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Gus's Barbell Club

Author: Gus

Maintenance Mode

By Gus

When Life Throws You a Curveball, Your Fitness Doesn’t Have to Fall Apart Let’s face it, life isn’t always a smooth ride. There will be times when work, family, or other commitments demand more of your time and energy, leaving less for your usual workout routine. Whether it’s a new job, a move, a family […]

Why Chalk?

By Gus

💨 💨 GYM CHALK 💨 💨 Gus will jokingly call it “instant strength.” It may not be that direct, but dusting your hands with chalk provides noticeable assistance with your grip on the barbell, pull up bar, or really any kind of equipment. A better grip means one less thing that could cause a missed […]

Fear of the Barbell? We’re Here to Set the Record Straight

By Gus

Stepping into a gym filled with heavy barbells and squat racks can be intimidating, especially if you’re new to strength training or have preconceived notions about who barbell training is for. But we’re here to tell you: don’t let fear hold you back from experiencing the incredible benefits of barbell training! Let’s address two common […]

Origin Story

By Gus

Like most gyms, Gus’s Barbell Club was founded to carry on the tradition of ancient Greek philosophy. I kid, but it’s kind of true. Not to bury the lede: I, Gus, founded a gym because I realized that no one gym can serve every person’s needs but every person deserves a gym that suits them. […]

Star Trek and Strength

By Gus

When the Oak Street location for Gus’s Barbell Club opened, my wife got me a gift. A United Federation of Planets flag, from Star Trek. It’s a nod to the Klingon flag that hangs at the Wichita Falls Athletic Club, Mark Rippetoe’s gym where he hosts the Starting Strength Seminar. But it’s also a reminder […]

Fun

By Gus

Should training be fun? Doing some amount of exercise is infinitely more valuable to your health than doing none. Most people currently do nothing, and if focusing on something fun makes you more likely to perform the task then yes, fun must be added. So if that’s you: quit reading and go have some fun. […]

Big Things and Little Things

By Gus

Most people don’t even do the big things. But everyone that’s come into my gym has had some worry about at least one of the little things. Big Things You can pick one of these and perform/improve/invest in it today. And you can do that every day of your life. Little Things We can go […]

Dissecting Health Habits

By Gus

Learning to cook is hard. Like all skills, it takes a lot of practice and experience before you feel confident in what you’re doing. You’ll eat some less-than-tasty meals in the process. But most overlooked is that learning to cook isn’t just about the cooking. In fact I’d dissect it down into at least seven […]

Active Rest

By Gus

Different philosophies abound in the world of fitness. Just like the Cynic versus the Epicurean of ancient Greece, the CrossFitter and Powerlifter care a great deal about their disagreements. To the outside world, both appear to be zealous on trivial matters. To the un-thinking, joining with either would be significant upgrade to their direction in […]

Lockout

By Gus

Simple thought today: lock out your knees at the top of your squat. Lock out your elbows at the top of your press and bench press. Every rep. Rhythm One argument I’ve been told for not locking out every rep is how it affects the rhythm of multiple reps. By stopping short of lockout the […]

A foggy gym.