The Starting Strength Interview Series

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PR Friday: Post weights lifted, gained, or eaten as well as pants ripped, girls lifted, and children tossed.

Some of you may remember me mentioning that Rip will be interviewing some interesting people to put on his Starting Strength website. There are two interviews uploaded — one with Shane Hamman, and another special edition with Eva Twardokens.

Shane at the 2004 Olympics

Shane at the 2004 Olympics


Shane and Eva are two-time Olympians — Shane competed in weightlifting in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and Eva competed in downhill skiing in the winter Olympics in 1992 and 1994. Each interview focuses on the athlete’s particular sport, and Eva’s is quite useful since we are in the middle of the winter Olympics. Both interviews are conducted in a unique way that is not a monotonous, irritating question/answer session aimed at finding out how the interviewee “feels”. Take a gander and see how you like them.

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Shane, but Eva is a friend of mine, a sweetheart, a fiery competitor, and pretty damn strong. Nevertheless, she still succumbed to being pressed overhead…by me.


94 thoughts on “The Starting Strength Interview Series”

  3. Studly press Jason.

    PRs:
    Squat 3x5x115kg
    Deadlift 5x145kg
    Bench 3x5x90kg

    BW still ~70kg

    Children tossed:
    Just my son (1.5yrs), many times whenever we go swimming. He loves it. I would toss him higher but he”s a bit difficult to catch when wet and a bit young to just let splash.

    SS is becoming an absolute grindfest. I was pleased to read Gant”s post as my sets of 5 are turning into rest-pause sets on the squats and deads. Bench still going strong, but overhead press and chins stalled. Deadlift form is falling apart. All signs point towards a reset very soon.

    Switched to clean pulls as my crappy form on the catch is fucking up my wrists. Criteria is get bar higher than navel. Could handle 10kg more this way without any problems.

  4. PR”s:
    Squat 345 5×3
    Bench 200 5×3 (most since hurttin my shoulder!)
    Deadlift 395 5×1

    Squats are gettin extremely tough. I didnt know if i was gonna be able to finish the first set. Thought i was bout to throw up after my last set. Need more food and sleep. No weight gained this week. I ate the same but ive had to lead PT for my unit the whole week on top of SS. Guess the little extra exercise makes a big difference.

    O and mustache PR…you can see i have one haha

  6. good press..

    PRs:
    Squat 3x5x142,5 kg
    Bench 3x5x102,5 kg
    DL 1x5x170 kg
    BW is 98 kg after training
    Age is 24

    had problems with recovery
    now only sqatting every second workout.. linear progression fine again.
    i have not been able to use the belt to my advantage in anything but the squat.i suck

  7. I really enjoyed the interviews.
    PR”s:
    Squat: 265×5
    Press: 127.5×5
    BW: 204.5
    I have outgrown almost all of my pants as well.

    Linear progression is moving along nicely!

  10. 285 in Squat since my Ankle injury.
    First time power cleaning since injury went well, although I only did a few sets at 50kg.

    Ripped my boxers in half stretching after I woke up yesterday morning. Dropped into a squat and split em competely down the middle.

    Excellent.

  11. Gained another KG. standing on 84.5KG. soon an adult male.

    lifts PR:

    squat 150kg for a single rep. 155kg squeezed me though, gonna get that bastard soon.

    Weighted pullups +16.25kg 3×5 (bw 84kg) – a hundred kg pullups for reps!

  13. PRs:
    squat: 300 lbs, 3 x 5
    deadlift: 355 lbs, 1 x 5
    bench: missed 235 lbs for 3 x 5 by a single rep. Soon.

    Nice music for the lady-press. Going with the tender stuff instead of metal was a classy choice.

  14. Squat 320x5x5
    Press 160x5x5

    No DL PR this week, pinched my hand between the bar and the pins last night (hand slid out when I was dumping to the pins after failing a final rep on my squat). Luckily no major damage (i.e., nothing broken, and I still have my finger and have full ROM)but it cut me up a bit and my DL grip is thus much less strong. Taking the pinky out of the equation makes a big difference for me.

  18. 5”10″ 240. Eating milk and cottage cheese and getting strong until 250 then diet back down to 225.

    PR:
    BW: 240
    BS: 370x3x5
    Bench: 266x3x5

    Shifted to advanced novice and loving it!

  20. 5””10 204lbs

    Squat: 285 3×5 high-bar (due to bicep inflammation). Went back to lowbar today for 290, but only did 2×3 had too much forward lean. Resetting to 265 for monday.

    Press: 135 3×5

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  24. How many sets do you guys use during your warm ups? I am still early in my linear progression so now I am using 4, but as the weights get higher the jumps will also be getting bigger. Just wondering what you all find most beneficial.

    Thanks for any comments

  29. Oh yeah and also bench 295X5X3. Pretty sure I haven”t done that in the past.

    Justin you have inspired me to overhead press my wife tonight. Should be fun.

  30. Had PR”s in a lot of lifts this week:
    Today:
    Clean: 235x3x3 sets
    Squat 425x5x3 sets
    Press 170x5x3 sets
    Wednesday: DL 435×5
    BW is still around 181-2
    (Mom told me I was gettin fat when I went home last weekend haha)

  32. Squat 245x5x2, 240x5x3
    Press 150×1
    Bench 175x5x3
    Deadlift 295×5 (form was a lil shitty on the last few reps)

    A skinny kid at school called me weak, so I literally threw him. (like a push press throw) Strength is very useful for embarassing very weak weaklings even though I am still weak..

  35. Sorry to lower the quality of this site but am i the only one who thinks Eva is a cute little minx. so much better than this anorexic,celery eating waste of spaces that like to call them self sexy women. women are meant to have muscular, tone, curvy bodies. Not look like they will fall down the cracks in the pavement. Go Eva.

  38. Here I spent 3 month in Norman, OK complaining about how there was nowhere to train and come to find out that Bob White was right down the street. Thanks for telling me now, Shane.

    Press: 135x5x2 PR
    Bench: 200x5x3 PR

  40. BS 3x5x350
    SP 3x5x149
    BP 3x5x239
    P. Snatch 5x3x180
    Also decided to pull a 500m Row after my squat and deadlift workout on Wednesday. Pulled a 1:24 which is a 4 second PR without touching a rower in a long time. Strength is what made the difference. Think I”m good for sub 1:20 when Im fresh. Might give it a shot next week…

  46. PR this week:

    Bench Press 201.5# x 2

    Was going for a triple, but this is the first time in my life I”ve ever benched over 200#. I realize that”s warm-up weight for a lot of folks, but for me it”s new territory.

    M / 49 / 205# / 6 ft-1 in

  47. Military Press: 175 X 8
    Bench Press: 250 X 7

    Although my own pressing numbers are modest, I believe there is a direct, causal correlation between the consumption of pop tarts and one””s Standing Press. I increased from 170X5 to 175X8.

    Shane Hamman is no doubt one of the greatest Squatters to have ever stepped under the bar. I respect his choices to switch into Olympic Lifting and to retire from lifting altogether, but for selfish reasons I really wish he had kept on with Powerlifting as he probably never got close to his peak.

    But maybe America has been blessed with a new Shane Hamman, who is also an insane squatter. I speak of course of the very young Pat Mendes

    I think the toughest decision this kid will have is whether he should become a powerlifting legend or stick on his olympic lifting path and bring home a gold in weightlifting.

    Considering he is an Olympic lifter, I think he has made the choice.

    –Justin

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