September 09, 2024
Wombat Edition
On Starting Strength
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Big Pharma, Weight Loss, and Testosterone –
Rip talks with Dr. Mike Wittmer about the influence of government in telemedicine, the growing role of big pharmaceutical companies in weight loss treatments, and the rise of medications like Ozempic. Dr. Wittmer sheds light on the long-term impact of medication use and testosterone’s effects on fertility. -
Real Life by Jim Steel –
I have had a couple of real-life examples lately of just why it’s so important that I continue to lift weights into my 50s. -
Crushing Pain and Getting Gains: The Doc and The Finance Jock –
Pete and Megan Yeh discuss how timing and their personal experiences helped them to realize a unique opportunity to help others begin barbell training. -
The Snatch-Grip Deadlift by Robert Santana & Mark Rippetoe –
One of the common errors we see in a squat is the flexion of the thoracic spine out of the hole… -
How to Fix Your Hip Bounce in the Press –
Starting Strength Coach Shaun Pang gives you a useful way to think about the hip movement in The Press. - Weekend Archives:
The Price of Control, The Cost of Discipline by Emily Socolinsky –
Imagine this scenario. You are a 13-year-old girl, a freshman in high school, a young dancer. You have spent seven years of your life studying the art of ballet… - Weekend Archives:
Good vs. Bad Trainers by Mark Rippetoe –
When you walk into a gym, how do you know if the guy with “Trainer” or “Coach” on his shirt actually knows what he’s doing?
In the Trenches
Fivex3 Member Emmanuel “Manny” Rechthand went 8/9 this past week at the 2024 RAW Nationals – USA Powerlifting in Salt Lake City, Utah. He finished with a 167.5kg/368 lb deadlift and a World Record in his age group and weight class. Manny competed as a Master 4 Lifter, 75 years old. [photo courtesy of Fivex3 Training]
Father-and-son duo Scott and Jacob wrap up their Tuesday morning training sessions with the deadlift at Testify Strength & Conditioning in Omaha, NE. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]
Ross’ novice linear progression is going strong at Starting Strength Boston. Here he is setting a new 225lb squat PR for three sets of five. [photo courtesy of Stephen Babbitt]
Could you power clean on a ship at sea? Starting Strength Atlanta welcomes aboard Travis Collier, after his recent retirement from a career in the U.S. Coast Guard. He arrived with pretty good mastery of the strength lifts, and is eager to learn the power movements. [photo courtesy of Adam Martin]
13 months ago, Adam joined Starting Strength Austin and began with a 105 lb squat, 65 lb press, and 135 lb deadlift. This week, he joined the 1000 lb club with a 385 lb squat, 175 lb press, and 445 lb deadlift. [photo courtesy of Jeff Bernitz]
New member Bryce Davis adds even more energy to an already kinetic 6:00 am session at Starting Strength Atlanta. Bryce was referred to the gym by a friend in New York, of all places, during a conversation about wanting to get strong. After he joined, Bryce referred his roommate, who also joined. [photo courtesy of Adam Martin]
Jon Fraser, owner at Starting Strength Chicago, appeared on Spotlight Chicago on WGN TV to discuss the Starting Strength program and the benefits of training at a Starting Strength Gym. [photo courtesy of WGN TV]
Get Involved
Best of the Week
UK Journalist interviews Starting Strength Cincinnati Head Coach
Luke Schroeder
A UK based journalist reached out to me a while back after seeing a video of our 97 year old member Merce that Good Morning America shared on their instagram page. She ended up interviewing our Head Coach Chris Reis a few weeks ago and the episode was just released on her youtube, Spotify, and Apple podcast channels. The interview was fantastic (Chris is a great ambassador for what we do) and the exposure for Starting Strength is really fantastic. The host bought the book and there are already comments on the youtube channel from people saying they’ve placed orders for it. Here’s the link. Enjoy!
97-yr-old INCREASES bone strength! Coach reveals how we can do it too
Mark Rippetoe
Thanks to SS Cincinnati for getting all this done.
Best of the Forum
Guidance please
Dunk
I posted this at the start of January: What did I f*ck up – NLP press
My lifts for 3×5 are S:132.5KG, B:92 kg, P:58 kg and D:140kg (1×5 and I’ve struggled with form on this which is why it’s low). I have got my BW up to 215 lbs at 6′ 2″. I am aware I’m still ‘underweight’ but moving in the right direction.
Regarding the deadlift, this has never been a problem before having got to 190kg+ for sets of 5 on it when I was a bit younger so it’s not a motivational issue. Just a very minor back tweak and struggling to not just ‘feel it all in my lower back’.
My question is, it’s starting to get hard but I’m sure I have quite a few more weeks in me before making any changes (3rd phase of SS) but what do you do in this situation where I haven’t got my BW up to where the SS method would’ve likely had me at this stage? I almost don’t want to mention this but I’ve also developed a decent belly (although, some of this is bloating from stuffing my face) but I can’t imagine this going well for the next month(s) like this. I’m also happy to be convinced, I think I just need a pep talk and to be told it’s going to be ok
Dunk
As an update, I did 150kg x 5 on the deadlift on the advice in this thread: Deadlift artificially weak
That’s not me but our stats are almost exactly the same! There’s a little bit of a technique issue of holding my back flat but I think I can iron it out whilst still progressing the weight.
SouthernLifter
You just should keep pushing the program forward.
As you gain weight, you will reach that 190 kg DL again and even more.
For the issue of technique in DL you can open a new topic
Oh, and just in case… The First Three Questions
Maybach
Your bodyweight doesn’t seem inappropriately light for the weights you are lifting. You are overthinking this. The cure for the “belly” is to get your lifts up.
The only thing that stands out is the relatively low deadlift. You do not need to be precious about deadlift form. I’m not sure where the idea that a less than perfect deadlift will cripple you came from. “Feeling it in your lower back” is not a piece of relevant data. You might feel it in your lower back if you do everything right. You might not if you do everything wrong. The important thing is that you are volitionally extending your back, not that it is in perfect extension throughout the set. Like I said, you are overthinking this.
Credit : Source Post
