Hello coach Rip,

I just wanted to say thank you for the book and all the time and effort you put into spreading the word of proper barbell training. A little background info on me, that I'll try to keep short and sweet:

I'm 25, but started lifting when I was 19. My first source of information was bodybuilding.com articles and I did the whole "Learn it by yourself" thing that you so rightfully discourage. The end result, for me, of attempting to learn how to squat and deadlift without a proper source of information was a one inch herniation of L5/S1 and some fairly severe sciatica. This made me relegate barbell training to an on-and-off thing for about four years, with no squatting and no deadlifting, two lifts I became deathly afraid of.

After many visits to physiotherapists my condition improved, but nowhere near the point it is now. I remember having read this quote by you about a year ago: "Yes, if you squat wrong it fucks things up. If you squat correctly, those same fucked-up things will unfuck themselves.". I started thinking that if squatting and deadlifting were proven the absolute best ways to improve hip and back strength (two things I was told by various physiotherapists were the reasons for my injury), then why the fuck was I wasting time doing side bridges and high rep lunges?

So I got down, read SS, watched every video possible and although I'm not completely cured (these things don't really go away, as you know), my back pain and sciatica are at the absolute best they've ever been since I first hurt them... And although I still lift and look like a 6 year old girl, ever since I started squatting and deadlifting I can't wait for my next session at the gym to throw some weights around.

Some stats:

6'3
228lbs.
5RMs:
Squat 250
Deadlift 315
OHP 145
Bench 215
PC 165
Yates Row (what I was doing before PC until I decided to man up and learn the damn lift) 220

So again, thank you, and keep up the great work.

PS: Although unlikely, do tell if you ever do make it up across the border. I'll be sure to plead to our government for extra sled dogs to make sure you can make it to our cities unscathed.