Ask Rip #47: Oh boy.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Ask Rip #47 | Starting Strength Channel

[Warren M]

Our beloved Texan curmudgeon has gone soft. He talks about fighting like with like (is that borderline homeopathic?), discusses gluten sensitivity and even admits that drinking to much may make him feel unwell. I am concerned that the sun may not rise tomorrow and that the sky may fall in.

Thanks for another episode.

Warren

[spacediver]

Why would long femurs and short tibias result in the knees being more forward in the deadlift?

The two things that determine how far forward the knees are at the bottom of the pull are:

1) Distance between shin and midfoot (according to SS, this distance is about 1 inch in most people). A greater distance here means that greater inclination of the tibia is required for shins to contact barbell (which in turn means knees are more forward)
2) Length of tibia. Longer tibia means that at any given tibial inclination, the knees are more far "forward"*

*I usually interpret knees forward as related only to tibial incline, rather than the absolute position of the knees so 2) doesn't really count.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Isn't there a drawing of this in the blue book somewhere? If the thighs are long relative to the shank, then either the knees are more forward or the hips are higher in the bottom of the squat or the pull.

[spacediver]

Isn't there a drawing of this in the blue book somewhere? If the thighs are long relative to the shank, then either the knees are more forward or the hips are higher in the bottom of the squat or the pull.

Yeah, page 51 and 126 for squat and deadlift, respectively.

In the video it sounded like you were saying that the knee position at bottom of a deadlift would vary with anthropometry, but I see what you were getting at now.

[tallison]

Can anyone explain why adding acid to the stomach (e.g., tomatoes with their malic and citrus acid) would *increase* the production of gastric acid, there? This seems to go counter to how pH sensitive biological systems tend to work...

[Mark Rippetoe]

I don't know for sure that the acid in the tomatoes is the problem.

[Giri Kotte]

Would a hypothetical shoe with a sole that's higher at the toes and lower at the heel help people with relatively longer femurs reduce the excessive forward travel of the knees in a squat?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I don't know. Just need a 5-pound plate to find out.

[Scaldrew]

Would a hypothetical shoe with a sole that's higher at the toes and lower at the heel help people with relatively longer femurs reduce the excessive forward travel of the knees in a squat?

Would probably mess up your balance, no? Walking on your toes is easier than walking on your heels. But then again, I'm thinking moonboot height, which looks really silly in my imagination. Silly weightlifters hehe.