December 22, 2025
Jól Edition
On Starting Strength
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Training Heavy, Olympic Lifts, and Strength –
Rip continues his conversation with long-time Starting Strength Coach Carl Raghavan. They discuss training heavy, the Olympic lifts, and the value of getting strong. -
The Invisible Reps by Steve Ross –
People love the big moments. The PR videos, the grinder reps, the loud plates and louder celebrations – that’s the stuff everyone wants to see. And honestly? Who doesn’t enjoy… -
Bench Press Grip Width –
Rip discusses the use of different grip widths in the bench press in terms of movement and training effect. -
Deadlifts, RDLs, and the Fake Risk/Reward Ratio Jack Bissett –
Vast quantities of hot air are emitted by coaches and influencers up and down the country every single day on the deadlift and its poor risk to reward ratio. The deadlift, so they say… -
Cueing: Shoulders Over the Bar –
The beauty of using the basic barbell lifts to get strong is that all of them demand the dynamic involvement and coordination of the entire body. The means the system is trained as whole… - Weekend Archives:
How to Talk to Your Friends and Family About Strength Training Andrew Lewis –
It can be frustrating to try to help friends or family members start lifting. It’s obvious that strength training will help them improve their lives and health, but they seem so resistant to the idea… - Weekend Archives:
Training and Discipline by Mark Rippetoe –
I know that you have noticed the same thing I have in recent years: everybody’s attention span has gotten shorter…
In the Trenches
Helen Park shrugs her press into lockout at Starting Strength Atlanta. Although most of her family has never seen her train at the gym, she did demonstrate her strength to them at home by repping out some push-ups (for the first time in her life), on a dare. [photo courtesy of Starting Strength Atlanta]
Scott Motson drove four hours braving the winter weather to attend the squat and deadlift camp coached by Jarret Beck at Starting Strength Columbus. [photo courtesy of Jarret Beck]
Jeff Grant, in from Massachusetts, sets up for the deadlift at the squat and deadlift camp hosted at Starting Strength Columbus. [photo courtesy of Jarret Beck]
Get Involved
Best of the Week
Getting lower back pain from squats; form check please
mngrw
Since taking this video I have adjusted the hand position (so that my wrists are more neutral), and played with different stances, but I always get lower back pain from squats.
1) Is my stance too wide? If I go narrower, I’m not able to go below parallel
2) My bar seems to travel a little in a narrow V shape, not really in a vertical line, is that a major concern?
Ryan Arnold
Stance is too wide, you are not reaching depth, and you are descending too quickly. Have you read the blue book?
Mark Rippetoe
Have you read the book?
BareSteel
Good idea on straightening out your wrists.
Yes, stance is too wide if you want to squat the way described in the Blue Book. Your current stance width is more like a powerlifting stance.
A few other tips: do a little mini squat to unrack the bar. Right now you’re using all back to unrack it. It won’t work with a heavy load. Set your feet under the bar and use a little knee and a little hip bend to get yourself plumb under the bar. I can’t see well here because your shoes blend in with the floor, but it looks like you’re too far away from the bar when you take it out.
Re-read the part about how to create a tight shelf for the bar with your upper back. When you do it right your elbows won’t have to be so high up. I think this is also part of the reason you’re so leaned over at the top between reps.
Big breath and brace the abs to support the trunk. A belt helps, too.
That’s a good start. See how much your squats clean up with just these cues.
5pointer
Wherever you learned to squat like that, you have to un-learn it… and then start over using the book. Watch one of the starting strength tutorial videos and then compare that to your video. Surely you must be able to spot the differences.
Mark Rippetoe
I guess he hasn’t read the blue book.
Best of the Forum
Deadlift vs RDL – Analysis
Torsten Bauer
happy New Year. If you don’t mind I have a question about the bar position relative to the mid foot in the regular Deadlift (DL) compared to the Romanian Deadlift (RDL).
Just reread your chapters about the DL and the section about the RDL. In the DL chapter you discuss the problem that the bar travels away from the shins. If I understood correctly this usually happens due to a form error when your hips rise even though the bar hasn’t yet moved which brings you in a mechanically disadvantageous position to conduct the pull.
Considering the RDL, on the other hand, you aim for vertical shins which also leads to the problem that the bar travels away from the shins so you have to strongly deploy your lats to pull the bar back to the shins. My question is whether you force the bar intentionally away from mid foot by pulling it towards the shins and if not why does it have the tendency to leave the mid foot position in the first place?
Mark Rippetoe
If it’s heavy enough, it wants to stay over the mid-foot to keep the whole system in balance. Warmups can do anything they want. But vertical shins in a heavy RDL will place the bar forward of contact with the shins, because the bar over mid-foot is forward of vertical shins. If I understand your question.
Torsten Bauer
Let me clarify my question. In the RDL, is the bar over mid-foot when it touches the (vertical) shins? If it were, why do the arms travel forward of the shins (which is out of mid-foot) in the first place when this position pushes the (lifter-bar) system out of balance?
Mark Rippetoe
Arms travel forward of the shins because the shoulders are forward of the bar.
Torsten Bauer
… and gravity acts straight down. Now I got it, thanks for clarifying.
Credit : Source Post
