“As a coach, teaching a lifter to perform potentially complex, multi-joint exercises correctly and consistently is a skill.”
Besides offering premium swim lessons to the greater LA community, Coach Rippetoe is also a strength training coach, utilizing the Starting Strength method to help clients become fitter, stronger, and faster.
We’ve discussed Starting Strength methods many times before on the blog, but if you aren’t familiar with the tenets of the program, here is a quick refresher.
“Starting Strength System makes use of the most basic movement patterns that work the entire body as a coordinated system, gradually increasing loads that make the whole body stronger, in a logical, understandable, time-tested manner – the way athletes have gotten stronger for millennia.” – About Starting Strength
The foundational exercises of Starting Strength are the Squat, Deadlift, Press, Bench Press, and Power Clean/Power Snatch. (Below is a list of articles on our blog discussing the various exercises and proper techniques). Unfortunately, if these exercises are not done correctly, you can end up with injuries, muscle imbalance, and loss of flexibility.
Are you squatting correctly?
How to train for a chin-up?
The number one way to burn fat faster.
Wonder Women Strength Training.
From Weight to Weightlessness.
“The coach’s cue is some form of communication that the coach employs during a lift, or part of a lift, that is designed to produce a physical response from the lifter, usually in the form of an adjustment or correction to the lifter’s movement.” – Starting Strength
These are primarily in the form of verbal communications but can be visual and tactile as well. Starting Strength offers a theoretical approach to developing the coach’s cue, from both the lifter and the coach’s perspective. Effective cues come from both the strength coach and the lifter’s shared understanding of the lift, knowledge that comes from training, experience, and trust. As a lifter, make sure you choose coaches (not trainers) that exercise an in-depth comprehension of appropriate cues, used in a manner designed to support the lifter effectively.
Coaching requires building a program that will accomplish a fitness goal. The best way to do that is to use a proven system used for over 40 years. Build your strength, and you’ll meet your goals. Use the Starting Strength system, and you’ll build your strength. Call Coach Rippetoe to schedule your first lifting session.
Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.