Summer Strong
Strength Discussions and Evidence
Is Deadlifting Bad for your Back?
Is Deadlifting Bad for your Back?
Is Deadlifting Bad for your Back?
"Shear force risk, lift with your legs not your back, you have to stop lifting, etc etc." These are the common pieces of "expert advice" given to us by healthcare providers, occupational wellness consultants, many personal trainers, managers, attorneys, store clerks, and anybody who thinks they understand common sense health and fitness. This is unfortunately poor advice in an attempt to mitigate risk of injury or re-injury. Not only deadlifting but all the main barbell lifts have extremely low incidence of injury even for those is preexisting spine injuries. Across the board all weight room training and exercise has an injury rate that is miniscule in comparison to most sports. See comparison chart below.
Progressively loading the trunk with proper form protects the spine for the rest of daily living in fact. Training with poor form and overtraining is a possibility, especially when uncoached and approaching intermediate status. Back pain and dysfunction is a terribly interesting topic (see Biopsychosocial Model of Pain)
https://startingstrength.com/article/from-crutches-to-deadlifts-back-rehab-101
What is Functional Training?
Is Deadlifting Bad for your Back?
Is Deadlifting Bad for your Back?
The most abused subjective term is "functional" in the fitness world. Don't fall prey to this ever changing term outside of the simplest definition of everyday practical movements that are loadable. These are the compound (multi-joint) movements of the squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, power clean, and chin up/pull up.
https://startingstrength.com/article/functional-training
https://startingstrength.com/article/the-two-factor-model-of-sports-performance
From Prison to Princeton
Strength Training Aids vs Au Naturel
Strength Training Aids vs Au Naturel
The Wildland Firefighting physical preparation along with the majority of public service and military units is lacking in strength standards. Bodyweight calisthenics like timed pull ups, push ups, and sit ups may demonstrate some level of athleticism, muscular endurance, and mental resilience but it fails to measure real world capability. Timed 1.5mile runs and 3mile rucks may be appropriate conditioning standards but again fail to ensure a suitable trainee. This is because strength (defined as the ability to produce force against an external resistance) is an essential pillar of capability, as well as longevity and physical resilience. A man or woman who can run that 1.5miles fast and squat 405lb properly has the metabolic and structural capability to perform their jobs with ease and ward off injury. The US Army is starting to value this higher quality trainee as they have implemented the ACFT (PT requirements at the basic training level) which has a trap-bar deadlift for 3x Max Effort. This is a step in the right direction for strength and power.
https://startingstrength.com/article/the-two-factor-model-of-sports-performance
Strength Training Aids vs Au Naturel
Strength Training Aids vs Au Naturel
Strength Training Aids vs Au Naturel
Barefoot vs lifting shoes, weightlifting belt vs no belt, wrist straps vs man hands, these are questions that arise in the journey of strength training. The short answer is intermediate to advanced lifters will be able to mitigate injury risk and continue getting stronger with all aids except lifting shoes. The shoes are the exception in that all lifters are recommended a pair of these.
Proper shoes stabilize and protect your feet and ankles under load, allow for better force production through the ground, and recruit more muscle mass. Minimizing power leaks is the nature of force transfer and lifting barefoot is a prime example of a power leak with the bones of the foot moving in and out. Squishy running shoes also don't have the stability we need when under load and the sole is like lifting on a mattress (ie. form goes out the window and injury risk goes up).
Barbell lifting in a gym isn't natural and yet it's the best way to get strong so you can better perform in the wilderness of life. Viewing the gym as the lab (a controlled environment) so we can most effectively improve our whole body makes the rest of daily living and performance events that much easier.
https://startingstrength.com/training/a-marine-on-weightlifting-shoes
https://startingstrength.com/article/lifting-apparel-accessories
More Health and Performance Findings
Fitness Industry Credentialing, The Starting Strength Coach (SSC), and the Highest Standard
Whether in person or online no state in the US (along with most of the world) requires personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, or fitness programs to be regulated against a legal standard. Of course there are academy and association standards, academic accreditations, and certifications available but they vary widely. Clients beware!
As of 2024, for-profit private and non-profit academic and certification organizations decide on their own credentialing standards in our industry. If any client dares to ask, the common names discovered in your average globo-gym is the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), ACE, ISSA, and CSCS (requires a BS degree) via the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). As well as their parent company’s or authoritative “bodies” such as Ascend Learning and the National Commision for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). What field does the NCCA cover, the client might ask. It is an accrediting body that accredits programs and individuals in a wide range of professions and occupations including nurses, automotive professionals, respiratory therapists, and many others. That being said, it is hard for your average gym-goer and health conscious American to simply suss out the great from the good or outright ineffective and outdated. This is similar to most Americans trying to read an Exercise Science journal-level study or abstract and to determine whether it’s of high quality or low quality evidence.
Average Cost &
Time to completion
ISSA
$828.00
2 to 4 months at 5 hr/week
ACE
$1,115.67
3 to 4 months at 10 to 12 hr/week
NASM
$1,523.75
3 months at 5 hr/week
Starting Strength Education
$5,843.85
2 years
B.S. in exercise science at an in-state university
$41,612.00
4 to 5 years
Table 6. Average certification cost and recommended time required to achieve credential or degree.[3-6]
The Starting Strength Coach (SSC) credential not only supersedes the standard in academic time when compared to most qualifications but also requires actual experience. The Starting Strength academic rigor contends with a masters level education but also requires you experience the linear progression of being a client yourself as well as next to 2 years on average of direct coaching experience via an internship or running your own gym coaching thousands of reps. Once an SSC candidate arrives at the SS Seminar at our headquarters in Wichita Falls, TX they still fail the platform evaluation 85% of the time and need to repeat. The oral board follows the platform evaluation once passed and an audit/continuing education every 2 years follows indefinitely. The SSC must be able to progress clients on the platform when lifting rep to rep in an effective timely manner and explain the why. Referencing texts and quality studies, simplifying biomechanics, addressing orthopedic concerns, educating on nutrition basics, knowing and applying sports psychology, and humbly acknowledging when to refer to a healthcare colleague or another coach.
The highest standards exist inside Starting Strength: Injury rate reduction, performance increases, and general health accelerates primarily via gaining usable strength and size. When the weight on the bar goes up via the basic human movement patterns of the squat, bench, deadlift, press, and power clean, the client progresses through these standards. These are verifiable standards for all to see.
The NASM certifying academy states continuously that all is relative with statements like, “So many options for fitness improvement exist depending on each individual’s fitness goals and health needs.” This is an unacceptable answer to simple questions that have strong evidence or lack of evidence for X, Y, or Z. Not all is relative in biological systems and adaptations. Our clients' questions need an educated and experienced S&C professional to provide the best answer to date for achieving goals via an easily verified objective set of the highest standards.
References:
- The Costs and Outcomes of Coaching Education, by Andrew Lewis, SSC | June 09, 2021
- https://blog.nasm.org/certified-personal-trainer/why-personal-trainer-certification-is-important
- “Digest of Education Statistics, 2012.” National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education, nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_376.asp.