My new article on T-Nation

[Mark Rippetoe]

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ning_is_a_sham

[Mark E. Hurling]

Ah Rip, you warm the cockles of this geezer's heart with the hay bale stack and examples of same for illustrating strength, conditioning, and effort.

The overwhelming number of urbanites may never get the metaphor never having contemplated that there are such things as hay bales, but it was pitch perfect for this old country boy.

[Mark Edward]

The picture of the guys doing front raises is a nice touch.

[gtl]

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ning_is_a_sham

My only question.. what will you spend your $500 of free Biotest supplements on???

[Mark Rippetoe]

The illustrations and the title are never mine, and I use their fish oil.

[Lee DuBois]

"Size and strength don't matter; it's all about technique. In the "real world" being too strong prevents good technique, and "will get you killed on the street."


This is my favorite! Are there "experts" who just sit around and dream this material up to impress unlearned novices? I was raised via sports believing in some far fetched stuff, but it seems to be getting worse. I liken my Starting Strength experience to Neo being woken up from the Matrix...thanks Rip!!

[squatsocks]

There's time to do your conditioning work later – you're not going to die immediately, and if you do, nobody will talk about your shitty 5-mile time.

favorite line of the article

[mdeshaies]

They must have a program that just inserts a random picture (oiled up front raises). Is it too difficult for them to find a picture that is relevant or just leave it alone? Nice article.

[Jonathon Sullivan]

Excellent article, Rip.

I've been thinking about this issue of interference a lot lately, in some of the same terms. People (except marathoners) don't need to be able to run marathons. They need to be able to stand up, pull, push, heave, lift, and bale hay. And people our age don't need to turn on their catabolic machinery the way endurance athletes need to. We don't need any help losing mass.

There are some articles to be discussed in the Science Review that address this at the molecular level. There are actual mechanistic reasons for this shit, and they're starting to get pretty well nailed down. It's cool.

I hope this article gets read widely. We are beginning to see cracks in the exercise = LSD/metcon edifice, and this will serve to make them wider.

[mdeshaies]

I take it back... it looks like the oiled front raise picture was carefully selected for Rip? The flags in the background of the picture are Texas State and Gonzales Banner.