Praise for the SS video series

[Technick]

Just wanted to say thanks for the books, program, and the SS video series. Pretty much all I have learned about strength training has come from one of your projects. I have progressed from a really weak bastard to a moderately weak bastard, and I wanted to say thanks. After screwing up your very basic and easy to understand program more times than I care to admit, I am making what I feel is solid progress. Just when I think that I have most things figured out, you interview Marty and I learn even more.

While watching your interview I made a very basic observation, the big bad-ass legends of power-lifting all ate. Up until this point I have been relying very heavily on protein powder to get me my minimum of 200 G/day. None of those guys did that, they fucking ATE. I decided that I would make a conscious effort to eat more, and guess what? I feel powerful, and have been setting PRs. This is an important point: there is nothing wrong with protein powder, but it is NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR QUALITY FOOD. I am sure most lifters here understand that, but for some reason this point has escaped me until now.

In the interview you and Marty discuss how you never see any great 6'1" 198ers, but you see great 5'6" 198ers. You both agree that a lifter has to reach a certain "density" or mass in relation to height. Can we make broad generalizations that at certain heights, lifters should be around a specific weight to perform at their peak? Or are there just too many individual factors to consider. I am not concerned with my weight (best thing I have done for my lifting was to stop worrying about it) but it was more of a curiosity after watching the video. I am currently 6ft and weigh about 235 and feel great under the bar. Anyway, thanks again and keep up the good work!

[Mark Rippetoe]

I think Marty mentioned that 3.5-4 pounds of bodyweight per inch of height was his rule of thumb. I've heard this mentioned elsewhere too.

[Carlos Daniel]

That means that I should be in the 242 class at 5'7, 67 x 4 being 268 and 67 x 3.5 being 234. That sounds a little absurd, to be honest. Ed Coan was in that class at the end of his career and he has the advantage of being Ed Coan, which an advantage I most certainly do not have.

[joosejpr]

That means that I should be in the 242 class at 5'7, 67 x 4 being 268 and 67 x 3.5 being 234. That sounds a little absurd, to be honest. Ed Coan was in that class at the end of his career and he has the advantage of being Ed Coan, which an advantage I most certainly do not have.

234 at 5'7" to be Über competitive... why is that unreasonable?

[Calvo]

That means that I should be in the 242 class at 5'7, 67 x 4 being 268 and 67 x 3.5 being 234. That sounds a little absurd, to be honest. Ed Coan was in that class at the end of his career and he has the advantage of being Ed Coan, which an advantage I most certainly do not have.

IDK, I think 3.5-4 lbs/inch is supposed to be a long-term goal for competitive powerlifters, not something you hit in your first couple of years.

I've also heard "eat till your deadlift goes down," which struck me as admirably succinct.

[Technick]

This comes out to a reasonable weight for me (72"x3.5) @ 252lbs. To be fair, I did ask what weight is ideal for a lifter to perform at his peak; not just to be an average or semi-strong guy. While the weights listed seem high for the average man, I was asking about peak performance for strength sports. With that in mind, this doesn't seem absurd to me.

[Rezart Erindi]

While watching your interview I made a very basic observation, the big bad-ass legends of power-lifting all ate. Up until this point I have been relying very heavily on protein powder to get me my minimum of 200 G/day. None of those guys did that, they fucking ATE. I decided that I would make a conscious effort to eat more, and guess what? I feel powerful, and have been setting PRs. This is an important point: there is nothing wrong with protein powder, but it is NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR QUALITY FOOD. I am sure most lifters here understand that, but for some reason this point has escaped me until now.

This is true. Eating good quality food, meats, veggies, eggs, dairy cannot be substituted by protein shakes. It seems that things are not as simple as: a gram of protein = a gram of protein. At least this is my experience too.