Chris Palladino teaches attendees about the proper hip position in the deadlift at the New York SS Workshop for Personal Trainers. [photo courtesy of Inna Koppel]

Debbie Annino pulls 210x5 during the train-the-trainer portion of the Personal Trainer Workshop on Long Island. [photo courtesy of Inna Koppel]

Eric sets a new PR deadlifting 315#x3 at Starting Strength Boston. [photo courtesy of Stephen Babbitt]

Anthony pulls 255 lb for a PR triple on Friday morning at Testify Strength & Conditioning. Anthony had a big weekend as he was gracious enough to help load and spot at the Testify Fall Classic strengthlifting meet the following day. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]

Alicia looks on in support while her mom and fellow Starting Strength Cincinnati member Angie finishes up on the bench press. [photo courtesy of Luke Schroeder]

Physical Therapist and Starting Strength Coach Chris Palladino teaching the Starting Strength barbell method to the orthopedic residents of Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, NY. Low back pain and the use of barbells in the rehab setting were discussed as an alternative treatment. [photo courtesy of Nicole Lawson]

Aaron’s novice linear progress is going great at Starting Strength Boston. He’s gained 25 lb of bodyweight in 4 months. Here he is pressing 135# for three sets of 5. [photo courtesy of Stephen Babbitt]

Starting Strength Cincinnati's newest member Eric sets up for the deadlift. [photo courtesy of Tony Maldonado]

Meet Results

The annual Testify Fall Classic Strengthlifting meet took place this Saturday (10/21/23) at Testify Strength & Conditioning in Omaha, NE. View a recording of the meet. For the women, the Best Lifter Award (Morgard the Manatee) went to Julie Snyder, and for the men, the Best Lifter Award went to Ryan Foster. In the master's division, the Best Lifter Award for the women went to Sharon Foster, and the Best Lifter Award for the men went to Ryan Foster. See Full Results

Anjali presses 37 kg for her third attempt at the Testify Strengthlifting Challenge, held at Testify Strength & Conditioning in Omaha, NE, this past weekend. Anjali went 8-for-9 and set PRs in all three lifts. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]

At the Testify Strengthlifting Challenge, Brad deadlifts 182 kg for his third attempt. Brad set PRs in the squat and deadlift and is looking forward to setting more PRs at the Testify Strengthlifting Challenge in April. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]

Lifters from this year's Testify Fall Classic gather for a group photo to wrap up the day. We look forward to seeing everyone again in April for the annual Testify Strengthlifting Challenge. [photo courtesy of Phil Meggers]

Eanderson

Hey coach (and any other baseball folks), I have a 12 yr old baseball player who's struggled with some shoulder pain this fall season and he's currently shut down and not throwing pending x-rays of both shoulder growth plates to see what's going on.

My question is around PT. I know what it looks like usually (even at the places pros go), and it's all light band work with movements that are all variations of the "throwers 10" you can google. Basically impossible to scale up the load over time. While I do think some band exercises are good to help him feel certain things and warm up the arm to throw, I don't see how he can really get his rotator cuff stronger by using the same bands for sets of 10-15.

I know based on where he's at development-wise that he can't really "train" the barbell exercises yet (he does them with me sometimes for fun and practice), but it seems to me that pressing, deadlifting, rowing, benching/pushups (he can't bench the bar) would be a better way to rehab once he's good to start throwing again.

Any thoughts on using barbell exercises for baseball rehab instead of band PT in addition to the throwing work?

Mark Rippetoe

Has he developed this condition while doing the band shit?

Eanderson

Sort of. He's done the bands for years to warm-up/activate before games, but the pain didn't really start until this fall. Flared up following a weekend tournament where he pitched.

Just think it’s a combo of growing fast, being a hard thrower for his age, being bigger and stronger than his peers.

Mark Rippetoe

Stronger is not the problem. Isolated external rotation is stupid for anybody, and would be very hard on young joints.

Eanderson

Yeah external rotation causes him the most pain of all the movements. Those Jaeger band movements are a staple for youth baseball warmups.

Now I'm wondering if it's not the throwing at all.

Mark Rippetoe

Might not be. "Physical Therapy" strikes again.

The Kidd

I want to take the month of May off from squatting, but I am worried I will lose too much strength after the amount of work that I’ve put in. I just hit a big 45 lb PR with a 515 lb squat. I’m 37 years old, 5’10”, and weigh the heaviest I ever have at 218 lb. My question is what would you recommend for me to maintain as much of my squat strength as possible while focusing on cutting weight and working on cardio in the short term (4-5 weeks). I think that if I can work up to a heavy single once a week in the 90% - 95% range that would be good enough to keep me feeling strong and like I’m not backsliding too much. Do you have any specific advice?

Mark Rippetoe

What makes it necessary to take a month off?

The Kidd

Basically I just want to spend a month on GPP and cardio because although I know that I’m objectively pretty strong I feel like I’m out of shape. I’m stiff and sore most of the time, and getting down on the floor and playing with my kids is pretty uncomfortable. I’m also a fireman so I feel like I owe it to myself and my crew to be able to go on air and do some work without immediately becoming exhausted. My plan is to take the month of May off from drinking, do some calisthenics/running and ring in the summer with a Murph workout on Memorial Day, before jumping back into strength training. I know that I will not come back after that and be able to squat 515 lb again. I’m ok with that, but I do want to minimize my losses.

Mark Rippetoe

It would make a lot more sense to start doing a conditioning workout every two weeks during your regular strength training schedule.

The Kidd

One more thing, I’ve been hammering squats hard for about two years to bring it up from the low 400s to my recent PR of 515. I’m approaching 40 and recently started TRT. My total T was in the mid 400s, and free T was 18.2. I know that the total T was not terrible, but I was concerned because I got tested back in 2018 and it was 890. So the drop was a little alarming. I’m giving you this background because I’m wondering where to go from here. I want to keep setting goals and progressing but I’m also wondering what I can reasonably expect to achieve at this late in the game. I would love to aim high for 600 lb. Even if that is a two year commitment. What do you think?

Mark Rippetoe

You need to think about getting your T up in the four digits, and then see what happens. At your age, a 600 squat will be dependent on your injury status -- if you can stay healthy, you can get there, and enough T is critical for recovery. A 600 will happen at a bodyweight of 235.