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I started strength training for the first time in my life at age 52. I am 56 now. Doing the 5 basic compound exercises...squat, deadlift, standing shoulder press, bench press and barbell row. Have added standard and weighted pull-ups, curls, calf raises and bicycle crunch as accessories. Have never felt better...lifting numbers i never thought possible. Not blessed with great genetics...have earned every pound lifted. True believer in the basic compound exercises and taking it slow to reach strength and fitness goals. Best deadlift is currently 462lbs. Believing for 500!
Thanks for the encouragement! Still not at the 500 goal...will keep training for it, but not coming easy! But it sure is a blast trying to get there. Hope you are all staying fit and well...
Nice. I got serious about lifting when I was about 40. I'm 54 now. Good to hear from another grey hair. I also like barbell rows btw. I was hoping Rip would say something about that but he didn't. Are you doing rack pulls? I've found it useful to get my dl #s up.
This was a very thoughtful and productive response to Rippetoe's initial critique. Someone doesn't like your training method? Make a 1 ¼ hour video with them discussing it in depth
I made my best gains when I focused on getting my bench to 315, Squat to 405 and Dead to 505. Did very little assistance work. Press, chins and rows mostly. The fighter pull up program gave me the best gains in my lats and biceps. That was in 2014. It took 8 months to reach those goals. I'm about to restart again.
Thank You for setting up and performing this Interview. It took someone with the right amount of knowledge and understanding to be able to ask Rip the right questions and keep the conversation going in a constructive manner. I learned a bit and enjoyed it. Thanks Again!
54 years old, 5’10” 235. Deadlift 540-Squat 515-Bench 360 Press 225. I do 3 35 minute sprint workouts a week for “Cardio” My lifts take 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. My accessory exercises are dip, pull-up and push-up variations. I have zero injuries or joint pain. When Covid lockdown started in March 2020 my son who was 15 at the time began lifting. We did 5x5…3 years later he put 370 pounds on his squat, 320 on his dead lift and 215 on his bench. He played Center in football, wrestled Heavy weight and played catcher in baseball. Zero injuries. Do the big lifts, eat right, sleep and you will get stronger, look great and feel great.
Damn amazing lifts man! My grandfather put me onto mark after following so many routines filled with pointless exercises, constant injuries, time off mma and wrestling, a year into starting strength and my coach who told me I'd probably get injured deadlifting heavy is shocked to find I've not had a single injury thus far 😂
Very good. As for cardio complementary to strength training i would recommend you dont sprint for 35 min. but instead go for a walk. Doesnt even need to be more than 3x35/week cause sprinting exercises the same systems you use in strength training. So you are not gaining much of an ability you dont already train in the weight room. Talking about how the human body creates ATP which is the only source of energy your muscles can utilize. We got 4 chemical reactions basically (and a bunch of supplementary reactions to utilize semireacted chemicals but lets keep it simple for now). 4 ways: 1. Creatine 2. Glucose anaerobic 3. Glucose aerobic 4. Lipolysis What your body uses has to do with how fast it needs the energy (1-4 are sorted by fastest to slowest btw.). Generally speaking the faster he needs energy the less thorough the reaction is. Like when you burn Glucose with oxygen aka nr 3. it takes longer to get the ATP but, in sum it is more than when you burn Glucose without oxygen aka nr. 2. Etc.etc. The important info here is that these energysystems, just like anything else are adapted too. So when you lift heavy weights your body utilizes 1 and 2 almost exclusively. And when you do sprints it also utilizes 1 and 2. So, on a chemical level you are training the same thing. If your goal is being and staying fit and healthy (and strong ofc) however it would be a great idea to get 3 and 4 into your workout routine and tthe way to do that is doing activities which dont require energy to be provided as quick. The positive effects of just going for a walk get vastly underestimated. First of all you are training your body to use fat as a source of energy and also you get a crazy effect on your cardiovascular system. Namely exercise at that heartrate has your body develop the capillary blood vessel system. That makes you more resilient to strokes and heart attacks cause you are basically developing a natural bypass. And ontop of that a higher developed capillary system improves the transport of both sideproducts and resources from and to your muscles. In other words walking improves your potential to recover from training. And ofc you can to it on a restday to get even more recovery out of it utilizing it as active recovery. If i where coaching you that would be my advice: drop the sprinting and go for a walk instead. You will get bezter results in life and in the weight room this way for sure.
@@BigDEnergy3000 if by TRT user you mean creatine and eating well you would be correct. I have never taken/used steroids hgh or any other anabolic substances. Maybe I just work my ass off too…give that a try.
One of the best interviews that I have listened to in a long time. Love Mark Rippetoe’s insight and down to earth style. Of course, I’m also a fan of yours Mike.
I always agree with Mark Rip, he is always logical, to the point, and strength oriented. I liked his using the term "mind-movement connection" in response to "mind-muscle connection", both being the fundamentals of strength training and bodybuilding respectively. I also agree when Rip emphasises movement patterns because these are basic to our daily life. But problem is that most strength training programs focus on only 3 out of 6 basic human movement patterns. They use squats (knee hinge), deadlift (hip hinge) and the benching (horizontal pressing). Other 3 movement patterns are horizontal pulling (rows), vertical pulling (chin ups), and vertical pressing (OHP). These 3 are not given as much priority although these are not just remaining 3 basic patterns but also lend themselves for fairly heavy loading capabilities. Thankfully, OHP/MP is trained vigorously right from beginning in most programs, but weighted chin up and heavy rows are still not given same love until up to intermediate levels. I think these should be trained with same fervor too as main big 3 because I believe they shall help rather than hinder in progress on big 3s.
It could be due to the fact that if you focused on all 6 heavily you would be overworking your CNS and/or under recovering, or your lats being too sore would prevent you from progressing in the other big 4. Perhaps Rip has discovered over time that weighted chins and rows are important, but the overall payoff is better in this order.
The last 2/3 of this response demonstrate a clear lack of understanding of the Starting Strength program. Firstly, the squat is NOT primarily a knee hinge. Performed correctly, it is primarily a hip hinge. Knee hinge is heavily involved but that's only because it's part of the normal human movement of squatting down and standing back up. Same with the deadlift. The deadlift involves heavy use of a knee hinge even though it's primarily a hip hinge. The deadlift also involves the isometric contraction of the muscles in the arms and back, more so than what a person can do for reps in rows and chins. This is why these lifts are not the program's primary focus. Secondly, chin ups are, in fact, included in the program. Only they enter when the frequency of the deadlift begins to decrease due to the need to manage recovery in order to continue to increase the weight of the deadlift. Rows can be included in the program as a replacement for the power clean if the trainee in question cannot handle the dynamic nature of a power clean. But then again, power cleans or rows only enter the program when the frequency of the deadlift begins to decrease due to the need to manage recovery in order to continue to increase the weight of the deadlift. Rows are less than ideal as they cannot be done as explosively as the power clean and therefore do not keep the ability to display strength rapidly on pace with strength acquisition. That and, if done heavy enough - which if not, what's the point - they will over tax the low back and therefore have a negative effect of the ability to progress the deadlift. As a point of personal experience, how do you get to be able to barbell row 315lb for 3x8? Get your deadlift up well over 500lb. Don't believe me? Try it and see. Thirdly, the press, or overhead press (OHP), is part of the core lifts that Starting Strength focuses on.
@@thejdshipley I appreciate your detailed response. Makes sense. But I didn't say anything about Starting Strength in particular. I don't use it either, although I have read/heard about it. My point was in general because I noticed these points. Now after two years of writing that comment when I was less informed than today, I have realized the answers to many of those points and these are pretty much similar to what you mentioned.
It really depends on your goals. If you just want general strength, the big four will get the job done. But if you specifically want to increase your max on those lifts, or you are getting into bodybuilding, or you’re not progressing at the speed you want, accessory lifts are absolute game changers.
Strength can be a good base for most other endeavour. Bodybuilding or athletics. Giving 5-6 months exclusively to strength training will make everything after that more effective. Mark Rippetoe is more right.
I work at a gym, every single person with a big, impressive back has a huge deadlift. Get your deadlift to 405 and you'll see your lats from the front in no time.
when all I had was a bar, plates, and saw horses and thus could only do a press which I would clean from the saw horses and deadlifts I saw my physique change dramatically and I got real strong compared to before. Glad that I have a squat rack now and I'm getting even stronger following novice linear progression.
If you're doing the deadlift correctly, you don't have to "cue" the lats. This is why Rip is saying basically that it's silly to try to focus on specific muscles during compound movements. Get the basic form down and your body will find a way to complete the movement in the most efficient way possible (though of course you need to resist the urge to let your lower back round to shorten the moment arm and thus torque required). When you do heavy weight, your setup at the bottom of the lift will be with your arms at an angle to the ground, not completely vertical, keeping that moment arm as short as possible. And this is the main reason why the lats automatically engage, to keep that bar close to the shins and maintain that arm angle for first half of the lift. In addition, of course the lats can help stabilize the spine, keeping the thoracic region in extension. You don't have to think about "cueing" anything.
That’s very true, but in cases when someone’s form is breaking down sometimes it’s helpful to cue a specific muscle (such as the lats) to get them to the end result of good technique. The cueing in this scenario is not meant to be as a permanent aspect of doing the exercise, it’s meant to be a stepping stone to learning the technique so they never have to consciously think about “engaging the lats” again.
Speaking of movement patterns. When it comes to upper body strength, you should be able to knock off 20+ pull-ups, 30+ dips, and be able to climb a 10 meter rope with hands only.
it's great listening to this now b/c at one point my "training" was really exercise and doing a whole bunch of bodyweight exercises the worst back injury at the time was doing either flutter kicks or crunches. Rips explanation makes a lot of sense as to why that happened.
So a horizontal and a vertical press are both main movements but a horizontal pull and a vertical pull are not? I'd like to hear Rip on the difference between upper body pulls vs presses
This was Rip at his best. Very beneficial conversation. Some observations: (1). Rip often trashes “functional training” as a joke (the bozu ball pink dumb bell balance on one leg variety, justifiably so); but his whole thesis here is to train *movement patterns* under increasing load. That is FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH. There are other crucial movement patterns to train besides the sagittal plane-centric movements of the major lifts. Transverse plane strength - rotational / anti-rotational strength - used in sports like boxing, tennis, baseball, throwing heavy things, swinging heavy things - needs other training, the landmine arc swing (weighted at 20-40kg) for example a MUST DO. Next....it doesn’t seem Rip is very cardiovascular aware. Slow strength expression is a MUST, no doubt, but things change dramatically with speed and stamina factors. It’s not just running for unnecessarily long distances, but what about carrying heavy things up steps, sprinting full speed for 60 secs, or running up and down a full court basketball court for an hour....these are also natural “movement patterns”. OK, not Rip’s focus....who is the equivalent master for this? (My vote is Carl Dietz.)
@David Booker uh...440 DL (2.6X BW) and ya, only 264 on bench, but that’s 1.5x BW, still pretty good. Is that sophomoric? If you’ld like to call it that fine, still takes a helluva strong core bracing to hold even that. I get it. Dude, I’m referring to something that only the “transverse plain” can give (rotation). The 4 big lifts and even pull ups and even Olympic lifts are sagittal plain movements. Mark is talking about movement patterns. If you do have a giant DL or BP congrats. Maybe that’s fine for you. But if you’re playing a complex motion sport like rugby or boxing or such you’re gonna need to train the transverse plain separately. Try it and see.
@David Booker I think we’re more in agreement here than disagreement...just this: for non-competitive lifters age 50++, which I am, the crucial body weight ratios, 2.5x DL, 2.0x SQ etc, for the major lifts, are pretty much enough raw strength for me. At those loads I’d really just be trying to add reps and speed. Beyond that is just too damn heavy for me. I’m also saying the body has strength modes that fall *outside* the big lift patterns. Calisthenics would be a good example. A good planche or front lever is just as amazing, challenging, takes long hard practice, progression required, and as “worthwhile” as a big squat or deadlift. If you’re hanging onto bars instead lifting them! Rip is perhaps GOAT on correct barbell work, but the body has other strength expressions and planes of motion that barbells miss...he overly limits the scope of movement (academically) I’m saying. Good experiment: load the landmine up pretty high, 20kg or more, and swing it hard and fast (landline arc)...you’ll feel oblique/shoulder patterns firing hard that the major lifts miss. That said..do as you like.
How can you not love Rip? I know I respect him more than almost anyone in the fitness space but I think he undervalues the differences in your program and his. Probably about 80% overlap but when you say that your program mixes in aesthetics I believe the evidence of that is the aesthetics of each of your best students. Rip's students generally look big and powerful and your students look muscular and lean IMHO. I personally believe that the assistance work you program has something to do with that, although diet is probably a big factor.
Accessories make at most 10% of the results. If that even. Long term, doing the basic barbell lifts will make best results. A very few accessories are worth the while. Chins, rows and maybe dips. That’s it.
Watching the lexicon of Starting Strength, once you get your deadlift to the low 400s, you'll want to do break up the movement into rack pulls and halting deadlifts, only pulling the complete lift occasionally. Rippetoe reportedly for himself has gone whole training cycles of meet prep where all he did was racks and haltings until competition.
So if I understand correctly I should just do bench squat deadlifts press and rows? How do you even program that? Bench n press same day squat one day deadlift n row another? Sounds like a quick lift. Or are you dumping a ton of volume?
I agree on both ends here cuz there both right. I don’t think however accessory work is useful until your an intermediate at least and you have a solid foundation of strength. Until then though you should just stick to the compound lifts
Muscles don't grow at the same rate. Primary muscles grow faster than other primary muscles and primary stabilizers. This is one reason why we utilize accessories. Example: The long head of the tricep doesn't get activated as much as the other 2. Hints, the reason why we do lying tricep extensions. Another good reason for accessories is overuse. Using the same barbell movement will push you closer to injuries. What about anatomy? I have an anterior pelvic tilt...I NEED direct lower abdominal work. Not to mention volume. Muscles need volume and rep variations. Every rep/set scheme has its benefits.
Cool podcast man. I think Coach Rippetoe isn't wrong, but that's just my opinion. I will note that all the competetive bodybuilders I know seem to do a lot of what he calls ancillary exercises. It's definitely part of gym culture.
I just dont understand omitting lunges/split squats from your training. Close to maximal squats will "work" everything, sure, but so many many people have a bit of inherent imbalances or mobility restrictions that only get worse over time with squatting, but is not worsened but rather improved by lunges.
Rip can be a cantankerous old dogmatist, but I’m with him on this one. He’s entirely focused on developing raw strength as physiological foundation and everything else is downstream from that. Mike is coming from an aesthetic vanity perspective, which is eventually an acute or chronic injury waiting to happen.
@@jocaingles8464 Not sure I dont do 5x5. I do 3x6-10 every second day. Averages out 10,5 sets per week I dont have smaller than 2.5 kg plates so I cant just do 5 and go up in 5 lbs.
48:00 Mike mistakes linear progression (adding weight daily with no changes in set/ rep scheme) for linear periodization (adding weight and decreasing reps over time).
SS is useful for beginners, but listening to Rip try to say things like DL’s build lats is just tiresome. I did powerlifting and got a 600lb deadlift. Took a break and stopped training the big three and instead did lighter weights with machines. I had significantly bigger lats in no time. Also a trimmer waist. I did lose my big traps and some grip strength. If Rip would just acknowledge the limitations of SS, it would be way more popular in fitness. It really is good for a complete beginner. But pretending it’s anything but the best beginner program is doing it a great disservice.
The interesting thing, for me, about lats in the deadlift vs pull-up’s is that I have improved my pull-ups doing deadlifts. I couldn’t make good progression doing pull-ups alone. I never did deadlifts in my life until the last year or so. After about 6 months of getting into heavier deadlifts, my pull-ups started to get a lot easier. I shocked at how much strength in other things the deadlifts gave me.
@@themanhimself2583 yeah, it’s probably a combination of and increase in hand, forearm, back strength, etc. All of that increases by doing heavy deadlifts.
@@themanhimself2583 wrong as wrong can be. The deadlift improves the performance of pull-ups because it can be loaded much heavier than pull ups thereby making the OP stronger overall. And this strength carries over into other activities. Forearm strength...smfh...
Depends where you are physically, can you light deadlift? If so great... 1. stand shins 1" from bar with toes 10° out and heels under your hips 2. Without lowering your hips, grab the bar with double overhand grip approx shoulder width apart(don't move the bar) 3. Shins to the barbell, make contact with your elbows 4.chest up, set that low back, make creases in your t shirt. 5. Drag the bar up your legs, (keep contact with your shins) and lock out at the top! Be proud of your titties. 6. Rest 48 hrs add 5lbs, and repeat If not you must rack pull! Above the knees if you must, progress won't be measured by weight, but range of motion until you are in line with the height that 22.5lb plates either side will take you. Then go back to step one.
In the book, he says it doesn’t do anything extra that the combination of regular bench and ohp doesn’t already accomplish, but that they may be of use if you have an injury or some other limitation.
I don't understand why they kept talking about pullups/chinups as an assistance exercise for the deadlift when (barbell) rows have a MUCH higher carry over. Heavy rows will help your deadlift, your squat, and your bench. It's your grip, it's pulling with your lats, it's stabilizing your trunk isometrically. It's less of a "compound" movement than the big three (and the press), but I doubt there's many elite strength athletes of any kind who haven't done a lot of rowing movements.
Rip says he is not concerned with hypertrophy of individual muscles. But a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. That’s why most modern lifters use periodization. A few months focusing on higher reps and sets for hypertrophy. Then another few months using heavier weights with lower reps and sets to make the new muscle stronger.
@David Booker That is the problem with anything with Rip... He only knows novices, the whole world uses assistance lifts but he says they're not necessary because novices don't need them.
For bodybuilding though there are no "accessories". Its a common trap to fall in unfortunately. Every exercise should be seen with the mindset of progression, and then you start to grow holistically.
Squat bench dead ohp is just limited to specific ranges of motion. If you don’t train the entire range of motion and weighted mobility you are leaving a lot on the table. Full rom Jefferson curl at bodyweight is way more impressive than a heavy dead lift imo, and both exercises are useful.
What you guys always forget is that exercise questions are almost never 'either / or'... Simply include BOTH at different times in the gym. Example: It's never, 'should I do cardio or should I do weights?' Or should I do heavy or light, or high or low reps, or barbells or dumbells, or weights or machines, isolation or multi-joint. The ANSWER is to include BOTH... It's not rocket surgery, boys and girls.
Where at? I'd like to hear about that. I just watched SS training video on the LTE/LTP and I noticed they teach them with a fast eccentric motion. I always found this exercise to be great on my elbows but only under a slow eccentric motion. Anytime I did them fast in the eccentric my elbows would flare up in pain.
Love Riptoe but totally disagree with his position on the abs. Direct ab training is absolutely necessary. Yes, you get "strong" abs for stability but let's be honest, the ANTERIOR chain BARELY get worked like the posterior chain gets worked in squats and deadlifts. Now what you do for the anterior chain is important but I WOULD ABSOLUTELY add anterior chain work.
@@MikeMatthewsFitness Mike, that literally ignores the anterior chain (other than bracing). No reason why a person should ignore this. If anything, they should do hanging leg raises with good flexation on the abs. This serves many functions such as 1) anterior strength/conditioning, 2) grip strength, and 3) DECOMPRESSION. I do these every time I do squats/deadlifts.
If you think that you can do heavy weighted pull ups because you do deadlift, you never experienced the training. Pulling is clearly not the same as deadlifting. I saw weightlifters lifting 200 kilos on the deadlift, not able to lift 100 kilos on a barbell row. Strange isn't it ? Bending the elbow and pulling the arm =/= let them hang holding a weight. And if you want to know, depending on your way of pressing, the lats are used in a concentric way on the bench press. Now, I am waiting for pull ups in powerlifting. It would be very interseting. I totaly agree with the example of biceps curl. Too many people think that if you cheat the targeted muscle won't work. Same goes for the flies. Good interview.
Another overlooked thing is maybe cleaning up a barbell as though it's an Ohp and performing standing barbell calf raises though heavy full rom squats, heavy conventional or Deficit Deadlifts, heavy power cleans and hard cycling up hills or on high gears are fantastic. All concentric with cycling too. Just another idea you can do without special equipment for some extra. Heaviest strict rows for sets of 5 are good too
Mark Rippetoe is the most knowledgeable, intelligent and honorable asshole in the fitness world. He cares about a single thing: number on the bar (which he calls strength) in very few movement patterns. If you care about that same single very specific thing (most people don't), then he's your best bet. Otherwise...
@Hudson Surfer Well, Mike Mathews I hear is good 😋. Other than that, I follow Mike Israetel, Sean Nalewanyj, Alec Enkiri, Geoffrey Verity Schofield, Alan Thrall... And some others.
@Hudson Surfer I should say I also follow Mark Rippetoe, but I always end up disagreeing with him on a lot, but not knowing exactly what or why, lol...
@@MiguelRaggi After 15 years of lifting (around 10 of those being useless "bodybuilding") I've come to realize that Mark Rippetoe is one of the realest in the industry and most could benefit greatly by what he says. When I stopped all the dumb assistance movements and focused primarily on the big 4 plus some variations, my lifts skyrocketed as well as my muscle size.
The best program is the one you will stick with. If you love front squats, do them. If you want to do kettlebell lunges, do them. We've got an obesity epidemic in the US, we need less exclusionary intransigence and more acceptance of differing views and exercises.
Imo the obesity pandemic is due to false dietary guidelines along with ineffective and boring workout methods, and not because of non-acceptace of differing views. It's all the confusion out there instead of simplying it, squat, deadlift, bench , pull up, swing, press... thats it
Compound exercises are essential if you are trying to get big but I think Mark's program (as good as it is) is just to simplistic. He has recommended getting a 300+ lbs on a bench in a few interviews I have seen but I am at 290 myself and I need to do face pulls to work out the rear delt head of my shoulder. Injury in the shoulder from pressing is quite common and unless you workout the opposite side you will have muscle imbalances that will hinder you down the line. I really like both of these guys info but another guy I would recommend to listen to is jeff cavalier since he is also a physical therapist and he can give you a few great accessory exercises to complement the big lifts. (Did not watch the whole video so I am not sure if this topic was cover, just wanted to share my thoughts).
Never saw it be proven they were fake but if they are it still does not invalidate the fact he has a masters in physical therapy and his credentials earned him a spot as a coach in pro baseball. That being said, I also specifically said in my example to view his ACCESSORY exercises as they do in fact work. I had injured my shoulder several months ago and it was due to the muscle imbalances described in my original post. Adding face pulls was the best thing I ever did, if given the choice between jeff cavaliers advice and some random internet sheep who claim FaKe WeIgHtS bRaH... I'll take the guy who has a masters advice in the field and years of working with pro athlete's.
Mark knows his stuff if you research strength and power historically for 5 seconds you'd see that less is more and low reps high weight is how you strong, and as far as muscles go, I would rather be able to produce more force and power in an emergency situation than look skinny n bulgy in a tank top
I benched 245 only with Dips and without Bench pressing... Specialisation is overrated, for a beginner. U can build a great squat, only with lunges or other squat variations, as a beginner. U can build a good benchpress only with Dips and Push ups, as a beginner. Powerlifting is not a Rocket science. The specificity ist only important, for lifters with 2-3 years experience in Powerlifting. But he right with movement patterns and building muscles only with the big 4. U build big shoulder, Arms and chest only with Benchpress and u can build a big Back with deadlifts.
This Rippetoe guy is all over the map. He tells you that he ignores what elite athletes do and then talks about the lats of an 800 lb deadlifter who is an elite athlete. And you don't get an 800 pound deadlift without doing assistance exercise. What is this guy even talking about.
I think Rip fails to understand the simply physical fact that a mucle can only generate as much force as it can generate. Adding more muscles to the movement doesn't make that target muscle suddenly capable of exerting more force. IE doing cheat curls doesn't make your biceps work any harder than doing strict curls just because you're using more weight. The extra weight is being lifted by other muscles, your biceps are lifting exactly the same either way because that's all they can lift. I'm all for prioritizing free weight/basic/compound exercises that work more muscle groups and give more direct carryover to the main lifts but just putting more weight on the bar for the sake of it makes no sense, especially when you were doing an assistance exercise to target one particular muscle group that is holding you back and now you've modified that exercise to add so many other muscle groups that you're not really targetting that muscle any more and you might as well just do more sets of your main lifts and forget assistance altogether. If I'm doing arm curls it's because I want to develop my biceps, more than the development the main compound lifts alone would bring. I don't care about developing my front delts with my curls, I'm already doing lots of presses for that. In fact I'm already doing far more sets of presses than curls per week, so any additional volume my front delts might get from cheat curls will no make no difference at all. If I wanted to do a compound exercise that develops the biceps along with other muscle groups, I'd just do more chin ups, as they actually develop muscle groups that unlike the front delts the main lifts don't train as much, and being a strict movement it's much easier to gauge progress (as opposed to not knowing if I'm lifting more weight because I actually got stronger or just cheating more) and they're safer too.
My problem with Rip's philosophy is that it's based on circular reasoning. "what is strength? strength is being good at the squat, press, deadlift and bench press". Well, gee, I guess I better train those then. But what if I want to be good at pullups? What if I'm a climber, or a gymnast, or a basketball player? Not just talking about professional athletes btw, people can do these as hobbies and have great strength and longevity as a consequence. The idea that strength comes in this one pre-defined shape is overly simplistic.
OMG! You should have cut Ripp off halfway through his first response. After you made it crystal clear that you were discussing accessory lifts for advanced lifters who had completed their novice stage of development, he contrasts his approach with yours as focusing on movement patterns rather than focusing on particular muscle groups which sounds like it is a real distinction until he starts talking about his five pound a session linear increase as being the main focus. In other words, what he is really saying is that his main focus is no novice training and not intermediate or advanced training. You could have stopped the whole podcast their and saved everybody a lot of time.
Rippetoe's way is strength and performance focused. The body and muscles grow as a by product of chasing higher numbers on the bar. Most trainees can't do that today because they are motivated by the variety and relative 'ease' of isolation exercises. Hypertrophy training research tells us that the more stabilized the exercise, the better it will be for hypertrophy.
Ripatoe doesn't understand bodybuilding aesthetics at all. Every BB must focus on some muscles that throws the symmetry off if you just do the heavy lifts. And they want a small waist. When you have big lats from deadlifts your waist ain't small anymore.
@@gojira444 Rippetoe mentions Chase, you can see what he looks like on the starting strength channel, He does not have the type of build most men would strive for in terms of visual appeal. Not to be insulting at all, but he looks like a heavy set man in his late 30's - early 40's although he's only 22. I find most young men would prefer to maybe not be as strong as chase but have a more visually appealing physique. Focusing only on compound, multi joint movements with only adding weight to the bar in mind is very unlikely to produce the type of body MOST males would like to achieve.
U R NOT Special Jordan Feigenbaum looks like an impressive body builder with his shirt off, even though he only trains for strength. Most of how you’re going to look is genetics. I’ve seen a rugby player who didn’t lift, do a bodybuilding competition with only 6 weeks prep. They had build enough mass just by playing rugby!! genetics.
@@Wildcamp-lifestyle that's what i mean by "good genetics".If someone has good genetics then strength training will build s good physique.If they don't, then more training is necessary,more volume and exercise variety.
Want some help building your best body ever? Here are 5 ways I can assist whenever you’re ready, including free fitness plans, coaching, books, and more: www.mikematthews.co/yt
Snatch grip block pull great upper back variation
I started strength training for the first time in my life at age 52. I am 56 now. Doing the 5 basic compound exercises...squat, deadlift, standing shoulder press, bench press and barbell row. Have added standard and weighted pull-ups, curls, calf raises and bicycle crunch as accessories. Have never felt better...lifting numbers i never thought possible. Not blessed with great genetics...have earned every pound lifted. True believer in the basic compound exercises and taking it slow to reach strength and fitness goals. Best deadlift is currently 462lbs. Believing for 500!
You got this man!
Heck yeah man are you at 500 yet.
Thanks for the encouragement! Still not at the 500 goal...will keep training for it, but not coming easy! But it sure is a blast trying to get there. Hope you are all staying fit and well...
Nice. I got serious about lifting when I was about 40. I'm 54 now. Good to hear from another grey hair. I also like barbell rows btw. I was hoping Rip would say something about that but he didn't. Are you doing rack pulls? I've found it useful to get my dl #s up.
Hey man! I am 52 in 2 months and restarting with a 5x5 plan. You are speaking to me!!
This was a very thoughtful and productive response to Rippetoe's initial critique. Someone doesn't like your training method? Make a 1 ¼ hour video with them discussing it in depth
I made my best gains when I focused on getting my bench to 315, Squat to 405 and Dead to 505. Did very little assistance work. Press, chins and rows mostly. The fighter pull up program gave me the best gains in my lats and biceps. That was in 2014. It took 8 months to reach those goals. I'm about to restart again.
Thank You for setting up and performing this Interview. It took someone with the right amount of knowledge and understanding to be able to ask Rip the right questions and keep the conversation going in a constructive manner. I learned a bit and enjoyed it. Thanks Again!
54 years old, 5’10” 235. Deadlift 540-Squat 515-Bench 360 Press 225. I do 3 35 minute sprint workouts a week for “Cardio” My lifts take 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. My accessory exercises are dip, pull-up and push-up variations. I have zero injuries or joint pain. When Covid lockdown started in March 2020 my son who was 15 at the time began lifting. We did 5x5…3 years later he put 370 pounds on his squat, 320 on his dead lift and 215 on his bench. He played Center in football, wrestled Heavy weight and played catcher in baseball. Zero injuries. Do the big lifts, eat right, sleep and you will get stronger, look great and feel great.
Damn amazing lifts man! My grandfather put me onto mark after following so many routines filled with pointless exercises, constant injuries, time off mma and wrestling, a year into starting strength and my coach who told me I'd probably get injured deadlifting heavy is shocked to find I've not had a single injury thus far 😂
post a video of those lifts,,, what do you "supplement " with
Pls post the workout routine
Very good. As for cardio complementary to strength training i would recommend you dont sprint for 35 min. but instead go for a walk. Doesnt even need to be more than 3x35/week cause sprinting exercises the same systems you use in strength training. So you are not gaining much of an ability you dont already train in the weight room.
Talking about how the human body creates ATP which is the only source of energy your muscles can utilize. We got 4 chemical reactions basically (and a bunch of supplementary reactions to utilize semireacted chemicals but lets keep it simple for now).
4 ways:
1. Creatine
2. Glucose anaerobic
3. Glucose aerobic
4. Lipolysis
What your body uses has to do with how fast it needs the energy (1-4 are sorted by fastest to slowest btw.). Generally speaking the faster he needs energy the less thorough the reaction is. Like when you burn Glucose with oxygen aka nr 3. it takes longer to get the ATP but, in sum it is more than when you burn Glucose without oxygen aka nr. 2.
Etc.etc.
The important info here is that these energysystems, just like anything else are adapted too. So when you lift heavy weights your body utilizes 1 and 2 almost exclusively. And when you do sprints it also utilizes 1 and 2. So, on a chemical level you are training the same thing.
If your goal is being and staying fit and healthy (and strong ofc) however it would be a great idea to get 3 and 4 into your workout routine and tthe way to do that is doing activities which dont require energy to be provided as quick. The positive effects of just going for a walk get vastly underestimated. First of all you are training your body to use fat as a source of energy and also you get a crazy effect on your cardiovascular system. Namely exercise at that heartrate has your body develop the capillary blood vessel system. That makes you more resilient to strokes and heart attacks cause you are basically developing a natural bypass. And ontop of that a higher developed capillary system improves the transport of both sideproducts and resources from and to your muscles. In other words walking improves your potential to recover from training. And ofc you can to it on a restday to get even more recovery out of it utilizing it as active recovery.
If i where coaching you that would be my advice: drop the sprinting and go for a walk instead. You will get bezter results in life and in the weight room this way for sure.
@@BigDEnergy3000 if by TRT user you mean creatine and eating well you would be correct. I have never taken/used steroids hgh or any other anabolic substances. Maybe I just work my ass off too…give that a try.
One of the best interviews that I have listened to in a long time. Love Mark Rippetoe’s insight and down to earth style. Of course, I’m also a fan of yours Mike.
Thanks Stephan!
I always agree with Mark Rip, he is always logical, to the point, and strength oriented. I liked his using the term "mind-movement connection" in response to "mind-muscle connection", both being the fundamentals of strength training and bodybuilding respectively.
I also agree when Rip emphasises movement patterns because these are basic to our daily life. But problem is that most strength training programs focus on only 3 out of 6 basic human movement patterns.
They use squats (knee hinge), deadlift (hip hinge) and the benching (horizontal pressing). Other 3 movement patterns are horizontal pulling (rows), vertical pulling (chin ups), and vertical pressing (OHP). These 3 are not given as much priority although these are not just remaining 3 basic patterns but also lend themselves for fairly heavy loading capabilities.
Thankfully, OHP/MP is trained vigorously right from beginning in most programs, but weighted chin up and heavy rows are still not given same love until up to intermediate levels.
I think these should be trained with same fervor too as main big 3 because I believe they shall help rather than hinder in progress on big 3s.
It could be due to the fact that if you focused on all 6 heavily you would be overworking your CNS and/or under recovering, or your lats being too sore would prevent you from progressing in the other big 4. Perhaps Rip has discovered over time that weighted chins and rows are important, but the overall payoff is better in this order.
@@Isaiah-ft5nx yes, this may be the case. Too much too soon is also not productive.
The last 2/3 of this response demonstrate a clear lack of understanding of the Starting Strength program.
Firstly, the squat is NOT primarily a knee hinge. Performed correctly, it is primarily a hip hinge. Knee hinge is heavily involved but that's only because it's part of the normal human movement of squatting down and standing back up. Same with the deadlift. The deadlift involves heavy use of a knee hinge even though it's primarily a hip hinge. The deadlift also involves the isometric contraction of the muscles in the arms and back, more so than what a person can do for reps in rows and chins. This is why these lifts are not the program's primary focus.
Secondly, chin ups are, in fact, included in the program. Only they enter when the frequency of the deadlift begins to decrease due to the need to manage recovery in order to continue to increase the weight of the deadlift. Rows can be included in the program as a replacement for the power clean if the trainee in question cannot handle the dynamic nature of a power clean. But then again, power cleans or rows only enter the program when the frequency of the deadlift begins to decrease due to the need to manage recovery in order to continue to increase the weight of the deadlift. Rows are less than ideal as they cannot be done as explosively as the power clean and therefore do not keep the ability to display strength rapidly on pace with strength acquisition. That and, if done heavy enough - which if not, what's the point - they will over tax the low back and therefore have a negative effect of the ability to progress the deadlift. As a point of personal experience, how do you get to be able to barbell row 315lb for 3x8? Get your deadlift up well over 500lb. Don't believe me? Try it and see.
Thirdly, the press, or overhead press (OHP), is part of the core lifts that Starting Strength focuses on.
@@thejdshipley I appreciate your detailed response. Makes sense. But I didn't say anything about Starting Strength in particular. I don't use it either, although I have read/heard about it. My point was in general because I noticed these points.
Now after two years of writing that comment when I was less informed than today, I have realized the answers to many of those points and these are pretty much similar to what you mentioned.
It really depends on your goals. If you just want general strength, the big four will get the job done. But if you specifically want to increase your max on those lifts, or you are getting into bodybuilding, or you’re not progressing at the speed you want, accessory lifts are absolute game changers.
Love listening to Mark always very insightful
You always get the best interviews out of Rip
Strength can be a good base for most other endeavour. Bodybuilding or athletics. Giving 5-6 months exclusively to strength training will make everything after that more effective. Mark Rippetoe is more right.
I work at a gym, every single person with a big, impressive back has a huge deadlift. Get your deadlift to 405 and you'll see your lats from the front in no time.
No they don't. Just say I agree with Rip. No reason to exaggerate your life experiences.
@@lancaster9646 stretch your lats one arm at a time and they’ll start to pop out soon
@@lancaster9646sumo?
when all I had was a bar, plates, and saw horses and thus could only do a press which I would clean from the saw horses and deadlifts I saw my physique change dramatically and I got real strong compared to before. Glad that I have a squat rack now and I'm getting even stronger following novice linear progression.
I love the way he can’t stop himself from chuckling about the circular Db shrugs! 🤣
If you're doing the deadlift correctly, you don't have to "cue" the lats. This is why Rip is saying basically that it's silly to try to focus on specific muscles during compound movements. Get the basic form down and your body will find a way to complete the movement in the most efficient way possible (though of course you need to resist the urge to let your lower back round to shorten the moment arm and thus torque required). When you do heavy weight, your setup at the bottom of the lift will be with your arms at an angle to the ground, not completely vertical, keeping that moment arm as short as possible. And this is the main reason why the lats automatically engage, to keep that bar close to the shins and maintain that arm angle for first half of the lift. In addition, of course the lats can help stabilize the spine, keeping the thoracic region in extension. You don't have to think about "cueing" anything.
That’s very true, but in cases when someone’s form is breaking down sometimes it’s helpful to cue a specific muscle (such as the lats) to get them to the end result of good technique. The cueing in this scenario is not meant to be as a permanent aspect of doing the exercise, it’s meant to be a stepping stone to learning the technique so they never have to consciously think about “engaging the lats” again.
Speaking of movement patterns. When it comes to upper body strength, you should be able to knock off 20+ pull-ups, 30+ dips, and be able to climb a 10 meter rope with hands only.
I agree and most of the people that pull 405 lbs dl cannot even do 10 pull ups
it's great listening to this now b/c at one point my "training" was really exercise and doing a whole bunch of bodyweight exercises the worst back injury at the time was doing either flutter kicks or crunches. Rips explanation makes a lot of sense as to why that happened.
So a horizontal and a vertical press are both main movements but a horizontal pull and a vertical pull are not? I'd like to hear Rip on the difference between upper body pulls vs presses
The longer Mark explains his thoughts, the more sense his perspective makes.
Mark is clueless.
This was Rip at his best. Very beneficial conversation. Some observations: (1). Rip often trashes “functional training” as a joke (the bozu ball pink dumb bell balance on one leg variety, justifiably so); but his whole thesis here is to train *movement patterns* under increasing load. That is FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH. There are other crucial movement patterns to train besides the sagittal plane-centric movements of the major lifts. Transverse plane strength - rotational / anti-rotational strength - used in sports like boxing, tennis, baseball, throwing heavy things, swinging heavy things - needs other training, the landmine arc swing (weighted at 20-40kg) for example a MUST DO. Next....it doesn’t seem Rip is very cardiovascular aware. Slow strength expression is a MUST, no doubt, but things change dramatically with speed and stamina factors. It’s not just running for unnecessarily long distances, but what about carrying heavy things up steps, sprinting full speed for 60 secs, or running up and down a full court basketball court for an hour....these are also natural “movement patterns”. OK, not Rip’s focus....who is the equivalent master for this? (My vote is Carl Dietz.)
@David Booker uh...440 DL (2.6X BW) and ya, only 264 on bench, but that’s 1.5x BW, still pretty good. Is that sophomoric? If you’ld like to call it that fine, still takes a helluva strong core bracing to hold even that. I get it.
Dude, I’m referring to something that only the “transverse plain” can give (rotation). The 4 big lifts and even pull ups and even Olympic lifts are sagittal plain movements. Mark is talking about movement patterns. If you do have a giant DL or BP congrats. Maybe that’s fine for you. But if you’re playing a complex motion sport like rugby or boxing or such you’re gonna need to train the transverse plain separately. Try it and see.
@David Booker I think we’re more in agreement here than disagreement...just this: for non-competitive lifters age 50++, which I am, the crucial body weight ratios, 2.5x DL, 2.0x SQ etc, for the major lifts, are pretty much enough raw strength for me. At those loads I’d really just be trying to add reps and speed. Beyond that is just too damn heavy for me.
I’m also saying the body has strength modes that fall *outside* the big lift patterns. Calisthenics would be a good example. A good planche or front lever is just as amazing, challenging, takes long hard practice, progression required, and as “worthwhile” as a big squat or deadlift. If you’re hanging onto bars instead lifting them!
Rip is perhaps GOAT on correct barbell work, but the body has other strength expressions and planes of motion that barbells miss...he overly limits the scope of movement (academically) I’m saying.
Good experiment: load the landmine up pretty high, 20kg or more, and swing it hard and fast (landline arc)...you’ll feel oblique/shoulder patterns firing hard that the major lifts miss.
That said..do as you like.
How can you not love Rip? I know I respect him more than almost anyone in the fitness space but I think he undervalues the differences in your program and his. Probably about 80% overlap but when you say that your program mixes in aesthetics I believe the evidence of that is the aesthetics of each of your best students. Rip's students generally look big and powerful and your students look muscular and lean IMHO. I personally believe that the assistance work you program has something to do with that, although diet is probably a big factor.
Diet
There's like a handful of poster boys for SS that lookg "big and powerful". The vast majority of their lifters don't even look like they lift.
@@BigUriel it's a lifting program for beginners, what do you expect?
Bro the lats are huge in deadlift. My pullups exploded when I just deadlifted and didn’t pull up or do pull downs for a month
You might be deadlifting wrong.
@@BigUriel the 285 deadlifter has spoken
@@BigUriel I think his point is deadlifts can help pullups, pullups can not help deadlifts.
Accessories make at most 10% of the results. If that even. Long term, doing the basic barbell lifts will make best results. A very few accessories are worth the while. Chins, rows and maybe dips. That’s it.
Compound movements give you the best bang for your buck.
Watching the lexicon of Starting Strength, once you get your deadlift to the low 400s, you'll want to do break up the movement into rack pulls and halting deadlifts, only pulling the complete lift occasionally. Rippetoe reportedly for himself has gone whole training cycles of meet prep where all he did was racks and haltings until competition.
So if I understand correctly I should just do bench squat deadlifts press and rows? How do you even program that? Bench n press same day squat one day deadlift n row another? Sounds like a quick lift. Or are you dumping a ton of volume?
I do chin/pullups and dips to supplement squat/deadlift/bench and bicep curls and lat pulldowns. Need to do calf exercises too.
My “direct” core training is weighted Planks and Ab Rollout
I agree on both ends here cuz there both right. I don’t think however accessory work is useful until your an intermediate at least and you have a solid foundation of strength. Until then though you should just stick to the compound lifts
Muscles don't grow at the same rate. Primary muscles grow faster than other primary muscles and primary stabilizers. This is one reason why we utilize accessories. Example: The long head of the tricep doesn't get activated as much as the other 2. Hints, the reason why we do lying tricep extensions. Another good reason for accessories is overuse. Using the same barbell movement will push you closer to injuries. What about anatomy? I have an anterior pelvic tilt...I NEED direct lower abdominal work. Not to mention volume. Muscles need volume and rep variations. Every rep/set scheme has its benefits.
Snatch grip deadlifts found muscles in my traps I have never felt before...Now I switched those into my rack pulls and they feel amazing...
Great information from 2 solid health resources.
Cool podcast man. I think Coach Rippetoe isn't wrong, but that's just my opinion. I will note that all the competetive bodybuilders I know seem to do a lot of what he calls ancillary exercises. It's definitely part of gym culture.
I can’t do chin-ups or pull-ups. Just don’t have the strength. Lat pull downs? Pronated and supinated?
Yup, good alternative.
I just dont understand omitting lunges/split squats from your training. Close to maximal squats will "work" everything, sure, but so many many people have a bit of inherent imbalances or mobility restrictions that only get worse over time with squatting, but is not worsened but rather improved by lunges.
Heavy lunges under the bar are excellent and it’s a basic movement which is walking 😂
Rip can be a cantankerous old dogmatist, but I’m with him on this one. He’s entirely focused on developing raw strength as physiological foundation and everything else is downstream from that.
Mike is coming from an aesthetic vanity perspective, which is eventually an acute or chronic injury waiting to happen.
You got it all backwards... rips method is prone to injury and mike is not
His BB Curl method is the best I've heard. Works with DBs too
@Keenan Schouten wow, compelling argument.
@Keenan Schouten Wow, definitions.
Can’t leave out dips, man. Such a good exercise
Would you rather shorten ROM on deadlifts or reduce sets?
is 5x5 too much for you?
@@jocaingles8464 Not sure I dont do 5x5. I do 3x6-10 every second day. Averages out 10,5 sets per week I dont have smaller than 2.5 kg plates so I cant just do 5 and go up in 5 lbs.
48:00 Mike mistakes linear progression (adding weight daily with no changes in set/ rep scheme) for linear periodization (adding weight and decreasing reps over time).
You asked Rippetoe to write a blurb for a book recommending hex bar!!!? Madman.
The host definitely talking too much in the beginning there with his NPR voice cadence
Good stuff
SS is useful for beginners, but listening to Rip try to say things like DL’s build lats is just tiresome. I did powerlifting and got a 600lb deadlift. Took a break and stopped training the big three and instead did lighter weights with machines. I had significantly bigger lats in no time. Also a trimmer waist. I did lose my big traps and some grip strength.
If Rip would just acknowledge the limitations of SS, it would be way more popular in fitness. It really is good for a complete beginner. But pretending it’s anything but the best beginner program is doing it a great disservice.
Interesting perspective, thanks for the comment!
The interesting thing, for me, about lats in the deadlift vs pull-up’s is that I have improved my pull-ups doing deadlifts. I couldn’t make good progression doing pull-ups alone. I never did deadlifts in my life until the last year or so. After about 6 months of getting into heavier deadlifts, my pull-ups started to get a lot easier. I shocked at how much strength in other things the deadlifts gave me.
I mean it’s probably mostly forearm strength in this case that’s making the pullup easier
@@themanhimself2583 yeah, it’s probably a combination of and increase in hand, forearm, back strength, etc. All of that increases by doing heavy deadlifts.
@@themanhimself2583 wrong as wrong can be. The deadlift improves the performance of pull-ups because it can be loaded much heavier than pull ups thereby making the OP stronger overall. And this strength carries over into other activities. Forearm strength...smfh...
When mark says chin up he means true chin ups, not “pull ups” correct?
Very informative 👏
🙌
How do I work up to deadlifts with a slipped disc?
I'd advise against it
@@skankhunter46 Deadlifts will strengthen my lower back though, which is what I need to do to live pain free
squats and deadlifts done correctly will get you past the injury. start very light and progressively overload the movements
@@apostolossouliotis7743 Thanks, I'm gonna do plank work, then work my way up to good mornings before I start deadlifting
Depends where you are physically, can you light deadlift? If so great...
1. stand shins 1" from bar with toes 10° out and heels under your hips
2. Without lowering your hips, grab the bar with double overhand grip approx shoulder width apart(don't move the bar)
3. Shins to the barbell, make contact with your elbows
4.chest up, set that low back, make creases in your t shirt.
5. Drag the bar up your legs, (keep contact with your shins) and lock out at the top! Be proud of your titties.
6. Rest 48 hrs add 5lbs, and repeat
If not you must rack pull! Above the knees if you must, progress won't be measured by weight, but range of motion until you are in line with the height that 22.5lb plates either side will take you. Then go back to step one.
Does anybody know if Rippetoe recommends incline bench??
I’ve heard him say that there’s hardly ever a reason for incline bench, because it involves less muscle mass than a traditional bench.
Thanks Steven, I also heard him say if you have a hurt shoulder it’s fine, because flat bench hurts some ppl, but said do flat if you can
@@jsong8282 if your shoulders hurt during bench then youre not arching your back. dont go crazy, but a little arch goes a long way
In the book, he says it doesn’t do anything extra that the combination of regular bench and ohp doesn’t already accomplish, but that they may be of use if you have an injury or some other limitation.
20:50 Thats all I needed to hear, Rip
Great talk
I don't understand why they kept talking about pullups/chinups as an assistance exercise for the deadlift when (barbell) rows have a MUCH higher carry over. Heavy rows will help your deadlift, your squat, and your bench. It's your grip, it's pulling with your lats, it's stabilizing your trunk isometrically. It's less of a "compound" movement than the big three (and the press), but I doubt there's many elite strength athletes of any kind who haven't done a lot of rowing movements.
Rip says he is not concerned with hypertrophy of individual muscles. But a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. That’s why most modern lifters use periodization. A few months focusing on higher reps and sets for hypertrophy. Then another few months using heavier weights with lower reps and sets to make the new muscle stronger.
@David Booker That is the problem with anything with Rip... He only knows novices, the whole world uses assistance lifts but he says they're not necessary because novices don't need them.
I always go back to when he said veganism is an eating disorder. Good times.
He is just very good in one thing.
@@shoqed Andrey Malanichev didn't do much assistance...
I mean he literally says in the middle of this interview that if you don't periodize intermediate and advanced lifters you're wasting their time.
@@shoqed 😂😂😂 never heard that before but that’s hilarious
I still do direct ab training
For bodybuilding though there are no "accessories". Its a common trap to fall in unfortunately. Every exercise should be seen with the mindset of progression, and then you start to grow holistically.
The picture looks like a tough Tom Green
You are trying to combine a strenght program whit hypertrophy program that is why you needs accesorioles and rip don't
Very mentzerish.....he makes an excellent point, get bigger and stronger then cut in the details after....gotcha
This is great! What about planks or different plank variations. Are they necessary? pallof presses etc
Planks work well but they may be too easy for many people. Check this out: legionathletics.com/best-ab-exercises/
Mike Matthews thank you
Squat bench dead ohp is just limited to specific ranges of motion. If you don’t train the entire range of motion and weighted mobility you are leaving a lot on the table. Full rom Jefferson curl at bodyweight is way more impressive than a heavy dead lift imo, and both exercises are useful.
Skip to 6:20
What you guys always forget is that exercise questions are almost never 'either / or'... Simply include BOTH at different times in the gym. Example: It's never, 'should I do cardio or should I do weights?' Or should I do heavy or light, or high or low reps, or barbells or dumbells, or weights or machines, isolation or multi-joint.
The ANSWER is to include BOTH... It's not rocket surgery, boys and girls.
Larry Pacifico has recently come out and said that the biggest mistake he made was the lying triceps press . He said it ruined his joints ...
Where at? I'd like to hear about that. I just watched SS training video on the LTE/LTP and I noticed they teach them with a fast eccentric motion. I always found this exercise to be great on my elbows but only under a slow eccentric motion. Anytime I did them fast in the eccentric my elbows would flare up in pain.
Where did he say this?
Love Riptoe but totally disagree with his position on the abs. Direct ab training is absolutely necessary. Yes, you get "strong" abs for stability but let's be honest, the ANTERIOR chain BARELY get worked like the posterior chain gets worked in squats and deadlifts. Now what you do for the anterior chain is important but I WOULD ABSOLUTELY add anterior chain work.
It varies from person to person. The majority of people will get all the core strength they need from compound lifts.
@@MikeMatthewsFitness Mike, that literally ignores the anterior chain (other than bracing). No reason why a person should ignore this. If anything, they should do hanging leg raises with good flexation on the abs. This serves many functions such as 1) anterior strength/conditioning, 2) grip strength, and 3) DECOMPRESSION. I do these every time I do squats/deadlifts.
I need to strengthen my core directly from 250lbs onwards
If you think that you can do heavy weighted pull ups because you do deadlift, you never experienced the training. Pulling is clearly not the same as deadlifting. I saw weightlifters lifting 200 kilos on the deadlift, not able to lift 100 kilos on a barbell row. Strange isn't it ? Bending the elbow and pulling the arm =/= let them hang holding a weight. And if you want to know, depending on your way of pressing, the lats are used in a concentric way on the bench press. Now, I am waiting for pull ups in powerlifting. It would be very interseting. I totaly agree with the example of biceps curl. Too many people think that if you cheat the targeted muscle won't work. Same goes for the flies. Good interview.
Umm, most powerlifters do a lot of lat work.
Correct. I still implement pull-ups and rowing, but deadlifts have completely blown up my lats. It all works together.
I've never seen someone who was a big squater and deadlifter with skinny calves even though they have never done a calf raise in their life.
The pull up never helped by deadlift at all, but the extra arm size I gained from it made heavy presses more controlled on the way down.
" I can give a fuck about bicep " !! Lol mark killing me 🤣
My lats have gotten wrecked from deadlifts.
Another overlooked thing is maybe cleaning up a barbell as though it's an Ohp and performing standing barbell calf raises though heavy full rom squats, heavy conventional or Deficit Deadlifts, heavy power cleans and hard cycling up hills or on high gears are fantastic. All concentric with cycling too. Just another idea you can do without special equipment for some extra. Heaviest strict rows for sets of 5 are good too
Mark Rippetoe is the most knowledgeable, intelligent and honorable asshole in the fitness world. He cares about a single thing: number on the bar (which he calls strength) in very few movement patterns. If you care about that same single very specific thing (most people don't), then he's your best bet. Otherwise...
@Hudson Surfer Well, Mike Mathews I hear is good 😋. Other than that, I follow Mike Israetel, Sean Nalewanyj, Alec Enkiri, Geoffrey Verity Schofield, Alan Thrall... And some others.
@Hudson Surfer I should say I also follow Mark Rippetoe, but I always end up disagreeing with him on a lot, but not knowing exactly what or why, lol...
@@MiguelRaggi After 15 years of lifting (around 10 of those being useless "bodybuilding") I've come to realize that Mark Rippetoe is one of the realest in the industry and most could benefit greatly by what he says. When I stopped all the dumb assistance movements and focused primarily on the big 4 plus some variations, my lifts skyrocketed as well as my muscle size.
@@stevensmith4706 exactly my experience
Steven Smith My experience entirely
The best program is the one you will stick with. If you love front squats, do them. If you want to do kettlebell lunges, do them. We've got an obesity epidemic in the US, we need less exclusionary intransigence and more acceptance of differing views and exercises.
Imo the obesity pandemic is due to false dietary guidelines along with ineffective and boring workout methods, and not because of non-acceptace of differing views. It's all the confusion out there instead of simplying it, squat, deadlift, bench , pull up, swing, press... thats it
Well said grim . Consistency is the program that excites you to go to the gym
Compound exercises are essential if you are trying to get big but I think Mark's program (as good as it is) is just to simplistic. He has recommended getting a 300+ lbs on a bench in a few interviews I have seen but I am at 290 myself and I need to do face pulls to work out the rear delt head of my shoulder. Injury in the shoulder from pressing is quite common and unless you workout the opposite side you will have muscle imbalances that will hinder you down the line. I really like both of these guys info but another guy I would recommend to listen to is jeff cavalier since he is also a physical therapist and he can give you a few great accessory exercises to complement the big lifts. (Did not watch the whole video so I am not sure if this topic was cover, just wanted to share my thoughts).
Hahahah jeff is full of crap
@@patkob2180 examples ?
Fake weights.. using unstable surfaces for compound mouvements...
Jeff Cavalier? WTF
Start by here: ua-cam.com/video/Hd-qPt2seR4/v-deo.html
Never saw it be proven they were fake but if they are it still does not invalidate the fact he has a masters in physical therapy and his credentials earned him a spot as a coach in pro baseball. That being said, I also specifically said in my example to view his ACCESSORY exercises as they do in fact work. I had injured my shoulder several months ago and it was due to the muscle imbalances described in my original post. Adding face pulls was the best thing I ever did, if given the choice between jeff cavaliers advice and some random internet sheep who claim FaKe WeIgHtS bRaH... I'll take the guy who has a masters advice in the field and years of working with pro athlete's.
Mark knows his stuff if you research strength and power historically for 5 seconds you'd see that less is more and low reps high weight is how you strong, and as far as muscles go, I would rather be able to produce more force and power in an emergency situation than look skinny n bulgy in a tank top
the music in the background led me to think someone was knocking on my door.
I benched 245 only with Dips and without Bench pressing... Specialisation is overrated, for a beginner. U can build a great squat, only with lunges or other squat variations, as a beginner. U can build a good benchpress only with Dips and Push ups, as a beginner. Powerlifting is not a Rocket science. The specificity ist only important, for lifters with 2-3 years experience in Powerlifting.
But he right with movement patterns and building muscles only with the big 4. U build big shoulder, Arms and chest only with Benchpress and u can build a big Back with deadlifts.
Mark loves saying the word supine.
This Rippetoe guy is all over the map. He tells you that he ignores what elite athletes do and then talks about the lats of an 800 lb deadlifter who is an elite athlete. And you don't get an 800 pound deadlift without doing assistance exercise. What is this guy even talking about.
There is no reason to believe that an 800 lb deadlifter is an elite athlete.
The background music during your intro is irritating the the max.
I think Rip fails to understand the simply physical fact that a mucle can only generate as much force as it can generate. Adding more muscles to the movement doesn't make that target muscle suddenly capable of exerting more force.
IE doing cheat curls doesn't make your biceps work any harder than doing strict curls just because you're using more weight. The extra weight is being lifted by other muscles, your biceps are lifting exactly the same either way because that's all they can lift.
I'm all for prioritizing free weight/basic/compound exercises that work more muscle groups and give more direct carryover to the main lifts but just putting more weight on the bar for the sake of it makes no sense, especially when you were doing an assistance exercise to target one particular muscle group that is holding you back and now you've modified that exercise to add so many other muscle groups that you're not really targetting that muscle any more and you might as well just do more sets of your main lifts and forget assistance altogether.
If I'm doing arm curls it's because I want to develop my biceps, more than the development the main compound lifts alone would bring. I don't care about developing my front delts with my curls, I'm already doing lots of presses for that. In fact I'm already doing far more sets of presses than curls per week, so any additional volume my front delts might get from cheat curls will no make no difference at all. If I wanted to do a compound exercise that develops the biceps along with other muscle groups, I'd just do more chin ups, as they actually develop muscle groups that unlike the front delts the main lifts don't train as much, and being a strict movement it's much easier to gauge progress (as opposed to not knowing if I'm lifting more weight because I actually got stronger or just cheating more) and they're safer too.
My problem with Rip's philosophy is that it's based on circular reasoning. "what is strength? strength is being good at the squat, press, deadlift and bench press". Well, gee, I guess I better train those then. But what if I want to be good at pullups? What if I'm a climber, or a gymnast, or a basketball player? Not just talking about professional athletes btw, people can do these as hobbies and have great strength and longevity as a consequence. The idea that strength comes in this one pre-defined shape is overly simplistic.
well, it works
@@lassehoeihow? I'm not saying it doesn't, but please make it quantifiable
I like pull ups tho
Easy on the exposition there chief fiking hell
OMG! You should have cut Ripp off halfway through his first response. After you made it crystal clear that you were discussing accessory lifts for advanced lifters who had completed their novice stage of development, he contrasts his approach with yours as focusing on movement patterns rather than focusing on particular muscle groups which sounds like it is a real distinction until he starts talking about his five pound a session linear increase as being the main focus. In other words, what he is really saying is that his main focus is no novice training and not intermediate or advanced training. You could have stopped the whole podcast their and saved everybody a lot of time.
Came for Rippetoe. Left cause he doesn't get to talk.
what?
Just like Rippetoe doesn't let his guests talk
BLS would have worked just as well.
Rippetoe's way is strength and performance focused. The body and muscles grow as a by product of chasing higher numbers on the bar.
Most trainees can't do that today because they are motivated by the variety and relative 'ease' of isolation exercises. Hypertrophy training research tells us that the more stabilized the exercise, the better it will be for hypertrophy.
keep it simple and old school, then the truth result will come.
Sissy Squats? Save your back?
More than 10 mins in and the host has repeated his intro monologue
- Rippetoe is allowed to speak
Gymnast will still disagree
Ah doeh theah dyeadlyelfts in faahves
Ripatoe doesn't understand bodybuilding aesthetics at all. Every BB must focus on some muscles that throws the symmetry off if you just do the heavy lifts. And they want a small waist. When you have big lats from deadlifts your waist ain't small anymore.
You can't build an aesthetic physique with compounds only.Unless you have great genetics.
He’s a strength coach
clearly you haven't tried
@@gojira444 Rippetoe mentions Chase, you can see what he looks like on the starting strength channel, He does not have the type of build most men would strive for in terms of visual appeal. Not to be insulting at all, but he looks like a heavy set man in his late 30's - early 40's although he's only 22. I find most young men would prefer to maybe not be as strong as chase but have a more visually appealing physique. Focusing only on compound, multi joint movements with only adding weight to the bar in mind is very unlikely to produce the type of body MOST males would like to achieve.
U R NOT Special Jordan Feigenbaum looks like an impressive body builder with his shirt off, even though he only trains for strength. Most of how you’re going to look is genetics. I’ve seen a rugby player who didn’t lift, do a bodybuilding competition with only 6 weeks prep. They had build enough mass just by playing rugby!! genetics.
@@Wildcamp-lifestyle that's what i mean by "good genetics".If someone has good genetics then strength training will build s good physique.If they don't, then more training is necessary,more volume and exercise variety.
Thank God mark is not Woke 😂
lolz Now that would be something else! haha
Pawed cast 😸
225 curls lol
Ripper of toes... maybe. Godfather of gains... I don’t think so...