Clubbells. Clubbells in particular help to strengthen the joints through their entire range of motion.

Sonnon has written two key books on the subject of CST. The first, Body Flow, establishes the theory behind CST and provides a good range of exercises to demonstrate this. The second, Softwork, shatters the notion that there are fundamental differences between conventional fitness training and martial arts. CST walks - and blurs - the line between them.

Pavel Tsatsouline
www.powerbypavel.com

Pavel Tsatsouline (aka the 'Evil Russian') cut his teeth training members of the Spetsnaz (an elite Soviet special-forces unit) for a number of years before duplicating his successes with American agencies. Although perhaps most widely known for his Kettlebell skills and knowledge, Pavel trains people using a wide variety of both bodyweight and weighted techniques.

His thinking encompasses a concept rarely considered by many bodybuilders. Rather than increasing strength by adding muscle, he teaches methods of contracting existing muscle much harder. Naturally, both approaches have value; however it is far more common to see people 'building' than 'enhancing'.

Scrapper

http://www.trainforstrength.com/

The man now known as 'Scrapper' certainly has the credentials to train others in bodyweight exercises. Having spent over 10 years as a Navy diver (4 years of which was supporting Navy SEALs), he trained with World Jiu-Jitsu Champion and Super Brawl Champion Egan Inoue for 3 years; going on to win Future Brawl 6 in 1996 and his debut professional fighting match in 1999.

He has also worked for a number of years training various military personnel using his particular brand of physical fitness. This has proved to be astonishingly successful, with those who had previously failed PRTs finding themselves passing after his training. His Basic Training by Fish program has also enjoyed a 100% success rate in preparing candidates for SAR training.

Brooks Kubik

www.brookskubik.com

Realising that nearly 40 years of traditional weight training was beginning to take a toll (the usual nagging injuries gradually became more frequent, and more severe), Brooks Kubik completely redesigned his training regimen - based on a combination of bodyweight exercises and a few items more commonly associated with strongman and grip training.

This new training style quickly became the basis for Dinosaur Training, and a swag of books and DVDs soon followed. I have to say, it works.

But wait, there's more

If you need some more motivation, check out Alwyn Cosgrove's latest piece on EliteFTS. It may just change your thinking on the value of bodyweight training.

Update: Mich pointed me in the direction of Ross Enamait (of rossboxing.com fame), outlined below. A great find.

Ross Enamait

www.warriorforce.com

Ross Enamait has been involved in competitive athletics for over 20 years - baseball, soccer, US football, wrestling and most notably boxing. Unfortunately, the boxing resulted in injuries (fractured hands and damaged ligaments), which steered him toward the helping of others.

In addition to his formal education (Enamait is a certified trainer with the International Sports Sciences Association), he has trained with world champion Marlon Starling, title contender John Scully, Olympian Lawrence Clay-bey, and many other world-class athletes.

A question that's been hovering around the back of my mind for a while now :

Is there any physiological benefit to increasing aggression before and during weight training?

This is commonly done via music, or pre-workout coffee; but is there actually any benefit to this? Could a relaxing approach - with the benefits of a lower pulse and deeper breathing - not be just as effective?

A question that's been hovering around the back of my mind for a while now :

Is there any physiological benefit to increasing aggression before and during weight training?

This is commonly done via music, or pre-workout coffee; but is there actually any benefit to this? Could a relaxing approach - with the benefits of a lower pulse and deeper breathing - not be just as effective?

After a few unusually (but pleasingly) busy weeks it seems like an appropriate time to switch back to a weekly workout summary, plus sporadic posts as other things appear. Unfortunately that means that the magical 500th blog post may be some time in coming, but there you have it.

For starters, here's a look at the past week.

It's in there somewhere

With the house renovations now in full swing, I've moved a lot more stuff into the garage so there's enough room to do them. Unfortunately this makes getting to the rack somewhat awkward, but it's in there somewhere. If you've ever wondered just how small a garage gym can get, here's your answer.

This has meant two things. Firstly, everything that involves the iron also involves the rack. There simply isn't room for anything else. Deadlifts are back to extremely low rack pulls (off the bottom pins), and all squats are box squats using the bench (slightly above parallel).

Secondly, as it's a frustrating climb around the outside of the rack just to put plates on the bar, many workouts have been of the bodyweight variety. This never feels like a 'second best' option; as long as there's a bit of iron being thrown around as well. More like a combined cardio/strength workout, or a GPP session.

From next week I'll note exact sets/reps for the bodyweight stuff, but it's pretty similar to the routine I did some time ago whilst travelling.

Return to a mixed diet

Publicly giving up/restarting coffee drinking is only part of a much larger dietary change - removal of everything from my 'banned' list. I tend to avoid things that are obviously unhealthy anyway, and removing the restrictions simply means I'm not tempted to have something despite knowing I shouldn't. It doesn't mean I'm turning into Dave Tate.

Reading

If you're looking for a couple of articles to keep you going over the weekend, try these.

Core Training for Smart Folks
Mike Robertson
Activate the abs and glutes with an interesting range of lower body exercises.

Understanding Supplemental Exercises: The Deadlift
Mike Robertson
A superb look at identifying weak points in your deadlift, and picking the appropriate supplemental exercises to correct them.

Now, time to wade through those boxes again... deadlifts await.

After a few unusually (but pleasingly) busy weeks it seems like an appropriate time to switch back to a weekly workout summary, plus sporadic posts as other things appear. Unfortunately that means that the magical 500th blog post may be some time in coming, but there you have it.

For starters, here's a look at the past week.

It's in there somewhere

With the house renovations now in full swing, I've moved a lot more stuff into the garage so there's enough room to do them. Unfortunately this makes getting to the rack somewhat awkward, but it's in there somewhere. If you've ever wondered just how small a garage gym can get, here's your answer.

This has meant two things. Firstly, everything that involves the iron also involves the rack. There simply isn't room for anything else. Deadlifts are back to extremely low rack pulls (off the bottom pins), and all squats are box squats using the bench (slightly above parallel).

Secondly, as it's a frustrating climb around the outside of the rack just to put plates on the bar, many workouts have been of the bodyweight variety. This never feels like a 'second best' option; as long as there's a bit of iron being thrown around as well. More like a combined cardio/strength workout, or a GPP session.

From next week I'll note exact sets/reps for the bodyweight stuff, but it's pretty similar to the routine I did some time ago whilst travelling.

Return to a mixed diet

Publicly giving up/restarting coffee drinking is only part of a much larger dietary change - removal of everything from my 'banned' list. I tend to avoid things that are obviously unhealthy anyway, and removing the restrictions simply means I'm not tempted to have something despite knowing I shouldn't. It doesn't mean I'm turning into Dave Tate.

Reading

If you're looking for a couple of articles to keep you going over the weekend, try these.

Core Training for Smart Folks
Mike Robertson
Activate the abs and glutes with an interesting range of lower body exercises.

Understanding Supplemental Exercises: The Deadlift
Mike Robertson
A superb look at identifying weak points in your deadlift, and picking the appropriate supplemental exercises to correct them.

Now, time to wade through those boxes again... deadlifts await.

The 1851 census of Scotland - complete with images - is now online at Scotlands People.

The 1851 census of Scotland - complete with images - is now online at Scotlands People.