The ultimate goal

Coach Rippetoe,

I am a...
39yr male
225 lbs/6 ft
Squat - 350 2x3
DL - 435 2x3
Bench - 230 2x3
Press - 180 5x1
(have not trained the PC in a while because my coach wants me to get more volume in with rack pulls but I can do sets of triples at around 225 easily enough)
Have been training with a fantastic SS coach, Jayne Payton of SS Dallas for the last 4 months who has transitioned me from the end of NLP to intermediate programming and cleaned up a whole bunch of form issues that I've had.

I'm at a point in my lifting career where I find myself thinking often about my long term lifting goals. It seems like most of what people talk about on this forum are numbers. I definitely get that. I think about numbers all the time and intend on going as far as I can go. What I am beginning to realize however is that numbers may not be as important as I first thought. If I continue to do what I am doing; train diligently (have not missed a single session in over 6 months), eat well, sleep well, try to keep my life stress down, I will get close to meeting my potential, whatever that may be.

At some point, years down the line I will get to the point where I can consider myself an advanced lifter. I have heard it mentioned in the past, most recently by Mr. Israetel that at some point getting stronger is no longer "healthy." It seems to me that a good goal to have would be to get as strong as I can to the point where it is no longer "healthy." Can you please give me some guidance on what IN YOUR VIEW is the point where getting stronger is no longer healthy?

Thank you Mark for taking the time to read my post and thank you for any advice you may provide,

-Steven

Getting stronger is always healthy. This will eventually entail the risk of injury. But not yet.

I think I understand that risk. There is no shortage of information on this site and elsewhere about what folks have gone through in their own experience as lifters. I know there is a lot I can do to minimize that risk but that there is no way to avoid it. I think too that what matters most isn't if you get injured but what you do afterwards. Risk of injury is not a reason, in my view, to stop training or to quit adding weight to the bar.

So if that is the only consideration then it sounds like the ultimate goal, for me, should be too make it a life long priority to continue to train diligently and responsibly. However strong I become will be a reflection of what I have put into my training and that should be where I get my satisfaction. If I am lucky, at some point I'll be old and crotchety and will only be lifting to stave off death. But I will be lifting a lot more than 5 lb pink dumbbells, and I will die standing up. Thank you. I think I've got a good handle on it now.

With respect to Coach Rip, the point at which you consider yourself strong enough is up to you. Do you have other goals or activities that would be compromised by the extra body weight required for more strength? There are many such activities such as rock climbing, cycling, hiking with a loaded pack, swimming, running, etc. If you have no such other activities then continuing to get stronger and gaining weight may be just fine. Set your own goals.

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Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe

Getting stronger is always healthy. This will eventually entail the risk of injury. But not yet.

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So all the cheesecake that I'd have to eat to get my bodyweight up to 240-something, thus enabling a 700lb deadlift, would be healthy? I'm same weight and height as OP.

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Getting stronger is always healthy.

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Unless, of course, you are a world class competitor, at which time you have made the conscious decision that getting stronger is more important than, and perhaps antithetical to, staying healthy...

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Originally Posted by m s

So all the cheesecake that I'd have to eat to get my bodyweight up to 240-something, thus enabling a 700lb deadlift, would be healthy? I'm same weight and height as OP.

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How old are you? Do you believe that a 6-month weight-gain phase of training will jeopardize your health?

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Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe

How old are you? Do you believe that a 6-month weight-gain phase of training will jeopardize your health?

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I'm 28. No I don't believe that -- I'm just a pussy about eating. Started to eat breakfast though (6eggs + toast), maybe that's enough to get it started.