Starting Strength in the Guardian

[Cambrian]

I was rather surprised to read about Starting Strength and Rip in the Guardian this morning. Almost spat my vegan macchiato over my granola...

Lift your way to strength – and help your body stay young | Life and style | The Guardian

[Mark Rippetoe]

Interesting. Exposure is good. I hope people take this seriously.

[MattBulmer]

Obviously a popular article given that it's already received over 500 comments. Some of the comments, however...

[Mark Rippetoe]

Comments on articles like this are always amusing. Like Youtube comments on PCP.

[Cambrian]

Comments on articles like this are always amusing. Like Youtube comments on PCP.

Yup, and the comments on the Guardian tend to have some 'interesting' characters generally speaking. If you order them by 'Recommendations', some of the more popular comments are quite encouraging though.

Hopefully word is spreading. This is the first time I've seen Starting Strength mentioned in the UK mainstream media.

[PoweredbyKashmir]

*raises hand* I'm the writer. Learning to lift has drastically changed my life for the better, and I wanted to get the word out.

And no, I'm not reading the comments - I'd like to keep the tiny fragment of faith in humanity that I have left.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Thanks for the kind words, Sarah. A very nice effective piece. And to all prospective writers: NEVER READ THE COMMENTS. Ever.

[slhuckstead]

Comments on articles like this are always amusing. Like Youtube comments on PCP.

I don't know, after reading them I was convinced that weight training leads to injury. I just need to use my body weight and eat veggies only and train exclusively with martial arts and stop trying and just lay down and die 'cause lifting is too hard when you are over 40 and that Rip is part of the great osteopathic conspiracy to make doctors richer and I need to do yoga like Sting and Brexit is stoopid.

The Guardian--proof that the English, in general, (at least those in London, so I don't hurt feelings) are actually stupider than Americans.

[MattBulmer]

Good article, Sarah.

[BigViffer]

*raises hand* I'm the writer. Learning to lift has drastically changed my life for the better, and I wanted to get the word out.

I especially liked this excerpt:

But barbell lifting doesn’t just offer physical strength; it also gives women emotional and mental confidence. Liz and Bickford both describe a sense of being liberated from feeling guilty about their bodies. Liz says: “I finally found a sport that doesn’t look at my body shape as an impediment.” For Bickford, learning to lift barbells was about “how good I felt existing in my body and making that better”, rather than punishing herself for having the wrong kind of body. It translated to feeling stronger mentally. “The way I deal with my feelings and external obstacles has been strengthened,” she says.

I have two teenage daughters that live on social media; I work in advertising. The only way to battle the barrage of marketing lies telling young women they could be better if they only bought or used the product being peddled, is with the truth. Constant and unyielding truth. The bar will never lie to you. And to paraphrase Rip, doing something hard, such as barbell training, prepares the mind as well as the body to do hard things in life. (I.E. building confidence)