March 16, 2026
Miles’ Edition
On Starting Strength
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Intensity? Platform? Injury? –
Rip answers questions from Starting Strength Network subscribers and fans. -
Why Intermediate Programming Fails by Steve Ross –
Most lifters assume intermediate programming fails because the weights finally get heavy enough to overwhelm recovery. The stress piles up, progress slows, and eventually things grind to a halt… -
Setting up the Monolift in the Rack for a Safe Bench Press –
Rusty goes into detail about setting up and using the monolift with the rack for bench pressing. -
The Heinz Ketchup of Barbell Training by Carl Raghavan –
You know what Heinz Ketchup is, right? Ubiquitous. Recognizable. The gold standard. You can try to copy it, but it never tastes quite the same. That’s Starting Strength. It’s the Heinz Ketchup of barbell training… -
Heavy-Light-Medium by Andy Baker –
As I was working with a couple of clients yesterday, we discussed the nuts and bolts of their programming. Both clients, (one young, one middle aged) are using a heavy-light-medium approach… - Weekend Archives:
A M.A.P. to Understanding the Starting Strength Model of the Lifts by Mia Inman –
A Starting Strength Coach (SSC) needs to be able to integrate the fundamental principles upon which the model is based, i.e., Mechanics (Physics), Anatomy, and Physiology… - Weekend Archives:
One of the Most Underrated Strength Exercises You Can Do by Mark Rippetoe –
The deadlift is a very simple exercise that basically involves picking a barbell up off the ground and setting it back down. It’s a bit more involved than that…
In the Trenches
Starting Strength Coach John Petrizzo takes trainee Alex through his third set of five at 255 pounds this past weekend at the Squat and Press camp in NY. [photo courtesy of Jordan Klein]
Starting Strength Coach John Petrizzo takes trainee Hence through his top set of five at 95 pounds this past weekend at the Squat and Press camp in NY. [photo courtesy of Alex Pisanello]
While Amber Usmani can read about the many benefits of the correctly performed full squat at any time on the wall behind her rack, during a workset she fixes her gaze on just one letter in the last part of the sentence. [photo courtesy of Starting Strength Atlanta]
Get Involved
Best of the Week
How to modify NLP for a 45 year old woman that cannot perform a Valsava
jrickner
My fiance, a 45 year old, 120 lb, never trained novice wants to get stronger, but has a feeding tube put in place after a botched lap band surgery 10 years ago which caused necrosis of the stomach and small intestine. After removing the lap band and part of her stomach and small intestine, she now has a gastric bypass for feeding/drinking via the mouth, but her remnant stomach connects to the small intestine as well. (Esophagus connects directly to the small intestine instead of the stomach, while the stomach connects to the small intestine a few inches below where the esophagus connects in a sort of Y shaped joint.) The issue is that when she does anything to cause increased abdominal pressure, like a Valsalva, stomach acid leaks from the stoma where the feeding tube is and wearing any kind of lifting belt may be problematic for her stoma. What are the recommended changes to the NLP programming and lifting form would you Starting Strength Coaches for this situation? Thanks.
Mark Rippetoe
I hate to tell you this, but if she cannot safely perform a Valsalva, she cannot safely squat, press, or deadlift because she cannot safely stabilize her spine.
Best of the Forum
Ulnar Neuropathy
FarmerJustin
Hey rip, any time I sleep with bent elbow on my side or sit in a position with bent elbows my pinky side of hand to the elbow get numb and painful. When arm stretched out it quickly goes away. It’s symmetrical as in both arms do it now. I have progressed in getting stronger and am the biggest I’ve ever been in my arms muscle wise. Should I worry? Just something I have to deal with? I have a small frame but have managed to a lot of muscle onto my very narrow hands, elbows etc
Mark Rippetoe
Do NSAIDs help?
JFord
Joke I heard before med school:
Patient: “Doc, it hurts when I do this.”
Doc: “Don’t do that.”
For this clinical scenario, that’s actually good advice. Ulnar neuropathy is a real disease, an impingement syndrome. You can get localized steroid injections or take NSAIDS but the real solution is removing the stress on the elbow… by avoiding hyperflexion which you yourself discovered by keeping your elbow straight. If you DON’T, the neuropathy can become chronic… and permanent causing sensory loss and motor weakness. If this is too difficult when you sleep, try fashioning some kind of splint to accomplish this that you put on when you go to bed. You can go to an orthopod and have his casting tech do it but then you’ll have to see an orthopod first and no good can come of that.
I occasionally get a twinge of it myself when I squat using a narrow grip. But in that case, the stress is transient. I don’t hold the position overnight so it’s not a problem. This brings me to my next bit of medical advice: Stop working out because you’re getting too muscular.
Here’s a bonus “orthopod” joke I heard when I was IN medical school (from a friend who was an ortho intern at the time): Where’s the best place to hide a hundred dollar bill from an orthopod? In a book.
There are lots of ortho jokes. I think they’re the drummers and accordion players of music jokes.
Jdcuth
Whats the difference between an orthopod and a carpenter? The carpenter knows more about antibiotics
I was making these jokes until one of them fixed my ruptured patella tendon. Then I carried on anyway
Credit : Source Post
