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Scott and Matt talk to the patriarch of the Reynolds' family, his grandfather Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds talks about growing up in small town mid-century Missouri, the son of a quarryman. He reflects on the fiery characters of the Reynolds ancestry, great mistakes in his life, and how he rectified them, and offers up a rendition of a classic Marty Robbins tune.

Picking up a barbell and shoving it over one's head might be the most obvious thing to do with the object, to paraphrase Mark Rippetoe. Exactly how the shoving part happens... happens to be the subject of today's show. Coach Matt and Coach Scott take a deep dive into the world of overhead pressing, or as we like to call it, simply The Press.

Story time continues at Uncle Rip's house as Rip recounts his friendship with Tommy Suggs and his run-ins with numerous great lifters of yore at the 1980 IPF Worlds in Arlington, TX. Coach Rip reflects on some of the most talented trainees he's coached in his career, and the men contemplate an important question: will anyone press over 500 again?

Simply known as "The Squat," the low bar back squat, as it is otherwise known, is undoubtedly the king of all exercises. Matt and Scott discuss why the Squat deserves this lofty title, and deliver a condensed portion of the Squat lecture presented at the Starting Strength seminar. As a bonus, Uncle Rip joins mid-conversation to add his own color commentary.

Matt and Scott sit down with Uncle Rip at his house in Wichita Falls to reminisce about life in the Falls in the 1970's, Rip's early encounters with legendary strength coach Bill Starr, and one of Rip's early childhood influences.

Training programs, including the novice LP in Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, are typically written with a critical assumption. They assume an ideal training schedule, and no missed training sessions. The reality for many lifters, however, is that schedules get disrupted by other responsibilities. Today Matt and Scott compare optimal training and real life, and discuss strategies for managing those times when the two collide and throw your training off track.

Scott and Matt talk with talented power and strengthlifter Stephanie Helland. Stephanie placed second in the 67.5kg weight class and third overall at the 2018 USSF Nationals in Oakland. Today she talks about what led her from long distance running to Crossfit to, ultimately, strength training, as well as her preparation for the Nationals meet with coach Robert Santana.

The novice LP is a simple program - simple, but hard, and effective. The path beyond into intermediate training is winding and multi-headed. It's easy to get seduced by complexity as programming needs evolve beyond the novice stage, but, as the data reminds, compliance is still king when it comes to getting results.

Matt and Scott chat with the uber strong yet humble Mike Cordova. Mike is top competitor in strengthlifting and boasts personal bests of 672lb squat,  255lb press, and 701lb deadlift, all while standing at 5'9" and weighing around 230lbs. Mike shares his story about discovering the iron, meeting his close friend and training partner Clint Case, and talks about working with Matt to prepare for the USSF Nationals Meet.

Matt and Scott revisit the concept of minimum effective dose, elaborating on this bedrock concept of strength development for novice lifters and beyond. The minimum effective dose, as it relates to strength training, fulfills both the "simple" and "effective" conditions of the simple/hard/effective philosophy of training. Why do more in the gym, if less will drive progress?