I don't want to compete, I just want to be strong.

[Bilan]

In a blog I enjoy reading I came across these two articles and was wondering your thoughts on his points.

The articles question why a trainee with no intention of competing would train competition lifts when he posits better variations of these lifts.

Namely

Bar Bell Squat -> SSB Squat (with chains)
Deadlift -> Below the knee mat pulls
Bench Press -> Parallel bar dips

And since he is speaking of competition lifts and the Press is not a competition lift he mentions Axle and Log Pressing, and says those are just fine.

[LINKS REMOVED. WE'RE NOT HERE TO PROMOTE THIS GUY'S BLOG.]

On one hand, I can understand his point that if you have no intention to compete you shouldn't necessarily be training competition lifts. But having read the blue book and hearing all about the benefits of Barbell Squats, full ROM Deadlifts, Bench Press, and the Press I wonder if those replacements would really be better just for training strength.

So my question is that, if all I'm interested in is getting stronger and have no intention to compete in any sort of event, would the replacements he suggests be conducive to this goal?

Thanks for any and all help you have to offer here.

[Mark Rippetoe]

What makes you think that the techniques we advocate in BBT are the form used in competitive powerlifting? I think we have done an excellent job explaining why we use the techniques we use for general strength and conditioning, and I have said many hundreds of times that we are not here to coach powerlifters. It so happens that many powerlifters use our methods quite successfully, but every aspect of the way we teach these movements has been specifically tailored to 1.) involve the greatest amount of muscle mass 2.) over the greatest effective range of motion, so that 3.) the greatest amount of weight can be used while satisfying 1&2, thus 4.) making us as strong as possible. Have I been unclear on this?

[Kyle Schuant]

Bar Bell Squat -> SSB Squat (with chains)
Deadlift -> Below the knee mat pulls
Bench Press -> Parallel bar dips
[...]
So my question is that, if all I'm interested in is getting stronger and have no intention to compete in any sort of event, would the replacements he suggests be conducive to this goal?

No.

The properly-performed low-bar back squat, barbell bench press and deadlift will get you stronger more quickly, with more commonly available equipment (how many gyms have SSBs? now how many have barbells?), and with less chance of injury than what he suggests.

It's Starting Strength, not Starting Powerlifting. It just so happens that many of the movements chosen to display strength in the sport of powerlifting are also the ones which are optimal for developing strength.

But there's other stuff in the SS method, and lots of non-barbell ways people display strength, like gymnastic rings and stone lifts.

Your blog buddy is trying to make this stuff more complicated than it is.

[Bolson32]

I don't feel like this guy has read anything about SS. Either on the forums or in the books. Rip, you quite literally and clearly convey that you're coaching people to get strong above all else. If people happen to powerlift after that's a convenient correlation. But like Kyle said, this is Starting Strength, not Starting Powerlifting.

[Mahendra]

Bar Bell Squat -> SSB Squat (with chains)
Deadlift -> Below the knee mat pulls
Bench Press -> Parallel bar dips

What? How are any of these replacements better for strength?

I always cringe when people try to unnecessarily overcomplicate strength training. Especially for those who want to get strong, but not compete.

[guyonabuffalo]

This is a pot stirring post.

[Will Morris]

"On one hand, I can understand his point that if you have no intention to compete you shouldn't necessarily be training competition lifts.".....

Have you ever considered the reason why those lifts were selected as the competition lifts? Perhaps, the original founders of the sport of powerlifting decided those lifts were the best measures of someone's strength. If they are the best at measuring strength, perhaps it is logical those movements should be trained in order to gain strength.

[MythicalStrength]

Just saw this link in my blog traffic. Very cool to be mentioned here.

I understand the opinions expressed here, and that's something that I feel gets lost in the land of the internet: most things are opinions. My blog is just that as well, and these are the things I've learned in my own training. I've competed in both powerlifting and strongman, and enjoyed both a great deal, but whenever I don't have a competition looming, I tend to gravitate more toward the lifts mentioned in order to continue getting bigger and stronger. I understand the sentiment expressed that the barbell lifts are far more available, and that's a compelling reason, but I don't spend my money on much else, so I have a lot of toys in my garage, haha.

Mark: Thanks for the response. I still have a copy of "Mean Ol Mr. Gravity" in my bathroom which I page through whenever I'm in for a long trip. Even if I don't agree with you exactly on certain things, I find that I always tend to agree with your mentality, which I find is probably the element of training MOST vital to success.

[ithryn]

I feel like 'I don't wanna compete, I just wanna get strong' is like 'I wanna get jacked, but I don't wanna get too big.' In either case you're gonna try to substitute a complicated mess of varied movements with no straightforward system of progression like 'add weight to bar', and you're going to get neither outcome if the false dichotomy you set up (either just strong vs competition ready, or jacked vs big)

[tweakxc03]

What a dickbag.