Joe Rogan? I have a much better idea: September is Strength Month

[Simon Rest]

#SeptemberStrong because the people love hashtags.

I like it. It's the month after #augainz

[hollismb]

How's about you guys do something harder -- and yet much more constructive -- than hounding Rogan about me and me about Rogan:

Get somebody to start barbell training next month. Your mom, dad, sister, or brother, or a family friend who needs to train for strength. I know it's easier to post on a board or Facebook about the lack of strength training in MMA, but really, who actually cares about this? Start worrying about the real world, and about people who need to know what we know.

Ideas?

Anybody else get reminded of this scene from Fight Club?



Now, remember, folks, barbell training is a lot like converting someone to your religion or doing anal (BroScience joke reference, folks). Don't try to force it on someone: "Let's just put it on your back a little, just to see how it feels."

One of the wife's co-workers saw the video from our recent meet, and said, "I want learn how to squat like that", so she's been given an open invitation to drop by our gym any time to go through the teaching progression, and says she's going to come next Saturday. We shall see.

#DoingRipsHomework, #GainzZzTember

[Mahendra]

Coach,

Love this idea. I'm going to commit to getting at least 2 people to start strength training in September... or hopefully sooner.

[DeriHughes]

Rip...we're having our third child in October. I started w/ barbells not long after our second was born. My wife has seen a transformation in me that she wants for herself - strength-wise, body comp-wise, energy-wise, et cetera...so as soon as we get the doc's OK after our son gets here, she's starting w/ barbells...probably end October. The coolest thing is that she brought it up, not me.

Long story short...every one of us has people in our lives who has seen us go through a transformation to some degree and whether they'll admit it or not...they want it too!

This is an excellent idea and I applaud it. I'll see what I can do and I hope many other will do the same. It's a great way to try to make a positive difference in the world that surrounds us - teach someone how to get stronger and healthier.

My wife started lifting three weeks after our second was born in February. She gets a lot of questions from her girlfriends about how she got back in shape so fast.

Both her parents are now lifting with us and can't believe how effective it's been, and another friend started last month. I'll need a bigger garage once I get someone else signed up for September.

[ColoWayno]

I got another coworker to give squatting a try. He had been complaining about a sore back after doing some planks. I pointed him to SSBBT but so far he's just winging it. The other day he was complaining about sore legs. I will try to kindle that tiny flame.

[Gene61]

I like the idea (and it seems every cause has staked out a month where it demands attention), but I've been trying to cajole idiots to lift the other 11 months with very little success.

Me too. I've given away a half dozen books, emailed the links to their closest SS Coach. Even shared training session with my SS Coach with them, which I paid for! So far no takers. Oh there was one, but he hardly counts as he was already training under a BB program and knew about SS, and my experience got him to at least start squatting. BUT my wife does lift. She just wanted to spend her gym time with me and got hooked. So I guess I do have one success, but just getting a friend to lift? That's tough.

[Giri Kotte]

My wife has started going to gym and lift weights (albeit machines right now). A yoga and cardio believer, she got convinced of the merits of strength training as she observed my own progress, especially with I entering the gym just thrice a week. I will transition her to barbell lifts over the next couple of months.

Meanwhile, there's this guy at the gym whom I taught just two fundamentals;

1) Placement of the bar for a squat
2) That the bar never ought to lose contact with legs in a deadlift

He was darn happy with how everything felt so easy and sure all of a sudden!
And also, I fought with/convinced the management to buy our office gym its first ever power rack, last year. I was the sole user initially. But now we have five of us competing for the sole rack. Probably it's time for another power rack.

[ud2o]

My wife started lifting three weeks after our second was born in February. She gets a lot of questions from her girlfriends about how she got back in shape so fast.

Both her parents are now lifting with us and can't believe how effective it's been, and another friend started last month. I'll need a bigger garage once I get someone else signed up for September.

This is awesome, especially the part about her folks.

[commanist]

After spending several months cajoling, my parents, 67 and 69, started lifting at Fivex3 Training last December. As I was fairly sure they would be, they were hooked after their second session. They've been featured in the Starting Strength newsletter a couple of times now.

A couple weeks ago, my dad (a former private pilot who has been considering getting back into it) flew a Cirrus with an instructor. Following a three-hour flight, they landed, and the instructor said, "Let me get someone to push the plane back in the hangar." My dad said, "Oh, I think the two of us can do it." The instructor said that he couldn't help because he had to steer the plane. My dad shrugged and said "That's okay, I can get it myself." He then got out and pushed the plane back into the hangar, by himself, without breaking a sweat.

The instructor, a much younger man, stared at him in disbelief.

The two of them are undoubtedly my finest achievement as converts go, but I'll try to make some more in September.

[mev20]

My 70-something mother-in-law just e-mailed me to tell me that she is now training 3 days a week with a SSC. She's my second convert.

I'm excited so see what she'll be able to do. She's starting from a relatively good place for her age. For example, she can crawl into the 3rd row of an SUV from the back, scrambling over the back seat.