I needed this today -- pregnancy has rekt my body in a variety of ways and I was never very good at formal exericse anyway. I always managed to stay reasonably healthy just by walking around a lot at work, but I stopped working around the time I had my kids. But I had a brief stint of lifting weighs after college (an ex-marine friend needed a spotter) and it went so well that I know I can get strong again if I just keep at it. But it's so hard when it feels like every time I'm making good progress I hurt something again because this body ain't 20 anymore.
Rippetoe's publishing company (house? company? not sure what the right term is) also published a book on programming for those over 40 and Taleb wrote the foreword to it!
It's not without its detractors on the specific programming prescriptions, especially in how it thinks about volume. The Barbell Medicine folks split off from Rippetoe some years ago and offer a different perspective that's more modern and flexible while still providing the benefits of strength training, and are great resources for the intersection of health and fitness in general. Rippetoe remains a more fun read though.
I think Rippetoe is going in the right *direction* but like many extremists, he goes too far. Machines have their place, and frankly it can be counter-productive to focus too much on perfect "form" if you aren't lifting very heavy; I'm skeptical that the risk of injury for normal people lifting heavy for them, but objectively not ultra-heavy, is high, and while it's important to have some level of formal correctness, you can make excellent gains in strength, health, and muscle mass with mediocre form. I'd advocate for GKC's "A thing worth doing is worth doing badly".
Machines are good as supplements to full-body complex motions, in particular. If your limiting factor in a squat is quadriceps weakness, it's not a bad idea to supplement squats with the leg extension machine. I also think most machines do engage other muscles more than we give them credit for. Certainly, when I use the leg press, I can feel my core and back engaged; it's not a substitute for squatting, but it's a good supplement and better than doing nothing on days when I can't quite force myself under the barbell.
So tell me I'm insane but: I lift 3x a week every week. I almost never do squats or deadlifts. I don't enjoy them, I'm not confident of form, and I figure I get enough lower body work from biking, hiking and rucking. Also I don't really see any difference in my physique since I stopped.
Love Rippetoe's philosophy of exercise. One criticism, in which I am surely not alone, having done Starting Strength religiously (almost literally!): the prescribed regimen's intense focus on squats and deadlifts will leave you with a weird "T-Rex" physique if you do it too long, with huge quadriceps and pectorals relative to your forearms and calves. I've seen recommendations to switch to Stronglifts 5x5 or similar after a few months, or just supplement with some calf raises, bicycling/jogging, and bicep curls.
I think this is squeezing Rippetoe a bit too hard into the “ancient organic wisdom” camp as against the unnamed opposition that loves machines. There’s nothing organic about a barbell. You will never in day to day life do anything whatsoever like a barbell squat and neither did your ancestors. A low barbell squat just happens to be the longest motion you can possibly do with the largest weight. It’s quite artificial. But it’s great to learn, to learn how to be in your body. You know what else is a great way to be in your body? Making it more beautiful. Starting Strength will barely help with that at all. Famously, it’s almost impossible to tell how much a person deadlifts from looking at them. And again, you have no serious reason to need to deadlift more than maybe one plate, which you can do on day one if you’re a guy. The great majority of people who lift seriously for a long time find part of their motivation from being noticed by others, and being beautiful is at least as valid a part of being an animal as being strong. And you have to work god damn hard to be beautiful too. In many ways harder than to be strong—hypertrophy benefits from as many as 40 sets of exercise per muscle group per week. Strength training levels out around 10. And body builders aren’t weak, either. They do compounds too. Body building is, in short, no more vain than powerlifting but might actually get you laid. Nothing wrong with that.
I do a little barbell work, and I do some body weight exercises; but I really resonate with footnote 6. Not only do I want to shun barbells, but I want to work my body in a way that is actually useful. I have a farm, and I burn my own firewood, so I always have plenty of things than can be hauled, dragged, carried, or split to provide actual value. But I think most people would be well served by getting logs delivered and hand sawing and splitting them. It is better for the soul to do hard work that results in a tangible outcome than to move metal around for the sake of your body only.
Sounds like the enthusiasm of the newly converted. As someone who has lifted weights and enthusiastically pursued other sports (with more or less success) his entire life, I think weight training is extremely beneficial -- especially as we get older and ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN who tend to have more problems with bone density. But it isn't a spiritual thing, let alone nirvana. (aside from the endorphins which are more plentiful when biking.) Free weights are preferable to machines for a number of reasons but for the last 15 years I've been using XForce machines which are superior to free weights in my opinion and far more convenient.
Check out Nasim Taleb on weightlifting. Its all about building "antifragility"; challenging your body in small increments so it builds resistance to bigger challenges.
I read the book a few years back, really liked it.
"This concept is an example of a bar cue, which enable the body itself to sort out complex motor problems by jumping past the analysis to the result."
^ this line makes me think of nothing more than early Montessori education, which also has an obsession with (if designed properly) self-correcting motor skills.
Hmm, clickbait title and false advertising. Not once did you share what your joints think of Rippetoe!
Well played.
I needed this today -- pregnancy has rekt my body in a variety of ways and I was never very good at formal exericse anyway. I always managed to stay reasonably healthy just by walking around a lot at work, but I stopped working around the time I had my kids. But I had a brief stint of lifting weighs after college (an ex-marine friend needed a spotter) and it went so well that I know I can get strong again if I just keep at it. But it's so hard when it feels like every time I'm making good progress I hurt something again because this body ain't 20 anymore.
My favorite program for building back core strength after pregnancy or injury is Restore Your Core by Lauren Ohayon. It's a sequence of online videos.
Rippetoe's publishing company (house? company? not sure what the right term is) also published a book on programming for those over 40 and Taleb wrote the foreword to it!
https://www.amazon.com/Barbell-Prescription-Strength-Training-After/dp/0982522770
It's not without its detractors on the specific programming prescriptions, especially in how it thinks about volume. The Barbell Medicine folks split off from Rippetoe some years ago and offer a different perspective that's more modern and flexible while still providing the benefits of strength training, and are great resources for the intersection of health and fitness in general. Rippetoe remains a more fun read though.
I think Rippetoe is going in the right *direction* but like many extremists, he goes too far. Machines have their place, and frankly it can be counter-productive to focus too much on perfect "form" if you aren't lifting very heavy; I'm skeptical that the risk of injury for normal people lifting heavy for them, but objectively not ultra-heavy, is high, and while it's important to have some level of formal correctness, you can make excellent gains in strength, health, and muscle mass with mediocre form. I'd advocate for GKC's "A thing worth doing is worth doing badly".
Machines are good as supplements to full-body complex motions, in particular. If your limiting factor in a squat is quadriceps weakness, it's not a bad idea to supplement squats with the leg extension machine. I also think most machines do engage other muscles more than we give them credit for. Certainly, when I use the leg press, I can feel my core and back engaged; it's not a substitute for squatting, but it's a good supplement and better than doing nothing on days when I can't quite force myself under the barbell.
Maybe machines are the frozen Costco lasagna of physical activity; is it as good as from scratch? Probably not, but it's better than being hungry!
From the first few paragraphs, inside John there is a long-distance hiker struggling to get out. Or a stylite, maybe.
So tell me I'm insane but: I lift 3x a week every week. I almost never do squats or deadlifts. I don't enjoy them, I'm not confident of form, and I figure I get enough lower body work from biking, hiking and rucking. Also I don't really see any difference in my physique since I stopped.
Love Rippetoe's philosophy of exercise. One criticism, in which I am surely not alone, having done Starting Strength religiously (almost literally!): the prescribed regimen's intense focus on squats and deadlifts will leave you with a weird "T-Rex" physique if you do it too long, with huge quadriceps and pectorals relative to your forearms and calves. I've seen recommendations to switch to Stronglifts 5x5 or similar after a few months, or just supplement with some calf raises, bicycling/jogging, and bicep curls.
I think this is squeezing Rippetoe a bit too hard into the “ancient organic wisdom” camp as against the unnamed opposition that loves machines. There’s nothing organic about a barbell. You will never in day to day life do anything whatsoever like a barbell squat and neither did your ancestors. A low barbell squat just happens to be the longest motion you can possibly do with the largest weight. It’s quite artificial. But it’s great to learn, to learn how to be in your body. You know what else is a great way to be in your body? Making it more beautiful. Starting Strength will barely help with that at all. Famously, it’s almost impossible to tell how much a person deadlifts from looking at them. And again, you have no serious reason to need to deadlift more than maybe one plate, which you can do on day one if you’re a guy. The great majority of people who lift seriously for a long time find part of their motivation from being noticed by others, and being beautiful is at least as valid a part of being an animal as being strong. And you have to work god damn hard to be beautiful too. In many ways harder than to be strong—hypertrophy benefits from as many as 40 sets of exercise per muscle group per week. Strength training levels out around 10. And body builders aren’t weak, either. They do compounds too. Body building is, in short, no more vain than powerlifting but might actually get you laid. Nothing wrong with that.
I do a little barbell work, and I do some body weight exercises; but I really resonate with footnote 6. Not only do I want to shun barbells, but I want to work my body in a way that is actually useful. I have a farm, and I burn my own firewood, so I always have plenty of things than can be hauled, dragged, carried, or split to provide actual value. But I think most people would be well served by getting logs delivered and hand sawing and splitting them. It is better for the soul to do hard work that results in a tangible outcome than to move metal around for the sake of your body only.
For the importance of weight training specifically as it relates to bicycle riding, check out Chris Carmichael's website.
https://trainright.com/blog/
Sounds like the enthusiasm of the newly converted. As someone who has lifted weights and enthusiastically pursued other sports (with more or less success) his entire life, I think weight training is extremely beneficial -- especially as we get older and ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN who tend to have more problems with bone density. But it isn't a spiritual thing, let alone nirvana. (aside from the endorphins which are more plentiful when biking.) Free weights are preferable to machines for a number of reasons but for the last 15 years I've been using XForce machines which are superior to free weights in my opinion and far more convenient.
Check out Nasim Taleb on weightlifting. Its all about building "antifragility"; challenging your body in small increments so it builds resistance to bigger challenges.
Also check out Taleb's comments on the body-shape of a weightlifter. They seem to align with three final footnote.
I read the book a few years back, really liked it.
"This concept is an example of a bar cue, which enable the body itself to sort out complex motor problems by jumping past the analysis to the result."
^ this line makes me think of nothing more than early Montessori education, which also has an obsession with (if designed properly) self-correcting motor skills.
This is also the kind of thing taught in "Alexander Technique" for actors and musicians and the like.