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As others have said, the best thing CrossFit has done is introduce people to the barbell, and more importantly, Mark Rippetoe. Rip was the barbell SME for Cross

by kejaed 11y ago

As others have said, the best thing CrossFit has done is introduce people to the barbell, and more importantly, Mark Rippetoe. Rip was the barbell SME for CrossFit in the early years and while they parted ways, a lot of CrossFitters still find Rip when they want to get more serious about training strength. He has literally written the textbook [1] on the 5 basic lifts giving a complete anotomical and mechanical breakdown of each that I think the HN crowd would appreciate, which at $10 for the kindle version is worth it at 10x the price. His website [2] and YouTube channel also provide a large amount of free resources for anyone interested in learning about barbell lifting. [1] http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006XJR5ZA http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006XJR5ZA [2] http://startingstrength.com/ http://startingstrength.com/

marpstar 11y ago
I second Mr. Rippetoe's work. Starting Strength is a great book for those learning to lift. The technical detail he goes into is lost on a lot of people, but I really enjoyed how thorough he was.
lloydde 11y ago
It's lifting not the barbell that is the great thing. Outside of lifting the barbell is an abused piece of equipment in men's fitness. Barbell presses and squats have long been the staple of men's fitness. The first contributes to many shoulder injury and the later to lower back injuries. Then there is also the psychology of our desire to slide on huge plates. As well as lifting, our rediscover of bells and balls and movements that activate our "stabilizer muscles" and more systens is the best thing.
- kejaed 11y ago
  There is absolutely nothing inherently dangerous or injury prone in lifting a barbell. It is the second part, the desire to slide on huge plates that gets people in trouble. One could say the same thing about someone who decides they are going to run a marathon, slide on their 5 year old Nikes, and heel strike their way to a knee replacement. I do say, once you have had the experience of 400 pounds loaded on your back, there isn't a muscle in your body, stabilizer or otherwise, that isn't 'activated'. There are not many other movements out there, and none that can be progressively loaded and trained, that will match a back squat to proper depth for engaging more of the body's muscle systems.
  - lloydde 11y ago
    A barbell bench press is not ergonomic. Keeping your hands at a fixed distance throughout the movement is not ergonomic. We'll have to disagree on the progressive loading and training. For most people there are high impact, safer movements than barbell squats. An example being the kettlebell swing.
shiny 11y ago
Rippetoe is all about gaining weight and putting on muscle. Probably not practical for most people. I'd also be hesitant to teach yourself both how to deadlift and squat - I hurt myself doing both after reading Rippetoe, despite the detailed instructions. Also, according to Nick Curson (coach of UFC Champion Rafael Dos Anjos) on the Joe Rogan podcast, heavy slow weight lifting is counterproductive for most sports [1] [2] [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmYFlvKloE&t=26m18s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmYFlvKloE&t=26m18s [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmYFlvKloE&t=43m23s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmYFlvKloE&t=43m23s
- kejaed 11y ago
  Rippetoe is all about being strong, because being strong is better than being weak. For the average dude starting to lift, that will likely involve gaining weight and adding muscle. This is, however, not the be all and end all of what he is talking about. Please take a look at Gus, a woman in her 90s who has recently started to train at Rip's gym and has improved her quality of life such that she no longer requires her walker. http://youtu.be/3585w9FmOGs http://youtu.be/3585w9FmOGs It's hard to hurt yourself if you truly read the book, because if you start with an empty bar and only add small amounts of weight using the proper form (as the book instructs) it's tough to hurt yourself. If anyone needs some help with barbell form you can drop into the forums where coaches will gladly review a video for you, or if necessary find someone to help you in person. And before I fall down the rabbit hole of repeating Rip's gospel word for word, what a coach says they do for an elite athlete has little bearing on the general population. Elite athelets are genetic freaks that could be trained in many ways and still achieve their results. Lifting heavy is not going to slow you down or make you big, it's going to get you strong. Training for strength and practicing your sport of choice will just make you a stronger version of your previous self. If you train and eat like a power lifter you are not going to be able to maintain your 3:30 marathon time, but if you add in properly programmed strength training for the goals you are looking to achieve, it is petty hard to argue that being stronger is worse than being weaker all other things being equal.
  - shiny 11y ago
    True, I misspoke, and thanks for the link. But Curson's stuff has made me rethink the practicality of heavy, slow lifting. He does think that it will slow you down.

by kejaed 11y ago

marpstar 11y ago

I second Mr. Rippetoe's work. Starting Strength is a great book for those learning to lift. The technical detail he goes into is lost on a lot of people, but I really enjoyed how thorough he was.

lloydde 11y ago

It's lifting not the barbell that is the great thing. Outside of lifting the barbell is an abused piece of equipment in men's fitness. Barbell presses and squats have long been the staple of men's fitness. The first contributes to many shoulder injury and the later to lower back injuries. Then there is also the psychology of our desire to slide on huge plates. As well as lifting, our rediscover of bells and balls and movements that activate our "stabilizer muscles" and more systens is the best thing.

kejaed 11y ago
There is absolutely nothing inherently dangerous or injury prone in lifting a barbell. It is the second part, the desire to slide on huge plates that gets people in trouble. One could say the same thing about someone who decides they are going to run a marathon, slide on their 5 year old Nikes, and heel strike their way to a knee replacement. I do say, once you have had the experience of 400 pounds loaded on your back, there isn't a muscle in your body, stabilizer or otherwise, that isn't 'activated'. There are not many other movements out there, and none that can be progressively loaded and trained, that will match a back squat to proper depth for engaging more of the body's muscle systems.
- lloydde 11y ago
  A barbell bench press is not ergonomic. Keeping your hands at a fixed distance throughout the movement is not ergonomic. We'll have to disagree on the progressive loading and training. For most people there are high impact, safer movements than barbell squats. An example being the kettlebell swing.

shiny 11y ago

Rippetoe is all about gaining weight and putting on muscle. Probably not practical for most people. I'd also be hesitant to teach yourself both how to deadlift and squat - I hurt myself doing both after reading Rippetoe, despite the detailed instructions. Also, according to Nick Curson (coach of UFC Champion Rafael Dos Anjos) on the Joe Rogan podcast, heavy slow weight lifting is counterproductive for most sports [1] [2] [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmYFlvKloE&t=26m18s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmYFlvKloE&t=26m18s [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmYFlvKloE&t=43m23s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmYFlvKloE&t=43m23s

kejaed 11y ago
Rippetoe is all about being strong, because being strong is better than being weak. For the average dude starting to lift, that will likely involve gaining weight and adding muscle. This is, however, not the be all and end all of what he is talking about. Please take a look at Gus, a woman in her 90s who has recently started to train at Rip's gym and has improved her quality of life such that she no longer requires her walker. http://youtu.be/3585w9FmOGs http://youtu.be/3585w9FmOGs It's hard to hurt yourself if you truly read the book, because if you start with an empty bar and only add small amounts of weight using the proper form (as the book instructs) it's tough to hurt yourself. If anyone needs some help with barbell form you can drop into the forums where coaches will gladly review a video for you, or if necessary find someone to help you in person. And before I fall down the rabbit hole of repeating Rip's gospel word for word, what a coach says they do for an elite athlete has little bearing on the general population. Elite athelets are genetic freaks that could be trained in many ways and still achieve their results. Lifting heavy is not going to slow you down or make you big, it's going to get you strong. Training for strength and practicing your sport of choice will just make you a stronger version of your previous self. If you train and eat like a power lifter you are not going to be able to maintain your 3:30 marathon time, but if you add in properly programmed strength training for the goals you are looking to achieve, it is petty hard to argue that being stronger is worse than being weaker all other things being equal.
- shiny 11y ago
  True, I misspoke, and thanks for the link. But Curson's stuff has made me rethink the practicality of heavy, slow lifting. He does think that it will slow you down.