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Many people unfamiliar with Starting Strength and strength training in general confuse barbells with powerlifting. Similarly, powerlifters often criticize Starting Strength as a “bad” program for powerlifting. A misunderstanding of the core principles of Starting Strength and the Three Criteria especially, lie at the heart of this confusion.

 

Starting Strength’s stated goal is to help regular people become generally strong and harder to kill. The goal of powerlifting—the whole point of the sport—is to lift the most weight possible within the rules. Clearly, the two are intended for different audiences, with different goals. Though the process for each look similar, but the goals are different, and so are the reasons.

 

The Three Criteria for exercise selection (and by extension, lifting technique as well) in Starting Strength are:

1.) lift the most weight possible

2.) using the most muscle mass possible

3.) using the greatest effective range of motion

 

Starting Strength and powerlifting share #1, but they begin to diverge on #2 and #3. It’s clear to see with, say, a wide grip bench press. A wide grip shortens the ROM of the press, allowing the lifter to lift more weight than a standard, vertical forearms (evaluated at the bottom of the ROM) grip prescribed by Starting Strength. This satisfies criterion #1. The wider grip trades ROM for muscle mass however, and does not involve as much of the pec and deltoids, so it violates #2. It also violates #3, as it aims for the shortest possible ROM instead of the most effective (for strength).

 

At the end of the day, powerlifting is a sport that demands its own approach, whereas Starting Strength is a training modality aimed at the general public.

 

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Matt and Scott answer your questions in Q&A #3 and this time they read a handful of iTunes reviews. This week they answer:

1. What physical, mental, or medical conditions would preclude someone from barbell training?

2. If a trainee misses a workout in a HLM program, is there anything you can do to avoid messing up the whole week?

3. From Matt B: Why doesn't Online Great Books read Gilgamesh as part of the reading progression. Isn't it even older than Homer?

4. What does a good training log look like

One question received in the recent Q&A sessions deserved its own episode. A listener wrote in with the question (paraphrased): what kind of R&D are you working on as coaches? Matt explores the question by reflecting on the sheer number of Masters-aged lifters he and the other coaches at SSOC have coached over the past few years -- many hundreds and counting.

Matt and Scott answer your questions in Q&A #2. This week they answer:

1.) What are your views on metcons (metabolic conditioning)?

2.) What are the largest changes in your thinking about strength training in the last 10 years?

3.) Can Scott expound Socratically on the first sentence of the first chapter of the Blue Book (SS:BBT 3rd Ed)?

4.) For starting a collection of American whiskeys, what are the absolute essential foundation purchases?

Send us your questions at [email protected]!

Building on Episode #116, Advanced Programming Methods for Strength, Matt and Scott discuss the intricacies of block programming and their preferred templates.

Matt and Scott answer your questions in the first ever podcast Q&A. Listeners submitted questions via Instagram and the boys will tackle them over the course of several episodes.

This week they answer:

Can accessory lifts be useful for form corrections?

How do we prioritize the 3 Criteria (for exercise correction)?

How do you help clients set long-term goals when they are only looking short-term?

What's the proper state of mind to overcome negative thoughts and missing reps session after session?

Matt and Scott have touched on advanced programming a few times during the show -- most notably with Andy Baker's approach to advanced programming in episode #100 -- and today they walk through their own philosophy. Advanced athletes, loosely defined, have progressed to the point where they can no longer make workout to workout, or week to week progress. Though the word "advanced" conjures an image of very strong, heavy lifters for many people, advanced trainees can vary drastically.

Matt and Scott dive into the concept of RPE, or Rate of Perceived Exertion. Popularized by powerlifter and coach Mark Tuscherer, RPE refers to a numerical descriptor (between 1 and 10, though only 6-10 apply to training) of the difficulty of a set, as measured by bar speed. What's important is that RPE describes the relative difficulty of the work being done, and thus is a useful tool for more advanced lifters who need to carefully manage stress during their workouts.

Matt and Scott address accessory lifts and how they fit into a well-designed training program. Supplemental lifts -- first discussed in Episode 21 -- are variants that closely resemble the main lifts, while accessory lifts are lighter, less stressful movements that allow more advanced lifters to add small increments of stress. It goes without saying, then, that accessories become useful when more volume with the main lifts would be too stressful to recover from, yet volume is needed to drive progress.

Matt and Scott chat with SSOC client Sean Richardson, visiting from across the pond (Leicestershire, UK to be precise). Sean is a speech pathologist by trade, and an SSOC client of Scott's. He is a model client too, demonstrating consistency, patience, and coachability in his training life. Sean also enjoys a number of hobbies in life, so he doesn't just live to train... he trains to live. He is a great example of how strength training can fit into and improve an aready rich and varied life.