It's 2022. You don't need a book.
Dear Rip,
I've just listen to your podcast:
Q&A Episode - Tulsa, Spondylolisthesis, and Elk Meat | Starting Strength Radio #177.
Besides the fact that I'm craving a Ramseys sandwich that they refuse to
deliver abroad, I have been struck by your knowledge about how strength
could be a cure for various health conditions.
As a long time forum lurker and Pink Supremacy member, I've integrated
how strength can help our elder walk again or improve mental
health. Yet, I did not find any book with all this precious knowledge
distilled into a nice, concise and digestible form.
Would it be too much to ask for you to write this book?
Who else could, anyways?
Thank you for all you have done and keep doing.
PHF
It's 2022. You don't need a book.
I thought this was covered in The Barbell Prescription.
If it is not a book, then what should it be?
Let's be specific.
Assume that you have just got these in your hands from a scan of your
beloved aunt Jane:
- https://i.postimg.cc/9QML4QgM/img-1.jpg
- https://i.postimg.cc/y8ZY7S3K/img-2.jpg
- https://i.postimg.cc/440gnxgx/img-3.jpg
One may tell himself: « better bones means significantly fewer chances
of fractures which would make these last 20 years of life much more
enjoyable ».
Then, the question is: « how do we get better bones? ». This is where
something is needed, a book or otherwise because answers vary
wildly. Let's examine the usual answers:
1. « Just do not do dangerous things and you'll be fine. » — Mr. Joe Nobody
2. « Watch your diet and have regular physical activities like biking or pilates. » — Jhon Normy, MD
3. « Do squats and deadlifts with an SSC following principles from this guy from Texas. » — Yourself
Yes, of course, answer 2 wins. It is not good enough or even bad. How do
we get answers equivalent to answer 3 to win? It boils down to convince
Jane that answer 3 is superior to answer 2. How to convince Jane? I see
only one option:
a. « Do squats and deadlifts with an SSC following principles from this
guy from Texas. Get a subscription to this SS gym nearby and increase
your strength. » — Prometheus Lightbringer, MD
Of course option a is not realistic today. It would mean that SS gyms
are wildly available and that enough MDs made their homework instead of
repeating whatever they've been told to repeat.
So, what else has a chance to make answer 3 win? Unfortunately, I do not
have the answer, but whatever the answer is, there must be a kind of
compendium of proves that SS makes bones stronger (clinical studies,
books, papers, whatever).
More generally, there must exist something where to look for answers
when it comes to strength i.e. :
• Improving strength is a decisive factor for solving problem X. It has
been done several times before.
• Example 1: …
• Example 2: …
• Improving strength is a decisive factor for solving problem Y. It has
been done several times before.
• Example 1: …
• Example 2: …
• etc
This something may be a book, a website equipped with a suitable
database and query engine, or something else. If not a cure in all
cases, strength could be considered an invaluable help for improving
quality of life or avoiding debilitating injuries.
As one can take ibuprofen through a pill, one can accumulate strength by
going to an SS gym. Yes, it's quite a bit of a stretch but I do not know
how one get stronger more efficiently.
So, for the sake of everybody's dear aunt Jane, if it's not a book, then
what is it?
I have bought, given and translated The Barbell Prescription.
It did not work.
Yes, many factors could explain why, but the book itself was not strong enough to convince in and of itself.
And the book is excellent IMHO.
It was no small miracle I got my mom to lift during covid lockdown. Doubled her deadlift by the end of it, that alone has probably set her up for better quality of life for a while to come. I'm told when she finally got her badly arthritic knee replaced, they were amazed at how strong and muscular her legs were, she was the strongest patient they'd ever worked with.
Yoga may be the best thing in the world but give me a book about it's benefits written by someone I don't know from Adam and it will gather dust until I donate it to a used book store. Aunt Jane feels like that about lifting weights.
This is a lesson I had to learn many times...
"At your age, you shouldn't lift heavy, what you need is endurance"
- "OK. 1. why not lift heavy? 2. Define Endurance. Measure it for me. What should I do, when, how, how often? What is the purpose?"
"Lifting heavy is bad for your bones (ridiculous, I know). Go and run, use the treadmill. Lift in higher rep ranges, 'cause muh, endurance."
- "Ok. 1. Lifting heavy actually improves bone structure, here's a quick goole search, look for yourself. lifting weights bone structure - Google Search 2. I don't like running, the treadmills are always occupied, would it be appropriate to push a prowler twice/week? 3. performing a near max task will improve the performance of submaximum tasks. Are you familiar with this concept? Being able to squat 350lbs for 3x5 will it make easier to squat 100lbs for whatever reps. It doesn't work the other way around, so training for strength improves my endurance, endurance doens't improve my strength. Which training method seems to be the better one?"
"What's a prowler?"
End of discussion.
I was about to give up, but a glimpse of hope emerged from a discussion with her this weekend.
Her PT observed that she misses a significant amount of muscle in her upper body.
The PT even told here that it's the root cause of her pain in the arms.
She is now convinced that she needs more muscles!
So, she needs someone with a degree, an office and a white coat to be convinced.
But how to build more muscle?
Since I grew so much in the last couple of years, thanks to SS, she is O.K. to try the Starting Strength Method.
But there is no SS gyms in France, and I doubt the SSC Online would be of any good with her.
I offered to help her, but she is a hard case: > 60 years old, fragile.
I'm afraid to do something stupid.
She won't recover easily.
Maybe a solution exists, but I do not see it: what happens next?
I hope we won't need a lockdown to convince each Aunt Jane in the world.
True. She only cares about living the next 20 years (hopefully) without too much pain.
If she can be convinced that SS can provide that, she's in.
Usually, conversations about weightlifting with Jane do not last that long.