Nipcheese Edition – Starting Strength Weekly Report November 6, 2023

Raymity

My name is Ray, I‘m 32 from Austria. 178cm 75kg bodyweight and I got diagnosed with arthritis in my knees almost 10 years ago. I don’t feel any pain or anything similar. It just makes weird noises when I for example get up from a sitting position.

I started to workout a view years ago because I also got type 1 diabetes and it helps to manage my blood sugar.

Long story short, here is my question: Can I lift heavy (squat/deadlifts) with Arthrosis in my knees or will it make it worse?

Mark Rippetoe

How has it progressed over the past 10 years?

Raymity

From an objective standpoint, it didn’t get worse at all. As I said, no pain, no limitation in movement or mobility. Just annoying noises (sound similar to the noise your knuckles make when you crack them), but I should go to the doc and get an x-ray done.

Mark Rippetoe

You have no “symptoms”, but you want to be sick so bad that you will ask The Doctor to please find some “signs” that you are sick?

Will Morris

Annoying noises that don’t cause blood curdling pain are not worthy of your time trying to investigate, and they certainly aren’t worth getting radiographs for. The single best treatment for mild to moderate arthrosis is regular activity made up of progressive resistance training and aerobic training, although the evidence seems to point very strongly towards progressive resistance training having a better treatment effect alone than aerobic training. If you study the physiologic process that leads to arthrosis, loading the joint in a progressive nature is likely the single best thing you can do to slow the disease process down. Several of us did a lengthy presentation on arthritis / arthropathies at the Starting Strength Coaches Conference some years ago. It might be worth your time to watch those videos on here. Strength and Joint Health, Pt 4

Jason Donaldson

I’ve been wondering something lately, and I’m looking for a reality check from more experienced folks before I get too far afield with my thoughts on it.

Would it be accurate and would it be useful to regard whether a new trainee buys lifting shoes as an indicator for how likely the lifter is to continue meaningfully with training?

Certainly, there can be confounding circumstances, but it increasingly seems to me that this equipment purchase might serve as a proxy for a few important and less tangible factors that make for success.

Mark Rippetoe

I think so, yes. Do you or do you not believe what more experienced people have told you?

Marc Brainich

My first, non-SS coach told me the same about those who stuck with, or didn’t, the hook grip for the two weeks or so it took to get over the thumb pain.

David Roberts

Maybe. You might want to ask them if they have an old rowing machine under their bed that is no longer used. Could indicate whether $100-$200 of skin is the game means anything to them.

Matt275

I’d imagine it would depend on how much the money means to them to some extent. If I’m a guy who makes multiple 6 figures a year then $200 is nothing to me and I don’t have to do without something else. If I make $30k a year and have to give something up to afford the shoes they mean more to me and I’d imagine I’d be more likely to stick with it.