Strong enough for what?

[donfrancisco]

Dear Coach,

I just read the chapter "Strong Enough?" in the book with the same title. I personally found many of the examples of strength's applications to be motivating. Because I practice BJJ/MMA, I found the example of the judoka Sanchez particularly motivating. I don't exactly know what being "chokeslammed" means but it sounds brutal and I would love to be strong enough to successfully express that brutality against my opponents.

I've always enjoyed challenging pursuits so I can understand why someone like myself would enjoy sparring with 300 lb. monsters in a cage. And I am enjoying the process of getting stronger in the basic four lifts, even though my ultimate motivation for becoming stronger is to maximize my lethality without a weapon, especially given that I live in NYC and would have to give my mayor a blowjob in order to get a concealed carry permit.

But aside from people like myself or those who are attracted to competing in the strength world, how strong would someone have to be to competently deal with the normal challenges of life? You wrote of your friend Cardell and your point was well taken. Given that many are living longer then ever before it strikes me as incumbent on every self-reliant individual to be strong enough to deal with medical emergencies like cancer and any other potential vicissitudes of aging.

But many of my trainees are thankful enough that I've helped them climb or descend stairs without needing to rely on a handrail or to enjoy their grandchildren or travel without feeling entirely spent at the end of the day. These are not people who enjoy training per se or who embrace the challenging as sublime. How strong does the average office worker have to be? Sure, they can always be strong enough to fight cancer or to recover quickly from a car accident or to put a mugger on his ass if he tries to yank their purse away. But the probability of these occurrences seem increasingly remote to many in our increasingly safer, less physically demanding world. And if someone is going to continue pushing for new PRs with the bar over the course of years, they need to have a reason that convinces them that spending hours each week working to attain those PRs is worthwhile given everything else that competes for their time. Are there people (perhaps someone at low genetic risk for serious disease, with a physically undemanding desk job, who lives in a safe, gated community, etc.) who you could imagine telling, "your strong enough"?

Yours in strength,

Francisco

[Mark Rippetoe]

No. Stronger than you are now is always better, even though it might not be feasible. And everybody that trains knows this.

[Pluripotent]

Strong enough to die gracefully -because no one is getting out alive.

[donfrancisco]

Roger that Coach. And I didn't even mention all of the psychological benefits that accrue as a result of becoming stronger. I can't imagine someone wanting to place a limit on how confident they feel, for example.

Aside from some obvious conditions such as paralysis, what factors make getting stronger infeasible?

[Mark E. Hurling]

I don't exactly know what being "chokeslammed" means

In Judo terms, probably executing Osotagari and following the guy you backheeled down to the mat with your forearm across his trachea. They start to go into oxygen deficit before the back of their head hits the mat, then their head rebounds off the mat, and jams their throat into harder into your forearm. All the while denying them any more air into the lungs. So they get some head, cervical vertebrae, and brain dislocation from the multiple impacts as well as not getting air into the lungs at the same time. There are a couple of other ways to do it though.

Strong enough to die gracefully -because no one is getting out alive.

And quickly. Protracted death on the installment or lay away plan really sucks. As you and Sully have described.

[George Christiansen]

There is also the factor of the benefits from the pursuit of more strength. The process itself provides physical and mental health benefits.

So even if one was at the level where they were strong enough that everything they encounter in life is ridiculously easy there would still be benefits to pursuing even more strength even if it didn't result in any actual increases of strength.

[This Old Man]

Don, here's what I can tell you. Some of this is from personal experience and some from the observation of others.

One plate: Far better than not squatting at all. You will be able to get up off the pot without using your hands and balance on one leg while tying a shoe. Also most of your aches and pains go away.

Two plates: You will be able to paint a house, seal a roof, or push a reel mower without getting tired or feeling sore the next day. Dealing with small children is a breeze.

Three plates: Compared to people who do not lift, you are a tank. A black belt in judo will not be able to move you if you do not want to be moved.

Four plates: Getting kind of tank-like, even compared with people who lift.

Five plates: You are a tank, and everybody knows it.

Six plates: Superhuman strength. The only man I ever knew personally who squatted at this level could push a jeep up an incline. It was a pretty steep hill, and I was steering. It was impressive.

[George Christiansen]

One plate: Far better than not squatting at all. You will be able to get up off the pot without using your hands and balance on one leg while tying a shoe. Also most of your aches and pains go away.

Two plates: You will be able to paint a house, seal a roof, or push a reel mower without getting tired or feeling sore the next day. Dealing with small children is a breeze.

Three plates: Compared to people who do not lift, you are a tank. A black belt in judo will not be able to move you if you do not want to be moved.

Four plates: Getting kind of tank-like, even compared with people who lift.

Five plates: You are a tank, and everybody knows it.

Six plates: Superhuman strength. The only man I ever knew personally who squatted at this level could push a jeep up an incline. It was a pretty steep hill, and I was steering. It was impressive.

This could be a great gym poster.

This is pretty much my assessment too, but with the caveat that it depends how much the judoka squats too..

[TommyGun]

This thread reminded me to buy Strong Enough. No excuses not to have read that or MeAn Ol Mr Gravity by now.

I just quickly got it on Amazon while I was distracted. Pro tip: Be sure you select the correct book with the title Strong Enough. There is also listed on Amazon an interesting novel called Strong Enough, a gay romance novel (seriously search Strong Enough on Amazon) Hope I bought Rip's version as I was not really paying attention. My wife questions what I spend on the Asgard strength books, if she opened the package and it was not Rip's book I would have some real explaining to do.

[donfrancisco]

Thanks for the clarification Mark. I can definitely picture that now and the image of doing that to an opponent makes me grin like Cheshire Cat.

Thanks for your reply Old Man. I'm between 3 and 4 plates now and how moveable I am in any given roll depends on who I'm rolling with. George's caveat definitely applies. I'm still not at the top of my dojo's food chain but I'm working hard to become increasingly formidable.