The shoulder joint is complex, and pain affecting its use in daily activities and sport is common. This article series will review common shoulder diagnoses, critically assess the associated narratives provided to patients, and describe their impact on real-world outcomes. We will begin with the assessment of the scapula and its movement. The interaction between […]
This article was originally published in September of 2014 as the first of four blog posts addressing The Principle of Specificity. Since then, the coaches at Barbell Medicine have learned a great deal more about the topic and felt that these posts deserved an update and expansion. We’ll be releasing the updated articles and corresponding YouTube videos […]
If you’ve been paying attention to our latest podcasts, articles, Q/A’s, and other content then you’ve likely heard us discuss the importance of waist circumference in determining who is a good candidate for weight gain and who could stand to lose a bit of weight. Waist circumference is a quick, low-cost piece of data with […]
I will spare you my lengthy back pain origin story and set the scene in 3 bullet points: Pre-back pain, I was a pretty killer athlete with a promising future in powerlifting and strongman. Also pre-back pain, I partially tore my hamstring tendon, which led to hamstring and hip pain. I rehabbed my way back […]
Introduction Regular followers are likely familiar with our interest in a “biopsychosocial” approach to both training and injury, particularly the modifiable psychological factors that can have significant effects on performance, recovery, and subsequent adaptation. One important phenomenon we discuss frequently in the context of acute injury and persistent pain is catastrophizing. Catastrophizing is a complex […]
Note: We published this protocol in the Barbell Medicine newsletter in March of 2018, but have since added some additional context, explanation, and recommendations for this intervention. Be sure and sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest content! A novice lifter is someone who can add weight to […]
It has been said that using Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is useless for strength and conditioning, which has caused quite a stir between the Barbell Medicine crew and other coaching organizations because we had been using this tool with our clients to manage loading, training fatigue, and the intensity of conditioning efforts up until […]
In late February, 2018 of this year, after a series of back and forth emails, I informed Rip et al that I was resigning from Starting Strength. Since then, there has been a large amount of chatter on the Internet about what happened and what’s next. This letter aims to address both topics. To really […]
A little over one year ago I reached out to Austin Baraki in desperate need of coaching. Thankfully, he didn’t hesitate to accept the task and we immediately got to work. At first, he “triaged” my situation by correcting a number of technical errors that he observed after watching some of my training footage. After […]
“How do I increase my press?”- The Internet Fresh on the heels of the 2017 USSF Fall Classic, a strengthlifting meet that contests the press instead of the bench press seen in powerlifting meets, there has been a big uptick in folks asking how to increase their press. After seeing some of the big presses this […]