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In context of semi-serious strength training, virtually no one progresses long on increasing intensity only. Increasing weight + maintaining rep scheme, basical

In context of semi-serious strength training, virtually no one progresses long on increasing intensity only. Increasing weight + maintaining rep scheme, basically linear periodization exhausts itself in months. Medium-term, it's an inefficient method to gain strength due to repetitive bout effect, and fairly dangerous - lots of people injure themselves pushing too hard on 3x5s (i.e. starting strength) when the periodization scheme simply stops working for them. Sooner than (not or) later, people have to periodize, mess with variations, delve into programming. Even if you're smart about it injury is very common. For a general population extra complexity and injury risk is something to be optimized against when it's simply not necessary to ever develop that much strength for daily functioning. I would say the vast majority of people are not capable of lifting in a maximally safe manner. In the powerlifting injury survey around half of trainees suffer some form of injury, this includes novice trainees. My experience in the body building community is similar. That's too high on a population scale. Lifting enthusiasts get hurt all the time for the hobby, that's their prerogative. But no reason to endorse it for people who don't share strength/aesthetic goals and could get most of the benefit from extremely modest and much safer training. I'm not trying to denigrate barbell training, I think it's essential component to physical well being, but I don't think most popular strength templates are well aligned to overall public health or the mentality to train for general health. Their philosophy is based around training which will quickly lead people to conflate pursuing personal best with essential fitness, and TBH most people drop out of the habit they stop progressing after a few years and lose motivation. The people who lift the longest are those who can accept putting 4-8 hours at a gym every week for a year to add 5lbs to a lift or those who don't fixate on numbers and are content with just going through the motions for health.

eru 7y ago
Oh, we mostly agree. My point was more that the amount of strength people can get out of something like Starting Strength is more than sufficient for anything useful for general healthy fitness. The limits of linear progression (and three sessions a week) put a nice limit on how much you can wear out your body. Basically, when you can no longer go up, just stay there. I did Starting Strength myself for a while, and even for too long. Once I switched to the same author's Texas Method (a simple weekly program), I managed to eke out a bit more progress on my lifts again.

eru 7y ago

Oh, we mostly agree. My point was more that the amount of strength people can get out of something like Starting Strength is more than sufficient for anything useful for general healthy fitness. The limits of linear progression (and three sessions a week) put a nice limit on how much you can wear out your body. Basically, when you can no longer go up, just stay there. I did Starting Strength myself for a while, and even for too long. Once I switched to the same author's Texas Method (a simple weekly program), I managed to eke out a bit more progress on my lifts again.