Interview with Mark Rippetoe (he's involved with CrossFit)

Grandy - 2008-08-18 1:01 AM I actually just had a group dinner with Rip Friday night, he did a barbell certification at my gym this weekend. He really knows what he is talking about and is also one of the most entertaining people to listen to (as long as you aren't easily offended). Starting Strength is a fantastic book for learning squat, press, deadlift, bench, and power clean. Make sure you are ready for some serious technical in-depth reading though, it goes over every little thing about these lifts and tells you exactly what the correct form is and why it's the correct form. He has no problem with people posting his Starting Strength routine, he would tell you it's not any new idea that he came out with and it is posted all over the web anyway, it's the technical detail in his book that makes it worh while, the program is very basic, the key is knowing how to do the lifts right. I know this program very well so I could really go into but I don't really want to get started right now because I will be sitting her typing for the next 2 hours! The basic premise though is that when you first start lifting heavy you can really improve fast, the newer you are the faster you improve, so take advantage of that and use a linear program as long as you can until it stops working for you. So if you are looking to just get strong, do the SS routine, lift heavy often and move your weight up 5 to 10lbs every time you lift as long as you can. The other thing I want to point out is that the power clean is the preffered lift over bent rows. The bent row is more of a substitution for people who don't know how to power clean properly and/or don't have access to bumper plates. If you really want to get all the details go grab the book and read the chapter on programming. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in human performance, even though it is designed around powerlifting, it still has great information about how the human body works that is applicable to all athletic performance. Also, I think everyone ought to know how to squat and deadlift correctly, they are just such basic human movements. Alright, I'm off to bed!