December 23, 2024
A Time to PR Edition
On Starting Strength
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Lagging Shoulder, 3 Questions, and Going Against Conventional Wisdom –
Rip answers questions live from Starting Strength Network subscribers and fans. -
Not Feeling Athletic? by Carl Raghavan –
You’ve been doing the program, but something isn’t right. You’re sluggish, you’re tired all the time – you just don’t feel like an athlete. But why? Well, let me share some hard truths… -
Improve Your Press Grip, Improve Your Press –
Rip discusses the importance of the grip in the press for its correct execution. He covers grip width, position of the bar against the hand, and a cue to hold it securely throughout the lift for better force transmission. -
How Tight Do I Wear My Belt? by Mark Rippetoe –
A good question, as it turns out. Most people haven’t thought about it that much, while most experienced lifters just know how tight it needs to be. The belt’s tightness varies with… -
The Coach’s Cue – Breaking the OODA Loop by Gwyn Brookes –
OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. This concept was first coined by military strategist and USAF colonel John Boyd. It has since become a useful model for any decision making process… - Weekend Archives:
My First Search for the X-Factor: York Barbell by Jim Moser –
I had been Olympic Weightlifting about three years when I got the idea to drive to York Barbell to see if I could find what Tommy Suggs so rightly refers to as the X-Factor. I had heard all the legendary stories… - Weekend Archives:
Leg Length Discrepancy by Mark Rippetoe –
A surprisingly large percentage of the population has a Leg Length Discrepancy (LLD) – I’ve seen estimates, probably conservative, that 70% of the population exhibit LLD. It’s normally not noticeable when the difference is less than…
In the Trenches
Jessica Sorensen PRs her press at Starting Strength Atlanta as apprentice Brent Duckett cues her to shrug into the lockout. [photo courtesy of Adam Martin]
Simon’s novice linear progression is still going strong at Starting Strength Boston. Here he is setting a squat PR of 225 lb for 3 sets of 5 reps each. [photo courtesy of Stephen Babbitt]
In the Trenches
This year marked the first ever Barbell Blizzard team competition, in which the squat, press, bench press, and deadlift are performed by teams of two to four lifters. We had nine teams, over 30 lifters, and friends and family come out for the event (as well as the annual Christmas party afterward), and the entire day was a blast. Geneva Rowe, Diana Bullington, Amanda Norman, and Atlas Roos took 1st place in the Open All Female division, Jill Weber, Julie Snyder, Sharon Foster, and Foram Fichadia took 1st place in the Masters All Female division, Dave Treat, Dawson Weber, and John Jackson took 1st place in the Open All Male division, Rich Jarecke, Ashok Fichadia, and Anthony Laster took 1st place in the Masters All Male division, and Dave Hahn, Tyler Holm, and Brianne Holm took 1st place in the tightly contested Open Male & Female division. View full results
Becky Meggers squats 315 lb for a PR on her third attempt at the Barbell Blizzard team event at Testify Strength & Conditioning in Omaha, NE. Becky’s team came in with a close second place finish in the popular Open Male & Female division. [photo courtesy of Barb Mueller]
Anthony Laster sets a PR in the deadlift with this 305 lb pull for his third attempt at Testify‘s Barbell Blizzard team competition. Anthony’s son-in-law, Bob, competed on a separate team (benching 412.5 lb in the process), and his granddaughter, Atlas, competed on yet another team (setting a deadlift PR at 235 lb)! [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]
The gang cheeses it up for a post-meet photo after the Barbell Blizzard before moving right into Testify‘s annual gym Christmas party. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]
Get Involved
Best of the Week
Most Important Day?
Badoga
Hello, I’m doing the Texas Method, which includes a volume day, a recovery day, and an intensity day. I’m curious as to which is the most important day?
I ask because of the very rare scenario where I may need to skip a day. I was recently elk hunting and needed to skip a day. Fortunately, I was able to work it so that I missed my recovery day. It got me thinking… Out of the three days, which is most important to my training and progression? Is it the volume day or the intensity day?
Mark Rippetoe
The three days combine to form a process. The entire process is important, and cannot work without all three components.
Alexander Dargatz
The most important training (day) is always the next one. Don’t miss it.
Best of the Forum
About the press shrug and impingement
gadsie
In the book it is mentioned that you shrug at the end of the movement, making impingement impossible. Two questions arose for me:
1. Does this mean that not shrugging impinges the shoulders?
2. If so, doesn’t the movement at some point impinge the shoulders (before you shrug)?
Mark Rippetoe
1. Probably.
2. No.
gadsie
Thank you for the reply. Why not then? If the answer to 1 is probably, I’d say that by shrugging you move the scapula away from impingement, after actually impinging it.
Mark Rippetoe
Look at the drawing in the book. It doesn’t impinge on the way up.
